Wolfhaven - A Wolf Sanctuary in Washington State

Wolfhaven

Wolfhaven - the perfect place to go to learn about wolves in the United States and how they have gone on and off of the Endangered Species list. Wolfhaven is home to roughly 60 animals; this includes mostly Gray Wolves, some Mexican Gray Wolves, some Red Wolves, some Coyotes, and some Wolf-Dog Hybrids.

The only way to view the wolves at Wolfhaven is to take one of their tours, which are given on the hour every hour. You will take a tour in a sectioned off area of Wolfhaven which has multiple enclosures that hold two animals in each. Obviously, all 60 of their animals are not on display on these tours. Roughly 16 animals ARE on display, meaning that I would guess that they have 8 visible enclosures.

All tours have a "tour guide" of sorts who tells you all sorts of interesting facts about the wolves in the enclosures. This information can range from a specific wolves' background and life, to the history of a certain kind of wolf. The tour guide has maps to demonstrate where wolf habitat in the wild was and is. The tour guide also carries a collar like the ones that are put onto wolves that are released into the wild.

One of the great things about Wolfhaven is that it is very easy to help their cause; to adopt a single wolf of your choice, it costs only $25 dollars, give or take shipping prices. After adopting a wolf you will receive a picture of you wolf and a certificate saying that you adopted said wolf.

Adopting a wolf is a super easy way to help Wolfhaven's cause, and I encourage all of you to help Wolfhaven and other similar organizations. Adopting a wolf FOR someone would also be a great way of donating to the cause; it would also be a great present! :)

Visit wolfhaven.org to learn more about their wolves and how Wolfhaven works in general.

Thanks!
Emma

Gorillas and Guerillas

Mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) live in two separate populations in Northeastern Africa, one in a group of national parks including Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This park is nearly as big as Yellowstone at two million acres, and this oldest national park in Africa (founded in 1925) is home to everything to okapis to birds that spend their summers in Siberia, as well as the gorillas and two other types of great ape. The other population lives in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda, which some people say could be a separate species entirely. If this is the case, the highly endangered Virunga gorillas are in even more danger.
Although they are protected under international and national law and also under the orders of Laurent Nkunda, the military leader who controls many of the people in the park, the gorillas are still threatened. Much of the Hutu and Tutsi dissidents who fought in Rwanda in the last decade have now shifted their fighting to take place in the park and around it, displacing thousands if not millions of people and forcing them to treat the environment in ways that are not historically fitting to their culture. Since they are so poor, they seek employment in any way they can; because 98% of the people in the area rely on coal for heat, cooking, and water purification, this is the main industry.

However, when the people have employment, minimal as it is this has an even worse impact on the inhabitants of the park, including the gorillas, than the conflict alone would have. Because the most efficient coal comes from old growth forest found only in the park, and as a result there is significant logging in the oldest part of the park, and the fast-growing trees planted and maintained by the U.N. are not used nearly as much. The corrupt park workers who allow the loggers to come in are the ones making the huge profit, while the laborers, often youth or women who have no other work, are paid about the equivalent of a dollar for each 150-lb. bag of charcoal that they carry out of the park.

While the few brave park rangers who remain try to raid as many of the trucks transporting the charcoal or stop the laborers, but the trucks are often heavily guarded by the guerillas and rangers can’t fine people who are living day to day with no money to spare. As a result, most of the time the charcoal smugglers go by with a warning—or a few shots fired at the rangers. The habitat destruction and pollution that inevitably come with the intrusion of people into animals’ land is only part of the problem, though. Last year almost an entire family of gorillas was murdered—shot with a machine gun and left to rot—while the infants were left clinging to their mothers’ bodies. Why? At first there were no leads but the man who was the manager of the park is now the prime suspect after records were found by the man in charge of the gorillas in Virunga showing that the manager had been making thousands of dollars a year from the charcoal trade—profiting from the destruction of the park. The mad who uncovered the ruse was framed for the gorilla murders, but he has since gotten off.

Hopefully, more gorillas will not be murdered. But ending the destruction of habitat will not be so easy. All told, the only way to really get the charcoal trade to stop is to get the internally-displaced peoples back to their homes, and the only way to do that is to end the conflict. The only way to do that? That will be harder to figure out even then figuring out who killed the gorillas.

