The Pet Tree House - Where Pets Are Family Too : Balloon The Pet Tree House - Where Pets Are Family Too : Balloon
Showing posts with label Balloon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Balloon. Show all posts

Sunday, August 15, 2021

This Artist Twists Colorful Balloons into All Kinds of Exotic Creatures


Remember balloon animals from your childhood? Well, Japanese artist Masayoshi Matsumoto takes the children’s party craft to a whole other level. The talented sculptor twists colorful balloons into all sorts of exotic creatures that are full of impressive details. His ever-growing portfolio of land animals, insects, birds, plants, and seas creatures are all rendered by hand, entirely from balloons and without the use of tape or markers.

It’s clear to see that Matsumoto has elevated this art form, and it's all stems from a love of both his unconventional craft and of animals. Each large-scale, inflatable sculpture showcases the chosen creature’s distinctive features and textural elements. In one piece, a black scarab features a shiny balloon shell, scalloped front legs, and delicate antennae. In another, a pink squid is rendered in life-like details, including long balloon tentacles, a patterned body, and realistic eyes.

To read more on this story, click here: This Artist Twists Colorful Balloons into All Kinds of Exotic Creatures


FOLLOW US!
/

Thursday, September 3, 2020

Did You Know That Balloon Releases Are Detrimental to wildlife and Marine Animals?


For years, balloon releases have been used to celebrate events or honor the memory of someone lost. Schools release them during football games, they’re sent floating into the air at running events, and released by crowds of people at weddings, funerals, and memorials. And while those who organize and participate in balloon releases have the best of intentions, what they fail to consider is what happens when those balloons eventually land – and when they do the results are detrimental to wildlife and marine animals.

The Long-Lasting Impact of Balloons
Balloons negatively impact our environment by littering streams, lakes, and beaches. It’s basically the same as intentionally throwing trash on the ground or into the ocean. Even balloons marketed as biodegradable or “eco-friendly” can still take years to disintegrate, meaning they’re not any better for the environment than standard balloons.

When balloons make their way into the water, their tattered ends and floating pieces can resemble jellyfish or other sea life consumed by marine animals such as sea turtles, fish, and dolphins. When the pieces of latex or Mylar are mistaken for food and ingested, they can get lodged in the digestive tract, inhibiting animal’s ability to eat and causing a slow and painful death by starvation.

Wildlife can also fall victim to balloons and balloon strings when the pieces fall to the ground or onto trees and bushes. Birds have been found injured with ribbons wrapped around their beaks or wings, and have strangled themselves when they become entangled in strings attached to trees or power lines. And just like marine animals, they can succumb to a painful death after ingesting balloons.

The negative impact on animals and the environment prompted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and local chapters of the National Audubon Society to urge people to stop releasing balloons and instead find more humane alternatives that are safer for animals and our planet. Several states and cities in the U.S. and abroad have also passed laws regarding mass balloon releases after years of witnessing their detrimental effects.

What You Can Do
If you know of someone planning a balloon release, please urge them to consider one of these earth- and animal-friendly options instead. There are so many other symbolic acts that don’t involve the use of balloons. We’ve listed a few options for you below, and you can find more by visiting this website that offers not only fun alternatives but educational materials to help you spread awareness about the dangers of balloons and balloon releases.

Bubbles
Bubbles are not only fun but can create stunning photo ops. Watching hundreds of bubbles float up into the sky can be mesmerizing and just as symbolic as seeing a balloon float away, but without the resulting of litter and endangerment to wildlife and marine animals.

Luminaries
Luminaries are a beautiful way to honor and memorialize loved ones. Instead of writing messages on balloons and releasing them, you can write messages on recycled paper bags or reusable glass jars with candles placed inside to create a lighted path, or spell out a word or name. Each person can bring their bag or jar home afterward as a personal keepsake to remember the event.

Plant a Tree
Planting native trees and wildflowers is a beautiful way to create a memory that lasts for years to come – and give a little something back to nature.  Another fun idea is to have people release milkweed seeds, which helps populations of monarch butterflies thrive by replenishing depleted supplies of the milkweed plant that is essential to their survival.  Just remember: If you choose to plant trees or flowers somewhere other than your own yard, make sure you have prior permission if it’s a public park or nature area, as they often have restrictions about potentially invasive species of plants.

Celebrations and commemorative events are meant to allow us to reflect on important times in our lives, there is no reason these should come at the expense of wild animals.

FOLLOW US!
/

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Mother Goose Pecks at Police Officer to Get Help for Her Baby Tangled in Balloon String


A panicked mama goose pecks to get cop’s attention, leads her to baby tangled in balloon string

Police sergeant James Givens is a Cincinnati PD veteran with over 26 years of service on the force, but he has never seen a distress call quite like this one.

At least, James thought it was someone. It was just a regular Monday morning when he was in his car and received an unexpected visit from a mother goose.

The animal wanted to grab the attention of the police officer at all costs.

“It kept pecking and pecking and normally they don’t come near us,” He told to WKRC. “Then it walked away and then it stopped and looked back so I followed it and it led me right over to [a gosling] that was tangled up in all that string.”

When the goose looked behind his back a second time and clearly wanted to communicate with the police officer, he decided to follow her. One of her children was trapped in the rope of a balloon. His little feet were moving, but he wasn’t able to set himself free.

Givens wanted to help the little goose himself but was afraid that mother goose would attack him. Luckily, he had some help from specialist Cecilia Charron.

Even though they called the SPCA Animal Rescue for help, nobody was available to help at the time. That’s why Cecilia decided to help the little animal herself.

Sergeant Givens recorded the entire thing and shared a video of the little goose being freed from the balloon and reunited with the mother, which has quickly gone viral.

Assistant Police Chief Paul Neudigate also praised Sergeant Givens and Charron for a great job.



FOLLOW US!
/