Hours left to stop mass extinction -ACT Too!

Will we stop mass extinction?


I've just signed an urgent global petition supporting a new treaty to prevent mass extinction. The petition will be delivered Friday at UN talks in Japan -- check out the email below and sign on here:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/the_end_of_whales/98.php?CLICKTF

-----

Dear friends,

There are only 300 northern right whales left, and 99% of blue whales have been wiped out. These majestic giants are endangered species, and their case is being played out across the world, time and again. In fact, one third of all life forms on the planet are on the brink of extinction.

The natural world is being crushed by human activity, waste and exploitation. But there is a plan to save it -- a global agreement to create, fund and enforce protected areas covering 20% of our lands and seas by 2020. And right now, 193 governments are meeting in Japan to address this crisis.

We have just 2 days left in this crucial meeting. Experts say that politicians are hesitant to adopt such an ambitious goal, but that a global public outcry could tip the balance, making leaders feel the eyes of the world upon them. Click to sign the urgent 20/20 petition, and forward this email widely -- the message will be delivered directly to the meeting in Japan:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/the_end_of_whales98.php?CLICKTF

Ironically, 2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity. By now, our governments were supposed to have "achieved a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss." They have failed, consistently caving to industry when given a choice between narrow profit and protecting species. Our animals, plants, oceans, forests, soils, and rivers are choking under immense burdens from over-exploitation and other pressures.

Humans are the primary cause of this destruction. But we can turn it around -- we've saved species from extinction before. The causes of biodiversity decline are vast, and stopping them is going to require a move away from empty piecemeal promises with no clarity on who will pay, to a bold plan with strict enforcement and serious funding. The 20/20 plan is precisely that: governments will be forced to execute strict programmes to ensure that 20% of our earth is protected by the 2020 deadline, and massively scale up funding.

It has to be now. All over the world the picture is beginning to look bleaker -- there are only 3,200 tigers left in the wild, our oceans are running out of fish, and we're losing unique food sources to large mono-plantations. Nature is resilient, but we have to give it a safe place to bounce back. That's why this meeting is key -- it's a watershed moment to accelerate action based on clear commitments that protect nature's capital.

If our governments feel overwhelming public pressure right now to be courageous, we can jolt them to commit to the 20/20 plan at this meeting. But it's going to take every one of us to get that message to echo around the convention in Japan. Sign this urgent petition below, then forward it widely:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/the_end_of_whales98.php?CLICKTF

Already this year Avaaz, members have played a critical role in protecting elephants, defending the whale-hunting ban, and securing the world's largest Marine Protected Area in the Chagos Islands. Our community has shown that we can set ambitious goals -- and win. This campaign is the next stage in the essential battle to create the world that most of us everywhere want -- where natural resources and species are valued, and our living planet is protected for future generations.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/the_end_of_whales98.php?CLICKTF

With hope,

Alice, Iain, Emma, Ricken, Paula, Benjamin, Mia, David, Graziela, Ben, and the rest of the Avaaz team

Sources:

The Times: "Third of all animals and plants face extinction"
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article7120676.ece

The Guardian: "Public awareness of the biodiversity crisis is virtually non-existent"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2010/sep/16/public-awareness-biodiversity-crisis

Sydney Morning Herald: "UN calls for immediate action to save life on earth"
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/un-calls-for-immediate-action-to-save-life-on-earth-20101018-16qnv.html

IUCN: "Why is biodiversity in crisis?"
http://www.iucn.org/iyb/about/biodiversity_crisis/

More on the Convention of Biodiversity meeting
http://www.cbd.int/cop10/

News about Siberian Tigers and Snow Leopards

WWF of Russia sent me a very nice notice: with the donated money, scientists could buy and instal 5 photo-traps in hunting grounds in Amur Region, Sergej Aramilev writes. These traps allow to count tigers and other animals living in that place, you know it.

What you did not know is that the photos made by the traps are exposed in the WWF offices and hunting ground offices where all the persons can know every tiger "personally".
The hunters become proud to have these majestic animals in their zone.
From other side, they do not want the cameras can take the photo of unauthorized shooting.



So, the photo traps are very-very useful for the protection of the animals.

The good notice is that the hunting grounds create a good base of wild animals that are the food for tigers too. And the traps show a large variety of species.

Dear Friends, I received the answer from WWF of Russia (I asked them if the persons from other countries can donate money too). Here is the page if you want to help Amur Tiger and Amur Leopard http://www.wwf.ru/help_us/eng 
Pls help these corageous people to continue their selfless labour!

They  counted 7  leopards too. 3 of them were males, 1 was a female, others they could not identify. It's a very good notice -if you remember I wrote some years ago that there were known only 20 leopards living in the wild. 7 leopards in only one region -it's GREAT, don't you think?
The article in Russian from the site of Russian WWF was written on October 15.

