American Buffalo Being Forced From Natural Habitat (Video) *Harmful methods used by USA government*

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American bison (Bison bison) aka American buffalo
"Home on the Range" - Forget About It! (Jane Velez-Mitchell)

Buffalo Being Forced From Natural Habitat: Harmful Methods Used By USA Government

The USA government is attempting to confine the American Buffalo just to Yellowstone Park. Buffalo that step outside the Yellowstone Park boundary are "shot on sight, shipped off to slaughter houses, or a war zone obtains itself with helicopters and ATVs and they run these buffalo up to 15 miles a day." says Mike Mease, Co-Founder of Buffalo Field Campaign. "They are subject to a taxpayer-funded management program that consists of hazing them back into Yellowstone Park". Injuries occur to the buffalo during this hazing.

"If this was on the Animal Channel, we'd have these people arrested for the way they treat and abuse these sacred beings". (Mike Mease, Buffalo Field Campaign)

Christian Mackay of the Montana Department of Livestock counters these efforts are to isolate the bison from cattle to reduce the transmission risk of the disease brucellosis from bison to cattle. Mike Mease responds that elk (or wapiti Cervus canadensis) have the same disease, brucellosis, and roam free. Further, Mease states there is also a conflict of interest in that the government agencies, including the Montana Department of Livestock, are representing the interests of the cattle industry. "They (the cattle industry) want that grass for their cows. The cattle gave this disease to the wildlife (e.g. bison and elk) and now they (the cattle industry) are complaining they are giving it back to them".

CNN "Buffalo Forced From Natural Habitat?" Critics claim the government is using harmful methods to force buffalo from their natural range.

The American Buffalo
Has the USA government declared war on the American bison?

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Baby Gorillas Rescued from Poachers, Get Second Chance (Video) *Returning orphans to the forest*

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"Serufil"

An older 6 1/2 year old Grauer's Gorilla at the Congo orphanage

Baby Gorillas Rescued, Get a Second Chance

The first rehabilitation effort for Grauer's Gorilla, (aka Eastern Lowland Gorilla) is underway in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), sponsored by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International. The GRACE (Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education) Center for Rescued Gorillas is attempting to teach orphaned gorillas how to survive in the wild with the ultimate goal to release them back into the Congo forests.

Sandy Jones, Confiscated Gorilla Program Manager of GRACE in Kasugho, Democratic Republic of Congo, speaking of the baby gorillas, "When you get them to laugh, you know that they have bonded with you and trust you. So we like to make them laugh every day. They are just like humans, when you tickle them, they laugh." Congolese are being trained as caretakers to eventually live with the gorillas in the forest. War, hunting, and poaching have caused these orphaned baby gorillas.

Later in the video below, in a segment "Returning Gorillas to the Wild", some of the orphaned gorillas are transported by United Nations helicopter to the Congo forests to begin remembering and learning how to live in their forest habitat. The gorillas are released from their cages but stay near their human caretakers. They remember to climb trees to pick fruit to eat and also play in the trees. A nearby village is in the conservation district, which is visited by CNN.

In the final segment, "Heading Back into the Forest", the orphaned gorillas, still in the forest with their human caretakers, are checked on. The gorillas adapt quickly to the forest, their "natural environment". The caretakers act as the mother to the youngest, the babies. At night, the orphans are taken inside at the rehabilitation center. The gorillas are learning what foods to eat in the forest, how to build nests, and adapting to their native habitat.

CNN "Orphaned Gorillas' Second Chance" CNN's Jessica Ellis has the backstory on efforts to rehabilitate gorillas in the Congo.



Gorillas are the largest primate and the Grauer's (Eastern Lowland) is the largest of the four types of gorillas (Cross River, Western Lowland, Eastern Lowland, and Mountain).

Gorilla Habitat in Africa

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BP Gulf Oil Spill Impact Update: "Everything is Dead" (Video) US Navy: "Little sign of life"

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Alvin
Deep-ocean research submersible of the US Navy


BP Gulf Oil Spill Impact Update: "Everything is Dead"

BP is challenging the US government on how much oil spilled in the BP Gulf Oil Spill. The US government calculated 206 million gallons were spilled. BP says it was actually just half that amount, which would save BP $3 billion in fines. While the fine may be based on the spillage amount, the impact was, is, and will continue to be catastrophic to the ecosystem.

Alvin, the deep-ocean research submersible of the US Navy, has been diving 5,000 feet to the floor of the Gulf of Mexico to assess and observe the impact of the BP Gulf Oil Spill. The observations as a result of 6 months of research are disturbing:
"A world shellacked by it" (the oil 5,000 feet below on the ocean floor)
"5,000 feet down what should look like a forest is a desert"
"A mile below the surface in the Gulf of Mexico, there is little sign of life."
"Everything is dead"
"They were shocked by 80 square miles of devastation"
"Oily residue cakes the sea floor"
"Take a long, long time to turn over - years to decades"

The size of the impact area is still undetermined. The duration of this impact is also unknown. Even the total amount of oil spilled is still being calculated.

(ABC News) Exclusive: Submarine Dive Finds Oil, Dead Sea Life at Bottom of Gulf of Mexico, Though Region is Healing, Damage From BP Spill Persists on Ocean Floor, Scientists Say.



Greenpeace: "Redesign BP Logo's" Contest
"How would you rebrand BP?"

