Celebration

National Bird Day

On January 5th, we celebrate National Bird Day.

Did you know that one of the fastest growing group of discarded pets in this country is the exotic bird?

And while we hear a great deal about displaced dogs and cats and the protection and anti-cruelty laws that have been enacted for their protection,  birds are often ignored or short-changed when in comes to protection under anti-cruelty and pet shop laws.

In the 1990's, exotic birds became the fastest-growing pet of choice. Since 2000, there are well over 100 bird rescues or sanctuaries across the country, caring for hundreds of unwanted and abused birds in need of rescue and lifelong new homes. It is also believed that potentially untold thousands more exotic birds languish, ignored and most likely in a state of deprivation, in their cages.

Why has this happened to these magnificent birds?

Because in many cases the bird owner or, their family members, are rarely educated or understand the total commitment necessary for the care and special needs of the exotic bird. The bird may exhibit behaviors like biting, aggression or self-mutilation. The birds are prone to making loud noises and the area around the cage of one of these birds will always be a mess. It doesn't take long before the novelty of owning an exotic bird becomes a nuisance and the birds is then often left alone in a cage without adequate socialization, medical care, food, water or clean living conditions. Countless other birds will be physically abused, given away to another person who has no idea how to care for it, released outside to fend for itself, simply abandoned in an empty house or apartment, or they simply perish.

National Bird Day, is an opportunity to learn how to work to protect these magnificent creatures through public education. It is also the time to raise awareness about the enormous global influence and the devastating effects on wild parrot populations because of the impact of exotic bird trade. The parrot species, more than almost any other major group of birds, is now globally threatened and could well become extinct if actions to reverse the current trends are not taken.

If you are interested in learning more about the plight of exotic birds, you could begin with the resources listed below.

Resources:

The Avian Welfare Coalition is a working alliance of veterinarians, conservationists, avian welfare and animal protection organizations dedicated to the ethical treatment of exotic birds. For more information about the AWC please visit their website.

The Animal Protection Institute is a national non-profit animal advocacy organization with 85,000 members, working to protect animals from cruelty and exploitation through legislation, litigation, and public education. For more information about API’s exotic bird campaign, please visit their site.

Crayola Activities for Kids  Fun and educational projects for kids for National Bird Day.

National Bird Day Website

Today is Hug-A-Bear-Day: Embrace the Polar Bear

Polar Bear (Ursrs maritimus)

The entire Arctic region is polar bear habitat. Polar bears are equally comfortable in the water and on land and can be found on ice packs, coastal islands, coastlines, and even out in Arctic waters. They are exceptional swimmers and have been observed in the sea more than 100 miles from the nearest land or pack ice.

Polar bears are the most nomadic of all bear species. They travel an average of 5,500 miles a year, or about 15 miles a day. In the United States, polar bears are located in two Alaskan populations: the Chukchi/Bering Seas of western Alaska and the Beaufort Sea off northern Alaska.

These bears, contrary to what most people think, do not have white fur. Although the polar bear's coat appears white, each individual hair is actually a clear hollow tube that channels the sun's energy directly to the bear's skin and helps it stay warm. The polar bear's entire body is covered in this way, even the bottom of its paws. This helps to prevent the bears from slipping on the ice.

The two main focuses of this solitary creature's life are to conserve energy and to hunt. The polar bear is classified as a marine mammal. Its feet are partially webbed for swimming, and its coat is water-repellent. A formidable predator, it has extremely sharp claws. Males are 8 to 11 feet long and weigh 500 to 1,100 pounds but can reach as much as 1,500 pounds. Females are smaller, measuring 6 to 8 feet long, and weigh from 350 to 600 pounds, occasionally reaching 700 pounds. Polar bears can live up to 25 years. 

Females are able to breed at the age of five years. They often give birth to al least two cubs and they closely guard and nurture their cubs for at least two years.

Only pregnant females dig dens and hibernate in the traditional sense for extended periods. The other Polar bears, may enter into what is referred to as "walking hibernation" where they remain active and continue to hunt and feed, even though some of their metabolic processes may slow down (decreased heart rates, respiration, lowered temperatures, etc.)

