Eagles fed by good samaritans

I received an email the other day containing remarkable pictures taken in January 2010 of Bald Eagles being fed by some well-meaning people. A year ago this month, the weather conditions in St. Louis, Missouri and Alton, Illinois was very cold and frigid. So much so that our nation's symbol was having a hard time locating its favorite food, fish. In an effort to help the eagles fend off hunger, good samaritans gathered up fish and fed the eagles. Soon the eagles, which normally are skittish in nature, did not mind being in such close proximity to the people feeding them. As a result the following amazing photographs were taken.

This is a wonderful story of people helping out animals instead of trying to get rid of them. However, I can not help but wonder what the ramifications were, if any. Did the eagles come back this year looking for a free hand out? Were the eagles cured of their skittish attitude toward humans and therefore didn't mind letting people get close? How many of these eagles were poached as a result of loosing their innate behavior to flee people?

Don't get me wrong, this is an amazing and feel good story. I just can't help wonder if in the end, the good deed ended up causing harm to these majestic birds of prey.

U.S.A. paving the way to eliminate whaling

Many countries including Australia and New Zealand want to ban all whaling practices, period. However, opposition from the three remaining whaling countries - Japan, Norway and Iceland - have made such a ban an improbability. However, the United States has stepped up with a compromise that may bring an end to whaling within the next 10 years. During this time, the whaling countries will be allowed to continue with their activities in limited fashion and in exchange would:

agree to stricter monitoring of their operations, including tracking devices and international monitors on all whaling ships and participation in a whale DNA registry to track global trade in whale products.

It is further reported that:

representatives to the whaling commission from more than a dozen countries including the three whaling countries and others backing a compromise deal are in Washington this week to negotiate terms of the agreement.

Though it would be ideal for all whaling activities to come to an immediate halt, this is at least a good step toward the eventual elimination of whaling. The International Whaling Commission is set to meet in Morocco this June.

India to use new tracking system to protect remaining tiger populations

India announced today that they will be implementing a new tracking system made in cooperation with the Wildlife Institute of India and Zoological Society of London. The tracking system will enable researchers and officials to track what is left of the tiger population in India by using radio signals from collars attached to the tiger.

Despite global outcry in support for protecting tigers and banning all trade of tiger parts, China, Thailand, Myanmar and other Asian countries still have a huge demand which fuels the illegal trade. In 2009, thirty two tigers were murdered while three confirmed kills have been reported this year. India's tiger population is currently estimated at only 1,350 which is down 64% from 2002 estimates.
In a statement given by Environmental Minister Jairam Ramesh, the reason for the huge decline in the tiger population is because:

Many field officers are too lazy to patrol their wildlife sanctuary areas...They make up data instead of surveying the field.

It is hoped that the new tracking system will help eliminate such negligence and a new census report on the tiger population is expected to be released this November.

Don't be afraid of the day walking raccoon

Now that spring is here, the majority of us will be venturing outside to enjoy Mother Nature's splendor. Gardening, sun tanning, barbecues, picnics, hiking and bird watching are just a few of the thousands of activities we can enjoy over the next five months. However, with the warm spring and summer weather comes encounters with wild animals. One in particular is the raccoon.

The raccoon is a nocturnal animal that prefers to live in deep wooded areas and thickets. However, it is highly intelligent and crafty enough to adapt to living in co-existence with humans. Unfortunately, the raccoon is also a carrier of rabies which results in many people panicking when faced with a raccoon during the day time hours. Such a reaction is due mostly to misinformation that raccoons are strictly nocturnal and only comes out in the day when sick. This is far from the truth.

In the east coast of the United States, raccoons begin their breeding season during the spring and sometimes during the early summer. In other words, now is the time raccoons start having and raising their young. It is not uncommon to come across a raccoon, especially a female, during the day time hours while it is foraging for food. And if the furry masked critter becomes comfortable in its surroundings, it will sometimes rest amongst leaves, mulch and grass even if it is located in close proximity to a human dwelling. In addition, though raccoons are curious, they also do not like disturbance. If a lot of racket is going on close to its day time dwelling, it will scurry off to find another more quiet abode.

So in light of the above facts, you should not panic if you come across a raccoon in the day. Most likely it is just passing by. And if it stops to take a good look at you, remember it is just being curious.

