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A universe of beauty, mystery and wonder
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Showing posts with label Animals - Endangered. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Animals - Endangered. Show all posts

Sunday, October 30, 2016

BABY PANGOLINS - MEET THESE ADORABLE AND SCALY MAMMALS WHO CURL INTO A BALL WHEN AFRAID - Chinese and Vietnamese are eating pangolins into extinction, killing at lest 100,000 a year - Pangolins are valuable to the ecosystem as insect eaters,

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Baby Pangolin

China, Vietnam, and other Asian countries are killing these useful insect-eaters into extinction:  at least one million pangolins illegally captured and killed in the past 10 years alone.

Baby Pangolin

Not sure what this cute little critter is? Then let us introduce you to the pangolin. They've been around for about 80 million years and they're the only mammals in the world that are covered in scales.

Pangolins’ insatiable appetite for insects gives them an important role in their ecosystem: pest control. Estimates indicate that one adult pangolin can consume more than 70 million insects annually.

Continue reading, see more images of cute pangolin babies, and read about China's cultural tradition of eating pangolins that is driving this extraordinary creature to extinction.

Friday, June 3, 2016

ELEPHANT WOUNDED BY POACHERS WALKS INTO TOURIST LODGE IN ZIMBABWE TO ASK FOR HELP - Out of control poaching is leading wild elephants to extinction in Africa - Elephants at Tanzania's Selous Wildlife Park could disappear in six years due to poaching - All wild African elephants could be GONE IN TEN YEARS

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The wounded elephant was saved after pleading humans for help: Animal approached safari lodge after it was shot by poachers
ONE ELEPHANT IS KILLED EVERY 15 MINUTES ON AVERAGE
  • Bull elephant surprised guests after approaching a Zimbabwe safari lodge 
  • Staff recognised that he was suffering from a limp and then called for a vet
  • The elephant waited patiently for the vet to arrive.
  • Experts found that he had been shot and had a deep wound in his shoulder
  • While treating that wound they also found bullet holes in one of its ears from a previous attack
  • Industrial-scale poaching is taking place all over Africa, including elephant sanctuaries.
  • The poachers are after ivory, which is eventually sold to the Chinese market
  • Beautiful animals are murdered to make ivory trinkets for China and other Asian countries.
  • At this rate of poaching, wild African elephants will be EXTINCT IN 10 YEARS
  • In the meantime World Wildlife Fund reported that elephants in Selous National Park in Tanzania could disappear in less than SIX YEARS
  • The Tanzanian government also allows URANIUM mining and oil and gas extraction in the area, leading to animals' drinking water contamination.
  • Tanzanian Selous Park had 110,000 elephants only 40 years ago.  Only 15,000 are left today, and at least 2,500 are murdered by poachers each year.
  • That's the scale of the massacre of elephants that is occurring all over African elephant wildlife parks - and neither governments nor the public can claim they did not know about it
  • Pictures capture the moment a wounded elephant pleaded with humans for help after it was shot by poachersĀ This is the moment wounded Ben, the elephant, pleaded with humans for help after it was shot by poachers.
     
    Continue reading and see more images

    Tuesday, December 8, 2015

    IT'S NOT CLIMATE BUT HUMAN OVERPOPULATION THAT THREATENS LIFE ON EARTH - Pollution of air, soil and water, as well as SPECIES EXTINCTION, they are all due to OUT OF CONTROL demographic growth - We are a parasitic species trashing planet Earth. - Switching to wind power won't save us. - We need to encourage countries to limit human fertility.

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    • From 200,000 years ago until 1804 the human population rose to ONE billion. 
    • Between 1804 to 1927 it rose to TWO billion. 
    • By 1960 we were THREE billion. 
    • In 2015 we are over SEVEN BILLION.  http://www.census.gov/popclock/
    • Every new human will need food, water, housing, furniture, the farming of cattle and other animals for food, which in turn will have to be fed while they produce enormous amounts of waste.  
    Paying other countries to switch from fossil fuels to green energy won't do it.  Paying them to restrain their demographic growth while taking care of seniors will.
     
