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Red-tailed Purgatory

Here's a picture of a Red-tailed Hawk I took back in April while visiting the Wildlife World Zoo and Aquarium in Phoenix/Litchfield Park. I'd forgotten all about it - maybe I was blocking the memories from my mind. Looking at it now makes me feel like crying:

It was actually part of a riparian/mountain stream display because underneath it was a big bubbly water tank filled with rocks and rainbow trout. I'm sure the hawk was there to represent the top predator in the food chain or something. Hungry bird up high, trout fish below. Something like that.

The only problem was that the display was indoors with only a weak spotlight illuminating the dark, dank corner of the room where the Red-tailed was tied to its perch by both feet. It was obviously stressed by all the visitors streaming past and the camera flashes going off. Every few seconds it would reach down with its beak and try to remove the restraints.

Hopefully the bird's handler had just stepped out to the bathroom and the situation wasn't really what it looked like. To me it appeared that the bird had been placed there as a fixed part of the display, much as you'd fasten a stuffed bird in a diorama. It had no visible access to water and being unsupervised it might've been seriously injured if it had lost its perch on that branch.

As a birder, seeing this magnificent creature trapped in such a horrible, unnatural environment ruined the rest of the visit for me. Even if this wasn't what it appeared I doubt if I'll return to this zoo/aquarium.

The Polar Bear's Age-old Adversary

A couple days ago Michael Markarian of the Humane Society of the US's Animals and Politics blog posted a great article on the Humane Society's efforts to block legislation that would allow the importation of sport-hunted polar bear trophies (hides, heads, etc) from Canada. The crux of the matter seems be that since the 2008 listing of polar bears under the Endangered Species Act some "Great White Hunter"-types who'd rushed in at the last minute were unable to get their trophies home in time. The window closed and now there's apparently some 40+ dead bears sitting in cold storage that Safari Club International members want to bring back to the US so they can display them in their offices or some such barbaric nonsense.

They're now trying to use their political influence through lobbying groups (i.e. Safari Club International) to get the laws relaxed so the dead bears can be imported. If they get what they want we may see the same kind of poaching and black market trading in bear parts that Africa is dealing with in elephant ivory. It's all rather slimy and very, very sad, especially when you realize that through previous hunting and accelerating climate change we could soon be living in a world without polar bears. They could go out forever.

According to Michael's data, polar bear trophy imports more than doubled in 2007 to 112 kills vs the previous year's 52. In the previous fifteen years there were some 900 bears imported, or about 60 kills per year. So, basically, they knew the jig was about up so these bastards collectively ramped up their hunts to get those last few bears in before it was game over.

Think about that for a second. The polar bear was about to be listed as an endangered species because their populations had declined so precipitously that the species as a whole could go extinct. The trophy hunters knew this and instead of voluntarily giving up the hunt to help save them they ratcheted up the killing. And now they even have the gall to claim that hunting the bears helps preserve them. What the hell kind of twisted logic is that?

I guess this sort of behavior shouldn't be surprising, though. Polar bears have been on the receiving end of this kind of blood-lust since time immemorial. When I read Michael's blog posts I immediately recognized the mentality he and the Humane Society were dealing with. Just days prior I'd read the following account in Derrick Jensen's endgame where one Captain George Cartwright, the famous 18th century English explorer and trader in early Newfoundland, recounts his (Cartwright's, not Jensen's) exploits:

About half a mile upriver, I came to a very strong shoot of water, from thence I saw several white-bears fishing in the stream above. I waited for them, and in a short time, a bitch with a small cub swam close to the other shore, and landed a little below. The bitch immediately went into the woods, bu the cub sat down upon a rock, when I sent a ball through it, at the distance of over a hundred and twenty yeards at the least, and knocked it over; but getting up again it crawled into the woods, where I heard it crying mournfully and concluded that it could not long survive.

The report of my gun brought some others down, and another she bear, with a cub of eighteen months old, came swimming close under me. I shot the bitch through the head and killed her dead. The cub perceiving this and getting sight of me made at me with great ferocity; but just as the creature was about to revenge the death of his dam, I saluted him with a load of large shot in his right eye, which not only knocked that out, but also made him close the other. He no sooner was able to keep his left eye open, then he made at me again, quite mad with rage and pain; but when he came to the foot of the bank, I gave him another salute with the other barrel, and blinded him most completely; his whole head was then entirely covered with blood. He blundered into the woods; knocking his head against every rock and tree that he met with.

