Tina Dow is passionate about a variety of things – traveling, scuba diving, rock climbing – but her one true love will always be elephants. After earning her bachelor’s degree in animal and nutritional sciences from West Virginia University in 2002, Dow spent the next four years trying to find her true career calling. “I interned with several zoos and became a licensed wildlife rehabilitator,” she said. “But I didn’t have any direction of what I wanted to do. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go to vet school, but I knew I wanted to continue to work with …
Category: Conservation
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Revisited
How many times have we heard the phrase,”Reduce, Reuse, Recycle?” Since the inauguration of the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle or 3Rs campaign in the mid 80s the green movement to better our planet has become a global effort. There are now receptacles for recycling glass, plastic, aluminum, and paper in office buildings, schools, and shopping centers. Most cities have a curbside pick-up service for all recyclables. In addition, you cannot step foot inside a store without seeing reusable bags at the checkout. So if it is easier than ever to recycle why aren’t we all doing our part? Not enough time? …
White-nose Syndrome: Silent Killer of America’s Bats
Growing up as a kid in the Northeastern United States I was enthralled by the night sky; watching hundreds of bats hunt winged insects with deadly precision. As if it happened only yesterday, I can still remember the sound of the tiny chirps and pips of the bats as they communicated to each other and located prey. Sadly, in my adult years, to see a single bat is a rarity; the night sky is now empty and silent. Since the initial discovery in 2006 in a single cave in New York, White-nose Syndrome (WNS), or Geomyces destructans, has been the …
Elephants Know How To Co-Operate
By Victoria Gill Science and nature reporter, BBC News In the test, two animals had to work together – each pulling on a rope in order to tug a platform towards them. Elephants’ apparent grasp of the need to co-operate shows, scientists say, that they belong in an “elite group” of intelligent, socially complex animals. Researchers from the University of Cambridge built the apparatus, which was originally designed for chimps. The team published their findings in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers have documented elephants in the wild helping each other Study leader Dr Joshua Plotnik from the University …
Chytrid Fungus and the Global Decline of Amphibians
Recently, I had the privilege of spending time with a biologist studying the impact of the chytrid fungus on amphibian populations, as well as some of the beautiful Panamanian Golden Frogs (Atelopus zeteki) in her study. Chytrid is a type of fungus that is exclusively found in water or in moist environments. Although there are over 1,000 identified chytrid species it is the Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis that has been traversing the globe decimating amphibian populations. First identified in 1998, the B. dendrobatids species of chytrid has been found to infect the skin of amphibians; infection causes the skin to thicken. The …
Shark Finning: The Global Attack on Sharks
Used as a tasteless thickener in soup and an inconclusive cure all in Ancient Chinese Medicine, shark fin, or more specifically shark finning, claims the lives of more than 70 million sharks annually. Think about that number for a moment; more than 70 million sharks. Portrayed as mindless, blood-thirsty killers in Peter Benchley’s novel Jaws, sharks are persecuted not on what they do, but what they have the capacity to do as conjured up in the human psyche. Is not the alcoholic behind the wheel of a vehicle more of a danger to your family than a shark? In reality, …
Wildlife Products: When the Demand Stops, the Killing Stops
As a kid, I remember having several brightly colored rabbit foot key chains given to me as good luck tokens. Traveling through the south eastern United States, it is still commonplace to see stuffed baby alligators, or the preserved severed heads of juveniles, for sale at welcome centers and gift shops. Baby sharks with an icy death stare, glaring out of alcohol-filled jars adorn service stations and restaurant counters. And who hasn’t seen the spider or scorpion suspended in acrylic paper weights. Wildlife is under constant threat from humans. As human population increases, the demand for resources necessary for survival increases. …
Human-Wildlife Conflict
To most of us, looking out our window and seeing wildlife up close would be a dream come true. However, to those people who actually share space with magnificent wild creatures on a daily basis the dream can quickly turn into a nightmare. Human-wildlife conflicts are continuing to increase globally at an alarming rate. Some argue that wildlife populations are growing, causing animals to crossover safe boarders of national parks and wildlife refuge areas into urban land inhabited by humans. In contrast, human population growth is at an all time high; humans are encroaching into areas set aside as safe …
Bushmeat Threatens All Wildlife
The international demand for bushmeat is thriving. By definition, bushmeat is any wild animal that is killed for human consumption. The wild animals are usually protected species, i.e., primates, reptiles, elephants, hoof stock, pangolins, etc., that are obtained from protected areas illegally via snares, poison, and unregistered guns. Although bushmeat is taken at times to feed starving families living in impoverished areas, it is more times than not sold illegally on the black market. First and foremost, bushmeat threatens wildlife. In most cases bushmeat and destruction of habitat occur simultaneously. In African countries with ongoing mining and oil exploration …
The Palm Oil Crisis
Although I have been aware of the palm oil crisis between palm plantations and wildlife in Indonesia and Malaysia for some time now, I was not aware of how complex and confusing the situation has become. When was the last time you checked around your home, pantry, bathroom, under the kitchen sink, for products containing palm or palm kernel oil? I was shocked to find out that a huge variety of things we consume on a regular basis: taco shells, cookies, lotions, dish washing detergent (Palmolive), tooth paste, shampoo, crackers, cereal, bread, and chocolate to name a few, all contain …