The Dallas Zoo & Jenny the Elephant

The Dallas Zoo is seeking to relocate its 32-year old African elephant, Jenny, to the Africam Safari Park in Puebla, Mexico. (yes, Africam)

According to the NY Times story What to Do With Traumatized Elephant Stirs Up Dallas, there has been a local -- and increasingly national -- uproar over the Dallas Zoo's choice of future home for Jenny the elephant. Jenny is considered somewhat of a "special needs" elephant, as she at one time suffered from serious depression which included anger and self-mutilation.

So, what's all the fuss about?

Since the death earlier this year of the Zoo's other elephant, Jenny has lived alone. Zoo officials hope to relocate Jenny to the newly AZA-accredited Africam Safari Park, which offers a part of a 4.9-acre shared elephant site. (Currently, one acre of the proposed space is occupied by several Asian elephants.) However, Jenny has an opportunity to live out her life at The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, in a setting offering her several hundred acres within their 2,700 acre sanctuary.

You would think it would be a no-brainer for The Dallas Zoo, but it is not. The Safari Park offers significantly less roaming space than the Sanctuary (a portion of a 4.9-acre elephant site compared to 300+ acres), and less experienced staff. Additionally, the American Zoo Association (AZA) standards are voluntary amongst its members; the Safari Park accounts to no one. Also, more walking space would help in preventing arthritis, which many zoo elephants are prone to because of the small size of their enclosures.

Perhaps most importantly, the move of Jenny from a zoo to a drive-through theme park both perpetuates and highlights an organizational perspective of very street-level thinking: that animals are easily disposable, that the size of an animal's enclosure is irrelevant to quality of life.

Visit concernedcitizensforjenny.net to find out more about Jenny and how you can help in her quest for a better life.

Comedienne Lily Tomlin has become active in efforts to convince Zoo officials to allow Jenny to live at the Sanctuary....or any sanctuary. Read her blog post Lily Tomlin to the Rescue of a Special Needs Elephant.

To submit an online email to the mayor of Dallas, Tom Leppert, click on this link. Or, email tom.leppert@dallascityhall.com. To reach the Mayor and City Council members, write to: Mayor/City Council, City of Dallas, 1500 Marilla Street, 5th Floor, Dallas, TX 75201-6390

Bush Seeks to Render Endangered Species Act Comatose

ABC News reports that the Bush administration is seeking to make extinct parts of the Endangered Species Act. The following is a bit from that story, Bush to Relax Protected Species Rules:

The Bush administration wants federal agencies to decide for themselves whether highways, dams, mines and other construction projects might harm endangered animals and plants.

New regulations, which don't require the approval of Congress, would reduce the mandatory, independent reviews government scientists have been performing for 35 years, according to a draft first obtained by The Associated Press.

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said late Monday the changes were needed to ensure that the Endangered Species Act would not be used as a "back door" to regulate the gases blamed for global warming.

Well, that's pretty damned ridiculous. He says right there that his interest isn't "species," it's regulation of gases alleged to affect global warming. He's got his regulations mixed up. (Having things mixed-up seems to be common in the proud-of-his-college-"c"-average Bush administration.) Will somebody please slap the guy and yell "Snap out of it!"

Essentially, Bush proposes to "relax" current natural resources and wildlife policies, leaving the welfare of our natural resources and wildlife to be determined by federal agencies (such as the Dept. of Transportation) that know nothing about land and life, instead of agencies that do (Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, etc.).

Who needs independent assessments, second opinions, scientific input, diverse perspectives, or even a brain for that matter? Not us.

Would any of these federal agencies have proposed these projects in the first place if they thought it might be a problem? No, they wouldn't have wasted their time. If Bush has his way, these federal agencies will just go ahead with their projects without concern to anyone except their developers ($$$).

Please read today's NY Times editorial An Endangered Act, which addresses President Bush's continued attempts to eradicate the physical health and welfare of flora and fauna in this great country, quickly and surely.


