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Author Topic: Defending Wildlife  (Read 36146 times)

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AGelbert

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Re: Defending Wildlife
« Reply #30 on: January 10, 2016, 05:52:05 pm »
They pay almost nothing to send hundreds of thousands of livestock across our public lands sometimes obliterating the natural landscape as the livestock devour native grasses, pound the soil into dust, and wallow in and destroy streams and rivers.

They also pay almost nothing to have the state and federal government exterminate native American wildlife on our public lands - wolves, coyotes, mountain lions, bears, even eagles - that sometimes prey on calves and lambs. The epitome of this extermination is the "aerial gunner men" hired by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fly helicopters over our public lands and kill thousands of wolves and coyotes with shotgun blasts from the sky every year," says journalist Gary Wockner. 

Read our article, President Obama, Stop Leasing Our Federal Lands & Waters.

Read how Teddy Roosevelt created the refuge:
 
Website: www.onearth.org/earthwire/malheur-national-wildlife-refuge-theodore-roosevelt
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26514


The ranchers (at least the smaller, non-corporate types) don't support selling of the commons. It isn't in their interest at all. The fact that the land has been public all these years has been a great gift to them. Truthfully, their real sin is that they have been poor stewards of the land, and have overgrazed it ever since they were allowed on it. They have essentially been subsidized all these years, but that was why the whole thing was set up the way it was in the beginning, to make it possible for settlers to live in parts of the west where 160 acre homesteads were too small to support a family.

So I have a hard time seeing this as their motivation. Now, perhaps this is some kind of trumped up scheme by the big money...the ones who have the kind of financing to actually buy big chunks of public land. That I could believe.

The whole stand-off stinks to high heaven, frankly. Most of the militia types out there think it's a false flag operation designed to make it easier for the federal government to justify grabbing their guns.

https://westernrifleshooters.wordpress.com/2016/01/06/malheur-another-perspective/


Eddie said,

THAT is what you should DEFINITELY believe because THAT is what this is ALL about (see the toadies Rep. Rob Bishop R-UT, Senator Lisa Murkowski's R-AK, etc. et al of the PRIVATE rich Welfare Queen Vested Interests using the Federal Government to fleece we-the-people:  :evil4:).
Of course. But the COVER for these types of scams always requires the use of Karl Rove's strategy number 3: Always accuse your opponent of doing what YOU are doing to hide the FACT that YOU are doing it. It's basic Machiavelli. ANYONE that uses this strategy is devoid of a moral compass. Nitzsche's Territorial Imperative REQUIRES that that you LACK a moral compass. And long before the Homestead Act, that has been our "justification" for land grabbing. 

So now the REAL land grabbers ((see: PRIVATE rich Welfare Queen Vested Interests using the Federal Government to fleece we-the-people) behind this are deliberately propagandizing the militia types to look in the wrong direction for the motive. 

See red herring. See distraction. See Bu ll sh it. See: Cui Bono?   

If this massive land grab BY the rich, biosphere math challenged, private greedballs (who use dumbass ideologues in Oregon and bought and paid for politicians as stalking horses) is not stopped, we will soon see our lands totally overrun by profit over planet exploitation. As the article I posted made clear, we ALREADY have a huge problem with wanton exploitation for fossil fuels, mining and the extermination of wildlife that "gets in the way". The overgrazing by greedy ranchers will be the least of our problems.


The solution to this problem requires that the American public understand who the BURGLAR really is and respond accordingly.


A burglar breaks into a house and finds a parrot inside.
“Kesha sees you,” says the Parrot.
 Burglar covers the bird’s cage with a towel.
“Kesha is not a parrot, Kesha is a rottweiler,” says the Parrot.

 

Yes, I think you have it right. It's the same old story about exploiting the commons, extracting the resources, and passing the costs back to the public. It's about timber and it's about uranium. It's about water and who gets it.

Yep. And the foundation of all this biosphere math challenged behavior is an absence of a moral compass.

In the light (or prehaps darkness  :() of witnessing the thorough disappearance of ethical behavior in American society (back in the second half of the 19th century, engineers who designed railroad bridges would kill themselves if a bridge failed with a passenger filled train on it - now they claim "sabotage" and "poor government maintenance" while they lobby for another bridge building contract...), it is proper to resort to humor as a survival mechanism.

For the no good Attackers of the rich job creators/fossil fuel industry saviors of our civilization, Socialist, Eco-Leftist whackos like me (who talk too much   ;D):


Congratulations! You won a free year long placement on a no-fly list.


Good for me! I get to lower my carbon footprint some more! - We Eco-Leftists always find silver compost linings in piles of poop. 

Do you want coffee with cognac or without?
– Without.
– Without cognac?
– Without coffee.


For medicinal purpose only. I'm a Christian, ya know! 

Now for more general humor...


Ahmed, why is your wife walking in front of you? Did you forget that according to the Quran, a wife has to always walk behind her husband?
– Darling, I know what Quran says. But when they wrote it, they had not invented anti-personnel mines, yet.


Well yeah, some Arabs read Machiavelli too!

You have 300 Facebook friends. 80 of them come to your wedding. 10 show up for your birthday. When you have a problem, you have two friends: your parents.

And then your parents die. But your mother-in-law doesn't.

