Showing posts with label animals. Show all posts

New Fable: The ? and the Hare


It's sad to say, but it looks like tortoises and turtles are getting the cut from the race all over the world. Why? To feed the hungry in southeast Asia (such as the Chinese). At the same time, the hare is getting a leg up as the Chinese clone the first rabbit from fibroblast cells (the French cloned their rabbits from adult cells in 2002).

Here are the articles I'm talking about in this post in case you want to be informed (and to spare me the efforts of explaining them fully):

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/texas-turtles-ending-up-in-china-soup/n20070722195909990008?ecid=RSS0001

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/two-indians-caught-trying-to-smuggle-870/n20070724085509990024?ecid=RSS0001

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/china-claims-a-first-with-cloned-rabbit/n20070723233609990088?ecid=RSS0001

Basically, the first article is about trappers in Texas overharvesting the local turtle varieties. The big main points are that turtles are disappearing from former habitats, they're ending up on a plane to Asia, and the justification is that people think they are a nuisance.

The second article is about two Indian men trying to smuggle 870 endangered star tortoises onto a plane also headed for southeast Asia.

The third article is about the Chinese finally trying something of their own in a lab instead of just reproducing results from other laboratories. Randomly, they chose a rabbit for this.

So here's my thoughts on this. Turtles, while they may occasionally be grumpy, smelly, and slow crossing the road, deserve a better fate than extinction in a soup bowl. Why Americans in Texas are contributing to this (besides the obvious $) is beyond me. Do not assist the Chinese by making the same mistakes they have. If they had worried more about preserving their resources in the past, they would have their own turtles and would not need to import them. Why were the two Indian men shipping tortoises to Malayasia? Because of the profits they can bring the in black market in China. For years, China has been a hot bed of illegal trading of body parts from endangered species. While they joined CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) in 1980, they just passed their own endangered species laws last September. That's right! It took them 26 YEARS to get with the program. Don't get me wrong, China just saved 270 crocodiles, which deserves recognition and commendation, but personally it feels like they're really late getting on the boat here.

[Appologies, for this is a tangent rant] For the first time ever, a country (China) is admitting that they are struggling to come up with their own scientific discoveries. As I have always surmised, they primarily sit back and watch other countries labor through the discovery process and then reap the benefits by skipping the mistakes along the way which allows them (along with low-wage labor) to undercut the original developers of the product or technology. Japan did this until they became so efficient (and of course they have a work ethic like no other) that they are now years ahead in the technology industry. Their close neighbors (like China) having been reaping the benfits of that for quite some time. [end tangent]

Anyway, today China's cloning rabbits. Hey China, here's a thought: why not clone some damn turtles for your precious soups?
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Sam the Deer Hunter - Video

While I'm working on the Origins game reviews, I thought I'd take a break from serious blogging to bring you a funny incident that occurred in my backyard two nights past.

I have a bold Siamese cat named Sam who recently ran away for a couple of weeks into the woods after an altercation with the neighborhood devil cat. Since his return after 13 days of exposure and almost starving, he has become an adept hunter. In the time since, he's brought us two mice with one confirmed kill. Of course it could have been the same mouse twice since the first one he brought was the one that got away.

On Tuesday night, Pregremlin happens to look in our backyard and spies a deer. He tells me about the deer and then says that Sam is sitting right next to it. By the time I get to the window, the cat has begun to stalk the deer. When I see him run up to the deer until they are almost nose-to-nose, I know it's time to grab the new video camera and try to capture this moment for posterity. What I caught was the tail end of the confrontation.

In the video below, you will see Sam on the left and a deer on the right. I haven't mastered the various camcorder functions yet or the editing software, so the video is fairly dark and uncropped. Watch what happens:



After chasing the deer off, Sam stood guard for another hour and then returned to the abode. I asked him what he thought he, an 8 pound cat, was going to do if he caught the 260 lb deer. Of course in the mysterious way of cats everywhere, the only reply I received was a blank look.
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WWF April News



The April newsletter from the WWF is now available. This month's stories of interest include your last chance to submit your commitment to change before Earth Day tomorrow, and a story about the the release of endangered Humphead Wrasse back into the wild.

With Earth Day upon us, WWF is pushing to get more people to commit to change their habits and help save our habitat. There are many suggestions and personal anecdotes available at their their site. My suggestion is an easy one that will save you money and pay for itself. Replace your standard light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs. CF bulbs are available almost everywhere now (they look like regular bulbs that have been twisted). They cost a little more than regular bulbs, but they last longer and use less energy. The money you save on your electric bill will pay for the extra cost of the bulbs at the time of purchase. These bulbs use less than half the electricity of normal bulbs and provide the same illumination. An easy way to make this change is to simply buy CF bulbs when your regular bulbs need replaced.