It's a wonder I still have hair left.

Mom Moose & Twin Calves Playing in Sprinkler

Here's a cute YouTube video -- sent to me by my Uncle P. -- of a mother moose and her twin calves. It appears that they walked into someone's backyard; the calves are having a riot playing in the sprinkler!

Really beautiful. Enjoy!

Click on this link to watch: Mom Moose and twin calves playing in sprinkler. The video was posted by "Arcticsooner" and is just under 4-minutes' length.

Wildlife Art

There is an interesting article in the NY Times about wildlife art, and specifically at the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Titled The Prowess of the Painter in a Hunter's Paradise, critic Edward Rothstein's story is also a somewhat melancholy look at the vanishing wildlife that inspires wildlife artists. Rothstein also makes mention of the varieties of wildlife art (sport, scientific cataloging, etc.) and the history of wildlife art and the driving forces behind it. It's a good - and educational - read.

One of the best collections in the Midwest of wildlife art can be found here in "our own backyard," at The Ella Sharp Museum in Jackson, Michigan.

The Lost Ladybug Project

Today's NPR program All Things Considered broadcast the segment Lost Ladybug Project Turns Kids Into Scientists. Here's some info from that program's web site:

Cornell University wants you to find and photograph ladybugs. John Losey, a professor of entomology at Cornell University, hopes children will help document ladybug populations around the country. Some native species are dwindling, while exotics are on the rise.

Here's a paragraph from the Lost Ladybug Project web site:

Over the past twenty years several native ladybug species that were once very common have become extremely rare.... During this same time several species of ladybugs from other places have greatly increased both their numbers and range. Besides being incredibly cool and charismatic ladybugs are also essential predators in both farms and forests that keep us from being overrun with pests (like aphids and mealybugs). In many areas the native ladybugs are being replaced by exotic ones. This has happened very quickly and we don't know how this shift happened, what impact it will have (e.g. will the exotic species be able to control pests as well as our familiar native ones always have) and how we can prevent more native species from becoming so rare.

Visit the site to learn more about participating in the project (click the above link).

For more information about the beneficial laboring ladybug, read my October 20, 2007, post Ladybugs and Gardening.

Urban opossums in the garage

This afternoon, detroit dog's spouse was cleaning out the garage. He pulled all kinds of things out of the corner, and as he positioned the broom and took a small swipe at a pile of leaves, out came running 6 little baby opossums. Surprise! Four ran under the never-used lawnmower, one climbed up fencing to nowhere, and one dug a little deeper into the leaves. The spouse ran inside.

What to do?

Well, we went back out and tried to recreate some semblance of the small dark space that they'd called home. We didn't touch the babes, who are old enough to no longer live in their mom's pouch (opossums are the only marsupials in north America). Keep in mind that we did not want the animals separated from their mom (who wasn't present), and we didn't want them dead.

I called the Michigan Humane Society Wildlife Department and asked what to do? They told me that opossum moms move their litter every 2 - 3 weeks, so they'd soon vacate the premises. But, if we want them out sooner, she said to keep a light on and/or a radio playing; opossums like the dark and the quiet.

We're going to keep things as they usually are around here, and will check back in a few days to see if they've relocated. I am a little worried, though, since the mother didn't appear to be there. Having said that, the babies looked very healthy and moved around just fine (the one was climbing some fencing about four feet up). I'll update this post to let you know what's going on with the critters.


Where to learn more about the lovely (and highly useful) Opossum: National Opossum Society, the Opossum Society of the United States, and The Humane Society of the US wildlife page. I really like the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's Living with Wildlife page.

Quick opossum facts:

Opossums...

