a process that creates a state called "tonic immobility", shark expert Mike Rutzen has studied this state in which a shark goes completly limp and relaxes, immobile.
the old thought was that the only way to acheive this was to flip a shark over on its back and by overloading its senses the brain releases massive amounts of seratonin which renders it motionless. but this method is created through stress, so sharkman, as he has become known, is promoting this new alternative method of reaching tonic immobility: "tickling" or rubbing the nose gently.
the sesnsory imput in a shark's face is very sensitive, and gentle strokes seem almost anthropomorphically... plesurable. sharks that are familiar with this method will come right up and place their faces at belly level to have their snouts massaged and slip away into an unconscious state. they are witnessed frequently to push one shark in this tonic state out of the way to take their place and have their turn. the state allows scientific research and analyzing to take place and can help assess the health of a shark becaue of the close quaters. fishing hooks caught in their mouths are easily removed without a revolt and a loss of fingers.
here, he has subdued a lemon shark eager for his touch, and in a motion never before attempted, as the shark sinks to the bottom of the shallow sea as usual, he gently grasps the dorsal fin and pulls it up to test its trust. he flips the shark verticle and, still rubbing the sensory equipment on the face, he stands for nearly a minute with the shark vertically balancing on his hand. the animal could move away at any moment, but unphased, she remained voluntarily in his control. he has acheived this state with many smaller sharks, tiger sharks, and a great white for a short preiod.
Mike Rutzen is trying to express to the public that these animals are not mechanical, blood-thirsty killers, but rather on the contrary, are sensitive and intelligent. he has me convinced- discovery channel aired a two hour show on this prusuit of tonic immobility. he is known for swimming without a shark cage, as seen here, even with tiger sharks and great whtie sharks- he is unphased, just as they. his understanding of their behavior and their intentions is remarkable, to say the least.
it's a little bit of a lengthy read, but deserving of the twenty minutes it takes to go through it. this is the first hand account of Defenders of Wildlife's Excutive Vice President Jamie Clark when she returned to the gulf to see the effects of the oil spill. if you're intrested in the progress of the oil spill and what the spill means for the wildlife of the gulf, this will be worth your time.
"It’s day 49 of the Gulf oil catastrophe and I am back on the ground, this time in southern Louisiana with Cindy Hoffman and Krista Schlyer to see for myself the true impact on wildlife.
We hit the road early this morning and headed to the BP incident command headquarters to meet with Rowan Gould, the acting director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Kind of odd (and a bit disconcerting) to go into the belly of the beast, but once we were there, I was glad we entered. Lots of activity, a lot of intensity and even more security. After some negotiating by Rowan, we were able to get into the back rooms where all the action was happening. Before he negotiated with Mike Ulster, the head of the efforts for BP in Louisiana, the BP security would not even let us look in the windows of the rooms.
As Rowan toured us around, I was astonished at the number of people from all over the country and from numerous agencies that had been deployed to tackle this crisis. Mike Ulster, the overall incident commander for La. from BP’s north slope operation in AK, and I saw FWS staff from Florida, Tennessee, California, Virginia and many other points across the country (former colleagues of mine had left already full-time jobs back home to respond to this disaster). The place was also crawling with military, Coast Guard, National Guard troops, and Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries staff. I have to admit, I was impresed by how coordinated the effort actually seemed to be.
Rooms full of FWS, Coast Guard and other staff at computers and phones tracking the data on the spill, printing out real-time maps, and directing others on the ground where to go to deploy booms, skimmers and conduct wildlife rescues. Rowan told us that helicopters fly a grid every day to gather data on the oil and wildlife. They report back to this central command center, which then deploys boats out to where wildlife is being impacted the most. Over fifty boats are staffed with rescue personnel and are out on the water every day, throughout the day, to capture oiled animals and bring them in for rehab. Just yesterday, they had captured 170 birds, five of them dead. He said it is really hard to get the oil off the birds, it’s just like Jello. This oil is way different than the oil in Valdez, AK. It’s not like anything I’ve ever seen.
