Jenna Deedy
Bio
Zoo and Aquarium Professional, Educator, Cosplayer, Writer and B.A. in Psychology whose got a lot to share when it comes to animals, zoos, aquariums, conservation, and more.
Instagram: @jennacostadeedy
Stories (137/0)
When Whales Get Sick, Activists Show Their True Colors
Earlier last month, I wrote about how the Southern Resident orca population off the coast of Washington state had been placed on the international spotlight when an adult female known as Tahlequah, also known as J35, spent seventeen days carrying around her calf, who died shortly after birth. Around the same time, her cousin, J50, also known as Scarlet, began to battle malnutrition as a result of not being able to feed on Chinook salmon, the primary food source of this endangered orca population. After several attempts to feed her live fish and darting her with medications as a way to treat a possible infection, the US National Marine Fisheries Service has now suggested a plan that might be the only thing that could save her life-capturing Scarlet by locating her to a sea pen where she would be rehabilitated until she is healthy enough to rejoin her pod. Sounds like a simple idea to a complicated issue right? While it seems so ideal, there is one group of people who are in the way of this: the animal rights movement.
By Jenna Deedy6 years ago in Petlife
Back to School? No Problem!
It's that time of the year again when the kids have a brand new set of supplies that they are going to need for another year of school, teachers getting back on the job after a summer of vacations and workshops and so on. This also includes new lessons that the kids are going to be learning that may not always involve the basics like language arts and mathematics. They may involve science, history, geography, and bits of animal science. Yes, that's right, animal science as in introducing students to the science of zoology and environmental science. The best part about introducing kids to this exciting topic is that it does not have to take place in a classroom at all, but it can be anywhere, like on a beach, a nature trail, a zoo, an aquarium, a wildlife refuge, and even a museum. However, if you feel that you need to add a little bit of "nature" to the classroom, you can always invite a keeper to do a live animal presentation at school. So, here are some ways on how to bring "the wild" into the classroom during the school year.
By Jenna Deedy6 years ago in Education
Six Facts About the Sperm Whale
The sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), made famous by Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, is the largest species of toothed whale in the world. At around 60 feet in length and weighing in at around 120,000 pounds, these predatory mammals are found throughout all of the world’s deep oceans and are regarded as one of the most extreme animals on the planets, due to being able to dive down to such great depths. So, here are some six facts about the sperm whale.
By Jenna Deedy6 years ago in Petlife
Six Facts About the North Atlantic Right Whale
The North Atlantic Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis) is regarded as one of the most endangered species of baleen whales in the world. The species has a very long history of being subjected to human exploitation until the 1930s when laws were finally passed to protect the slow-moving marine mammals from the whaling industry. Yet, despite these efforts, the population in the North Atlantic shows very little to no signs of recovery. So, here are six things to know about these endangered mammals.
By Jenna Deedy6 years ago in Petlife
When the Water Turns Red: How Red Tide Affects Florida’s Marine Animals
Karenia brevis is a type of dinoflagellate that is known to produce toxins that can accumulate in marine organisms like shellfish, which can lead to poisoning when eaten by other animals. It’s adapted to get nutrients on the West Florida Shelf Oligotrophic where it feeds on copepods and their feces. In order for it to thrive, it also needs low light and an upwelling to initiate a bloom. The bloom occurs in four stages which include initiation, growth, maintenance and termination. Yet researchers have yet to determine which stage could serve as a primary factor to a bloom maintenance since there are multiple sources that are involved in the process. What is known, though, is that once a bloom begins, a combination of winds and current push the newly formed red tide to shore. As a result, the dangers it can have on animals begins to arise when K. brevis gets ingested because after all, they do produce a neurotoxin that bioaccumulate up the food chain of Florida’s marine ecosystem. This toxin can also be airborne when the cell breaks up from wave activity.
By Jenna Deedy6 years ago in Petlife
Don’t Feed Wild Marine Mammals
In a previous article, I discussed how one California woman attempted to stop a group of beach-goers from harassing a colony of wild sea lions. Although I did talk about how it's illegal to play with, touch, or even feed a wild marine mammal, I did not mention how it can inflict potential harm. Word of caution, what I am about to describe may be a little upsetting to some readers, but at the same time, it’s critical to be very cautious when watching marine mammals out in the wild.