• ...eat mice, rats, and carrion (good news around here), and snails, slugs, spiders, cockroaches, and insects ("carrion" is dead animals), as well as over-ripe/rotting fruit or vegetables (as opposed to fresh)
  
• ...score better than dogs (and about as well as pigs) on learning and discrimination tests
• ...are more resistant to rabies than any mammal (including humans), and do not carry parvovirus and distemper (possibly due to their low body temps)
• are fairly docile, and not aggressive or vicious though they may appear so, however, just before falling into a catatonic state that lasts from minutes to hours ("playing opossum"; they will stiffen and be still and appear dead - even if you pick them up)
  
• ...get along with cats just fine (they seem to have a mutual respect for each other and just ignore each other)
• ...opossums do not dig! They can't; opossums have no "fingernails." Their paws are too soft to dig, so if you see them in or at a hole, it is one that was dug by a different animal. They do have "thumbs" on their hind paws.
  

Sounds worth building a home for! (at least in urban and suburban areas.)

For wildlife questions, contact the Michigan Humane Society Wildlife Department, located at the MHS Rochester Hills Center for Animal Care, at (248) 852-7420 ext. 224. MHS Wildlfe Dept. Hours (7 days a week): Tuesday - Friday, 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. and Saturday - Monday, 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

P.S. I don't recall which web site the above photo is from, but the photographer's name is on the photo.

Endangered Species Act: Yellowstone Wolves

There are almost no words that I can say to convey the utter stupidity and audacious carelessness of our current presidential administration's policy to do away with our country's wildlife and eco-systems; it's as though we're rushing head first into ecological genocide. (But, hey, business is great.)

After successfully ridding most of the western part of this country and Yellowstone National Park of all wolves nearly a century ago, the government decided in the 1990's to transplant 66 Canadian wolves in the Park. Over those short years, the number of wolves has grown to about 1,300. They were protected by the Endangered Species Act.

While scientists say that to protect and encourage healthy genetic diversity the wolves should number over 2,000 before being de-listed. The federal government thinks otherwise, and in February took the wolves off the Endangered Species list. As a result, Park employees are allowed to kill wolves they deem a "problem," and any that step out of the park onto state land are allowed to be hunted by sportsmen and ranchers alike. Several wolves have already been killed, two as "trophies."

The following is from a New York Times article titled U.S. Ends Protections For Wolves In 3 States, which I suggest you read:

State management plans allow for wolf hunting, or outright eradication in some places — including most of Wyoming — with a target population of 150 in each of the three states.

There are over 330 million people in this country, and we want to limit the numbers of wolves to 150 in each state? I say let the ranchers lose a cow or bull once a month (the average loss) in exchange for keeping a species alive, thriving, and healthy. I also say let the hunters have less elk to eat and less trophies in exchange for keeping a species alive, thriving, and healthy. For keeping our ecosystem - and human life - intact.

A New York Times editorial says the exact words that I feel about this situation; please read When Protection Vanishes, published in today's paper.


During his 7-year tenure as President, Bush has listed less than 60 animals as Endangered Species. Both Clinton and the former President Bush each listed at least 60 animals annually.

Thanks to our selfishness, we are putting ourselves in a dangerous situation where one day our wildlife will be depleted to the point of (near) extinction - leaving us without natural resources, sport, food, and jobs. Without maintaining our natural ecosystems - and the lives of those with whom we share the earth - we'll be putting an end to our own lives.

Read the Washington Post 2004 story Endangered Species Act's Protections are Trimmed.

Consider the current federal government wildlife polices in The Dog House.

(See detroit dog's March 23 post about Yellowstone Bison.)

Update 4/12/2008:

Read the New York Times story In the West, a Fierce Battle Over Wolves. It explains the current situation between those that want to hunt and/or kill wolves and those that want wolves re-listed on the Endangered Species list. (10 wolves were killed the first week they were de-listed.) The de-listing of wolves will be contested by animal welfare/rights and environmental groups in a federal court on April 28.

Check the State of Wyoming Game and Fish web site for Wolf Information (links to Weekly Wolf Update and news releases, management plans, etc.)

Let's stop trophy hunting, and re-list the wolves for greater numbers and better genetic diversity.