My mother-in-law is an angel.
– Lucky you… My mother-in-law is still alive.

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Defending Wildlife
« Reply #31 on: January 11, 2016, 03:00:55 pm »
And what if this fed land grab operation is in part to procure control over silver and rare earth metals needed for the solar revolution AG?

It's a PRIVATIZATION land grab, not a fed land grab. The toadies are actually getting the Federal Government to PAY the States to take it, only to turn around and SELL IT to resource exploitation corporations.   

Roamer, that is an interesting possibility. I expect you, as an allegedly objective, responsible, open minded individual to now research silver mining (silver is found with gold at a ratio of about 16 to one so they get gold from them too) and rare earths mining in the world in general, and the USA in particular.

I expect you to provide a list of the carcinogenic and otherwise toxic chemicals involved (there are LOTS of them besides arsenic) in the process of mining for and refining precious and rare earth metals. Furthermore, I expect you to provide the proportional distribution of the product in the various industries in the correct percentages and proportions, particularly how much of the total mining output goes (eventually) to Renewable Energy Technologies.

I expect you to compare their use for Renewable Technologies with their use for the polluting industries. But don't stop there. Copper, for example, is a rather important part of manufacturing electric motors. So you could make a case against copper being mined for Renewable Energy powered electric motors too.

Of course you would have to subtract all the copper used for electric motors on oil rigs and fossil fuel powered modes of transportation like cars, planes ships, submarines, etc. And don't forget to look into how the fossil fuel industry uses rare earths and silver in their machinery and infrastructure too. They do, you know.  8)

Otherwise, you might be mistaken for someone who is trying to distract people from the routine profit over planet exploitation of the fossil fuel industry, which they certainly DO have a track record of DOING on public lands.

So, if you think I am opposed to the privatization of public lands ONLY because the big money fossil fuelers want to exploit them for profit while they exterminate any wildlife that gets in the way, I beg to differ. I do not give a tinker's damn whether there is a mother lode of rare earths on public land or a giant copper or silver find in that, or any other wildlife refuge. I want it LEFT ALONE and managed by responsible biologists, not greedy, empathy deficit disordered opportunists. In fact, I suspect you feel exactly the same way. Howevah, ConocoPhillips, the reputed first oil corporation off the blocks to take advantage of the elimination of the export ban (they also just closed all operations in Russia - a coincidence, of course    ) may see newly privatized lands to be Fracked as a "business opportunity".  :P

By the way, the fastest growing job in the USA is Wind Turbine Technician. It pays pretty good and you are well qualified for it.

Where's Roamer? ???

 I can give you a link to a recent news item on it if you like. You can still get in on the "ground floor", so to speak.   

AG, Well I was spouting idle chatter on that one, I think Eddie is closer to the mark though there are talks of massive solar farms looking for a home on west coast public land.
I agree with you too on the research that needs to be done to present an objective picture of cost benefit of solar PV.  Maybe I'll find time to dig into a bit.  But im not in need of convincing that the future is solar. 
All for it and with the Sauds and presumably parasitic war mongering deep state throwing their weight behind their geological mother lode I'm far less inclined to think anything good can come of waiting to bite the bullet and transition.
So I think you and I can agree on one point, its now solar or bust for the world. 

  I would only add the caveat that solar is just one of the several Renewable Energy Technologies needed to replace the fossil fuel hegemony.   8)


He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Defending Wildlife
« Reply #32 on: May 02, 2016, 06:52:39 pm »
Personally, I think a better choice would have been to carve the Tusks into Elephant Sculptures and distribute them to Musueums around the world to demonstrate the problem.  This solution just adds CO2 to the atmosphere.

RE


True.

But I would prefer the tusks be stored in prisons. Every person convicted of participating at some level of the poaching to selling and owning ivory should be required to carry 50 pounds of tusk around for the duration of their sentence.      



He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Defending Wildlife
« Reply #33 on: May 05, 2016, 08:34:14 pm »
Coyote pups (they now have a better chance to survive)   

Killing Halted:  California County Suspends Wildlife Services Contract

A settlement agreement stemming from a lawsuit by the Center and allies means that California's Mendocino County will suspend its contract with a federal wildlife-killing agency while a full environmental review is conducted.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services kills hundreds of coyotes, mountain lions, bears, bobcats and other wildlife in Mendocino County every year. The Center and allies twice sued the county for failing to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act in approving its contract with the program. Under the terms of the settlement, Mendocino County must evaluate the merits of a nonlethal predator-control program and prepare an "environmental impact report" if it decides to enter into a contract with Wildlife Services in the future.

This may finally begin to curb widespread killing by this rogue program, which wiped out more than 47,000 animals in California in 2014. 


Read more in our press release:
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2016/wildlife-services-04-26-2016.html

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Defending Wildlife
« Reply #34 on: May 12, 2016, 06:12:55 pm »
 

65,000 Acres Won for Oregon Spotted Frogs 

Oregon spotted frog

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week protected 65,038 acres and 20 river miles of "critical habitat" for Oregon spotted frogs in Oregon and Washington. In response to a petition and lawsuit from the Center, these frogs were declared threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2014 -- but not until they'd spent 23 years languishing on a waiting list for protection. The once-plentiful creatures have now disappeared from 90 percent of their range.

