Author: guildwild
Who is to tell who is an animal!
Sanjay Jain
The recent death of a pregnant elephant in Kerala after being fed an explosive-stuffed pineapple proved to be yet another example of how humans have a lot to learn from animals. It brought forth convincingly how wildly humans can act and how humanly animals can behave. Despite being in intense pain, the elephant travelled for about 20 days without food, and without harming anyone, before breathing her last in the Velliyar river. In her death, she conveyed a strong lesson about how even the worst kind of violence can be answered through nonviolence and austerity.
There are myriad such examples of animals outwitting humans by their wisdom. The natural defence mechanisms of animals are also better evolved compared to humans, as they have to face the most uncongenial of the circumstances for survival. The science of cognitive ethology lets us learn about the fascinating world of animal minds. For example, it reveals how jellyfish uses its creativity to navigate swamps; how bees use their intelligence in flying the shortest distance between flowers, and how birds use their smartness in feigning injury to deceive predators. Birds are even known to share information with other birds, recognise human faces and avoid those humans who chase them. Crows, like Einsteins among birds, do many brainy tasks, including the well-known trick of raising the water level by dropping pebbles into it!
Animals have great therapeutic value, too. Horse therapy is a recognised form of treatment for diseases like autism and mood and movement disorders. In France, a horse named ‘Peyo’ is known to be an excellent such ‘therapist’. It is allowed to visit hospitals with its owner. It communicates with the ailing and makes them feel better. Feline purring vibrations have also been found useful in treating several human diseases. Babies who live with pets during their first six months have better immunity against allergies and asthma.
There are several amazing incidents of how household pets have rescued their owners in various ways, such as alerting them to house fires or even sniffing out cancer. In 2005, a 12-year-old Kenyan girl was rescued by lions from kidnappers. Lion experts said it was possible that the lions were dissuaded by her crying, which resembles the sound of a lion cub. Mark Twain observed, ‘If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and man.’
In the traditions of Bharat, animals have always been treated as companions with whom we share the earth and from whom we can learn a lot to evolve better. This is evident from many of the yogasanas that are derived from animal poses. Many birds and animals, as vehicles of gods and goddesses, symbolise power, grace, beauty, dignity and wisdom. Symbols of 17 out of the 24 Jain Tirthankaras are animals or birds.
Spiritualist Anthony D Williams has rightly observed, ‘We have more to learn from animals than animals have to learn from us.’
5 Addictive Animal Cams You’re Gonna Love
Staying quarantined all the time probably has you stir crazy by now and maybe even wondering what’s going on in the outside world — you know with the animals. And with zoos and aquariums off-limits, there are only so many ways to catch up with our friends in the wild. But no worries, you and you kids can still check in on some pretty amazing species via webcam — and we found five that do the trick.
Depending on what hour you tune, you might be treated to the animals during an actual livestream, but if not, no worries. Most of these kid-friendly webcams also include highlight reels that provide hours of footage that’s ready for watching. Just press play and become mesmerized as you watch gorillas in the lush forests of Africa snooze unencumbered or watch brown bears in Alaska catching salmon as they swim upstream.
Gorillas in the Mist
The Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education Center (GRACE) is an organization dedicated to the conservation of the eastern lowland gorilla (Grauer’s gorillas) in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The program focuses on the long-term rehabilitation of these majestic primates (the largest in the world!) by creating surrogate families of orphans. There are about 300 gorillas in the habitat. The webcam, which went live on Sept. 24, 2019, in honor of World Gorilla Day, captures male silverbacks, adult females and little ones romping around and dozing in the forest, and snacking on leaves, blissfully unaware of how much joy they’re bringing those who are watching from afar.
One Word: Puppies
Umm, puppies, hello! No matter what time of day you check in, you’ll likely be greeted with an adorable pile of puppies transmitted live from Brookeville, Maryland. These pups, typically a litter of Labradors, are part of Warrior Canine Connection, a program designed to help service members and veterans who are struggling with both psychological and physical injuries. Veterans with PTSD help train and socialize the pups, starting at 4 weeks old, to become service animals for other physically disabled vets. Everyone benefits from the love and connection the dogs provide along the way. It’s a win-win situation for all involved. And when you tune in to the webcam, it’s a win-win-win!