    Although Europe had managed to reach an actual slowdown in population growth, the EU elites decided that this was not good for the economy and have thrown their doors wide open to an influx of millions of migrants from the Middle East and other parts of the world where human reproduction is out of control. 
    RIGONCE, SLOVENIA - OCTOBER 26: Migrants are escorted by police through fields towards a holding camp in the village of Dobova on October 26, 2015 in Rigonce, Slovenia. Thousands of migrants marched across the border between Croatia into Slovenia as authorities intensify their efforts to attempt to cope with Europe's largest migration of people since World War II. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
    Migrants flooding Slovenia on their way to
    Germany, Sweden, and other EU countries
     
    Instead of helping other countries (such as Muslim nations, Mexico, and others) to slow down their population growth, the EU and the US are taking the pressure off those places by letting in millions of people who otherwise would be demanding jobs and services from their own governments. 
     
    Opening the doors to migrants is not a compassionate act in the long term.  It is downright detrimental to the future of the planet.
     
    Barbaric: Staff at Hwange National Park have reportedly not received their already low wages and it is feared that the elephant killings in the park may be a form of 'protest' against management
    Elephants massacred
    for their ivory
    No regard for the larger ecological picture.  The prospects for many key animal, vegetal, and microscopic species are dismal.  It's not only charismatic species such as tigers and elephants dying from poaching and destruction of habitat that we need to worry about.  There is also the cutting down of world forests, and the destruction of whole ecosystems.  
     
    Most of the life on this planet is of microscopic size.  We don't really know how human pollution and overconsumption of resources are affecting those creatures - most of whom are crucial for the existence of larger species like us. 
     
    Keep in mind that 90% of the cells in a mammal like us is bacterial.  We look human because our cells are larger, that's all.  But our gut, our skin, and just about every single part of us, are colonized by good bacteria that help keep us healthy and alive. 
     
    Brazilian forest's jaguar
    And so is the case with the entire planet, its soils, air and water.  There is a microscopic living web that keeps all other life thriving.  
     
    While we routinely highlight big animals as victims of human depredations, they are not the most important part of life on this planet:  microbial life is.  
     
    And we have no idea how we humans - with our own parasitic lifestyle of devouring living things, and polluting everything in sight - will affect those invisible species that keep us alive.  
    While we tend to see plants and animals in a tropical forest, but the most important creatures in the web of life are invisible to the human eye. 
    So if you think that humankind can survive quite well in spite of the extinction of elephants, tigers and other megafauna, think again.  We just don't know how we are modifying bacterial life. 
     
    Super bacteria immune to antibiotics make the headlines, but the whole planet is in fact a world filled with microscopic life.  However, with out-of-control human population growth and severe technological modifications of nature, we may reach a fatal environmental tipping point sometime in the current century.  

    A strong image of a man wearing a gas mask inĀ Shenyang city as air pollution levels hit an all time highThis picture is our present.  Air pollution is so bad in China, that big cities such as Shenyang (shown here) and Peking are now almost unlivable.
     
    But to illustrate the effects of human greed and cruelty, let's look at the most iconic animal species now on the verge of extinction.  

    The following article appeared on this blog on September 29, 2014:
     
     
    THE BIG EXTINCTION - HALF OF THE WORLD'S WILD ANIMALS HAVE DISAPPEARED IN THE LAST 40 YEARS due to human destruction of habitat, poaching, and other practices - Overpopulation has turned humans into a parasitic outbreak that is destroying life on Earth, say scientists  
    Endangered: There are only around 3,200 tigers left in the wild - the predators' numbers have declined by a huge 97 per cent in the last 100 years
    Murdered to make medicine for the Chinese
    • Mankind's need for land and resources, combined with hunting and poaching, are causing our wild animals to die out 
    •  Wildlife populations around the globe have declined by 52 per cent on average since 1970, a new report has found
    • The likes of forest elephants, African lions and tigers are under threat, as well as British harbour seals and birds
    • Lion numbers dropped 90 per cent in 40 years, tigers by 97 per cent in 100 years and elephants 60 per cent since 2002
     

    Continue reading

    Tuesday, November 24, 2015

    GERMAN SHEPHERDS AND SIBERIAN TIGERS - BEST FRIENDS at a Slovakian animal sanctuary - Siberian tigers are endangered and facing extinction due to hunting in Russia

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    Suria the Siberian tiger was bred at the wildlife sanctuary and has grown up alongside Jenny the German shepherd, right
    Best friends forever.

