Juruena National Park, Brazil, -The President of the World Wildlife Fund and his boat crew captured footage of a rare black jaguar taking a swim in the Amazon River in Brazil. Carter Roberts, President and Chief Executive of the WWF, said he and his team were out on the Amazon River in Brazil's Juruena National Park in late January when they spotted the "huge male jaguar" swimming near their boat. Roberts said the sighting serves as "evidence of the importance of this intact region and how interconnected it is." The WWF estimates there are only about 600 black jaguars left in the world.
The public debut of Hulk, the worlds largest Pit Bull, caused a great deal of controversy last month. The 174 pound dog sparked debate over backyard breeding, the safety of Pit Bulls as a breed, and the ethics of breeding dogs (in any capacity) for size and aggression. Well, Hulk is making more waves, this time over the price tag of studding him out. Dark Dynasty K9’s, who are responsible for Hulk, are charging $20,000 for impregnation services. Yes, for about half of the average household income, you can contribute to this heinous practice. What a sweet deal.
The Animal Rescue Site has written about the dangers of breeding, especially when done in puppy mills or for specific traits, like Hulk. What makes his story so tragic is not just the considerable damage he may have, or may pass down, from linear breeding, but the way Dark Dynasty is advertising him.
Their website also features a video section, every single one highlighting how dangerous and deadly these dogs are. There is much to be said about the kind of clientele they are cultivating, and the fuel they are giving anti-Pit Bull advocates, but they are also contributing to the “designer dog” field. Well over a million dogs are euthanized in shelters every year, nearly 800,000 being Pit Bulls.
Overpopulation is a major concern among Pit breeds (some states consider American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, or any breed with similar “characteristics” to be Pit Bulls), and the fact that there is a market for $20,000 semen is only adding to the list of dogs that don’t “make the cut.”
Another concern about this now-famous pup is how his breeders encourage dog fighting, unintentionally or not. Dark Dynasty uses shock collars, choke chains, heavy restraints, and antagonizes them with violence in order to make them “the best security dogs” that they can. These practices are disturbingly close to how dog fighting rings are ran, and these animals are the exact target of underground rings.
Animal lovers are well aware of these issues. However, Hulk’s viral debut was met with a great deal of awe, and his newly priced services are keeping him in the public eye, a public that doesn’t know about how terrible the world surrounding him really is. To them he’s huge, adorable (or scary), and apparently worth $20,000.
There must be a reason right? The takeaway is that Hulk is worth it, encouraging people to look at purebred animals and bypassing shelters. This glorification is why shelters are overcrowded, why states are banning Pit Bulls, and why the breed is among the most contentious and misunderstood.
Is dog poop dangerous? Cleaning up after your dog can be a stinky job, but somebody's got to do it! Constant clean up is necessary for a healthy environment for you and your family. Love, food, and shelter were all things you actively agreed to providing for your new pet when you purchased or adopted them. Sanitation and cleanup are also important facets of pet ownership that are critical to the health and well-being of your entire family. Dog feces is as high as 3rd on the list of contributors to contaminated water. Cleaning up after your dog is one guarantee in the life of every pet owner. Left un-checked, your yard can quickly turn into a mine field of feces in a week or less. On average, dogs do a number two twice per day which adds up to about 14 piles of poo in just one week, per dog. Contrary to popular belief, dog feces is not fertilizer and does not provide any benefit to the soil. So, what's in it? Dog feces may contain parvovirus, whipworms, hookworms, roundworms, threadworms, campylobacteriosis, giardia, and coccidia. If left unattended, these parasites will contaminate the water, soil, and can even cause infection in both pets and humans (especially children). The microscopic Hookworm larvae can be passed to another pet or person directly through the skin or by accidental ingestion as can other bacteria. What bacterias can cause infections in both pets and humans? Yes, humans are capable of contracting hookworms, tapeworms, threadworms and campylobacteriosis. This is the most significant reason to avoid allowing dogs (especially puppies) to like your face and mouth - affectionately known as "puppy kisses". If a dog has recently eaten feces or attempted to groom their hind quarters and come into contact with this infectious material, there is a chance the parasites will be passed directly into your mouth. Children are especially venerable to infection because they tend to enjoy playing in the dirt, where parasites such as hookworm larvae lay dormant waiting for a new host. Young children may also put dirty hands or toys in their mouth, further increasing the chance for infectious material consumption. What can you do to prevent the spread of infections/bacteria? Pet feces can be catastrophic to the local water table, contaminating nearby ponds, lakes, rivers and drinking water. When feces is allowed to remain on the soil for long periods, rainstorms will begin to dilute and break apart the feces and slowly spread the bacteria on other contaminants into local water sources. If your yard happens to hold water for extended periods of time, the problem may be amplified. To avoid potential infection, dog feces should be removed from the yard every 1 - 7 days, depending on the size of the dog and number of dogs in the household. Larger dogs will need more frequent cleanup, as will households with more than 1 dog. A family with one Pomeranian will have a much lower environmental impact than the family with 2 Great Danes. If you are too busy to clean up after your dog, or the thought of it just makes you gag, there are many services available today, that will gladly do the dirty work for you. A sanitation expert will locate and remove any feces found on premises 1 or more times per week for a fee. Some areas do have legal statutes that regulate the cleanup and disposal of pet waste, so be sure to contact your local health board for more information.
