My blog has moved!

You will be automatically redirected to the new address. If that does not occur, visit
http://www.terratoby.blogspot.com
and update your bookmarks.

Training Toby is moving!

Training Toby is moving to Terra Toby. Come and visit!

Thursday, February 27, 2014

The Man Of The Forest

Who can resist orangutans? 
Image Source: World Wildlife Fund
Orangutans are only found on Sumatra and Borneo. Their name means 'man of the forest' in Malay, and a close look at their faces shows why. 

 Next week at my docent training at the Virginia Zoo we will meet the Director, who will speak with us about the conservation, breeding, and collection policies at the zoo. I've been thinking of questions to ask him. 

 (More on a more thoughtful day about the docent training and the zoo, but so far it's been great).

 Both of the orangutans at our zoo, Schnitz and Pepper, are Sumatran/Bornean hybrids, which means they are ineligible for AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) captive breeding. Since Bornean orangutans are endangered and Sumatran orangutans are critically endangered, I'd like to know more about how the orangutans were acquired. The Virginia Zoo website says both are zoo-born, and,

 "Schnitz, a male orangutan, and Pepper, a female, were actually playmates when very young, but spent some time apart at separate zoos before being reunited in 1995. They have been together since and came to the Virginia Zoo together in 2011."
Schnitz in his favorite corner at the Virginia Zoo. Copyright Terra Toby.

Schnitz and Pepper. Copyright Terra Toby.

Pepper gives a thumbs-up. No, actually putting something tasty daintily between her lips. Copyright Terra Toby.

  A surprising number of the animals in the collection were the result of confiscations from the illegal wildlife trade. That is the fourth largest criminal activity in the world, right after human trafficking, according to World Wildlife Fund.
Stop Wildlife Crime. It's Dead Serious.

If you want more supercute pics of orangutans and basic facts about them, click here. 

 Joining today's Thoughtless Thursday blog hop hosted by Ruckus the Eskie and Owned By A Husky.
Posted by at 11:25 AM 2 comments

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Thoughtless Thursday: Love Your Pet Day


Posted by at 8:04 AM 1 comments

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Thoughtless Thursday: 2 Grateful 4 SAD

Do you get SAD? As in Seasonal Affective Disorder? I get clobbered every winter. I thought I had it beat this year when the New Year rolled in without the winter blahs rolling in first. 

 But. Then came the Polar Vortex, and winter is lingering like a dog's toot at a holiday party.  SAD has been seeping in with the cold draft under the door. But over the years I've learned to count my blessings for the comforts and strategies that combat SAD.

Thanks, Chocolate
Preferably dark. Hot cocoa works too. Seriously, there are studies. You can look it up on the internet. 

Thanks, Gas Fireplaces
Warm and beautiful on the grayest of days. This is especially effective if you have a window view from the couch. Just bask in the warmth as you literally laugh in the face of Old Man Winter.

 Thank you, Dog That Must Be Walked
Ever heard that if you feel depressed you need to get up and get out no matter how impossible it seems? Dog owners with the blues have an infallible enforcer of compliance with that prescription. Nothing like a whiny, stir-crazy dog alternately pleading and eyeing me with contempt to get me off the couch and into my long underwear. Before you know it I'm laughing at the ugliest snow princess ever to grace a suburban yard. 
Need proof? 
Exhibit A

 Thank you,  Fiction Writers
They take us out of our heads and into someone else's for a while. The best of them remind me that my problems are rather silly compared to the insurmountable crises their characters overcome.

 Thanks, Friends and Family, Part I
They don't realize the magic. As my daughter says when thanked, "Of course"! But those daily contacts, real or virtual, are life-giving. On a gloomy day, getting a few "likes" on a Facebook link makes me feel like appreciated. Whether it's skyping with a grandchild, getting texted a photo of the snow from an adult daughter's back porch, holding hands at the movies with my spouse, or hearing about a friend's vacation, it lifts my spirits. Depression corrodes self-worth. It may be self-centered, but this is a time when I need to be reminded that others care.

 Thanks, Friends and Family, Part II
The other side of that coin is doing things for others. "Like" their photo on Facebook, send them an e-card, do one of your spouse's usual chores, bring home a surprise bottle of wine, fix a special dessert…whatever it is that you do for a family member or friend, it just plain feels good. A little bit of 'pay it forward' for a total stranger works too. Tiny stuff - like letting someone in front of me in traffic - is enough to improve my day.

 Not a complete list, is it? Do you get SAD? If so, what do you do that lifts your spirits while waiting for Spring?
Posted by at 12:51 PM 1 comments

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

When Uplifting Isn't Enough

 I love wildlife. I love wildlife so much, I gave my pet-niche-only blog a complete reboot, summed up in the new tag line, "loving life, inside [pets] and out [wildlife].

So why did it feel like such a chore today to sit down and type a post? 

 This question dominated my thoughts as Toby and I took another (freezing) walk. It bothered me at my doctor appointment and when I stared, overwhelmed, at my blog reading list, emails, and Facebook news feed. 

From recent emails:
-Idaho wants to kill 450 wolves!
-Protect endangered Florida panthers!
-Protect polar bears from oil drilling!
-Say no to Keystone XL!

 My Facebook news feed has sad stuff about the orcas at Sea World, black-footed ferrets, migratory songbirds…oh my. 

 While thinking of ordering a cool new book, The Sixth Extinction, a small voice in my head said, "Are you sure you want to know more about that than you already do?". 

 It's no different on the domestic animal side of the house. Pets needing adoption to dogfighting to factory farming, there's a constant drumbeat of suffering. Man, it can be a real downer to care about animals. Like the song says, love hurts.

Wouldn't it be better if we stopped talking about all this misery? Couldn't we tell only the positive, uplifting, stories? Is that the direction my blog should take?

  Some people do a HUGE thing that shakes an issue like an earthquake, that gets shared 4 zillion times on social media, makes Google News, and goes viral on YouTube.

 Meanwhile millions of us are doing tiny things, acts that no one will ever know about, that can be fit into busy lives; actions that won't bust the budget, cause a family argument, or land us in jail. Google News won't be headlining your $25 donation or your signature on that petition. You won't be on the front page of the paper throwing a can into a recycling bin or bringing a reusable water bottle to the gym. 

 Big and small, all these actions, in the aggregate, have a positive effect. They have something else in common too.

 Each action begins with someone who knows about a problem and does something about it. In the fifty years since Rachel Carson, the environment and our treatment of animals  has improved because heroes spoke out loudly about ugliness that no one wanted to see.

 No. My blog can't be only about the day-brighteners. Sometimes an issue needs thousands of big bright lights shining on it so it can't  hide on dark fringes of society's awareness. And on some days, one of those lights can be mine.
Posted by at 8:44 PM 0 comments
Subscribe to: Posts ( Atom )
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...