Mangroves - Natures Nursery

Mangroves - Natures Nursery

When people think of coral reefs, we often don't think of how those beautiful and brilliantly colorful fish got there. We often don't think of what those fish needed to survive and prosper.

A specific habitat is responsible for a large number of the marine organisms people see when diving, swimming, or just visiting the oceans. These habitats are Mangrove Forests. Mangroves are trees or shrubs that grow in the saline, coastal conditions of the tropics and subtropics. These trees and shrubs extend their roots into the water, creating a network of tree limbs underneath the surface waters.


What people don't know is that these root networks are prime nursery grounds for the sought after reef fishes. Reef fish migrate to the coast to lay their clutches of eggs within the root habitat of Mangrove Forests. This provide protection from predators and gives juvenile fish a place to grow up before, they too, migrate to their future reef homes. Without Mangroves, reef fish as we know them would disappear.


Mangroves represent yet another of natures most magical occurences. Marine fish, invertebrates, and other organisms depend on these coastal forests to ensure the survival of future generations. Coastal birds also depend on the Mangroves for nesting.


Mangroves, like so many other miracles of Mother Nature, are natures nursery. Humans build day care centers. Nature created its own. That's inspiration.

Predator Derbies - the senseless slaughter of our wild predators

A fellow wildlife photographer from Idaho recently made me aware of a well-participated form of competition in Idaho called Predator Derbies. It's sounds exactly like what it is. It is the senseless slaughter of wild predators. A 'sportsmen' (or whatever you call it; I call em' morons) has 24 hours to kill as many carnivorous mammals as possible. They don't utilize the fur or the meat, they just kill. Using high-powered rifles that obliterate the wildlife, they gun down as many predators as possible. Each species is worth a specific number of points and the person with the most points at the end of the 24 hours wins. Worse yet, there are no tags, permits, or government oversight. As a result, masses of both vulnerable and endangered animals are slaughtered.

• Bobcats are worth 2 points


• Foxes are worth 2 points


• Coyotes are worth 2 points


• Wolves are worth 3 points


• Ties are resolved by weight

What disturbs me the most is that a national non-profit organization, Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, is responsible for these killing sprees. Another thing that just makes me nauseous is that the nine times out of ten, the funds raised by these events are used to keep certain species off the endangered species list, particularly wolfs. It's disgusting.

Nikon, the camera manufacturer, is a known sponsor for these derbies. What we can do to stop this is contact Nikon and demand an explanation...

If you have contacts for regional Nikon representatives please let them know. You can call, and file a complaint here: 631-547-4200 this is the corporate office.

The Sponsorship committee that makes decisions like this is found here:

Sponsorship Committee1300 Walt Whitman RoadMelville, NY 11747-3064

For those who enjoy irony, here's Nikon's environmental policy:“Nikon endeavors to consider the environment in every policy and action, operating in ways that best protect the Earth's resources and safeguard the beauty of our planet.”

We are not going to change Idaho overnight and we need the help of other orginizations. Here are some good options:

PLEASE contact the Natural Resources Defense Council let them know about this event and urge them to take action on this and other injustices against predators in the west. nrdcinfo@nrdc.org

We can also go straight to the source... to the people who organize these damn things...

Contacting the following contacts may be more akin to talking to a brick wall, they are the problem. But they need to hear until they understand the public will not tolerate this.The organizers of the event can be contacted here:

Nate Helm (208-899-3122) or nate@sfwidaho.org

Sean Cluff (208-697-3167) or scluff@sfwidaho.org

Butch Otter Governor of Idaho [link]

Idaho Fish and Game: [link]

Salazar Secretary of the Interior [link]

TO READ MORE!

HELP MAKE THIS STOP!!!!!!

Ethics Vs. Conservation

Do Bears Stimulate The Economy?
Are Bears The Equivalent Of Cattle?

How Do You Place A Monetary Value On The Lives Of Animals?

When we think about the human crimes made against bears, we most certainly consider these human crimes to be ethical issues. However, are ethical concerns also conservation concerns? And where do we draw the line? Please, feel free to weigh in on these questions. My opinion is only my opinion.

Are Bile Farming, Den Hunting, Bear Baiting, Dancing Bears, Pet Bears, and Trophy Hunting considered Conservation concerns?

In my opinion, they absolutely are.

Bile Farming, Bear Baiting, Dancing Bears, and Pet Bears are all the direct result of poaching wild bears from the wild. Poaching has and will always be a conservation issue. By poaching bears, we are decreasing the wild populations. This is the exact opposite of conservation.

Den Hunting and Trophy Hunting are a little more difficult to diagnose. Hunting occurs all throughout the world. Just about any species of animal has been hunted at one point. Hunting is also an accepted practice in just about every country, but yet again, where do we draw the line?

I draw the line at vulnerable, threatened, endangered, and critically endangered species. I also draw the line at species who are vital to the survival of vulnerable, threatened, endangered, and critically endangered species. For example, the European Rabbit is critical to the survival of the critically endangered Iberian Lynx. Thus, we should not hunt European Rabbit. Iberian Lynx are specialist and are selected for the European Rabbit. Without it, they cannot survive.

As another example, the trophy hunting of Polar Bears is a conservation issue. Polar Bears are threatened from all sides by climate change. We are only adding to the problem and creating an even bigger decline in Polar Bear populations by allowing the hunting of their species. Hence, a conservation issue.

The biggest problem with creating a clear line between ethics and conservation is the fact that, by assigning value to the world arround us, we make people want to participate in conservation. For example, the conservation of wooded forests is vital to the survival of loggers, lumber workers, and wood-workers. Without these forests, these workers have no jobs. This creates a passion for conservation. Loggers, lumber workers, and wood-workers get involved in conserving forests because, by doing so, they are also conserving their jobs.

