Category: Conservation
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The Year of the Tiger*
The largest cat of all. Top of the food chain. One of the most culturally important animals on this planet. But with as few as 3,200 surviving in the wild, the tiger faces extinction by the next Year of the Tiger in 2022. -WWF OK, I know I promised more posts on the giant panda,…
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Good Luck Tai Shan!
They’re unique and extraordinary animals and the world would be poorer without them [on giant pandas] -David Suchet Tai Shan, the beloved four and a half year-old resident of the National Zoo in Washington D.C. has finally arrived in China where he will be part of a panda breeding program at Wolong’s Bifengxia Panda base…
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Once in a Blue Moon…
When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world. -John Muir For the first time I can really say once in a blue moon and really mean what I’m saying…Like many around the world I always thought that blue moon literally meant blue or a…
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In Harmony with Nature
“There are ancient secrets and lessons hidden in nature. If you seek for guidance, you will discover the truth” –Bobby Lake-Thom Every time I hear someone complain or bash the National Museum of the American Indian I get upset, and frankly it makes me sad. Some of the reasons I’ve heard for the dislike are:…
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Oh Wonderful Fall!
“Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.” -Stanley Horowitz Somewhere I read that North America’s deciduous forests offer the planet’s most spectacular show of seasonal color. Indeed I’ve traveled around the world, lived in different countries, and I’ve never seen something as magnificent as…
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The Changing role of zoos – Part 2
From all the definitions of habitat I’ve heard or read about, the one that I agree the most is provided by Janine Benyus in the wonderful book, The Secret Language and Remarkable Behavior of Animals, according to her “A habitat is a place where an animal finds what it needs to survive.More than a geographical…
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The changing role of Zoos – Part 1
For thousands of years…yes thousands…zoos that probably were not called like that, were mere collections of exotic animals; for the Egyptians and other empires it was a way of showing power and wealth. Later during the 19th and 20th centuries it became a source of pride for cities around the world, but still, animals were…