Robber fly - Nature photographer Thomas Shahan specializes in amazing portraits of tiny insects. It isn't easy. Shahan says that this Robber Fly (Holcocephala fusca), for instance, is "skittish" and doesn't like its picture taken.

Nature by Numbers (Video)

"The Greater Akashic System" – July 15, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) (Subjects: Lightworkers, Intent, To meet God, Past lives, Universe/Galaxy, Earth, Pleiadians, Souls Reincarnate, Invention: Measure Quantum state in 3D, Recalibrates, Multi-Dimensional/Divine, Akashic System to change to new system, Before religion changed the system, DNA, Old system react to Karma, New system react to intent now for next life, Animals (around humans) reincarnate again, This Animal want to come back to the same human, Akashic Inheritance, Reincarnate as Family, Other Planets, Global Unity … etc.)

Question: Dear Kryon: I live in Spain. I am sorry if I will ask you a question you might have already answered, but the translations of your books are very slow and I might not have gathered all information you have already given. I am quite concerned about abandoned animals. It seems that many people buy animals for their children and as soon as they grow, they set them out somewhere. Recently I had the occasion to see a small kitten in the middle of the street. I did not immediately react, since I could have stopped and taken it, without getting out of the car. So, I went on and at the first occasion I could turn, I went back to see if I could take the kitten, but it was to late, somebody had already killed it. This happened some month ago, but I still feel very sorry for that kitten. I just would like to know, what kind of entity are these animals and how does this fit in our world. Are these entities which choose this kind of life, like we do choose our kind of Human life? I see so many abandoned animals and every time I see one, my heart aches... I would like to know more about them.

Answer: Dear one, indeed the answer has been given, but let us give it again so you all understand. Animals are here on earth for three (3) reasons.

(1) The balance of biological life. . . the circle of energy that is needed for you to exist in what you call "nature."

(2) To be harvested. Yes, it's true. Many exist for your sustenance, and this is appropriate. It is a harmony between Human and animal, and always has. Remember the buffalo that willingly came into the indigenous tribes to be sacrificed when called? These are stories that you should examine again. The inappropriateness of today's culture is how these precious creatures are treated. Did you know that if there was an honoring ceremony at their death, they would nourish you better? Did you know that there is ceremony that could benefit all of humanity in this way. Perhaps it's time you saw it.

(3) To be loved and to love. For many cultures, animals serve as surrogate children, loved and taken care of. It gives Humans a chance to show compassion when they need it, and to have unconditional love when they need it. This is extremely important to many, and provides balance and centering for many.

Do animals know all this? At a basic level, they do. Not in the way you "know," but in a cellular awareness they understand that they are here in service to planet earth. If you honor them in all three instances, then balance will be the result. Your feelings about their treatment is important. Temper your reactions with the spiritual logic of their appropriateness and their service to humanity. Honor them in all three cases.

Dian Fossey's birthday celebrated with a Google doodle

Dian Fossey's birthday celebrated with a Google doodle
American zoologist played by Sigourney Weaver in the film Gorillas in the Mist would have been 82 on Thursday (16 January 2014)

Monday, July 7, 2008

Endangered orangutans might extinct unless urgent action is taken

EItb24.com, 07/05/2008


A recent survey by Wich and his 15 colleagues found the orangutan population on Indonesia's Sumatra island dropped nearly 14 percent since 2004 to 6,600. Orangutans could be extinct by 2011.


World's largest wild orangutan population to extinct in 3 years


Endangered orangutans could become the first great ape to become extinct if urgent action isn't taken to protect the species from human encroachment in Southeast Asia, a new study says.




An orangutan on Indonesia's Sumatra island. Photo: EFE


The number of orangutans in Indonesia and Malaysia has declined sharply since 2004, mostly because of illegal logging and the expansion of palm oil plantations, said Serge Wich, a scientist at the Great Ape Trust in the U.S. state of Iowa, on Saturday. 


A recent survey by Wich and his 15 colleagues found the orangutan population on Indonesia's Sumatra island dropped nearly 14 percent since 2004 to 6,600. No giant apes were found in parts of Aceh province. 


The study, which appears in this month's peer-reviewed science journal Oryx, discovered the population on Malaysia's Borneo island fell by 10 percent to 49,600 apes. "It's disappointing that there are still declines even though there have been quite a lot of conservation efforts over the past 30 years", Wich said. The orangutan losses on Borneo were occurring at an "alarming rate", and researchers described the situation on Sumatra as a "rapid decline". "Unless extraordinary efforts are made soon, it could become the first great ape species to go extinct", the researchers wrote. 


The study is the latest in a long line of research that has predicted the demise of orangutans, which are only found in Indonesia and Malaysia. In May, the Center for Orangutan Protection said just 20,000 of the endangered primates remain in the tropical jungle of Central Kalimantan on Borneo island, down from 31,300 in 2004. Based on that estimate it concluded orangutans there could be extinct by 2011. 


Rate of declining increasing 


Michelle Desilets, director of the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation UK, praised the new study as a comprehensive look at the orangutan population in an e-mail interview. Desilets was not involved in the research. "What matters is that the rate of decline is increasing, and unless something is done, the wild orangutan is on a quick spiral towards extinction, whether in two years, five years or 10 years", she said. 


Indonesia and Malaysia, the world's top palm oil producers, have aggressively pushed to expand plantations amid a rising demand for biofuels, which are considered cleaner burning and cheaper than petrol. Wich and his colleagues said there was room for "cautious optimism" that the orangutan could be saved. 


They noted that Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced a major initiative to save the nation's orangutans at a U.N. climate conference last year, and the Aceh governor declared a moratorium on logging. Coupled with that are expectations that Indonesia will protect millions of acres (hectares) of forest as part of any U.N. climate pact that will go into effect in 2012. The deal is expected to include measures that will reward tropical countries like Indonesia that halt deforestation. "There are promising signs that there is a lot of political will, especially in Aceh, to protect the forest", Wich said, adding however that much more needs to be done. 


In their paper, the researchers recommended that law enforcement be boosted to help reduce the hunting of orangutans for food and trade. Environmental awareness at the local level must also be increased. "It is essential that funding for environmental services reaches the local level and that there is strong law enforcement", the study says. "Developing a mechanism to ensure these occur is the challenge for the conservation of the orangutans".


Saturday, July 5, 2008

Bali produces environmentally friendly coffee beans

Denpasar, Bali Province, (ANTARA News) - Bali is determined to produce environmentally friendly coffee beans to meet demands internationally.

"Our farmers have been told to use manure and natural pesticides in coffee plantations," Head of the Bali plantation service Gede Ardhana said here on Saturday.

The coffee beans were meant for exports among other things to japan, France, and the United States, he said.

Bali has 31,831 hectares of coffee plantation areas, which consisted of coffea arabica (7,963 ha), and coffea robusca (23,878 ha).

In 2007, the plantations produced 15,647 tons of coffee beans, comprising 3,296 tons of arabica coffee beans and 12,351 tons of robusta coffee beans.

Bali earned US$78,704 from coffee exports at a volume of 7.8 tons last year, or an increase of 54 percent from US$50,838 and 5.6 tons in 2006.