In a shocking new publication "Fading Call of the Wild" coauthored by wildlife researchers around the globe, studies show 80% of the world's feline populations are in trouble. Nearly all are experiencing population declines and some are in immediate danger of going extinct. Although the report focuses primarily on the "big cats" such as African lions and tigers, numerous United States legislators have signed on to a related act that would help protect these rare keystone species. The publication's foreword points out top predators "maintain healthy functioning places, and their absence negatively affects wildlife and people. Not only would losing these species have drastic ecological impacts, I believe their loss will impact us in ways we aren't even able to yet articulate." Hopefully this report and surrounding discussions will help promote the conservation of our own struggling American lion....Mountain Lion Foundation
New Report Shows Sharp Declines in Populations of Wild Cats and Dogs
Data from the Field Signals More Species Facing Extinction; Congressional Action Could Ensure Animals Are Not Lost Forever
WASHINGTON, July 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Fading Call of the Wild, a report released today by the world's leading wildlife conservation organizations, details the increasing threats and plunging populations of big cats and rare canids living in the wild. Faced with a striking loss of habitat and prey due to over-development of land and direct killing by poachers and others who see them as a threat, wild cats such as lions, cheetahs and snow leopards, and wild dogs like the Ethiopia wolf and bush dog face an uncertain future.
Eighty percent of all wild cat species are experiencing population declines, as are 25 percent of wild canids - the family of foxes, wolves and wild dogs. The report looks beyond the raw numbers and delves into the plight of 15 of these species that are considered ecologically vital, detailing their current numbers in the wild, changes to the population in the last ten years, and conservation solutions for improving their status. The 15 species were chosen because they are considered umbrella species that, if conserved appropriately, protect their corresponding landscapes and other species dependent on those ecosystems.
A snapshot of the report's findings include:
* A century ago there were as many as 200,000 lions living in Africa, today there are fewer than 30,000. Lions are now extinct from 26 countries that they formerly occupied. The single greatest threat to lions is killing by people who own livestock. Herders and ranchers shoot, trap and poison lions across their range.
* There are fewer than 500 Darwin's Fox living today. The animal are found only in Chile and their restricted distribution makes them highly vulnerable to extinction. The gentle and curious canids are not fearful of people which contributes to their endangerment, however timber exploration and land development are the two biggest factors that have pushed the animals to the brink.
* There are fewer than 7,000 snow leopards in the wild today. Snow leopard poaching is rampant with their bones and hides frequently confiscated in illegal shipments of wildlife parts bound for markets in China and throughout Asia.
* Fewer than 500 Ethiopian wolves remain with more than half found in the Bale Mountains. The highly social animals live in packs which makes them especially vulnerable when their populations decrease. Entire packs are wiped out by rabies outbreaks, while those that survive face rapid loss of habitat.
* One of the most ecologically and genetically unique animals, African wild dogs exist in less than seven percent of their historic range, and are extinct in 22 countries that they formerly inhabited. Accidental snaring and rabies have decimated populations throughout Africa, and fewer than 8,000 of the animals remain.
The report calls for increasing conservation resources and swift policy changes, specifically passage of the Great Cats and Rare Canids Conservation Act that would provide conservation assistance to the 15 species highlighted in the Fading Call of the Wild report.
"Great cats and rare canids are currently suffering from a variety of threats and the positive impact from their protection will no doubt benefit them and many other species," said Jeff Flocken, DC Office Director, IFAW. "The Great Cats and Rare Canids Conservation Act offers viable and valuable methods to ensure a safe future for these majestic animals."
First introduced in July 2004, and set to expire this year unless the Senate takes action, the measure would provide wild cats and canids the same type of conservation assistance presently supporting tigers, great apes, elephants, sea turtles and other iconic species through the Multinational Species Conservation Funds, administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The funds were designed to conserve species deemed by Americans to be of special global value, but simultaneously endangered with extinction.
Senators Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Tom Udall (D-NM), Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) are leading the charge to usher the bill through their chamber this Congress. The House passed the measure in April 2009 with a two-thirds majority and bi-partisan support led by Reps. Jay Inslee (WA-01), Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam) and the International Conservation Caucus. The Act is supported by more than 80 scientific, animal welfare, conservation, outdoor recreation organizations, zoos and aquariums.
Actress Glenn Close contributed the foreword for the report and noted, "Whether it is the iconic African lion or the shy Darwin's fox, these animals hold an important place in the landscapes they occupy. They are all ecosystem guardians. As predators, they maintain healthy functioning places, and their absence negatively affects wildlife and people. Not only would losing these species have drastic ecological and economic impacts, I believe their loss will impact us in ways we aren't event able to yet articulate."
The report was authored by Panthera, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, and the Wildlife Conservation Society, in cooperation with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Canids and Cats Specialists Groups. A copy of the report can be found here.
SOURCE International Fund for Animal Welfare
http://www.BigCatRescue.org
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Legendary Actor Dick Van Dyke Named Tiger Ambassador by World Wildlife Fund
Films “Texting for Tiger” Video Encouraging Donations to Save Tigers from Extinction
For Release: Jul 22, 2010
Dan Forman
dan.forman@wwfus.org
(202) 495-4546
WASHINGTON – July 22, 2010 – Actor Dick Van Dyke has been named an official Year of the Tiger Ambassador by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and will help the organization promote tiger conservation. With as few as 3,200 tigers left in the wild, Van Dyke will help WWF raise awareness and funds for tiger conservation with the goal of doubling wild tiger populations by 2022.
“Who would have thought that I might outlive one of the most majestic species to ever walk the planet,” stated Van Dyke. “When I learned that tigers, which numbered close to 80,000 when I was born in the 1920’s, were closing in on extinction, I was stunned.”
The latest celebrity to aid WWF’s efforts in bringing back tiger populations, joining previously announced supporters Leonardo DiCaprio and Ethan Suplee, Van Dyke recently filmed a video spot encouraging people to donate $10 towards tiger conservation by sending a text message from a cell phone with the word “TIGERS” in it to the number 20222.