So, here's the problem. By allowing Bile Farming, Den Hunting, Bear Baiting, Dancing Bears, Pet Bears, and Trophy Hunting to occue, we are creating a value for these bears.

How do you assign a value to an animal?

In order to do so, we have to consider two types of values: Use Values and Non-Use Values.

Use Values are associated with values that come from contact/use of a resource or good.

-Direct Use: this refers to direct consumption or non-consumption (ex. Bile, Paws, Meat, etc.). Bears have value because they provide these items for consumption.

-Indirect Use: this can refer to the ecosystem service done by an organism (ex. bears are vital to seed dispersal). Bears have value because they perform a service which provides us with vegetation/wood for harvesting.

-Option Value: this is defined by those who want to secure the use of a resource for future generations. For examples, bile farmers should want to conserve the Asiatic Black Bear because, by conserving these bears, they are conserving a career for their children.

Non-Use Values refer to values which are not the result of contact between consumer and the resource.

-Existence Value: this refers to value of knowing that a certain something exists. Sun Bears have value because we know that they exist and we would rather see them exist than not exist.

-Bequest Value: this refers to the value that comes from knowing that we will provide resources for future generations. For example, if we stopped hunting American Black Bear, we would be ensuring the availability of American Black Bears for hunting in the future.

I find value in all-living things based on Existence Value. They are here for a reason and thus, deserve to be conserved. Just knowing that Polar Bears exist is enough for me. Why we need to hunt them, in order to conserve them, is something I just don't understand. As a mammal, something related to us, don't Polar Bears deserve to exist as we exist? The fact that Asiatic Black Bears exist is enough for me. Why we need to torture them for own monetary gain, in order to conserve them, is something I will never understand.

How would you place a value on the bear species of this planet? And when do ethical concerns become more than just ethical concerns? The floor is open.

Ashley

If Only People Understood... (Rant of Sorts)

I come to you at the brink. The world is becoming a terrible place -a world diminished to its bare minimum. Animals surviving on nothing -nothing we've given; only what we've left behind. We've provided them with an unglorified image and reputation, meanwhile stripping from them everything they need to survive. It is incredibly frustrating, because it is all of this, that I already know. I'm faced with it daily as our population continues to rise, while the very creatures I devote my life to simply perish as if they don't even matter.

Life is meant to be a beautiful thing... the birth of a baby, somehow, a miracle? What would be a miracle is the rehabilitation of this planet, considering how far gone it ALREADY is! Everyday, I'm told to stay strong and keep on truckin' (which I will), but I feel like we're fighting the inevitable. We're battling against a timeline already stacked against us. It almost feels like the planets time-card has already been punched and there really isn't much we can do about it, aside from delaying what will ultimately come.

The Barbary Lion - Extinct

Everyday, our charismatic, beautiful mega-fauna are destroyed for their skins, bones, meat, body parts -their very life blood! And, it's all for our benefit. As if that isn't enough, we also destroy them for a false sense of security that somehow guarantees our protection from the man-eating predators who, realistically, wouldn't even know we exist if not for the fact that we've stolen their homes! We seem to think that by persecuting all that is beautiful on this planet will somehow provide us with immortality and no fear. THE LEADING KILLER OF MAN IS MAN! Not tigers, not lions, not bears, nor any other large-scale predator of this planet. Then, why, I ask, are we funding the extinction of basically everything living on this planet aside from ourselves?

Along with exploitation for monetary gain and persecution, our planet is cheapened as a form of entertainment! We pit toothless (thanks to our blackened medicine) lions against defenseless goats and chickens. FOR WHAT? So that people who have lost all sense of decency and sanity can watch, laugh, and cheer as a terrified goat figures out he might die today. Not only that, but we do this over and over and over again.

The Californian Grizzly - Extinct

I fear for the day that all the animals I love can only be found in a cage or behind a fence or glass. This day means the end of my sanity and my life as I know it. I know that I likely won't be here when that day comes, but somehow, I know I'll feel it wherever I am. I am not a religious person and do not believe in God or heaven. What kind of God would allow this world to die as a result of his favorite children? What kind of God would sit back and watch it happen? No God of mine and hopefully, not one of yours. Despite my disbelief in the afterlife, I do believe in karma -I do believe in experiencing harm as the result of harm you've done to others (creatures and humans alike). This is why I believe I'll feel the last days of the WILD come to a close. I feel as though it'll be karma for me not doing enough- not stopping it or fixing the problem. I know I'll feel that pain. And frankly, I pity a world without our animals. I pity a world where the only animals in existence are found in factory farms, zoos, and rescues. I know that the day this happens, I will roll over in my grave.

Sadly, it could happen all too soon.

I'm reading an amazing book that breathes nothing but truth and says nothing but fact. No fiction. Only honesty. If faces the grim ugly truth that we are destroying everything and have been for decades.

The Florida Panther - On The Brink Of Extinction

This book is called, "Monster of God: the man-eating predator in the jungles of history and the mind" by David Quammen. It looks at the way humans view large, 'alpha-predators' and how we have viewed them throughout history. This includes views throughout the history of religion, throughout natural history, and in the new world. Honestly, not much has changed. It's, excuse my French, the same old shit. We fear what we can't and don't understand -that which we cannot relate to. What we fear becomes what we hate and what we hate becomes what we kill.

And all throughout this, we have lost a key component in the characteristics of human beings!

"Among the earliest forms of human self-awareness was the awareness of being meat."

