Of bears & dogs, conserving wildlife & heroes for animals

                                                                         DEP pic

Oh, woe!  Here we go again: Another cruel and needless dog death in Sparta, NJ, reportedly by a bear.  RIP, poor innocent Tommy!  What a shame if your owner didn’t look around before letting you out last Wednesday night. 

Were there outdoor lights on?  Living in bear territory, did your owner look out for you once you were outside?  Was a bear around because your owner, and possibly neighbors too, has attracted bears to the area by careless trash disposal?

The Times of Trenton story included a link to DEP safety tips (nj.gov/dep/fgw/bearfacts_safetytips.htm). I skimmed them but didn’t see anything about bear-proof trash cans, long recommended for use to deter bears.  

Conservation-by-teamwork

Last fall’s expo by the Wildlife Conservation Network surprised me with one piece of news: Kenyan elephants are now less threatened by poachers than by people living – and growing crops and building roads, railways and bridges  – on shared land areas.

This reality stressed the importance of  experts engaging with local people to help them co-exist with animals sharing their territory.  

To protect both the elephants and the people’s way of life, conservationists partner with local residents, working with them at grass roots levels to assure and maintain elephant migration corridors as human development increases along with population growth.

Collaboration among organizations having to do with elephants aims to remind local people how to live with animals to avoid conflict. (Earlier blog posts here described jointly-developed ways to deter elephants from raiding crop gardens and other “people projects.”)

Also in Kenya, efforts to keep lions from going after livestock have included widespread planting of grasses for them.  “Saving livestock from lions is saving the lions!” one person exclaimed.

Meanwhile, in Mozambique, assuring that people have the power of decision-making that they had historically practiced, has helped break down walls between the interest groups involved.  In short, co-existence between people and animals is vital for wildlife welfare.

“Outside” experts working with local communities toward mutual goals and involving those to be affected by decisions in their development – these two principles are not unique to Africa.  In fact, they are established management techniques in the US.

Heroes for animals

And since I’ve asked blog readers to identify “heroes for animals” they know of, I’m suggesting a couple myself right now.  They are members of a statewide animal advocacy organization, the Animal Protection League of NJ, now nearing 40 years of active advocacy for our state’s animals.

It’s one thing for a person to be an organization member, period.  It’s quite another for a member to work far, far beyond expectations on behalf of animals.  For instance, one APLNJ member attended over 50 town meetings to advocate for non-lethal goose management!

"D's goose"

Just imagine spending numerous evenings meeting with town reps to talk up ways to manage geese without killing them.  And "D" got goose-saving positive results – as well as geese who came to recognize her and seemingly showed their thanks when they approached her. 

In her “free” time, the same member also works on positioning billboards on animal issues around the state and jumps right in on other special projects.  

Another APLNJ member and a TNR expert, helped community cat trappers and caregivers network with the “powers that be” to devise a unified plan -- and carry it out -- for a spay and neuter program for a 30-cat colony.  "S" also built an indoor-outdoor “catio” at her home to assure that cats needing it could be comfortably isolated from others. 

These are only two stellar APLNJ members who are “heroes for animals.”  You can count on reading about still others here too.

(To support this organization’s continuing work for all New Jersey animals, but especially for those persecuted as “invasive” or unwanted, please make a tax-deductible online donation at APLNJ.org.  Thank you!)

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Back to you, readers.  Please tell us about a “hero for animals” you know.  Just go to 1moreonce.blogspot.com.