Elefants on the Bridge

Stumbling, I found this interesting photo:

 and could not believe my eyes. Is it a true photo or a collage? I could ot understand but than I had these ideas "contro":
The bridge seems to be not adapt for the place.
The elephants have nothing to do in such places even if guided by the humans that seem to be less intelligent than animals.
Animals would not go all together on that bridge, I think.

Do you think, I'm right?

Splendid photo and Circus in our Village

Incredible beauty. Elegancy. Cats are the best models. But this photo is the best of all I've seen. You will agree with me.

I have to tell you about the transformation of our stray cats in domestic, too. It's maybe because the weather is not good: it rains just for a week. Both cats stay at home now. Kotja began to speak with me as his mother did. Very pleasant sound, I like it very much. He (Kotik) is not so stressed now, remains always near the house and likes to speak with me.

There is a circus in the village under our hill now. We passed nearby this evening. They have different big animals: tigers, camels, giraffe. All the population was there when we came. THey had little spaces for their cages to walk there. Unfortunatelly I had not my photocamera. Even the cell remained at home. In any case it was just night, too dark for the photos.

We wanted to join the crowd.One of the camels ate the leaves of a ficus. I was surprized: ficus is toxic as I know. Maybe camels can eat them, I thought. But than I thought the boys that gave to the animal a big branch of ficus...

The other camel was standing in a corner of own pen reeling, with the posterior legs bending...  We could not look at this poor stressed animal and went away. I would ban exotic animals in such places. They deserve respect for all they do for us...


Посмотреть на Яндекс.Фотках

Cat and Dog: Long Life Smile

Котоматрица

Котоматрица

Those Good Giants -Rottweilers

Dear Bear Wife,

I had different dogs in my life and have some opinions myby not very orthodox aabout the dogs generally. First of all, the dog is a reflectin of the owner. Animals generally are the masters of the life in common and they never attac others without a reason. If the owner has psychological problems, the dog probably will be educated to compensate them. That is why many rottweilers are ferocious. Their owners buy a "feroceous" dog to compensate own need to demonstrate own "force" to other persons.

Among the other dogs I had and have seen, the rottweilers are the most calm and pacific. They know about own power, they feel themselves over those other weaklings and they look at the life from this point of view. If you observe the very little dogs, you will notice they allways bark, are agressive and often the owners have to put them a muzzle because they tend to bite persons. Rottweilers will lay calm, observing you.

It is possible to understand little dogs. They are so little, so fragile, nobody notices them, nobody takes them for "personalities". But they need to become the "Kings" too, it's normal for all living beings to try to take a good place in this life.

Once we were on the beach with our dogs.Very far from us, there was a family with children. The little boy came to us from that far where they were to play with the dogs. I was sure Imir never will do something to a child (they understand very well that these are little beings and not adults) and did not say anything. Let him play. Imir was the best ever example of the kindness in this world.

In one moment the boy opened the jaws of Imir and put his head in Imir's mouth. Maybe he wanted to play circus and lions' tamer.

You had to see me in that moment. I stood paralyzed at the place and in the movement I did when I've seen the scene. I was afraid to move, to make something that could provoke Imir to close his jaws.

With happy laugh the boy took his head out of the mouth of Imir, and I surely had some white hairs on my head. At that moment arrived -calm- the father of the boy.

The dogs know everything about us. They know all our "faults" and know to use them for their benefit. So, they have the capacity to communicate on the level we are not able to heat. Maybe it's telepathy or sound frequency that we don't hear -I don't know.

But they have surely many sides of their behaviour that we, children of human haughtiness, wanted to have in other humans and don't find. And first of all we want the unconditioned love, absolutely unpossible between humans quality. And dogs give us this and other precious feelings. 
They say, Saint-Exupéry said: More I know the dogs, more I despise humans.

Retired, Kotik is in the Dumps

If you follow this blog in the last 4 years, you will remember my very detailed reports about the life of Kotik, the kitten of Murka my husband decided to leave here because he said this kitten remembers him Imir. We laughed often that Imir had this cat-reincarnation because he catched and killed the cats when he could.

Kotik, in fact, has different behavior models that were characteristic for Imir. It's very strange. And it's really difficult to explain, but it's the truth. He behaves often as Imir did.



I did not write about our animals for much time but today I have the photos of Kotja. The problem is that after the wars of this spring he remained without his thron. He is not a King more. I do not knoe who is the King now, I don't see other cats. There was one white-black in spring, the competitor. But I do not see him more.



But Kotja is clearly not a King more. He stays at home all the days, he crys and crys always, he asks something tasty and does not want to eat it then... Well, the clear depression. But I do not understand the reason. He was dethroned months ago.Why this late reaction?



Here are the links that tell you all the story of Kotja.

All the life of Kotik

The short story of Kotik
Where can you find Kotik on Christmas?
Where our kittens sleep
Nobody wants to play with Matilda

Kotik seems to be a winner
Kotik And His Son 
Kitten Update
Kotik And Sausages
Kotik fights against Foxes
Was Kotik Dethroned?