Happy 2012:International Year of the Bat!

Well we have just passed the year 2011 and now are into 2012 according to my watch. This means that we are officially in the United Nations sanctioned "Year of the Bat". How many of you knew that 2012 was "Year of the Bat"? How many of you realize how important bats are?

The United Nations has created a special website for the "Year of the Bat",  which you can access by clicking on the following link:

http://www.yearofthebat.org/

Be sure to bookmark the page as there is so much interesting information at the site and I am sure the content will be updated throughout the year!

To test your knowledge of bats you can take a short quiz at this website. I missed  one question on the  the test I am sure you will do better than I did! http://www.yearofthebat.org/get-involved/bat-quiz/

Did you know that Bats are the only flying mammal? If you didn't then I can tell you did not visit the website above as this fact is mentioned on the first page of the website.I hope you chose to get involved in this the "International Year of the Bat". In doing so you can help bats because as a life form they are in trouble! <:(

"Like us, bats are warm-blooded, give birth, and suckle their young. They are also long-lived, intelligent, and have complex social lives. Although they're often called flying mice, bats are not closely related to mice but form a special group of their own: the Chiroptera. Bats have developed a highly sophisticated echolocation system that allows them to catch tiny insects and avoid obstacles, even in complete darkness. When they're flying, bats produce a stream of high-pitched squeaks and listen to the echoes to produce a sound picture of their surroundings.. They can live over 25 years in the wild - a remarkable feat for an animal weighing less than 10 grams! Perhaps this is because they spend more than half their lives asleep."
   (source:http://www.snh.org.uk/publications/on-line/wildlife/batsandpeople/default.asp )








Why should you be concerned about the bats on our Planet?

Firstly, Bats eat millions of harmful and disease-caring insects every day. Secondly, bats help fertilize plants and spread new growth of vegetation by their daily activities.Thirdly , Because bats are sensitive to high pollution and pesticide levels, they are useful as a warning sign to potential environmental problems. Fruit-eating bats in the tropics disperse seeds that are critical to restoring cleared or damaged rainforests. To read more about the benefits which bats bring to our World please visit:

http://www.batcon.org/index.php/all-about-bats/intro-to-bats/subcategory/18.html

By the way do you know what kind of bat is pictured above?


The bat  pictured above is a "fruit bat".
Source of image:http://www.mpg.de/de

Here are some interesting  and important websites about bats:

How to help bats:
http://www.batrescue.org/helpbats/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat

http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/bats/index.htm (for children)


The Bat Conservation Society of Canada:
http://www.cancaver.ca/bats/canada.htm

Strategies for co-existing with Bats:

http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/FW/2ColumnSubPage/290050.html

How Bats Work: http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/zoology/mammals/bat.htm

Please help bats this year and every year! They are important members of the World and they deserve and have a right to be here! They are not the vicious animals that Hollywood erroneously portrays them as!
Lastly I found these interesting videos about bats which I hope you can watch at some time during the year of 2012! Thank you!

Here is a video which talks about the importance of  bats, white-nose syndrome and other facts about bats:







If you are a parent or educator I am sure your child or students will love this video:

Save the Bats of this World by educating your friends and family about them and their important roles in our World!

Duet of the Ninjas

Keith Medley and his amazing 27 string guitar!!

Today, December 10th, is a day which has been established in our planet to recognized and remember the tragic deaths and murders of animals on our Planet. This day is officially known as "International Animal Rights Day." 

As stated at the website, "Uncaged:Protecting Animals

"The annual International Animal Rights Day (IARD) - 10th December - aims to remember the animal victims of human tyranny and call for the recognition of our Universal Declaration of Animal Rights (UDAR). The goal of this historic campaign is to build on the recognition of human rights, and persuade humanity that kindness and respect is due to all sentient creatures. Click here to find out how what you can do to support International Animal Rights Day."

"Thousands of animal rights supporters across the world hold candlelit vigils and other inspiring events to mark the 13th annual IARD. Ethical pioneers united to remember the billions of animals subjected to deliberate cruelty and killing across the world every year. This coordinated global day of action has intensified calls for the recognition of the rights of all sentient beings to life, liberty and natural enjoyment."

