wild animals
Animals the way nature intended it; explore the world of wild animals and the controversies surrounding domestication and hunting of feral beasts.
Swimming With Sharks
Swimming with some of the ocean's scariest predators was always on my "to do" list, though, honestly, it's not something I thought would ever actually happen. It was one of those dreams that you'd tell people was on your bucket list, next to "jump out of a plane" and "clean up under my bed." Yeah, THAT bucket list.
By Mikayla Walker6 years ago in Petlife
Meeting Real Life Big Cats
So as most children will tell you, big cats are the BEST wild animals EVER because they're just so big and scary and fast and... You get my drift. Well if you've ever really wondered what the experience of meeting one of the worlds big cats is really like, here's my story.
By Mikayla Walker6 years ago in Petlife
The Wolf Conservation Center Cries out for Understanding and the Wolf's Importance to the Environment
The Grey with Liam Neeson is a very entertaining film in which a group of plane crash survivors find themselves stranded in the territorial hunting grounds of a large, ferocious wolf pack. Ruthlessly and mindfully stalked, only Liam Neeson remains as the human alpha to face a canine counterpart that puts species supremacy above its own survival. Leaving the viewer looking into the determined eyes of the two combatants, the lack of an onscreen outcome still amounts to pure movie magic. But the reality of the entire scenario is as likely as a great white shark jumping on a boat to eat its aggressors. More troubling, this type of broad misconception leaves Maggie Howell of the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem with her work cut out with her.
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in Petlife
Gharials - The Best of the Crocodile Grins!
The first successful breeding of gharials (Gavialis gangeticus) in Europe took place at Protivin Crocodile Zoo in the Czech Repulic this year, an incredible achievement—congratulations! Following this, I decided to dedicate this entry to the urgent plight of the gharial and take this opportunity to nerd out about what are hands down my favourite species of crocodilian.
By Laura Daykin7 years ago in Petlife
Whales Should Not Be Held Prisoner
We take a sum of about ten to twenty dollars and pay our admission to the zoo to watch animals for our own entertainment. Many zoos encompass the United States and are often visited. We see and analyze monkeys, birds, lions, tigers, and bears and we observe the adventurous animals. Children seem to love to see the animals in "habitats" but, in reality, the "habitats" are not what they should be. We wholeheartedly take kids to these places in order for them to see and witness creatures they would not, unless taken to the zoo. One animal that really stands out are whales. Whales are huge, beautiful creatures that are extremely intelligent. Although whales are extravagant, they should not be held in captivity in places like SeaWorld because they are dangerous to keepers, their living space is too small for their instinct, and they do not work particularly well with other whales swimming around.
By Corey Hurt7 years ago in Petlife
Tilikum: A Killer Whale with a Killer Attitude
Tilikum was a very well-known captive orca, he really lived up to his killer whale title in his lifetime in captivity. He was born in 1981, and when he was just two years old, he was captured in Iceland. A year later he was moved to a Sealand park in British Columbia. Tilikum died in early 2017, aged just 36 which is under half a killer whale's typical lifespan in the wild. However, this is pretty normal for captive whales as the average age of death for orcas at SeaWorld is just 13.
By Sophie Turner7 years ago in Petlife
Why I Quit My Career in Dolphin Training
Six months ago I left the dolphin industry after twelve years. The reason for me initially leaving was the ending of my contract. However the decision to not roll right into another dolphin job was a long and tough debate with "myself" and who I wanted to be.
By Nefel Ibata7 years ago in Petlife
How Do Zoos Prepare for Hurricanes?
Preparing for a hurricane is hard enough as it is, but it's even more complicated when you have thousands of wild animals to protect and care for. While pet owners are generally urged to evacuate, zoos do not have that ability. For one, the stress of travel, especially a last-minute relocation, can harm and even kill many animals. Hurricanes also are not easily predictable. Relocating animals can end up putting them in greater danger, even if they do survive the evacuation process. By the time zookeepers are positive they're in the path of a hurricane, it's often too late to pack up the animals, enough food and bedding for an indeterminable amount of time, and any other necessities onto a truck and face the hundreds of miles of evacuation traffic. Therefore, zoos generally hunker down for the long haul when a natural disaster is predicted. So how do they protect thousands of animals from something as vicious as a hurricane?
By Chelsea Lynne7 years ago in Petlife
Mahopac Author and Conservationist Gives Voice to the World’s Big Cats. Top Story - September 2017.
As a child, animals put Alan Rabinowitz at ease. His misfiring neurons would follow suit and put his stuttering problem at bay. This opened an avenue for just about the only conversations had until he was 19, and yielded common cause with the recipients. The captive connection forged with the jaguars at the Bronx Zoo eventually propelled him to becoming one of the world’s leading big cat experts and author of numerous books. Among them is his latest—The Indomitable Beast.
By Rich Monetti7 years ago in Petlife
Shark Attacks
According to the International Shark Attack File, there are less than 1000 attacks a year by sharks on humans and only between 10 and 15 of these results in death. To put this into perspective, 1,000 are killed by crocodiles, 1,500 by tigers, leopards and lions and 60,000 from being bitten by a snake. According to the Florida Museum of Natural History, people kill between 20 and 30 million sharks a year in sport and commercial fishing, putting some species of shark on the endangered list.
By Clare Scanlan7 years ago in Petlife
Ocean Habitats
From microscopic plankton to the largest whale, the ocean has a greater variety of plants and animals than any other environment in the many different habitats it provides. Because our planet looks blue from outer space it has earned the nickname “the blue planet." 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water and 96% of this water is salt water making up the oceans that cover the planet all merging into each other to form the biggest habitat on earth.
By Clare Scanlan7 years ago in Petlife