Ocho y media

Weekly Dose of Pygmy Marmoset Pictures

2011-10-12T11:59:00.001-07:00

If you're like me you can't go very long without having a look at some pygmy marmoset pictures. So here is a dose of our favorite tiny monkey to get you through the week.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Toucans Strap on GPS Backpacks

2011-08-04T13:38:00.001-07:00

Scientists in a study funded by the Smithsonian captured 6 toucans and strapped GPS backpacks on them to see how active they are and where they go. They are trying to see any pattern in their activity especially related to consuming and dropping seeds. The birds are most active early in the morning and late afternoon. They found that the seeds eaten earlier in the day were more likely to be dispersed about a wider range.

See also: Aracari, Quetzal, Scarlet Macaw and Owls

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Owl Battle Royal

2011-07-18T08:56:00.001-07:00

The US Fish and Game Department is having trouble formulating their owl conservation plan. For years they have struggled to protect the spotted owl (pictured) in the Northwest of the US. Traditionally, the enemy was timber industry and loss of habitat. The trouble is that there is a new owl in town, taking over the range of the spotted owl – the barred owl! New studies have shown that the barred owl has larger populations in the forests of the Pacific Northwest than was previously thought. The timber industry is ticked off saying that conservation efforts should concentrate more on addressing the owl on owl conflict than coming after their money making activities.

Spotted owl numbers are down to just 5,000 in the wild and it is thought that they are losing about 3 percent a year.

Lets hope the other owls of the region don't join in the fray. Some will even attack and kill other species of owl. There is no shortage of the nocturnal big-eyed bird of prey in this region. Snowy owls may be seen as far South as the US Northwest and burrowing owls are sometimes that far North. Barn owls, screech owls, long-eared owls, great gray owls and a few others will also be found in the area.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Bobcats found feeding on domestic cats in New Mexico

2011-07-11T19:02:00.001-07:00

People of the neighborhood were thrilled and excited to see bobcats around until they started to notice their own cats were going missing. The people have been used to seeing wildlife for years but the wildcats have become a little more aggressive lately (or else hungrier.)

Neighbor Lauri Michael said, “I thought I saw a neighborhood cat but it was much larger than a neighborhood cat and it jumped the wall and I noticed that the tail was bobbed.”

Michael said the wildcats seemed a bit more brazen than in years past.

“We heard some commotion on our roof, and we heard other neighbors say that the bobcats can actually climb up on the roof, and we found evidence to that fact that they left behind," she said.

But climbing roofs wasn’t all they were doing.

“I know they have gotten the neighbors cats,” Mike Tullai said.

“A neighbor had a cat snatched right before her by the bobcat,” said Michaels.

The neighbors estimate at least four cats have probably been eaten by their wild cousins from the mountains, but they say they understand the cats are just trying to survive tough conditions.

“We are not against them being here because we are in their territory; we are visitors in their territory, but when they start messing with folks and their pets it may be time to start relocating them,” said Tullai.

That’s just what Game and Fish did. The mom and baby were released in a wildlife area near Belen.

Bobcats

Other cats:

Ocelot

Pallas' Cat

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Could lizards be the new pet of choice?

2011-07-10T16:32:00.001-07:00

In the UK pet seller's have recently reported that the number of reptiles and related products have surged, up 250% in the last year. The main driver in the reptile-pet decision seems to be low-maintenance aspect of these pets. They are smaller and they won't be very noisy and usually don't soil your carpet and eat your sofa but it is possible. It is a little more difficult for them to get pregnant while you're not watching too. Most popular in the UK are the gecko and the bearded dragon. Also popular in the US are iguanas, anoles and of course many snakes. Turtle sales seem to be picking up too. In the UK there are 9 million reptile pets compared with about 7 million dogs. It is often said that fish are the favorite pet of Chinese people, maybe Westerners are slowly headed in that direction. Koi fish ponds are increasingly popular as well.

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A Few Baby Animal Pics in Time for Summer

2011-07-08T19:10:00.003-07:00

You can never have enough.

Pictured:
http://www.factzoo.com/mammals/african-pygmy-hedgehog.html
http://www.factzoo.com/mammals/pangolin.html
http://www.factzoo.com/mammals/raccoon-dog-night-wanderer.html (not the raccoon really but close)

And a few links to the newer pages:
http://www.factzoo.com/mammals/lynx-beautiful-cat-martian-ears.html
http://www.factzoo.com/fish/koi-fish-japanese-carp-decorative-pond.html
http://www.factzoo.com/mammals/pink-fairy-armadillos.html
http://www.factzoo.com/mammals/musk-ox-cold-weather-bovine.html
http://www.factzoo.com/mammals/yak-handsome-himalayan-bovine.html
http://www.factzoo.com/reptiles/snakes/cape-cobra-yellow-deadly-southern-africa.html

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Monkeys swipe camera to take pictures of themselves

2011-07-08T19:10:00.001-07:00

A professional photographer was out in the forest of Indonesia taking pictures when he came across a group of rare black-crested macaques. It didn't take long for them to assess the situation. They swiped his camera and took hundreds of pictures of themselves! Most of the photos were out of focus but they somehow knew to smile! and some came out great. Put a thousand monkeys in a room with cameras and they might come up with enough material for a National Geographic magazine.

Hanuman monkeys in India are known to get into whatever they like but I don't know if they have figured out how to shoot photos of themselves and look at the preview window.

more recent monkey pages:

http://www.factzoo.com/mammals/dusky-titi-dense-fur-chattering-singing.html

http://www.factzoo.com/mammals/common-woolly-monkey-thick-fur-tail-round-head.html

http://www.factzoo.com/mammals/emperor-tamarin-small-creature-big-fu-manchu.html

http://www.factzoo.com/mammals/mangabey-active-african-monkey.html

http://www.factzoo.com/mammals/saki-monkey-thick-long-coat-fuzzy-face.html

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Sea Photos From Bite Back

2011-01-04T20:47:00.001-08:00

Underwater photos from the site http://www.bite-back.com/ raising funds for marine conservation.

Humans take a toll on sea life.
The whale population initially decreased because of hunting. The blue whale, which once numbered 200,000, was estimated to be 10,000 in 2001. Marine mammals also become accidentally entangled in fishing nets and collide with boats. Dolphins died at a considerable rate due to tuna fishing methods until U.S.legislation prohibited the method and the number caught in nets was reduced dramatically. Manatees,who move slowly and sometimes sleep near the surface of the water, are particularly vulnerable to being fatally hit by motor boats.
Some affected species
http://www.factzoo.com/mammals/manatee-sea-cow-lakes-amazon.html
http://www.factzoo.com/invertebrates/horseshoe-crab-living-fossil.html
http://www.factzoo.com/invertebrates/sea-cucumber-sea-floor-slug.html
http://www.factzoo.com/fish/chimaeras-sharks-skates-rays.html
http://www.factzoo.com/mammals/blue-whale-largest-animal.html

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Serpents in the world's legends and mythology

2010-08-26T12:34:00.001-07:00

Serpents and snakes play a role in many of the world's myths and legends. Sometimes these mythic beasts appear as ordinary snakes. At other times, they take on magical or monstrous forms. Serpents have long been linked with good as well as evil, representing both life and death, creation and destruction.
Myths
Many mythical creatures, such as dragons, combine snake-like qualities with features of humans or animals. In Greek mythology, Echidna was a half-woman, half-serpent monster whose offspring included several dragons. Cecrops had a man's head and chest on a snake's body and was a hero to the Athenians. In Toltec and Aztec mythology, Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent, held an important place. In medieval Europe, people told tales of the basilisk a serpent with a dragon's body that could kill merely by looking at or breathing on its victims. Melusina another figure in European folklore, was part woman, part fish and snake, and had to spend one day each week in water.
Sea Serpents
Mysterious serpents occur not only in ancient myths but also in modern legends. For centuries, people have reported seeing huge snakes or snakelike monsters at sea or in lakes. Although many marine scientists admit that creatures yet unknown may inhabit the depths, no one has produced reliable evidence of an entirely new kind of sea serpent. Most likely the mysterious creatures seen swimming on the water's surface are masses of seaweed, floating logs, rows of porpoises leaping into the air, giant squid, or just common sharks or sea lions.
Myths that emphasized the frightening or evil aspects of serpents and snakes often portrayed them as the enemies of deities and humans. The Greek hero Perseus rescued Andromeda who was chained to a rock, by slaying a sea monster that threatened to eat her. In Norse mythology, a monster called the Midgard serpent—also known as Jormungand was wrapped around the earth, biting its tail. Thor battled the serpent, which lived in the sea, where its movements caused storms around the world. Another Norse monster, the Nidhogg, was an evil serpent coiled around one of the roots of Yggdrasill, the World Tree. It was forever trying to destroy the tree by biting or squeezing it.
In the mythology of ancient Egypt, Apophis was a demon who appeared in the form of a serpent. Each night he attacked Ra, the sun god. But Mehen, another huge serpent, coiled himself around Ra's sun boat to protect the god from Apophis—a perfect illustration of how snakes can be symbols of both good and evil.
Mythological snakes that act as forces of good have various roles, such as creating the world, protecting it, or helping humans. Stories of the Fon people of West Africa tell of Da, a serpent whose thirty-five hundred coils support the cosmic ocean in which the earth floats. Another thirty-five hundred of its coils support the sky. Humans occasionally catch a glimpse of many-colored Da in a rainbow, or in light reflected on the surface of water.
The Aboriginal people of northern Australia tell how the Great Rainbow Snake Julunggul shaped the world. The threat he posed was more than a snake bite. When human blood dropped into a waterhole, Julunggul grew angry. He sent a wave of water washing across the earth, and he swallowed people, plants, and animals. Julunggul reared up toward heaven, but an ant spirit bit him and made him vomit up what he had swallowed. This happened again and again until Julunggul departed from the earth, leaving people, plants, and animals in all parts of it.
According to a story of the Diegueno Indians of California, humans obtained many of the secrets of civilization from a huge serpent named Umai-hulhlya-wit. This serpent lived in the ocean until people performed a ceremony and called him onto the land. They built an enclosure for him, but it was too small to hold him. After Umai-hulhlya-wit had squeezed as much of himself as possible into the enclosure, the people set him on fire. Soon the serpent's body exploded, showering the earth with the knowledge, secrets, songs, and other cultural treasures he had contained.
Hindu myths contain many tales of serpents. Kaliya was a five-headed serpent king who poisoned water and land until the god Krishna defeated him in battle. Kaliya then worshipped Krishna, who spared his life. Kadru was a snake goddess who bore one thousand children. Legend says that they still live today as snakes in human form. One of Kadru's children was the world snake Shesha that the gods used to turn a mountain and stir up the ocean, just as people churn milk into butter by using a rope coiled around a stick or paddle. As the gods churned the ocean with the snake, many precious things arose from it, including the moon, a magical tree, and the Amrita or water of life.
Serpents and Snakes in Context
In religion, mythology, and literature, serpents and snakes often stand for fertility or a creative life force—partly because the creatures can be seen as symbols of the male sex organ. They have also been associated with water and earth because many kinds of snakes live in the water or in holes in the ground. The ancient Chinese connected serpents with life-giving rain. Traditional beliefs in Australia, India, North America, and Africa have linked snakes with rainbows, which in turn are often related to rain and fertility.
As snakes grow, many of them shed their skin at various times, revealing a shiny new skin underneath. For this reason snakes have become symbols of rebirth, transformation, immortality (the ability to live forever), and healing. The ancient Greeks considered snakes sacred to Asclepius, the god of medicine. He carried a caduceus, a staff with one or two serpents wrapped around it, which has become the symbol of modern physicians.
For both the Greeks and the Egyptians, the snake represented eternity. Ouroboros the Greek symbol of eternity, consisted of a snake curled into a circle or hoop, biting its own tail. The Ouroboros grew out of the belief that serpents eat themselves and are reborn from themselves in an endless cycle of destruction and creation.
Living on and in the ground, serpents came to be seen in some religions and mythologies as guardians of the underworld, or land of the dead. In this role they could represent hidden wisdom or sacred mysteries, but they also had other, more sinister meanings. The use of serpents as symbols of death, evil, or treachery may be related to the fact that some of them are poisonous and dangerous. Satan and other devils have frequently been portrayed as snakes, as in the biblical story of Eden where a sly serpent tempts Eve and Adam into disobeying God. Some Christian saints are said to have driven away snakes as a sign of miraculous powers given to them by God. According to legend, St. Patrick cleared Ireland of snakes.
The Nagas of Hindu and Buddhist mythology show how serpents can symbolize both good and evil, hopes and fears. Although these snake gods could take any shape, including a fully human one, they often appeared as human heads on serpent bodies. The Nagas lived in underwater or underground kingdoms. They controlled rainfall and interacted with gods and humans in a variety of ways. Some were good, such as Mucalinda, the snake king who shielded Buddha from a storm. Others could be cruel and vengeful.

