20-Apr-23, 08:27:11 AM
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19141
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Other Nature Related Information / General Nature Discussion / Re: The UN and Biodiversity
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on: 22-Sep-10, 01:06:56 PM
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Sheesh!! Did you see this one on the same page?? OMG Man jailed for killing hamster in microwave A man who killed his hamster by cooking it in a microwave has been jailed for nine weeks. Anthony Parker, 29, of Holyrood Way, Hartlepool, admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a Syrian hamster in February. He was also banned from keeping animals for five years by Hartlepool magistrates. The court heard Parker put the animal, called Suzie, in the microwave after a drunken row with his girlfriend. Neil Taylor, prosecuting, said the animal had been killed in a cruel way. He said: "It was clear the hamster died in agony." The animal's lips were burned and its eyes were opaque. A post-mortem examination showed Suzie had been exposed to microwave radiation. 'So drunk' Parker had initially denied the offence because he made a confession to police when he was drunk. He later said he had no recollection of events. But he changed his plea before Wednesday's hearing. The court heard he told officers he had not meant to kill Suzie. Adrian Morris, defending, said his client had previous convictions for drink-driving and a public order offence which happened six years ago. But there was nothing on his record linked to cruelty. He said: "He effectively comes before this court a man of good character." Suzie's death would have been rapid and the "cruelty and suffering were not prolonged", he said. But Mr Taylor said: "This is a man so drunk he puts a hamster into a microwave and kills it." I don't care how drunk one gets, this is horrific. "I didn't mean to kill her" he said. What, he just wanted to burn her? Sick sick people! |
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19143
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Other Nature Related Information / General Nature Discussion / Dutch Harbor's bald eagles dive-bombing people Animal Planet
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on: 22-Sep-10, 08:01:53 AM
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This summer, I spent a month on the Bering Sea on an oceanographic research vessel, blogging for Nature. After we docked, I spent a couple days in the port of Dutch Harbor on Unalaska Island. If you watch the Discovery Channel show Deadliest Catch the name Dutch Harbor will ring a bell – it serves as a home base for fishermen in the show during crabbing season. It’s the number one commercial fishing port in the U.S., and though the town is very small, there are always scientists and fishermen from all over the world during summer. And there are hundreds of bald eagles. This is becoming a wee bit of a problem. Read on.
The beautiful volcanic island of Unalaska lies along the Aleutian Island chain, which stretches westward from Alaska. When I returned to the port of Dutch Harbor in mid-July the hills were verdant and covered in wildflowers. It’s foggy much of the time, and the airport has a single runway, when planes take off or land, they have to close the one road that goes through the middle of town because the runway goes right up to its edge. The town itself has only two stores – the Alaska Ship Supply and Safeway, and there is one hotel – the Grand Aleutian. It sits right across from the rocky shoreline, which is fun to explore. I spotted a sea lion in the distance, and found some sea anemones and seashells in the tidepools. There's also the Unisea which Deadliest Catch has made famous. A sign on the door says “Please give your knives to the bartender. It will be returned when you leave.”
But that's got nothing on the talons and beaks of a bald eagle. America's national bird is truly massive, majestic and regal. But you don’t want one of them chasing you or dive-bombing your head. Right about the time I visited, the newspapers reported a couple of bald eagle attacks on people. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service biologists came into see if anything could be done to prevent the attacks, since the eagles are protected species and people can't shoot or disturb them. They posted warning signs at a few of the spots where people visit regularly which have nearby nests with eagles known to fly at people– including the town post office and the library.
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19144
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Other Nature Related Information / General Nature Discussion / Wood stork's status to be reviewed News Press Fort Meyers
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on: 22-Sep-10, 07:55:24 AM
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3 P.M. — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will review the biological status of the wood stork to determine whether the endangered species should be reclassified as threatened.
Once found mainly in South Florida — the largest wood stork breeding colony in North America is at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Collier County — the population has expanded to Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Mississippi.
A major reason for the stork’s endangered status is loss of wetlands, which are essential foraging habitat.
“The wood stork has shown an ability to adapt to the environment,” wildlife service spokesman Chuck Underwood said. “We’ve also seen colonies pop up over a broader area. It looks like it might be doing OK.”
To review the stork’s status, the wildlife service is soliciting all scientific and commercial data and any other information about the species throughout its range.
Depending on the results of the review, the wildlife service could:
• Determine that reclassification is not warranted, so that no other action would be taken.
• Determine that reclassification to threatened is warranted, in which case, the wildlife service would publish a proposed rule and solicit input from the public and scientific community.
• Determine reclassification is warranted but defer any proposed reclassification while the wildlife service works on the status of other species.
Reclassification would not mean that the species would no longer be protected, Underwood said.
“‘Threatened’ means it’s still in serious condition,” he said. “It means that, biologically speaking, it’s in better shape, but it still needs protection.”
Corkscrew resource manager Jason Lauritsen agreed that the wood stork’s expansion is good news.
