Should we hope or despair for the animal world?

To say “woe is me” on behalf of animals and the world in general is almost too easy these days.  We merely have to look around, listen and read to know bad things are happening to animals everywhere.

Only consider:

1 -- Drop that avocado!   Monarch butterfly numbers are falling precipitously at both of their migration destinations, California and Mexico.  The growing scarcity of milkweed along their routes -- development everywhere! -- and loss of habitat (ditto) and use of pesticides . . . have all “contributed” to the Monarchs’ dramatic decline.  

In Mexico, where they used to be photographed in trees so butterfly-dense the trees were obscured, forests are now being cleared so farmers can grow avocados -- the latest (profitable) fad food.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/09/science/monarch-butterfly-california.ht ml?em_pos=medium&emc=edit_sc_20190115&nl=science-times&nl_art=4&nlid=20760274emc%3Dedit_sc_20190115&ref=headline&te=1

  

2 -- Don’t pet the longhorn!  The fight to rid professional sports teams of names that demean Native Americans is still underway.  Concurrent with that campaign is advocates’ wish to halt the practice of sports teams having live animal mascots . . . like longhorn steers.  (You read it right: cattle. with looooong pointed horns.)

                                                                                                          Dodo pic

So there was Bevo, the humongous 1,700-pound live mascot of the “Texas Longhorns” (University of Texas), who suddenly spotted the bulldog mascot of the University of Georgia “Bulldogs.”  Bevo broke loose and charged toward a crowd of bystanders, laboriously restrained by his handlers.  (You read it right again: yes, this mascot needs handlers, and strong ones too.)

It’s inhumane for the animals involved (involuntarily, of course), as well as potentially deadly for people.  Please sign the petition in this Dodo story to end the nonsense.

https://www.thedodo.com/on-the-farm/animal-advocates-warns-texas-longhorns-after-bevo-stampedes

3 -- Runaway cow inspires bill:   Remember Brianna, the cow who jumped from a trailer taking her to slaughter, then just a few days later gave birth to “Winter” at the sanctuary where she found lifetime refuge?  Now a new bill in the NJ legislature, “Brianna’s Law” would make it illegal to kill a pregnant cow, with possible fine and prison penalties.

                                         APLNJ pic

If the bill becomes law, that’s great for pregnant cows, at least.  But what about pregnant, or nursing, bears?  And their cubs?  Any chance of a bill to protect them?  Or far better still, any chance of a total ban on bear hunts in NJ?  (Despite his campaign pledge to end bear hunts here, our governor still claims his hands are tied on other than state property.  Claimed ignorance is bliss.)

4 -- And the killing (a.k.a. “deer management”) continues

   

Non-lethal, humane animal management appears to be unheard of in Mercer County.  This deer hunt goes on and on in area parks.  Who OK’d this method, and why?  Were time and cost involved, as in too much time to bother studying non-lethal options, and/or too costly to “manage” humanely?  

And who is against the hunt -- what have deer defenders done and what might they do (more effectively) next time around?   When will decisions about “deer management” be made for 2019-20?

The temptation to despair can seem irresistible at times.  The state of the world, especially the world of innocent animals -- variously tortured by hunting, poaching, slaughtering, experimentation, habitat loss -- seems to worsen every day, causing more and more animals to be endangered and hurried toward extinction. 

It can feel as if “the end is near!” as we humans thoughtlessly keep blundering through this Anthropocene era (the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment) of our own making.

Can anything be done to help reverse this shameful scenario?  Please see the next post . . . .

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Unicorns & jellies through snails & tortoises to dogs

Narwhal                                             London Review of Books image 

Whales tales aren’t over just yet.  Soon after my last post, I came upon this article about the narwhal (NAR-wall) -- a small, elusive Arctic whale a.k.a. the mythical unicorn of old.  Check out that tusk and you’ll immediately understand why.

