It's Earth Day!

The first ever Earth Day was on April 22, 1970. The 70's was a time for hippies, and with hippies came a love of nature and all things organic. Earth Day began as an environmental movement that started a tradition of planting a tree on this day each year ("Why is Earth Day on April 22?"). Overtime, industries and factories have polluted our planet so much that global climate change has been the cause of coral bleaching, the melting of ice glaciers, and has even caused some animals to become endangered species. Earth Day is a crucial 'holiday' because people need to open their eyes to what is happening to our environment.  Our Earth is a beautiful planet, and should be protected at any means necessary. We are part of the generation who has the power to save the earth from destruction, and create a healthy environment for our kids and grand kids to grow up in.

 

Beluga Whales!

Above is a picture of the time I got to touch, and play with a beluga whale. 

Beluga Whales are wonderful, sweet creatures who are found in both the Arctic and Subarctic waters. They a carnivorous, which means they eat the flesh of fish. They are part of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species   

  

This animal seems to be looking deep into my soul..

This little guy is called Morelet’s tree frog (or the Black-eyed tree frog). These frogs are part of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species  (and have been since 2004) as a critically endangered species. According to the IUCN they live in Belize, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras around the lowland and moist areas of mountain slopes. Their population is rapidly decreasing due to a disease known as Chytridiomycosis. What is that, you may ask. Well, its an infectious disease caused by nonhyphal zoosporic fungus. These cute little critters are dying very rapidly and many conservationists are taking action by making many of their habitats a protected area, however a lot more research is needed to find out if Chytridiomycosis is an actual reason that the population is declining so fast.

This is the best video I could find about these adorable creatures! (Also it has a Michael Jackson song..BONUS!)

Blubber? Isn't that the green thing from that 90's movie?

What is that magical blue creature above? Well folks, that is a Blue Blubber Jellyfish. No, not Flubber from the Robin Williams movie of 1997. The blue blubber jellyfish is a jelly that is found off the coast of eastern and northern Australia. According to an article about this jellyfish (found on the National Aquarium  website), the blue blubber jellyfish eats Zooplankton, which are small animals who wander through the ocean. These jellies can grow up to almost 16 inches wide! In many Asian countries you can find a salad they have appropriately named "rubber band salad" that is made from these specific jellyfish and is considered a delicacy to some.

Just in case you were wondering, this is Flubber! 

Wolves and Whales: Two different species, but similar motives.

Above is a video talking about how wolves have changed the environment overtime. They contribute a lot to the environment because even though they can take away many animals lives, they can also give life to various other species (plants or animals). This is one of the most interesting videos (along with the video of the Spirit Bear in my last post) that i have ever watched before. It's amazing what animals can do without even trying. 

This video is similar to the video of the wolves, but explains how whales change the ocean. People in Japan said that, before scientists discovered that whales help the ocean's ecosystem, it was good for people to to kill whales because it may increase the number of fish available for human consumption. However, finding out that whales are a vital part of the survival of the ocean's ecosystems, whale poaching has decreased rapidly. 

The Spirit Bear; legend or reality?

Have you ever read the book Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen? If not here's a brief overview. It's about a young boy, Cole Matthews, who severely beats another boy, and is faced with a decision. Cole can either spend a long time in jail, or he can spend a year in a remote area in Alaska. He chooses to go to Alaska, and while he is there he gets mauled by a bear known as the Spirit Bear. He learns many new things about life, honesty, trust, and love, all with this one bears help. Now, why am I telling you this? Because the Spirit Bear is an actual, living bear. It's actual name is the Kermode Bear, and lives in the rain forest on the coast of British Columbia. It's called the Spirit Bear due to its rare gene that changes a black bear into a pure white bear. These bears are extremely rare, so much so that in the article What is a spirit bear? says that possibly only 100 are known to exist. In a video from National Geographic (above) Paul Nicklen, a photographer for National Geographic, talks about his experience with the Spirit (Kermode) Bear, and how amazing it was to interact with these very rare, but wonderful creatures. These animals are beautiful and should be protected at all costs. That's what Nicklen is trying to show every body. Something so rare, and so magical, should be protected from harm. I have also included a video from Spirit Bear Lodge . It talks about a Native American culture that has protected this species for many, many years. It also talks about the Kitasoo/Xai'xais peoples legend of the Spirit Bear. 

And the Hawksbill Sea Turtle Wins the Race!