Kelsey

Orca Whales - The Ones Native to the Nothern Coast of North America

The Orca Whale and Why Some of Them Are Dying

Polychlorinated Biphenals (PCBs) were used as insulators in electrical equipment. They were extremely useful to society and were commonly used in paint, pesticides, and used alongside other chemicals until they were banned in the U.S. in the late 1970s. What had seemed like the miracle compound was exposed to be a highly toxic chemical that affects all animals negatively, damaging neurological development and the reproductive and immune systems in all individuals affected, particularly those on top of the food chain. Because of the dangers of this chemical, further action should be taken regarding PCBs if we want to save Puget Sound’s orca whales. The depletion of the orca whale population in Washington’s waters is caused by noise pollution from vessels and low salmon runs as well, but both of these are more easily managed than the problems with PCBs.
Since orcas, like humans and harbor seals, consume other animals that, in turn, consume others, the process of bioaccumulation intensifies the PCBs in their systems. The few molecules of PCBs that affect the tiny organisms in the marine ecosystem build up in the small fish that eat many of them. Then, the ocean-going adult salmon eat several small fish, and orcas eat numerous salmon, and as a result the whale’s bodies contain far greater concentrations of this chemical in their bodies than do the animals that are directly affected. In a study on beluga whales in Canada’s St. Lawrence estuary, it was found that PCBs in their systems caused symptoms like susceptibility to disease, tumors, and skeletal deformities. Northwest orcas are known to have between four and five times as strong a concentration as the belugas. Severe destruction of the reproductive system can result in death of mothers and starvation of their young who can no longer be fed, and damaged immune systems create widespread disease; a single persistent virus could wipe out large percentages of a given population.
Although PCBs were banned in the United States thirty years ago, they do not decompose and have stayed in sediments or in the blubber of the long-lived orcas for that period of time. Also, more of this chemical crosses the Pacific Ocean from Asian countries, where it has not yet been banned, every year. The scientific debate is whether to cover the PCBs in the sediments with clean soil and hope that it does not resurface or to remove the tainted deposits and risk releasing PCBs into the water. Because as long as the contamination remains in the ecosystem, it could affect the environment, the best course of action would be to remove the offending chemicals from the sediment near the plants where they were used and destroy them by burning at 2,400 degrees Fahrenheit.
PCBs are one of the major causes of the endangerment of the orcas in Puget Sound. Since a good deal of the pollution comes from Asia and it is affecting American whales, Asian legislation would be helpful, but the chances of this occurring are slim in comparison to efforts that can be made in Washington. If the PCBs contained in the silts of Puget Sound near plants that have not actually used it since the 1970s were removed and permanently destroyed, this would help incredibly in saving these majestic animals that are so similar to humans. Since they can be a canary in the coalmine for us in relation to PCBs, when they start dying, we have to be on alert because humans are probably next. The orcas must be saved.

Kelsey, with input by Emma and Friend

The Sumatran Tiger

The Sumatran Tiger

The Sumatran Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) is native to an Indonesian island called Sumatra. It is the smallest living tiger subspecies, reaching a maximum length of 9 feet, and has narrower stripes than the other kinds of tigers. The Sumatran Tiger also has webbing between its’ toes, enabling these tigers to swim very fast and well. Being able to swim extremely well also lets these tigers be able to capture prey inside the water. Sumatran Tigers generally eat wild boar, tapir, deer, and sometimes-smaller animals like fish.
In the wild there are roughly 400 of these tigers left, give or take a hundred, but only some of them live in protected areas. The others live in unprotected environments that are quickly being taken over by agriculture. Poachers are killing the tigers that have been spared from these problems. Some Sumatran Tigers also live in zoos, and these tigers are not included in the above numbers.
The Sumatran Tiger can breed at any time during the year and generally have a gestation period of about 95 to 110 days. They can have anywhere from 1 to 6 cubs at one time, but generally only have 2 or 3.
In the wild these tigers generally live to be roughly 15 years of age, and in captivity they live to be roughly 20.
These tigers have been classified as critically endangered.