Of course you should also use common sense. NEVER under any circumstance should you walk up to a wild animal especially if it is acting in a strange manner (walking in circles, acting disoriented, stumbling, walking up to you without any fear). If it is acting in such a manner the best thing you can do is call animal control authorities. Do not take matters into your own hand. And finally, if the animal is just taking a good look at you, do it a favor and take a look back while keeping a good safe distance.

Condor egg hatched for first time in a century

A pair of proud condor parents hatched the first egg in more than a century at the Pinnacles National Monument in Central California.

The now hatched egg was placed in the nest of the pair of adult condors as part of an extensive breeding program aimed at bringing the largest North American bird back from near extinction. It is not uncommon to place eggs in nests of new parents to encourage successful breeding. Condors are in the same family as vultures and pray largely on dead animals. In 1982 there were only about 22 wild condors left in the region which was placed in San Diego Zoo to help save them from extinction. Unfortunately, hunting and lead poisoning contracted from eating carcasses containing lead bullets have slowed the recovery efforts to a crawl. There are now about 350 condors in North America today.


This event is a big achievement and biologists are hopeful the newborn condor will survive to become the start of a new generation of wild condors.

New lizard species discovered in Philippines

Mother Earth never ceases to surprise us. Despite all the reports of mass extinction occurring throughout the planet, scientists are still discovering new life.

A dragon-sized lizard found in the Philippines has been confirmed today as a new species. Living in the trees, "the forest monitor lizard" can get as big as six feet in length and weigh as much as 22 pounds. So far, it appears that the only real predator is humans (no surprise here) who hunts the lizard for meat.

The insect feeding lizard was first discovered in 2001 but has just been categorized as a new specie of lizard.

PETA discovers horrific treatment of animals by fashion company Hermes

Today, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) demanded that the French fashion company Hermes stop selling products made of exotic animal skin. They also released a report accompanied by graphic video footage showing the horrific and gross mistreatment of reptiles. Lizards were tortured by having their necks cut open in order to pull the skin off their bodies while still alive. The tortured animals were then left in a heap to die with other dead and dying lizards. Snakes were not killed prior to extracting their skins, but were paralyzed by “having skewers shoved up their noses (followed by being) pumped full of water to separate the skin from the organs while they're still alive.”

The report is the product of extensive research conducted in Indonesia during 2009 while visiting about a dozen companies. Inadequate laws make the country a heaven for poachers and a torture chamber for animals sought after in the fashion industry.

Senior campaigner Ashley Fruno said in a press conference:

There are a lot of rural areas which make it easier to hunt and poach animals. There are weak animal protection laws here and wildlife laws are difficult to enforce.

So far, Hermes has not commented on PETA’s findings.

Ex-LA Assistant Fire Chief sentenced to 90 days in jail for animal abuse case

Glynn Johnson, an ex-assistant fire chief from LA, was sentenced to 90 days in jail for brutally beating a six month old German Shepherd puppy, which had to be put down because of the severe injuries. He will also serve 400 hours community service working with dogs, take anger management courses and pay veterinarian bills. Judge J. Thompson Hanks sentenced Johnson to the light penalty because of the lack of a criminal record and consideration of Johnson's service as a fire fighter.

New look, New title

Welcome to the regeneration of Earth Chatter into The Animal Wire. After a lot of thought and consideration, I have decided to revamp this site by combining two sites into one: Earth Chatter and Critter Talk. It just seemed tedious having two blogs that were very similar. And though I sometimes talked about environmental issues, my passion is animal issues. Soon I will be doing away with the earthchatterlog.blogspot.com site for my own .com address. I will post when that happens. For now, enjoy the new look and if you have any comments, please do not hesitate to share.

Say no to the down-listing of bobcats

I just received an email alert from the Humane Society International about the proposed de-regulation of the bobcat:

In just a few weeks, delegates from 175 countries that have signed the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) will meet to discuss more than 40 proposals to increase or decrease protection for internationally-traded animal and plant species.

For the fourth time, the United States is proposing to remove CITES protection for bobcats. Each time before, their proposal has failed or they have withdrawn it in the face of strong opposition.

The bobcat, one of only two wild cats in the United States, is the most heavily killed and trapped animal world-wide because of the value of its fur on the international trade markets. Though time is short it is still not to late to help save the bobcat from poaching and trapping. The Humane Society International website has a petition available until March 1st and will be sent to Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior.