If only I could so live and so serve the world that after me there should never again be birds in cages. --Isak Dinesen (pen name of Karen Blixen), author (1885-1962)
A true homing pigeon
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| Rock pigeon |
She soon learned that “Valley” regularly hitched rides that
way. Even so, shelter employees feared
for the bird’s safety with the animals around so they put the pigeon up for
adoption – and a woman quickly responded.
For a pet her two young sons would love, she drove three hours to pick
up the new family member.
Predictably, Valley rode home on the front seat or the driver’s head. No cage at home, either: her new mom ordered cloth pigeon diapers, along with a harness and leash for outdoors. https://tinyurl.com/42nj7pnb
My reaction to this story: utter amazement. Not only do people adopt pigeons, but they
also buy diapers and an amazing range of toys and accessories for them! Online adoption tips cited the birds’ fine
qualities, historical, helpful bonds with humans and sheer deservingness.
‘More money than . . .’
“Human interest” stories in at least two newspapers recently featured a young boy who had long wanted a pet octopus. Apparently indulgent and well-off, his father arranged for that to happen, in a tank in the boy’s bedroom.
It gets “better.” The
“pet octopus” -- talk about contradiction in terms -- then proved to be
female, not the expected male, producing some 50 baby octopuses, all needing individual
care. About half of them died and survivors
now live with a friend while the father reaches out to aquatic institutions that
may home them.
This story began at the point of the ridiculous and quickly
moved to the point of animal abuse. It started
with the first octopus, who should never have been taken from her natural
habitat to satisfy a spoiled child’s ignorant desire, humored by his father, a
true spoiler.
What will this boy pine for when he’s 10 or 11? https://tinyurl.com/2s3a75j9
No friend of felines
Animals in brief
If you’re looking for it, there’s abundant media news about both wild and domesticated animals. A short while
ago, there was Flako, the male Eurasian eagle-owl who captivated New Yorkers
and far-away others with his flying-free exploits. But before he could enjoy even a year of freedom, the majestic bird died.
The necropsy indicated there was rat poisoning in his system – as had
been feared once Flako learned to hunt for food in rat-ridden Manhattan -- and he
had apparently crashed into a building before falling and dying. A sad end for the bird, who had been illegally
freed from the zoo where he lived.
Migratory species – birds, whales, sharks, elephants, jaguars and other
big cats -- are experiencing population declines, according to a first-time United
Nations report. The “two most pervasive
threats” are habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation resulting from agriculture
and overexploitation caused by hunters and fishers.
Dominionism. Again.
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