 "Based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), signed by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10th 1948, the UDAR seeks protection of similar rights for animals calling for an end to "exploitation or oppression in the name of science or sport, or for use as food, for commercial profit or for other human ends".

"International Animal Rights Day and the UDAR were launched on December 10th 1998, 50 years to the day after the UDHR was agreed. "

Source: http://www.bloggersunite.org/event/international-animal-rights-day

The official website for this day is: http://internationalanimalrightsday.org/ where it is stated:

"This day is an opportunity to remind society that freedom, justice and dignity are inclusive terms, since suffering and the desire to live are not confined to a particular race, sex, social position... or species."

What can you do to help animals on this day (and on all days of the year for that matter!): As stated by one person at the website:

http://www.national-awareness-days.com/international-animal-rights-day.html


"Start with something little and together we'll soon be making a huge difference!" I am sure you can think of some way that you can help an animals or animals in the remaining  hours of December 10th, 2011. If you cannot do it today, then promise yourself and our animal friends that you will think of something to do to help animals as soon as you can! Are you  willing to commit to your promise on my blog? I hope so, because I love animals and I am going to make sure I do something to help an animal which lives around me,today or as soon as possible. Thank you!

I believe one of the best things that we humans can do is to allow all animals on this planet to have rights. At the present time in our World, many humans are killing, harming or exploiting animals on a daily basis. If animals had rights, then they  would be protected from humans that for some reason think they can do anything they want to animals. It is a scientific fact that many humans who harm animals in some way or form:(ie injure,kill or imprison against the will of the animal), often end up harming a human or a human being in some way in the future in a serious way! <:( As stated by an expert of criminal behavior:

"Acts of cruelty to animals are not mere indications of a minor personality flaw in the abuser; they are symptomatic of a deep mental disturbance. Research in psychology and criminology shows that people who commit acts of cruelty to animals don’t stop there—many of them move on to their fellow humans. “Murderers ... very often start out by killing and torturing animals as kids,” says Robert K. Ressler, who developed profiles of serial killers for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)." source:Daniel Goleman, “Experts See Parallels Between Dahmer, Previous Serial Killers,” New York Times News Service, 11 Aug. 1991.



Source of image:http://www.veggies.org.uk/img/pics/SARP.gif

Marine predators in global free fall: UBC fisheries study

To read an article entitled, "Marine predators in global free fall: UBC fisheries study

please click on the highlighted words in the sentence above this one.

What I find appalling about this article is the following:

"In areas of the North Atlantic and North Pacific, fishing has led to a 90-per-cent decrease in top predators since the 1950s, and the impacts are now headed south of the Equator."


This statistic is both appalling and disgusting! Human ignorance is reaching new heights on a daily basis. Sure people will say, well back then we did not have the scientific knowledge we have now...etc...etc, but still, surely
someone must have seen these predators disappearing before now, why has it taken so long to discern this fact from the available data. Who is to blame? Well surely people in the fishing industry are, and scientists must also be held accountable for their lack of  apparent scientific data on ocean predators in this part of  the World. The question is what are we humans going to do about our awful behavior in the present and future?

I know for a fact that many of these ocean predators were caught in the nets of fisherman, and their carcasses were simply discarded as by-catch by these fisherman! Fisherman and Fishing industries have been selfishly catching anything and everything that moves using  bottom trawling (see:http://www.grida.no/publications/rr/in-dead-water/page/1251.aspx ) and other methods."Traps set for marine organisms can cause damage to hard corals, soft corals, and sponges. They may also result in bycatch and "ghost fishing" (fishing gear that continues to catch fish even though it has been lost or discarded). Both commercial and recreational fishing contributes to anchor damage on coral reefs. Furthermore, groundings of fishing vessels have significantly damaged certain reefs." (source: http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/visions/coral/side3.html ).

One other type of fishing which  has been extremely destructive to fish and other marine life is known as, "Factory Fishing". This refers to "Fishing ships "(which) "use state-of-the-art technology to target one species of fish at a time, until that population collapses, and then they turn to another species for profit."
(source:http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/oceans/threats/factory-fishing/ ).