The video above is about the Hawksbill Sea Turtle(Eretmochelys imbricate) in Nicaragua. The narrator, Caleb McClennen, talks about how the WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society)  started a project known as the Hawksbill Conservation Project in 2000. In the article With Local Help, hawksbill sea turtles make comeback in Nicaragua (Shayna Wilson), it explains how the WCS has helped reduce the number of nest poachers by almost 80%. This means that the sea turtles, and their nests, are increasing each year. This is an amazing advancement because not to long ago the Hawksbill sea turtle was on IUCN Red List of Endangered Species as a reptile with one of the highest level threats. The WCS has helped these animals in so many ways, and their efforts will be what helps these animals in the long run.

 Little baby Hawksbill Sea Turtle

Adult Hawksbill Sea Turtle 

Above is a video of the largest fish in our oceans, the Whale Shark. It has been confirmed that these sharks can reach up to 40,000 pounds and can grow to 40 feet long (sometimes even bigger!). This video explains what a whale shark is and I recommend watching the whole thing.

Whale Sharks are known to get caught up in fishermen's nets(shown to the right), just as a sea turtle can get a plastic bag caught around its neck. As a result of this, the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission(IATTC) has provided fishermen with a resolution. Science Daily wrote an article, Biggest fish in the ocean receives international protection, for which they explain what the IATTC proposed and how the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) is helping. The IATTC proposed that fishermen must not have a purse seine net around any whale shark in the area. They must also make sure that if one happens to get caught in a net, it just must be freed and unharmed. Chris Fanning, who works for NOAA as fishery policy analyst, states that, "These are some of the most incredible animals in the ocean, and while U.S vessels don't engage in this practice, we are very supportive of this international resolution to help and protect these amazing creatures."

Whale sharks are one of my all time favorite animals. They are captivating creatures, and should be protected in any way possible. Unlike the shark from JAWS(1975), which was a great white shark, whale sharks are known to not attack humans because of how laid back they are. These are wonderful creatures, and they deserve as much attention as the rest of the animal kingdom.

Pigs are smart? Who Knew?!

This is a picture of two pigs going into a maze looking for food. You may ask, "Why?" Well I can answer that, but first we need to talk about a few other important(and interesting) topics. Pigs are said to be nothing but dumb farm animals, yet what if I were to tell you that they are much more than that. Aside from being quite adorable, they are actually intelligent animals who possess an outstanding memory and are able to trick other pigs out of getting something that another pig might want. In a research study done by Candace Croney, pigs were put in mazes to see if they were able to find food, and even given the chance to play video games(that's crazy, right?!). In an article written by Andy Wright, Pigheaded: How Smart are Swine?, he explains the entire process and gives quotes from the researches themselves. Croney's pigs were given joysticks made just for them, and they were able to play a video game in which they moved the joystick around with their feet or snout and hit their target. (I think Crush from Finding Nemo said it best when he says, "That's so totally awesome!" I mean, a pig playing video games? That's unheard of!)
Now, I bet you're still wondering about the pigs in a maze picture. Okay, I'll tell you. They put one small pig into the maze and allowed it to go look for the food. It was allowed to try twice,and the second time it usually found the food faster because it was able to remember where it was from the first run. The researchers did this for a few days then put a much larger pig in with the smaller pig. The smaller pig was nervous around the larger pig, and laid low for a few of the runs. Until finally the smaller pig got tired of not getting any food, so he started to trick the other pig into believing the food was in a different spot than where it actually was, and the smaller pig went and took the food for himself. That's pretty impressive. I mean, if I was that pig I would of just laid in the corner and pouted so that I didn't get in a fight with the large pig who could just sit on me.

I think this research study has brought forth a lot of questions, such as, "Are pigs an animal that we should try and save from slaughter because of their intelligence?" or the question that Candace Croney gives, “If we've decided to eat pigs despite the fact that they are smart, should we not at least use the information that we have to make their lives as positive as possible up until the point when we decide, ‘Well now they've become food?’ These questions are ones that may not be answered for a very long time. The human race is to focused on what is right for us and not what is right for every living creature on this planet. Everyone and everything deserves a nice life, and the human race as a whole should make sure that everyone, including animals, has a nice life. 

Here's a short video showing one of the pigs playing the video game!

Dogs can read your moods based on your facial expression!

So I read an article on live science, and it talks about how dogs (yes adorable puppy dogs!) can tell if their owner is happy, sad, or mad based on their facial expression. How cool is that?! Researchers took a group of dogs, and while they were training them they showed them different pictures of humans with different facial expressions and by the end of the training period the dogs could tell what mood the human was in. After their training was over, the researchers showed them different pictures of humans and the dogs were still able to distinguish between the moods. I think that's pretty awesome. Dogs are wonderful animals and a full of so much compassion and love for their owner. Maybe that's why when their owner comes through the door upset they know that a cuddle buddy is just what they need.

I mean..How can you be sad when this adorable face is looking at you!!