Endangered Species Act: Yellowstone Bison

A short post today. Just want to post some links to a couple of stories about issues that I think are very important.

The first of these is found in today's Washington Post, and is titled Since '01, Guarding Species Is Harder and subtitled Endangered Listings Drop Under Bush. As the title infers, it's become incredibly difficult during the Bush Jr. administration to get animals listed as endangered species; policy has been set to purposefully make it difficult. Why? Well, my take on it is that it's good for business, big business. During Bush's tenure thus far, less than 60 species have been listed as endangered. In contrast, during the Clinton and elder Bush's tenures an average of 60 species were listed annually. In the meantime, Bush denied an emergency listing for a sock-eye salmon which has since become extinct, as has a pygmy rabbit that he denied habitat protection.

Today's New York Times runs the story Anger Over Culling of Yellowstone's Bison, about the hunting and slaughterhouse deaths of bison that have wandered out of Yellowstone into "the state of Montana." (Sorry, no link.) When winter snows are heavy in the mountains, the bison migrate into the valley to graze on grass in attempts to stave off starvation; it's then that they are hunted or rounded up for the slaughterhouse by Park employees. What is especially terrible about this slaughter is the increased loss of genetic diversity within the herd; often four generations of females travel together, and the culling essentially wipes out entire families.

(See detroit dog's April 5 post about the Endangered Species Act and Yellowstone Wolves.)

Poisonous Processional Caterpillars

Earlier today I was checking in at blogger pal hardworking hippy's La Ferme de Sourrou. She has some interesting photos of Processional Caterpillars in the woods near her home in France, and also explains the extreme dangers to animals, children, and some adults: serious life-threatening danger from just touching the caterpillars or even inhaling their hairs. Read her post Processional Caterpillars in the Woods.

She also gives a link to her blogger pals at Chez Francois et Danielle, whose post Poisonous Caterpillars goes into great detail, along with photographs of their poor dog's mouth after he ate some of the caterpillars (his tongue and mouth swelled). They rushed him to an emergency vet, and he lived; however, part of the dog's tongue rotted out within a couple of days (photos of this, as well), and he now has some difficulties eating and drinking.

hardworkinghippy was also kind enough to steer detroit dog to a SUNY Cortland website about a variety of social caterpillars, including photos and a link to the Pine Processionary caterpillar.

The caterpillars, which live in host Pine trees, are found in Europe, the Near East and North Africa. They are called Processional because they follow each other literally "head to toe" from one tree to the next.

I will try to find out if they also populate the Americas, and will update this post if so.

Punxsutawney Phil Predicts 6 Mores Weeks of Winter!

Famed prognosticating groundhog Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow at sunrise today, and has forecast 6 more weeks of winter weather!

brrrrrr!

Punxusutawney Phil "holes up" in Punxusutawney, Pennsylvania and has correctly predicted weather annually for over 120 years! Learn more about Phil and his Inner Circle at their very own web site: www.groundhog.org.

Phil's is a wonderful site, with a history of groundhog day, a list of Phil's annual predictions and related events and celebrity visits since the 1880's, a page for teachers, a page about the famed Inner Circle, and a page for the media.

Bundle up, stay warm.

San Francisco Zoo Tiger Attack Update

According to news reports, all 3 victims of the Christmas day tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo had indeed taunted and purposely distracted the tiger, Tatiana.

One of the surviving victims admitted to the three men standing on a 3-foot high railing, yelling and waving at the tiger; a matching foot/shoe print of one of the men was found on the railing. Medical tests, confirmed by the victims, also show that all 3 men were drunk (one of them twice the legal limit; they'd been drinking vodka) and had been smoking marijuana. Vodka and marijuana were both found in the car of one of the victims.

For a local view of recent developments, read the San Francisco Chronicle story Mauling survivor said he yelled at tiger.

For more detailed news information, read Police: Tiger attack victim was drinking, admitted taunting at the CNN web site.