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Funny Looking Newborn Animals

2010-08-21T15:14:00.001-07:00

Can you tell what they are?
One hint - there is a badger in the group.
Ok a few more hints:
pygmy hedgehog
aye aye

pygmy marmoset
echinda

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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How Sharks Use Their Sense of Smell to Chase Prey

2010-06-10T19:15:00.001-07:00

It's no secret that sharks have a keen sense of smell and a remarkable ability to follow their noses through the ocean, right to their next meal. Now, researchers reporting online on June 10th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, have figured out how the sharks manage to keep themselves on course.

It turns out that sharks can detect small delays, no more than half a second long, in the time that odors reach one nostril versus the other, the researchers report. When the animals experience such a lag, they will turn toward whichever side picked up the scent first.
"The narrow sub-second time window in which this bilateral detection causes the turn response corresponds well with the swimming speed and odor patch dispersal physics of our shark species," known as Mustelus canis or the smooth dogfish, said Jayne Gardiner of the University of South Florida. All in all, it means that sharks pick up on a combination of directional cues, based on both odor and flow, to keep themselves oriented and ultimately find what they are looking for.
If a shark experiences no delay in scent detection or a delay that lasts too long—a full second or more—they are just as likely to make a left-hand turn as they are to make a right.
These results refute the popular notion that sharks and other animals follow scent trails based on differences in the concentration of odor molecules hitting one nostril versus the other. It seems that theory doesn't hold water when one considers the physics of the problem.
"There is a very pervasive idea that animals use concentration to orient to odors," Gardiner said. "Most creatures come equipped with two odor sensors—nostrils or antennae, for example—and it has long been believed that they compare the concentration at each sensor and then turn towards the side receiving the strongest signal. But when odors are dispersed by flowing air or water, this dispersal is incredibly chaotic."
Indeed, Gardiner explained, recent studies have shown that concentrations of scent molecules could easily mislead. Using dyes that light up under laser light, scientists found that there can be sudden peaks in the concentrations of molecules even at a distance from their source.
Gardiner's team suggests that the findings in the small shark species they studied may help to explain the evolution of the wide and flat heads that make hammerhead sharks so recognizable. One idea has held that the characteristic hammerhead may lend the animals a better sense of smell. But studies hadn't shown their noses to be all that remarkable, really. For instance, they don't respond to odors at concentrations lower than other sharks. The new findings suggest that the distance between their nostrils could be the key.
"If you consider an animal encountering an odor patch at a given angle, an animal with more widely spaced nostrils will have a greater time lag between the odor hitting the left and right nostrils than an animal with more closely spaced nostrils," Gardiner said. "Hammerheads may be able to orient to patches at a smaller angle of attack, potentially giving them better olfactory capabilities than pointy-nosed sharks." That's a theory that now deserves further testing.
In addition to giving insights into the evolution and behavior of sharks, the findings might also lead to underwater robots that are better equipped to find the source of chemical leaks, like the oil spill that is now plaguing the Gulf Coast, according to the researchers.
"This discovery can be applied to underwater steering algorithms," Gardiner said. "Previous robots were programmed to track odors by comparing odor concentrations, and they failed to function as well or as quickly as live animals. With this new steering algorithm, we may be able to improve the design of these odor-guided robots. With the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the main oil slick is easily visible and the primary sources were easy to find, but there could be other, smaller sources of leaks that have yet to be discovered. An odor-guided robot would be an asset for these types of situations."

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Underwater Open Sea Photos

2010-05-07T11:19:00.001-07:00

A few photos of a seahorse, schools of fish, rays and corals.
Marine life in the oceans and other saltwater environments such as estuaries and wetlands includes plant and animal life forms from the microscopic picoplankton all the way to the blue whale, the largest creature in the sea and on earth.
Some recent marine life posts:
http://www.factzoo.com/invertebrates/colossal-squid-largest-eyes-all-animals.html
http://www.factzoo.com/invertebrates/vampire-squid-from-hell.html
http://www.factzoo.com/fish/flatfishes-flounder-halibut-sole.html
http://www.factzoo.com/fish/flyingfishes-high-flying-fish.html
http://www.factzoo.com/fish/pufferfish-blowfish-fugu-poisonous-sushi.html
http://www.factzoo.com/fish/sailfish-fastest-swimming-animal.html
http://www.factzoo.com/fish/spotted-eagle-ray.html
http://www.factzoo.com/fish/whale-shark-worlds-biggest-fish.html

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Guide to Fake and Real Animal Fur