We would soon experience this all for ourselves, as he suggested that we head down to Grand Isle to meet up with some of the Fish and Wildlife folks that would take us out on a boat. Se off we went, to Grand Isle, a small fishing and beach community that looked like every house on stilts was brand spankin’ new. We later learned from our boat captain that Hurricaine Katrina hit this part of the Gulf head-on and leveled most of the houses, so just about everything we were seeing was newly built. They were not even yet fully recovered from that natural disaster.
We boarded a small boat captained by one of the hundreds of fishermen recently hired by BP. He had been fishing these waters his whole life, (he told us he spends way more time on the water than on land) and now he and his son and their boats are employed by the very people that put him out of business. He was clearly from southern La. He was delightful to talk to, knew so much about the area and shared his knowledge about the whole reshaping of the region over the years, from the diversions of the mighty Mississippi River to the ongoing attempts to shore up the ecologically rich barrier islands scattered all throughout Barataria Bay. While the whole area is incredibly vast, the maximum depth is only about four feet, which make the globby oil all the more devastating to the ecology of the area.
He took us first to Bird Island, and boy was it! It was undeniably magical.
The island was teeming with birds, a busy rookery for pelicans, egrets, roseatte spoonbirds and others. The sounds coming from the island were amazing, it was truly like listening to a bird symphony. I will say though, the smells were quite a bit less enchanting! A whole lot of birds in one place aren’t the neatest housekeepers around. The island was boomed with two rings all around, but the oil had easily made landfall due to some severe storms over the past couple of days. Many of the birds looked surprisingly clean, but some were obviously covered in oil.
Among those was a family of pelicans, with chicks that were coated in a thick carmel colored oil. Even the brush they were perched on was covered in the slime. These chicks can’t fly yet, but their parents, in their effort to feed and care for their young, head out into these now deadly waters searching for food. When they dive down to make their catch, they get covered in oil. Once they get back to their nests, in the process of feeding and sheilding their young from the blazing sun, the oil on their feathers drips off onto the very chicks they are trying to protect. Combined with many of the nests being “waterfront” property and subject to the tidal surges of oil, this easily put these and other chicks directly in harm’s way. As a mother myself, this was heartbreaking. While it was obvious the parents were doing all they could to raise these chicks, I fear it will be all for naught given how compromised they already are.
Rescues of birds are very challenging, as you can imagine. Officials need to be careful that they don’t cause more damage to the thousands of other birds nesting and rearing young on the island by getting in close to try and rescue one or two. The rescue team recorded what they saw, but needed a smaller boat that would not spook the birds as much as the motor boats we were in, which they did not have at the time. They would go back later for the oiled chicks.
Sadly after the completion of the afternoon inspection, we headed out to Queen Bess Island. I was particularly interested in getting out to this island because of all of the press on this area over the weekend. With so many birds drenched in oil, I feared the site would be unbearable to see. Our boat captain told us that Queen Bess had recently been restored, adding land and a rocky coast to protect the thriving rookery. Apparently all of the rechanneling of the Mississippi River by the Army Corps had really impacted this thriving island, causing water to erode these bird hotspots to the point of almost totally disappearing. The rocks around the island were coated in the slimy oil, clear evidence of the impact that was reported in the papers. They had managed to capture many of the worst-off birds over the weekend, and replace the booms, although the booms we saw were already saturated with oil once again and globs of it were floating all around.