Oregon spotted frogs -- one of the few frogs that call to each other under water -- need clean water and stable flows for egg-laying, tadpole development and adult overwintering. They're threatened by wetlands loss, poor river management, reduced water quality, drought and invasive species.

"This habitat protection is good news for Oregon spotted frogs and for future generations, because we can't save endangered species without protecting their homes," said the Center's Tierra Curry. "Amphibians have been on the planet for millions of years, and when they start dying off it's a wake-up call that we need to take better care of our resources."     

Get more from KTVZ.
http://www.ktvz.com/news/feds-finalize-critical-spotted-frog-habitat-in-nw/39464934
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Defending Wildlife
« Reply #35 on: May 12, 2016, 06:30:21 pm »
 
Myth-busting Study: Wolf Killing Spurs Wolf Poaching  :(

Alert wolves

Wolf managers, listen up: A study published this week finds that thinning wolf populations actually decreases public tolerance for wolves and leads to more poaching.

The analysis of wolf populations in Wisconsin and Michigan, by scientists Adrian Treves and Guillaume Chapron, undermines assertions by government officials and opponents of wolf protection that culling wolves is necessary to mollify the segment of the human population that might otherwise poach the animals. In fact the study -- involving 18 years of data -- found that when wolf culling was allowed, poaching increased as well; when wolves were protected from culling, poaching decreased.

"This important study should trigger more humane, science-based management of wolves," said the Center's Michael Robinson. "One of the best things governments can do to cut poaching is to send the message that wolves have a high public value and deserve to be treated accordingly."

Read more in our press release and check out this cool video explaining the study using Playmobil figures. 

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Defending Wildlife
« Reply #36 on: May 19, 2016, 03:25:00 pm »

10 Things to Know about the Walrus

Posted On May 19, 2016 by Guest Blogger

This blog was written by Roger Di Silvestro, a field correspondent for Ocean Conservancy. 

When you think of walruses, you may picture their tusks—the huge pinniped’s most familiar characteristic. But there is so much more to these “elephants of the sea”! Here are some less-obvious facts about these ice-dwelling creatures.

1. Biologists classify the walrus as a carnivore, or meat eater, which puts the animal in the same broad category as wolves, foxes and lions.

2. The polar bear, weighing as much as 1,200 pounds, is often touted as North America’s largest terrestrial carnivore. But it’s a mere wisp compared to the ocean-going male walrus, which can tip the scales in excess of 3,700 pounds.

3. Walruses depend on sea ice, and spend much of the summer on flows from which they dive into relatively shallow waters in search of food. In winter, the walruses go to shore and feed in near-shore waters. They communicate with grunting and roaring sounds.


4. Despite their size and their ability to stay underwater for up to half an hour, walruses are not deep divers—they usually feed at depths of less than 300 feet.


5. Walruses find much of their food by poking around on the ocean floor. When a walrus finds a tasty crab or clam buried in sand, it creates powerful suction with its mouth to vacuum it up. Walruses are not picky eaters—they feed mainly on mollusks, but will also eat worms, cephalopods, crustaceans and more. They even nosh on an occasional seal, though observations of walruses hunting their close relatives are rare.


6. Walruses are able to locate buried food thanks to the 400-700 stiff bristles, or vibrissae, which grow on their muzzles. Like a cat’s whiskers, vibrissae are sensitive to touch, telling the walrus when it has come in contact with an appropriate food. Vibrissae can grow up to a foot long, but scraping against sand and rock usually keeps them shorter.


7. Adult walruses have few enemies, mostly due to their massive size and sharp tusks, which can grow to more than three feet long. Bears sometimes attack young walruses, as do orcas. A bear attack on a beached walrus herd can make the pinnipeds rush headlong for the safety of water, causing injuries to adult walruses in the general crush and making them vulnerable to bear attacks.

8. The scientific name for the walrus genus is Odobenus, which is Greek for “tooth walker,” so-called because walruses sometimes use their tusks to haul themselves onto ice.

9. The brownish, heavily seamed skin of the walrus is over 1.5 inches thick and covers a layer of blubber that can get to 3.9 inches thick.  The skin grows paler as the animals age, until the dark brown of the young fades to cinnamon in mature animals. The color depends partly on blood flow to the skin; when in cold water, blood flow to the skin reduces, so the skin of a pink walrus can turn nearly white.

10. Walruses breed from January to March while winter is in full swing, and females give birth about 16 months later. A newborn calf can weigh 100 to 165 pounds and may stay with the mother for two years or more, though usually weaned after a year.


The Ocean Conservancy is using science-based solutions to tackle the biggest threats to our ocean, including ones that threaten walruses and other wildlife. See how you can take action.

http://blog.oceanconservancy.org/2016/05/19/10-things-to-know-about-the-walrus/#more-12079



No ice in shallow water off the continental shelf, no Walruses. GET IT?


