Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago is excited to announce that the baby gorilla born last month is a girl! The zoo has named the little one Patty, in honor of Patty Meyers, who was a long-time supporter of Lincoln Park Zoo.
Both Patty and her mother Bana are doing well and will continue to be monitored by zoo staff.
Bana enjoys a healthy snack while caring for 1-month-old Patty.
For more information, see:
Over the past week, Hurricane Sandy blasted through the East coast of the United States and made her way into Canada. Many people suffered extraordinary losses as their homes were destroyed or damaged by storm surges, flooding, and downed trees. Many lost (and continue to be without) power, leaving them without heat, warm showers, transportation, and fresh food.
Here at Animal Fact Guide headquarters in New London, Connecticut, I looked out the window of my darkened house on Monday afternoon. The wind was shaking the building, and big branches cracked as they snapped off a tree and then thudded to the ground. I noticed a squirrel perched on one of the tree’s lower branches huddled against the trunk, bracing himself against the powerful gusts. I wondered if animals were as adversely affected by hurricanes as we were.
I think that with people’s complete dependence on their homes and technology for safety and for their way of life, hurricanes do have a more devastating effect on people. But hurricanes also deeply impact wildlife in several ways:
Wind Dislocation
While songbirds and woodland birds can usually ride out a storm by holding on to their perches, powerful winds from a hurricane can blow migrating birds hundreds of miles off course or push shore birds inland.
Tree Loss
Downed trees can be devastating to species who rely on certain types of trees for food and shelter. Food sources are also lost as the seeds and fruits get blown off trees.
Storm Surges
Storm surges destroy seaside habitats. Nest sites can be washed away by rising tides. In certain cases, entire beaches can be washed away. (This happened here in New London when Hurricane Sandy washed away Osprey Beach.) The influx of seawater also disrupts the balance of salt in wetlands, causing harm to marsh grasses, crabs, fish hatchlings, and minnows. Furthermore, the flooding causes sediment and pollutants to enter waterways, which negatively impacts marine animals.
What You Can Do
During a hurricane, the best thing you can do is stay safe. Listen to government officials and heed their advice. Evacuate your home before the storm if necessary and seek shelter in a safe location. Stay inside during the storm to keep safe from falling branches and flying debris. After the storm, avoid going near downed power lines.
In terms of helping wildlife, if you see any rare species or injured animals, report them to your local wildlife agency. You can also fill your bird feeders to help tired songbirds recover after the storm.
But in the grand scheme of things, the increasing frequency of storms like Sandy remind us of the effect global warming is having on our planet. A warming planet means more extreme weather headed our way more frequently. It means more storms and more droughts. With that in mind, it’s important to renew our efforts to curb our carbon emissions on a personal level and appeal to our politicians to instate policies that will cut back on carbon emissions on a global scale.
Learn more about how hurricanes and wildlife:
A baby two-toed sloth was born at the National Aquarium, and you have the opportunity to name him/her!
Watch a video below of the little one here:
Submit your idea for a name at the National Aquarium website.
The National Wildlife Federation is offering events in cities throughout the US this fall where kids can get up close and personal with wildlife. Their Hike and Seek event features a 1-2 mile nature hike and scavenger hunt. Activity stations along the way feature live animals, wildlife experts, and crafts.
To learn more, visit the NWF’s Hike and Seek website.
Did you know you don’t have to be human to be an environmentalist? Specially-trained dogs from the group Conservation Canines have been assisting scientists protect endangered species since 1997.
With their highly sophisticated sense of smell paired with their insatiable urge to play (their reward at the end of the day), dogs can track scat, or animal droppings, from miles away. Once located, the scientists can analyze the scat for genetic, physiological, and dietary information. This provides clues to the animal’s behavior and environment which helps conservationists determine the best way to protect it.
