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Seals Don’t Like Selfies, Officials Say

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Seals Don’t Like Selfies, Officials Say

Seals Don’t Like Selfies, Officials Say

Wildlife representatives warn park visitors and nature lovers not to take selfies with seals. Even though the creatures have such an appealing appearance, the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration says it would be better to avoid interfering with these small animals.

Smartphones created a whole new era of selfies, and people seem incapable of stopping the urge to take pictures of themselves with all kind of animals and wildlife.

Having the phone in their hand mirroring the scene behind them gives them a sense of control they may not have otherwise if the picture were to be taken by somebody else and they had to stay with their backs facing a wild creature.

Seals Are Wild Animals Too

There are many examples of how dangerous such an adventure can turn out to be. People tried to take pictures with bears, snakes or sharks, and the animals were not as cooperative as they thought.

Even if it’s hard to describe a seal as being dangerous, it’s still a wild creature. It has certain behaviors and habits, and taking selfies with people might just not be one of them.

The Oceanic Agency warns visitors to do the right thing and leave the seals alone, no matter how irresistible it would be to have a picture with such cute creatures. Going further, it adds that getting too close to a wild animal may put the person and also the animal at risk.

The Cute Seals Can Fight Back

The warning contains a lot of pictures – not selfies – with blood and injuries, people screaming, and emergency response teams in action.

As cute as they seem, seals have powerful jaws.

The agency says it has already received reports of human injuries because of people getting too close to seals when trying to take a selfie.

It seems that seals, too, can feel stressed or threatened when a person gets too close to them. Animals usually act unpredictable when they are affected by stress. Thus, it would be better to keep the distance in order to avoid any potential dangerous responses from an animal that feels harassed.

People are advised to maintain a distance of 150 feet from any seal they may ever encounter.

The agency also notes that baby seals may be more curious than the older ones and come by themselves to investigate what would be for them a new creature – a human. Aside from refraining from any handling, people should also take notice that the mother may be around, and she may not be too happy to see her puppy taking pictures with a stranger.

Image Source: Pixabay

Huge Reef Ecosystem Was Found in the Amazon

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"Amazon reef"

While it’s true that we’ve only explored about five percent of the world’s waters, we probably imagine that that’s only available for the world’s oceans. I mean, rivers and lakes aren’t all that big, except maybe for a few lochs here or there. Otherwise, why would we skip on exploring parts of our planet, seeing as we’re so keen on discovery?

Well, certain places are just too out of the way or too dangerous to access, while others are in fact so common-looking that nobody would think there’s something worth exploring there. Other times, places are just overlooked. All that being said, a huge reef ecosystem was found in the Amazon according to a study published in the journal Science Advances.

Amazonian discovery

Located between the Maranhão State in Brazil and the French Guiana-Brazil border, the reef lies in a plume of river water right at the mouth of the Amazon. According to the published study, this is what explains how it managed to remain undiscovered for so long despite speculations of its presence being around for over six decades.

Senior author Fabiano Thompson, oceanographer and marine biology professor at the SAGE-COPPE of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and lead author Rodrigo Moura are the ones that led the expedition in the form of three cruises as part of a United States – Brazil collaboration.

New ecosystem

Expectedly, seeing as this is one of the rarest types of reefs ever encountered, its characteristics are fairly different from any other known before. Aside from the many areas of very low light and oxygen that are usually common thousands of feet under the surface, another very unusual feature of the reef is that it resides in murky, sediment-rich waters. In fact, the Amazon sheds some 333,000 nutrients per second in that particular location.

But the biome is also very strange, with the experts on the case considering it an absolute novelty. Aside from the many single-celled organisms that play a vital role in the ecosystem, the fauna mostly consists of enormous sponges, wide varieties of algae and corals, spiny lobsters, hydroids, and some 73 species of fish.

Coral failings

Even though it was just discovered, the reef is already struggling with survival. Even though it is in far better shape than the Great Barrier Reef, as the murky Amazon waters kept it safe from most of the effects of global warming, there are other factors that are contributing to this reef’s demise.

First of all, 125 portions of the river substrate were purchased by a petroleum company in 2013, and they will soon be sending enough oil the reef’s way to make it dangerous. But as it happens, this Amazonian reef is also one of its own biggest enemies, as it sacrificed resistance for quick reproduction.

Image source: Discovery

The Bald Eagle Population Is on the Rise

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"The Bald Eagle Population Is on the Rise "

Wildlife NGO confirms that 5 new nesting paris have emerged in New Jersey.

A new wildlife survey performed by the Conserve Wildlife foundation, a New Jersey-based NGO showed that the bald eagle population is on the rise. Furthermore, it would seem that 5 new nesting pairs have sprung up in the area around New Jersey.

A true American Symbol

When it comes to true American symbols, it would seem that the bald eagle is the all-time favorite. Also called the Halliaeetus leucocephalus, the bald eagle is a bird of prey. Most of us don’t know the fact that the sea eagle is actually a sea eagle and that there are actually 2 types of bald eagles. The Halliaeetus leucocephalus is the most common species of bald eagle, followed by the Haliaeetus albicilla, or the white-tailed eagle.

The bald eagle’s diet consists mainly of fish. According to measurements, an adult bald eagle has a body length of approximately 102 centimeters and a wingspan of 2.3 meters. Moreover, the body of an average male can reach a maximum weight of 4.1 kilos.

The bald eagle population is recovering

Since the American Government approved the use of DDTs in agriculture, the bald population slowly began to decline. According to the official statistics, in 1963, due to the heavy use of this type of pesticide, only 487 nesting pairs managed to survive in the wild.

The situation was direr in New Jersey, were only one nesting pair remained. In 1972, after witnessing the effects of DDT on the environment, the American Government decided to ban the use of DDTs in agriculture.

Not long after that, the bald eagle population started to show signs of recovering. And according to a survey performed in 2006, after 34 years since the Government decided to ban the use of DDTs, the bald eagle population skyrocketed from a mere 487 nesting pair to a whopping 10.000 nesting pairs. This change of heart has been observed in approximately 48 different states.

The last survey of this kind was performed in 2015 and it showed some promising results. According to the data collected by the NGO from the Department of Environment Protection, it would seem that in 2015 approximately 199 younglings were born in the state of New Jersey.

Nationwide, according to the same report published by the NGO, it seems that with the new additions, the total number of nesting pairs in New Jersey has risen to 161.

The bald eagle population is on the rise, thanks to the relentless efforts of wildlife conservation societies who managed to keep this majestic bird from becoming extinct.

Photo credits:www.freestockphotos.biz

African Lions Under the Endangered Species Act

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African-lion-under-endangered-species-act

The African Lion is a royal animal and also much loved by the Americans. Recently, the wildlife experts revealed that the African Lion has been reckoned threatened under the Endangered Species Act. If the law passes, it will make it illegal to kill or hunt the lions in the United States without a permit. Moreover, the law will not apply to the Zoos, but forbade U.S. citizens to sell lions or lion parts across state or national borders. On the other hand, within the U.S. the selling of lions or lion parts will remain under state jurisdiction.

Although, there is no restriction on the US hunters to import lions which they have killed in Africa. But they have to get the permit from those countries, coupled with a “scientifically sound” approach to managing lions, as per information given by Fish and Wildlife Service.

Certainly, U.S. sportsmen and women kill most of the lions, elephants and rhinoceroses in Africa. Though, regulated sport hunting is not reckoned as a major threat to the species. There are many causes of falling the number of lions in Africa, including loss of habitat, paucity of prey, increased conflicts with humans, etc. Since 1980s, the population of the African lions has fallen by two-thirds. Out of 76,000 lions which roamed the African continent in 1980 the figures has declined to 30,000 today.

The rising intrusion of human development and agriculture activities into the lion habitat, more livestock in the path of the lion, leads to increased attacks by the lions. Retaliatory killings of lion chases. Humans have also become lion’s prey at “unsustainable levels” in order to meet a growing demand for food. The Sub Saharan African population is expected to double by 2050 and this will bring even more pressure.

“Lions are declining, and unless we do something to arbitrate, it’s likely they will become endangered in the likely future. Lions tell us a story. This is one of the world’s most iconic, majestic creatures, so this tells us something about what’s happening on [our] planet,” Dan Ashe, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, told National Geographic.

Experts have welcomed the new law, but had reservations regarding the listing and how it will be implemented.

Wildlife Agencies Request Pilots To Avoid Huge Walrus Herd

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walruses

According to the reports revealed late last month, approximately 35,000 walruses horded a stretch of seashore in Alaska, a fact that’s being highlighted to receding sea ice and frighteningly Warm Ocean temperatures.

Certainly, during the NOAA’s annual aerial survey of Arctic marine mammals, the walruses were spotted on the shoreline of the Chukchi Sea, nearby Point Lay, Alaska. According to the research flight, which saw the animals explained that no sea ice was obvious in that region.

Though, the reports of U.S. Geological survey revealed that, the Pacific walruses have been moving out on the seashore of Alaska from past 6 to 8 years, because sea ice has retreated.

In fact, walruses frequently drag themselves onto ice or rocks in order to relax. With the gradual decrease in sea ice due to rising temperatures these animals moving out on the seashore, especially female walruses and their calves, USGS stated.

USGS further stated that, in these on-shore move outs, juvenile walruses are more prone to be packed down. Also, all of these walruses are badly affected by having to use of nearby seashore feeding regions instead of moving out on ice among rich feeding lands.

As per the reports of National Snow & Ice Data Center on Sept 17th, the Arctic Sea Ice reached its minimum level for the year and it’s is believed to be the 6th lowest level in the history of satellite record and strengthens the long diminishing trend in Arctic Ice level, NSIDC stated.

Moreover, the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) stated that, no doubt this is the biggest walruses move out recorded in the entire history.

Lou Leonard (VC Climate Change) stated that, “Arctic ice melted up to frightening levels which badly affect the long-term health of walrus and polar bear populations along with the annual migration of wildlife in the region.”

Recently, NOAA has published a heat map depicting “a constant expansion of extremely warm water” in the Gulf of Alaska. The records declared that the North Pacific Ocean has not been this much warm.

The Population of Animals have been replaced with Humans in Last 40 Years

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wildlife-population-graph
In a shocking report from the World Wide Fund for Nature, aka the WWF, they’ve concluded that between the years of 1970 and 2010 that half of all the vertebrate species in the world have dropped in number considerably. Their data states that 40 percent of the terrestrial and marine populations have declined and that 76 percent of the freshwater species have also suffered.

With these figures put on the table there is an alarm going off and it calls for humanity to see how it affects us. Jon Hoekstra is who is the Vice President and chief scientist for the WWF’s branch in the US stated that the wildlife’ health populations won’t be able to tell us what the state of the planet’s ecosystems is. Hoekstra referenced the old adage that the species drop off is like the old “canary in the coal mine.”, referring to when miners would carry a canary or bird in an open cage into the mines with them and if the bird died or started gasping that meant deadly gases were emitting.

Hoekstra points to less habitat as the main reason for the die offs. Also, he focused on the forest ecosystems and their abundance of food and shelter as well as economic livelihoods. With these ecosystems dwindling the ramifications are too frightening to imagine.

Take into account that 100s of billions of dollars are generated from these ecosystems. Should they be further compromised well over the 1 billion people now who are starving and without food and water as jobs would be lost and resources to deliver more resources would be challenging. Considering how fast we humans are breeding the challenges ahead seem astronomical and overwhelming.

The hard-headed conservatives who think that defending and nurturing ecosystems is a liberal thing don’t realize the monetary value which it is estimated by the researcher that the global ecosystem services at around $127 trillion per year.

Yes, trillion!

Of extra note is the impact of not standing up for the environment on a sanity level. It would be insane and absurd to let the ecosystems die off at the rate they are. There are species out there in the wild our scientists have yet to examine for valuable resources like medicines and other assets. The only time governments get concerned about the environment is if said resources can be used to manufacture weapons or harmful pharmaceuticals.

The battle rages on whether mankind will do something about the dwindling number of life forms and the ecosystems we’re dependent on.

Approximately Half of the World’s Animals Vanished Since 1970

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wild

The recent reports of WWF (World Wide Fund) revealed that almost half of the world’s animals vanished since 1970. The population of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles drop down by 52% within 1970 to 2010.

Alternatively, the report of conservation group’s Living Planet, published every 2 years, stated that, the demands of human kinds are increased by 50%, which seems more than that the nature bears, trees felled, ground water pumped, CO2 emissions increased more than the Earth can bear (Reuters).

Ken Norris (Director of Science at the Zoological Society of London) stated, “This huge damage is not foreseeable, though the outcome of the way we choose to live.”

Moreover, the report stated that we can still tackle the situation if politicians and businesses took the right actions to save nature.

“It’s quite vital that we grab the opportunity in order to develop a sustainable future where people could live and thrive in harmony with nature. We can’t preserve the nature by only protecting wild places, though it’s also about conservation of the humanity’s future, indeed, our only way to survive,” International Director of WWF, General Marco Lambertini stated.

As per the reports finding of the populations of vertebrate wildlife, the major declines were in tropical regions, especially Latin America. WWF, which believes to be a “Living Planet Index”, is relying on the trends in 10,380 populations of 3,038 mammal, bird, reptile, and amphibian and fish species.

World Wide Fund told, the average 52% decline is much larger than the previously published reports, partially because these studies has based on more readily accessible information from Europe & North-America. According to the same report published 2 years back, stated the decline of 28% within 1970 to 2008.

Certainly, the worst decline was believed to be amongst the population of fresh water species, which equals to 76% till 2010. On the other hand, marine and terrestrial decline equals to 39%. The major reason for the decline in populations happened due to the loss of natural habitats, exploitation due to hunting and fishing and most importantly due to climate change.

To measure the variation between the statistics of various countries experimental impact, the report gauged that how large an ‘ecological footprint’ each one had and how much productive land and water area, or “bio-capacity”, each country reliable for.

Furthermore, the report revealed that Kuwaitis followed by Qatar and UAE had seems to be the largest ecological footprint so far, as they are consuming and wasting more resources as compared to any other nation. In addition, poorer countries such as India, Indonesia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo also had ecological footprint that seems fine with the planet’s ability to absorb their demands.

Approximately half of the wildlife lost in the last 4 decades, says WWF

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half-of-the-wildlife-lost-in-the-last-4-decades

According to the new report of WWF, the world’s wildlife has halved in the past 40 years, because of indefensible human consumption and damage from climate change destroying valuable habitats at a very fast rate.

The figure of vertebrates, which make up the bulk of Earth’s noticeable animals, has dropped by 52 per cent and this drastic loss is at its critical level.

The society’s information said humans are cutting down trees more rapidly and destroying natural forest, this thing is affecting on weather change, although the effect of climate change on species until now is very disturbing. This is the main reason of declining the population of wildlife.

The director of science and policy Mike Barrett said that We have destroyed one half of the animal inhabitants and knowing this is made by human consumption, this is clearly a call to arms and we must act now, he said more of the Earth must be protected from expansion and deforestation, while food and energy had to be produced according to the demand.

The sudden turn down of animal, fish and bird numbers was analyzed by investigating 10,000 dissimilar populations, covering 3,000 species in total and this information was then, for the first time, used to make a representative “Living Planet Index” (LPI), reflecting the state of all 45,000 known vertebrates.

The researcher said that the main reason of the decline is also because the developing nations has been on a low income so they are importing food and further goods produced by habitat destruction of rich nations to earn money for example, a third of all the products of deforestation such as timber, beef and soya were exported to the EU between 1990 and 2008.

WWF chief executives said in a report that the scale of of the damage mentioned in this description should be an alarm call for us all.

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