Fossil Fuel Industry response to ALL THE ABOVE:
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Defending Wildlife
« Reply #37 on: June 13, 2016, 09:17:38 pm »
The "We are very responsible, good and caring for wildlife" BULLSHIT from Kevin Shea, USDA Administrator, in a letter to Senator Sanders:



THE TRUTH, as stated clearly since 2013:

 

Congress: Kill Wildlife Services’ Wildlife-Killing Budget

By Ralph Maughan On August 9, 2013

This is a guest editorial by Wendy Keefover, Director of the Carnivore Protection Program at WildEarth Guardians-

The New York Times editors largely got it right when they recently editorialized critically about the cruel work of a little known program within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that annually spends over $100 million to kill some four million animals each year.  But we believe the Times should have gone further with their recommendation:  abolish Wildlife Services altogether because it represents a huge waste of taxpayer funds, it harms wildlife communities and ecosystems, and uses indiscriminate, brutal methods to kill millions of wildlife and domestic animals each year.

Not surprisingly Kevin Shea, one of the USDA’s top administrators for the government’s war on wildlife reacted defensively and claimed the Times editors “misunderstood” the federal government’s animal-killing “program.” He argues that unless one lives in “Rural [sic] America or work(s) in agriculture” one just cannot comprehend the need for the feds to kill “wolves, coyotes, bears that prey on livestock, as well as birds that can devour a field of sunflowers or a pen of farm-raised catfish in a morning.”
   

But Shea’s notion of rural exceptionalism is fundamentally about the bottom line of agribusiness and is a complete dismissal of the growing support for non-lethal coexistence.

His arguments are out-of-step with Americans’ conservation values. In fact some rural producers readily use non-lethal methods to deter wildlife and prevent losses to their agricultural products. A few ranchers ride with their herds that graze on open range, or use barns or pens to protect lambing or calving mothers. Some farmers use scarecrows and electronic devices to scare off flocks of birds that might eat sunflower seeds or rice.

Shea conveniently omitted facts about the enormous problems associated with this federal animal-killing program. Each year, Wildlife Services kills millions of animals, including animals that are federally listed as “endangered” or “threatened” with extinction under the Endangered Species Act. It also kills hundreds of common species each year from meadowlarks, to beavers, to American kestrels. Wildlife Services slays hundreds of domestic pets, and occasionally and ironically the very cattle, sheep, or deer they are working to protect.

While Shea claims that: “we target just those animals causing the damage.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Wildlife Services uses a veritable arsenal that includes a variety of indiscriminate deadly poisons; cable neck snares; dynamite, steel-jawed, and leg-hold traps. None of these things target the individual animals that have caused agricultural damage. And neither can the federal snipers who shoot wolves, bears, coyotes, and ravens from helicopters and airplanes. They just shoot the animals they see.

Shea also forgot to mention the brutality that characterizes some Wildlife Services employees. Recently, one federal trapper was criticized for apparently siccing his dogs on trapped coyotes. The trapper then apparently took photos and posted them to his Facebook page.

In another recent incident, a government trapper, who was working for his wife with his supervisor’s approval, set up leg-hold traps in his own yard. He captured his neighbor’s dog who was left in traps for hours. The dog sustained permanent damage to her body. The trapper has been charged in Arizona for felony animal abuse and recently left his employment.

Wildlife Services wastes enormous resources in its bid to kill America’s most majestic native carnivores such as wolves, coyotes, bears, and cougars. What makes no sense is that only a miniscule number of livestock actually die from predation – less than a quarter of one percent of the cattle inventory according to USDA figures. Most cattle and sheep succumb to illness, disease, and birthing problems, according to the USDA’s own data, killing wolves and other native species creates enormous ecosystem problems, and disrupts the social structures in these animal communities.

Finally, Mr. Shea failed to tell his readers that tax dollars largely pay for all this killing. Wildlife Services receives funds from taxpayers at every level of government – from municipalities, to states, and from the federal treasury as well.

Worse, Wildlife Services operates under a veil of secrecy, often failing to account for its actions. Wildlife Services is notorious for its failures to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests. It won’t tell the public how much it spends on what it does, although a peek at some of its record keeping from its databases indicates a culture of precise record keeping. Wildlife Services has even evaded requests from Congress for its budget records.

Wildlife Services has been around in various guises since the late 19th Century with its primary mission to exterminate our nation’s wildlife so as to benefit those in agribusiness. Times have changed. Sadly Wildlife Service has not.  It’s time for Wildlife Services to go. It’s out of step with Americans’ values toward wildlife and wildlands conservation.

With ingenuity and persistence, producers can choose to co-exist with wildlife rather than killing
– because the amount of killing is expensive, harmful, misguided, and wholly unnecessary. In an era of economic uncertainty, it’s time to kill Wildlife Services’ budget so as to spare our nation’s wildlife and pets.

http://www.thewildlifenews.com/2013/08/09/congress-kill-wildlife-services-wildlife-killing-budget/
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Defending Wildlife
« Reply #38 on: June 13, 2016, 09:36:58 pm »
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Defending Wildlife
« Reply #39 on: June 13, 2016, 09:57:15 pm »


Amur tiger release - Cinderella leaps to freedom in Far East Russia!
Update: We’re thrilled to report that, not only is Zolushka thriving in her new home, but in December 2015 she became the first rehabilitated and released Amur tiger to give birth in the wild. Below, experience the dramatic release that initiated this remarkable success story.PHOTO: © BASTAK

I should consider myself truly lucky because I took part in Cinderella’s release to the wild.