Fat Bear Challenge
Established in 2012, the Brown Bear Cam of Brooks Falls in Alaska’s Katmai National Park is a classic animal cam that you need to check out immediately if you never have before. If you tune in early in the spring, you might be surprised to see how skinny some of the bears are. But no need to worry, they’re just coming out of hibernation. As the months progress into June and July, those bears will thicken right up on a feast of migrating sockeye salmon that leap up the falls. It all leads up to Fat Bear Week, an annual competition in October that awards the biggest chunk through an online bracket.
Carole Baskin’s Big Cats
If you’re curious to check in on Carole Baskin’s cats, check out The Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Florida. That’s where you can see the “Tiger King’s” co-stars via The Big Cat Rescue cam from many different vantage points around the sanctuary. The most popular view is of Tiger Lake where two rescue tigers in separate enclosures lounge on wooden platforms — but don’t miss Nikita the Lioness or the Kitten Cabana. The latter showcases the smaller cat species at the reserve, such as bobcats, but also regular house cats who live in a fever dream of a scratching post corral.
Save the Manatee
Tune into the underwater and above-water manatee cams at Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park to see the park’s permanent residents, Ariel, Betsy and Electra (who was rescued in 1998 after a boat struck her) drift and float across your screen. You might not see them right away but that makes a glimpse of these interesting creatures in their natural habitat all the more rewarding.
Concern over deer population in Hopewell Township
Hopewell Township, NJ (WTXF) – A New Jersey area known for it’s open space and wildlife preserves now has a dilemma at least that’s when some are saying. They’re worried about too many deer and the impact on property not to mention a growing number of car crashes with the animals.
“They were here first,” resident Jack Belmont said.
White tail deer grazing away on a wildlife preserve in Hopewell Township, New Jersey.
“Those deer were not afraid of us,” Sandy Belmont said.
Apparently the deer are not afraid of much. They have no natural predator and don’t even care about all the traffic zooming by, but they don’t stay on their protected land.
Jack and Sandy Belmont say they protect their plants with wire and spray and place bird seed really high.
They love the deer but so many drivers, farmers, conservationists and naturalists say they’re big trouble.
“In a nutshell, it’s ten times too many deer,” Ecologist at Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space Michael Van Clef said. “Lyme disease, something like one in four households in Hopewell, has had someone with Lyme disease.”
There were hundreds of deer-involved accidents in 2016 alone.
“The forest is dying farmers are suffering huge economics losses. Let’s all work together there isn’t one simple solution.” Executive Director at Sourland Conservancy Caroline Katmann said.
Can Ants, Squirrels And Other Animals Sense When An Earthquake Is Coming
Before an earthquake rattles a region, some animals within the vicinity might be able to sense the event just seconds or minutes before it happens.
The earliest reference to unusual animal behavior in response to an impending earthquake dates back to 373 B.C. in Greece, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Several days before a destructive earthquake hit, creatures such as centipedes, snakes and rats reportedly left their homes to find safe locations, according to the USGS.
Similar accounts have surfaced in the centuries since, including reports of violently moving catfish, restless or barking dogs and panicked bees abandoning their hives, according to the National Geographic.
Scientists can easily explain the cause of unusual animal behavior seconds prior to humans feeling the jolt of an earthquake, the USGS reported.
“Many animals with senses [that are] more keen than humans are able to feel the P wave seconds before the S wave arrives,” said USGS cartographer Diane Garcia.
The USGS defines a P wave, or compressional wave, as a seismic body wave that shakes the ground back and forth in the same direction and the opposite direction of the wave’s movement.
An S wave, or shear wave, also shakes the ground back and forth, but does so perpendicular to the wave’s direction of movement.
Rodents and other urban animals are great at sensing subtle changes and reacting to earthquakes before humans do, according to Jordan Foster, a pest technician with Fantastic Pest Control.
“Seismic activity creates stress, which releases charged particles up to the Earth’s surface and into the air,” Foster said. “Those particles transform into ions, which increases the serotonin levels in animals.”
When this occurs, creatures such as rats, weasels, mice and squirrels might behave oddly, including standing frozen in place or acting uneasy.
“This can happen anywhere from a week to just seconds prior to the actual earthquake,” Foster said. Rodents are also able to detect the primary seismic waves far more in advance than people can, he added.
“The primary waves run in the same direction and do not create much of a disturbance, hence why we don’t sense them, but secondary waves run at a right angle to the primary waves, which is the actual earthquake and what humans experience,” Foster said.
Research has also shown that ants might be able to sense an earthquake coming. In advance of earthquakes with a magnitude of 2.0 or greater, ant colonies have been observed stopping their usual activities prior to, during and up to a day after an earthquake, Foster said.