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Saving Tigers: Russian Tiger Park Helping Save the Species (Video) *Vladimir Putin gives tiger to park*

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Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin with Masha
Originally his pet tiger, Putin gave Masha to the Russian tiger park in Gelendzhik


Saving Tigers: Russian Tiger Park Helping Save the Species

A Russian tiger park in Gelendzhik protects the species and hopes to increase the population, with only 3,000+ tigers remaining in the wild. This is the home of 11 Siberian tigers and a breeding facility. One tiger, Masha, was given to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in 2008 as a birthday present and now he has given the tiger to the preserve. Nilolay Zosin, director of the park, said one of the reasons tigers breed so well at the park is because it is not a zoo. The park began as a animal shelter.

WWF said Russia has developed an effective strategy of saving endangered tigers: setting aside protected areas, anti-poaching efforts, and a ban on hunting tigers. Igor Chestin, head of the WWF in Russia, "for the last 20 years we have more or less a stable population of tigers at the level of 400 to 500 animals". This was from a previous low estimated at 300 to 350 tigers.

Russia originally created in 2007 the 200,000 acre Zov Tigra (‘Roar of the Tiger’) National Park, for the Siberian tiger. Also in 2007, the ‘Udege Legend’ National Park for tiger conservation as well as the preservation of an indigenous way of life, was established. Russia protected a total of 419,000 acres of Siberian tiger habitat.

(CNN) Colleen McEdwards shows us a Russian tiger park helping to save the species.

Leonardo DiCaprio donated $1 million to saving tigers at the recent Tiger Conservation Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia

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Saving Tigers: Tiger Conservation Forum in Russia (Video) *Leonardo DiCaprio donates $1 million*

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Leonardo DiCaprio donated $1 million to saving tigers


Saving Tigers: Tiger Conservation Forum in Russia

"The global population of tigers has plummeted to dangerous levels", perhaps just over 3,000 remain in the wild. Unless conservation action is taken, the only tigers that will survive will be in zoos, in captivity. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio both attended the International Tiger Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia in November. DiCaprio donated $1 million at the Forum and Putin has taken a personal interest in tiger conservation.

Prime Minister Putin stated, "The tiger is on the brink of catastrophe. Look at the numbers, tiger habitat is only currently 7% of what they used to be. The situation is sad and I dare say tragic." The World Bank, criticized for funding projects that destroyed wildlife habitat, used the Forum to announce a policy shift. The World Bank will no longer finance infrastructure like roads in "core tiger areas". Robert Zoellick, World Bank President, said, "I hope the key difference here will be that the tiger range country is in the driver's seat."

Tiger poaching remains a problem and threat. An estimated 150 tiger skins are traded every year and tiger body parts are still in "huge demand" in traditional medicine across Asia, especially China. Barney Long, WWF Tiger Program Director, noted China is a "major issue that needs to be addressed" but the problem is worldwide. He continues that anti-trafficking efforts and "demand reduction is the real long-term solution". Movie star Jackie Chan has done public announcements in Asia to attempt to reduce demand in tiger trafficking.

The International Tiger Forum announced a goal to double the number of tigers in the wild by 2022.

(CNN) Matthew Chance reports from the tiger conservation summit in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin attends the International Tiger Forum in St Petersburg.
Photo: AP

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Saving Tigers: Tony the Truck Stop Tiger & Temple Tigers (Video) *Tiger population plummeting*

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Private Property of a Truck Stop

Tony the Tiger at the Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, Louisiana

Just over 3,000 tigers remain

Tiger Population Plummeting

The tiger population has plunged 95% in the last century and there are perhaps just over 3,000 remaining on the entire planet. Two stories are presented in the video below.

First, there is Tony the Tiger at the Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, Louisiana. Tony is "privately owned" and caged for a commercial venture. Carole Baskin, founder and CEO of Big Cat Rescue, advocates rescuing Tony from lifetime captivity. Michael Sandlin, President of Tiger Truck Stop, counters, "...every American should have the right to own an animal of their choice".

Second, there is the Buddhist Tiger Temple in Thailand, Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua Temple on the River Kwai, which cages not only tigers but other animals for tourists. Jane Garrison, an animal welfare advocate, describes tourists having their photo taken with drugged tigers. Almost one hundred tigers are kept in "tiny, barren cages" with inadequate provision (water, food, medical). Garrison maintains these tigers are part of the illegal "tiger parts" trade and it is a "horrific scene". Tourists, by visiting the Tiger Temple, are in effect supporting a 'lifetime of torture" for these caged tigers. The Thailand Department of National Parks says they have carried out a thorough investigation and found no evidence of involvement in illicit trade or maltreatment of the tigers. Garrison counters that Care for the Wild (CWI) says up to 75 tigers have "disappeared" from the facility and the Tiger Temple keeps renaming the tigers the same name.

(CNN) Experts say the world's tiger population has plummeted 95 percent in the last century. HLN's Jane Velez-Mitchell reports.

The Bengal tiger, or Royal Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris)

Links

Please visit and support the efforts of the organizations below!

Free Tony the Tiger! (Blog)

Tiger Conservation: Why It Will Work (Video) *Fighting the Forces of Extinction* (Mountain Seer)

Save Tigers Now (WWF)

Tiger (Wikipedia)

Big Cat Rescue (BCR)

Care for the Wild (CWI)

Exploiting the Tiger (Care For the Wild) pdf download

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Do Dolphins Recognize Their Reflections? (Video) "We are amongst many thinking species"

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Diana Reiss and Bottlenose Dolphin


Do Dolphins Recognize Their Reflections?

Diana Reiss at City University of New York has been studying animal intelligence for over 25 years. Does the intelligence of a dolphin rival that of a human? "We used to think we were the only species on the planet that could think, and now we know that we are amongst many thinking species", Reiss stated. She added, "the question is no longer can they think, it's how do they think".

(CNN) As part of a series on animal intelligence, Randi Kaye spends a day with dolphins and a scientist who studies them.

Bottlenose Dolphins

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