Bald eagles have a wing span of 80 inches with a body length of about 31 inches. This bird prefers open or wooded areas close to water. They tend to mate for life, raising 1 to 3 chicks in an eyrie 150 feet off the ground in a tree. Some nests weigh up to 1,000 pounds.
In the culture of the First Nations, including the Haida on the west coast in British Columbia, the eagle is revered as a bird of power and strength. The eagle also represents strength, courage, honesty, truth, majesty, wisdom and freedom. The traditional legends believe the eagle is a messenger of God, carrying prayers from men of the earth. It is a great privilege to receive an eagle feather, representing gratitude, love and respect.
The Haida have lineages under either "eagles" or "ravens" and use these birds as crests on their totem poles. The animals beneath them belong to the lineage of the family.
Unfortunately, these birds remain on the endangered species list despite a remarkable comeback.
Cougars are on the endangered list in Canada, including Ontario. Because they are elusive animals they are rarely seen.
Recent sightings have occurred in Morden, Manitoba located in the southern portion of the province near the U.S. border at North Dakota. The article in the Mordon Times reports the deer population in the Morden area is larger than normal due to humans feeding them over the winter. The Manitoba Conservation is looking for methods to move this deer population away from human populated areas thus assisting in luring the big cat away.
UPDATE: The Ministry of Natural Resources in Ontario has annouced that there have been 30 confirmed sightings of cougars since 2006 with an estimated population of 550 animals.
For those interested in cougars there is a website dedicated to them: EasternCougar.org . This site covers all cougars in Canada and the United States.
More information can be found on Wikipedia about cougars, especially for writers looking for characteristics and behaviour in creating a realistic animal. Photo Credit: digitalART2 CC=nc-nd-flickr.
This week in Galley Cat, an article mentioned the success of an accidental book trailer scoring 30 million views on You Tube. That homemade video about a pet lion spurred interest in a 1972 nonfiction book called A Lion Called Christian by Anthony Bourke and John Rendall--making it the sixth most wanted out-of-print book of 2008.
I recall reading this book when it first came out, as I had enthusiastically read the Born Free series written by George Adamson.
A Living Legacy has an interview with John Rendell and Ace Bourke 35 years later about the impact the former video has had with viewers while including clips of later meetings when Christian is full grown.
What intrigued me about these videos was the caring between human and animal, and the memories each had despite the years apart. The collective group of big cats and humans lazing about in the heat of the afternoon is touching. Especially when the lionesses and the cub, who were born wild, are accepting of humans because Christian is.
For those bloggers who have difficulty with embedded You Tube videos, I have linked to the titles here to You Tube directly.
During my information hunt on the Tasmanian Devil for my post yesterday, I read about the Tasmanian Tiger. Their closest living relative is the Tasmanian Devil. I recalled first learning about them in school in the early 1960s, with their numbers dwindling. From observing the Thylacines presented in the video below, the head partially resembles the shape of an Akita dog when viewed from the side.
According to Wikipedia:
“The Thylacine held the status of "endangered species" until 1986. International standards state that any animal for which no specimens have been recorded for 50 years is to be declared extinct. Since no definitive proof of the Thylacine's existence had been found since Benjamin died in 1936, it now met that official criterion and was declared officially extinct by the IUCN. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is more cautious, listing it as "possibly extinct".
“The Thylacine (Greek for: dog-headed pouched one) was the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times. Native to Australia and New Guinea, it is thought to have become extinct in the 20th century. It is commonly known as the Tasmanian Tiger (because of its striped back), the Tasmanian Wolf, and colloquially the Tassie (or Tazzy) Tiger or simply the Tiger. It was the last extant member of its genus, Thylacinus, although several related species have been found in the fossil record dating back to the early Miocene.
Video of alleged sighting plus video footage of Tasmanian Tigers in captivity in early 1900s.
This weblink http://www.tasmanian-tiger.com/sightings.htm has a map of Thylacine sightings in both Australia and Tasmania.
Also, here is a weblink http://www.wherelightmeetsdark.com/index.php?module=wiki&page=ThylacineAsAPet#toc4 where Thylacines were reported as being pets.