Watch video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUZsRWNZyZQ
“It’s amazing -- just a few years ago we had to pull out the checkbook and mail off a check to donate money,” stated Van Dyke. “Now, just by texting ‘TIGERS’ to 20222, we can donate $10 towards protecting tiger habitat and cracking down on poaching. It couldn’t get any simpler.”
Today on Capitol Hill WWF experts Sybille Klenzendorf, managing director of the Species Conservation Program, and Crawford Allan, director of TRAFFIC-North America, will participate in a congressional briefing, sponsored by Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam), to discuss the state of wild tigers and current efforts to ensure their survival.
Klenzendorf and Allan will also discuss how the U.S. can aid in doubling tiger populations over the next decade, including sending a high-level representative from the Obama administration to this fall’s Tiger Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, hosted by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and World Bank President Robert Zoellick. Other issues to be talked about include the need for stricter U.S. laws regulating captive tigers -- there are more tigers in captivity in the U.S. than in the wild around the world -- and increased U.S. funding and technical support for tiger conservation in Asia.
Tiger populations are shrinking fast, as the species is severely threatened by habitat loss and poaching. Their skins, bones and other body parts are used in many cultures as medicines, talismans, status symbols and clothing. But tigers can thrive if they have strong protection from poaching and habitat loss and enough prey to eat.
This is the first time WWF has used mobile fundraising and all of the donations received will be earmarked directly for tiger conservation. In addition to “Texting for Tigers,” WWF is encouraging people on Facebook and Twitter to spread awareness about the current plight of tigers. Supporters can use WWF’s Facebook application to add a tiger mask, tiger stripes or paw prints to their profile pictures and tag all of their tweets with #savetigersnow.
For more information on WWF’s campaign to save tigers please visit www.worldwildlife.org/tigers
A one-time donation of $10 will be added to your mobile phone bill or deducted from your prepaid balance. Messaging & Data Rates May Apply. All charges are billed by and payable to your mobile service provider. Service is available on most carriers. Donations are collected for the benefit of WWF by the Mobile Giving Foundation and subject to the terms found at www.hmgf.org/t. You can unsubscribe at any time by replying STOP to short code 20222; Reply HELP to 20222 for help
http://www.worldwildlife.org/who/media/press/2010/WWFPresitem17459.html
http://www.bigcatrescue.org
George Schaller: Everyone's EnvironmentConservation is not just the job of biologists and officials, nor is it a goal. Rather, it’s a never-ending process in which all of us must take part
George Schaller, 77, is recognised by many as the world’s pre-eminent field biologist. He has studied wildlife in Asia, Africa and South America for more than 50 years. National Geographic conferred it’s Lifetime Achievement Award upon him in 2007; he is also the winner of several other prestigious awards. His studies have helped protect animals as diverse as the mountain gorilla, giant panda, lion and the Tibetan antelope. His work inspired the foundation of over 20 parks and preserves worldwide. Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Shey-Phoksundo National Park in Nepal, and the Chang Tang Nature Reserve in Tibet are some of them.
We are all aware of the basic environmental problems affecting our small planet. These range from habitat destruction, water shortage, and extinction of species to pollution of air, water and land to climate change. Governments and news media serve the economy and tend to forget that everything we make, buy and use is wholly dependent on nature. The Earth is a living organism with soil, sea, air, life, sunlight and others all interacting in a way that makes us wholly dependent on natural systems for survival. Yet we have been destroying our environment at an ever-accelerating rate. We have been living off the earth’s capital rather than the interest. Therefore, as Al Gore noted, “we must make the rescue of the environment the central organising principle for civilisation.”
This must involve everyone. Every personal act is also an ecological act, whether we drive a car, plant maize, write an essay on paper or computer, flick on a light. “When drinking a glass of water, think of the source,” states a Chinese proverb. Why save some species, insignificant or otherwise? We know that nature remains a supermarket for new foods, just as it is a pharmacy for new drugs. Every species is a genetic storehouse for the future. We still know little about ecology, about the function of individual species. We have no idea how many species you can lose before the whole system collapses. Human survival — even if promoted by self-interest — seems like a good argument for saving our biological diversity, for leaving future generations with options.
Population growth is a critical issue for the world, but consumption of resources has a much steeper upward curve. However, it should be remembered that globalisation was already active in the 1800s. The British exported wheat to the UK for profit during the great Indian drought of 1890-1910 while thousands of people there starved to death.
Certainly all countries are now fully aware of issues, but environmental concerns remain peripheral to most. Denmark has made a major effort to reduce its carbon footprint, China has had a logging ban in effect since 1998 and has established many nature reserves, Costa Rica has good forest management practices involving local communities, and Rwanda has done a superb job of protecting its mountain gorillas. There are many success stories, large and small, but certain issues — such as the related one, climate change and depletion of fresh water — have barely been addressed. About one-third of fresh water in irrigation canals is lost mainly to evaporation. Over 2,000 years ago, the Afghan civilisation had the sense to cover the canals they built.
We have treated clean air, clean water, fertile soils as free public resources to do with as we want, pollute, degrade, destroy. There is no free lunch. We now have to pay the price. If we want to protect a watershed to assure clean water to those living downstream, those who give up some resource for the common good will have to be paid. If we set up a reserve to protect wildlife, the communities who have traditionally used the resources for fuel, roof thatch and others will have to be paid. It is called “payment for ecosystem services”.
Similarly, companies that pollute air and water must pay. Money? If governments spent a fraction of the billions that they do on armaments and unnecessary wars, there would be ample funds to pay for truly keeping our planet healthy, beautiful, and productive. Industry and agriculture must become far more innovative, productive, and efficient. In addition, the task is to shape new attitudes and create a new design in the strategy of surviving on a crowded planet and still maintaining the full diversity of life. Gandhi said, “There is enough in the world for everyone’s need but not enough for everyone’s greed.”