Cinderella is an Amur tiger. She was orphaned in the winter of 2012, and we were helping to raise her at the rehabilitation facility in Alekseyevka village, near Vladivostok in Far East Russia.

From June 2012, I was checking on Cinderella virtually every day: what does she eat, what does she like, how does she sleep…and all other details of her life.

For example, Cinderella loves to bathe. Usually after a good meal – a hog or a rabbit – she climbs into a stream that runs through her enclosure and lies in water happily.

When Cinderella was found, she was exhausted and frostbitten. Very often tiger cubs like her suffer frostbite on their tails. Cinderella's tail was affected too, so the very tip, about 5 to 7 centimeters, had to be amputated. This is the tip that tigers so characteristically curve up.

We are a little worried that the amputation might inhibit her communication with other tigers, but in general it should not be a problem in her life in the wild.

Many other organizations besides the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) have been involved in rescuing Cinderella: Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the Russian Academy of Sciences, Phoenix Fund, Inspection Tiger, and WCS. Members of all these organizations came together to  release Cinderella's back to the wild.

While living in the rehabilitation center, Cinderella has learned two most important skills: to hunt and to avoid human beings. Both are innate, but her time spent in rehabilitation gave her an opportunity to develop them, and Cinderella rather excels at both.

Whether Cinderella was ready for release, was decided by many of the world’s Amur tiger experts. After long discussions, the date for the release was set on May 9th. Nobody was intentionally setting it on Victory Day; it was just a nice coincidence.

A lot of people gathered at the rehabilitation facility on May 8th but were kept at a safe distance as Cinderella has intentionally been exposed to practically no contact with humans. All animals are examined and tested before being released; also a satellite collar had to be fit, so Cinderella had to be immobilized.

That was not so easy: Cinderella's enclosure is large, and she is very good at hiding and as soon as she heard and smelled the presence of humans she found a good spot to lay low and remain still. Only a handful of people approached the enclosure.

Two ‘shooters’ waited with their dart guns, a number of people surveyed the scene remotely on video fed by surveillance cameras, and the rest of us were  asked to wait one kilometer away from the facility to avoid needlessly stressing Cinderella too much.

Around an hour and a half later, Cinderella was removed from the enclosure she called home for a year. Immediately after, blood was taken and other tests and measurements were performed, including measurements of her tail. Then she was fitted a satellite collar.

During remote observations at the rehabilitation facility Cinderella looked as if she weighed more than 100 kilos (which was quite impressive), but her actual weight at the time of transport showed 94 kilos. It’s true that TV adds a few kilos! Our girl actually was quite slim. I couldn’t help but feeling Cinderella’s fur while she was asleep and was surprised by how warm she was, feeling her body heat as I passed my hand over her hide.

The team then moved her into a transportation cage. The whole testing and measuring procedure took less than half an hour.

We started off from the facility about 1 p.m. Our party was riding in four vehicles; one of them towed a trailer with Cinderella.

During the first hour on the road our princess-to-be was waking up and recovering from anesthesia. We were watching her through breathing holes drilled in her cage. You put your eye to a peep-hole, and see a tiger looking straight at you… Ughhh… scary!

The weather was rather cool near Vladivostok, but as we started driving it grew warmer, and then just plain hot. We were stopping often to check on Cinderella. It’s quite complicated to pour water into the transport crate, so we put two five-liter blocks of ice in there to keep her cool.

Afraid that it would not be enough, we showered Cinderella by pouring water through the holes… what other way was there?... now imagine that here you are lying down, and suddenly cold water starts raining on you… Well, that was exactly what Cinderella thought too, and she expressed her thoughts loud and clear.

We took the hint. No more showers.

We can only imagine what Cinderella went through on the road. It was a very long and exhausting car drive. However, transportation by helicopter proved to be impossibly expensive. We were going to Bastak Nature Reserve. It is about 1000 kilometers from Vladivostok, near Birobidzhan. It started raining in the evening, and the temperature fell: that was the welcome we got as we approached Cinderella’s release site at Bastak Nature Reserve.

Tigers used to live in the area, but eventually people killed them all, and there were no tiger sightings there for many years. However, starting with 2006, one male tiger's presence is recorded there on a regular basis, and he is still sighted today. So we have far-reaching plans for Cinderella.

At 11 a.m. on May 9th we came to a place where we were met by a massive off-road vehicle that closely resembles a tank without a turret. No other vehicle would be able to travel across the reserve terrain.

The cage was uploaded on the tank, and we too climbed up on it. Never before have I travelled on such a thing! It’s a very powerful machine, there is only one downside – you have to duck all the time so as not to be hit by tree branches. I failed to do that once and got a good punch from a thick bough, which was less than nice.

Finally we reached the place of release. It was selected in the very center of the reserve, where no one ever goes, and even rangers only visit on rare occasions. That is, they patrol this territory's perimeter looking for signs of human presence, and if there are none, they do not go inside this core area. This is where we brought Cinderella.

The cage was taken down and placed in a way that gave Cinderella a good clearing to jump out and run for cover. We thought that she would run straight ahead so the video cameras were set to a side.

Not surprisingly nobody volunteered to open the cage directly, so a block and tackle system was arranged to lift the cage door from the distance. Everything was set up, and placed, everyone was put inside the tank since a tiger's behavior in such situations is unpredictable.

