Super Big Birthday Update!

Is it a coincidence that my birthday is in the same month as Defender's of Wildlife's anniversary? Perhaps, perhaps not. The card I received from my Grandmother today said "To a very special granddaughter who blends in with nature." Thats a great compliment, in my opinion!
In honour of Defender's anniversary I'm posting this list of some of their greatest accomplishment's over their 60 years of service to nature, along with updates on the subject and links you can click if you'd like to help in their continuing efforts in these areas.

Wolves: Defenders led a decades-long battle against wolf opposition to return these iconic predators to the wolf paradise which is Yellowstone National Park. Wolves were finally reintroduced in 1995, and have made an amazing come back! Their numbers are finally high enough that they can reclaim their place in the Yellowstone ecosystem, hunting Bison as they are meant to do. Not only is this great for the wolves, but it helps keep Yellowstone's Bison and Elk populations healthy. North American Grey Wolves still have a long road to travel though: we're still fighting to keep their protections and keep anti-wolf officials in New Mexico, Alaska, Wyoming and Idaho from trying to exterminate them! Take Action to help Wolves.

Bald Eagles and California Condors: The Bald Eagle is the internationally recognized icon of of the United States of America and our national symbol, but 50 years ago there were fewer than 500 nesting pairs in our country! Since then the banning of various pesticides (DDT, Carbofuran), efforts to protect habitat and crack down on illegal shooting of the birds has brought their numbers back up to somewhere around 70,000. But Bald Eagles and California Condors still share one common enemy: Lead shotgun pellets. Studies in California suggest that the most common threat to the endangered Condor is lead poisoning from ingesting shotgun pellets found in carrion. Recently legislation passed a key committee in California to reduce the use of lead shotgun pellets. Learn more about endangered avians!

Dolphins and Sea Turtles: You know that 'Dolphin Safe' lable you now see on your tuna can? That's because of a ban on large-scale drift nets that Defenders helped put in place in the 80's and 90's. Countless dolphins, whales, sea turtles and 'junk fish' have been unintentionally maimed and killed by drift nets, so continue to make sure you only buy dolphin safe tuna! Defenders thoughtfully supplies us with a list of which retailers sell dolphin safe, or non-dolphin safe tuna here.

Here are some of Defenders' most recent successes!

Defenders' supporters helped defeat a proposal to expand hunting near Alaska's McNeil River State Game Sanctuary and Refuge, potentially saving the lives of Brown Bears and other species.

Cook Inlet's Beluga whales have all but vanished, but pressure from Defenders' supporters convinced the National Marine Fisheries to reverse its earlier decision about the whales and propose listing them as an Endangered Species.

Finally, THANK YOU GOV. O'MALLEY! Just yesterday Mr. O'Malley signed a ban on commercial harvesting of Maryland's beloved Diamond Back Terrapins, which over harvesting had reduced to a quarter of their population two decades ago. GO TERPS!

I'd have more pictures for you, but blogger is having mental problems. Another update tomorrow because it's my birthday and I can do whatever I want to, nyah! Tomorrow a highly belated feature on the newly classified Bornean Clouded Leopard.

Happy (B)EARTH DAY!

That's right, this sunday is Earth Day! Why? I have no idea! But who needs an excuse to party, right? So this Sunday, weather willing, gather up your closest friends and have a little get together to celebrate our Mother Earth! Just don't forget to recycle your soda cans!

Speaking of recycling and Earth Day, one of the easiest things you can do on an every day basis to help our planet is recycle. In some neighborhoods recycling can be picked up just like your trash, in others there are designated drop-off centers, like at a fire station or community building. And in many places you can recycle such things as aluminum, tin, and other scrap metals or glass for cold hard cash! Recoup some of your 10 dollar a week cola habit by recycling all your aluminum cans for as much as 55 cents a pound. Just a trunk full of empty soda cans delivered to a paying scrap metal recycling center can net you an easy 15 bucks. It's a great way to inspire otherwise uninspireable teenagers to get involved. If your kids are anything like me, they probably have that 15 bucks stacked all around their room, or rolling around in the floorboard of their car. But whether for profit or the simple health of the planet, you can find a place to sell or dump just about anything you can think of to recycle using Recycle.net's Traders and Recyclers Directory.

If the weather cooperates you might make Earth Day an outing with the family to a local nature spot. Visit the zoo or a nearby water garden and impress upon your children the importance of preserving our planet's natural wonders, not only for their beauty (though that ought to be reason enough!) but because our planet (and us!) simply cannot survive without them! To locate a National Park near you go to the National Park Service website, or to find a Wildlife Refuge visit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service's Refuge Finder.

Here's where I wish I was going to be on Earth Day!

