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Comment by Carlos 1 day ago

Comment by Carlos on March 8, 2010 at 12:33pm

Bonobos opt to share their food

One of our closest primate relatives, the bonobo, has been shown to voluntarily share food, scientists report.

This sort of generous behavior was previously thought by some to be an exclusively human trait.
But a team has carried out an experiment that revealed that bonobos were more likely to choose to share their food than opt to dine alone. The research is published in the journal Current Biology.
Dr Brian Hare from Duke University, US, and Suzy Kwetuenda from Lola y Bonobo, a centre for orphaned bonobos in the Democratic Republic of Congo, gave a hungry bonobo access to a room with some food in it.
This room was adjacent to another two rooms, which the creature could easily see into. One of these rooms was empty while the other contained another bonobo. Bonobos Scientists want to find out what drives this behavior.
The hungry primate could then choose to eat the food alone or unlock the door by removing a wooden peg and share his fare with the other bonobo.
Dr Hare wrote in Current Biology: "We found that the test subjects preferred to voluntarily open the recipient's door to allow them to share the highly desirable food that they could have easily eaten alone."
They now hope to uncover why the bonobos seem to prefer to share their food.
Dr Hare said it could be purely altruistic, or more selfish motives could drive this behavior because sharing could be exchanged for future favors.
The researchers hope this work could also shed light on what drives humans to voluntarily share.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8548478.stm<

Comment by Carlos on March 5, 2010 at 12:10pm

We have a powerful new wolf television commercial, but we need your help to air it! This TV spot is a personal appeal to President Obama from Ashley Judd to act now to protect hundreds of wolves in the northern Rockies. Help us get this commercial on the air -- and in front of the president's political advisors -- by donating online at http://dfnd.us/apCNGb

Urge President Obama to End the War on Wolves
Hundreds of wolves have been killed in the northern Rockies since the Obama administration approved the Bush administration’s wrongheaded plan to prematurely eliminate federal protections for these magnificent animals -- more than 230 have been killed during wolf hunts that began in September and continue in Idaho even now.

Idaho has already extended its hunting season, putting even more wolf families in the crosshairs even pregnant wolf mothers due to give birth this spring.

President Obama can and should fix his administration’s horrible mistake. Fill out the form below to urge the president to immediately restore life-saving federal protections for our wolves and help us send 40,000 messages before Friday, March 5th.

Take Action:
https://secure.defenders.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=1691&JServSessionIdr004=5v3njgu433.app226a

Comment by Angie Aletha on March 2, 2010 at 4:24pm

My heart is broken for our precious animals... They are such a beautiful gift to us... It's overwhelming how many we need to help...

Comment by Enlightened Love on March 2, 2010 at 12:05pm

Comment by LiLi on March 2, 2010 at 11:11am

this image breaks my heart.... she does not wish to go on... poor thing :(

thank you Carlos ... your light shines bright

Comment by ivana on March 2, 2010 at 10:37am

please keep us posted about Queenie. i've just sent an email and hopefully something will be done about this.

Comment by Carlos on March 2, 2010 at 10:10am

Queenie Left Behind in Deplorable Conditions. She Needs Our Help Now.

Targeting: Kevin Shea (Acting APHIS Administrator)

Started by:Beth S

Tina and Jewel Freed From Abusive Circus Handler, But Queenie Is Left Behind – She Needs Your Help NOW!

A letter to Acting APHIS Administrator, Kevin Shea, is provided below.  But please, consider making contact with the other individuals listed below.

Tina, Jewel and Queenie are three wild-caught Asian elephants who endured a lifetime of ill-treatment at the hands of the circus industry.

For decades the sad lives of these elephants never changed: Day after day, town after town, they were crammed into the back of a trailer, trucked from town to town, and confined to a tiny pen where they swayed neurotically, chained for 12 or more hours per day. They suffered all this for five minutes of performance time each show, forced to do dangerous tricks, under threat from their bullhook-wielding handler.

Shockingly, the "owners" of these elephants, the notorious Davenport circus family, had been allowed to continue to exhibit them despite egregious and chronic violations of federal law.

Emaciated elephants ordered off the road

In April 2007, the USDA barred travel for Tina and Jewel due to severe weight loss in both elephants; Jewel was particularly emaciated. Six months later, the USDA reauthorized travel. Even though the cause of the elephants' weight loss had not been diagnosed, by November 2007 Tina, Jewel and Queenie were back on the road, under the control of their handler, Will Davenport.

But Davenport continued to fail to comply with basic standards of elephant care and handling. By March 2009, all three elephants were suffering alarming weight loss – over a ton combined in less than a year.