We know that small reserves cannot preserve widely roaming species, and, in fact, all species — plant and animal — are at risk from inbreeding or catastrophic events such as hurricanes. There is need to think of conservation on a landscape basis with areas designated for human use, core areas strictly protected as reservoirs for plants and animals, and corridors connecting core areas. To manage such a landscape will take the co-operation of government, scientists, industry, and importantly, the local communities. It is a difficult task. If solutions in conservation were easy they would have been adopted long ago.
Field biologists cannot do conservation: They can mainly gather knowledge, try to educate, and prod governments to enact policies and implement action. Furthermore, conservation is based to a large extent on values other than economic — on religious, aesthetic, nationalistic, and other moral values, depending on the culture. It comes from the heart. People don’t preserve the giant panda or tiger because these animals represent biodiversity but because they touch the emotions.
The Hindus have sacred groves and sacred animals. Buddhist principles include respect and compassion for all living beings. Islam says, “Allah loveth not wasters.” All cultures have a feeling of goodwill toward the environment, but the ideas have to be rekindled. Most leaders have been lax about that. Indira Gandhi was an exception, and among today’s religious leaders His Highness the Dalai Lama is a forceful voice for conservation. There are two major reasons for killing animals — for subsistence and for profit, the two often going together. Why were tigers lost from India’s Sariska and Panna reserves? Because of underpaid, indifferent, and negligent guards. That is relatively easy for the government to correct if it has the interest to save this iconic animal. Much of the poaching and smuggling of tiger skins and bones to China is now by organised gangs. India is notorious for its slow legal system and minimal fines for wildlife crime. China, by contrast, is quick and strict in its legal procedures, one reason panda poaching was greatly reduced. The killing of Tibetan antelope or chiru — for its fine wool that is smuggled to Kashmir to be woven into expensive shahtoosh shawls — carries often a jail sentence of about five to 15 years. With more rigorous protection, the killing decreased after the 1990s and the numbers are now on the increase. A good guard force is the key to wildlife protection. Tigers and leopards will prey less on livestock if the forest contains ample natural prey, a good reason for reducing poaching of deer and other species. Villagers could modify herding practices of their cattle to reduce predation, barriers could be constructed to deter elephants, and in certain instances there could be compensation for damages. Conservationists are still grappling with such issues, trying to find solutions that benefit both the wildlife and the livelihood of people.
Having done wildlife field research for nearly six decades, I don’t deal in optimism and hope but in persistence. I have fought on behalf of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska (whose heart the oil companies want to destroy) and mountain gorillas for half a century, and have spoken up on behalf of tigers and pandas for three to four decades. Conservation is not a goal but a never-ending process, one in which everyone has to be involved. As Gandhi noted, “You have to be the change you want to see in the world.”
By using all our wisdom, knowledge, passion, perseverance, dedication, and ever-lasting commitment, we can retain the beauty and health of our planet.
After all, it is the only home we shall ever have.
THERE'S ONLY A FEW THOUSAND TIGERS LEFT IN THE WILD!
Help us protect the tiger!
http://www.endtigertrade.org/
Wild tiger image courtesy of:http://www.tigerawareness.co.uk/
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Whiskers are also usually indicative of a cat's temperament. Erect, forward pointing whiskers indicate that the cat is excited and animated. Whereas laid back whiskers are often seen in resting, defensive animals.
I thought this was interesting, although not surprising when you stop to think.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=bigger-animals-keep-a-stiff-lower-f-10-03-01
"Big cats or wolves seem like scaled-up versions of the tabby or terrier sleeping on your sofa. But the proportions do subtly change as animals get larger. For one thing, big animals’ feet are smaller relative to their bodies than are smaller beasts’. But they compensate with physics, according to new research in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface. [see: http://bit.ly/cDdbUx]
When we think about animal locomotion…whether it’s walking, running, or just standing around…we usually focus on the bones and muscles in the legs and feet. But for four-legged critters, it’s the footpads that ultimately support the animal’s weight. So scientists [Kai-Jung Chi, National Chung-Hsing University, Republic of China (Taiwan) and V. Louise Roth, Duke University] decided to take a closer look at these “natural shoes” in different-sized carnivores, including dogs, cats, wolves, leopards and hyenas.
And they found that the relatively smaller footpads of, say, leopards are much stiffer than those of little bitty kitties. Apparently so that the big cats’ feet can handle the stress of the greater body weight. If a tiger’s paws were as soft as a house cat’s, he’d need hippo-sized feet to stand.
It’s said that the bigger they are, the harder they fall. But now we know that the bigger they are, the harder their feet."
—Karen Hopkin
Common Name: Snow Leopard Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata (Vertebrata) Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Felidae Genus: Pantherinae Uncia Species: unciaMisc.: This species, like the clouded leopard, is one of those that is somewhere between the small cats and the great cats in that it can’t purr like the small cats and it can’t roar like the true great cats. It makes a happy sound similar to the tiger's chuffing.
Its greatest threats are the hunting of its main prey species in the mountains, and the poisoning of other of its prey species, leaving the snow leopard with out a means of sustaining itself. There is also a demand now for snow leopard bones in traditional Chinese medicine as a substitute for tiger bones. Unfortunately, there is still a demand for fur coats from snow leopard skins in some countries, but luckily that has greatly diminished. At one time here in the US, a coat from a snow leopard sold for up to $50,000.00.
Sub-Species: A single species - There has been some attempt to recognize different sub-species of snow leopard, but at this time all attempts have been rejected.