"The Thylacine became extinct on the Australian mainland thousands of years before European settlement of the continent, but it survived on the island of Tasmania along with several endemic species, including the Tasmanian Devil. Intensive hunting encouraged by bounties is generally blamed for its extinction, but other contributory factors may have been disease, the introduction of dogs, and human encroachment into its habitat. Despite being officially classified as extinct, sightings are still reported.
[Thylacine cubs with mother]
Like the tigers and wolves of the Northern Hemisphere, from which it inherited two of its common names, the Thylacine was an apex predator. As a marsupial, it was not related to these placental mammals, but because of convergent evolution it displayed the same general form and adaptations. Its closest living relative is the Tasmanian Devil.
The Thylacine was one of only two marsupials to have a pouch in both sexes (the other is the Water Opossum). The male Thylacine had a pouch that acted as a protective sheath, protecting the male's external reproductive organs while running through thick brush.
The mature Thylacine ranged from 100 cm (39 in) to 180 cm (71 in) long, including a tail of around 50 cm (20 in) to 65 cm (26 in). The largest measured specimen was 290 cm (9.5 ft) from nose to tail. Adults stood about 60 cm (24 in) at the shoulder and weighed 20 kg (44 lb) to 30 kg (66 lb). There males were larger than females on average.
Thylacine footprints could be distinguished from other native or introduced animals; unlike foxes, cats, dogs, wombats or Tasmanian Devils, Thylacines had a very large rear pad and four obvious front pads, arranged in almost a straight line. The hindfeet were similar to the forefeet but had four digits rather than five. Their claws were non-retractable.
Although there are no recordings of Thylacine vocalisations, observers of the animal in the wild and in captivity noted that it would growl and hiss when agitated, often accompanied by a threat-yawn. During hunting it would emit a series of rapidly repeated guttural cough-like barks (described as "yip-yap", "cay-yip" or "hop-hop-hop"), probably for communication between the family pack members. It also had a long whining cry, probably for identification at distance, and a low snuffling noise used for communication between family members.
The Thylacine was a nocturnal and crepuscular hunter, spending the daylight hours in small caves or hollow tree trunks in a nest of twigs, bark or fern fronds. It tended to retreat to the hills and forest for shelter during the day and hunted in the open heath at night. Early observers noted that the animal was typically shy and secretive, with awareness to the presence of humans and generally avoiding contact, though it occasionally showed inquisitive traits.
There is evidence for at least some year-round breeding (cull records show joeys discovered in the pouch at all times of the year), although the peak breeding season was in winter and spring. They would produce up to four cubs per litter (typically two or three), carrying the young in a pouch for up to three months and protecting them until they were at least half adult size. Early pouch young were hairless and blind, but they had their eyes open and were fully furred by the time they left the pouch. After leaving the pouch, and until they were developed enough to assist, the juveniles would remain in the lair while the female hunted. Thylacines only once bred successfully in captivity, in Melbourne Zoo in 1899. Their life expectancy in the wild is estimated to have been 5 to 7 years, although captive specimens survived up to 9 years.
The Thylacine was exclusively carnivorous. Its stomach was muscular with an ability to distend to allow the animal to eat large amounts of food at one time, probably an adaptation to compensate for long periods when hunting was unsuccessful and food scarce. Analysis of the skeletal frame and observations of it in captivity suggest that it singled out a target animal and pursued it until it was exhausted. Some studies conclude that the animal may have hunted in small family groups, with the main group herding prey in the general direction of an individual waiting in ambush. Trappers reported it as an ambush predator.
Prey included kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, birds and small animals such as potoroos and possums. A favourite prey animal may have been the once common Tasmanian Emu. The emu was a large, flightless bird which shared the habitat of the Thylacine and was hunted to extinction around 1850, possibly coinciding with the decline in Thylacine numbers. Both dingos and foxes have been noted to hunt the emu on the mainland. Throughout the 20th century, the Thylacine was often characterised as primarily a blood drinker, but little reference is now made to this trait; its popularity seems to have originated from a single second-hand account. European settlers believed the Thylacine to have preyed upon farmers' sheep and poultry. In captivity, Thylacines were fed a wide variety of foods, including dead rabbits and wallabies as well as beef, mutton, and horse and occasionally poultry.