We have lost this. If we, like other mega-fauna, took to the wilds and lived naturally, we would not be the top-predator. We would be DINNER! Without our guns and mass-made weapons, we are nothing but fleshy sacks of meat waiting to be devoured in the natural food chain. People have become so attached and dependent on these things we call 'guns'. I call them 'tools for easy murder'. Whatever happen to playing fair? In the days of the Native Americans, they fashioned their own bows, made with their own hands, from objects found in the wild. They didn't compress metals to provide themselves with instantaneous, easy death. They lived with the land. We do the exact opposite now. We destroy it.

The Atlas Bear - Extinct

Of course a gun will take down a bear, but imagine if the bear could shoot back at you. What would we sink to next? Blowing them up? There is nothing fair about shooting, trapping, or bludgeoning an animal.

Every single person who hunts an animal with a gun and considers it fair needs to put that gun away and face that animal in the wild with their own hands. I guarantee, the human will lose. A tiger versus a human. The human stands no chance. We are merely dinner without a gun. And that is the NATURAL order of things. There is nothing natural about black steel and a bullet.

We've taken it too far and have taken too much. When, I ask, will we give it back?

I'll leave you with a passage on Large Predators from David Quammen's book and I hope it speaks to you in the same matter that it speaks to me.

The Javan Tiger - Extinct

"Those times and those landscapes are disappearing. Alpha predators face special trouble in the struggle for collective survival, because they live at low population densities (spaced by their own hunger and ferocity), require a high energy input per individuals (especially the mammals among them, less so the reptiles and sharks), and need a large area of habitat to sustain a viable population. Many of them have vanished within the last couple of centuries -the Barbary lion, the Atlas bear, the Javan tiger, the California grizzly -and many other populations, subspecies, and whole species are in jeopardy. Because of their charisma -their handsome scariness and their thrill value -they'll probably long remain popular as zoo attractions. But it won't be the same. When they're lost from the wild, they're lost in the deepest sense. Though samples of their DNA may still exist, twitching innoculously in cages or test tubes, their survival as functional members of intact ecosystems in another matter.

"Over six billioon humans currently weigh upon this planet. According to the most authoritative projection now available (from the United Natuons Population Division), five billion more may be added within 150 years. With every additional child comes additional pressure on the productivity of landscape, turning forests into crop fields and rivers into gutters. Under pressure of this kind, alpha predators face elimination. Already, they're being marginalized, diminished in number, deprived of habitat, leached of genetic vigor, constricted within insufficient refugia, extirpated here, extirpated there. One aspect of that trend is thet they're becoming disconnected from Homo sapiens and we're becoming disconnected from them. Throughout our history as a species -tens of millenia, hundreds of millenia, going on two million years -we have tolerated the dangerous, problematic presence of big predators, finding roles for them within our emotional universe. But now our own numerousness, our puissance, and our solipsism have brought us to a point where tolerance is unnecessary and danger of that sort is unacceptable. The foreseeable outcome is that in the year 2150, when human population peaks at around eleven billion, alpha predators will have ceased to exist -except behind chain-link fencing, high-strength glass, and steel bars. After that time, as memory recedes and the zoo populations become ever more genetically attenuated, ever more conveniently docile, ever more distantly derivative from the real thing, people will find it hard to conceive that those animals were once proud, dangerous, unpredictable, widespread, and kingly, prowling free among the same forests, river, estuaries, and oceans used by humanity. Adults, except a few recalcitrant souls, will take their absence for granted. Children will be startled and excited to learn, if anyone tells them, that once there were lions at large in the very world."

I dread the day that I have to explain to my children the very thing this passage speaks of. I dread it more than anything and for this very reason, I almost can't even comprehend having children, nor seeing the worth in a planet without lions, cheetahs, bears, snakes, sharks, crocs, and gators. Vital to my own happiness, I can only imagine the distress a child will have knowing that the lion cubs reared in the zoo will never be free to live in their natural homes with their natural prey, enjoying their natural behaviors. Who would want to tell their kids that?

I don't want to live to see a world without Asiatic Lions or without Tigers, Bears, or any other creature who inherited this world just as we did. We've taken more than our share. We've stolen it and we're taking the very organisms meant for our children to continue to protect. It's a horrible reality and one that animal-lovers, advocates, biologists, scientists, and everyday people will have to live with -a reality that we will have to understand and place blame of the only shoulders responsible... our own.

Are you ready for this world?

I sure as hell am not...

Thanks for reading,

Ashley

The Spectacled Bear and Andean Culture

Photo: A female Andean Bear Cub named Bandit at the National Zoo

Credit: National Zoo

All cultures view the world and the environment through a different cultural lense. Korean culture attributes the creation of Korea to the Asiatic Black Bear. Similarly, the indigenous people of the Andes believe the Andean or Spectacled Bear is responsible for their creation. The Incas consider the Spectacled Bear to be the link between Earth and the Gods. The Quencha believe that the Spectacled Bear is the mediator between humans and the gods. Without the Spectacled Bear, the Quencha cannot reach salvation. In Colombia, the U'wa look up to the Spectacled Bear as their watchful, older brother ("Manoba"). Because of this belief, Columbian Tribes are forbidden from killing bears. In Venezuala, the Yukpa indigenous people believe that the bear was the first version of man and thus, bears are considered holy.



To Read More...

http://www.cecalc.ula.ve/BIOINFORMATICA/oso/culture_cont.htm

What Will Become of the Tasmanian Devil?

What Will Become of the Tasmanian Devil?

My father, for years, carried a Tazmanian Devil doll in his truck. Technically, it was the character Taz from Bugs Bunny. Since I was born, my dad always told me Taz was his favorite cartoon character and that Tazzies or Tasmanian Devils have always fascinated him. I am incredibly sad to say that Tasmanian Devils have now found themselves on the Endangered list.



