Saturday, September 21, 2013






WORLD RHINO DAY
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22.2013
 Celebrate their beauty and sign these petitions below the photo essay to protect them.
Hang in there, Rhino Buddies!


World Rhino Day 2013: Why these creatures need our attention

Zoos, organizations and preserves around the world will mark World Rhino Day 2013 on Sunday, Sept. 22, with events in the U.S. and overseas. The idea is to raise awareness about protecting rhinoceros from deadly poaching that continues to threaten animals in Africa and Asia. Rhino horns are valued on the international black market for their purported "medicinal" values -- something rhino organizations work hard to combat. Here's a glimpse of these lovely and endangered creatures, including a baby rhino born in Chicago's zoo.
-- Mary Forgione





World Rhino Day 2013
( Scott Olson / Getty Images )
King is a baby Eastern black rhinoceros born in Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo on Aug. 26. He made his public debut Sept. 17, with his mother, Kapuki.




World Rhino Day 2013
( Scott Olson / Getty Images )
King's father, Maku, 27, is on breeding loan from Caldwell Zoo in Tyler, Texas, and his mother, 8, is on loan from the Brookfield Zoo in suburban Chicago.




World Rhino Day 2013
( Scott Olson / Getty Images )
The endangered Eastern black rhinos are a subspecies of black rhinos indigenous to eastern Africa. King weighed 60 pounds and measured 30 inches as a newborn.






World Rhino Day 2013
( &Beyond )
White rhinos are the second rhino species in Africa. South Africa, home to 75% of all rhinoceros in the world, lost 668 to poachers in 2012 -- a figure 50% higher than 2011. Even parks and private game reserves report casualties.




World Rhino Day 2013
( Roger de la Harpe / &Beyond )
Early this year, &Beyond, a luxury Safari company based in South Africa, funded transfer of six white rhinos from the Phinda Private Game Reserve in South Africa to Botswana.





World Rhino Day 2013

( Roger de la Harpe / &Beyond / January 23, 2013 )

The rhinoceros were kept in captivity for several weeks before being released into the wild in the Okavango Delta in Botswana this year.






World Rhino Day 2013
( &Beyond )
The team works on helping transport the endangered animals. The relocated rhinos are tracked regularly for research via collars and microchips.



World Rhino Day 2013
( &Beyond )
The transport team works on moving one of the rhinos. Since the animals were released into the wild, three females have become pregnant, according to &Beyond.




World Rhino Day 2013
( Anupam Nath / Associated Press )
The greater one-horned rhinoceros lives in forests and flood plains of India and Nepal. A rhino swims in early September flood waters at the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam, India. Assam is home to the world's largest concentration of the rare rhino.




World Rhino Day 2013
( Agence France-Presse/Getty Images )
Despite worldwide efforts to stop poaching, the practice continues. Indian forest officials found the body of a one-horned rhinoceros, which was killed and de-horned by poachers. It happened in Kaziranga National Park on Sept. 18.



World Rhino Day 2013
( Denis Farrell / Associated Press )
Volunteers across the globe work to raise awareness over the plight of rhinos worldwide. Zimbabwean artist Mathias Chirombo, who works in South Africa, paints a sculpture of a rhino. Chirombo and three other artists will have their works auctioned off next month to raise funds in the fight against rhino poaching.




World Rhino Day 2013
( Kristian Schmidt for Wildaid / European Pressphoto Agency )
Britain's Prince William, left, and soccer star David Beckham met in London on Sept. 12 to film public service messages on illegal wildlife products. The messages focus on reducing demand for rhino horn and ivory and will air globally, with targeted outreach in China and Vietnam, later this year. The campaigns have been undertaken by WildAid and the Royal Foundation's United for Wildlife collaboration.


Graca Machel/Mandela - please help us to save the rhino of South Africa!

Stop South African Minister of Environmental Affairs, Edna Molewa, from petitioning CITES to open the rhino horn trade

Help End Rhino Poaching in South Africa


 ( *Same petition as Avaaz, but included as it has attached a lot of good information about Rhinos. )

Rhino Poaching may be an African Tragedy, but it is a Global Responsibility ~Forever Wild - Save the Rhino Campaign

Petitioning Mr Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma 
Rhinoceros in South Africa need your help before their extinction

Save South Africa's Rhinos

Stop Rhino Poaching

Stop Illegal Chinese Trade in Black Rhino Horn

Wednesday, September 11, 2013



ANIMAL EMOTIONS :
DO ANIMALS THINK AND FEEL?


