April 28, 2019

Bobcat Who Survived California Wildfire Now Mom to 4 Kittens

The devastating Woolsey wildfire in Southern California last fall burned nearly 100,000 acres, destroying most of the habitat of the bobcats, mountain lions and other wildlife that live in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Almost 90 percent of the acreage in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA), a unit of the National Park Service, burned during the fire, the most damage it’s endured in recorded history.

Amazingly, 12 of 13 mountain lions that SMMNRA biologists had tagged survived the fire, but burn injuries apparently later led to the death of P-64, a mountain lion who’d gained fame by successfully crossing busy Los Angeles area freeways at least 40 times.

Much more fortunate than P-64 is a female bobcat known as B-362. In eerie timing, biologists in Thousand Oaks tagged her just one day before the Woolsey fire started on Nov. 8, 2018. B-362 not only managed to survive the wildfire that obliterated her habitat, but she was able to find a new home not far away in Westlake Village—in a rather unlikely place, however.

Using very-high-frequency radio telemetry and GPS information from B-362?s collar, SMMNRA biologists were able to locate the bobcat earlier this month, deep in the vegetation of a large residential backyard. B-362 wasn’t alone there. She had recently given birth to a healthy litter of four kittens.

“She chose a den in thick brush where she could keep her kittens safe,” Joanne Moriarty, a biologist who hass studied bobcats in SMMNRA for over 15 years, said in a news release.

https://www.care2.com/causes/bobcat-who-survived-california-wildfire-now-mom-to-4-kittens.html

One bright spot in so much tragedy. Much more squee at link.

April 23, 2019

Dog trying to help beached fish

What do you think? How does he know fish need water?

April 15, 2019

The MasSpec Pen Can Detect Cancer By Touch

Livia S. Eberlin, chemistry professor at the University of Texas at Austin, led a team of scientists and engineers in developing a tool called the MasSpec Pen which rapidly and accurately identifies cancer in real time during surgery.

April 15, 2019

When Love Came to Town---BB King and U2

April 12, 2019

47 Neglected Animals Saved From War-Torn Zoo in Gaza

Rescuers from Four Paws are celebrating what is their largest mission yet with the removal of 47 neglected animals from a war-torn zoo in Gaza.

The Rafah Zoo, which opened in 1999 in the southernmost part of Gaza, has since become known as the “Zoo of Sorrows” because of the tragic conditions animals there live in. Sadly for the zoo’s many residents, they’ve been kept in inappropriate enclosures, and have been lacking food and veterinary care, both of which have taken a serious toll on their psychological and physical health.

While the zoo has been on the radar for some time, it recently come under increasing fire after four lion cubs froze to death in January, and a young lioness later had her claws barbarically removed with garden shears so visitors could play with her. According to Four Paws, the zoo’s owner claimed to have amputated the leg of an injured fox with a circular saw himself, and announced more male lions would also be ruthlessly declawed so they could interact with visitors.

Tragically, many have died there as a result of conflict in the area and a lack of care.

Now, however, the suffering of the survivors has finally come to an end and they’re all starting new lives. Although the rescue mission was delayed due to escalating violence and border closures, 47 animals have been safely evacuated by rescuers.




https://www.care2.com/causes/47-neglected-animals-saved-from-war-torn-zoo-in-gaza.html

April 9, 2019

Down On The Farm

As I've posted previously, I lost both of my older mares last month. I lost both of my baby mini-donkeys in Feb. 2019 sucked so far.

My older gelding was also devastated by the loss of his girls. So lonely. So, I found him a new buddy.

This is Rhett, a miniature horse, an Appaloosa, about 12 yrs old. He's about the same size as the two adult mini-donkeys--TINY. He came from W. Virginia, thru a local rescue here in KY. He was confiscated in a drug bust, with a regular sized horse. Both were in a 12x12 dog kennel, and quite thin.

He's still filling out, and a little skittish yet, but seems to be settling in. Beau, the big guy, has definitely perked back up.


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Baby Kami, that I've also posted about before, continues to win friends. Growing like a weed, and has learned to eat cookies.

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April 8, 2019

People With Albinism Are Being Killed for Body Parts in Malawi

Albinism is a rare condition that results in a person’s body producing little to no melanin pigment. People with the condition may have visual impairment and skin sensitivity. But for people with albinism in Malawi, the condition may also put them at risk of being killed for their body parts.

People with albinism living in Malawi have been abducted, killed and mutilated for their body parts due to the belief that they have magical powers and can bring good luck and wealth.

People with albinism also face other dangerous misconceptions, such as the belief that they are a curse from the gods and that the condition is contagious, according to an Amnesty International report. And women with albinism are at an increased risk of sexual assault and rape due to the belief that having sex with a person with albinism can cure AIDS.

Although people with albinism make up a small portion of the country’s population, the killings still represent a grave human rights issue. Amnesty International estimates between 7,000 and 10,000 people have albinism in Malawi. And according to a United Nations report, 150 cases of killings, attacks and other violations against people with albinism have been reported in the country since 2014. Victims are mostly children or young adults. And these attacks likely do not represent every instance of violence against people with albinism — as many cases could go unreported.

Victims of this violence face gruesome deaths — in part because it is believed that causing the victim to scream during the killing enhances the magical powers, according to the United Nations. Illustrating this horrific practice, a man with albinism named Yasin Phiri recently was brutally killed in front of his 9-year-old son. The attackers stabbed him in the stomach, cut off his arms and removed his intestines.



Jeez! This is a new one on me.

April 5, 2019

Comment: What do we do after Trump has been forced out of office?

From Socialjusticeamerican

Donald Trump demonizes Muslims.

Donald Trump demonizes Latinos.

Donald Trump demonizes rape victims.

Donald Trump demonizes Hillary Clinton.

Donald Trump demonizes immigrants.

Donald Trump demonizes scientists.

Donald Trump demonizes professional athletes who protest institutionalized racism.

Donald Trump demonizes CNN, NBC, MSNBC, the Washington Post, the New York Times and most of the American Mainstream Media.

I’ve had face-to-face conversations with people about Trump’s hate-filled rallies, hate-filled tweets and hate-filled interviews, and I’ve been told that I worry too much. I’ve been told that Trump will be out of the White House in 2021 and the hatred, ignorance and cruelty will be over.

It will be over?

I’m sorry, but the hatred, ignorance and cruelty didn’t begin with Trump. Trump is like a fever caused by sepsis. He’s a symptom of a much greater problem.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/4/5/1847969/-What-do-we-do-after-Trump-has-been-forced-out-of-office?detail=emaildkre

April 5, 2019

Beached East Coast Dolphins Show Signs of Alzheimer's Disease

Could the toxins in our oceans’ blue-green algae blooms—which have been increasing due to global warming—be a cause of Alzheimer’s disease?

University of Miami researchers who examined the brains of dolphins that had beached themselves in Massachusetts and Florida have published a new study that ponders this question. (No dolphins were killed for the study, thank goodness.)

Of the 14 dolphin brains they studied, 13 contained plaques of the protein beta amyloid, which has also been found in the brains of humans who died of Alzheimer’s disease. The dolphins’ brains also contained high levels of the algae toxin BMAA.

The researchers found that ongoing exposure to BMAA can lead to Alzheimer’s-like abnormal protein accumulations, called neurofibrillary tangles, in the brains of dolphins. These tangles cause brain cells to stop functioning and eventually die. The researchers are now looking into whether BMAA causes or accelerates these tangles.

https://www.care2.com/causes/beached-east-coast-dolphins-show-signs-of-alzheimers-disease.html