More than 1,000 endangered Humphead Wrasse are en route home after being rescued from poachers in the Philippines this past December. The poachers were apprehended inside Tubbataha Reef Natural Park, a national marine protected area, carrying the Wrasse along with 400 other fish. In East Asia, the giant lips of these Humphead Wrasse are considered a delicacy, which helps drive the incentive for poachers of this crazy-looking fish.
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WWF March News



The March newsletter from the WWF is now available. This month's stories of interest include the discovery that the clouded leopard of Borneo is actually a different species from the clouded leopard in mainland Southeast Asia.

There is also news about the recent trend of rivers starting to dry up. They compiled a Top 10 List of rivers at risk, and in the U.S., the Rio Grande made the list. Of the 10 rivers listed, only 3 are at risk due to natural causes, such as climate change and invasive species. The other 7 rivers are all at risk due to man-made causes, such as infrastructure, water over-extraction, over-fishing, and pollution.



Also, Earth Day is a month from today (April 22), and WWF is trying to get people to make a commitment to change. They are asking everyone to go to here and share what they are doing to make a change. You can also see what changes others have pledged to make and donate directly to WWF.

For more on these stories, go to: http://wwf.worldwildlife.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=5861.1&dlv_id=8723&JServSessionIdr004=y3zkuj7dn1.app5b
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WWF February News



As part of a new feature here at No Disintegrations, I'd like to pass on a brief synopsis of interesting stories in the monthly WWF newsletter. WWF is one of the strongest allies our endangered species have and by promoting their efforts a little here, I'm hoping maybe some of you reading this will be inspired to send them a donation, or at least keep them in mind when thinking about making one.


Two interesting stories from this month's newsletter are the biggest smuggling bust in a decade and counting the Amur leopard.

In the smuggling bust, they managed to seize Siberian tiger skins, paws and bones, as well as Saiga antelope horns and Asiatic black bear paws, near the Russia/China border. WWF has photos of the bust on their site and while it doesn't seem like a lot of stuff fom the pictures, it is when you consider how endangered these animals are.

Conservationists are counting the Amur leopards in hopes of discovering the first increase in population in the past 5 years. When the Amur leopards were counted in 2003, only about 30 individuals were found.

For these stories and more, check out: http://wwf.worldwildlife.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=5381.1&dlv_id=8421
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Mythical Creatures


Apparently, there is a Pegasus in my vicinity. On my way to work this morning, I found myself staring at a Deer Crossing sign that had been converted to a Pegasus Crossing sign. The artist even took care to label it as "Pegasus", so as not to be confused with other winged ungulates in the area. While the sign above does not do justice to the original I saw this morning, it is a very similar sign. Apparently the artist had no clue that Pegasus is actually a winged horse rather than a winged deer. I must say that I do think Pegasus would look dashing with a set of antlers, almost regal in fact.

My main concern is that this sign was only about a half mile from where I live. If Pegasus is known to frequent the area, should I be watching for him out my sliding glass doors? Should I make preparations to profit off this unnatural stroke of good fortune? You know, Pegasus T-shirts, stickers, and other crap. Should I be concerned that Pegasus may be establishing a breeding colony and we will soon be overrun with winged terrors? Are mythical creatures considered endangered species? Would I go to prison for killing Pegasus if he started attacking me and my car? That one sign would suddenly make me fear such things and such a tiny stretch of road is an amazing testament to pictures being worth a thousand words (or in this case maybe 100).
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Make Your Giving Count

Every year, I buy a bunch of people who are special to me gifts. I buy gifts for my micro kitties, even though they've never heard of Jesus and have no clue about any holidays anyway. This year I decided to try to make sure that my gifting benefitted others as much as the folks I actually will be giving items to.

There are a lot of great companies out there that try to give back to other organziations so that they can also benefit from the seasonal inflow of cash. One such company is The GreaterGood Site. They contribute to fighting breast cancer, stopping world hunger, promoting health care for children, saving rainforests, feeding rescue animals, and promoting literacy. All of these causes are good reasons to make some of your purchases if you can through their shop sites. They also contribute funds based on people just going and clicking a button on their sites (some of these links are at the bottom right panel of this blog).

The purchases I've made at this site so far have already funded 74 bowls of food for rescue animals. 74 bowls of food is at least $20-30 worth. All by buying my gifts through their site (which has very affordable and unique items), and these are gifts I would be buying anyway. I'm not trying to tell anyone where to shop, but I am trying to let everyone know that you can expand your holiday giving by taking advantage of sites like these that work to support important causes.

Happy Holidays!
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Sad Times: Blogs, Raccoons, Lions, and Sea Lions

Well, I meant to do this sometime last week, but time just kind of slipped away like it often does when projects, papers, and other crap gets in the way. Lately I've been reading some very sad and at times terrifying news.