The rope was pulled, but the door wasn’t opening. The structure was then readjusted, everybody was growing nervous, time was passing, and all the cameras that were set up and recording were burning battery life. Of course Cinderella could hear everything and she was nervous too.

The rope was pulled again, and again it wasn’t working. Then they started redoing the entire block and tackle system. By now our cameramen were seriously worried about losing the whole thing and Cinderella was less than pleased by all the action around her cage.

Everybody got back inside the tank, took their 'positions', and finally the door slid open!

Then everything was over in a split second. We heard a roar, and for an instant I saw Cinderella leaping out of the cage right away and, contrary to our expectations, disappearing immediately from our sight, making a sharp right turn.

I was totally enraptured by that moment, so fluid and graceful she was. That was amazing. Cinderella leaped over one of the cameras, ran a bit to the side, stopped and looked back at us. I thought that for the first time in my life I see a tiger in the wild. And that this was perhaps the last time I would ever see a tiger in our taiga.

At that moment the man who was holding the door open (and the door was heavy) faltered perhaps, and the door closed back with a deafening bang. Cinderella startled and – disappeared. That is, she made a couple more leaps and sort of dissolved among the trees. It’s amazing how the bright orange and black stripes make the tiger invisible in taiga.

You know that she is there and can see us, but we cannot see her. It was a strange feeling, on one side a great joy because our Cinderella was free and back home, and on the other hand a realization that you do not want to cross her path again in the future.

That was it.

Today, we already received satellite data showing that Cinderella is moving across the reserve territory, so we know for certain that she is alive.

Let me say again that all of this became possible only thanks to the joint efforts of many people from a number of organizations: Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the Russian Academy of Sciences, Inspection Tiger, WCS, Phoenix Fund, and IFAW. But more importantly, this was possible thanks to your contribution. A million thank-you’s to IFAW’s generous supporters for saving Cinderella and giving Amur tigers a new hope for their survival.

--AF

For more information about our efforts to protect tigers, visit our project page.

Anna Filippova     is an International Fund for Animal Welfare campaigner working in the IFAW Russia office.


http://www.ifaw.org/united-states/news/watch-amur-tiger-release-cinderella-leaps-freedom-far-east-russia
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Defending Wildlife
« Reply #40 on: June 13, 2016, 10:04:59 pm »

WATCH: Rescued bears dash to freedom in Russia


Watch as Vesnushka and Elka, two rehabilitated orphaned bears, find freedom once again.

This short video shot exclusively on GoPro cameras shows Vasily, Katya and Sergey Pazhetnov tranquilizing the bears and transporting them to their release site before opening their crate doors to the outside world.

More than 200 bears have been rescued and released at IFAW’s Orphan Bear Rescue Center located in Bubonitsy, Russia.

Sixteen more bears are currently being cared for at the Center. Stay tuned for updates on how they’re growing and learning the skills needed to survive in the wild!

--MD

Mila Danilova, Campaigner, IFAW Russia

Mila Danilova  is an International Fund for Animal Welfare campaigner working in the IFAW Russia office. Mila’s focus is on wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, and the protection of beluga.

http://www.ifaw.org/united-states/news/watch-rescued-bears-dash-freedom-russia
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Defending Wildlife
« Reply #41 on: June 13, 2016, 10:45:00 pm »
Watch: The last DRC mountain gorillas again face an uncertain fate

By Michael Booth

Posted: Thu, 05/24/2012

Yes, it’s happening again.

A few weeks ago, the delicate state of peace in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo was again shattered by renewed clashes between the Congolese army and rebel militias operating near and inside Virunga National Park.

Established in 1925, the park is the oldest in Africa and a bastion for the endangered mountain gorilla. This is the site where conservation icons like George Schaller and Dian Fossey conducted the first field studies on the Gorilla beringei beringei.

Out of an estimated 790 mountain gorillas left in the world, approximately 200 of them live within the park’s territory.  Remarkably, and in spite of a 12-year civil war in the region, the park’s gorilla population has continued its upward trend; but for how long?

Dian Fossey was forced to flee Congo and the gorillas she was studying back in 1967 due to civil unrest in the country. All these years later, thousands of Congolese refugees follow her footsteps in yet another wave of violence unleashed a few weeks ago.

As refugee camps in Rwanda and Uganda struggle to cope with the influx of people, back in Virunga things are quickly getting out of hand. The Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) are evacuating their rangers from the combat zone.

This is bad news for the gorillas and other animals that receive protection from ICCN.


Back in July of last year, my International Fund for Animal Welfare colleague Céline Sissler-Bienvenu and I traveled to Africa and partnered with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International to move 6 rescued Grauer gorilla orphans from Rwanda to a rehabilitation center in the DRC.

After we successfully completed the operation, we joined rangers from the ICCN and visited/filmed wild mountain gorillas at the famous park. Take just a few minutes and visit Virunga’s treasure by playing the video below:


Trekking up the volcano’s slopes to get a unique 1-hr glimpse of wild mountain gorillas is an experience I will never forget.  I think about the dominant silver-back Kabirizi and his family group in these uncertain times and hope they remain safe.

Losing just a single family group would have devastating consequences for mountain gorilla conservation.