Animal Sentience is Not Science Fiction: 
Recent Literature

SIGN THE ANIMAL BILL OF RIGHTS !
http://org2.salsalabs.com/o/5154/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=5078


Petitioning HM Government Ministry of Justice 
HM Government Ministry of Justice: 
Improve legislation with tougher sentencing to reduce animal cruelty

http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/hm-government-ministry-of-justice-improve-legislation-with-tougher-sentencing-to-reduce-animal-cruelty?share_id=BaVPAFHFqY




Published on September 9, 2013 
by Marc Bekoff, Ph.D. in Animal Emotions

Sentience in nonhuman animals (animals) is a "hot" topic receiving attention from a wide range of researchers with different interests and agendas. For the purpose of this essay and as I've done before, I'm defining "sentience" as "the ability to feel, perceive, or be conscious, or to experience subjectivity" (for wide-ranging discussion please click here.) 

Based on the overwhelming and universal acceptance of the Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness (please see "Scientists Finally Conclude Nonhuman Animals Are Conscious Beings") I previously offered what I call a Universal Declaration on Animal Sentience. I didn't offer any specific location for this declaration because with very few exceptions, people worldwide, including researchers and non-researchers alike, accept that other animals are sentient beings. The Universal Declaration on Animal Sentience can be a deep, personal, and inspirational journey that comes from our heart and also has a strong and rapidly growing evidence-based foundation. 

I also stressed that it is important to note that the Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare is based on the indisputable fact that animals are sentient and that they can suffer and feel pain, as is the Treaty of Lisbon and the rapidly growing field of compassionate conservation.


SENTIENCE ON THE BRAIN : 
SOME ESSENTIAL READS

Here, I simply want to call attention to three recent essays that are essential reads in the broad area of animal sentience (for more discussion please see "After 2,500 Studies, It's Time to Declare Animal Sentience Proven"). The first is an essay by Helen Proctor who works for the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) called "Animal Sentience: Where Are We and Where Are We Heading?" and the other one, by Helen S. Proctor, Gemma Carder, and Amelia R. Cornish titled "Searching for Animal Sentience: A Systematic Review of the Scientific Literature" is a comprehensive review of available literature. Both are available for free.

The other essay called "Science, sentience, and animal welfare" by Robert Jones of the Department of Philosophy at California State University in Chico, is a detailed comprehensive review (please contact the author at rcjones@csuchico.edu). Professor Jones concludes, "... even the most progressive current welfare policies lag behind, are ignorant of, or arbitrarily disregard the science on sentience and cognition." I've also noted this is other many essays (please see and and). Basic facts about sentience and empathy in birds and rodents for example, that have been available for a while, still have not been incorporated into the Federal Animal Welfare Act in the United States. However, they are very important in the growing field of compassionate conservation (see also). 

THE STATE OF THE ANIMALS IN 2013: ANIMAL SENTIENCE IS NOT SCIENCE FICTION

For those very few skeptics who remain uncertain of animal sentience these papers should convince you that detailed scientific data from numerous studies show that a wide-range of animals are sentient beings, and for those who know this to be the case, these essays provide wonderful resources to share widely.

It's time to recognize what we know about animal sentience and to use it on the animals' behalf. Animal sentience is a well-demonstrated fact, not science fiction.


Related Articles

Is Pet Ownership a Basic Human Right?

How Widespread Is Sentience in the Animal Kingdom?

Neuroimaging: Crows, Human Infants, and Other Animals

Fish Are Sentient: Proposed Memorial is Justified

Talkiswalkism: The Problem With Believing Everything You Say

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/animal-emotions/201309/animal-sentience-is-not-science-fiction-recent-literature




THE NONHUMANRIGHTS PROJECT
http://www.nonhumanrightsproject.org/




Kitty and Fox 

This pair have been seen together for over a year in lake van, turkey. they were first spotted by local fisherman who witnessed them sharing a fish and playing together.

From Gwen Couture via oscci~dot~com  


































ANIMAL FRIENDSHIPS 
 PHOTO GALLERY




























































Baby Tigers and Monkey
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Bird and Mouse
Visit funnycutephotos.blogspot.com

Horse and Kitty
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Penguin and Baby Dolphin
www.facebook.com

Dog and Polar Bear
Visit a34.idata.over-blog.com

Dog and Polar Bear
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Dog and Polar Bear 
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Dog and Polar Bear
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Dog and Polar Bear
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Muschi, a black cat, and Mausschen (the oldest living female Asiatic bear) 
Visit mousebreath.com

Male cheetahs playing & cuddling with a young Impala
Visit odditycentral.com

Rabbit and Fawn
Visit mnn.com

Iguana and Kitty
Pinterest

Rabbit and Fawn

Visit flickr.com

Tarra the elephant & Bella the dog
Visit petprojectblog.com