[Thylacines at the Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart, 1910]
Although long extinct on the Australian mainland by the time the European settlers arrived, the Thylacine survived into the 1930s in Tasmania. At the time of the first settlement, the heaviest distributions were in the northeast, northwest and north-midland regions. From the early days of European settlement they were rarely sighted but slowly began to be credited with numerous attacks on sheep. This led to the establishment of bounty schemes in an attempt to control their numbers. The Van Diemen's Land Company introduced bounties on the Thylacine from as early as 1830, and between 1888 and 1909 the Tasmanian government paid £1 per head for the animal (10 shillings for pups). In all they paid out 2,184 bounties, but it is thought that many more Thylacines were killed than were claimed. Its extinction is popularly attributed to these relentless efforts by farmers and bounty hunters.
Whatever the reason, the animal had become extremely rare in the wild by the late 1920s. There were several efforts to save the species from extinction. Records of the Wilsons Promontory management committee dating to 1908 included recommendations for Thylacines to be reintroduced to several suitable locations on the Victorian mainland. In 1928, the Tasmanian Advisory Committee for Native Fauna had recommended a reserve to protect any remaining Thylacines, with potential sites of suitable habitat including the Arthur-Pieman area of western Tasmania.
The last known wild Thylacine to be killed was shot in 1930, by farmer Wilf Batty in Mawbanna, in the northeast of the state. The animal (believed to be a male) had been seen around Batty's hen houses for several weeks.
Although the Thylacine is considered extinct, many people believe the animal still exists. Sightings are regularly claimed in Tasmania, other parts of Australia and even in the Western New Guinea area of Indonesia, near the Papua New Guinea border. The Australian Rare Fauna Research Association reports having 3,800 sightings on file from mainland Australia since the 1936 extinction date, while the Mystery Animal Research Centre of Australia recorded 138 up to 1998, and the Department of Conservation and Land Management recorded 65 in Western Australia over the same period. Independent Thylacine researchers Buck and Joan Emburg of Tasmania report 360 Tasmanian and 269 mainland post-extinction 20th century sightings, figures compiled from a number of sources. On the mainland, sightings are most frequently reported in Southern Victoria.
Some sightings have generated a large amount of publicity. In 1982 a researcher with the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, Hans Naarding, observed what he believed to be a Thylacine for three minutes during the night at a site near Arthur River in northwestern Tasmania. The sighting led to an extensive year-long government-funded search. In January 1995, a Parks and Wildlife officer reported observing a Thylacine in the Pyengana region of northeastern Tasmania in the early hours of the morning. Later searches revealed no trace of the animal. In 1997, it was reported that locals and missionaries near Mount Carstensz in Western New Guinea had sighted Thylacines. The locals had apparently known about them for many years but had not made an official report. In February 2005 Klaus Emmerichs, a German tourist, claimed to have taken digital photographs of a Thylacine he saw near the Lake St Clair National Park, but the authenticity of the photographs has not been established. The photos were not published until April 2006, fourteen months after the sighting.
The results of subsequent searches indicated a strong possibility of the survival of the species in Tasmania into the 1960s. Searches by Dr. Eric Guiler and David Fleay in the north-west of Tasmania found footprints and scats that may have belonged to the animal, heard vocalisations matching the description of those of the Thylacine, and collected anecdotal evidence from people reported to have sighted the animal. Despite the searches, no conclusive evidence was found to point to its continued existence in the wild.
UPDATE: On the site http://www.book-of-thoth.com/ftopict-9103.html a 2006 Thylacine sighting was reported at Savage River near a conservation park (Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area) in Tasmania with a photo of an animal's torso with the distinctive striping on the lower back. The photographer described a "German Shepherd/Kangaroo thing" that looked like a pup which ran to a larger animal of the same kind when the flash of his camera went off.
Source: Wikipedia, cosmosmagazine.com, http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/1414 [sightings in 1960s]
The Tasmanian Devil, at one time, covered all of Australia. The size of a small dog, but stocky and muscular, the Tasmanian Devil is now the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world after the extinction of the Thylacine in 1936. It is characterized by its black fur, offensive odour when stressed, extremely loud and disturbing screech, and ferocity when feeding. It is known to both hunt prey and scavenge carrion and although it is usually solitary, it sometimes eats with other devils. Now the animal is limited to the southwest of Tasmania in an endangered status because the farmers saw it as a threat to their livestock and poultry. It was exterminated in Australia from the bounty placed upon it by farmers, being hit by cars, and dingos competing for food.
