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Re: Endangered Animals

Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 5:10 pm
by Aeva
From what I've observed, the vast majority of people appear solely concerned with assisting terrestrial organisms. Perhaps this stems from the vast and seemingly unfathomable amount of microbial life that people find harder to grasp. The unseen critters matter too. I think the public needs to take a long, unbiased look at the planet's inhabitants and not operate purely on sentiment. Check out this article: http://www.slate.com/articles/health_an ... obes_.html

Re: Endangered Animals

Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2015 7:19 am
by D0m
I agree with you, Aeva. People sometimes need to think about non-obvious animals. Bacteria can be some of the most important (although not really animals) creatures in our ecosystem, keeping it running smoothly. People also tend to care more about the 'cute' animals instead of the ones that don't look so cute or are thought of as being "monsters". Animals like pandas get more money brought in that tigers and other animals that desperately need help. Panadas as someone already said have no habitat to go back to, really but tigers can be helped.

Re: Endangered Animals

Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2015 3:52 pm
by TheSeaWolf
This is my kind of thread! Ever since I was young, I have cared loved animals. Attending zoo camp (at the zoo I now JZK at!) quickly taught me to care deeply and passionately for conservation. I like to call myself a "conservationist" these days, although I don't do as much as I would like for conservation. I hope to improve as much as I can and grow in my impact.

My big projects are ocean conservation, herps, endangered canids, and the palm oil crisis.

Ocean conservation...while they aren't listed as endangered under the IUCN, Southern Resident Killer Whales are federally Endangered and I care about them a lot. On their behalf I advocate for salmon restoration, in the form of eating sustainable seafood and pushing for the removal of dams. I actually wrote a whole paper on salmon decline, and if anyone would like to read it, just PM me!
I also just talk about overall ocean preservation and sustainable seafood. Go to seafoodwatch.org to find out what is sustainable and what isn't! Plus educating on pollution, plastic, boat traffic, etc. If teaching people about cetaceans counts for this, I like doing that too!

Herps is probably what I am most involved in. For those who don't know, the term "herp" refers to reptiles and amphibians. In this I am certainly most involved in snakes, but I try to educate on lots of different aspects of herps. My biggest project is certainly Eastern Indigo Snakes, for some very personal reasons. These guys are federally Threatened, and their situation encompasses Gopher Tortoises (federally Endangered), Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (under review for Endangerment), and the entire ecosystem of the endangered longleaf pine. I've actually been more involved in this than perhaps anything. I make educational videos for this cause (Like https://youtu.be/mxjAhp_P2qw & https://youtu.be/3vn0pnFIaXg), and support the Orianne Society very strongly. In fact, this month I will be donating to them for the first time by buying a rattlesnake conservation T-Shirt! I will also be purchasing a Membership soon. Some other herp things I'm involved in include Woma Pythons (Endangered under IUCN: https://youtu.be/da7NMBmO9eo) and Hellbender Salamanders (my zoo helps conserve those guys, and I bought a Hellbender T-shirt, which is basically "donating with benefits").

Endangered Canids...I have a whole Forum dedicated to them. http://sierraspirit.boards.net/ I plan on doing all kinds of things for them (see the Forum). My favorites are African Wild Dogs, Mexican Gray Wolves, and New Guinea Singing Dogs.

Then there's palm oil, which impacts (Critically) Endangered great apes like orangutans and gibbons. My zoo started me on this too, since we've been educating a lot on it this year. I donated to Borneo reforestation at the Indianapolis Zoo. I try to avoid unsustainable palm oil and educate others. If you want to help save rainforests, search for "Palm Oil" in the iOs or Android app store, and download the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo app. Then just type in different products, see what's sustainable, and buy it! Psst...Oreos are on the "green" list. I love using that to convince my parents to buy Oreos!

I am a strong advocate for AZA zoos and visit lots, so that helps conservation as well.

I'm really hoping to do more and reach more people. Some of these things may be getting their own thread. Orianne Society is, at the very least. So be prepared to hear me ramble even more!