Animal feeds, wildlife expo & a ‘burning (blog) question’

Giraffe

“Cut Stress By Watching Animals,” read the headline in today’s NYTimes “Home” section.  Well sure, in last week’s post, I mentioned binge-watching animal stories on The Dodo as my projected way of escaping all the dark-cloud issues pressing down on us.  

And now, what do you know: this NYTimes article concurs: “A new study has found that watching footage of cute animals can reduce your anxiety, blood pressure and heart rate.” 

Aside from the fact that there are always “new studies” of some kind and aside from the descriptor “cute” that I think is condescending toward the animals, I agree.  

I subscribe to the daily Dodo, which arrives automatically, but I could also send myself links to the 8 animal feeds mentioned in the Times (link below). Then I could simply open that one email and click to watch giant pandas in China, gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo, sea creatures featured by the Monterey Bay Aquarium or hippos, giraffes and others at the San Diego Zoo.   

And kittens and cats too, of course!  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/03/at-home/best-animal-feeds.html

Wild Animal Expo

I’ve often written about elephants here, mentioning Save the Elephants as my support organization of choice, and its Elephant Crisis Fund as the US-based way to donate through the Wildlife Conservation Network, in San Francisco (wildnet.org).

That estimable organization is sponsoring a “Virtual Wildlife Conservation Expo 2020” on two Saturdays – Oct. 10 and Oct. 17, 8 am-2 pm (PDT) -- coming up very soon.  The expo will feature conservationists in the field, wildlife champions from around the world, presentations from all WCN’s conservation partners and updates from each of WCN’s wildlife funds.

Q&A sessions and a talk with Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE are also on the agenda, as are two screenings on Wednesday, Oct. 14 of Birth of the Pride, a documentary story of an incredible pride of lions, by Dereck and Beverly Joubert.  

Jellyfish                Jeffrey Hamilton pic

Just imagine learning more about wild animals like painted dogs in Zimbabwe, Malaysia’s dolphins, the wolves of Yellowstone, Uganda’s mountain gorillas, pangolins in Asia, elephants on the African plains, lions on the African savannas, polar bears and grizzly bears and three other bear species on multiple continents. . . and more. 

A full speaker schedule is at WCNEXPO.ORG, which is also the place to register for the Expo.  Since the event begins next Saturday, it’s advisable to register by Wednesday, Oct. 7, when the process will be simpler.  

(The ticket price is $100, but registrants can pay “whatever price works best for you” or join free of charge.  With questions about registering or participating in Expo, contact planners at 415-202-6380 or virtualexpo@wildnet.org.)

Blogger’s 'burning question'

Readers of these blog posts may have noticed inconsistencies in appearance here lately, something that has frustrated me because I’ve been working with format changes I can’t change or control, at least so far.  

I’ve sought help from someone much better at dealing with such things than I’ll ever be, but naturally that can’t continue indefinitely. 

Therefore, this question: Can anyone recommend another, better, simpler blog platform (if that’s even the right word!) than the one I’m now struggling with?  I believe there must be better places to blog than this one so my time and focus can return to the animals I want to continue writing about.

I hope hear from you.  Thanks!

                                  Lucy Gutierrez, NYT illustration

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