2010-01-26T19:17:00.001-08:00

With raccoon dogs being skinned alive and sold as faux fur on jackets, consumers and retailers need to check fur-trimmed products to ensure the material is really fake. Here are three tests that you can do to help identify questionable fur as real or fake. If you are ever in doubt, don’t buy it. Other testing methods and indicators not on this list—including the pushpin test, the blow test, the finger roll test, the color of the fur, the length of the fur, and the relative softness of the fur—should not be relied upon. This guide is not intended as a substitute for professional testing by experts in order to complywith applicable laws or for other reasons. Learn more at www.humanesociety.org/furf
ree.
1. Check the base of the fur for skin or fabric. Push apart the fur and look at the material at the base of the hairs. If the base material is not visible or unclear, and you own the garment, break the stitching and look at the non-hair side of the fur base, being sure to peel away all the layers of lining.
Animal Fur
ANIMAL FUR: The surest sign of animal fur
is leather/skin (usually white or tan, but
possibly the color of the fur if it has been dyed).
Fake Fur
FAKE FUR: The surest sign of fake fur is
seeing the threadwork backing from which the
“hairs” emerge.
2. Check the tips of the hairs for tapering. Both animal fur and fake fur come in many different colors and lengths. However, if animal fur has not been sheared or cut to a uniform length or had the guard hairs plucked out, you may be able to examine the tips of the longest hairs and see that they taper into a fine point—like a cat's whisker or sewing needle. Good lighting and a magnifying glass are helpful, as is holding the hairs up against a white surface.
Animal Fur
ANIMAL FUR: Animal hairs—especially the
thicker guard hairs (seen here)—can often be
seen tapering to a point. NOTE: This test can
give a false negative for animal fur if the hairs
have been sheared or plucked.
Fake Fur

FAKE FUR: This image shows the straight
across cut of a fake fur “hair.” NOTE: Tapering
has not been seen on any fake fur samples to
date, but such a process may exist, or come into
existence.
3. The Burn Test. Animal hair smells like human hair when burned; fake fur made from acrylic or polyester—the two most commonly used synthetics—does not. Carefully remove just a few hairs and then, holding them with tweezers above a dish or other non-flammable surface, ignite them with a cigarette lighter. Make sure to burn them away from the original garment and anything else flammable. Never conduct the burn test on hairs still attached to the jacket.
Source: Animal Rights - Raise Awareness Facebook Group

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More Tigers in Texas than India