German researchers found that ahead of an earthquake, red wood ants, which prefer to live along Germany’s active faults, remained awake throughout the night outside their mound, exposed to predators. Such behavior is unusual for ants, as they’re not nocturnal creatures, Foster said.
“It’s unclear how exactly they sense the danger, but the two leading theories are that they can feel the changes of Earth’s magnetic field and sense fluctuations in carbon dioxide levels,” he said.
Most accounts of animals behaving strangely are anecdotal, and consistent, reliable behavior prior to an earthquake as well as a mechanism explaining how it might work still elude scientists, the USGS reported.
Although animals may be able to detect an earthquake seconds before the first tremor, sensing an earthquake days or weeks before it happens is a different story, according to Garcia.
“Much further research needs to be done regarding the possibility of genetic systems having evolved enough to have early warning behaviors for a seismic event,” she said.
Irvine Woman, Children Have Close Encounter With Mountain Lion
An alert woman and several surprised children kept close tabs on a mountain lion in the backyard of an Irvine home last week, enabling state wildlife officers to safely capture the cat.
Shortly before 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 11-year-old Michael Deming was putting his bicycle away when his mother, Danielle Deming, noticed some movement and a dark shadow near a fence behind her home on Charleston, a small street off busy Irvine Boulevard.
“Just as Michael closed the gate to come around to the front door I saw a large cat face appear,” Deming recalled. “It was a mountain lion in our backyard watching Michael. I was very concerned because I didn’t expect to see it in a residential neighborhood.”
Deming rushed her son inside the home and went again to look through the dining room window but didn’t see the mountain lion. But as Deming opened the sliding patio door, she heard the cat scaling the fence and landing in a neighbor’s yard.
Deming immediately texted neighbors and phoned the Irvine Animal Control Center.
“It sounded crazy and I didn’t think they would believe me,” she said. “The animal control officer that called me back even said that the last person who reported a mountain lion had actually seen a large mama raccoon with six of her babies hanging onto her.”
Shortly after the phone call the mountain lion hopped back over her fence and into Deming’s yard. This time Deming was prepared and snapped several photos with her cell phone that she sent to the animal control officer.
“It looked very calm, and it wasn’t until later that I took a closer look at the pictures that I could see how big its paws were and that its claws were extended,” Deming said.
Then as Deming, who teaches violin at her home, was continuing to watch the mountain lion, her doorbell rang. A 8-year-old music student and the girl’s 10-year-old brother were standing at her front door. “I rushed them inside,” Deming said. “A second later the doorbell rang again. It still wasn’t animal control. It was another boy from our street. We had quite an audience of excited children watching a mountain lion in our backyard.”
Irvine animal control officers arrived at Deming’s home and began tracking the animal, which had once again jumped into a neighbor’s yard. The officers spotted the cat through some missing slats in a fence and shot it with a tranquilizer dart, Deming said.
Later that day after the 3-year-old, 110 pound male mountain lion regained consciousness, it was released back into its natural habitat, said Andrew Hughan, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The mountain lion was likely pursing food, most likely a deer, when it inadvertently became trapped in Deming’s backyard, Hughan said. “It was in the wrong place and had no route back to its habitat.”
Mountain lions typically hunt alone from dusk to dawn. As many as 10 of them are spotted in Orange County each year, according to Hughan.
Deming described watching the big cat up close as frightening and chilling. “It was a crazy, heart stopping experience,” she said.
Happy Tail for Diesel The Husky
A waggy dog story has had a happy ending after an incredible fund-raising effort saved a rescue animal from the likely prospect of being put to sleep.
Diesel, a handsome Siberian husky, was in real trouble because scans revealed he needed a double hip operation, a major undertaking costing almost £4,000.
And sadly Diesel is not even a veteran dog with a long life behind him, but a pup who is just a year old.
The scans showed he urgently required full hip replacements on both sides, as only 25 per cent of the ball joint on both sides are actually in the sockets.
But after a series of fund-raisers in Diesel’s home town of Fleetwood, a magnificent sum of £3,000 was raised meaning the procedure will be able to go ahead.
Even better, he has now been adopted by a new owner who has a knowledge of Siberian Huskies and understands their needs.
Diesel’s fate started to look up after he was rescued from his original home in the port when his owners struggled to deal with his hip problems.