By the time we got to Queen Bess, our rescue team had managed to get the smaller boat they could paddle up to the island. One of the rescuers, donning a white hazmat suit, got into the boat and paddled towards shore. His mission: to gently flush the birds on the shore so he could see which ones were so covered in oil that they could not fly. Fortunately, this trip was better than those of the recent past, and he did not find any in such a debilitating state. With the rescue mission over for the day, we headed back to shore. As we crossed back over Barataria Bay, it was hard not to notice the flotilla of fishing boats that have been converted with long simmers that almost look like wings hanging off each side of the vessels. These “fisherman” spend all day out in the Bay skimming the oil off the surface trying to “clean” the area. It’s hard to imagine ever getting an area that vast with such fast moving water ever clean, but you can’t help but be overwhelmingly impressed with the fortitude and determination and comraderie of all those hard working folks who are working tirelessly in unbelievably harsh weather conditions to get this job done. The daily temperatures and heat index rose above 112 degrees F, high enough to wither most humans, including me.
Driving back through Grand Isle at sunset, we decided to check out the beach and see what was happening there. We ran across a large clean-up crew that was packing up for the day. There were big man-made berms of sand that had recently been mounded all along the coast line. Huge culvert-like tubes fronted the sand berms for as far as we could see in either direction along the once (I’m sure) densely populated swimming area. Cars with Coast Guard and others were driving up and down the beach. It reminded me of the border wall, along the Mexico/US border. A safety officer came over to us to warn us not to touch anything or attempt to crawl over the berm to the ocean (why in the world would we do that?!). The whole area is now considered contaminated and if we got too close, we would be required to go through decontamination procedures. That was enough to discourage me from any significant exploration.
We headed back to New Orleans for the night, overwhelmed by what we saw but incredibly impressed by all the people working so hard to beat this beast of a spill. It’s so clear that this region is overwhlmingly impacted on so many levels for the future as far as we can see it. Let’s just continue to hope the the spectaular wetlands and incredible biological diversity can hang on while humans work hard to right this horrible wrong on the landscape."
Most people think of sharks as big mean predators that want to eat you but a few days ago in school we watched a video about sharks. I learned that they are endangered and people are illegally fishing them for food in some countries! I also learned that sharks are usually afraid of humans and will rarely try to eat one. And in the video it said there are no laws to protect sharks. I think that the governments of the world need to pass laws to protect sharks before they are gone forever! I think sharks are interesting animals and they may be big predators (just like big cats) but we need to save them. Sharks have every right to live here, they have been on Earth longer than humans. People just need to be careful when swimming and they need to be educated about how to avoid sharks and how to act if one is around when swimming in the ocean.
I just love fishing cats...they have such sad and soulful eyes.
http://journeyman47.wordpress.com/2009/09/13/human-crimes-against-animals/
Here is a NEW LINK...he added mine that i refer to below, and put the entire blog on a new blog page. This guy is terrific.
This blog names all but one that really hurts me. The one I refer to is the use of live cat/kittens, dogs/puppies as fishing bait. 
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/peopleagainstdogscatsasbait
This is a photo of a dog that luckily escaped from being used as live bait.
Please use the link to sign the petition.
Specialized as wetland hunters, Southeast Asia's fishing cats are good swimmers that prey primarily on fish.
The cat moved from "vulnerable" to "endangered" on the 2008 Red List of Threatened Species due to severe population drops across much of its range.
Wetland draining for agriculture, mangrove removal, overfishing, and increasing pollution levels have all contributed to the cat's decline.
Once thought to have numbered more than a million, the Caspian seal population has dropped by about 90 percent over the past hundred years, earning it a shift from "vulnerable" to "endangered" on the 2008 Red List, released in October.
The seal lives in the Caspian Sea, an enclosed body of water that borders Eastern Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The species has been affected by disease, increasing pollution, and accidental deaths due to fishing nets.
a fishing cat emerges from a bamboo thicket.
a fishing cat in a pool of water in b&w. I especially like the lighting of this picture.
Abul Hossain Gazi from Bangladesh's Khulna district had accompanied
his son and six others fishing in the Sunderbans yesterday, the
largest mangrove site in the world.
His son Monju Gazi was collecting firewood when he was attacked by a
Royal Bengal tiger.