Size and Appearance: 
The snow leopard is unique among the felids for the smokey-gray coloring of its coat patterned with dark gray rosettes and spots, and because of that it became nearly extinct. It’s unique color makes an ideal camouflage in its mountain environment of bare rocks and snow. Further adaptations for high altitude life include an enlarged nasal cavity, shortened limbs, well developed chest muscles, long hair with a dense, wooly undercoat, and a tail over 3 feet long. They use their tails like a coat in the winter, wrapping it around themselves when lying or sitting for added warmth. Snow leopards molt twice a year with the summer coat being not quite as dense as the winter one. Males weigh between 90-115 lbs, with females weighing between 75-90lbs. Their skull is large, short and broad with a short muzzle, resembling the Siberian lynx in its appearance. They have round pupils like the great cats, varying in color from pale yellow to green-grey. Their broad footpads are covered with fur to provide insulation as well as increasing the surface area allowing them to distribute their weight more evenly over the snow.
In captivity, Snow leopards have lived up to 21 years.
Habitat: The snow leopard ranges includes alpine meadows, treeless rocky mountains and rhododendron forests. Most of their range occurs in Tibet and other parts of China associated with steep rocky slopes, with arid shrub land, grassland or steppe vegetation. Occasionally, in parts of their habitats they visit open coniferous forests, but generally avoid dense forests. They are found at high elevations of 3000-4500 meters (9800 ft – 14800 ft.), and even higher in the Himalayas.
Distribution: Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikstan, Uzbekistan.
Reproduction and Offspring: The snow leopards reproductive season is from early January to mid March which is the time when vocalizations can most commonly be heard. Litters of 1-5 (most commonly 2-3) will occur following a 98-104 day gestation period. They are born beneath rocks or in rock crevices and their dens are lined with fur. Their spots at birth are completely black, developing into rosettes with age. Their eyes open between 7-10 days, they begin crawling after 10 days, and begin eating solid foods at 2 months. The young will leave their mothers between the ages of 18-22 months, and siblings may stay together for some time following their independence. They will reach sexual maturity between 2-3 years and stay reproductive up until they are 15.
Social System and Communication: Unknown. Some evidence leads to the conclusion that they are solitary except for breeding pairs and mothers with offspring. Territories are marked with scrapes, scats, scent sprays and claw rakings. While it is believed that they have large territories, it is also believed that the territories of multiple animals of both sexes overlap.
Hunting and Diet: Snow leopards are very opportunistic hunters capable of killing prey up to 3 times their own weight. They will also equally take small prey, more so in the summer months when marmots become a main staple in their diets. Their most common prey sources are: wild sheep and goats; pikas; hares; game birds. They kill on the average of 1 large prey item every 10-15 days and stay with the kill for 3-4 days.
Status: Appendix I CITES. There are believed to be 5000 to 7500 of these great cats left in the wild and 476 in captivity. There are only 28 of these cats paired in approved SSP breeding programs.
Felid TAG recommendation: Snow leopard (Pantherinae Uncia uncia). This species has functioned well with a target population of 200 animals. In addition to having a large founder base, new founders are available from captive sources in Europe and range-country zoos. This species does well in captivity, is managed by a wide variety of owners, and now has a stable population in nature.
How rare is this cat ? The International Species Information Service lists 476 in zoos worldwide, with 236 being in the U.S.
Information taken from IUCN Status Survey and Feline Facts (SOS Care)
If you need snow leopard info here are some links about snow leopards:
1) http://www.bigcatrescue.org/cats/wild/snow_leopard.htm
2) http://www.bigcatrescue.org/cats/wild/snow_leopard_save.htm
3) http://www.bigcatrescue.org/cats/captive/snowleopards.htm
4) Snow Leopard Screensaver: http://www.bigcatfun.com/screensavers/halloween/pgs/snow-leopard.html
5) Snow Leopard wallpapers: http://www.bigcatfun.com/wallpapers/st_patricks/pgs/sp_snow_leopard.html
http://www.bigcatfun.com/wallpapers/easter/pgs/snow_leopard.html
(new ones will be uploaded later this week)
6) Free Snow Leopard eCards: http://www.bigcatfun.com/ecards/index.html
9) A Snow Leopard game: http://www.bigcatfun.com/games/flash/leopardy/snow_leopards/snow_leopards.html
10) The Snow Leopard Trust's website: http://www.snowleopard.org/
11)Amazing Cat Information: http://www.amazingcats.webuda.com/snowleopard.html
Part of the story behind the photo "We Live Behind Wires". This is the most conserversial issue with China in means of wildlife conservation. Infamously known for their slaughter of tigers, China once had one of the largest populations of tigers in the world... before the hunt for their body parts became dire. For thousands of years, the Chinese have been killing wild tigers and taking what they wanted from the kill. Some might ask why conservationalists are so worried now. What's different? Well, for one thing, the Chinese poplulation has incresed so rapidly after "modern" civilization began to be practiced that there are no longer enuogh tigers to support the hunting. And because of this, there are nearly no more tigers in China. So, still with their ancient hunger for tiger body parts, illegal practice of traditional Chinese medicine is getting supplies from neighboring countries, like India and Nepal. So why kill? The commonly known saying "you are what you eat" is beleived, in traditional Chinese medicine, to be almost literal. The poachers take the testicals of the tigers as a kind of viagra, though it had been proven a compleatly false belief that it improves sexual attraction and abilities. The meat is eaten in the thought that it helps to make the consumer stronger, more able to protect his family. Skins are not eaten, but worn, as a sign to say that one is as strong and powerful as a tiger. Dried claws and other small trinkets are hung in a house for good luck. And the bones of tigers are ground into pouder and made into wine, and, as with eating the meat, is thuoght to giving one the strength of the most powerful of all animals in the region. Nearly all medicines (not just from tigers, but snakes, leopards, bears, turtles, and hundreds of others) are proven to do nothing in any way for the human body or mind, and those that do show such weak signs that they, too, are not worth the extinction of all the species that are at this great risk. Please help join the fight to make this stop!
