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)

Sunday, July 26, 2020

Vietnam suspends wildlife trade as pandemic prods action

Yahoo – AFP, July 24, 2020

Vietnam, one of Asia's biggest consumers of wildlife products, has suspended
all imports of wild animal species "dead or alive" (AFP Photo/HOANG DINH NAM)

Vietnam, one of Asia's biggest consumers of wildlife products, has suspended all imports of wild animal species "dead or alive" and vowed to "eliminate" illegal markets across the country.

The directive signed by the leader of the Communist country follows an international scandal over the sale of wildlife, which has been blamed as the origin of the coronavirus pandemic in neighbouring China.

It is a major victory for conservation groups who have in the past accused Vietnamese authorities of turning a blind eye to the rampant trade in endangered species inside and across its borders.

"The prime minister orders the suspension of imports of wildlife -- dead or alive -- their eggs... parts or derivatives," said the order released Thursday on the government website.

Graphic on pangolins, the world's most heavily trafficked mammals (AFP Photo/AFP)

"All citizens, especially officials... must not participate in illegal poaching, buying, selling, transporting... of illegal wildlife."

Among the most frequently smuggled animal goods are tiger parts, rhino horn and pangolins used in traditional medicine.

Despite the high prices they command -- with ingredients trafficked from as far as Africa -- there is no scientific evidence of their health benefits in humans.

Vietnam locked down swiftly to dodge a major health crisis as COVID-19 emerged, but its economy has been hit hard.

The country will also "resolutely eliminate market and trading sites which trade wildlife illegally", the edict said -- warning of a crackdown on the poaching, trafficking, storing and advertising of animals, birds and reptiles.

It is a major victory for conservation groups who have in the past accused 
Vietnamese authorities of turning a blind eye to the rampant trade in 
endangered species (AFP Photo)

Anti-trafficking group Freeland hailed the move as the most stringent to control the wildlife trade since the pandemic broke out.

"Vietnam is to be congratulated for recognising that COVID-19 and other pandemics are linked to the wildlife trade," said Steven Glaster, its chairman.

"This trade must be banned as a matter of international and public health security," he added.

China, the world's biggest market for illegal wildlife products, has enacted a similar ban. Vietnam has gone further by taking aim at online sales and imposing an indefinite ban on the trade.

While welcoming the move, conservationists warn enforcement will be a challenge across a country with long porous borders and poorly paid officials who can be bent by cash.

Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Rare red panda born in Dutch safari park

DutchNews, July 14, 2020

An adult red panda Photo: Depositphotos

A rare red panda has been born at the Beekse Bergen safari park in Hilvarenbeek. 

In the wild only 2,500 of the animals are still alive, the park reports, but this newborn is doing well. 

‘We have every confidence that it will grow up,’ head of animal care Kris Jansen said. 

The mother panda was pregnant for four and a half months and the animal was born at the beginning of July. The zoo does not yet know if it is male or female. 

‘In its first period, the young panda is fragile and so we are leaving the mother and father and their son or daughter in peace,’ he added. ‘We disturb them as little as possible, don’t enter the nest and this is why we don’t know the gender of the newborn. Only after three months or so will the young come out of the nest.’ 

However, visitors to the zoo might catch a glimpse of the baby red panda if the mother is cleaning up the nest or temporarily away. Red pandas mostly live in mountainous forests in China near fast-flowing rivers, and eat bamboo, fruit and flowers. They grow to about 50 or 60 cm in height and weigh between three and six kilos, the safari park reports.


Friday, July 10, 2020

Cambodia's tourist hotspot bans dog meat trade

Yahoo – AFP, 8 July 2020

A dog sits in a cage next to a pit where the animals are drowned at a
slaughterhouse in Cambodia

The Cambodian tourist town of Siem Reap has banned the dog meat trade, a victory for animal rights campaigners who describe the area as the "lynchpin" of an industry that slaughters millions of creatures each year.

Dog meat, a cheap source of protein, is eaten in several Asian countries, including Cambodia, although it is much more popular in neighbouring Vietnam.

But animal rights group Four Paws has identified Siem Reap province -- home to the famed Angkor Wat temple complex -- as a hub for the trade within the kingdom, where they say three million dogs are butchered annually.

Siem Reap authorities announced a ban late Tuesday, with the provincial agricultural department saying the dog meat trade has descended into "anarchy" in recent years.

"It has caused the infection of rabies and other diseases from one region to another, which affects the public health," said the statement.

"The catching, buying, selling and slaughtering of dogs... will be punished severely."