Valentin Gruener, rescued a young lion cub In 2012. He raised him at a wildlife park in Botswana. Little did he know that this would be the start of an extraordinary relationship. Now an astonishing scene is repeated each time they meet - the young lion leaps on Gruener, and holds him in an affectionate embrace. The lion cub, Sirga, was rescued from a holding pen established by a farmer, who was tired of shooting animals that preyed on his cattle. "The lions had already killed two of the three cubs inside the cage. And the mother abandoned the remaining cub. She was very tiny, maybe about 10 days old," said Gruener. The farmer, Willy de Graaf, asked Gruener to try to save her. He agreed and took her to a wildlife park, financed by de Graaf and became her adoptive mother, "feeding her and taking care of her". "You have this tiny cute animal sitting there and it's already quite feisty," he says. "It will become about 10 times that size and you will have to deal with it." She's much bigger now, and when Gruener opens her cage, she still rushes to greet him,- ecstatically throwing her paws around his neck. "This happens every time I open the door. It is an amazing, and happens every time we meet. It's such a passionate thing for this animal to jump and give me a hug," says Gruener. "But I guess it makes sense. At the moment she has no other lions with her in the cage and I guess for her I'm like her species. So I'm the only friend she's got. Lions are social cats so she's always happy to see me." They spend their time hanging out in the Botswana bush, doing the kind of things that cats enjoy, such as lying around under trees, play-fighting, and hunting. "I don't believe we have to teach the lion to hunt. They have this instinct like a domestic cat or even a dog that will try to hunt. Any cat will catch a bird or a mouse. The lion will catch an antelope when it gets big enough," said Gruener. "I'm definitely giving her that opportunity to hunt, about three times a week at the moment. Each walk takes five hours - sometimes up to nine. We sort of hunt together and I'm helping to show her how to kill something rather than catch it." After Sirga's first kill, Gruener wasn't sure if it would still be safe for him to get close to the lion. But "she let me come in", he says. "It's a bit cruel because she will catch an antelope and hold it down, and when it gets tired she could simply go and bite it in the throat and kill it. But because it's so exciting she's like a cat that keeps on playing with the mouse. "It's not so lovely to watch when a lion has an antelope in front of her and she's having fun playing with this antelope." Willy de Graaf has given Gruener two miles or land to create a "miniature park" where Sirga can roam freely, but she will not be released into the wild. Not because she could not survive, Gruener says, but because she has lost her fear of humans. Under those circumstances she is likely to get too close to humans, and if there is an accident she will end up getting shot. "And that's not really the whole point of raising a lion," said Gruener. In the park Sirga can live like a wild lion, but remain safe, he says. "That's the plan for her future." And what of his own future? Gruener has put aside work on a PhD while he has been raising Sirga, and has hardly ever left her alone. "If she gets into a bigger enclosure with gets more space, then maybe I can get another lion to give her companionship. Then I would be able to leave her for longer periods of time, and I can finish my studies. "But as long as she needs me, and as long as I feel I want to be there, she I will be my priority. "I doubt anything will change much between me and her."