This image was taken at a tiger Farm in China. These tigers, hundreds of them, are forced to live in small cages, about ten feet by ten feet, with half a dozen other tigers. They drink water filled with feces and urine, and they have no shelter from rain or sun. The only thing they ever see is the wires they are chaged behind, and the rows and rows of other cages and other tigers. They will never kill their own prey, and will never know what it feels like to walk on grass or run for more than a single leap. And when their time comes, they are slaughtered and their bodies thrown in huge, refrigerated rooms until they are skinned and their bodies harvested of valuable things like bones and testicals. Some farms remove the flesh and feed it back to the living tigers to save money. It frustrates me that most of the general population is compleatly unaware or uncaring about the situation of tiger farming in China, but had people been kept in such conditions, there would be a worldwide outcry. Almost solely becaue of China's insufferable hunger for animal body parts and encrochment on their natural territory, the tiger population had dropped from 100,000 in the early 1900s to 2,000 in year 2000. To learn more, I have posted a video about the farming and general hunting of tigers in China.
Is there too much fluoride in your dog food? Read EWG's new report
By Lisa Frack
By Lisa Frack
You're probably familiar with the longstanding and often heated debate over the addition of fluoride to public water supplies. And while EWG does have an opinion on that, last week we focused on fluoride in dog food in a new report based on independent tests of 10 brands.
EWG's finding: High levels of fluoride in dog food
EWG found fluoride above healthy levels in 8 national brands of dog food marketed for both puppies and adults. The amount of fluoride in the dog food was up to 2.5 times higher than what the EPA has deemed a safe amount in drinking water.
Where is the fluoride coming from?
Some of this extra fluoride comes from the fluoridated water used to manufacture dog food. Most, however, is from the "bone meal" and various meat byproducts that are added to dog food - anything from "chicken byproduct meal" to "beef and bone meal."
These are basically ground bones, cooked with steam, dried, and mashed to make a cheap dog food filler. Since bones store fluoride, any product that includes bone meal is likely to be high in fluoride, too.
Massey University lecturer Brendan Moyle is on a one-man mission to
save the tigers.
After a "secret mission" to uncover the truth behind the illegal trade
in tiger products in China, the wildlife economics expert says the
only way to save the animal from extinction is to legalise the tiger
trade and convince the Chinese that the big cats "can make them a
whole lot of money".
The trade in tiger parts has been subject to an international ban
since 1987 and has been outlawed in China since 1989, but Dr Moyle
says conservation and legislation have not worked and wants to see
tigers farmed and trade in them legalised, just like crocodiles.
"In the 1970s, two-thirds of crocodiles [species] were endangered. Now
only one-third are, and this is largely because we have legalised the
trade and turned them into handbags, belts and by putting them on the
menu," Dr Moyle said.
"When we go to the locals telling them that crocodiles are worth a lot
of money, we get more crocodiles. What we should be doing now is going
to the Chinese and convincing them that tigers are also worth a lot of
money."
Dr Moyle, who has made three visits to China for his covert operation,
wants tiger farming "back on the discussion table" because it would
also prove to be the most sustainable option to satisfy demand without
threatening the wild tiger population.
"Conservationists are failing to get to grips with the market drivers.
The issue is about markets, not about zoology. This is the way to save
the species," Dr Moyle said.
"Tiger farming is not the feel-good solution, but we farm crocodiles,
deer, salmon, so what makes tigers so special?
"The potential benefit is that it may cause some consumers to leave
the black market and switch to legally sourced ones."
China is one of the world's biggest markets for tigers, which are
prized for their skin and body parts, especially bones, which some
Chinese believe to be effective in treating severe bone diseases. A
whole tiger can fetch up to $90,000.
Despite global conservation efforts, which Dr Moyle says cost $177
million a year, the numbers continue to decline, mostly because of
illegal hunting and human encroachment.
The World Wildlife Fund estimated last year that there were only about
3500 tigers left in the wild, compared with 100,000 at the start of
the 20th century.
Education will be ineffective because the Chinese have used tiger
parts for centuries, Dr Moyle said.
Dr Moyle has prepared a paper, which has been published in the journal
Global Crime, saying there is no single black market for tiger
products, but rather a market with geographical separation for two
products - skin and bones.
Since the 1980s, a number of tiger farms have been set up in China and
are believed to house 5000 captive tigers - possibly more than those
which remain in the wild.
But some international conservation groups, such as the Environmental
Investigation Agency, remain opposed to farming tigers as a means to
combat poaching. They argue it would be cheaper to kill a wild tiger
than to rear a captive one.
NZ Customs investigations manager Terry Brown said trading detected
here involved mainly birds and reptiles, not tiger parts.
--- TIGERS ---
* Only 3500 left in the wild compared with 100,000 at the start of the
20th century.
* Hunted and poached for their skin as well as their bones, which are
used in traditional Chinese medicine.
* Trading in tiger parts subject to international ban since 1987 and
outlawed in China since 1989.
---- How to save the tigers: ----
Lift the ban, encourage more tiger farming and convince the locals
that tigers "are worth a lot of money".
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=10569890
Massacre of the innocents: How starving families slaughter Zimbabwe's wild animals just to put food in their mouths
By Sue Lloyd Roberts
Last updated at 12:46 AM on 15th April 2009
The skin of a giraffe lies discarded like an old coat on the ground. Alongside it lie a few bones. Isaac, a game warden of some 30 years' experience, points at the remains of the once elegant animal. 'This is what we are up against,' he tells me. 'How can we protect the animals when people are so hungry?'
A country that is battling with starvation, cholera and 90 per cent unemployment now faces an extra challenge. Zimbabwe's starving millions are targeting wildlife in the country's famous game parks as a source of food and income.
There have always been poachers who have no qualms about killing elephants and rhinos for their tusks, mainly for the Chinese market, where they are bought for their supposed aphrodisiac and medicinal powers. But now the anti-poaching units who patrol hundreds of square miles of Zimbabwe's game parks are reporting that hungry locals are targeting the animals for their meat.