Tasmanian Devils are widespread and fairly common throughout Tasmania. Found in all habitats on the island, including the outskirts of urban areas, they particularly like dry sclerophyll forests and coastal woodlands. The Tasmanian Devil is a nocturnal and crepuscular hunter, spending the days in dense bush or in a hole. Young devils can climb trees, but this becomes more difficult as they grow larger. Devils can also swim. They are predominantly solitary animals and do not form packs. They occupy territories of 8–20 km², which can overlap considerably amongst different animals.
Tasmanian Devils can take prey up to the size of a small wallaby, but in practice they are opportunistic, and eat carrion more often than they hunt live prey. Although the devil favours wombats, it will eat all small native mammals, domestic mammals (including sheep), birds, fish, insects, frogs and reptiles. Their diet is largely varied and depends on the food available. On average, they eat about 15% of their body weight each day; however, they can eat up to 40% of their body weight in 30 minutes if the opportunity arises. Tasmanian Devils eliminate all traces of a carcass, devouring the bones and fur in addition to the meat and internal organs. In this respect, the devil has earned the gratitude of Tasmanian farmers, as the speed at which they clean a carcass helps prevent the spread of insects that might otherwise harm livestock.
Eating is a social event for the Tasmanian Devil. Much of the noise attributed to the animal is a result of raucous communal eating, at which up to 12 individuals can gather, and can often be heard several kilometers away. A study of feeding devils identified 20 physical postures, including their characteristic vicious yawn, and the 11 different vocal sounds that devils use to communicate as they feed. They usually establish dominance by sound and physical posturing, although fighting does occur. Adult males are the most aggressive, and scarring is common from fighting over food and mates.
Because they were seen as a threat to livestock in Tasmania, devils were hunted until 1941, when they became officially protected. Since the late 1990s Devil Facial Tumour Disease has reduced the Devil population significantly and now threatens the survival of the species, which in May 2008 was declared to be endangered. Programs are currently being undertaken by the Tasmanian government to reduce the impact of the disease.
Some Tasmanian Devils are kept in zoos so humans and other animals cannot kill or hurt them. Now zoos are trying to keep the captive animals safe from the spread of Devil Facial Tumour Disease which produces tumorous growths on the face and muzzle. The disease spreads through biting—a common practice in Devils as they are natural fighters, battling tooth and claw for every morsel of food.
While the Devil numbers are decreasing, fox numbers are increasing. Foxes were introduced, and later they began to hunt and eat Devils. It is believed if the Devil numbers drop too low, then there is little hope the population will ever recover.
Sources: wikinews, wikimedia, Cosmosmagazine.com Photo Credits: wikipedia
Once on a business trip to Medicine Hat, Alberta, I had hoped to see these antelope, and despite searching the brown and slightly green fields long the highway saw nothing. When another driver cut me off after passing I honked my displeasure, and out of the side vision of my eye something jumped. Glancing over I saw a leaping, bounding shape of tan that blended in with the tall dry grass stalks with the telltale black markings on the head and horns. Several others followed, although I slowed and moved over onto the shoulder to watch them bound across the flat prairie. They seemed to be matching the speed of the vehicle ahead so I resumed driving on the highway, and to my surprise they were running slightly over 60 mph while keeping up for some time before veering off to head cross-country in a different direction.
In Canada and the United States, the conservation status of the Pronghorn Antelope is of lower risk or least concern; with the exception of northern Baja California Sur where it is listed as Critically Endangered. The wild population there is estimated at 200.
The pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana), is native to interior western North America. Males weigh 40-60 kg (88-132 lb), while the females are slightly less at 40-50 kg (88-110 lb). The horns of the male are well developed, while the females tend to be small, misshapen or absent. The horns grow from the frontal bones of the skull, are shed and regrown on an annual basis. The horn sheaths are branched, each with a forward pointing tine.
Cougars, wolves, coyotes and bobcats are the major predators. Golden eagles have been reported to prey on fawns.