To learn more about tigers and the efforts to help them, you can call 1-800-5TIGERS or go to the web address of www.savethetigerfund.org to go to the Tiger Information Center. Also, go to this website http://www.honoluluzoo.org/tiger.htm to learn about the Honolulu Zoo’s Sumatran Tigers. There are video clips and sound recordings on this website. Enjoy!

Emma

The North Chinese Leopard

The North Chinese Leopard

The North Chinese leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis) lives just south of the Amur Leopard (see below) in northern China, but has a much larger population--somewhere around 2,500. Only 100 live in captivity to be used in captive breeding programs, but this is enough to maintain genetic diversity for at least two generations, and possibly three. An opportunity for a new influx of genetic material lies in individuals removed from the wild due to their actions in close proximity to humans endangering humans or livestock; if they are put in captivity rather than put down, they can help their species without hurting humans, economically or otherwise.

They have many apparent jaguar-like characteristics, such as large rosettes (spots) which on some occasions have a second dot inside. They have dark orange background fur, unlike all leopards, and are medium-large. Also, they have the longest coat of any leopard species. North Chinese Leopards eat rodents, deer, wild goats, wild pigs, and of course any livestock that it comes across could be considered prey.

Cubs are born in litters of two or three, but infant mortality is high, and usually one or two cubs die from each litter. They can fend for themselves around one year of age, but stay with their mother until they are eighteen months to two years old. one captive male, Cheung Chi, who lived at the Exotic Feline Breeding Compound, sired fifteen cubs up to 1988, and now has more than forty descendants. This could pose a problem for genetic diversity in captivity, since 40% of all captive North Chinese leopards are related.

Kelsey

The Buergers' Tree Kangaroo

Buergers' Tree Kangaroo

Native to Papua New Guinea, Buergers' Tree Kangaroos are one of nine types of tree kangaroo. The family probably evolved from a common ancestor with the modern kangaroo and wallaby, like a small opossum, but more recently one which probably resembled the more familiar ground-dwelling variant of the kangaroo. They have long tails for balance and more developed forelimbs, enabling them to climb. Unlike ground kangaroos, their teeth are built for tearing leaves instead of cutting grass.

Logging, mining, and humans encroaching on their habitat, along with the subsequent affects of this, are the main causes of endangerment. They are hunted for meat by both wild dogs and the domestic dogs brought into their areas by humans, and are sometimes hit by cars and killed, since they live both on the ground and in trees. When the trees in the tropical rainforests they live in are cut down, they live more on the ground, and are more in danger of both dogs and cars.

Kelsey

(P.S. - Sorry the pictures aren't as good! Also, if you want to learn more about San Diego's tree kangaroo experience, go to the following website. http://www.cbs8.com/features/local8pets/story.php?id=61629 Kami)

The White Tiger

The White Tiger

The White Tiger is said to have originated in India during the HB Mughal period. It now lives in the frozen tundra of the Soviet Far East, in the humid jungles of Malaya and Indonesia, and in the hot, hardwood forests of India. Even though it has been illegal to hunt and kill these animals for over 100 years, people are still finding ways to slay these amazing creatures. White tigers are born to Bengal tigers that carry an unusual gene, causing them to be white. They are good swimmers, but poor climbers. These tigers have blue eyes and a pink nose. White tigers can eat up to 40 pounds of meat at a time (that’s how much my sister weighs!), but they do not eat again for several days.

Sadly, there are only about 200 white tigers left in the wild. They are practically extinct, and most of the living ones are in captivity and in zoos. In the wild, white tigers live for about 10 to 15 years, and in zoos they live about 16 to 20 years. The main causes of their extinction are poaching, habitat loss, and population fragmentation. In the last 100 years, only 12 white tigers have been seen in India, which made about 1 white tiger for 1,000 pigmented (meaning orange) tigers.

Maximar

The Amur Leopard

The Amur Leopard

The Amur Leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis or Panthera pardus amurensis) might just be the most endangered big cat (or any feline) in the world, with an estimate of 25 to 34 wild individuals. Also called the Far East Leopard, Manchurian leopard, Korean leopard, or the Siberian Leopard, the Amur lives in the Sikhote-Alin mountains in Russia. At one point, its territory stretched throughout the Korean Peninsula, northeastern China, and an extended area in Russia. Occasionally it could even be found in warmer areas and its homeland was often shared with Siberian Tigers. Some may remain in North Korea, but what with the current political situation in this country, the facts are unknown.