New threat: Elephants and rhinos, traditionally hunted for their tusks, are now targeted by the starving millions
'The hungry are chasing and killing all the animals - elephant, zebra, giraffe,' Isaac tells me, as he invites me to join his anti-poaching team as they patrol a stretch in the northwest of the country. 'It's because there is no meat in the shops. There's no meat anywhere.'
Wearing flip-flops and carrying mere batons, the team, who are poorly paid by the poverty-stricken safari parks, are ill-equipped for the task.
In fact, they are doing a dangerous thing even by speaking to me. I cannot reveal where I met them, and I have had to change names because all 'negative reporting' is forbidden in the country. Anyone telling the truth to an outsider - especially to a journalist - is punished.
Regardless of the threat he could face, Isaac bravely tells me more.
'The people lay their traps on the paths that lead to the animals' watering holes,' he explains. He shows me how the trees and bushes are festooned with crude loops of wire torn from telephone lines and fashioned into cruel snares which catch and cripple the animal.
Isaac shakes his head in despair. 'It can take days for the animal to die before the poacher returns to cut off the meat,' he says.
Nearby, we see another set of remains - this time, a buffalo. Nearly every morsel of the animal has been removed. 'They can get 800 kilos of meat from that one,' Isaac says.
In truth, the idea of a buffalo being slaughtered for its meat does not affect me that much. But when I trip over the pelvic bone of a once-graceful giraffe, I feel rather differently. Its long and shapely bones are strewn over the bush, mixed up with the remains of an impala, the iconic honey-coloured deer of southern Africa.
It was the elephant orphanage that first alerted the anti-poaching unit to the scale of the problem.
In the southern African region, elephants are routinely culled. This is because they can pose a threat to local agriculture if there are too many of them.
Game wardens inspect the carcass of an elephant killed by poachers in Zimbabwe
Best practice dictates that entire herds of elephants are killed at once. It sounds brutal, but because elephants live in closely knit families, with strong bonds of affection, it is considered kinder to take out the entire family rather than the odd member.
However, the anti-poaching team were finding many lone elephants in the wild - a clear sign that something was wrong.
'When we found baby elephants and young adults wandering alone in the bush, we realised that they had lost family members.
'They were traumatised and disorientated, and we brought them into the orphanage for care and treatment,' Isaac told me, as he administered a huge syringe of antibiotics to a young female elephant called Jessica. Her ear had got caught in a snare and was torn and infected.
It quickly became clear that the elephants were victims of the poachers.
An hour's drive from the park, I visit another kind of orphanage. Here, children who have lost their parents through disease or malnutrition queue up for a midday meal of porridge. With thousands dying in Zimbabwe every week from poverty and food shortages, Zimbabwe has become a land of orphans.
Four-year- old Nativity scrapes hungrily at her meal and then queues up at the communal tap to wash her bowl and spoon. Her mother died of malaria last week and her father died of Aids four years ago.
Nativity's aunt - whom I cannot name for her own safety - has arrived to make the funeral arrangements for her sister. I follow them both back to the mudcaked house that Nativity once shared with her mother.
Her aunt lifts the lids of storage pans in the kitchen. She can find only a few cobs of maize and a couple of pounds of flour. She holds Nativity in an affectionate hug and tells her she is glad that she had one good meal today, because there is not enough for another.
'We only have two days' worth of food left,' she tells me. 'All we can do is put ourselves in the hands of the Lord.'
She admits that the men in her family used to hunt for animals in the game parks. 'What else could they do?' she says. 'But now we have lost everyone in the family who could feed us.'
She tells me her male relations have either died or, in desperation, fled to South Africa in search of jobs and food.
Worse, the lorries which carry the UN food aid to Nativity's village have been delayed by recent heavy rains, and no one knows when they will arrive.
Indiscriminate: The hungry are chasing and killing all the animals - even giraffe
The UN's World Food Programme now has responsibility for some 80 per cent of the people of Zimbabwe - a bigger percentage of the population than during the Ethiopian famine in the early Eighties. No wonder life expectancy in Zimbabwe today is just 34 for a woman and 37 for a man.
And yet while the people starve, Robert Mugabe - still clinging to power as their president - has ordered that the last of Zimbabwe's white, commercial farmers must leave their farms.
'It's crazy, and it's sad,' says Bryan Bronkhorst as we drive past his farm, which has recently been occupied by members of Mugabe's political party, Zanu PF. 'But it is the government's fault. We used to be the breadbasket of Africa.'
I ask if we can go into his farm, for him to take a last look and to collect his personal belongings.
'No,' he says, pointing through the trees. 'See, they are all there, sitting on seats in my yard, and they're armed. It's too risky.' There were once 4,000 white, commercial farmers in Zimbabwe. Now, a mere 100 remain - and these have all been told they must go. Those who resist are met with violence.
Mr Bronkhorst was not the only farmer I met who had been targeted. I walked through the remains of a burned-down hunting lodge with Ben Freeth, a 47-yearold gamekeeper and farmer, and his three-year-old daughter, Anna.
'What was that, Daddy?' Anna asked as they came to a pile of tiles. 'That was the kitchen,' he explains patiently. 'Mummy used to cook supper there for all the people who used to visit.'
The family spent decades building up a game reserve in the land where they farm in Chegutu, north of the capital Harare. There were giraffes, eland, impala, zebra, warthog and wildebeest, and people used to come from the city to view the animals and to hunt in a carefully controlled programme.
Now, all the animals have gone, all killed by poachers.
Ben has struggled to cling onto his farm. But when he organised local farmers in a campaign to resist the illegal land grabs, his hunting lodge was burned down.
A year ago, the family won a vital court case in the Southern African Development Union court in Namibia, ruling that they could keep their farm. Not long afterwards, thugs arrived at his in-laws' house and attacked them, leaving his 75-year-old father-in-law Mike Campbell close to death and his mother-in-law terrified.
When Ben came to their rescue, he, too, was beaten. All three were in hospital for weeks.