The San Francisco Zoo also has pertinent information on their web site's front page, including correspondence sent to Zoo members, a news release, a "safety enhancement update," and a photo of the tiger Tatiana. (Scroll to bottom of of main page.)

detroit dog's thoughts:

1. Though the wall at the SF Zoo tiger enclosure is about 4 feet lower than recommended, the Zoo is not at fault for the tiger's escape: the recommended height is not a requirement for accreditation and the Zoo wall was built almost 80 years ago. Instead zoo accreditation requirements should be revised by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. (Perhaps the AZA should be sued.)
   
2. Such excessively stupid behavior by the 3 young men should not be rewarded (it's being said that survivors of the tiger attack, and the parents of the deceased victim, are filing suit). I say reimburse for the medical expenses only.

To read more about this subject, click on the label Zoo in this blog's sidebar.

San Francisco Zoo Tiger Attack Criticism

See post of 1/18/2008 for updated info.

Just read a story at The New York Times, titled Tiger Attack Puts Focus on Zoo Director (January 8). I'll try to link to the story here, but you might need to log in at the site before reading the story.

The story notes that SF Zoo Director Manuel Mollinedo is being greatly criticized for his suggestion that perhaps the mauling victims had been taunting the tiger that attacked them. It's said that the survivors' lawyer might file defamation charges against Mollinedo and/or the SF Zoo.

We know neither why nor how the tiger escaped its enclosure -- and no other tiger has ever escaped in the Zoo's history. Therefore, I believe it is not unreasonable to wonder if the reason might be that the animal was taunted. Do we know that it wasn't? Of course, no one - including the Zoo Director - has said that the men injured in the attack were guilty of taunting the animal.

As officials and the general public struggle to understand the cause of this situation and how to prevent further such incidences, it is at the least selfish and gratuitous to threaten a defamation lawsuit.

Farm Animals as Pets

Another post, written as a result of things that people Google that bring them to this site.

The Dog House stats show that someone recently did an internet search for Farm Animals as Pets in [insert name of city here].

Answer: Please check your City ordinances.

Many cities have these posted on their web sites, under a subheading of "Ordinances and Enforcement" or "Code of Ordinances". The ordinances will tell you about laws/regulations in your city regarding everything from amusements to trash pickup, nuisances to trees and shrubs, and elections to "animals and fowl".

Good luck!

SF Zoo Tiger Attack Follow Up

See post of 1/18/2008 for updated info.

Click on this link for a NY Times updated story about the Christmas day tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo.

Current news reports print that the San Francisco Zoo's Lion House, which is the habitat for its tigers, includes a 33-foot moat and a 12-1/2 foot surrounding wall.

Does this Zoo director have absolutely no idea about the logistics of his own zoo? At a press conference yesterday, he stated that the moat was 20-feet and the wall 18-feet. (I watched the press conference on CNN.)

The American Zoo Association, an accreditation organization for zoos, apparently have never noted the discrepancy between the wall height at the SF Zoo Lion House and their accreditation requirements. Unbelievable.

For information about the SF Zoo tiger attack, and information about the physical capabilities of (Siberian) tigers, please see the post immediately preceding this one.

San Francisco Zoo Tiger Attack

See post of 1/18/2008 for updated info.

By now you've heard of the Christmas Day incident at the San Francisco Zoo, in which one visitor was killed and two others severely injured by a 300 lb. Siberian tiger that escaped from its enclosure - The Lion House. The tiger, Tatiana, was shot dead by police on the scene. The 125-acre zoo closes at 6 p.m., though the public is not allowed entrance after 5 p.m.; this attack occurred just after 5:00 p.m. as visitors were still wandering and exiting the premises.

Note: It has not yet been determined if Tatiana escaped due to a specific and timely human error, though it has been determined that the animal did not escape through a door or unlocked cage. Other SF Zoo tigers did not leave their habitat. Therefore The Lion House temporarily has been labeled a crime scene.