The maximum penalty for dealing in dogs for slaughter as food is five years in prison, while fines range from 7-50 million riel ($1,700 to $12,200).

How the ban will be enforced remains to be seen, as Cambodia has long struggled with lax policing.

However, Four Paws on Wednesday hailed the decision to take out Siem Reap as a "lynchpin for the Cambodian dog meat trade".

"We hope that Siem Reap will serve as a model for the rest of the country to follow suit," said veterinarian Dr. Katherine Polak.

Their investigation last year found that the northern province served as a gateway for the trade, with roving dog catchers nabbing animals and selling them to over 20 dog meat restaurants in the tourist city.

Thousands are also transported each month to different parts of the country, including the capital Phnom Penh where there are still more than 100 restaurants.

On Wednesday, a streetside vendor in the capital continued to advertise dog meat on his menu, hawking barbecue dishes from $2.50 to $10 a kilogram.

Tourism to Cambodia has seized up due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Siem Reap draws the bulk of the kingdom's six million tourists, nearly half from China.

Thursday, July 9, 2020

Sri Lanka rangers spot possible rare baby elephant twins

Yahoo – AFP, July 8, 2020

The young tuskers - who rangers estimate are three to four weeks old - were
spotted in the Minneriya sanctuary in Sri Lanka (AFP Photo/SUMITH PILAPITIYA)

A pair of baby elephants feeding from the same mother have been spotted in a Sri Lankan national park, with officials speculating Wednesday the two could be a rare set of twins.

The young tuskers -- who rangers estimate are three to four weeks old -- were spotted in the Minneriya sanctuary about 200 kilometres (125 miles) north-east of Colombo, grazing with a herd of about a dozen elephants.

After observing the pair from a distance, officials are confident enough to "say they are twins," Department of Wildlife Conservation Director-General Tharaka Prasad told AFP.

The two were also photographed feeding from the same cow on Monday by renowned conservationist Sumith Pilapitiy, who also told AFP he believed the two were twins.

Rangers were carrying out DNA tests on the herd's dung to confirm, Prasad said.

If the results matched, it would mark the first time wildlife officials on the Indian Ocean island had sighted twins alongside their mother, he added.

The sighting was near the area where seven elephants died from poisoning in September, in an act blamed on local farmers.

Nearly 200 elephants are killed every year on the island, many by farmers after the pachyderms stray onto their land.

Marauding elephants kill an average of 50 people annually, mostly when they stray into villages near their habitat.

The country's elephant population has declined to just over 7,000 according to the latest census, down from an estimated 12,000 in the early 1900s.

Saturday, July 4, 2020

China aims to phase out sale of live poultry at food markets

Yahoo – AFP, July 3, 2020

The virus is believed to have emerged at a market that sold live animals
in the central city of Wuhan late last year (AFP Photo/Hector RETAMAL)

China on Friday vowed to gradually phase out the slaughter and sale of live poultry at food markets, in a move welcomed by animal rights activists amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement came as China stepped up inspections of wholesale food markets and outlawed the sale and consumption of wildlife, after a recent COVID-19 outbreak in Beijing was traced to a major agricultural wholesale market.

The virus is believed to have emerged at a market that sold live animals in the central city of Wuhan late last year.

"China will restrict the trading and slaughter of live poultry, encourage the mass slaughter of live poultry in places with certain conditions, and gradually close live poultry markets," said Chen Xu, an official at the State Administration of Market Regulation, at a press briefing.

Live poultry kept in cages is a common sight in agricultural wholesale food markets and "wet markets" -- smaller-scale fresh food markets -- across China.

The poultry is traditionally butchered on the spot by stallholders, or buyers can opt to slaughter the live animal at home.

Some Chinese people traditionally believe that this allows for maximum freshness. Live seafood, amphibians and other creatures are also commonly sold at wet markets.

Scientists believe the pathogen originated in bats before jumping to humans through a yet-unknown animal intermediary.

Chen urged local governments across China to "strengthen supervision of food safety at agricultural wholesale markets" and "investigate hidden safety risks", taking the Beijing Xinfadi market virus hotspot as an example.

"It is understood that more than 70 percent of meat, poultry, seafood, fruit and vegetables enter the market through wholesale agricultural markets," he said.

There are more than 4,100 wholesale markets nationwide, a commerce ministry official told the briefing.

The announcement was welcomed by animal rights groups.

"We are happy to see that live-poultry markets are on their way out in China," said Jason Baker, senior vice president of PETA Asia.

"PETA hopes the State Administration of Market Supervision and Administration continues to stretch their wings and ban all live-animal markets nationwide."