Photo: Tasmanian Devil with facial tumor disease.
Credit: Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries and Water

Tasmanian Devils are the world's largest (surviving) marsupial carnivore. They are known best by their famous feeding habits, usually becoming so frenzied and aggressive during feeding. These unique and beautiful creatures are being wiped off the face of the planet by a facial tumour disease.

In a number of local and regional populations, up to 90% of individuals have died. Without intervention, the Tasmanian Devil will soon fall onto the same list as its relative, the Tasmanian Tiger. Since the mid-1990's, this disease has taken its effect on the Devil becoming voracious in the last couple years.



Photo: Cancer spreads to the mouth, making it impossible to eat.
Credit: Save The Tasmanian Devil Program

Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) is a contagious form of cancer which is spread by biting. DFTD was discovered in 1996 and resulted in research that revealed that the cancer is spread from one another through fighting. Seeing as Devils are both territorial and incredibly aggressive, biting and fighting are, unfortunately, a natural occurrence. The disease has proven to be predominantly fatal. Officials believe that within 10-20 years the entire species could go extinct.


Symptoms of the cancer are aggressive tumors on the face and neck. This restricts their ability to eat. The span or lifespan of the disease is approximately 3 months, from contact to death. Unable to eat and obtain nutrients vital to their survival, the Tasmanian Devils succumb to starvation and essentially wither away in perhaps the most painful way to die in existence. Slow and withering, this species might leave us. It's so incredibly sad.

In order to prevent this, researchers and scientists are studying new forms of contagious cancers. So far, they've determined that inbreeding among populations may be responsible for the rapid spread of this disease.

As a biology student, I've spent a large ammount of time (by choice) studying genetic viability. So far, I've only studied Asiatic and African Lion viability in full, but I've delved into other species. So far, my conclusion, much like many others, is that decreasing genetic viability is going to result in the extinction of so many species.



Photo: Capable of spreading to the mouth and eyes, DFTD is fatal.
Credit: Save the Tasmanian Devil Program

If Tasmanian Devil populations had not already been pushed into fragments and small populations, this disease would not have spread so easily. Inbreeding in these small populations is common. Inbreeding disables the immune system from recognizing the cancer as foreign.

The only hope for the Tasmanian Devil is in the hands of the Tasmanian government and their insurance population of more than 200 devils. These Devils will be placed in quarantine due to the spread of the cancer through more than 50% of the Devils habitat (existing only on the island of Tasmania). There is little hope for remaining wild populations.

I'm so concerned and now, I can't help but wonder when the cancer will make the leap into other marsupial species and what poor species will follow behind the Devil. It's absolutely frightening. When will this mass extinction and species loss stop?




Here's to hope,

Ashley


Sorry, if this is a little bleak, but I'm kind of at my brink.

Read more...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/22/tasmanian-devils-endanger_n_206633.html

http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/WebPages/LBUN-5QF86G?open

To donate and help save the Tasmanian Devil...
http://www.tassiedevil.com.au/index.html

Ecology of the Andean or Spectacled Bear

Photo: An Andean Bear climbing the tree tops of the Cloud Forests of South America.

Credit: andeanbear.org

The Andean Bear is the only bear found in South America, found in a small and narrow strip running from Venezuela through the Andes. The Andean Bear population of Ecuador is endangered due to habitat fragmentation from livestock farming and the logging industry. As well, Ecuadorian farmers have been known to shoot Spectacled Bears to prevent them from feeding on farming corn. Despite the fact that this is illegal, it is not uncommon and seems to be a common occurence for just about every bear species throughout the world.


Read more...
http://www.andeanbear.org/bear-ecology.html

Spectacled Bear Conservation in Peru

Photo: A Spectacled Bear doing what it loves most.

Credit: Freddy Halliday

A group focused on Spectacled Bear conservation, conveniently nicknamed SBC Peru, is determined to ensure the survival of one of the most adaptable bear species on this planet. Found in the dry forest habitat throughout Peru and other countries in South America, the Spectacled Bear is capable of adapting to hot temperatures, high elevation, and little rain. Via scientific research, education, and working collaboratively with private land owners and rural communitys, SBC Peru continues to be a driving force in the conservation of these bears in Peru. Due to the ever increasing pressure from human encroachment, the Spectacled Bear is incredibly vulnerable to extinction. Large scale sugar cane, rice plantations, free-ranging cattle, and maize cultivation in the uplands have led to incredible loss of the Spectacled Bears' preferred habitat. Considered the strongest climber of all bear species, the Spectacled Bear depends entirely on the trees of these uplands.

Read more...

http://www.spectacledbearconservation.com/about_sbc.html

Human Crimes Against Wildlife (Inhumanity) - ALL ABOUT DOGS!

My Beautiful Dog Who Means The World To Me

As a dog lover and owner, I find the way people treat these creatures absolutely appalling. Mans best friend is supposed to be just that: MAN'S BEST FRIEND! Meaning, you protect your dog and watch your dogs back. You take care of it, you don't harm it or kill it.

My German Shepherd is my best friend in this world. When I need something to pick me up, that's what he's for! When he needs to be fed, loved, and cuddled with, that's what I'm here for! He deserves every bit of love and spoiling he gets. He's laying on my arm as we speak, paw on my chest. What's there to dislike? It's all love. Sure, he's a ham and he occasionally has an accident in the garage while I'm at work, but that is nothing that warrants death or maltreatment.

So many countries throughout the globe do just that: kill dogs and treat them poorly.