Apache Lake, Arizona. Surrounded by the Superstition Wilderness, Three Bar Wildlife Area and located in Tonto National Forest. We've seen Big Horn Sheep, Coyotes, Coati, Herons and seasonal water fowl, Falcons and Bald Eagles. We even know up which canyon a mama Mountain Lion lives, and have heard the squeaky chirps of her newborn cubs. Needless to say, we left her alone!

Saving America's Symbols: Mustangs

Saving America's Symbols is a new article series I'm starting, featuring some of the most influential and prominent species in North America, such as Bison, Bald Eagles, and the American Mustang. Many of these animals are the backbone on which our nation was created and as such deserve our respect and continuing protection. I'm starting with the Mustangs because we're coming up on foaling season soon. Its been a strange, hard, changeable winter all over the country this year, and I doubt the Mustangs are fairing any better than the rest of us. For wild horse herds all over the southwest and in their northern ranges of Montana and Oregon and some in Alberta and British Columbia late spring and into the summer is the foaling season. For the Buruea of Land Management and other entities set with 'managing' the mustang herds this is also the height of roundup season.
During the summer of 2006 Front Range Equine Rescue (sister charity of the Cloud Foundation to save wild horses) published heartbreaking accounts of roundups that took place in Utah and Nevada. Chased by helicopters with days old foals running along side, panicked horses stumbled, broke legs, trampled foals, and collapsed from exhaustion to perish in the desert, or be rounded up later and hauled by truck to pen sites. A corraled horse panicked and broke its neck when it crashed into the fence, and another kicked a foal that had gotten mixed up with the adult horses, killing it. Even unborn foals were lost, when stress caused the mares to abort their babies. In 1971, the United States Congress recognized Mustangs as “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West [...] that [...] contribute to the diversity of life forms within the Nation and enrich the lives of the American people.” Is this the way we treat such living legends?
Anyone familiar with horses, wild or otherwise, has heard of the Burns Amendment. This illegal appendix to the 1971 Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act virtually gutted protections for these animals, as well as impacting the lives of countless domestic horses. Further plans by Mustang management calls for using birth control on mares over 10 years of age to help hold down the population. While this is a less expensive route than the barbaric roundups (conducted at the taxpayers expense, I might add) it will still help to contribute to the downfall of one of America's most recognizable symbols of freedom. Wild Mustangs have been pushed into isolated rangelands in some areas, far seperated from other herds, and birth control would only weaken their already compromised genetic diversity. These beautiful animals, once desenced from Andalusians, Arabians, and some of the most graceful and intelligent breeds in the world would become the 'weeds' that western ranchers have long held them to be.

For more information, or to donate to FRER's campaign to save our Mustangs, visit:
http://FrontRangeEquineRescue.org

http://www.wildhorsepreservation.com/issue.html (Warning, this website contains disturbing photos taken by press and onlookers at Wild Horse Roundups)

When I was 13, a 30 year old adopted Mustang taught me how to jump high, and how to dream. If Bandit is still alive today he'd be in his forties. Where ever you are I still love you, Bandito.

Factory Farming

Here's one I didn't know about until recently: factory farms keeping breeding female pigs in 'gestation crates', tiny metal cages basically the same size as the pig. She can't move forward or backward more than a couple of shuffling inches, can't turn around, hardly has enough room to even lay down and get back up.
Now, I always assumed that factory farms kept their animals in fairly confined spaces, but not even enough room to lay down? That's like if you kept your 70 lb golden retriever in a shopping cart basket its entire life and never let it out. That's cruel confinement. And it happens to more than just pigs. Baby cows are taken from their mothers, placed in similar 'crates' and tethered to the wall to keep them from moving about, all while being fed a diet purposely lacking in vital minerals and fiber, all to make the perfect cut of veal. Chicken eggs are hatched out in incubators, and the chickens spend their entire life packed one on top of another in wire cages hardly tall enough for them to stand up in. I get dozens of letters in the mail every year from horse rescue groups looking for homes for Premarin foals, but I've only ever gotten one letter from a group who was actually trying to do something to help the MARES. Premarin producing mares have a nice life, part of the time. They get to live outdoors in large groups, enjoying the grass and sunshine. Until they get pregnant, then it's into the barn for the next so many months, confined to a stall with a bag stuck under your tail, just so middle-aged women don't get hot flashes. And meanwhile the foal gets tossed by the wayside, a 'by product' of Premarin production.
Do you remember when you were a kid, getting fried chicken for summer picnics? Now think about the last time to picked up a bucket of fried chicken on the weekend. Those thighs and drumsticks just don't look as plump as they used to, do they? Heck, there's hardly any wing in that bucket. That's because that chicken probably spent her whole life in a tiny little cage, hardly moving around, being fed unappetizing supplements, and never grew or muscled out properly to make a nice chunk of chicken.
Dairy cows are slightly better off. They don't have to stand around in the milking barn all day at least, though I'm not sure what the situation is these days with those milk-production boosting drugs and supplements. I haven't noted it to be a widespread practice at least in my part of the country but I can cite at least one farm that still practices tail docking. Upon noticing to my outrage a farm full of Holsteins with their tails chopped off, I had to call my mother who grew up on a dairy farm and ask her if they had docked the tails of the cows at her farm. She said no, but she knew that the practice existed. I've since read that 'nicking and docking' are BANNED in the UK and a number of European countries.
Many of what the New Jersey Department of Agriculture calls 'routine animal agricultural practices performed by farms on a daily basis' have been CONDEMNED as cruel by the American Veterinary Medical Association, yet these practices continue. How can a country that is so forward thinking when it comes to human rights be so backwards when it comes to the basic rights of animals?
Here's a Glouceshershire Old Spots sow and her little piggies as they were meant to be, roaming free range in an orchard! You're never going to hear me say 'don't eat meat.' I'm not a vegetarian, I'm never going to be a vegetarian, and I don't think you should have to be either. If you are vegan or a vegetarian, more power to you! I wish I was that strong. But while we might eventually convince 60% of the world to drive hybrid cars, we're never going to convince them all to eat soybeans instead of beef. We're not going to stop the slaughter of domestic livestock. But we CAN do our best to see that these animals don't suffer. What can you do to help? Go to Farm Sanctuary to find out more about cruel farming practices, and how you can help change the legislature that allows it! And you know, if you happen to have 40 odd acres and no mule, maybe you can adopt one.



