African Safaris
You probably already know the perilous position that the world’s elephants are currently negotiating. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has officially listed the Asian elephant as endangered and the African elephant as vulnerable.
Nature & Wildlife
More than 1,500 “national” days have been declared, according to the National Day Calendar. For example, January 2 is National Cream Puff Day. March 4 is Marching Music Day. The first Saturday in May is National Start Seeing Monarchs Day. And don’t forget World Emoji Day on July 17.
Conservation
There’s a sinister bill making its way through Congress, but you probably don’t know about it. The reason you don’t know about it is because of its name. It’s called the “SAVES Act” (Saving America’s Endangered Species Act, H.R. 2603). Sounds like it could be a good law, right? You couldn’t be more wrong.
News & More
Later this month, in late July 2017, Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bears outside Yellowstone National Park and nearby Grand Teton National Park will lose their Endangered Species List protections. Jurisdiction over the bears will be handed over to Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. In general, that will mean fewer restrictions on killing the bears.
Conservation
Becoming a locavore—someone who prefers to find and eat local foods—is a growing and, in most cases, healthy trend in the United States. Locavores typically forage for berries, fruits, mushrooms and nuts; and some take up hunting, deciding they prefer to eat free-range, organically grown meat.
Nature & Wildlife
The woolly mammoth—an animal that went extinct 4,000 years ago—is currently being considered for legal protection under conservation trade rules. “How that can be?” you might well ask. The answer lies in a story that’s entwined with some very modern-day issues: climate change and the rampant poaching of today’s elephants.
News & More
Last night, Leonardo DiCaprio accepted his first Best Actor Oscar award. He used his moment at the podium to remind us about the planet’s most urgent threat: rapid climate change. His message was timely.
Conservation
Just two weeks ago, on March 14 and 15, 2013, in southern Chad near the country’s border with Cameroon, poachers killed at least 86 elephants—maybe more. The victims included 33 pregnant females and 15n calves. The motive was ivory, for illegal trade. Elephants, of course, aren’t the only animals being massacred today for their body parts.