I feel today is the best day to post this blog, after just viewing the premiere of "PitBulls and Parolees" on Animal Planet. First, let me go ahead and say... I loved this show. It's absolutely inspiring. Tia and her husband are responsible for the largest Pit Bull rescue in the US. They house and care for 200 Pit Bulls daily and also place them in homes as much as they can. Just today, in their first episode, we witnessed the adoption of a gray Pit Bull named Uggy, who was shot while wondering Los Angeles. This poor dog is missing over half of his tail.

I think this show will help decrease some of the myths and rumors behind the Pit Bull. Deemed outcasts, violents, and evil dogs, these poor pups are essentially left for dead. I feel like this is similar to German Shepherds in a way... They have a reputation, not nearly as bad as a Pits, but whenever I walk my dog, people cross the street in fear or completely stop altogether, asking if he bites. It's shocking to me. My dog is a gentle giant who just wants to lick you to death.

So, this blog is very close to my heart and I hope by reading it, many of you abandon your fear of "killer" breeds like Rotts, Pits, Shepherds, Dobermans, and others. I love all of these breeds and hope to experience having each one as a pet within my lifetime.

Moving on... In this blog, I hope to discuss Dog and Cat Fur Farming, Dog Fighting, Dog Racing, and Dog Slaughter and Culling. All four of these are absolutely disturbing and proof of the depravity of many human beings worldwide.

---

13. Dog Fighting - a global issue that is running rampant in the U.S. (despite the fact that it's illegal!), dog fighting involves raising Staffordshire Terriers (common name "Pit Bull") and other "killer breeds" in brutal, abusive conditions where they are trained and often forced to fight. These animals are never seen by vets due to the owners fear of being exposed. They are bled, bruised, and broken daily... all without medical attention. Worse yet, when the dog is deemed "useless" or is not a "champion, it is destined to be killed in so many cruel ways that I cannot even list.

So many of you have probably seen Animal Cops and seen what a fighting dog looks like. They're scarred, torn apart, terribly infected, and missing ears. Injuries received from the fight are usual incredibly severe and often fatal. Pit Bulls are capable of inflicting serious bruising, deep puncture wounds, and broken bones. So sad is the fact that most dogs used in these events die of blood loss, shock, dehydration, exhaustion, or infection.

Dog fighting doesn't even stop at the dog. Small animals like cats, rabbits, and small dogs are used in the training of these dogs. 9 times out of 10, these animals are stolen pets or animals obtained via ads claiming, "FREE TO GOOD HOME".

These poor dogs receive such bad reps because of the human greed of their handlers. Their reputation makes it dificult to place them in homes and their "training" makes it all but impossible. As a result, thousands of Pit Bull are killed, unfairly, every year because they're either too aggressive or no one adopted them fast enough.

Also, as well as the torture in the ring, handlers will take matters into their own hands, performing procedures only meant to be done by a Vet. Ear cropping is a common practice for Pits, Dobermans, Manchester Terriers, Pinschers, and Great Danes. It is meant to make the dog look less cute and more fierce. As well the removal of floppy ears prevents ears from being grabbed during fights. Dog handlers will essentially chop the ends 65% of the ear off. 95% of the time, handlers won't even attempt to stitch the wound or cover it. This leads to massive infection and intense pain for pit bull puppys. Pit bull pups are among the cutest puppies of all breeds... how people can look these puppies in the eye and just chop their ears off is baffling to me...

Can't we finally put an end to this exploitation of Man's Best Bud?

14. Dog Racing: another global issue, Dog Racing is exploitation at it's finest. In fact, it surpasses Horse Racing by far. Dogs are kept in small, dirty kennels for years at a time. These animals are subject to small crates without air circulation or heat. They are subject to intense heat and inclement weather.

The Grey Hound is the most common dog used in dog racing and they often sustain injuries when racing. Often, after they receive an injury or they're not fast enough, they're disposed of in cruel, disgusting ways.

The industry is responsible for the breeding of tens of thousands of Grey Hounds every single year. This is much more than what is deemed necessary and what can be placed on a track. Mainly, the industry believes that, by breeding thousands, they are more likely to get a winner. All of these dogs are generally disposed of after their first year on the track. Grey Hounds, whose lifespans are 13 years, are destined to die around 3 to 4 years.

Luckily, many dogs are adopted into rescue centers where homes can be found, but more than that, thousands, are not rescued and are just, simply put, killed. The industry utilizes the cheapest methods to destroy these dogs including gunshot, bludgeoning, abandonment, and starvation. Many owners will often just cut the dogs head off... So disturbing.

Like Dog Fighting, small animals are used in the training activities. These training activities have been known to injure and kill thousands of domestic rabbits and wild jackrabbits every year. The particular event that kills the most rabbits is known as "coursing", which involves the chasing, terrorization, and killing of the rabbits within fenced in runs.

I've actually witnessed a pair of ex-racers at a rescue center. They were horribly skinny, nervous, and just plain scared of everyone. I felt so bad for them and all I wanted to do was hug them. Because of their fear, I wasn't allowed. The rescue was afraid of potential dog bites. I left the rescue crying. Why we do these things to dogs, I'll never understand.

15. Dog Slaughter and Culling - a problem in many Middle Eastern, East-European, and Asian countries, dog culling has been taken as the only option for countries with poor animal control organization. In order to dispose of large populations of street dogs, locals utilize horrible methods. Most dogs are beaten to death in the street in front of children. Some are tossed in garbage trucks to be compounded into mush. Despite continuous appeals from other countries, begging for them to stop, most of these culling countries continue on, using the same practices.

I don't feel the need to preach about spaying and neutering. It is incredibly important in controlling dog and cat populations. It is both humane and effective. That's all I need to say. Many of you should already know this.