I may not be a Veg, but I applaud those who are!
Says creator GreenBites of this design: Being a smart investor, and being a Vegetarian or a Vegan, you are really bullish on saving lives. Invest in nature, invest in peace, invest in lives. And we will get the returns that we never dreamt

North America's Wolves on the chopping block!

This is one of those really timely topics that always has me on edge. We have until the end of March to help put an end to aerial gunning in Alaska, as well as some Northwestern states plans to immediately eradicate wolves as soon as the government lifts the protections that have allowed wolf recovery to take place in the Rocky Mountains.

After the government and charitable organizations have spent years and uncountable (I'm sure SOMEONE is counting, but it isn't me) amounts of money attempting to insure that one of America's keystone species survives, it is completely amazing that they would then allow local government officials to expend enormous amounts of money to turn around and simply KILL the animals that others have worked so hard to save. And for absolutely, positively, No Good Reason. Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin is even offering a 150 dollar bounty for wolves killed within designated 'management' zones, and also left open the possibility of allowing hunters to use not only fixed-wing aircraft but helicopters to gun the animals down, despite the fact that Alaskan voters have twice voted to restrict aerial gunning of wolves! We aren't alone in this cause, however. One of Defenders of Wildlife's generous donors has agreed to double all contributions made before 5 pm on Monday (up to 24,000 dollars.) To help halt this travesty go to Defenders' Action page and make your contribution now!

Meanwhile in the lower 48, Idaho and Wyoming are gearing up to kill 2/3 of their state's wolf populations if the government decides to reduce or remove protections placed on the animals. This means that any wolf who sets paw outside a wildlife refuge or national park in these states could be shot on sight. This is not people killing wolves in protection of themselves or even livestock. This is people killing wolves because wolves somehow offend them, and they just want them gone. Personally I equate the situation to this: the president of a home owners association spends a lot of money to advertise the benefits of living in her neighborhood, thereby attracting new home owners. Then she decides she doesn't like these new people in her neighborhood. Now these people haven't bothered her. They're just living where they should, minding their own business. But Madame President doesn't want them so much as LOOKING toward her perfectly manicured front lawn. So if one of them pokes their head out the door she shoots them! Thats exacally how insane Idaho and Wyoming's so-called wolf 'management' plans are. Not to mention that these states are also considering aerial gunning. Please continue to show your support for the Rocky Mountain grey wolf, America's iconic predator and one of the main attractions at our largest National Park, Yellowstone.

Another beauty from DCR Images. Don't let these magnificent animals be hunted and harrassed to the brink of extinction!

More beautiful artwork by Shevin. The Wolf and the Bald Eagle are icons of America.

Adorable! Baby Orangs and Tigers best friends!