--MB

Find out more about IFAW efforts to save primates.

If you’re as concerned as I am, go directly to the Fossey Fund website for the latest security reports and help all of us protect animals in need.

Michael Booth, Program Communications Officer, IFAW Headquarters

Michael Booth   is IFAW's communications lead during Emergency Response and Wildlife Rescue operations.

Since joining IFAW in 2006, Michael's assignments have included disaster animal.


http://www.ifaw.org/united-states/news/watch-last-drc-mountain-gorillas-again-face-uncertain-fate
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Defending Wildlife
« Reply #42 on: June 21, 2016, 03:27:28 pm »
3.2 Million Animals Killed by Wildlife Services in 2015

Center for Biological Diversity | June 21, 2016 1:01 pm

The highly secretive arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture known as Wildlife Services killed more than 3.2 million animals during fiscal year 2015, according to new data released by the agency.

The total number of wolves, coyotes, bears, mountain lions, beavers, foxes, eagles and other animals killed largely at the behest of the livestock industry and other agribusinesses represents a half-million-animal increase more than the 2.7 million animals the agency killed in 2014.


Fox Photo credit: Pexels

Despite increasing calls for reform a century after the federal wildlife-killing program began in 1915, the latest kill report indicates that the program’s reckless slaughter continues, including 385 gray wolves, 68,905 coyotes (plus an unknown number of pups in 492 destroyed dens), 480 black bears, 284 mountain lions, 731 bobcats, 492 river otters (all but 83 killed “unintentionally”), 3,437 foxes, two bald eagles and 21,559 beavers. The program also killed 20,777 prairie dogs outright, plus an unknown number killed in more than 59,000 burrows that were destroyed or fumigated.

“Despite mounting public outcry and calls from Congress to reform these barbaric, outdated tactics, Wildlife Services continues its slaughter of America’s wildlife with no public oversight,” Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity said.


“There’s simply no scientific basis for continuing to shoot, poison and strangle millions of animals every year—a cruel practice that not only fails to effectively manage targeted wildlife but poses an ongoing threat to other animals, including pets.”

Agency insiders have revealed that the agency kills many more animals than it reports.

The data show that the Department of Agriculture boosted its killing program despite a growing public outcry and calls for reform by scientists, elected officials and nongovernmental organizations.

“The Department of Agriculture should get out of the wildlife-slaughter business,” Robinson said.

“Wolves, bears and other carnivores help keep the natural balance of their ecosystems. Our government kills off the predators, such as coyotes and then kills off their prey—like prairie dogs—in an absurd, pointless cycle of violence.”

http://ecowatch.com/2016/06/21/animals-killed-wildlife-services/

Agelbert NOTE: I signed a petition that was sent to Senator Sanders. He wrote to the USDA and they answered with a pack of lies. The chief liar is Shea. He is in charge and has been advocating this murderous policy for several years.

The "We are very responsible, good and caring for wildlife   " BULLSHIT from Kevin Shea, USDA Administrator, in a letter to Senator Sanders:


Prize quotes for world class innocent sounding Kevin Shea doubletalk, duplicity and hard to disprove (the lawyer liars must have vetted the letter first - wink) statements among the pack of lies told by Kevin Shea in his May 6, 2016 letter to Senator Sanders:

"In fact, some 9 out of 10 wild animals are chased away from the place they are casuing problems, and WS lethal predator control work removes only a minuscule number of predators when compared to their native populations in the wild."

"We assure you and your constituents that we are dedicated to advancing the coezistence of people and wildlife and that our Agency is committed to developing and utilizing socially acceptable and biologically sound methods od wildlife damage management. "

The only thing missing is "Trust us, we are lawyers". LOL!




THE TRUTH, as stated clearly since 2013:

 

Congress: Kill Wildlife Services’ Wildlife-Killing Budget

By Ralph Maughan On August 9, 2013

This is a guest editorial by Wendy Keefover, Director of the Carnivore Protection Program at WildEarth Guardians-

The New York Times editors largely got it right when they recently editorialized critically about the cruel work of a little known program within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that annually spends over $100 million to kill some four million animals each year.  But we believe the Times should have gone further with their recommendation:  abolish Wildlife Services altogether because it represents a huge waste of taxpayer funds, it harms wildlife communities and ecosystems, and uses indiscriminate, brutal methods to kill millions of wildlife and domestic animals each year.

Not surprisingly Kevin Shea, one of the USDA’s top administrators for the government’s war on wildlife reacted defensively and claimed the Times editors “misunderstood” the federal government’s animal-killing “program.” He argues that unless one lives in “Rural [sic] America or work(s) in agriculture” one just cannot comprehend the need for the feds to kill “wolves, coyotes, bears that prey on livestock, as well as birds that can devour a field of sunflowers or a pen of farm-raised catfish in a morning.”
   

But Shea’s notion of rural exceptionalism is fundamentally about the bottom line of agribusiness and is a complete dismissal of the growing support for non-lethal coexistence.

His arguments are out-of-step with Americans’ conservation values. In fact some rural producers readily use non-lethal methods to deter wildlife and prevent losses to their agricultural products. A few ranchers ride with their herds that graze on open range, or use barns or pens to protect lambing or calving mothers. Some farmers use scarecrows and electronic devices to scare off flocks of birds that might eat sunflower seeds or rice.