Polar bears are strictly carnivores and feed or scavenge only meat. Their primary prey is the ringed seal though they also take bearded, harp and hooded seals and the occasional young walrus.  They will also scavenge walrus and whale carcasses. They depend mostly on their sense of smell to determine the location of prey, while their white coats make for great camouflage when hunting.   

Worldwide there are thought to be 22,000-27,000 polar bears in 19 separate populations. They can be found in the United States, Canada, Russia, Greenland and on the Arctic islands of Norway. There are estimated to be about 3,000 to 5,000 polar bears in Alaska.

The primary threat facing polar bears today may be global warming. Scientists have already documented measurable effects in the body sizes and reproductive success of bears at Hudson's Bay. This southern-most population of polar bears has adapted to an ice-free summer by moving onshore at Churchill, Manitoba, and fasting through the short summer season until freeze-up occurs, and the bears can return to the ice.

Global warming has resulted in prolonged ice-free periods, and the polar bears are left stranded onshore for longer and longer periods. Break-up in the spring occurs an average of 10-14 days earlier than 20 years ago and was four weeks earlier in 1999. Scientists estimate that for every week of delay in freeze-up, polar bears lose at least 22 pounds of critical fat reserves. Pregnant females are losing so much weight that they fail to produce enough milk for their cubs, which then suffer increased mortality. Once females fail to attain a minimum weight they won't give birth at all, and scientists can already document a 15 percent drop in birth rates.

The Polar bear is an integral part of the eco-system of that part of the planet. If their populations begin to diminish in great quantities, not only will the Polar bear itself become endangered, but the entire eco-system will experience enormous repercussions.

Today is Hug-A-Bear-Day: Embrace the Giant Panda

On many calendars, November 7 is marked as "Hug-A-Bear-Day.

This vague annotation on the calendar may not appear to many to be much cause for celebration. If anything, some may see it as just another meaningless day in the countdown to Thanksgiving.

But, this is a great opportunity to learn about some of the bears that currently inhabit this planet, but are in danger of extinction. Like so many other wild animals, our constant use and abuse of the earth's resources have left some species of bears in a perilous position for the future of their survival.

It is said that if only one person a day makes a difference in the survival of our planet, then collectively we will all make a difference. So let's take today and deviate from our Thanksgiving preparations to learn about a couple of bear species that need our help to survive.

Giant Panda (Ailuopoda melanoleuca)

Pandas are famous for their black and white markings. The legs, shoulders, ears and oval patches around the eyes are black, and the rest of the coat is white. Pandas weigh an average of 200 to 300 pounds and reach six feet in length. Good tree climbers, pandas can also swim to escape predators. Pandas use an enlarged wrist bone that looks like a thumb to grasp objects like bamboo.

Today, only 1,000 pandas exist in the wild and 60 more, in zoos. Their lifespan in the wild is unknown but in captivity it averages more than 20 years.

It is interesting to note here, that many in the scientific community still disagree about whether the giant panda is closely related to bears or raccoons or is separate from both.

After a gestation period of 125 to 150 days, a mother panda gives birth to one or two young, but only one survives. Their eyes open at six to eight weeks, and the cub starts to move around at three months. Weaned at six months, the cub becomes independent after a year.

These solitary animals spend most of their days feeding. Although they live in cold forests, pandas do not hibernate. They move to lower elevations during winter to keep warm and to higher elevations in summer to stay cool. They do not have permanent homes but sleep at the bottom of trees and under stumps and rock ledges.

Pandas feed mostly on bamboo, a tall woody plant full of fiber. The panda's digestive system does not absorb the fiber, so it must eat a lot. Pandas also eat flowers, vines, tufted grasses, green corn, honey and rodents.

The panda lives in thick bamboo and coniferous forests (evergreens with seed cones) at 8,500 to 11,500 feet elevation. The shrinking range of the panda is limited to parts of Szechuan, Shensi and Kansu provinces in central and western China. Their habitat loss is due to the increasing human populations, poaching and, the periodic loss of entire areas of the bamboo.

Today, the status of the Giant Panda is classified as endangered.

To learn more about the Giant Panda, and ways you can participate in the survival of this magnificent animal, you might want to visit this National Geographic site, to start.

Later on today, we will talk about another species of bear that is in serious trouble.