Tame and fearless animals

"Tame and fearless animals" -- where would they be? According to a NYTimes scientist-blogger, on the Galapagos Islands, site of so much of Charles Darwin's education on evolution.

Olivia Judson notes that Darwin was surprised to find animals -- marine iguanas, tortoises, finches . . . -- easy to approach and then ride, toss, or even kill. (Now, thankfully, approaches are limited to those with cameras only.)

Judson asks, "So why are the animals so tame?" And she answers, in part, below:

"No one knows for sure. But in general, animals tend to be more tame — less prone to fleeing from people — on islands than they are on continents. In Australia, island wallabies let humans come closer to them than mainland wallabies do; similarly, on an island in the Gulf of California, iguanas allow closer approach than their mainland cousins will tolerate.

"The reason for this is that islands are (usually) safer places to live. Islands are typically home to fewer predators — especially cats and other mammals — than the mainland, so animals that live there are at less risk of becoming somebody’s lunch.

"In a dangerous environment, being a skittish creature can save your life. But in a safe environment, where you are unlikely to be pounced on, such behavior is a costly waste of time and energy. . . ."

(http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/fearless/?emc=eta1)
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Rally for horses in Philly too

If Philadelphia is a more convenient demo site than New York City, consider joining the protest planned there on Sunday, Valentine's day.

Participants demonstrating against horse-drawn carriages will meet at the NW corner of 5th and Chestnut Streets at 2 pm for "a peaceful protest" that will end at 5 pm. Those involved will hold signs and distribute flyers (to be provided) to passersby.

Think about spending all or part of those three hours letting people know that horses should not be pulling carriages in 2010 and suggesting to would-be carriage riders that this is a cruel and very UN-romantic thing to do. We're supposed to know better by now -- so have a heart for the horses: come out against horse-drawn carriages.
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She 'doth protest too much'

Visitors are invited to read the comment that was received within hours of the post earlier today. Fascinating. (Gosh, is there any chance this person is connected, profitably, with the carriage trade?) Please note: no reference to the carriage horses who have inhaled exhaust and dirt day after day; to those who have had to plod over all sorts of road surfaces in the worst weather; to those who were hurt or died on the job; to the hearings in New York about insufficient stall size and general upkeep.

Carriage horses as "icons" and "ambassadors" for New York City, or any city?! Oh, please. Is that what a horse's nature calls for?

A look at the websites of the organizations acting on behalf of carriage horses will detail the cruelty of these "working horses"' lives. (www.banhdc.org) Ms. Flynn's comments are sadly predictable but wholly unconvincing.
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Love and the animals

Valentine’s weekend = a fine time to show your love for animals by demonstrating against fur and/or the carriage horse trade. Just as it’s true that Thanksgiving doesn’t have to mean death for turkeys, it’s also true that Valentines doesn’t have to mean fur coats (thanks to slaughtered animals) or “romantic” carriage rides (thanks to cruelly abused horses).

Can’t humans just celebrate their holidays and leave animals alone?!

* Caring Activists Against Fur will hold a major demo in NYC this weekend. Here are the specs (from the website: www.caafgroup.com):

Saturday, Feb. 13 - Have a Heart march and protest in NYC
1:00 - 1:15 gather at Columbus Circle
1:15 - 1:30 march down Central Park South
1:30 - 3:00 protest in front of Bergdorf Goodman 754 Fifth Avenue (57th and 58th Sts.)

* On Valentine’s Day, Sunday, February 14, three groups against horse-drawn carriages (Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages [www.banhdc.org], Friends of Animals [friendsofanimals.org], Heart for Animals) will sponsor “a peaceful demo and rally to protest the inhumane and unsafe horse-carriage trade,” from 1-3 pm. On “a day of love and kindness to all” (including horses, for a change!) they invite participants to meet at Central Park South and 5th Avenue, near the hack line. Demonstrators will ask people not to make a date with cruelty by boycotting horse-drawn carriages.

Love means never wearing fur or riding in horse-drawn carriages.
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"Solitary, cold confinement"

Earlier this month, newspapers reported cruel treatment of elephants in zoos. What else is new?

Maggie, formerly of the Alaska zoo and now in a California sanctuary, is the “poster pachyderm” for elephants who were finally freed, thanks to months or more of public protest. But as the latest survey makes clear, there are plenty of other elephants still in captivity (i.e., zoos) – that is, unnatural and unhealthy conditions.

“In Defense of Animals” (IDA), the zoo watchdog organization, reports that “scores of elephants are warehoused throughout the long winter months in miserable confinement, many of them hidden from the public.” Small concrete cages, which keep them from getting the movement they need, contribute to mental and physical problems, and premature deaths.

Usually native to semi-arid savannas and tropical and subtropical forests, elephants typically travel in groups over miles and miles of their home ranges each day. Instead, elephants in American and Canadian zoos stand for hours on cold, hard concrete floors. Is there any wonder they contract food diseases and arthritis, and engage in aberrant behavior?

Included in the survey IDA conducted were zoos in such UN-savanna-like places as Illinois, Rhode Island, Ohio, Quebec, Massachusetts, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Colorado, New York.

This issue really comes down to zoos: what they exist to do and how they do it. Is keeping an elephant in solitary, cold confinement teaching visitors anything accurate about how elephants normally live? Of course not.
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The family reunited

Saying goodbye to the iguanas and other Caribbean animals meant saying hello again to Harry and Billy – something we had waited eagerly to do.

Once ransomed from the vet’s boarding facility and home again, they sprang out of their carriers and sniffed their way around the downstairs rooms, checking out anything new or in a different place. Then, for much of the day, Billy retired to his spot under “his” chair blanket, while Harry walked around and around, often calling out and then being wholly willing to be picked up and cuddled.

That night, each of them visited us in bed, though at different times. Overall, they both seemed quite happy to be home. And why not? Safe and secure as the vet’s was, they had missed many comforts, including freedom to move around, hide, play, look out at the birds . . ., and us too.
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Iguanas, sea turtle and cats – Cats?!?

Back from vacation in “Technicolorland,” just in time for the blizzard here. What a rude surprise this weather would be for most of the animals observed during a week in the Caribbean!

· the iguanas, of course. We saw so many of them, this time, happily, without witnessing mistreatment of them by tourists who think they’re fierce carnivores (and scream) or that it’s fun to pull their tails or feed them watermelon chunks

· small lizards by the score, and even one or two briefly in our room

· a skate, floating below me in a tropical bay

· a sea turtle, sighted from a ferry, near the water’s surface

· chickens, wandering free on two different islands

· goats, penned in a yard

· hermit crabs, some really big guys, featured in a seaside garden area near an open-air restaurant

· a school of fish -- not in bright tropical colors, but looking transparent, with just an outline

· a black Lab puppy on a walk

· cats – lots and lots of (presumably) feral cats, most of them looking quite young and acting quite hungry. Evidently, the island doesn’t practice TNR -- a shame for the cats. (If it’s published, a letter to the editor of the island paper may at least raise the subject.)

Nice meeting all of you!
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