  • Suria the Siberian tiger lives at a Slovakian wildlife sanctuary along with her four-month-old cub, Sunny 
  • The two-year-old tiger is close friends with a pack of three German shepherds called Blacky, Hugo and Jenny
  • The animals were all born at the Oasis wildlife sanctuary in Senec, Slovakia run by big cat expert Yveta Irsova
  • According to volunteers, the sanctuary is part of a breeding programme to help save the Siberian Tiger  
  • The oasis opened in 1999 and houses 28 tigers, 23 of which were born there
  • The Siberian tiger is facing extinction because of hunting and a loss of its natural habitat in its native home in far eastern Russia

  • See more delightful images of these animals at play

    Thursday, November 12, 2015

    INDONESIA'S FIRES CALLED A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY - ORANGUTANS AND OTHER ANIMALS ARE THREATENED BY FOREST FIRES deliberately set by villagers to clear land - Much of Southeast Asia under a poisonous haze that affects people's health

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    While the US president and other leftist leaders blame the West for climate change (they don't call it global warming anymore), countries in Asia are perpetrating ecological crimes against humanity.
    More than 1.7 million hectares (4.2 million acres) of land has been burned and six provinces severely affected by the haze, according to Indonesia's forestry ministry
    More than 1.7 million hectares (4.2 million acres) of land has been burned and six provinces severely affected by the haze, according to Indonesia's forestry ministry  
     
    Fires deliberately set by villagers to clear land are raging across Indonesia, creating thick smog that's believed to be the caused of 500,000 respiratory infections.  The government has been in readiness to evacuate victims from haze-affected provinces, while pollution caused by the fires has killed many and caused respiratory illnesses in half a million.
     
    The conditions are so extreme that Sutopo Puro Nugroho, spokesperson for the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) recently called the persistent haze a "crime against humanity," adding that 43 million people have been inhaling toxic fumes from the smoke for months.
     
    Innocent animals are being victimized
    A few days ago I posted an article on Indonesia deliberately setting forests on fire to clear land, and then attacking defenseless orangutans who try to flee to safety.   It was the heartbreaking story of a starving mother orangutan with a baby reaching a village only to be stoned by villagers.
     
    Nick of time: International Animal Rescue's photo shows a baby orangutan holding onto its malnourished mother while being rescued in Borneo's West Kalimantan province. The pair had escaped a forest fire before being set upon by villagers
     
    An endangered Borneo orangutan and its baby escaped from raging fires in Indonesia that destroyed their forest habitat - only to be attacked by angry villagers.  
     
    The malnourished mother and youngster, called Gito, were found distressed and clinging to one another as locals hurled rocks at them and tried to tie them up before they were saved by International Animal Rescue (IAC).  Read more here
     
    Indonesia's forest fires threaten a third of endangered orangutans.  Fires have spread beyond plantations deep into primary forests and national parks, the last strongholds of the endangered apes.
     
    But not much is being reported about Indonesia's ongoing practice of setting fire to the forests, with the resulting destruction of trees, animals' habitat and animals themselves, and the poisoning of the air with smoke that make people ill, not only in Indonesia but in many other parts of Southeast Asia.  

    Continue reading

    Thursday, October 29, 2015

    DOZENS OF ELEPHANTS POISONED BY THEIR OWN CARETAKERS IN ZIMBABWE HWANGE NATIONAL PARK over pay dispute - They mutilated the animals and made off with their tusks - CHINA is the world's largest consumer of IVORY, which they use to manufacture trinkets

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    A savage end for the elephants killed by men who were supposed to protect them: Slaughtered beasts' remains lie scattered after rangers poisoned them in pay dispute
  • Elephants were slayed using cyanide in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe
  • They put poison in oranges that elephants love.
  • Poachers made off with three ivory tusks after the killings, officials said
  • Deaths bring total number of elephants poisoned in October alone to 62
  • Other wildlife killed when they ate the poisoned food. 

  • Elephants lie slaughtered on the ground after reportedly being poisoned and mutilated byĀ disgruntled rangers at Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe in a reported pay dispute
    Elephants lie slaughtered on the ground after reportedly being poisoned and mutilated by disgruntled rangers at Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe in a reported pay dispute
     
    THE ANIMAL EQUIVALENT OF GENOCIDE  - Although at present Hwange is well-stocked with elephants, across Africa the population is in steep decline, with 100,000 elephants killed in Africa from 2011 to 2013, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Today, there are fewer than 500,000 on the continent.  Much of the ivory is used to manufacture trinkets for the Asian market, particularly in CHINA. 

    Lying slaughtered on the ground with their heads barbarically hacked off, these elephants are believed to have been killed by the very men who were meant to be protecting them.
     