Just an example of this issue... Every year, thousands of dogs and cats are poisoned in Greece. The Greeks wait for the tourists to clear out during winter months and then they put broken glass in dog food to kill strays. Unfortunately, strays aren't the only ones killed by this method. Many loved and owned pets are killed by these methods.

China is perhaps the most visual country who participates in this horrible act. Officials will announce a cull and then it's in the hands of the locals, who eat dog meat! Dogs are beaten to within an inch of their lives with clubs and then, often, skinned alive for their fur and chopped up to be eaten for dinner. A group I actively support, Animals Asia, is the leading organization fighting against this cruelty in China.

This, to me, is so incredibly painful to even think about. I always imagine what it would be like if Klause and I lived in China. I know for a fact... if someone tried to kill my dog, they'd be the one suffering from a cull. I'm so sick of hearing "people first, animals later". People are evil. I am not a god-fearing person, but I think the Lutherans got it right when they said that humans are inherently evil. I thank Darwin for the few people who actually care about animals.

---

Some days, it is sooo hard to wrap my head around some of these things. So many questions spring to mind... WHY are people doing this? WHO is doing this and who has the heart to do something like this? WHEN is this going to stop? It's so frustrating not having the answers and knowing that everyday, every hour, and every minute this goes on and countless numbers of sentient, peaceful animals are murdered. It's almost too much to bare... and yet, so many people just let it happen.

I'll never get it... I'll never understand. These poor dogs don't deserve this.

Thanks for reading,

Ashley

The Victims of Plastic Fishing Nets

Photo: A turtle trapped in a plastic net is cut loose on the Kenyan coast

Credit: Daniel Floren

As so many are aware, the ocean is being attacked by plastic -plastic debris, plastic nets, and plastic pollution. Turtles are trapped yearly, around the globe, by the plastic nets of local and commercial fisherman. Many die while few are lucky enough to be cut free. Turtles are not alone either. In a recent case, a large whale shark was caught in a plastic fishing net. This whale shark bled to death after having it's tail cut off by the fisherman, who didn't want to cut his net.

Photo: Sea Turtle Trapped In Net Found In North Pacific Garbage Patch

Credit: crazicalvin911 of Zanga.com

An Ocean Of Birds Filled With Plastic

Photo: Part of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Credit: Clementine Northwest (clementinenw.com)

Recently, whilst reading my normal issue of Rolling Stone, I came across something incredibly shocking... When one thinks of Rolling Stone, you don't generally think of the environment. Shockingly enough, right in front of me was a 3-4 page article on Plastic Polution in the Pacific Ocean. I was amazed.

This wasn't any sort of new information for me, because I essentially grew up on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Daily, during school, we were reminded to cut up our soda rings and dispose of our plastic properly. We were even shown pictures of dead sea turtles who mistook plastic rings as jellyfish and choked. I was instantly convinced and took it upon myself, every time we finished a six-pack of soda, to cut those darn rings into as small pieces as possible.

Photo: Sea Turtle Trapped in net found in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Credit: crazicalvin911 of Zanga.com

Well, despite my previous knowledge, the article brought to light a couple of things I did not know. This article was called "An Ocean Of Plastic" and was written by Kitt Doucette.

In the Pacific Ocean, there is this thing called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. As you can tell from the title, it is a large patch of nothing but garbage!

How was it formed? The improper disposal of trash and plastic results in piles of garbage which enter the sea and are swept up by a swirling vortex called the North Pacific Gyre. The North Pacific Gyre is 10 million sq. miles in size. This vortex is a slow moving clockwise motion that pulls garbage and other materials into the center of the gyre, creating what is now known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch... What is shocking to me is the fact that this garbage patch is twice the size of TEXAS!

As if this intense pollution isn't a big enough problem, this patch of garbage is responsible for the accumulation of plastics in aquatic birds. Not only do they ingest these plastics, which they cannot digest, but these plastics release toxins capable of causing insurmountable damage and even death. So, aquatic birds eat this plastic detritus (of sorts), cannot digest it, often choke or starve to death. How do they starve? Well, due to the fact that they cannot digest any of this plastic, they fail to absorb nutrients. Birds are known to feed on just about anything, so they continue to feed on this plastic, creating a basic diet of pollution. This diet of plastic disrupts reproduction due to DDT content and causes cancers and skin lesions. It is believed that plastic debris kill an estimated 100,000 marine mammals and over 1 million sea birds every single year. This plastic pollution can essentially sign the extinction/death certificates of millions of birds and hundreds of species...

Photo: Decomposed Sea Bird Filled With Plastic

Credit: Maarten Eynde

and yet, we're not really doing anything about it! Aside from enforcing and preaching about reducing the amount of plastic utilized and disposing of plastic waste properly, we've essentially done nothing at all.

And realistically, the only thing we can do is scoop it all up... but then, what do we do with it?

Yet another challenge for environmentalist and wildlife biologists...

Please guys! Buy an aluminum water bottle! Dispose of your garbage properly and keep it out of our oceans!

Thanks for reading!

Ashley

Hippos as Ecosystem Engineers in the Okavango

Photo: Hippo moving through the Okavango River Delta

Credit: Kim Katsu

Every year in Botswana, South Africa, the arid plains of the Kalahari Desert are transformed into a lush wetland via the annual flood of the Okavango River Delta. This desert becomes an expanse of channels, lagoons, swamps, and islands. During this period of time, the Kalahari becomes absolute paradise for the many species of Botswana. What people don't know is that, in order for the Okavango to flood, the Hippopotamus deserves most of the credit. Every year, as the rains start to take their course, the Hippopotamus begins to migrate through the soft mud and sand, creating the very channels that enable the flood. Without the Hippos, thousands of animals would die each year. It is these little details that remind me how much the world really doesn't need us. The river delta doesn't need us to build man-made river trenches, it just needs its Hippos.