Click on this link for an excellent story at The Washington Post, which reports about this particular SF Zoo incident, relays an interview with celebrity wildlife expert and former Columbus Zoo director Jack Hanna, and details specifics about the Smithsonian's National Zoo in D.C. and their security measures for both animals and zoo visitors. To read an updated article at CNN, click on this link.

It should be noted that this same tiger, Tatiana, was involved in an "attack" on a zoo keeper last year during a public feeding. That incident was found to have been the fault of the SF Zoo: the tiger was able to reach through the bars and was being hand-fed, as well as a lack of special training for appropriate zoo employees. Since tigers are wild animals - not domestic - it was simply behaving normally by being both protective and possessive of its food. Mesh wiring has since been added to the lower bars as has a feed chute for the lions and tigers, and employees have received proper training.

A few things to keep in mind about tigers: Siberian tigers, such as Tatiana, are an endangered species; head and body length averages 7 feet (not including the tail!), though females are smaller. Wild tigers have been known to bound 30+ feet and jump over 15 feet high, and are considered among the best feline swimmers.

The Lion House habitat at the SF Zoo has a 20-foot moat and an 18-ft. exterior wall, according to a press conference statement today by the Zoo's director.

It seems to detroit dog very possible that Tatiana could very well have been an athletically gifted - or at least well conditioned - cat. Most importantly, the SF Zoo should take a quick reality check and re-examine its facilities, and not underestimate the physical and intellectual capacities of its animals.

This SF Zoo incident highlights a good number of issues regarding animal welfare and zoo environments, and of course the consequential effects on human life. These issues will be addressed in a separate post.

In the meantime, if you'd like to read a listing of other zoo/sanctuary animal encounters with visiting humans, click on this link at CNN for the story Other zoo animals have attacked, escaped in recent years.
To learn more about tigers of all types, click on this Wikipedia link.

Follow up, 12/27/2007: It is suspected that the tiger's victims might have taunted her, motivating her to escape The Lion House and attack. However, it seems that if there was indeed taunting, it was extreme; reports are that a shoe and blood were found in the enclosure and a human footprint found on the enclosure's fence. Did one of the victim's climb the interior fence to taunt the animal? If in fact the tigers were taunted, it just points to the continuing and incredulous stupidity of people - to say nothing of their cruelty - in dealing with wild animals (captive or not).

To taunt a wild animal is to dare it to kill you; you lose the bet.

Rumors are that the family of the deceased victim will sue; if so, then it disgusts me that profits can be made as a consequence of one's ugly and uncalled for behavior, which gets both human and animal life killed.

To read a follow up article at CNN, click on this link.

San Francisco Oil Spill & Bird Rescue

To stay updated about avian rescue and rehab due to the recent San Francisco Bay oil spill, please check out the International Bird Rescue blog.

As of today, they list the following on their blog:
545 live birds
126 washed of oil
369 dead


Also, they are in need of drivers to transport birds, and donations of items such as towels.

To report sightings of oiled birds, call these numbers:
In San Francisco: 311. Outside SF: (415) 701-2311

Or, file your report online, by clicking on this link.

This is also a great site to find out how birds are endangered in oil spills, how they are cleaned and rehabbed.

Maggie the Elephant, Update

Just a quick update on Maggie the Elephant, subject of a August post. Maggie had lived a solitary life at The Alaska Zoo in Anchorage. An African elephant, Maggie's isolation was especially sad as it is natural for female African (and Asian) elephants to live with a female herd. Maggie also had serious health problems caused or exacerbated by her confinement and Alaskan weather.

Inn mid-September, The Alaska Zoo Board of Directors approved of 'retiring' Maggie to the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) in California, thanks to the great financial generosity of animal rights/welfare activist (and former TV game show host) Bob Barker. Thanks, Bob!

On November 2, Maggie arrived at the PAWS elephant sanctuary.