Dog lover Linda Stackhouse played a key part in the fund-raising campaign in Fleetwood and said: “The best thing was that the fund-raising directly led to Diesel being taken on by Howls for Help (Sled Dog Rescue), a charity in Colne which specialises in fostering Siberian Huskies.
“If we had not raised that money, there would be no chance of the operation or the foster charity getting involved. Now, Diesel’s foster carer, who lives near Colne, has decided to adopt him .”
Diesel is now having hydrotherapy sessions to build him up before the operation.
People Shell Out Lakhs To Own Exotic Animals & Birds Of Fancy Feathers
HYDERABAD: The craze for exotic animals has taken over the city, with people willing to shell out lakhs to own one. Apart from dogs like Siberian husky and Chow Chow, there is huge demand for birds like Blue-eyed cockatoo, Macaw, green iguana, African grey parrot and other exotic species. These exotic animals range from 30, 000 to 25 lakh.
“There is a huge demand for exotic dogs, cats, and birds. People are ready to spend money to buy an animal with proper pedigree. On an average, we sell about 30-35 animals every month,” said Md Moinuddin, owner of Ammus Pets & Kennels.
He says dog breeds like Maltese, Shih Tzu, Shiba Inu, Chow Chow, Labrador retriever, and Golden Retriever are in demand and owning a dog with proper pedigree can cost up to 5 lakh. Among cats, the Bengal cat and Persian cat are in demand.
Pet shop owners said that people are crazy about birds like cockatoo, Macaw as they can interact and have lately became status symbol, and costs up to 25 lakh. While few birds are imported, most are bred in captivity in the city itself.
“We get many orders for birds like Blue-eyed cockatoo and scarlet macaw and these cost 5 lakh and 3.5 lakh, respectively. Once, they are properly trained, these birds are easy to maintain and will live up to 80 years. Hyacinth macaw can live up to 100 years,” said Suresh Kumar, caretaker at a pet store in Banjara Hills.
Animal lovers said they are ready to shell out money for the best dog breeds. “Although many assume that maintaining a good breed dog is costly than a country dog, the fact is that these dogs are very light on pocket. The pedigree is known so, one needs to get them vaccinated only for few particular diseases,” said Akhila Reddy P, an animal lover, who owns different kinds of dogs, turkeys, turtles among other animals.
Slovenly Humans Bring Out The Worst In The Resident Wildlife
After enduring weeks of overcast skies and squally showers, hordes of visitors had evidently spent the day at the heath, making the most of the long-awaited sunshine.
A confetti of carelessly discarded sweet and ice lolly wrappers littered the path to the 22-acre Heath Pond. The bins were overflowing with bottles, cans and fast food packaging, but rather than taking their rubbish home people had resorted to dumping bags of picnic detritus beside them.
As I watched a carrion crow tug the ham out of a half-eaten sandwich, I noticed movement inside one of the supermarket carriers. The plastic bulged, and a stocky brown rat squeezed out from between the loosely knotted handles. Two lithe youngsters slunk out of the bramble thicket, and the trio began scrabbling through the cornucopia of scraps.
Just as the adult sniffed out a browning apple core, a German shepherd puppy came loping towards them. The juvenile rats galloped towards the lake and leapt into the silt-clouded water. Paddling out to an overhanging willow, they each shinned up a whippy branch with squirrel-like agility. Unwilling to abandon its prize, the adult sank its yellow incisors into the fruit and skittered through the reed bed, disappearing into a bolthole beneath the boardwalk.
While domesticated “fancy rats” are praised for their cleanliness, intelligence and sociability, their wild counterparts are perceived as dirty, disease-ridden vermin. True, humans are susceptible to a host of rat-borne pathogens and, as well as spreading disease, Rattus norvegicus causes significant economic damage to property and crops, and threatens UK biodiversity. However, it is important to recognise that brown rat ecology is inextricably linked with our own – we can’t blame these opportunistic animals for exploiting humankind’s pervasive slovenliness and antisocial behaviour.
By the boat-hire hut, where mute swans, mallards and Egyptian geese congregate, a sign urged visitors not to feed the wildfowl, in order to avoid attracting rodents. Beyond the sign, foraging trails of star-like splay-toed prints surrounded the hotdog buns, hunks of granary cob and anaemic-looking crusts of sliced white that lay mouldering on the muddy bank. It was clear that, until we clean up our act, we are extending rats an open invitation.
Experts Offer Tips On Protecting Property From Urban Wildlife
The hot, wet summer and the ongoing construction around Mansfield have combined to create a perfect habitat for wooded animals. Experts from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the city’s own Environmental Services Department have advised the city that residents can take measures to protect themselves and their property.