2009-12-18T15:43:00.001-08:00

Here is a good story about animal trafficking in Texas:
It was early afternoon on June 15, and McAllen police officer Frank Garcia thought he was witnessing a drug deal. He was watching three vehicles—two with Texas plates and a dark green Jeep Cherokee with Mexican plates—parked next to each other outside a McAllen Wal-Mart. Five people were hurriedly transferring small blue crates to the jeep. Garcia drove closer for a better look through his binoculars. As he approached, the group scattered, ducked into their vehicles, and peeled out.
Garcia followed them to another parking lot, this time outside a Mervyn’s department store. He flashed the squad car lights, got out of his vehicle, and told the group not to move.
That’s when he heard the yowling.
It was a high-pitched wail, like infants crying, coming from inside the Cherokee. Garcia peered inside the blue crates. There were no bundles of cocaine, no kilos of marijuana. Instead, he saw six tiny tiger cubs peering back at him. It turned out they were endangered Bengal tiger cubs (four white and two orange) bound for a private animal dealer in Mexico.
Garcia could do little. The tiger smugglers hadn’t committed a state crime. You might think it’s illegal to buy or sell an endangered tiger cub in Texas, but it isn’t. For $500, you can buy an orange Bengal tiger and tie it up in your yard, no questions asked (a white tiger will cost you $5,000). It’s all perfectly legal in Texas.
The exotic animal trade is a billion-dollar industry. Texas—which has almost no regulation of exotic animals—has always been a hotbed. The few laws Texas does have are rarely enforced. With such little oversight, animal experts and law enforcement officials say, the breeding and smuggling of exotic animals—tigers in particular—are booming in Texas. “It probably has the largest population of tigers in the country,” says Richard Farinato, a senior adviser with the Humane Society of the United States, “because there are a lot of animal breeders and a lot of animal dealers.”
It’s nearly impossible to know how many tigers and other exotic animals live in Texas because no state or federal agency tracks the number of animals in private ownership. Farinato can only guess at the number. Some animal experts estimate at least 3,000 tigers in the Lone Star State. That means more captive tigers live in Texas than prowl in the wild in India.
One thing is certain: With so many exotic animals, Texas is running out of zoos and sanctuaries that will take animals that are abandoned or seized in illegal smuggling rings (you can’t take tigers across the border without proper permits). The burgeoning tiger population has dangerous consequences for public safety—you could soon have a pet tiger living down the block—not to mention the health of animals forced to live in poor conditions.
Alejandro Rodriguez, a special agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is in charge of prosecuting international animal smugglers along the border. He says the exotic animal seizures on the border were once almost entirely birds and reptiles from Mexico. In the last four years, the trade has reversed. Now it’s mostly tigers and exotic cats bred in the United States being smuggled into Mexico. Rodriguez says private individuals in Mexico who want a tiger are fueling the demand. Because owning and breeding tigers is legal, law enforcement often has no recourse.
The woman selling tiger cubs at the McAllen Wal-Mart was Michelle Ashton, co-owner of the Spring Hill Wildlife Ranch in Calvert. (She had twice before sold tiger cubs in the Rio Grande Valley, according to law enforcement officials.) If Ashton hadn’t refused to cooperate with McAllen police that day, she could have driven home a free woman. She hadn’t violated any state law. Instead, she locked herself in the cab of her truck. She was arrested and then charged with “interfering with the duties of a public servant.” That triggered a federal investigation by U.S. Fish and Wildlife into whether she held the proper permits to transport the endangered cubs across an international border. Ashton, released on $5,000 bail, is still waiting for her court date. The federal investigation is ongoing.
The more pressing issue is what to do with the tiger cubs. Where do you house six adorable tiger cubs that will soon grow into 500-pound predators who eat 10 to 20 pounds of meat each day?
When state and federal authorities seize exotic animals along the border, they often call Jerry Stones, facilities director at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville. Because of its proximity to the border, the Brownsville zoo has become a kind of repository for seized animals and plants. With the animal trade booming, Stones has been receiving a lot of calls lately from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Drug Enforcement Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, and U.S. Customs asking him to please take an animal off their hands.
“It never stops,” says Stones, sitting behind his desk in a cramped office. He’s a self-described Nebraska farm boy from a “big” town of 6,000 people. He fell in love with the zoo business in his early 20s. In 1970 he left his job at the Omaha zoo to help run the brand new Gladys Porter Zoo, built and stocked with animals by Gladys Porter, an heiress to the J.C. Penney fortune. The 31-acre zoological and botanical park in downtown Brownsville has received everything from seized eastern gray kangaroos to rednecked wallabies to African lions (it currently has two). And six tigers. The influx of tigers has become overwhelming.
“I am about tigered out,” Stones says. “We have more than reached our tiger limit here at the Gladys Porter Zoo.” But he did find room for a certain set of six tiger cubs recently seized in McAllen.
Tiger cubs seized in a Mervyn's parking lot
It’s a gray June day in Brownsville. The sky is threatening rain, but there is a line of children and their parents waiting to see the cubs. A gaggle of children gathers outside a large picture window to watch the tigers be fed. The cubs range in age from 4 to 10 weeks. They are under quarantine until they have been given vaccinations and are disease-free. Volunteers in sterile gloves and hospital scrubs feed the tigers a special milk formula from baby bottles. The cubs bat at one another and hungrily gulp at the milk. They look like stuffed animals. They are irresistibly cute.
“Mommy, I want one!” a little girl pleads to her mother “Pleaaaasssseee.”
Stones tries to explain to the kids that tigers are wild animals. They don’t make good pets. It’s a losing effort: None of them is listening. Stones shakes his head. In his 38 years at the zoo, he has seen this too many times. “They have no idea what they are getting into. Those cubs are so cute, and they just bought them because they thought it was cool. But then one day, you’ve got some full-grown tigers on your hands.”
The result can be not only a tragic attack—but also brutal living conditions for the tigers. Many of the exotic animals that reach Stones at the zoo are traumatized from poor treatment in people’s homes.
To illustrate the point, Stones takes me to see a bobcat named Bodie recently brought to the zoo by South Padre Island Animal Control. The bobcat was purchased as a cub by a private owner, who had it declawed, neutered, and its canines filed down. When we arrive at the medical facility, Thomas deMaar, the zoo’s senior veterinarian, is checking on Bodie. “Basically this cat is a living pelt that can no longer defend itself,” deMaar says.
The bobcat’s owner used to drive around with the animal in the front seat of his Lamborghini. Then the bobcat reached sexual maturity. It ran away five times. Each time the local animal control officers had to track it down. “Finally, they called us and begged us to take it,” deMaar says, shaking his head. Stones and deMaar want the pet owner to provide some money for the bobcat’s care. So far, they’ve had no luck. Says deMaar grimly, “We are more of an unsubsidized humane shelter than an actual zoo.”
Behind his desk in his small office, Stones counts off the stories of the tigers and lions in his care. The two lions—Mario and Juana—came from the DEA; they were seized in a marijuana bust. The USDA seized the two biggest tigers, Ike and Tina, because they were being abused. His four young female tigers were part of a traveling freak show. “You know, a five-legged calf and two-headed turtles—that kind of thing,” he says. “These four tigers were little ones, and you could take a picture with them for 20 bucks at the show. But like any tigers, they grew up and got too big.”