Mr Hossain rushed to his aid and the two wrestled the beast for half
an hour before other fishermen arrived, and succeeded in beating it
back into the undergrowth.
Mr Gazi, 30, was taken to a nearby health centre with serious injuries
to his head, chest, hands and legs.
Although the number of attacks by man-eating tigers has fallen from
more than 40 annually a couple of decades ago to less than 10 a few
years ago, the problem has not been solved completely.
Most of the mangroves are in Bangladesh, but neighbouring India is not
free of the menace either.
Governments on both sides of the border have regulated the movement of
people inside the Sunderbans, which is also a world heritage site.
However, the human-tiger conflict still persists.
Bibhab Talukdar of the National Board for Wildlife in India told the
Press Association: "Villagers have been using masks for decades now,
and it has helped curb the problem a little."
"The tigers usually attack from behind. By wearing a mask, villagers
can trick the animals into thinking they are watching. It seems to
have worked quite well.
"But the authorities must find out the specifics of incidents like
these - whether the people involved were wearing masks, whether they
got too close to the tiger, etc," he added.
Tigers usually turn to man-eating when they are too old to catch wild
prey and humans become an easy target.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/dad-and-son-fight-off-tiger-14299273.html?r=RSS
May 5, 2009—In India's Sundarbans region, tiger-human conflicts are on
the rise as tiger habitat and prey disappear and as rising seas push
humans into tiger territory.
© 2009 National Geographic (AP)
Unedited Transcript
It's a clash of humans versus tigers.
Here, forest guards tranquilize and then rescue a pregnant tigress
last year from a date palm tree after she strayed into a village near
the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve in eastern India.
The tigress climbed the tree to escape villagers chasing her. Guards
nursed her wounds and then took her by boat and released her deep
inside the mangrove reserve.
The 2,700-square-mile mangrove forest in the Sundarbans is the world's
largest, and the region is one of the few remaining natural tiger
habitats in India.
But the predator's long shadow looms large over village life.
Families scrape by as rice farmers, fishermen and honey collectors.
And nearly everyone has a story about a friend or a relative attacked
by a tiger.
Local government records report that each year about 40 people are
attacked by tigers.
There are several tiger widows, thats a local term used to describe
women whose husbands have fallen victims to tiger attacks. Five months
ago, this womans fisherman husband died from his wounds in a tiger
attack.
SOUNDBITE: (Bengali) Jamila Mondal, wife of man killed by a tiger: "I
had told him many times that he should not go fishing ...but he said
he had no fear. That is what he used to say."
To prevent the recurrence of such incidents, forest officials have
constructed cages to trap tigers straying close to villages
SOUNDBITE: (English) Pranabesh Sanyal, National Coastal Zone
Management Authority: "Inside the villages, now human habitation has
increased a lot and their cattle population has increased, so lot of
cattle is available there which is also a food for tiger. And tiger is
becoming more and more habituated with this easy prey."
Analysts say both humans and tigers are suffering from effects of
global warming.
Once more common in the south, where no humans live, tigers have been
increasingly seen in northern woods, closer to inhabited islands.
At the same time, rising sea levels, erosion and increasingly brackish
waters have ruined once-dependable crops, forcing farmers to venture
into the tigers' domain in search of fish, crabs and honey to sell.
Sundarbans is an established tiger protection zone. And to ward off
tigers from creeping into populated villages, officials have built a
nylon fence around the tiger reserve.
Patrolling and monitoring of the big cats' movements within the region
has been stepped up.
SOUNDBITE: (English) Atanu Raha, Director, Sundarban Biosphere Reserve
"We are trying to make the villagers aware - we are trying to increase
their awareness that if the tiger enters, it might have entered by
mistake. If it has entered by mistake, allow it to go back....don't
disturb it , don't surround it. Get protection that you don't get
killed, villagers are not injured and keep the river side free so that
in the night, in the darkness the tiger can swim back to the forest."
For one man, the advice has come too late.