Ecosystem Roles of the Malayan Sun Bear

Ecosystem Roles of the Malayan Sun Bear in the Wild

Photo: Wild Malayan Sun Bear in Tree Canopy

Credit: Siew Te Wong


Malayan Sun Bears, Helarctos malayanus, belong to the Class Mammalia and the Order Carnivora. Despite their order, Sun Bears are actually not true carnivores and typically utilize plants and fruits as a more common food base. Sun Bears, as with most charismatic megafauna, are incredibly important to the environment in which they live. Sun Bears fill a number of niches in their natural habitat. Among these niches, Sun Bears are integral units in the growth of forest vegetation. Due to their constant consumption of plant matter and vegetation of all life stages, Sun Bears aid in the dispersal of seeds in two ways. One way is the carrying of seeds on their fur which would be deposited as they travel across the forest. The second way is via Sun Bear excrement where seeds will have their protective coating broken down by the bears digestive system. These seeds will be deposited in the bears nutrient-thick waste which will fertilize and enable successful plant growth. Without the Sun Bear, vegetative biodiversity in Malaysia would drastically decline.

Read more...

http://carnivorecology.free.fr/pdf/MalayanBear.pdf

Eating Habits of the Malayan Sun Bears of Borneo

Eating Habits of the Malayan Sun Bears of Borneo

Photo: Sun Bear feeding on the insects of decaying wood in Deerland Park in Bukit Rengit, Lanchang, Pahang.

Credit: Deerland Park Sanctuary

During a two year period from 1998-2000 wildlife biologist, Siew Te Wong, performed a study on the Malayan Sun Bears in the tropical forests of Borneo. The objective of the study was to determine the eating habits and natural diet of the Malayan Sun Bear. In the Ulu Segama Forest Reserve of Sabah, Malaysia, they analyzed scat samples, examined feeding sites, and directly observed the natural behaviors of Sun Bears. They discovered that a large ammount of the Sun Bear's diet consisted of invertebrate insects. This appeared to be the most common staple of their diet. Their diet also consisted of figs and the occasional (very uncommon) feeding on small vertebrates. The biologists also observed feeding sites and determined that Sun Bear feeding sites usually consisted of decaying wood, tree stumps, and cavities utilized by insects as nesting. The study group concluded that Sun Bears are opportunistic omnivores who consume a variety of food items. As well, they determined that, when given the opportunity, Sun Bears would scavenge from other predators like Tigers and other large mammals.

Read more...

http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/URSUS/Vol_13/Wong_13.pdf

The Future of the Wild Malayan Sun Bear

Photo: A female Sun Bear, with a small cub, killed simply for being found on an oil palm plantation.

Credit: New Straits Times

"A small Sun Bear cub, with a rather rotund body and bright, pleading eyes, is trussed up like a chicken."

Just after a picture was taken, the cub mentioned above was taken into a kitchen and slaughtered as it screamed. Siew Te Wong describes this as a similar fate for most bears who come into contact with men in Borneo. Bornean Sun Bears are under threats from all sides. They are poached for their bile or paws, killed as pests, taken for the pet trade, and threatened by the loss of their homes.

Read more...

http://www.oregonzoo.org/Conservation/bearAwareness/WildTimesJan08.pdf

Human-Imposed Threats to the Sun Bears of Borneo

Photo: Freshly killed Sun Bear for its meat and parts…
Credit: Siew Te Wong

Human-Imposed Threats to the Sun Bears of Borneo

Eric Meijard, an ecologist, surveyed the human threats to Sun Bears as part of his three year survey (1994-1997) of Bornean Orangutans. During this three year period, Eric conducted a number of field checks and spent a number of days in the towns and villages of Borneo. In these towns and villages, Eric interviewed the locals about Sun Bears. Via these interviews and his various days in the field, Eric identified a number of human-imposed threats to Bornean Sun Bears. His study identified the Use and Sale of Sun Bear Parts, the Keeping of Sun Bears as Pets, Conflict with Humans and Retaliatory Persecution, Hunting, and Habitat Disappearance as key threat to the survival of Sun Bears. Perhaps his most shocking discovery was the fact that not just Sun Bear parts were being sold in Borneo. During his time there, Eric witnessed the sale of Moon Bear, Sloth Bear, and even Polar Bear gall bladders.
Read more…
http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/URSUS/Vol_11/Meijaard_Vol_11.pdf

Captive Sun Bears - From the Wild to a Cute Pet? Or Not?

Photo Credit: Bornean Sun Bear Conservation

(http://sunbears.wildlifedirect.org/)

How do Sun Bears make their way into captivity?

Truth be told, they don't. At least, not at all by choice. Accoarding to Siew Te Wong, a well-known Sun Bear conservationist and ecologist, it is mostly due to the Sun Bear's adorability. Simply put, Sun Bears are just too cute. Part of this cuteness is associated with their size, considering the Sun Bear is the smallest bear species in the world. Due to their size and "cuteness" people, ignorantly, think that Sun Bears are just the best and most perfect pet... Ever! Here is the problem. Sun Bear cubs are captured and sold as pets. However, what you don't know is, in order to capture these cute little guys, poachers often kill the mother and sell her parts, meat, and hide all for profit.



What is the price of cuteness? I guess, people just don't know.

Read more at...
http://sunbears.wildlifedirect.org/2008/06/09/captive-sun-bears-series-i-because-they-are-cute/

Human Crimes Against Wildlife (Inhumanity) 5 - Dancing Bears

As many of you are aware, the eight species of bears have snuck their way into my heart and have made me love them so, so very much. I adore them and the way we treat these beautiful and majestic creatures is absolutely disgusting.