The couple who owned the four tigers divorced, he says. The woman got the tigers, and the husband got the house and the land. She moved to Las Vegas and left her ex to feed the animals. “One day he called the USDA,” Stones recalls, “and said, ‘You either come get these tigers, or I am going to shoot them.’”
So the USDA called Stones. The agents promised to help find homes for the tigers. They also said there might be some federal funding to help care for the animals. “That was more than a year and a half ago,” he shrugs. “We’re still waiting.”
When zoos won’t take tigers, law enforcement and private owners turn to people like Richard Gilbreth. A former agricultural and animal science teacher, Gilbreth has been rescuing tigers since 1996, when he became director of the International Exotic Animal Sanctuary, a nonprofit facility on 40 acres in Boyd, just 30 miles north of Ft. Worth. He cares for 56 big cats, including 23 tigers.
Gilbreth has worked with animals all of his life on ranches in the Rocky Mountains and Texas. He also has a general contractor’s license, which comes in handy. “You have to be able to raise money, do construction,” he says. “We do it all ourselves. It’s a 24-7 job.” Gilbreth has built many animal habitats at the sanctuary and a dormitory that houses college interns who come to work with the exotic cats before taking jobs at zoos or getting veterinary degrees.
Caring for these cats is expensive. Every year it costs $500,000 to run the sanctuary. The animals go through 411 pounds of meat a day, which costs about $110,000 a year.
Every day, he says, he receives e-mails and phone calls from people wanting to give him animals. “It’s relentless,” he says. “My first question to anyone who says they want to give me a cat is, how much are you willing to help us?” Almost always, people say they don’t want to contribute money, they just want to give the tiger away. “It bothers me as a human to say ‘no,’” he says. “But as the director, I have to make hard choices. I would put every other cat here in jeopardy if I start taking more animals than I can raise money for.”
Gilbreth is proud of his sanctuary. As he leads a golf cart tour on a blistering August day, he points out the large and sturdy steel enclosures. “I want to show you the right way things are done,” he says.
Each enclosure has a shelter and swimming pool. The tigers, lions, and other exotic felines lie in the cool shade. They watch us with half-hearted interest. He points to a 15,000-square-foot enclosure that houses three young white tigers. “The state of Texas requires a 1,000-square-foot enclosure,” he says. “But for an animal to have a quality life for 20 years, you don’t want to put him in a 1,000-square-foot space.”
The three white tigers approach the steel fence and rub against it. They make low snuffing noises. They are so close and seem so affectionate. Foolishly, I ask Gilbreth if I could pet one. “If you stick a hand or an arm through that fence, it is nothing more than a piece of meat flailing around to them,” he says sternly. “Don’t ever forget that.”
Jerry Stones
The number of abandoned and seized tigers reached epidemic proportions about 10 years ago and hasn’t let up since, Gilbreth says. Tigers are not difficult to breed in captivity. Innovations in tiger cub formulas, diet, and vaccinations have spurred tiger breeders’ success. Many breeding operations turn out white Bengal tigers because they are novelties that generate 10 times more money than orange tigers. (White and orange Bengal tigers are the same species, but white tigers have a double recessive genetic condition.) White tigers’ popularity and price have led to continuous breeding. Many of them originate from a single white tiger brought to the United States in the 1960s. Birth defects are common. Gilbreth points out that the sanctuary’s white tigers are cross-eyed from inbreeding.
Breeding can be lucrative. White tiger cubs sell for $5,000 each. Since tigers can have two litters a year of eight cubs, a breeder can earn $80,000 a year. Many of these white tiger cubs are sold to small businesses that travel around the country displaying them as props and charging tourists to take pictures with them.
Gilbreth pauses for a moment to do some math. A federal law prohibits businesses from displaying tigers older than six months with humans because the cats have become too big and dangerous. So the businesses buy another set of cubs. At least 20 small-time operators in Texas would need eight tiger cubs to work throughout the year, Gilbreth estimates. In five years, that would total 800 tigers.
“Where are all of these tigers going to go?” he asks, then shakes his head as if it were too terrible to comprehend.
There are registered breeders in Texas who have USDA licenses. There are also numerous private owners who have a couple of tigers in their backyard. They are not considered commercial breeders, so no state or federal agency keeps tabs on them. “It’s unreal the number of people who are breeding these animals,” Gilbreth says. “And they are selling them, too.”
While white tigers can fetch thousands, the less desirable orange tigers can be had for free. Gilbreth says a man showed him a recent ad in Animal Finders, a subscription-only newspaper that advertises exotic animals for sale. The ad read “Tiger free to a good home. Good with children.”
A glut of tigers in an unregulated market can mean tragedy for the animals. On Christmas Day last year, a sanitation crew in Dallas found a dead, 1-year-old Bengal tiger near Interstate 35. The tiger had a bike lock cable and rusted wire around its neck. It had been shot five times.
Farinato, with the Humane Society, says there are few places for tigers to go when their owners abandon them. He estimates there are at least 5,000 tigers nationwide in private hands. “There are maybe 30 to 50 accredited sanctuaries in the United States,” he says. “Then there are the ones that are not accredited. When you a place an animal in one of these places, there’s no telling what will happen to it.”
For many years, Texas had no regulation of dangerous wild animals. But after a series of high profile maulings and deaths were reported in the media, the nonprofit Texas Humane Legislative Network prodded the Legislature to pass the Dangerous Wild Animal Act in 2001.
The law requires counties and cities to register dangerous wild animals such as lions and tigers with local animal control. It mandates that the owner keep the animal in a secure enclosure of adequate size, humanely care for the animal, and maintain at least $100,000 in liability insurance. It also gives cities and counties the option to ban private ownership of wild animals altogether.
Since the bill became law, fewer than half of Texas’ 254 counties have enforced the legislation, says Cil Holloway, president of the legislation network. “In a lot of cases, counties are resentful because they feel the responsibility should fall on a state agency like Texas Parks and Wildlife,” Holloway says. “But the agency wouldn’t touch the legislation. So our only option was to go with the local authorities. But the local authorities are of the opinion that they don’t have the resources to handle lions and tigers and cougars. So they are not going to enforce it.”
Holloway says the bill was the most difficult and frustrating piece of legislation her organization ever backed. “I don’t think we’ll revisit it anytime soon,” she says. “It becomes a property rights issue for people who believe they should be able to own anything they want. That’s fine and good until you find out that a guy two houses down owns a couple of tigers. A neighborhood child walks up to the fence and is injured or killed.”
Don Feare, an Arlington-based animal welfare lawyer who works with the network, says the only way to save tigers from being overbred and abandoned is to make it unlawful to breed or possess a tiger, though he concedes that’s unlikely. “Until that’s done, people are going to continue buying tigers,” he says. “Where are they going to go? All the rooms at the big cat sanctuaries are all rented, folks, so what do we do now?”
Back at the Gladys Porter Zoo, Jerry Stones does his best to convince the public that buying an adorable tiger cub is a bad idea. Unfortunately for Stones, the idea still hasn’t caught on. So Stones is back on the phone trying to find homes for seized and abandoned tigers and lions. “I’m not advocating that these animals be put down,” he says. “But they are living a life of hell—it’s not a good life. They are being put out in five-acre pens and shot in canned hunts or being left tied up their entire lives. It’s no way to treat a living creature.”
-Story originally from the Texas Observer, Sept 2008
Why not to buy a monkey - Monkeys for Sale
More about wildlife trafficking from the Smithsonian - Wildlife Trafficking

