HOLLYWOOD SUPERSTAR AND ACTIVIST LEONARDO DICAPRIO GIVES $43 MILLION TO SAVE GALÁPAGOS ISLAND WILDLIFE
By Katie Valentine | May 27, 2021
Image Credit: Flickr/SaraYeomansHollywood actor and activist Leonardo DiCaprio has generously pledged $43 million to help save critically endangered wildlife in the Galápagos Islands.
Re:wild, an organization founded by DiCaprio and a group of renowned conservation scientists, is partnering with the Galápagos National Park Directorate, Island Conservation, and local communities to carry out the initiative. Supporting partners also include the Charles Darwin Foundation and Ecuador’s Ministry of Environment and Water.
Life-saving projects will focus on the restoration of Floreana Island and a captive breeding program to prevent the pink iguana from going extinct, as well as the reintroduction of 13 locally extinct species, including the Floreana mockingbird and giant tortoise.
Describing the Galápagos Islands as “one of the most irreplaceable places on the planet,” DiCaprio said he was excited about contributing to “the long-standing effort to protect and restore these iconic islands, alongside the team at Re:wild.”
“Around the world, the wild is declining,” he said. “We have degraded three-quarters of the wild places and pushed more than one million species to the brink of extinction. More than half of Earth’s remaining wild areas could disappear in the next few decades if we don’t decisively act.”
Situated 600 miles off the Ecuadorian coast, the Galápagos Islands are one of the planet’s hardest-hit places when it comes to the ill effects of climate change, a topic that DiCaprio addressed at a United Nations meeting in 2014.
As sea levels and temperatures continue to rise, experts predict more frequent and intense “El Niño” events, where warm waters cause increased flooding in some areas, that could wreak havoc on the islands’ already fragile biodiversity.
Major commitments like DiCaprio’s are a critical component in the race against the clock to save unique Galápagos ecosystems and species from disappearing forever.
NEARLY 70 BIG CATS RESCUED IN RAID FROM ‘TIGER KING PARK’
By Holly Mills | June 5, 2021
Image via FlickrNearly 70 tigers and other big cats are no longer suffering in captivity at the ‘Tiger King Park’ in Oklahoma after federal authorities raided and seized the animals.
Jeff Lowe — star of the notorious Netflix docuseries Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness — owned and operated the park, which never opened to the public and now thankfully never will. He moved the big cats to the new location in Oklahoma after shutting down the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park — previously owned by Joe Exotic of Tiger King fame — in August.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) started a case against Jeff Lowe and his wife Lauren after reports surfaced of inhumane treatment and illegal breeding of the big cats on their property, in violation of the Endangered Species Act and Animal Welfare Act.
Investigators found several cases of abuse and neglect at the park — including Nala, a depressed and emaciated lion cub, who was so lethargic she couldn’t even stand up. She also had noticeable injuries on her ears, eyes, and nose, and a veterinary exam found she was also suffering from dehydration, a urinary tract infection, fleas, parasites, and fly strikes — a painful condition where flies continuously bite at animals’ open wounds and lay their eggs inside them.
The helpless lion cub, who has now been transferred to a sanctuary to live her life in peace, will forever live with chronic fracture and lameness due to severe malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies, according to the DOJ. As horrible as Nala’s injuries were, she was just one of the many animals found to be suffering under the “care” of the Lowes. While United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) revoked Lowe’s animal exhibit license after the investigation, he continued to keep, breed, and exhibit big cats, often giving tours to film crews while Lauren charged viewers for virtual visits with the cats via her OnlyFans account.
Of the nearly 70 big cats rescued by federal authorities in the most recent raid, at least two were pregnant.
When born into captivity, cubs are usually ripped from their mothers at early ages and forced to interact with park visitors for petting and photo opportunities. The big cat industry is big business in America, and despite its inherent cruelty, remains largely legal.
“When cubs grow too large to be handled by the public, some end up in accredited zoos and sanctuaries, but most endure poor living conditions in backyards and unaccredited facilities, lacking proper nutrition, housing, and veterinary care,” said Elizabeth Brentano, of BBC’s Discover Wildlife. “Worse yet, some disappear, and with the loopholes in current U.S. legislation and a lack of records, it is impossible to know where they go.”
Live is a bit difficult at times!!
Best wishes Celia, hope it goes well for you.
These are called Leaf Sheep, they are slugs, how amazing is nature!!
It's behind you! Hilarious moment sneaky whale pops up behind sightseers as they look the wrong way 
The group were pictured off the coast of Mexico waiting patiently with their cameras poised, but very nearly missed the spectacular encounter by looking the wrong way while the whale was less than a foot from their boat. Fortunately, the sightseers turned around in their boat just in the nick of time to spot the huge humpback whale, before she disappeared back into the ocean's depths. The whale watchers' near-miss was captured by director and photographer, Eric J Smith during a trip to San Ignacio Lagoon, in Baja California Peninsula, Mexico. In his photograph after the whale was spotted, One woman standing on the boat is shown throwing her arms into the air to celebrate, while the other sightseers sit open mouthed in surprise and click away on their cameras.
Here Celia, have a chocolate frog to cheer you up!
In the “nasty” swamps of New Guinea, a frog specialist has discovered a new species which he decided to call the “chocolate frog.”
Far from the fugitive confectionaries containing famous witch or wizard trading cards from the Harry Potter series, the real thing is a close relative of the Australian green tree frog, only coated in a chocolate brown skin.
Steve Richard’s home of South Australia can be a paradise, but the same can’t necessarily be said for the environment he decided to work in. New Guinea is covered in dense jungle and mangrove swamp. It’s one of the least-explored jungles on Earth, and filled with poisonous plants and animals.
Nevertheless, despite nightmarish conditions, Richards has discovered 200 frog species in its depths.
The chocolate frog, or Litoria mira, was found by Richards and his team in 2016, but analysis had to be given time to stack up before it was confirmed that, rather than being a population that migrated to New Guinea somehow, L. mira was its very own species.
Part of the difficulty is that Australian green tree frogs have been known to both exist in New Guinea and turn brown. But subtle difficulties helped the herpetologists make the call, including small patches of lavender skin around the eyes, and the fact that the chocolate frog was a bit smaller.
Queensland Museum Network Profiled by The Guardian, Richard’s explains that he accidentally disturbed an overhanging nest of giant hornets during the course of collecting the frog specimens, and had to sprint in order to escape the insects’ wrath.
“…It took so long to find this frog,” he told the British newspaper. “It’s swampy, it’s spiky, there are lots of malaria-carrying mozzies, it floods, there are crocodiles and not many roads. It’s a really unpleasant place to work.”
You definitely cheeered up my day
... appparently it is the closest relative of the Australian green tree frog.
Does the US have a pet tiger problem? - BBC News