More Ele-Facts

Elephants are fascinating animals! From physiology to psychology, these giants are full of surprises. Here are some more facts about Asian elephants. Elephants can hear infrasonic sound — sound below the human audible range — and ultrasonic sound — sound above the human audible range. Studies have shown that they can hear thunder several miles away. Elephants have great hearing and a great sense of smell but see relatively poorly. They can recognize people by smell, even after years apart. Fanning their ears helps elephants cool their bodies. The blood cycles through the ear to help regulate body temperature — … Continue reading →

Ele-Facts

I had an interest in elephants sparked by a conversation today about mahouts — elephant handlers in India. An acquaintance who has traveled far and wide was describing the relationship between elephant and handler, a life-long bond that sounds a lot like a marriage or other partnership. I’ll definitely be writing about mahouts in the near future! But for now, I wanted to share some interesting ele-facts about Asian elephants. The elephant is one of a few animals that use tools. Elephants use sticks to scratch themselves and can learn to use a variety of objects for a variety of … Continue reading →

A Terrible Month for Tigers

Photo By Marieke Kuijpers Two Siberian tigers killed in less than a week at two different zoos…what the heck’s going on here? There’s only like 400 in the world as it is. Like mountain gorillas, they’re on the severely endangered list. So why have two purposely been killed recently? Let’s take a look. The Slaughter in China Leads to Discoveries of Tiger Neglect On Thursday December 20th a female Siberian tiger was found beheaded and skinned at the Three Gorges Forest Wild Animal World in a province of Yichang City, China. They’re still not sure what happened, but investigators suspect … Continue reading →

A World without Gorillas?

Back in September, for National Wildlife Day, I wrote about animals on my mind. Among them were the mountain gorillas in the Virunga National Park. They’re on my mind again today because last night on 60 Minutes Anderson Cooper did a report called “Gorillas: Kings of Congo.” The gorillas have never before been in as much danger as they are now. Yes, since I wrote about them just three months ago, their situation has gotten even worse. The rangers responsible for protecting the gorillas and the park have been completely driven out. The land where the gorillas roam has fallen … Continue reading →

Elephants and Chili Peppers

Misbehaving elephants in northeastern India are leaving their habitats and wreaking havoc. Wandering elephants have destroyed homes, decimated crops, and trampled people. Wildlife experts are trying a somewhat unconventional method to keep elephants away from villages near the elephant habitats: the world’s hottest chili. Fences around villages and fields are smeared with automobile grease and bhut jolokia, the ghost chili. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the ghost chili is the world’s hottest chili pepper. Conservationists have also used chili smoke bombs to keep the elephants away from residential and growing areas. Dried chili and straw lit on … Continue reading →

Endangered Piping Plovers in New Jersey

The endangered piping plover has been something of a conservation success story on the New Jersey beaches. The piping plover is a small, territorial shorebird. Like many human beach visitors, the piping plovers pick out their territory, settle into the sand, play in the water, and watch life go on around them. These birds return to their breeding grounds in late March and early April. After courtship rituals, the mated birds form shallow nests in the sand and line them with shells and small rocks. Plovers lay as many as four eggs at a time; the hatchlings can fly a … Continue reading →

Florida Loggerhead Numbers Drop

On the heels of a movement to protect Pacific loggerhead sea turtles, news comes from Florida that the number of turtle nests went down in 2007. Loggerhead sea turtles are already listed as “threatened” by the federal Endangered Species Act. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission surveyed nineteen different beaches were loggerhead turtles nest. Scientists reported more than twenty-eight thousand turtle nests. This seems like a good number until you compare it to the 2006 survey, which counted nearly fifty thousand turtle nests. In 2007, there were twenty-two thousand fewer loggerhead nests on Florida beaches — possibly the lowest … Continue reading →

US Protection for Loggerheads

The United States government is looking at adding loggerhead sea turtles in the Pacific to the endangered species list. Loggerhead turtles all over are already classified as “threatened” under the federal Endangered Species Act. However, environmentalists believe a higher level of protection is necessary. The National Marine Fisheries Service is considering upgraded protection for loggerheads along the California coast and around Hawaii. Managers of Pacific Ocean fisheries say that recent years have seen huge improvements in protection for Pacific loggerheads. Sea turtle advocates beg to differ, estimating that tens of thousands of turtles are killed each year by commercial fishing … Continue reading →

Tips for Traveling with Cats

Cats don’t generally travel as well as dogs do. I’m lucky because Mr. Meow is an exception. He does very well if we give him the freedom to decide between his carrier or roaming around the vehicle. (If we just keep him locked in his carrier he’ll meow constantly like mad until we unlock him.) And once he can be out and about, he quiets down and generally picks a spot and stays there. Sometimes it’s my lap, sometimes it’s on the seat beside me (if we’re in Wayne’s pickup), or it’s next to his brother Murphy. But we now … Continue reading →

My Top 5 Animal Loving Role Models

For National Inspirational Role Model Month (which November is) over in Marriage I wrote about my favorite TV wives as role models from the 1950s thru the 1970s and 1980s thru the present. Here in Pets I’d like to do something similar: list those people involved with animals who influenced me to love and care for them like I do. 1. My dad, Ralph Mroch: My dad’s got to have one of the most tender hearts towards animals of anyone in my family. As I wrote about in Where My Compassion for Animals Comes From, I get my love of … Continue reading →