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Fun story about leopard seal (video)

2009-12-11T22:23:00.001-08:00

A deadly predator of the deep? or a friendly sea creature? Paul Nicklen, a National Geographic photographer, narrates his scary encounter with a leopard seal in Antarctica.
Leopard seals can weigh up to 1300 lbs (591 kg) and be up to 11 ft (3.4 m) long. It is the the top predator on the Antarctic continent. Look out penguins.

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Letterman Show features sneezing monkey

2009-11-28T14:36:00.001-08:00

The late night TV show host David Letterman has been showing a clip of a sneezing monkey "Sherman the monkey." It is just a short clip but he seems to be making a running gag out of it. He jokes that the clip will be all over the internet, maybe so. It appears to be a juvenile barbary macaque. The Barbary Macaque is a monkey species with highly restricted distribution, mostly cedar and oak forest habitat in northwest African - Morroco and Algeria. It has a principally vegetarian diet consisting of tubers, rhizomes, flowers, acorns, leaves and seeds. They are the only primates, besides man, in Europe.They were probably introduced there. Now there is just a small group in Gibraltar where they treat the tourists roughly.
Types of monkeys and monkeys for sale

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Some Hummingbird pics

2009-11-19T13:55:00.001-08:00

Hummingbirds are a fascinating group of birds that includes over 300 species, making them the world's second largest family of birds (the largest family of birds is the flycatcher family). The hummingbird family includes the world's smallest species of bird, the Cuban Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae), which measures a mere 5-6 cm in length.
Hummingbirds have the unique ability among birds to be able to fly in any direction and hover in mid-air. Hummingbirds have narrow beaks and long thin tongues which enable them to sip nectar from a variety of flowers.
Hummingbirds weigh between 2 and 20 grams. They have only 10 primary feathers, 6 to 7 secondary feathers, 10 rectrices (usually). Their sternum is very large in proportion to their size, when compared to that of other bird species.

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A nice exotic pet - Geckos

2009-10-22T11:20:00.001-07:00

Geckos are wide variety of bright colors and patterns. Geckos store fat and metabolic water in their sometimes fat and pudgy tails. Sometimes the tails get broken. They clean their eyes with their tongues. The toes of the gecko have a special adaptation that allows them to adhere to most surfaces without the use of liquids or surface tension
Leopard Geckos live in Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and West India. Adults feature patterns of stripes and mottles. Juvenile species are ringed yellow and dark brown; they obtain spots in the course of time. There are a few differences between sexes. Males have somewhat broader heads and more defined pores. Leopard Geckos are 8-10 inches in length. The sex of the young is determined by incubation temperature.
The Tokay Gecko is one of the most vocal of all reptiles, a not-very-vocal group.
Pictured: Leopard Gecko, Green Gecko, Leaf-tailed Gecko

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Some threates for sun bears

2009-10-20T12:46:00.001-07:00

The two major threats to sun bears are habitat loss and commercial hunting. They are hunted mainly for their meat and for use in medicines. They are also hunted for their fur and even to sell as exotic pets. Killing of the bear is prohibited by national wildlife laws. However, enforcement of these laws is rare. Though the size of their population is unknown, it is estimated that it has declined over 30 percent in the last 30 years.
More about the sun bear

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Homemade Ant Farms

2009-10-05T09:21:00.001-07:00

Build your own ant farm, there are many possibilities. Surround a terrarium with a moat or enclose a space with glass and/or tubes.

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Some Pygmy Animals

2009-09-10T13:19:00.001-07:00

The pygmy shrew, pygmy rabbit, pygmy marsupial frog and pygmy glider.
The pygmy rabbit is the smallest in the US, weighing just 1 pound. It's also one of two wild rabbit species in North America that digs its own burrows, and communicates vocally with squeaks, squeals, and chuckles.
Pygmy marsupial frogs raise the young in pouches inside the skin
of the back (hence the name "marsupial"). When the young are ready to
emerge, the skin on the back splits open to allow them to get out.
see more pygmy animals

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Some more Owls

2009-08-28T13:28:00.001-07:00

This is a really beautiful one of a barn owl and captured mouse. Also, these black and yellow ones I have no idea what species they are? Very colorful owls.
More really stunning --> Owls - hooting, flying, staring, swooping for good or evil?

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little wombat

2009-08-23T20:31:00.001-07:00

What is the best Australian pet? Maybe this guy although all the marsupials look friendly.
More wombat info and pics

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tiny porcupines and hedgehog new-borns

2009-08-22T23:57:00.001-07:00

Hedgehogs and porcupines are very similar looking. Which is which? Porcupines eventually get much bigger and their quills are long and detachable.

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Touch a whale, divers with whales

2009-08-22T17:04:00.001-07:00

People love to get close to whales. The whale shark arrives often to warm water diving areas.
I wouldn't get to close to killer whales however.

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Baby Colobus Monkeys

2009-08-22T16:52:00.001-07:00

Baby black and white colobus monkeys are born white like little lambs and later slowly change their coloring. First they turn a bit greyish, then the hair gets longer and more distinctly colored black or white. Adults are mostly black with a white face border and white veiling flanks and a bushy white tail. There are other variously colored colobuses such as the red colobus.
Monkeys for Sale

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Baby Colobus Monkeys

2009-08-22T16:47:00.001-07:00

Baby black and white colobus monkeys are born white like little lambs and later slowly change their coloring. First they turn a bit greyish, then the hair gets longer and more distinctly colored black or white. Adults are mostly black with a white face border and white veiling flanks and a bushy white tail. There are other variously colored colobuses such as the red colobus.
Monkeys for Sale

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It's a Hare Fight

2009-08-20T13:00:00.001-07:00

Hair is flying at a hare fight. Don't cross these bunnys or else.