The fur trade and habitat destruction, fairly common and widespread occurrences, particularly in obscure regions such as the areas that the Amur leopard lives in, are the main causes of endangerment. From 1970-1983, 80% of this leopard's range was lost to logging. Non-natural forest fires started by farmers in an attempt to burn their fields and increase soil productivity are also a serious cause of habitat loss.

This fires are multidimensional threats--they not only make an area briefly uninhabitable to any life, but the first thing to come back after a fire is grassland, which the leopards cannot live in. If too much of a forest is burned away, it cannot reclaim the meadows and the damage becomes permanent. Amur leopard prey such as roe deer, sitka deer, musk deer, wild boar, badger, and hare can be driven into areas where they cannot survive, or are even killed in the blaze.

Of the approximately 30 remaining in the wild, only six are females. Scientists predict that there needs to be at least 100 to maintain genetic diversity; a Planet Earth episode featured a mother leopard and her cub, who was sired by her own father, resulting in bad health in the cub. Hope for this species relies heavily on the approximately 200 captive individuals, mainly in North American zoos. A captive-breeding program will be necessary to maintain health genetic levels and prevent inbreeding.

Kelsey

The Numbat

Here is a piece about the Numbat. Thank you to Kelsey, the author of this piece, for donating her time to write about an endangered species. Kami


The numbat is a small carniverous marsupial that lives only in Western Australia. Its scientific name is Myrmecobius fasciatus, and it is the only member in its genus (Myrmecobius) and the family Myrmecobiidae. Also called the Banded Anteater, the numbat actually eats mostly termites, not ants.

The numbat ranged all over most of Australia until European colonization, at which time the European Red Fox was purposefully introduced. The foreign species made the numbat extinct in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, and the Northern Territory, and almost in Western Australia as well, but it was saved. By 1970 there were less than 1,000 living numbats, mostly in two populations, one near Perth. These areas had many small logs for the numbat to hide in, and this is the only reason researchers can think of to explain why it was able to survive there and not elsewhere.

The numbat is diurnal (meaning it comes out during the day), and is therefore more at risk than other, nocturnal or crepuscular marsupials (those that come out at night or at dawn and dusk). It has many natural predators, including the Little Eagle, Brown Goshawk, Collared Sparrowhawk, and the Carpet Python, but until the introduction of the Red Fox, it had a healthy population. When an experimental program to capture the foxes was implemented, more than forty times the number of numbats were reported as seen.

Since 1980, extensive numbat rescue programs have been used, and recently they began to be re-introduced into historic areas (after the foxes were removed from that area). The two separate populations helped to maintain some genetic diversity, but the numbat is still at risk of extinction. It is now classified as vulnerable rather than critically endangered.

Kelsey

Our First Real Post!

Hello -

I sent out an e-mail to all of my friends and family saying something along the lines of, "Hey! I have a new blog and anyone who wants to post on it can!" Lucky for me, I've already gotten replies!!

One of my friends made a word search for anyone who is interested! Petrie Peel has made up a word search of endangered animals. Most of them are pretty uncommon - so have fun doing doing the word search and then looking up the animals to see what they are! One of the animals on the wordsearch, a Dibbler, is pictured here.

Here's the link to the wordsearch online.

http://www.armoredpenguin.com/wordsearch/Data/2008.05/0519/05190417.168.html

I think you might have to print the word search out to do it, but who doesn't love a word search?

Thank you Petrie Peel!

Emma

Animals...Now and Then

Think of the word endangered...or the word extinct. What do they mean to you? What have you done to try to stop endangered species from going extinct? Have you listened to the news about a sighting of a previously thought to be extinct species and was excited about it? Or did you turn the radio off?

This is a blog for the animal lovers out there who want to know about all of the different species that need help. Sometimes there will be lots of factual information about certain animals and species, and other times there will be ways that you can help these animals.

This will mostly be a factual blog, with lots of different facts and pictures of different animals.

I hope you all enjoy!

Emma