    They are among 62 elephants who have been killed in Zimbabwe in the last month alone, not by poachers, but poisoned by disgruntled rangers.  Staff at Hwange National Park have reportedly not received their already low wages and it is feared that the elephant killings in the park may be a form of 'protest' against management.

    Continue reading and see additional images

    Sunday, January 4, 2015

    DEFENDING UGLY ANIMALS FROM EXTINCTON - Not as cute as pandas but they have every right to life as any other animal.

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    These creatures have become the surprise stars of a glossy new book - The Ugly Animals: We Can't All be Pandas by Simon Watt - destined for coffee tables in a bid to save them from extinction. Unlike their cute and fluffy cousins in the animal kingdom, the plight of these animals is relatively unknown.  
    The Ugly Animal Preservation Society was set up to champion the cause of endangered creatures with no friends, including (clockwise from top left) the Proboscis monkey, the blobfish, the shoebill, the purple pig nosed frog, the big-headed turtle, and the Pacific lamprey.
     
     The common name of the Titicaca water frog is the scrotum frog, thanks to its extremely saggy skin. Ā But the folds of extra skin are what allows the water frog to survive high up in the Andes in Lake Titicaca. Unfortunatley, there is a belief that eating the aquatic scrotum frog can improve a man’s masculinity and so many are stolen from the lake to be made into frog 'frappĆ©s'. Various zoos around the world are trying to breed them in captivity but have so far had only limited success
    The common name of the Titicaca water frog is the scrotum frog, thanks to its extremely saggy skin.  But the folds of extra skin are what allows the water frog to survive high up in the Andes in Lake Titicaca. Unfortunatley, there is a belief that eating the aquatic scrotum frog can improve a man’s masculinity and so many are stolen from the lake to be made into frog 'frappĆ©s'. Various zoos around the world are trying to breed them in captivity but have so far had only limited success.
     
    See more images of endangered homely creatures

    Friday, December 19, 2014

    BABY ELEPHANT MOURNS HIS MOTHER - THE ONGOING MASSACRE OF ELEPHANTS - And how rescue centers that care for orphans only to release them into the wild to be killed, are unwittingly working for the poachers

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     Orphans are saved and rehabilitated, only to be released into the wild to be murdered by poachers. 
    Thus these centers caring for elephant babies are unwittingly working for the poachers by raising the animals until they are big enough to be killed. 
    Perhaps the public should demand that rescue organizations must place elephants INDEFINITELY in safer natural reserves that are small enough to be protected by enough armed guards. 
    The notion that these wonderful animals bordering extinction can continue to live in the wild comes from a state of complete denial of reality. 

     
    Daily Mail - Heartbreaking moment orphaned baby elephant mourns the death of her mother after she was killed by a poacher's poisoned spear.
  • 10-month-old animal Roi stands over mother's body after raid by poachers
  • Just 24 hours earlier, the animals had been photographed playing together 
  • Roi faced starvation without her mother's milk in Kenya's Masai Mara park
  • But she was dramatically rescued and taken to an orphanage in Nairobi
  • Trainers say she settled in well and has become a 'confident little elephant'
  • Ivory poaching is a huge problem in Africa, killing one elephant every 15 minutes.
  • This is the heartbreaking moment than an orphaned baby elephant mourns the death of her mother after she was killed by a poacher's poisoned spear for her ivory tusks
    This is the heartbreaking moment that an orphaned baby elephant mourns the death of her mother after she was killed for her ivory tusks by a poacher's poisoned spear.   
     
    In the footage, the traumatised animal, named Roi, is seen standing over her mother's dead body following the brutal raid.
     
    Just 24 hours earlier, the endangered animals had been photographed playing happily together in Kenya's Masai Mara National Park. 
    See more images

    Monday, December 15, 2014

    ANGRY RHINO CHARGES AT PHOTOGRAPHER'S HIDDEN CAMERA

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  • A raging rhinoceros charged at a camouflaged long-lens camera at the Kaziranga National Park in Assam, India
  • Fortunately wildlife photographer Dhritiman Mukherjee was not behind the camera when rhino smashed into it
  • He was using a remote trigger to take the shots after trying to get close to the animals for almost 14 days
  • The camera was found covered it mud, but it survived the encounter and was still in perfect working order 
  • See more images

    Wednesday, December 3, 2014

    VIRUS BEHIND STARFISH DIE OFF? - BUT WHAT IS WEAKENING AND KILLING SO MUCH MARINE LIFE? - Could Fukushima nuclear waste being poured into the Pacific be behind the sudden rise in marine life die offs?