It seems that besides prompting myths, the narwhal’s tusk (a tooth that grows out through the upper lip, twisting counter-clockwise) became a be-jeweled staff or a drinking horn among royalty in the middle ages.  (Best not to ask what happened to the narwhal itself.)   

https://www.lrb.co.uk/v41/n01/katherine-rundell/consider-the-narwhal?te=1&nl=cooking&emc=edit_ck_20190111

That ancient lore leads to another denizen of the deep: jellyfish -- regarded by some as ethereally beautiful and by others as rubbery stinging creatures to be feared and avoided.  How about eating them: any takers?  Would it be “thanks” or “no thanks” from other sea residents?  Till now, the assumption was that most other ocean animals took a pass on eating jellyfish.

                               NYTimes image

Only recently have scientists learned that contrary to those assumptions, jellies have a major place in the sea world food chain.  New analysis techniques have allowed discovery of numerous sea animals whose diet consists largely of jellyfish. “There’s a lot more to jellyfish than jelly,” one surprised scientist said.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/28/science/jellyfish-predators-oceans.html?em_pos=medium&emc=edit_sc_20181002&nl=science-times&nl_art=0&nlid=20760274emc%3Dedit_sc_20181002&ref=headline&te=1

R.I.P. George

Then there’s the snail.  Once upon a time on earth, snails were prevalent; now -- as is the case with many animals -- their presence has diminished.  One variety native to the Hawaiian Island of Oahu became extinct on Jan. 1 with the death of “George,” the thumbnail-size 14-year old lone known survivor of the Achatinella apexfulva species.

George

His death coincided with the steady decline of land snails around the world.  At one time, for instance, 750 species were identified on the Hawaiian Islands.  Now more than half of those are extinct, with the “usual suspects” to blame: invasive predators, habitat destruction and the effects of climate change.    

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/10/science/snail-dead-george-species.html?em_pos=medium&emc=edit_sc_20190115&nl=science-times&nl_art=5&nlid=20760274emc%3Dedit_sc_20190115&ref=headline&te=1

Tempting tortoise shells 

Speaking of animal extinctions, consider the radiated tortoise (possibly for the first time, I know!) -- once numbering in the millions, but now looking extinction in the face within 20 years.  Their high-domed shells have star patterns that appeal to would-be pet owners all over; that fact was all wildlife poachers and smugglers needed to know.  They “collect” tortoises in the forest of southern Madagascar (the island off the southeast coast of Africa), then crate and ship them around the world.

                                                                                                  Dodo image

Two recent rescue operations freed thousands of the critically endangered tortoises hidden between steps in their illegal trafficking.  But they can’t return to the wild unless their safety is assured, so some 23,000 rescued tortoises must be cared for till then.

https://www.thedodo.com/in-the-wild/thousands-radiated-tortoises-seized-madagascar

Pity the Pitties

The various campaigns to change how people regard “pit bulls” can’t claim victory yet.  Despite all the efforts to “rebrand” these dogs, whose reputation still prompts people to give them a wide berth and assume the worst, pit bulls are still feared -- as well as discriminated against.

The irony is that “pit bull” isn’t even a specific breed -- that umbrella label covers “a variety of purebred dogs as well as mixes that share characteristics but not DNA,” according to an APCA official.  And the tragedy is that “pit bulls have the greatest intake and euthanasia rate at shelters,” she adds.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/04/style/pit-bull-pibble.html

CCD: sad but real

Canine cognitive decline, or CCD, is the name for what can happen as pets grow older.  (The human equivalent is dementia.)  Although CCD comes with various signs -- soiling indoors, seeming anxious, changed sleep patterns, meowing or barking for no apparent reason -- those signs can also signal health problems.

A recent “Pets” feature asked “Does your dog have dementia?”  Happily, it includes numerous things pet parents can do manage symptoms.

https://tdn.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/could-your-dog-have-dementia-here-s-what-you-need/article_b209edaf-a41c-5742-a788-2011aa3b87b6.html

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A whale of a lot of info about a marine mammal

"Faster than a speeding bullet!  More powerful than a locomotive!  Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!"