Shea conveniently omitted facts about the enormous problems associated with this federal animal-killing program. Each year, Wildlife Services kills millions of animals, including animals that are federally listed as “endangered” or “threatened” with extinction under the Endangered Species Act. It also kills hundreds of common species each year from meadowlarks, to beavers, to American kestrels. Wildlife Services slays hundreds of domestic pets, and occasionally and ironically the very cattle, sheep, or deer they are working to protect.

While Shea claims that: “we target just those animals causing the damage.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Wildlife Services uses a veritable arsenal that includes a variety of indiscriminate deadly poisons; cable neck snares; dynamite, steel-jawed, and leg-hold traps. None of these things target the individual animals that have caused agricultural damage. And neither can the federal snipers who shoot wolves, bears, coyotes, and ravens from helicopters and airplanes. They just shoot the animals they see.

Shea also forgot to mention the brutality that characterizes some Wildlife Services employees. Recently, one federal trapper was criticized for apparently siccing his dogs on trapped coyotes. The trapper then apparently took photos and posted them to his Facebook page.

In another recent incident, a government trapper, who was working for his wife with his supervisor’s approval, set up leg-hold traps in his own yard. He captured his neighbor’s dog who was left in traps for hours. The dog sustained permanent damage to her body. The trapper has been charged in Arizona for felony animal abuse and recently left his employment.

Wildlife Services wastes enormous resources in its bid to kill America’s most majestic native carnivores such as wolves, coyotes, bears, and cougars. What makes no sense is that only a miniscule number of livestock actually die from predation – less than a quarter of one percent of the cattle inventory according to USDA figures. Most cattle and sheep succumb to illness, disease, and birthing problems, according to the USDA’s own data, killing wolves and other native species creates enormous ecosystem problems, and disrupts the social structures in these animal communities.

Finally, Mr. Shea failed to tell his readers that tax dollars largely pay for all this killing. Wildlife Services receives funds from taxpayers at every level of government – from municipalities, to states, and from the federal treasury as well.

Worse, Wildlife Services operates under a veil of secrecy, often failing to account for its actions. Wildlife Services is notorious for its failures to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests. It won’t tell the public how much it spends on what it does, although a peek at some of its record keeping from its databases indicates a culture of precise record keeping. Wildlife Services has even evaded requests from Congress for its budget records.

Wildlife Services has been around in various guises since the late 19th Century with its primary mission to exterminate our nation’s wildlife so as to benefit those in agribusiness. Times have changed. Sadly Wildlife Service has not.  It’s time for Wildlife Services to go. It’s out of step with Americans’ values toward wildlife and wildlands conservation.

With ingenuity and persistence, producers can choose to co-exist with wildlife rather than killing
– because the amount of killing is expensive, harmful, misguided, and wholly unnecessary. In an era of economic uncertainty, it’s time to kill Wildlife Services’ budget so as to spare our nation’s wildlife and pets.

http://www.thewildlifenews.com/2013/08/09/congress-kill-wildlife-services-wildlife-killing-budget/
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Defending Wildlife
« Reply #43 on: September 30, 2016, 01:32:19 pm »

Sep. 29, 2016 04:51PM EST

Court Stops U.S. Fish & Wildlife from Killing Wild Red Wolves   

Defenders of Wildlife Defenders of Wildlife

SNIPPET:

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina today issued a preliminary injunction that orders the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to stop capturing and killing—and authorizing private landowners to capture and kill—members of the rapidly dwindling population of wild red wolves.

http://www.ecowatch.com/red-wolf-court-ruling-2023369456.html


He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Defending Wildlife
« Reply #44 on: October 13, 2016, 02:46:02 pm »
  World Habitat Day 


Despite 40 years of protection efforts and billions of dollars, America's rarest animals and their habitats continue to decline. Existing approaches are not capable of protecting habitat quickly enough and at a large enough scale to restore healthy wildlife populations, in large part because a challenge between wildlife and development typically ends in costly and time-consuming court battles. But EDF has come up with a solution that allows people and wildlife to thrive together.   



Lesser Prairie Chicken

The lesser prairie-chicken is a ground-dwelling grouse, known for its elaborate mating dances, and found only in the United States. Once abundant throughout the southern Great Plains, the bird is now limited to select portions of New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas. Its habitat overlaps with farming and ranching operations as well as oil, gas and wind energy development.

EDF is among the leaders in an effort to save this species. By participating in the Lesser Prairie-Chicken Habitat Exchange, farmers, ranchers, and other landowners can earn income by creating, maintaining, and improving habitat vital to the survival of the lesser prairie chicken.

There were once an estimated 1 million Attwater's prairie chickens living in the coastal prairie of Texas and Louisiana. But rapid loss of prairie habitat in the early 1900s took a devastating toll. Today, the only living Attwater's prairie chickens are born in zoos.  :(

Prairie chickens need millions of acres of prairie habitat in order to survive extended droughts and a multitude of other threats—far more than can ever be preserved through purchase and the establishment of federal or state refuges and preserves.

Enjoy Spectacular slide shows and a wealth of valuable environmental information at the link below:   

https://www.edf.org/
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

 

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