This may well be the cutest thing I've ever seen. At the Taman Safari Zoo in Indonesia, two rare Sumatran Tiger cubs and two baby Orangutans were rejected by their respective mothers. Zoo workers caring for the infants kept them in the same nursery and amazingly all four of the babies have bonded. Full grown a Sumatran Tiger may well consider an Orangutan a tasty snack, but for now all these cute babies want to do is play! In this picture of Dema the tiger cub (26 days) and Irma the orang (5 months) you can actually see that they are looking into each other's eyes. It's like Koko and her kitten, only in reverse! Someday these tiger cubs will be much larger than their primate playmates. The Sumatran Tiger is the smallest tiger subspecies, only weighing in at 200-300 pounds, and living in an increasingly smaller population in only one place in the world: the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It is believed that there are fewer than 700 Sumatran Tigers in the world, only 500 or less in the wild. On Sumatra and Borneo, where Orangutans live up to 90% of the islands forests have been logged, even some areas supposedly set aside as National Parks. Sumatran Tigers are listed as a CRITICALLY endangered species. Orangutans are listed as ENDANGERED, with likely less than 60,000 in the wild in Borneo and less than 10,000 in the wild in Sumatra. It has been suggested that Sumatran Orangutans be listed seperately as Critically Endangered.






Dave's Photo Gifts has many wonderful photographs of animals and nature, including this adorable art tile! Baby Orangutan gives daddy a kiss!



Absolutely gorgeous! Sumatran Tiger with kaleidoscope eyes from Ann's Sketchbook. Beautiful rendering by a talented artist.

The year in recap, Earth Day, Climate Crisis Action Day

If any of you have ever happened to stumble over to my other blog at Unwholy Babble-On you'll see that life around here has kinda gone to the fiery pit of Hades in a hand basket in the last week or so. But we're recovering. However, I've hardly had time to even think about this weeks Living Gaia post, or find submissions for specific issues, so this week we're going to have to let the little furry creatures fend for themselves a bit. First I want to make a list. These are all the charities and organizations I personally support:

World Wildlife Fund
Defenders of Wildlife
Front Range Equine Rescue
ASPCA
Beyond Pesticides

Those are just the ones I tune in to on a regular basis. As a full time supporter of WWF and Defenders I receive regular email and snailmail updates and action alerts, a great way to keep on top of issues that can develop quickly. Not only do these organizations help wildlife in need, they help to protect our own natural resources, and the integrity of our natural history. Imagine where America would be today if we'd let our national symbol, the Bald Eagle, go extinct? It would be a disgrace.

Speaking of symbolic animals...I said the furry critturs were on their own, but I didn't say anything about reptiles! As a Marylander I have to help spread the word and save Maryland's diamondback terrapins from overfishing! Here in the states we don't even EAT turtles (for the most part) so why are we destroying our national natural resources to export a food product that is nothing more than a delicacy? We're not saving any starving chinese children with diamondback terrapin export, folks. And everyone knows that the Terp is a nationally known symbol for Maryland! What will we call our University of Maryland teams if the diamondback terrapin disappears? The Maryland Common Box Turtles just doesn't have the same ring. If you are a Marylander, Gov. O'Malley is listening, so start talking! Give his office a call and explain to him why there needs to be a LEGAL BAN on terrapin fishing, not just a bunch of loophole filled DNF guidelines.

In other news: Don't forget about Climate Crisis Action Day in Washington, D.C. on March 20th! For the sake of wildlife and ourselves we need to tell Congress to step up and start making some real change, if we want to keep living on this planet.

The TeeShirtShoppe knows what they're talking about, man. I mean, do you really think they have Chocolate on Mars? Not to mention they don't have trees, or oceans or, I don't know, the proper amount of OXYGEN!

Also coming up, the Spring Equinox and Earth Day! Stay tuned for more information on what you can do to make this Earth Day a success. With pressing social and environmental issues as well as elections on the horizon we have a real opportunity to create change this year.

Wildlife Action Update: Defenders of Wildlife has collected almost 90 thousand of the 100 thousand 'actions' required to halt aerial gunning in Alaska. All you have to do is help is add your own thoughts to a form letter, sign and hit send. Its as simple as signing a petition, but it has that extra added individuality that helps make our voices really heard. We still need lots of Action to save our Rocky Mountain wolves, though! Jaguars and Polar Bears still need our help as well. There is also a boycott of ExxonMobile that you can sign and send, telling them you will not support them until they stop lobbying to open up some of our most precious wildlife refuges to drilling, invest in alternate energies, and take responsibility for the damage caused by the Exxon Valdez disaster. You can find all these 'Actions' at the Defenders Action Center.

As a final word I'd just like to say "welcome to spring!" I know we still have a week to go officially, but as today was the first day warm enough to open all the windows and air out the house, thats good enough for me!To me, Spring is when the new year REALLY begins. Lets make it a good one, helping wildlife, helping our planet, and helping each other :)



This classic design from Melhi Ink really says it all! A peace ribbon that says it the way YOU mean it! This unique marriage of peace sign and ribbon symbol lets you speak volumes without saying a word.