Desperate: People lay traps on the paths of animals, including zebras, that lead to their watering holes
Things were expected to change for the better in Zimbabwe after the leader of the opposition, Morgan Tsvangirai, struck a deal with Mugabe two months ago and formed a coalition government.
But farm invasions continue, political prisoners are still held, and the BBC and other media outlets are still banned. Travelling around Zimbabwe illegally is tricky at the best of times, but today there are police road blocks every few miles.
Fortunately, however, most are not looking for undercover reporters. Instead, the gaunt, thin policemen and women who flag you down claim that you have been speeding, or even that your car is 'illegally' dirty, and fine you U.S.$10.
When you see the hunger on their faces and despair in their eyes, you pay up - not out of fear, but out of charity. When even the police are starving, you realise that the country has serious problems.
As well as being targeted by the starving poor, Zimbabwe's wildlife is also facing a more organised and powerful threat. Mugabe believes he must feed the army, who are essential to his grip on power, and his intelligence services, who spy on his enemies. These groups take priority over feeding his own people.
Johnny Rodrigues, of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, says he is receiving reports from game wardens around the country which suggest that the slaughter of wildlife is now taking place on an organised, industrial scale.
'The refrigerated lorries which were once used for transporting beef around the country are now being seen in the game parks,' he tells me. 'I am receiving reports that tonnes of elephant meat are being loaded onto these trucks and transported direct to army barracks.'
On his laptop, he flicks through pictures sent to him by safari park wardens of animal corpses. He pauses on the remains of elephants - huge spreads of skin and bones lying across the bush.
'You never saw that before,' he says. 'The poachers used to take only the tusks. Now they are taking the meat as well. If this does not stop, in five years' time there will be no elephants left in Zimbabwe.'
The UN food programme has been suspended during the harvest period, but the final yield is expected to produce a fraction of the country's needs.
The UK agency, Save The Children, warn that the poorest families will run out of food within weeks. People will starve and the government-paid poaching teams and the desperate will target the endangered wildlife of Zimbabwe with a renewed frenzy of killing.
People in Zimbabwe ask themselves when this madness will end. Alas, from what I saw on this, my fourth visit to the country during the current troubles, there is no immediate end in sight.
* Sue Lloyd-Roberts' report from Zimbabwe is on BBC2's Newsnight tomorrow at 10.30pm.
We currently have 23 big, big cats at the sanctuary! This includes 18 tigers, 4 lions and Freckles the liger. This video shows the viewer just how much food these animals consume in one day and at what cost. We feed our cats mon-sat with a fasting day on sunday, wednesday night is "rat & bone" night which means whole (dead) rats for the smaller cats Siberian lynx - Geoffroy cat and then whole cow rib bones for the bigger cats Tigers - Cougars. We also give our larger cats whole prey (rabbits) to try and give them a good variety of food as close to their natural diet would be in the wild.
This is the favorite time of day for all our cats without a doubt!
If you would like to sponsor any of our cats at Big Cat Rescue please visit:http://www.bigcatrescue.org/adopt_a_c...
For feeding tour times and any other information visit our website: http://www.bigcatrescue.org/
THANKS FOR WATCHING!
Centre sounds red alert in tiger reserves
Kishalay Bhattacharjee, Sidharth Pandey
Thursday, February 05, 2009 (Kaziranga, New Delhi)
A red alert has been declared across 17 states over tiger populations. The alert comes in the wake of the poaching and deaths of at least 10 tigers in the past three months in different national parks in the country.
Tiger bones were found buried in Kaziranga's Agratoli range just days ago, alongside vials of Thyodine used to poison animals. They were hard evidence that poachers are now targetting tigers as well.
In the past three months, eight tigers were killed or found dead in Kaziranga. And it is not just Kaziranga that is in trouble.
In Kanha, four to five tigers are believed to have been killed or found dead in the past one year. In Panna, conservationists are sceptical if any of the tigers are left alive in the National Park. And in January, a tiger skin was found in the Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand.
The Centre is not taking this lightly and has issued a red alert to 17 states with sizeable tiger populations.
"We have also passed on intelligence and information to the states about the poachers and have asked them to take steps to be vigilant," said Dr Rajesh Gopal, director, Project Tiger.
The Centre has also asked the states to activate recruitment for the tiger protection force which will be deployed in the sensitive zones for which the Centre will pay the costs.
"The problem is that in states, the local leaders, MLAs etc put pressure on the officials who are doing their work and get the poachers released," said Belinda Wright, tiger conservationist.
India is home to half the tigers in the world, but increasingly, it has been under attack from poachers and a shrinking habitat. This could well be where it makes its last stand.
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20090082555&ch=2/5/2009%209:53:00%20AM
http://www.bigcatrescue.org
"Tis the favorite time of year for our cats as we hand out turkeys and game hens as a special holiday treat!
Thank you to everybody who purchased a treat for our cats online and in our gift shop after a tour of the sanctuary.
Watch as Scott Lope our Operations Director hands out the birds to cats of all sizes and listen to them chomping down on the bones and devouring them completely!
To find out our tour times and prices please visit:
http://www.bigcatrescue.org
For more info on how to help ban big cats as pets please visit:
http://www.bigcatrescue.org/laws/laws...
Thanks for watching & Happy Holidays!