No, wait: That’s the wrong script!

It should go this way: “Heart the size of a Volkswagen Beetle!  Jaws the height of a football goal post!  Aorta that a human could crawl through!”  And most dramatic: “The largest animal in the world” -- in fact, “the largest animal to have ever lived on earth!” -- yes, even larger than the dinosaurs.

                           Blue whale                                                 NYT pic

It’s “SuperWhale,” a.k.a. the blue whale.  Part of the baleen species (including right whales, humpbacks, etc.), it has flexible protein plates (think bristles) hanging in rows from its upper jaws, to filter food from sea water.  Both their baleen plates and two blow holes distinguish baleen whales from toothed whales (with one blow-hole), the second of two basic suborders, which includes sperm whales, orcas and all dolphins and porpoises.   

http://www.whaleroute.com/class/index.htm

Blue whales can grow to about 100 feet (the largest ever measured was 109 feet long) and can weigh around 160 tons.  Newborn “babies” are about 23 feet long and roughly 30 tons in weight.

https://www.afsc.noaa.gov/nmml/education/cetaceans/baleen1.php and

https://www.afsc.noaa.gov/nmml/education/cetaceans/blue.php

                           Baleen whale                       NYT pic

Aptly called “leviathans” -- and sometimes regarded as sea monsters -- whales are marine mammals of the order Cetacea, along with dolphins and porpoises.  Hard as it may be to imagine, “the earliest whales . . . had four legs, a nose, maybe even fur. They had bladelike teeth and lived in habitats that ranged from woodlands with streams to river deltas, occasionally feeding in the brackish waters of shallow equatorial coasts. And they were the size of a large dog.”  

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/23/opinion/sunday/wrap-your-mind-around-a-whale.html?em_pos=medium&emc=edit_sc_20180626&nl=science-times&nl_art=8&nlid=20760274emc%3Dedit_sc_20180626&ref=img&te=1

Not only did whales dramatically evolve from terrestrial to sea creatures exclusively, but they also grew into the giants of the sea we know now.  One theory for that relatively recent happening -- a mere 4.5 million years ago -- is spelled out in the column cited above as well as the new book by the same author, Spying on Whales: The Past, Present, and Future of Earth’s Most Awesome Creatures, by Nick Pyenson, curator of fossil marine mammals at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History.

                Humpback whale                    NOAA pic

Presumably obese, a local DJ claims he’s “living large and loving life.”  Whales could agree with the first part of that descriptor, but the second part’s iffy at best.  Even though safely past the age of whale hunts, great size still has risks that can prevent “loving life” -- or even living it.  Human-caused hazards include becoming trapped by commercial fishing nets, collisions with ships, prevalence of PCBs and garbage-choked seas, climate change and its effect on ocean temps and sea life migrations.    

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/27/science/killer-whales-pcbs.html?emc=edit_sc_20181002&nl=science-times&nl_art=&nlid=20760274edit_sc_20181002&ref=headline&te=1

And at least in Japanese territorial waters, whales are still in great jeopardy.  Long claiming scientific research as its reason for hunting and slaughtering whales, Japan recently dropped out of the pact designed to protect them so it could continue the slaughter.  

https://www.nyt imes.com/2018/12/31/opinion/editorials/japan-whale-hunt-whaling.html?em_pos=small&emc=edit_ty_20190101&nl=opinion-today&nl_art=3&nlid=20760274emc%3Dedit_ty_20190101&ref=headline&te=1

                      Orcas          AP pic

These days, video stories abound of whales saving people from sharks and seeming to show off their babies to humans, as well as “thanking” people who free them from nets.  Whale song has long been recorded and analyzed, if not satisfactorily figured out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTw8MR67xv8&feature=youtu.be and

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/07/science/whales-songs-acoustics.html?em_pos=large&emc=edit_sc_20190108&nl=science-times&nlid=20760274edit_sc_20190108&ref=headline&te=1

Look!  Down in the sea: It's a boat, it's a sub -- it’s SuperWhale!