IDA to the rescue

Since July 2007, when our investigator located Tina and Jewel in Leggett, Texas, IDA has worked to rescue these three long-suffering elephants. With the help of our members, we monitored them as they traveled around the country with various circuses, and filed complaint after complaint with the USDA, urging the agency to take action to remove them from Davenport.

IDA also filed the complaint with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) that led to charges against the Davenports for violating the Endangered Species Act by illegally purchasing Tina and Jewel from Cole Brothers Circus without a permit.

On August 20, 2009, our efforts on behalf of two of the elephants paid off.

Tina and Jewel taken to safety

In the heat of the East Texas summer, the USDA, acting in conjunction with the USFWS, sent federal marshals to Leggett to remove Tina and Jewel from the Davenports' custody. After refusing to comply with the USDA's first confiscation attempt, Davenport finally ceded control of the elephants to the federal agents, who sent them to the San Diego Zoo. While IDA would have preferred that the elephants be transferred to a sanctuary, we recognize that the zoo is providing these long-suffering elephants with desperately needed veterinary care. At the San Diego Zoo, Tina and Jewel are being handled in protected contact, free from beatings, domination and the misery of circus life.

The fight for Queenie continues

Unfortunately, the USDA claimed to lack a legal basis for confiscating Queenie in August, so she was left behind, chained to a tree on Davenport's property. (Read more about Queenie's background here.) IDA is extremely concerned about her well-being, and we have been urging our members to continue putting pressure on the USDA to return to Leggett and help Queenie. We’re happy to report that the calls and emails are working. In September 2009, the agency took an important step toward Queenie's rescue...

USDA files elephant abuse charges against Davenport

On September 25, 2009, the USDA filed formal charges against Will Davenport (d/b/a Maximus Tons of Fun) for violating the federal Animal Welfare Act in his abusive and negligent treatment of Tina, Jewel and Queenie. Davenport also faces charges for defying federal officials in their two attempts to remove Jewel and Tina from Davenport's property.

The complaint alleges 19 violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), stating that “the gravity of the violations alleged…is great” and that Davenport has “not shown good faith” in his repeated unwillingness to comply with the act and regulations. IDA is now requesting that the USDA bring the full force of the law to bear on Davenport in order to gain custody of Queenie and send her to a sanctuary.

The thousands of calls, emails and faxes from IDA members and other concerned citizens clearly have had an impact in this case. We need to keep the pressure on the USDA until Queenie is safely out of Davenport's hands and in the safety of a sanctuary where she can live her final years in peace.

What You Can Do

Please make a phone call or send a fax today!

Even if you have already called the USDA, please take a moment today to leave a telephone message for the Secretary of Agriculture, and email the Acting Administrator of the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Urge the agency to press for Queenie's immediate release from Davenport's custody to a sanctuary where her safety and well-being can be assured.

Tell the USDA:

You commend the agency's filing of charges against Davenport. However, it is now even more inconceivable that the agency would leave Queenie in the "care" the man charged with so many serious AWA violations.The USDA's Complaint provides a clear avenue for helping Queenie, and the agency must now ensure that Davenport gives up his ownership of her, and facilitate her transfer to either the PAWS sanctuary in California or The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, both of which stand ready to accept Queenie.There is no excuse for sending Queenie to a zoo. She has been on display long enough and deserves a peaceful retirement.

USDA Contact Information:

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack
Phone: 202 720-3631, Fax: 202-720-2166

Acting APHIS Administrator Kevin Shea
Phone: 202-720-3861 Email: Kevin.A.Shea@usda.gov

Contact Congress Too!

As your Congressperson and Senators to contact Secretary Vilsack in support of Queenie's rescue and transfer to a sanctuary. If they have been responsive in the past, be sure to thank them for their previous help in securing Tina and Jewel’s confiscation, but let them know that Queenie has been left behind in dire circumstances.

Find your federal representatives here:
http://ida.convio.net/site/PageServer?pagename=electedOfficials

Please continue to call and email these officials until Queenie is safely housed at the PAWS sanctuary in California or The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.

http://www.change.org/actions/view/queenie_left_behind_in_deplorable_conditions_she_needs_our_help_now?js_email

Comment by LiLi on February 27, 2010 at 1:38am

~ DaViD ~ thank you :)
~ this is how the Earth should be ~ all over Mother Earth, not just few places... ~

~ musha ~
thank you... l know few people who have wonderful connections to bears, l am sure they are grateful for your support just as l am :)

Comment by musha ellis on February 26, 2010 at 12:44pm

the site to save grizzlies:since the click here dont work :)
http://www.kintera.org/c.5oIBJOPyGiIUF/b.5822255/k.6C30/Protect_BCs_grizzlies/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?sid=278058919&auid=5984460

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