    PERPLEXED OTTER©http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/. Unauthorized duplication of this blog's material is prohibited.   Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full credit and link is given to Otters and Science News Blogspot.  Link to this post:   http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2014/12/virus-behind-starfish-die-off-but-what.html
     - Thank you for visiting my blog.
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    • So-called Sea Star Wasting Disease (SSWS) has been killing starfish since 2013.
    • It makes these creatures melt.
    • The still suspected virus was found in marine sediments, plankton, and sea urchins.
    • The evidence pointing to that particular virus is strong, but not yet complete 
    • That virus has been around for decades. So why is it so lethal now?
    • Perhaps other environmental conditions have lead to the increased susceptibility of sea stars to disease.
    • Many point to the ongoing contamination of the Pacific by the Fukushima nuclear plant.
    • It's not just the starfish who are dying.
    • The list of marine animal die offs is staggering (see related article further below on this page)
    • Study shows that the California sea floor is 98% covered with dead creatures. It used to be only 1% before Fukushima.
    Magnificent starSea stars are lovely marine invertebrates with a round central body connected to multiple radiating legs.  In the past year millions of sea stars in the west coast waters of North America have melted into piles of slime and ossicles.

    Sea star associated densovirus might be the cause of this lethal disease.  Sea star wasting disease (SSWD) is characterized by lesions, limb curling and deflation, and death as the animals rapidly degrade or ‘melt’.

    The current outbreak began in June 2013 and has killed sea stars from Baja California, Mexico, to Southern Alaska. SSWD might be the biggest marine wildlife epizootic ever observed.

    Royal starfishEvidence that SSWD is caused by a virus came from experiments in which extracts of diseased sea stars were passed through a filter with pore sizes small enough to allow passage of viruses but not bacteria or other microbes.

    When injected into healthy sea stars, these filtrates induced sea star wasting disease.  

    Field surveys revealed that the virus was more abundant in diseased than in healthy sea stars. The virus was found in marine sediments, plankton, and sea urchins.

    The evidence that this virus causes sea star wasting disease is strong but not yet complete.

    While the authors’ work reveals that sea star wasting disease virus has been present on the North American Pacific Coast for over 70 years, the disease is not always observed.

    The current outbreak has been ongoing since just June 2013. Perhaps other environmental conditions have lead to the increased susceptibility of sea stars to disease. It is important to determine if a human activity is involved in precipitating the disease, so that we can prevent future loss of sea stars.

    Read more
    http://www.virology.ws/2014/11/17/a-virus-that-melts-sea-stars/

    Photos - Wikipedia
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfish


    WHY NOW?

    Could the increase in nuclear waste pouring into the ocean from the Fukushima nuclear power plant have something to do with the increased weakness and much death of sea life?
     
    Here are two articles with disturbing evidence that the Pacific Ocean marine life die offs coincide with the Fukushima ongoing spewing of tons of radioactive waste into the ocean.

    Monday, October 6, 2014

    EMERGENCY TREATMENT SAVES DYING ELEPHANT SHOT WITH POISON ARROW BY POACHERS

    Brought to his knees: The elephant had succumbed to the poison arrow which poachers had fired into his hind leg
    On his knees, in excruciating pain
    Medics found the wounded elephant dying in Tsavo National Park, Kenya
  • When they arrived they found poison arrow in its leg, shot by poachers
  • They removed arrow and cleaned wound before giving him antibiotics
  • Happily, the bull elephant came to and hobbled off across the savannah
  • But poaching in Africa still sees one elephant killed every 15 minutes
  • Succumbing in agony to a deadly toxin coursing through its veins, a bull elephant falls to its knees after being shot by a poacher's poisoned arrow.