What also disgusts me is the fact that, ALREADY, six of these beautiful species are already threatened with extinction. That is 75% of our bear species that could simply dissappear due to our own stupidity and ignorance.

I can't imagine Earth without our bears and my question is: would this world be worth living in without species like the Asiatic Moon Bear, the Sloth Bear, the Grizzly Bear, or the Polar Bear? Honestly, I don't think it would be and I think I'd lose all faith in humanity if we continue to fail to protect them.

Have you ever seen a black bear in it's natural habitat? I have been lucky enough to experience this and seeing this natural display of behavior is something I will cherish for the rest of my life.

If you have ever seen a polar bear, in a zoo or on television, you cannot deny their power and their absolute beauty. This is the case for so many of us and yet we subject bears to such torture.

These days, it doesn't even stop at torture. Bears are under such threat and so much pressure for numbers of reasons that go beyond bear bile farming, bear baiting, and dancing bears. Bears are poached illegally throughout the world for trophies and body parts. Whether it be their reproductive parts used for aphrodisiacs or for their bones, teeth, and claws which are used to ward off evil spirits, the bottom line is: it's effin' wrong.

As if bear baiting and bear bile farming are not enough, bear dancing just adds onto it.

---

12. Dancing Bears - as an issue remotely in India, Pakistan, SriLanka, and Bangladesh, bear dancing takes the cake. Such stoic animals, it is no wonder why bears are continuously subjected to such harm and inhumanity.

Imagine it.

You're a young sloth or black bear (or a cub). You lived a lovely natural life in the wild, until one day, you were renched from your mother or the natural habitat you had just begun to call home. You have just been poached from the wild and nine-times-out-of-ten, your poacher killed your mother.

As a baby or young one, you have no idea what's going on, but the next thing you know, your claws are being ripped out; your teeth are being broken and destroyed by a hammer. This is all to make you easier to handle. Along with this, a hot rod has been shoved up your nose, searing a hole through the top of your snout. Later, a rope will be threaded through this hole. This is the rope that will force you to dance.

Your handler will raise this rope above your head, forcing you to stand up and bend to his will just to escape the pain. This is what they call dancing. Your handler may also train you a different way- a horrible way. The Roma (gypsies) training method will involve greasing your paws and having you stand on hot plates while music plates. You will hop on the plate to avoid the pain and your handler will interpret this as dancing. Eventually, you'll associate the music with the pain and dance repetitively anytime music is played.

Now that you've imagined this, can you call it 'entertainment'. It is not entertainment, it is cruelty. Some say this is tradition, but I call bullshit! Cruelty is cruelty no matter where it occurs. Most human beings have essentially the same sense of right and wrong, but somehow monetary gain has blurred the line. How people can sit and watch this act is astonishing and absurd at all the same time.

Which would you rather see?

A happy, shy, but curious bear in its natural home...
or...
a bear at the end of a rope forced to withstand amassed cruelty?

My answer is simple and yours should be too.

Many of you have probably never even heard of a sloth bear. Sloth bears live on the Indian subcontinent, where their habitat has been lost, degraded, and fragmented due to over-harvest of forest products such as timber, fuel, fodder, fruits, and honey. As well, the establishment of monoculter plantations are taking over habitat. Other threats include the settlement of refugees, expansion of agricultural areas, human settlement, and the implimentation of roads. Sloth bears are incredibly threatened due to habitat loss and yet, this isn't enough for the bears to be put through. We have to make everything worse, because that's what humans do: make things worse. Instead of letting sloth bears enjoy the little habitat they have left, we force them to do things so unnatural to them just for our entertainment.

In 2007, it was believed that anywhere from 500 to 2,000 sloth bears were kept in captivity to use as performers. This is a large number when compared to the mere 8,000 that live in the wild. What makes this so sad is that a sloth bear can live up to 20 years in the wild, but once they are captured for this purpose, their life span is cut in over half. Dancing bears hardly ever live to be older than 7 or 8 years of age.

I'm sure many think this is a secluded problem, but its not. Unfortunately, this is an international problem. Until recently, bears were used throughout Europe for this form of entertainment. It is believed that Bulgaria was the last country in Europe to use dancing bears. The spread throughout Europe was due, in large, to the travel of nomadic tribes and gypsies. The last three dancing bears (that we know of) in Bulgaria were surrendered to a sanctuary in June 2007. This was not the end though. There have been several incidents reported in Spain in 2007, despite the European law banning the trade.

Luckily, it is believed that bear dancing will have been completely eradicated by December of this year and that the last remaining dancing bears will finally be released from their pain and into the proper care of a sanctuary. For the sake of humanity and our place as the "healers" of this planet, I hope this becomes reality. It'll definitely lift my heart and convince me that there is still hope for the human race.

---

I honestly believe money has tainted this world and is predominantly responsible for its destruction. Money and the people who seek it with no moral obligation as human beings are the cause of the dancing bear trade. And, for my own sanity, I hope they all burn in hell.

What also shocks me is the state these bears are kept in. These bears symbolize dollar signs for their handlers and yet they cannot be bothered to even care for the animals. The bears are kept in poor, small, and filthy conditions and they are deprived of food and water.

Why?

The handlers are looking for sympathy. They believe by keeping the bear in poor condition, you will feel obligated to give them money, feeling as if you are doing something to help the animal. This is not the case in any way, shape, or form. It is all about the handlers gain and that is what your money goes to. You don't help the bear, you help the handler in continuing his trade.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE! Do not ever support animal shows of any kind! Do not give them your money! Report them so they can be dealt with and cannot continue to torture animals!

BEARS ARE NOT ITEM NUMBERS!!!

Thanks for reading,
Ashley