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Flying Foxes and their Harems

2009-08-19T13:29:00.001-07:00

For some reason this sounds somewhat familiar - Scientists say that flying foxes with high levels of testosterone are more able to keep a large harem! The bats are very territorial so the males who want to keep a harem have to be pumped-up and on the look out to keep their harem happy and organized. Otherwise, other males will close-in on their ladies and you know what that leads to, a bit of a bat scrap.
full story
also see firefoxes or flying lemurs
((tag:animals,nature,wildlife,fun))

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Adopt a Wolf

2009-08-18T20:51:00.001-07:00

Carpathian and North American wolves seen here.
Website that offers wolf sponsering - aglian wolf
wombats

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Giant Pandas facing gloom outlook in China

2009-08-18T13:08:00.001-07:00

Due to environmental concerns "China's giant panda could be extinct in just two to three generations as rapid economic development is infringing on its way of life, state media said on Monday, citing an expert at conservation group WWF."
full story
red pandas

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Exceptionally large siberian tigers

2009-08-17T22:00:00.001-07:00

Siberians are the biggest of tigers, and all cats, but these ones appear very heavy. They can weigh more than 700 pounds.
animal pictures

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New news about Killer whale pods

2009-08-17T21:32:00.001-07:00

It has recently been observed that occasionally, or maybe "orca-sionally", killer whales get together in "super" pods with as many as 100 individuals. They apparently prefer an exclusive location of the coast of Russia. They might as well book a convention at Vegas. Scientists think that the orcas just get together for a kind of social meet-and-greet. Planned activities include swimming in synchrony, rubbing flippers and choir practice.
Full story at BBC
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Beluga

2009-08-15T22:37:00.001-07:00

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Tiger at the Bronx Zoo

2009-08-15T20:57:00.001-07:00

I imagine that he is saying "Hey hey don't give me that chicken again I ordered the lamb"
photo credit - Larry Claypool

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Animal Pictures

2009-08-15T17:12:00.001-07:00

Lioness and cub.
Animal Pictures - mammals, reptiles, monkeys, birds, and more.

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Time-Lapse Videos Landscape changes in cities and forests

2009-05-30T11:41:00.000-07:00
Dubai, Brazil, the Aral sea and more you see the earth being eaten by our activities -
wired landscape changes

nuevas paginas de animales

2009-05-29T10:06:00.000-07:00
animal pictures: toucan, orca whale - uno de los predatores mas feroces, incluido come tiburones y osos, types of lizards - lagartos de todos tipos, gorillas, red pandas - the real firefox, parece a un zorro rojo bandido, donkeys - burros, cockroach - la cucaracha, monkeys for sale - monos en venta.

Enlaces a otras paginas que hago

2009-03-30T10:33:00.000-07:00
Paginas divertidas de animales y sus datos y un directorio de hoteles en Nicaragua:
types of monkeys
chinese zodiac animals
Hotels Nicaragua
monkey behavior
pygmy marmoset
orangutan

Paginas y fotos destacadas de animals

2009-02-27T17:10:00.000-08:00

Animal fact pages and pictures: tarsiers indigo snake snakes pictures types of snakes chameleons types of lizards pygmy marmoset

This may be the best one with all kinds and types of monkeys

loris aye-aye insects bugs cockroach beetles reptiles types of birds mammals pygmy tarsier jesus lizard

Descubren gracias a Google Earth un bosque en Mozambique con especies desconocidas

2008-12-24T08:12:00.000-08:00
de ABC.es:

Una expedición dirigida por un científico británico ha descubierto un "bosque perdido" en la cima de un monte en Mozambique, un verdadero paraíso terrenal hasta ahora ignoto que alberga en su interior nuevas especies animales y vegetales.
El descubrimiento de este territorio, conocido por los nativos del lugar pero que no se encuentra en los mapas, demuestra que "aún quedan cosas por descubrir y documentar en el mundo", ha declarado el botánico Jonathan Timberlake, líder de la expedición al Monte Mabu mozambiqueño.
El pasado octubre, un equipo internacional de expertos coordinado desde los Jardines Botánicos Kew de Londres se desplazó al Mabu para explorarlo, por primera vez, desde el punto de vista ecológico.
Los científicos se enteraron de la existencia de esa zona boscosa hasta entonces inédita a través de un miembro del equipo, el zoólogo británico Julian Bayliss, quien la localizó por internet. En 2005, Bayliss, que tiene su base en Mozambique, buscaba en Google Earth bosques a cierta altura para integrar en proyectos de conservación cuando se topó, vía satélite, con una masa de vegetación no identificada.
...

Ocho y media

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Owl Battle Royal

Bobcats found feeding on domestic cats in New Mexico

Could lizards be the new pet of choice?

A Few Baby Animal Pics in Time for Summer

Monkeys swipe camera to take pictures of themselves

Sea Photos From Bite Back

Serpents in the world's legends and mythology

Funny Looking Newborn Animals

How Sharks Use Their Sense of Smell to Chase Prey

Underwater Open Sea Photos

Guide to Fake and Real Animal Fur

More Tigers in Texas than India

Fun story about leopard seal (video)

Letterman Show features sneezing monkey

Some Hummingbird pics

A nice exotic pet - Geckos

Some threates for sun bears

Homemade Ant Farms

Some Pygmy Animals

Some more Owls

little wombat

tiny porcupines and hedgehog new-borns

Touch a whale, divers with whales

Baby Colobus Monkeys

Baby Colobus Monkeys

It's a Hare Fight

Flying Foxes and their Harems

Adopt a Wolf

Giant Pandas facing gloom outlook in China

Exceptionally large siberian tigers

New news about Killer whale pods

Beluga

Tiger at the Bronx Zoo

Animal Pictures

Time-Lapse Videos Landscape changes in cities and forests

nuevas paginas de animales

Enlaces a otras paginas que hago

Paginas y fotos destacadas de animals

Animal fact pages and pictures: tarsiers indigo snake snakes pictures types of snakes chameleons types of lizards pygmy marmoset This may be the best one with all kinds and types of monkeys loris aye-aye insects bugs cockroach beetles reptiles types of birds mammals pygmy tarsier jesus lizard

Descubren gracias a Google Earth un bosque en Mozambique con especies desconocidas

Animal fact pages and pictures: tarsiers indigo snake snakes pictures types of snakes chameleons types of lizards pygmy marmoset

This may be the best one with all kinds and types of monkeys

loris aye-aye insects bugs cockroach beetles reptiles types of birds mammals pygmy tarsier jesus lizard