  • Saturday, October 4, 2014

    RESCUED ORPHAN ELEPHANTS BECOME INSEPARABLE FRIENDS

    Just the two of us! Baby elephants orphaned in the wild become inseparable after being rescued by rangers at wildlife trust
     When orphaned animals are taken in by rangers or conservationists they form fast attachments with other creatures after losing their herdsĀ 
  • Ashaka and Kamok were discovered separately in Nairobi wild after being abandoned by their herds
  • The baby female elephants were rescued by rangers at wildlife trust and have become inseparable 
  • Duo are fed special milk formula and play in herds of other animals their age at park in Tsavo East 
  • Now, the boisterous duo spend their days rolling around in mud, chasing warthogs and bashing bushes.  
  • They will be re-released into the wild when they are older to replenish dwindling population of African elephants 
  • (Released only to be slaughtered by poachers? - blogger)
  • Read more and see additional pictures

    Monday, September 29, 2014

    THE BIG EXTINCTION - HALF OF THE WORLD'S WILD ANIMALS HAVE DISAPPEARED IN THE LAST 40 YEARS due to human destruction of habitat, poaching, and other practices - Overpopulation has turned humans into a parasitic outbreak that is destroying life on Earth, say scientists

    
    Endangered: There are only around 3,200 tigers left in the wild - the predators' numbers have declined by a huge 97 per cent in the last 100 years
    Murdered to make medicine for the Chinese
    Mankind's need for land and resources, combined with hunting and poaching, are causing our wild animals to die out 
  • Wildlife populations around the globe have declined by 52 per cent on average since 1970, a new report has found
  • The likes of forest elephants, African lions and tigers are under threat, as well as British harbour seals and birds
  • Lion numbers dropped 90 per cent in 40 years, tigers by 97 per cent in 100 years and elephants 60 per cent since 2002



  • The authors compiled data on 10,380 animal populations, including 3,038 different species, as an index to judge how global wildlife is faring as a whole.  It shows that British animals have not escaped the global decline. The audit, which is published every two years, found that 90 per cent of corn buntings, a bird once often seen perched on fences, have disappeared from our countryside.

    Worldwide problem: Fewer than 100,000 forest elephants now remain, as their numbers have dropped by 60 per cent in just 12 years
    Massacred to harvest their ivory for trinkets for the Asian market.
    Elephants will be extinct in the wild in one or two decades.
    Orphans are left traumatized after seeing their families murdered.

    Saturday, September 13, 2014

    MARINE TURTLES PLAYING AND EMBRACING EACH OTHER - Photos taken off the Canary Islands

    Turtle love: Amazing underwater pictures show two playful turtles swimming up close to two divers and playing around for the camera

  • Two green turtles were spotted sharing an intimate embrace off the coast of Tenerife in the Canary Islands
  • Photographer Montse Grillo, 37, said the turtles were curious about their reflections in the camera lens 
  • She said: 'Turtles and I are great friends and I love to spend time with them so I thought I would take a selfie'
  • Green turtles can live up to eighty years in the wild and can grow up to 1.5m in length and weigh up to 190 kg

  • The pair of green turtles shared an intimate embrace off theĀ coast of Tenerife in the Canary Islands, 100 km  west of the southern border of Morocco

    See more pictures

    Tuesday, August 12, 2014

    ELEPHANT BABY ORPHANS FORM NEW FAMILIES AT A WILDLIFE CENTER - AFTER THE TRAUMA OF LOSING THEIR MOMS AND FAMILIES TO POACHERS

    Best friends: Suguta, Kibo and Nchan like to spend their days playing together and will eventually live as a herd in Tsavo National Park when they grow up
     Best friends:  Suguta, Kibo and Nchan 

    The adorable baby elephants were photographed at an orphanage run by the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
  • Many came to the centre, in Nairobi National Park in Kenya, after losing their mothers to poachers
  • Babies spend their days with their human carers and elephant friends and indulge in plenty of games
  • Eventually, the elephants will be released back into the wild and will live in the protected Tsavo National Park

  • Bend it like Beckham! Baby elephants Lemoyian, Arruba and Barsilinga indulge in a very muddy game of football in Nairobi National Park
     Lemoyian, Arruba and Barsilinga
    Rolling in the mud without a care in the world, peeking out from beneath a blanket and kicking around with a football: it's all play and no work for these adorable baby African elephants. 

    But all is not what it seems as every single elephant is an orphan and one of the 101 rescued by the Nairobi-based David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust since 2001. 

    Many of their mothers have been killed by poachers or fallen victim to angry farmers. One baby, Ndotto, had to be rescued after getting mixed up with livestock owned by Samburu herders and following them home to their village.
     
    Orphan: Baby Mbegu (left) stands with her friend Kauro. She was rescued from a horde of angry villagers by a group of rangers who protected her
     Mbegu and Kauro
    Yet in spite of their traumatic early months, the orphaned babies are just as playful and inquisitive as other youngsters and as a result, their human 'family' is kept very busy indeed.
     