You cannot begin to preserve any species of animal unless you

preserve the habitat in which it dwells.  Disturb or destroy that

habitat and you will exterminate the species as surely as if you

had shot it.  So conservation means that you have to preserve

 forest and grassland, river and lake, even the sea itself.

--Gerald Durrell, naturalist and author (1925-1995)

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‘Pretty poison,’ faithful friends & hunting’s collateral damage

That stunning summer hibiscus plant with crimson-centered golden flowers, is gone now.  It was so beautiful outside all summer that I decided to bring it indoors to winter over near a south-facing window and bloom again in spring. 

Wrong.

What I hadn’t counted on was Harry, our orange cat, licking the hibiscus leaves whenever I was in the same room with him and the plant.  What’s with that, I wondered numerous times before googling “cats and hibiscus” . . . when I learned the two don’t mix, and the cat comes out the loser, not the plant.

https://pets.thenest.com/cats-eating-hibiscus-blossom-10101.html

At that, the hibiscus went out with the trash.  (But I saved a small branch with a few leaves.  Maybe it will root, out of Harry’s reach.)

The hibiscus experience reminded me of earlier ones.  Like, when I almost bought a plant with great orange flowers -- my fave -- but a little voice advised checking it out for pet safety first.  Good thing I listened: it was on the hazard list. 

Then I realized that overall, plant tags at florists, nurseries and even supermarkets don’t usually include information about possible danger to pets.  Of course the goal is to sell plants, but come on:  what nursery rep wants to face a customer whose pet became sick or died from contact with a plant? 

Now, there’s a campaign for an aspiring activist: require that plants be labeled with pet-safety info as well as growing directions.  And till that happens (don’t hold your breath), would-be consumers should automatically google plant name with cats, dogs, other pets. 

Fido = Faithful

It was a “duh” moment when I read about Madison, the dog who waited weeks for his family’s return to Paradise, California, after wipe-out wild fires destroyed the place. A volunteer left food and water, which apparently helped Madison keep his vigil till he was reunited with his jubilant family.  (Miguel, a second family dog, had been rescued and taken to a shelter; he too was reunited.)

As the story had it, Madison became “one of the many dogs renowned for their fidelity since ancient times.  After all, Fido means ‘faithful.’”  Well, duh!

Which brought up the ancient story of Odysseus, returning home after years away.  His old dog, Argos, had waited for him at the front gates, neglected but steadfast.  At the sight of his master, Argos wagged his tail and flattened his ears; he was the only one to recognize Odysseus.

Hunting’s widespread harm

With no word to the contrary, the deer hunt in Mercer County parks evidently continues.  Also euphemistically known as “deer management,” it will go on till next month.  We can hope only that those who protested this hunt after it began will take action well before it starts again next time. 

Hunting has lethal results for prey animals of course, and that’s bad enough.  What adds to the awfulness, though, is when the lead bullets used also kill other animals, who may feed on lead-tainted carcasses and die of lead poisoning.  According to one estimate, between 10-20 million animals (eagles, hawks, bears, vultures, ravens and coyotes) die that way each year.    

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/24/us/ammunition-lead-bullets-condors.html?emc=edit_th_181125&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=207602741125

Also contributing to some hunters’ switching from lead to copper bullets is the fact that lead bullets can also pollute the game meat people eat.  

The manager of a sanctuary for birds -- among the species hardest hit by lead poisoning --  says, “. . . we moved away from lead in gasoline, paint and plumbing and now we need to do the same with ammunition.”  In the interest of conservation, even some hunters share that view.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/01/opinion/get-the-lead-out-of-bullets.html?em_pos=small&emc=edit_ty_20181102&nl=opinion-today&nl_art=14&nlid=20760274emc%3Dedit_ty_20181102&ref=headline&te=1

A new, and better, year

Despite continuing divisions and political forebodings for 2019, may this year be a good one for animals and those who care about and work for them.

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