Clearly if there has been a 90 percent decrease in the top -predators in the sea since the 1950's this is a very dangerous condition  for another reason, that being the fact that the fish and animals known as "producers" must have had their populations increase in numbers in great quantities due to lack of predators of these animals. As stated in a previous blog post of mine, if these producers overpopulate the oceans, all the life on the planet may be in jeopardy because these producers will consume all the phytoplankton and other microscopic life in the oceans. This will be a serious problem because these phytoplankton are responsible for creating much of the  the oxygen for life on the planet to breathe!!  To explain this further I found the following information regarding the Marine food chain.



The marine food chain
"Phytoplankton are at the base of the food chain, they are very simple forms of life stimulated by light and nutrients in the water to grow and multiply.

The second level of the food chain is Zooplankton such as the tiny shrimp-like krill, which abound in Antarctic waters. Animal plankton "graze" on the phytoplankton.

The Zooplankton is in turn are eaten by invertebrates, such as squid, and small fish like pilchards and sprats. At the fourth level are the most spectacular hunters, the pelagic fish like tuna, kahawai and kingfish. Streamlined for speed, these fish move in large schools, some migrating many thousands of kilometres each year.

This "mako shark" is among the predators at the top of the marine food chain

At the very top of this branch of the food chain are marine mammals such as dolphins and seals, sharks and humans.
Also connected to the food chain are the bottom dwellers. Life on the sea bed in the continental shelf regions is fed a constant drizzle of dead and decaying matter from the upper levels. This supports a complex community of plant and animal life and bacteria, which is fed upon by bottom feeding, or demersal fish, and species such as rock lobster.
The bacteria on the sea bed perform an essential role by breaking down organic matter and unlocking nutrients which can then be released into the water for re-use by a new generation of plankton. "

Source:http://www.tbc.school.nz/elearning/localsites/starfish/shared-graphics-for-download/ocean-foodchain.gif

Clearly the Oceans of this Planet are in trouble, and because of this fact, all life in the Oceans and all life on the land and in the air on our planet is also threatened! Five  threats (all of which can be at least partially if not  totally blamed on Humans and our behavior)   which are responsible for our oceans being in trouble are outlined and  discussed at the following website:

http://saveourseas.com/threats

Please take the time to visit this website and learn what you can do as an individual and as a member of a group, to stop these five threats from becoming too severe in nature!! Thank you!

To learn more about the implications concerning the loss of predators in the Marine food chains of this Planet please visit these websites by clicking on their addresses: (note at least  two require you have a program that can read PDF files on your computer before you can access them):

1. "Effects of Losing Top Predators": .http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/Protecting_ocean_life/Top_predator_loss_RSR_FINAL.pdf

2."Predators as Prey: Why Healthy Oceans need sharks":  http://na.oceana.org/sites/default/files/o/fileadmin/oceana/uploads/Sharks/Predators_as_Prey_FINAL_FINAL.pdf

3."Sea Creatures make a healthy ocean planet, air included 
– another “inconvenient truth?”:  http://www.fisherycrisis.com/CO2/predators.htm

4.Loss of Top Animal Predators has Massive Ecological Effects:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110714142133.htm

5.The Grazers and Predators: http://marinebio.org/oceans/grazers-predators.asp

6.Loss of Large Predators Has Caused Widespread Disruption of Ecosystems : http://scrippsnews.ucsd.edu/Releases/?releaseID=1179

7."Scientists Decry Loss Of Big Ocean Predators": http://www.rense.com/general67/decry.htm

8. Loss of World's Top Predators Is Pervasively Changing Ecosystems: http://www.livescience.com/15051-apex-top-predators-loss-food-chain-ecosystem.html

9. Sharks' role in the oceans:
http://www.sharksavers.org/en/education/why-sharks-are-important/710-sharks-role-in-the-oceans.html

10. Habitat Loss: http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/campaigns/climate-and-energy/archive/background/threats/global-melting/sea-level-rise/habitat-loss/

11. Overfishing threatening Ocean predators: http://www.globalanimal.org/2011/02/28/overfishing-threatening-oceans-predators/31375/