    Released to mark World Elephant Day, the snaps reveal that each pint-sized pachyderm has his or her own personality, quirks and traits and can be playful, shy or boisterous.  
     
    Among the shyer babies is seven-week-old Mbegu, who was rescued after being attacked with stones and spears by villagers, furious after a local woman was killed by an adult elephant.  During the fracas that ensued, Mbegu was separated from her herd and was only saved after a group of rangers from the Naibunga Conservancy placed themselves between the enraged crowd and the calf. 
     
    A cuddle with my dad! One of the youngest elephants at the orphanage snuggles up to his keeper. The smallest orphans often seek comfort this way
    Love helps them overcome their trauma
    Taken to the charity’s elephant orphanage in Nairobi National Park, the little calf has now recovered from her ordeal and will grow up in the care of human keepers until she is old enough to return to the wild.
     
    ‘Each orphan has their own tragic rescue story but their struggle of survival and zest for life is infectious,’ says Rob Brandford, director of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

    'Mbegu was rescued at a very young age so she has really taken to her carers and loves to suck their fingers for comfort.’
     
    With Mbegu in Nairobi National Park is Barsilinga, who had a tragic start to life after his mother was shot by poachers. Terribly injured, the female elephant had to be put to sleep, while her calf was taken to the orphanage.  ‘Sadly, Africa’s elephants are under threat from poachers for their ivory,' adds Brandford. Nevertheless, when he is old enough, Barsilinga and his best friend Kithaka, will be re-homed in Tsavo National Park.
     
    For now though, his days, much like those of a human child, are a whirlwind of play, cuddles and bottle feeds. 'Each of the elephants rescued and in the care of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has been orphaned,' says Brandford.  'But they now have a new herd in the form of our unusual human-elephant family.' 
     
     
    Photos David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (via Daily Mail)
     
    VISIT THE DAVID SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST WEBSITE
     
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    ONE ELEPHANT IS KILLED EVERY 15 MINUTES
     
    Elephants have roamed the wild for 15 million years and today this iconic species faces their biggest threat to survival due to continued ivory poaching. As long as there is a demand for ivory, elephants will be continued to be killed for their tusks. Today it is estimated up to 36,000 elephants are killed annually, that’s one life lost every 15 minutes. 

    Reasons to save the elephant

    • If we don’t act now this iconic species could be extinct from the wild by 2025.
    • In some countries of Africa including Sierra Leone and Senegal, elephants have already been driven to extinction.
    • Communities across Africa are dependent on elephants for an income through tourism. Saving the elephants also means preventing poverty, sustaining livelihoods and promoting sustainable tourism.
    • Elephants are a keystone species. Other animals, plants and entire ecosystems rely on them for survival.
    • ‘As go the elephants, so do the trees.’ Elephants are known as ‘nature’s gardeners’, plants and trees rely on elephants to disperse their seeds far and wide through their dung.
    • Elephant’s large footprints act as water collectors for smaller animals.
    • By uprooting trees to feed, they control the tree population leaving grasses to thrive and sustain animals such as wildebeests and zebras.
    • Elephants share the same emotions and cognitive behavior as humans. They grieve for their lost loved ones, they feel fear, joy and empathy and are highly praised for their intelligence.
    WHAT YOU CAN DO
     
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    More articles about elephants on this blog -
     
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    Tuesday, August 5, 2014

    SEA TURTLE STOPS FOR A VISIT TO UNDERWATER SPA - Or car wash, to get itself scrubbed up by worker fish

    The Green Sea Turtle is common in the area known as Turtle Pinnacle, off the coast of Hawaii

    Wax and polish: Sea turtle stops by underwater 'car wash' to get a clean and scrub from electric yellow fish.  These brightly coloured fish have been photographed happily operating an underwater car wash to help clean passing sea turtles. 
     
    Photographer Masa Ushioda, 43, described the fish as working 'like a car wash' and said the electric yellow, purple and blue fish worked enthusiastically on each turtle that checked in for a scrub.  The busy crew operated 60ft underwater in the Pacific Ocean off the Kona coast of Hawaii, America, in an area known as Turtle Pinnacle.  The 3ft long Green Sea Turtle is an endangered species but it is abundant in Hawaii.
     
    Read more and see additional pictures
     
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