[2-Pronghorn antelope in southern Alberta]
As usual Wikipedia provided information I was unaware of, such as:
• Second fastest land animal, only to the cheetah, sustaining high speeds longer than the cheetah.
• It is variously cited as speeds up to 70 km/h (according to a study in Texas), 72 km/h (Smithsonian Institute, North American Mammals), or 86 km/h (AnAge).
• The pronghorn probably evolved its running ability to escape from the extinct American cheetah determined to be closely related to the Puma (cougar), since its speed greatly exceeds that of extant North American predators. The pronghorn’s ability for speed is much more than needed to outrun living American predators such as cougars and gray wolves.
• The pronghorn is a very poor jumper. Their ranges are often affected by sheep ranchers' fences. However, they can be seen going under fences, sometimes at high speed. For this reason the Arizona Antelope Foundation and others are in the process of removing the bottom barbed wire from the fences, and/or installing a barbless bottom wire.
• They were brought to scientific notice by the Lewis and Clark Expedition, when found in what is now South Dakota, USA. Their range extends from southern Saskatchewan and Alberta in Canada south through the United States (southwestern Minnesota and central Texas, west to northeastern California), to Sonora and San Luis Potosi in northern Mexico, with a small disjunct population in northern Baja California Sur.
• By 1908, hunting pressure had reduced the pronghorn population to about 20,000. Protection of habitat and hunting restrictions have allowed their numbers to recover to 500,000. There has been some recent decline, possibly due to overgrazing by sheep; pronghorn populations cannot maintain themselves successfully where sheep numbers are kept high.
• Pronghorns are now numerous enough that they exceed the human population in all of Wyoming and parts of northern Colorado. It is widely hunted in western states for purposes of population control and food, as the meat is rich and lean.
Research: Wikipedia Photo Credits: [1]-Erica_Marshall CC=nc-sa-flickr, [2]-Gambier20 CC=flickr.
On Saturday 13 September 2008 in Kathmandu, Nepal, police reported three wild elephants had entered the villages of Saptari and neighbouring Siraha districts where five people had been trampled to death while they slept and a fifth killed later the next day. The elephants had entered the villages from the jungles bordering India during the night, returning to the jungles in the day.
The local police set up a team to chase them away, as under Nepali law elephants are protected as an endangered species.
[2]
It is the shrinking forests and encroachment on elephant territory which has forced the animals to stray into human settlements looking for food, often resulting in attacks.
[3]
A more detailed description of these magnificent animals from Wikipedia:
“The Indian Elephant, Elephas maximus indicus, is one of four subspecies of the Asian Elephant, the largest population of which is found in India. This subspecies is also found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Laos, Peninsular Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam.
“The other three subspecies of the Asian Elephant are the Sumatran Elephant (E. m. sumatranus), Sri Lankan Elephant (E. m. maximus) and Borneo Elephant (E. m. borneensis).
[4] “Indian Elephants live in or near scrub-forested areas, although their habitat may vary. They tend to be nomadic in nature and do not stay in one place for more than a few days. They can live in jungles but gravitate towards areas that contain open space and grass.
"The Indian Elephant is up to 6.4 metres (21 ft) long; it is taller and thinner than the Asian elephant found in Thailand. The largest Indian Elephant was 26ft (7.88m) long, stood 11 ft (3.4 m), 9in (3.61m) at the arch of the back, and weighed 8 tons (17935 lbs). Indian elephants look similar to African elephants but they have smaller ears and shorter tusks. They are also the only elephant to be used by humans.
[5]
“The WWF considers the Indian Elephant widely distributed, but endangered. The current population of the Indian Elephant is in the range of 20,000-25,000. The Indian Elephant was assessed as an endangered species in 1996 by the Asian Elephant Specialist Group. Indian Elephants are threatened by poaching for the ivory of their tusks, by the loss of habitat due to human pressure on forested areas and due to human conflict. The isolated populations of wild elephants in individual wildlife sanctuaries are also threatened by loss of genetic diversity. Recently a number of corridors connecting wildlife sanctuaries have been established to encourage the migration of wild elephants.”