He still carries the scars of his close encounter with death when he
went looking for crabs in the river last year. The tiger tore into his
arm and shoulder.
SOUNDBITE: (Bengali) Fatik Haldar, Tiger Victim: "How can I go back to
fishing ? My body has lost its strength to go fishing in the
river...but who is going to provide food for us if I remain like this?
"
The Indian government now wants to recruit retired soldiers to patrol
tiger sanctuaries in the hopes of saving the last of the cats.
There are only 1,500 left in India's reserves and jungles - down from
about 3,600 six years ago and an estimated 40,000 a century ago.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/05/090504-sunderbans-tigers-video-ap.html
Photo`s By Me Todd - Philadelphia Zoo - April 18th 2009
Photo`s By Me Todd - Philadelphia Zoo April 18th 2009
FISHING CAT Facts
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Genus and Species: Prionailurus viverrinus
Description: Fishing cats range from about 25 pounds for males to about 15 pounds for females. Head and body length is 25 to 34 inches. These cats have a long, stocky body, relatively short legs, a broad head, round ears, and a short tail. Their olive-gray fur has black stripes and rows of black spots.
Distribution and Habitat: The fishing cat’s general distribution is southwest India, Sri Lanka, countries of the southern Himalayas, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand, Burma, China, and the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. However, these cats are not found all throughout this broad area because of their habitat preferences. They are strongly tied to densely vegetated areas near water, in marshes, mangroves, rivers, and streams.
Diet: The fishing cat’s diet includes birds, small mammals, snakes, snails, and fish. The cat attracts fish by lighting tapping the water's surface with its paw, mimicking insect movements. Then, it dives into the water to catch the fish. It can also use its partially webbed paws to scoop fish, frogs, and other prey out of the water or swim underwater to prey on ducks and other aquatic birds. It is powerful enough to take large prey, such as calves and dogs.
Reproduction: Two to three young are born after a gestation of about 63 days. Young reach adult size at less than one year of age. Little is known about the details of their reproductive or social behavior in the wild.
Conservation: Fishing cats are are listed as vulnerable on the World Conservation Union's Red List of Threatened Species. They are threatened by habitat loss and hunting for food and fur. People have drained many wetland areas to make room for farmland and roads. Pollution from industries has poisoned rivers and streams where fishing cats once fed. However, fishing cats appear to do well in suburban habitats, so they may prove adaptable to human activities that some other species.
Fun Facts
When swimming, the fishing cat may use its short, flattened tail like a rudder, helping control its direction in the water.
Part of the fishing cat's scientific name, viverrinus, comes from the taxonomic family Viverridae. Like the fishing cat, civets and other members of this group have long bodies and short legs, and many have stripes or spots along the body, and banded tails.
[Prionailurus viverrinus] or [Felis viverrinus]
tribe: felis
conservation satus- endangered
range: india, pakistan, nepal, shri lanka, bangladesh, sumatra, java, indonesia
diet: fish, frogs, invertebrates, rodents, birds
weight: 13lbs to 26lbs
The fishing cat stands up to his name; it is one of the only species of cats to depend upon aquatic ecosystems. Even so much that the fishing cat has partly webbed feet. They are one of the only cats recorded to swim compleatly submerged. This serves a hunting style- as fishing cats sometimes swim beneath waterfowl and pull them under. With a long face and the stripes common to asian cats, their pelts can range from apparently striped all over the body to having stripes only on the face and a few long stripes dow the neck. Their coat base color can range from browns to greys in a variation of shades. They have short legs and slightly short tail. Living in the Indonesian islands- east of India, south of China- they are rainforest dwellers. They can weight between 6 and 14 pounds, depending on gender. Instead of meowing as most small cats, the fishing cat have a barking vocaliziation, said to sound much like a dog. The fishing cat is threatened by incresing human destruction of the forests and wetland that are so dear to this species. They are becoming increasingly rare.
photo courtesy of jessie cohen, national zoo
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