GOODBYE H8FUELED



First, the inspiration for this blog, H8FUELED, has announced that it is ceasing publication indefinitely. The reasons are laid out pretty clearly, so I'll let you read them for yourself. What I'd like to do instead is pay tribute to this masterpiece by listing my top three favorite excerpts:

"This is going to be another short post, since Happy Fun Ball Hyphen Danger is taking a nap and I FINALLY have some time away from the "aaeeeuuugghh"'s and "eeeeeeeEEEEE!"s that she uses to communicate to the other woodland animals (or velociraptors, I haven't quite figured that out yet). But I loves her."

I loved this one because I know HFB-D and she does make woodland sounds. The part that had me ROFLMFAO was the aside about velociraptors. The worst part was I was at work and I'm sure people thought I was having a seizure because I was shaking so hard.

"To try and squeeze SOME kind of enjoyment out of this arduous process, I engage the stripper in some deep, meaningful conversation.
FILTHY STRIPPER: Hey, sexy. What's your name?
ME: Leopold, but you can call me Barry.
WHORE: Hello, Barry. I'm Roxanne. How are you feeling tonight?
ME: Pretty down. I really hope we don't go to war with Iran.
WHORE: Yeah. That would suck. Are you in the military?
ME: No, I just really like Iran as a country.
WHORE: Oh. So, do you want...
ME: I think it all goes back to the time I read the Koran from cover to cover. Fascinating book. Have you ever read it?
WHORE: Um, no. Say, do you want to...
ME: It's really informative, even if the ending is pretty cliche..."

Anytime you're browsing the site and see the drama set up, you know you're in for a treat. If TD doesn't ever blog again, he should at least look into a career as a sitcom writer. His skits are a lot better than most of the crap being shoveled right now (excluding The Office as awesome, which may have also opened the door for TD's style).

"Enjoy your drunkeness, for you've earned it. Nevermind the reasons WHY you drink: You could simply fear sobriety and the constant paranoia you face thinking about the government; you could just want the numb embrace of liquor to save you from realizing how fucking stupid our world is; or, you could just be a miserable sumbitch who's only solace comes with a bottle of scotch. Remember, though, that no matter how bad life is, you've always got a way of coping. Healthy or not, drinking is still cooler than listening to Linkin Park."

If the sitcom thing doesn't work out, maybe he should consider a career in lobbying for alcohol. The passion is definitely there as well as ample justifications.

While this doesn't give you the whole picture of the blog - so much of it is so damn good and so well-written - it at least gives you a taste of what we're now all missing out on. Just remember TD, you always have an open invitation to Shawed any time you feel the urge to post. H8FUELED and its contribution to the blogosphere will be sorely missed by many, many non-commenting bastards.



RACCOONS

Apparently raccoons have been forming gangs in California so they can now participate in gang violence. These little scavengers have been attacking dogs and shredded one up pretty bad. People are beginning to get scared. They can't let their dogs out unsupervised or enjoy sitting on their porches. California laws prohibit removal of the clever fiends due to the living with wildlife policy. What do you want to bet there suddenly becomes a high demand for coonhounds in Cali?

I feel sorry for the people and their dogs, but I also feel bad for the little critters. Food must be pretty scarce or the population is getting too big because it takes some big fuzzy balls to face down people and their dogs when you're only about 18" high.

LIONS

Rare Abyssinian lion cubs are being poisoned at a zoo in Ethiopia because the staff cannot afford to keep them. Their solution? The dead cubs are sold to taxidermists for $170 each to be stuffed and sold as decorations - even though they are the national symbol and there's only about 1,000 left in the wild. Hmm... seems to me that if I were running a zoo and couldn't afford to keep an endangered species I would try to find another zoo somewhere to take them. No let's kill them and stuff them so one day when they're all gone somebody will discover a stuffed one in an attic somewhere and that's closest anyone in the future will ever get to seeing a real one. I know the zoo officials have a budget to maintain, but there has to be some other way to handle this situation. I know, how about if someone poisons the genius behind this plan and stuffs them?

SEA LIONS

It's another attack story. Sea lions are apparently becoming very vicious off the Californian coast. Attacking swimmers and fisherman and such. Of course weighing in at approximately 1,000 lbs and being so strong in numbers makes them a big threat. The sad part is there's a big suspicion that the sea lions have turned so ferocious from eating fish that are contaminated by a toxic algae bloom caused by agricultural pollution. A food shortage further down the coast and the habit of fisherman feeding them seafood scraps hasn't helped the situation any. In fact, a group of sea lions managed to take out a yacht. Of course once the sea lions form the ultimate alliance with the raccoons, we can kiss Cali goodbye.

WWF

If you're feeling in a giving mood this holiday season, why not give something to the World Wildlife Fund? They work to try to find and support habitats for wildlife to protect the humans and animals from each other. 83% of the funds they receive go directly to the local programs they support. For a worldwide program of their size, that's really, really good. Right now you can adopt a variety of wildlife for as little as a $25 donation. Of course they'll be grateful for any amount you're willing to send their way.
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The Neighbors' Cats



This is what a cat-friendly neighborhood looks like on a typical day.
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