[Panthera onca]
tribe: panthera
conservation status- near threteaned
range: argentina, chile, uruguay, paraguay, bolivia, brazil, peru, ecuador, columbia, venezuela, guyana, surinam, french guiana, panama, nicaragua, honduras, el savador, belize, guatemala, mexico, united states of america
diet: deer, capybara, tapir, peccary, dog, fox, anaconda, camian, frog, mouse, fish, bird, sloth, monkey, turtle, armadillo, paca, cattle, horse
weight: 80lbs to 350lbs
the jaguar. undeniably one of the strongest of all cats pound for pound, rivaled only by its look-alike, the african leopard. though the leopard can carry a young giraffe into a tree, a jaguar posesses enough strength in its jaws to crush the skull of almost any prey item it coems upon- this very fact lead to one of the most unique killing tecniques in felidae. there are two main ways a cat kills- a muzzle clamp (firmly clamping the mouth around the muzzle of the prey which leads to a silent, relatively painless, and bloodiless kill by suffocation) or a throat clamp (much the same idea but around the throat) with some variations: the tigers of rathambore rush the waters where sambar deer eat, the cheetah trips tompson gazelle at top speed with a hooking motion, and then there is the jaguar. when hunting the largest of all rodents- the south american capybara- the jaguar rushes a group and pins one to the ground as the usual, but instead of applying one of the two other tecniques, to avoid the sharp teeth, fatal if bitten due to severe injury, the jaguar wraps it jaws around the head of the capybara, finds the openings for the ears, and bites. the long canines puncture into the brain cavity, and with the help of those huge massetter muscles, it crushes the pariatal bones and damages the brain itself: an instant, generally painless, but nevertheless, unfortunate death for the capybara. the jaguar is a powerful, stocky cat with such brawny muscles comarable to the extinct simlodon fatalis, or the saber-toothed cat, a hugely powerful machairodont. the jaguar used to be consitered a south american cat, but in the last few years, sightings have been recorded in areas as far north s texas, new mexico, and arizona. they are distinguishable from the leopard is larger rosettes, and if you look inside the patters, a leopard will have no central spots, while a jaguar will, especially on larger rosettes along the back. and apart from that, the tail is shorter, the head more angular, the legs shorter, the base color of the fur usually darker, and in general, much more powerful and stocky in apperance.
photo from unknown source
[Neofelis diardii]
tribe: panthera
conservation status: vulnerable
range: indonesia, malaysia
diet: unknown
weight: 55lbs
The newest addition to the family of Feildae, the bornean clouded leoprd, or Dardi's coulded leopard, was announced a new species in 2005. Found soley on the island of borneo, hence the name, the the borneo clouded leopard has small cloud markings similar to it's clouset relative- the clouded leopard. It had many definate spots within the cloud markings, grey fur and a double dorsal stripe. It is darker than the mainland species, who are a pale brown to golden. The bornean clouded leopard is a dark brown, and though there is still research due to the remote location and the fact that it has so recently been identified, the coat color seems to be constant. With long tail, short legs, and rounded ears, the Bornean clouded leopard and the mainland clouded leopard are the two smallest species in the Panthera subfamily. Their wrist bones are some of the mos flexible in the feline family; they can easily walk under branches, and hang by their hind feet, only their claws holding them. Bornean clouded leopards are the top predators in borneo.
photo courtesy of HO Reuters
[Panthera tigris]
tribe: panthera
conservation status- endangered
range: india, bhutan, bangladesh, burma, thailand, laos, cambodia, malaysia, vietnam, indonesia, nepal, russia
diet: sambar deer, guar, chital, wild boar, nilgai, barasingha, water buffalo, leopards, sika deer, sloth bear, crocodile, snakes, roe deer, musk deer, muntjac, tapir, saiga antelope, camels, yak, horse, monkey, peafowl, fish, hares, very young rhino or elephant, dog, cattle, donkey, occational fruit
weight: 165lbs to 670lbs (depending on gender and subspecies)
well known to be the largest of all species of cats, the tiger is also one of the most endangered due to exessive hunting. An ambassador for the stop of the illegal Black Market in Asia, the tiger's numbers have dropped from 100,000 in the early 1900's to a mere 2,000 in the start of year 2000. Some now esimate present numbers to be around 6,000, showing the great improvement the effforts to save this species have caused. Tigers are poached for bones, furs, testicals, trinkets such as dried paws and fangs, and other bodily parts believed to be 'medicinal' in the culture- none of which serve any scientific purposes. India has begun to show improvements of providing space for this great creature to make it's comeback, but China's goverment is posing a threatening shadow- with much needed land, a good amount of people of China are pressuring the government to open back up the bear and tiger farms they were once so infamous for and poaching there for tiger bone wine and the demand for their stripped pelts have begun to increase. They presently can be found in Asia in the countries bordering the Pacific and Indian Oceans, or the southern and eastern countries. Weighing from 140 lbs. to 670 lbs. often depending greatly upon gender and subspecies, the heaviest of all cats are males from the amur subspecies, which live exclusively in Russia's Siberia. There are three phases in pelage that a tiger may acheive- black stripes of orange background, red stripes on orange background, and dark brown stripes on white background, of which only one can be found in the wild (without the captive breeding required so infamously to get the white phase).
photo from unknown source
"My bones hurt, and my body is extremely tired," Auroara said yesterday as I talked with her. "Do you want help?" "No," she replied. "I am ready to leave my physical body behind. The pain will not go away, and I want to leave." I knew in my heart, she would soon be gone. "Auroara, what has been your life purpose? Have you completed what you came back to do?"
Her voice was now soft as her vital energy was beginning to depart from her body as she responded. "In search of perfection, there is always much suffering. Perfection does not exist. I was born from an intent of breeding for the perfect tiger. I was not born the way they expected me to look. There was damage in the information that tells my body how to form at a deep level. I chose to come anyway allowing my "imperfect" body to awaken awareness within you."
I watched Auroara as she lowered her head. "What becomes of those things that are not perfect? What becomes of them? How quickly you move on to something else. The "imperfect" ones are rejected and forgotten. You are beginning to see with your heart the silent suffering that is endured in your quest to obtain something that does not exist. Know there are others like me whose purpose is to bring awareness that in the process of creating perfection, there is always suffering that never ends. The only thing that is created is silent suffering. As I leave my physical body, I ask you to quit trying to create perfection, for it will never be. Be in harmony with nature, not in control of it."
As I closed my eyes to hold back the tears, my hands crossed my heart as I saw the southern, charming tiger full of energy as she dashed quickly through a dense jungle. Auroara's body was like a young kitten. She was home, and her spirit was free at last.
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