“What concerns us is how they’re doing here,” he said. “What we want to see as they consider downlisting is a long, hard look at the plight of wood storks in their historic nesting range, their historic breadbasket.”
Satellite tracking data show that many storks that nest farther north spend part of the year in South Florida, Lauritsen said.
“Hendry County, just north of Corkscrew, is the hottest spot in the country for wood storks,” he said. “From October through December, storks from Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama come down here to feed.
“The recovery effort so far has focused on areas where they’re nesting without looking at the impact on their winter range. We want to make sure we’re still protecting this region.”
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19148
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Other Nature Related Information / General Nature Discussion / Natural velocity
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on: 21-Sep-10, 10:36:45 PM
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The longer I live on the Island, the less I want to leave. Martha's Vineyard
My world here is small and slow, and I’ve grown to love it that way. Most of my existence is centered within a five-mile radius of my home in Edgartown. Vineyard Haven seems a world away sometimes, and forget about Chilmark! A short off-Island jaunt can be cause for alarm, and even some anxiety. I will cross Vineyard Sound, but only when absolutely necessary (and then there might be some kicking and screaming in protest). It’s become a game to see how long I can go without getting on that boat.
Part of my aversion to going off-Island is that for me, the speed of life fluctuates depending on my locale. When I must go off-Island, whether for a day trip or a longer stretch, I find myself always rushing, especially when it comes time to return home. This may be because I am usually going full throttle, in typical off-Island style, then frantically racing to Woods Hole to catch the boat. The best part of any off-Island trip – after knowing you’ve made the boat – is the ride back to the Vineyard.
In some ways, the transition from the high-speed, off-Island pace to the slow and relaxing ferry ride home feels like hitting a wall at full speed. Once on the boat, however, it’s as if I have suddenly become suspended between the fast and the slow, with nothing to do but reflect and watch the sea go by as I transition from the frantic pace of America to the unhurried way of the Island.
The nature of velocity and the velocity of nature intersect in our wild world. In my work as director of the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary, I spend a lot of time thinking about the peculiarities of the natural world, and on a recent ferry ride I ruminated about the velocity of nature. Fast as a hummingbird and slow as a slug, speed figures into all lives and speed figures into all things.
At the top of the list is light itself. Nothing travels faster than light. The speed of light is 186,000 miles per second, or approximately seven hundred million miles per hour. Light from the sun reaches us in 8.5 minutes! Impressive if you consider that the distance between the earth and the sun is about 95 million miles, or about 6,786,000 round-trip ferry voyages between Woods Hole and Martha’s Vineyard.
In the plant world, fast would be bamboo, of which some species are alleged to grow up to four feet in height in one day. At the other end of the spectrum, slow would be lichen, a plant so unhurried that its growth can barely be observed. Estimates of annual growth under optimal conditions reach about one millimeter per year.
Animals have their own momentum. The fastest in the world, the peregrine falcon, clocks in at 200 miles per hour when it dives. On land, the cheetah holds the record at 70 miles per hour. The killer whale tops the list of swimmers at 35 miles per hour. That makes my running at seven miles an hour seem quite leisurely. It makes me feel better that some other animals don’t come close to my pace. Dawdling very far behind me would be the snail, which eases along at 0.03 miles per hour, and slower still, the sea horse, at 0.001 miles per hour. The bee is almost my equal, flying at six miles an hour.
At those speeds, the peregrine falcon could make the seven-mile ferry trip from Woods Hole to Vineyard Haven in just over two minutes, the cheetah in six, the whale in twelve. The snail would take almost ten days, and the sea horse would be in it for the long haul with a 292-day trip. For those of you looking to revisit your middle school math days: How long would a dragonfly take to reach Woods Hole from the Island if its pace is 36 miles per hour?
Once the boat reaches the southern side of Vineyard Sound, I rush to my car, anxious to get home, only to be slowed once again, as I quietly wait my turn while each vehicle exits the ferry. The mellow pace of my everyday life is one of the things I value most about living on the Vineyard. I try to keep in mind that life is not a race. You might miss the boat back to the Island, but luckily, those Steamship folks will run another ferry soon.
So I take my cue from the snail: I stay rooted in Island soils and live by the wise words I heard often during my time in West Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer. There, my Hausa friends often repeated the proverb “sanu sanu bata hana zuwa,” which translates to “slowly, slowly does not prevent going.”
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19150
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Other Nature Related Information / General Nature Discussion / Re: Monarch prep for Hawk Mountain's first Monarch Day Migration Celebration
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on: 21-Sep-10, 07:43:57 PM
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Received this note today.
Sept 21
Joe Giunta and I (Sy Schiff) spent from 10:00 AM to noon on the top of Hook Mt. We saw all 8 species of the expected hawks, both vultures and Common Raven. Not too many hawks except for the Broad-wings. At one period, a kettle merged into another kettle and another. The sky was filled with BROAD-WINGED HAWKS and they kept coming. The count was ~900 when we left with the afternoon yet to come.
A Broad-wing flight day is always a spectacular. We lucked out.
Good birding. Sy
OMG! 900  |
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