The dogs, which are adopted from animal shelters and then trained by the crew at Conservation Canines, track scat from a variety of endangered animals. The list includes tigers, orcas, fishers, spotted owls, bears, wolves, caribou, giant armadillos, giant anteaters, pumas, jaguars, and Pacific pocket mice.
Watch a video below about Tucker, a black labrador mix who specializes in tracking orca scat. This is a tricky task because he must catch the scent over open water, the scat can move around and/or sink in the water, and he must provide signals to his human coworkers so they can steer the boat in the correct direction.
To learn more, see:
More bison could start to live naturally on the prairie with the American Prairie Reserve’s purchase of 150,000 acres of Montana grassland.
The American Prairie Reserve, a non-profit land trust based in Bozeman, Montana, recently purchased a sizable plot of land (150,000 acres) adjacent to the C.M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. South Ranch, the purchased land, was originally set up as a cattle ranch and is located 60 miles south of the Canadian border.
In purchasing the ranch, the American Prairie Reserve has taken one step towards their main goal of creating a wildlife preserve larger than the state of Connecticut. Their goal involves acquiring more land, pulling down the fences that once contained cattle, and allowing the area to return to the natural ecosystem that once existed in that part of the U.S. This means bison, pronghorn antelope, prairie dogs, and their natural predators free flowing through an uninhabited area of prairie land.
To learn more, see:
SeaWorld’s Animal Rescue team traveled to Sykes Creek in Merritt Island, Fla., on June 8 to rescue the 10-foot manatee that had severe injuries to the front right flipper caused by a crab pot line.
Back in June, the animal rescue team at SeaWorld Orlando came to the aid of a 10-foot manatee who was injured and caught in a fishing line in Sykes Creek in Merritt Island, Florida. The 1,380-pound manatee was transported to SeaWorld so that veterinarians could treat her injuries. Her right flipper was severely injured and had to be amputated.
On July 18, the manatee gave birth to a healthy calf. The baby has been nursing and bonding with its mother in SeaWorld Orlando’s back area pool. The animal team will continue to monitor the pair.
Approximately six weeks after her rescue, rescued manatee gives birth to a calf at SeaWorld Orlando on the morning of July 18, 2012.
The mother and baby will be monitored by SeaWorld’s animal team while they bond in the back area pool.
Saturday morning saw the birth of a dolphin at SeaWorld Orlando. The gender of the baby has not been determined yet, but has been feeding and bonding with the mother, Starkey. Guests at the park can visit the pair at the Dolphin Nursery.
To learn more about bottlenose dolphins, see our Bottlenose Dolphin Facts Page.
The bald eagle has been the national emblem of the United States since 1782, when it was adopted as a symbol of freedom and its imagery was incorporated into the Great Seal. Its symbolic status helped people rally around it when it faced extinction in the mid twentieth century due to human encroachment and the pesticide DDT. In recent years, the bald eagle population has recovered, and it was taken off the endangered species list in 2007.
Similar to the role of national bird, Senator Mike Enzi (R) of Wyoming and Senator Tim Johnson (D) of South Dakota introduced a bill that would recognize the bison as America’s national mammal. Vast herds of American bison once roamed from Canada to Mexico. From a population that numbered in the millions, American bison dwindled to near extinction by the 1880s, driven there by American settlers.
Today, bison populations have started to recover. There are about half a million bison living today. However most of the bison live in commercial herds and carry genes from cattle. Only a few thousand bison are pure descendants of the vast herds that dominated the Great Plains centuries ago.
To urge your senator to co-sponsor the National Bison Legacy Act, which will help preserve this great species and honor it for its significant role in American history, visit Vote Bison and sign the petition.
To learn more about bison, see Animal Fact Guide’s article, American Bison.
The World Wildlife Fund, in collaboration with Global Footprint Network and Zoological Society London, has released its 2012 Living Planet Report.
The findings are less than optimal. The study shows that:
But there are steps we can take to change this destructive path. The report suggests:
For more information, see the WWF website.