By Jenna Deedy6 years ago in Petlife
The Southern Resident Orcas Need Our Help
For 17 days, a 20-year-old adult female orca named Tahlequah, also known as J35, carried her dead newborn calf in a tragic effort to continue caring for the calf despite it having to have died just shortly after birth. Around the same time, her cousin, J50, also known as Scarlet, is grossly underweight as the result of possible malnutrition from the lack of the orca's primary food source, chinook salmon. Currently, as of now, there are ongoing efforts to rescue Scarlet from becoming another casualty by using boats to deliver her live salmon through a test feeder while collecting breath samples to monitor her health. Also, researchers also plan to use the live fish to provide medication to the sickly three-year-old orca even though there is no guarantee that she will eat live fish, but at the same time, the fact that scientists are making an effort to feed a wild orca is very unprecedented.
By Jenna Deedy6 years ago in Petlife
Tips for a New England Whale Watch
Cape Cod is regarded as one of the most popular places to go whale watching in New England as daily tours leave from Provincetown at the tip of Cape Cod as well as Boston, Plymouth, Barnstable, and Gloucester. From the end of April, all the way through October, whales can often be seen from shore along Cape Cod beaches like Race Point near Provincetown. I personally have done some shore-based whale watching in Race Point on multiple occasions, observing right whale and humpback whale mothers returning to Cape Cod Bay with their young calves and believe me, it was quite an incredible experience. I would totally recommend it to anyone who plans to go to Cape Cod before late April since that’s the time when the whale boats first begin seasonal operations. Back to the whales, the mammals spend the months between March through October in Stellwagen Bank, a shallow mound of sand and gravel that’s a remnant of retreating glaciers from the last Ice Age. There, nutrient-rich waters that flow from the Gulf of Maine helps create major upwelling of nutrients while creating a bloom of plankton at the same time. The result is a complex ecosystem that provides an abundant of food for various baleen whales such as humpback whales, minke whales, fin whales, and Northern right whales. Yet, the more often you go whale watching, whether if it involves walking along the beach, standing on a headland, or on a boat, finding whales and other marine mammals not only requires good luck, it also requires a good dose of knowledge on the animals and the ecosystem they live in. So here are some tips on how make the best of your New England Whale Watch.
By Jenna Deedy6 years ago in Wander
Six Facts About the Whale Shark
The largest shark to ever be alive today, the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) feeds on plankton and travels very long distances in order to find enough food to sustain their large size and breed. These sharks can grow up to 40 feet long and weight up to about 11 tons. They are found in all of the world’s tropical oceans and are regarded as gentle giants. Here are some Six facts about these magnificent sharks (Disclaimer: Despite the name, whale sharks are not related to whales in any shape or form).
By Jenna Deedy6 years ago in Petlife
A Monk Seal Called KP2 (Or Hō’ailona by Some)
They say that not all human-seal conflicts end in death in Hawaii, which is the case for KP2 who, at only a few days old, was rescued by a NOAA veterinarian after seeing he was alone, attempting to nurse from some rocks and calling out for his mother, RK22, who was nowhere in sight. Because RK22 had a history of rejecting her pups shortly after birth, a decision was made to rescue and rehabilitate him in the hopes of, not only preventing a potential death of a rejected pup, but also ensuring the survival of a critically endangered mammal, whose numbers were only around 1,100. From there, he was taken to the Kewalo Research Facility in Oahu.
By Jenna Deedy6 years ago in Petlife
- Top Story - August 2018
Six Facts About DugongsTop Story - August 2018
Dugongs, while similar to manatees, are shorter and slender comparing to their western hemisphere well-known marine mammals to have ever been studied in the Southern Hemisphere, research that has been done on the animals would eventually give way to the rise of manatee research in the United States and Brazil. These animals are known to grow up to 11 feet long and weight up to 2,200 pounds.
By Jenna Deedy6 years ago in Petlife
The Hypocrisy of Thomas Cook Travel Agency When It Comes to Zoos and Aquariums
Recently, Thomas Cook, a travel agency that is based in the United Kingdom, recently announced that it would no longer include marine mammal facilities that house orcas. The decision was likely influenced by animal rights extremists who target any zoo or aquarium that houses cetaceans. However, aside from the fact that it was an animal rights influence that made the company say “adios” to anything SeaWorld or Loro Parque, it’s the fact that Thomas Cook does have some ties to a facility based in China that houses cetaceans that were collected from waters off of Taiji, Japan.
By Jenna Deedy6 years ago in Petlife