"Founded in 1984, by former Hollywood animal trainer and author, Pat Derby, and her partner, Ed Stewart, PAWS maintains three sanctuaries for captive wildlife - 30 acres in Galt, California, 100 acres (The Amanda Blake Wildlife Refuge) in Herald, California and 2,300 acres of pristine, natural habitat (ARK 2000) in San Andreas, California." Visit the PAWS site and check out their animal-cams.

Bob Barker is also founder of The DJ&T Foundation, a nonprofit that subsidizes the cost of spaying and neutering of pets.

Trivia: Bob Barker grew up on Rosebud Indian reservation in South Dakota (his mom was a schoolteacher there).

California Wildfires, and Pet/Animal Rescue

If you live in the U.S., you are more than likely aware of the devastate wildfires raging through southern California at this moment (Day 4). According to the front page of the Los Angeles Times: over 420,000 acres have burned thus far; almost 1,200 homes destroyed; and over 880,000 people have been evacuated; two people have died; also, firefighters have come in from Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico to help. The L.A. Times has additional information including fire maps, evacuations and closures, and how to find friends and families.

To read a great California Wildfire blog, click on this link. It's a very comprehensive blog, and is of special importance to people that live in the area - offering updates and information about what would normally be the most mundane of things (mail delivery, adjusted bus schedules, YMCA closures, etc.), as well as the most important concerns of the moment. The blog is part of "Sign on San Diego." Do check it out.

Today's CNN online runs a story about San Diego County, California, wildfires and rescue of pets, horses, and other animals.

Approximately 2,000 horses are being housed at State fairgrounds, and many of their owners are bunking in the jockey quarters. All of the county's animal services officers are working to rescue animals, though many that were left behind will not be saved. It's reported that officers are searching evacuated areas for abandoned pets, including horses (some owners do not have enough trailers to evacuate all horses). The story does mention that horses are being sheltered at mall parking lots, and that many evacuation shelter sites are allowing people to bring their pets. To read the CNN story Rescuers Race Flames to Save Pets, Livestock click on this link.

To read about disaster planning for pets, click on this link for the Humane Society web page, or click on this link to read a government web site for Emergency Preparedness & Response for pets and other animals.

California Wildfire & Wildlife

Quick note, due to the current devastating California wildfires:

The San Diego Wild Animal Park is closed, according to their web site. The Park is an 1,800 acre wildlife preserve. Broadcast reports on CNN say that endangered species animals have been evacuated, other animals are being sheltered.

While I haven't read anything about current wildlife loss, I have read about small fires from this same area last year. Those reports indicate that oftentimes coyotes, elk, and bears are able to outrun the fire, though most animal deaths are due to smoke inhalation. Other animals often perish, especially smaller low-habitat animals that include ground-nesting birds. However, these fires are so fierce - and historically large - that it is difficult to say what the final toll will be.

Ladybugs & Gardening

Ladybugs as migrant labor; the beneficial insect.

Almost 3/4-million Ladybugs were imported and set free on the grounds of a housing complex in Manhattan, according to today's New York Times. Both ladybugs and their larvae are predators of aphids, scale insects, and other bugs that most of us gardening types consider harmful to our plants. The people at the housing complex are hoping to better manage their gardens. To read the story Harnessing the Benign Aggression of Ladybugs, click on this link.

Ladybugs are the chemical-free, natural way to manage "pest" control in gardens. It's fantastic that people are being conscientious about our environment and are making the effort to protect both ourselves and our plant life. It's a matter of using thousands of years of common-sense, nontoxic traditions.

A University of Kentucky entomology web site states that it is the "Hippodamia convergens, the convergent lady beetle," which is "a medium sized orange and black species that is commonly sold for biological control of aphids." To learn more about Ladybugs, click on this link to the University of Kentucky Entomology Critter Files.

Or, click on this link to visit a web page that discusses Ladybugs in less scientific ways, and talks about how to attract Ladybugs, purchase them, and feed them.

Where to get ladybugs for your garden? You can purchase ladybugs at GrowQuest.com, or visit your local organic gardening center.