I now perceived that two others had just landed about sixty yards above me, and were fiercely looking round them. The bears advanced a few yards to the edge of the woods, and the old one was looking sternly at me. The danger of firing at her I kndw was great, as she was seconded by a cub of eighteen months; but I could not resist the temptation.

[he then moves on to another part of the river]

I had not sat there long, ere my attention was diverted to an enormous, old, dog bear, which came out of some alder bushes on my right and was walking slowly towards me, with his eyes fixed on the ground, and his nose not far from it. I rested my elbows, and in that position suffered him to come within five yards of me before I drew the trigger; when I placed my ball in the centre of his skull, and killed him dead: but as the shore was flat reclining rock, he rolled around until he fell into the river.

On casting my eyes around, I perceived another beast of equal size, raised half out of the water.... I crept through the bushes until I came opposite to him, and interrupted his repast, by sending a ball through his head; it entered a little above his left eye, went out at the root of his right ear, and knocked him over, he then appeared to be in the agonies of death for some time; but at last recovered sufficiently to land on my side of the river, and to stagger into the woods.

Never in my life did I regret the want of ammunition so much as on this day; as I was by the failure interrupted in the finest sport that man ever had. I am certain, that I could with great ease have killed four or five brace more.

A "brace" is a pair (i.e. two), so Cartwright is actually bragging that if he hadn't run out of ammunition he could have killed eight or ten more bears. From this 18th century account it's plain to see that the polar bear has long been aquainted with "the finest sport that man ever had". The Safari Club International and their members are really just the modern incarnations of Captain Cartwright. Except now they're armed with high-powered semi-automatic rifles equipped with long-range scopes, snowmobiles, and helicopters.

This ancient and savage "sport" is what the polar bear is really up against. It's what it's always been up against. Even if we somehow get our collective heads out of our asses and do something about global climate change the polar bear's future will still have to face this mindless, violent facet of mankind's psyche.

Horned Lizard - Up Close!

I'm still getting the hang of using my Canon SX10 IS super-zoom camera and it seems like every time I go out I find some new use for it. Usually I'm using it to get closer to something far away. But sometimes having a powerful zoom comes in handy for photographing subjects that are small but not very distant. A good example is this baby horned lizard sunning itself on a rock.

From the other side (a little washed out but still a neat shot):

You could use macro mode to get even closer but then you'd have to stick the lens right in the little guy's face - a most uncool and scummy paparazzi-like thing to do. If it's not already then the first rule of nature photography should be to not disturb or otherwise traumatize your subjects. I think that goes equally for all animals weather they be birds perched in a distant tree or tiny lizards only a couple of inches long.

Horned lizards (horny toads as we used to call 'em) are a dime a dozen up on Elden. However, in other states like California and Texas where invasive species and the overuse of pesticides have taken a toll on their diet of choice - harvester ants - they're in decline and under state protection.

If we can't fix this then there's no hope

Watch this trailer on the new documentary "The Cove" now:

and then go to SaveJapanDolphins.org and do something!

As with so many animal cruelty-based activities going on in the world this business with the dolphins is only able to continue because:

• The animals, dolphins in this case, lack even the most basic of rights - not even the right to exist. When you have zero rights you have no intrinsic value beyond that of any other natural resource and you can be exploited to the fullest extent and no one will care.
• Because it's a "traditional" activity it must be okay. But just because it's been going on for a long time doesn't make it right.
• People of conscience aren't aware of it or else they don't want to be aware of it. If they really understood what was going on they'd put a stop it.

What I don't understand is why this is even an issue. Isn't it obvious that it isn't right to slaughter the most intelligent sea-going mammal in the world for food? Especially if said sea-going mammal is contaminated with mercury?

Japan as a nation and as a people have some very good qualities but their record on animals isn't one of them. This is the same country that insists on hunting whales for "research purposes" even though the rest of the world condemns the practice and gave it up long ago.

Gray Fox Kit

This afternoon while I was on my lunch-hour walkabout I was rudely interrupted by a group of crows cawing madly from a nearby pine tree. Something had them really upset, probably a stray cat or something. But, my curiosity piqued, I slowly approached and discovered what the source of the hullabaloo was: A Gray Fox kit!

After I took the above picture another little head peeked out so there's obviously a den hidden back there somewhere. I guess I wasn't considered a threat because this little guy soon grew bored with my presence:

Careful not to disturb them further I slowly backed away and continued my walk, grateful to have been blessed with the opportunity to see them.