From previous posts readers will have noticed that I have a deep concern for the endangered and threatened species on this planet. When will the government authorities realize that if these species are not protected that humans will follow in their footsteps.
Research: AFP news, Wikipedia Photo Credits: [1][5]-sreevishnu, [2][3][4]-miacat63. ALL ELEPHANTS PICTURED ARE WILD.
The majority of the icebergs in the North Atlantic come from about 100 iceberg producing glaciers along the Greenland coast, while a few originate in Canada's eastern Arctic Islands.
They can be up to 20 storeys high, weigh more than 10 million tons and be more than 15,000 years old. Most appear white because the ice is full of minute air bubbles that disperse light in a similar way to water particles in a cloud, while heavily compressed ice that is bubble-free has a blue tint on sunny days because it mirrors the sky.
According to Wikipedia:
“Because the density of pure ice is about 920 kg/m³, and that of sea water is about 1025 kg/m³, typically only one-tenth of the volume of an iceberg is above water. The shape of the remainder under the water can be difficult to surmise from looking at what is visible above the surface. This has led to the expression "tip of the iceberg", generally applied to a problem or difficulty, meaning that the visible trouble is only a small manifestation of a larger problem.
Icebergs generally range from 1 to 75 meters (3–250 ft) above sea level and weigh 100,000 to 200 000 tonnes. The tallest known iceberg in the North Atlantic was 168 meters (550 ft) above sea level, making it the height of a 55-story building. Despite their size, the icebergs of Newfoundland move an average of 17 kilometers a day (10 mi). These icebergs originate from the glaciers of western Greenland, and may have an interior temperature of -15 to -20°C (5 to -4 °F).
[2- Northern edge of the giant iceberg B-15A in the Ross Sea Antarctica]
Though usually confined by winds and currents to move close to the coast, the largest icebergs recorded are calved, or broken off from, the Ross Ice Shelf of Antarctica. Iceberg B-15, photographed by satellite in 2000, measured 295 km long and 37 km wide (183-23 mi), with a surface area of 11,000 km² (4,250 mi²). The mass was estimated around three billion tonnes.
When an iceberg melts, it makes a fizzing sound called "Bergie Seltzer." This sound is made when compressed air bubbles trapped in the iceberg pop. The bubbles come from air trapped in snow layers that later become glacial ice.”
[3- Near Greenland]
Often, in the north, polar bears are associated with icebergs.
[4- near Greenland, look close for the bear]
According to Wikipedia:
“The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a bear native to the Arctic Ocean and its surrounding seas. The world's largest predator found on land, an adult male weighs around 400–680 kg (880–1,500 lb), while an adult female is about half that size. Although it is closely related to the brown bear, it has evolved to occupy a narrow ecological niche, with many body characteristics adapted for cold temperatures, for moving across snow, ice, and open water, and for hunting the seals which make up most of its diet. As it can hunt consistently only from sea ice, the polar bear spends much of the year on the frozen sea, although most polar bears are born on land. They usually have two cubs.
The polar bear is classified as a vulnerable species. Of the 19 recognized polar bear subpopulations, 5 are declining, 5 are stable, 2 are increasing, and 7 have insufficient data. For decades, unrestricted hunting raised international concern for the future of the species; populations have rebounded after controls and quotas began to take effect. For thousands of years, the polar bear has been a key figure in the material, spiritual, and cultural life of Arctic indigenous peoples, and the hunting of polar bears remains important in their cultures.
The IUCN now lists global warming as the most significant threat to the polar bear, primarily because the melting of its sea ice habitat reduces its ability to find sufficient food. Sea ice melting will also cause changes in their mating, and traveling patterns. The IUCN states, "If climatic trends continue polar bears may become extirpated from most of their range within 100 years." On May 14, 2008, the United States Department of the Interior listed the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.”
[5- notice the spread of flat paws over the ice, and I could not help but think "My, Grandma, what great big feet you have."]
It has been noticed, in northern Canada along the arctic shorelines, that a number of polar bear corpses have been seen floating in the water and the cause due to drowning.
Research: Wikipedia, Parks Canada Photo Credits: [1]-Barbara, [2]-Courtesy National Science Foundation via pingnews, [3]-martha de jong-lantink, [4]-thomas pickard, [5]-greenz4u.