In addition to mosquitoes that inhabit creeks and other standing water, wildlife ranging from mice and rats to snakes and raccoons are looking for food, water and shelter from the elements.
“While it’s great to see all the construction activity throughout the city, turning dirt often means displacing wildlife from their habitats,” said Howard Redfearn, environmental manager for the city. “One of the biggest impacts is along Highway 360. The area where the road is being constructed was home to several species of wildlife for many years. That wildlife is now looking a place to call home.”
There are measures homeowners can take to keep nature from invading their yards and homes says Sam Kieschnick, urban wildlife biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife.
“First of all, it’s not a wise decision to leave out food for wild animals,” he says. “If folks are feeding outdoor cats or dogs, they need to make sure that they remove all uneaten food. Other critters will utilize those food sources.”
Kieschnick also suggests sealing garbage and trash cans. “Many wild animals are opportunists, so if there is leftover food or bits of food in the rubbish, a raccoon or opossum or rat would take that in a minute.”
Another important step is removing any possible habitat for wild animals. Homeowners should remove brush or wood piles or remove shrubs and thick vegetation.
Redfearn said many of these tips, including removing standing water from around homes and property, are also helpful in keeping mosquitoes at bay.
“All of these steps may not seem like much but they can have a significant impact,” Redfearn said.
Both Kieschnick and Redfearn say this year’s wet weather has meant plants have responded with lots of seeds and fruits. This causes a boom in the mice population and also a boom in the things that eat mice.
“Texas Parks and Wildlife has answered numerous calls about wildlife including bobcats and coyotes all around the Metroplex,” Kieschnick said. “I just tell folks to adjust some of their behavior – cleaning up garbage and not leaving food out – and the animals respond.”
Here’s How Harvey Is Affecting Wild Animals
People and pets aren’t the only ones trying to get back on their feet after Tropical Storm Harvey. Wild animals also took a hit from the record-breaking rainfall, surging floodwaters and brutal winds.
The Houston SPCA Wildlife Center of Texas has been “bombarded” with requests to help injured or waterlogged wildlife, and has taken in 225 animals since Friday, executive director Sharon Schmalz told HuffPost. She expects that number to grow in the coming days, as the waters recede and more people are able to get around.
Many of the wildlife center’s newest patients are baby squirrels.
“These poor little guys, a lot of them fell out of the nest or blew out of the nest,” said Schmalz. “They’ve been lying on the ground, some of them were underwater.”
The center is also caring for turtles, possums, rabbits and a variety of birds. It even received a frigate bird — a kind of seabird — that was blown ashore by the high winds.
Workers are scrambling to keep their growing number of charges warm and fed, and to administer needed veterinary care. The center has set up an Amazon wishlist of needed supplies, and also is accepting monetary donations.
The ultimate goal — when the animals are healthy and conditions are safe — is to release them back to the wild.
Steve Lightfoot, spokesman for Texas Parks and Wildlife Development, told HuffPost that it’s just too soon to assess how serious Harvey’s effects on local wildlife will be. But he’s optimistic.
“I can tell you that wildlife populations in Texas are fairly resilient,” Lightfoot said in an email. “These species evolved with hurricanes and floods, so they will recover.”
That said, Lightfoot noted that the high number of baby squirrels that have been blown out of trees may mean there could be “a significant impact to this year’s squirrel crop.” He also predicted that while many young deer are likely old enough at this point to swim to high ground, the region would likely see a reduced number of fawns in the fall.
Habitat recovery is also a concern, Lightfoot said, noting that major storms in the past have been detrimental to freshwater marshes around the coast, inundating them with saltwater.
“Those are areas that provide critical habitat for migrating birds such as endangered whooping cranes, so that is a concern as many migratory species will be heading to wintering grounds in Texas in the months ahead,” he said.
Schmalz explained why she believes that humans have a responsibility to step in and assist wild animals in times of crisis. After all, people sometimes ask, isn’t a storm just nature taking its course?
“The problem is, we have so changed [the animals’] natural world,” Schmalz said. “There’s so much concrete, so many homes, so many trees we’ve cut down, we’re not on an even standing anymore.”
She said she wasn’t sure how the ramifications of Harvey might affect local wildlife populations in the future.
“Hopefully they’ll bounce back,” Schmalz said. “We’ve never seen a situation this big.”
Guild Wild 