Thousands of Female Penguins Are Being Stranded in South America
Female Magellanic penguins — a mid-size species of black-and-white bird native to South America’s Patagonia region are vanishing from their nests. When not breeding in the latter part of the year, both male and female members of the species migrate north toward Uruguay and Brazil to hunt for the tasty anchovies that call those waters home. Over the last decade, however, scientists have observed an upsetting trend: some penguins are swimming too far north — sometimes hundreds of miles away from their breeding grounds — and getting stuck there.
According to a new study published today in the journal Current Biology, every year, thousands of Magellanic penguins fail to return home from their migrations. Some become stranded on the shores of Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil. Others wash up already dead, their stomachs empty or polluted with plastic waste. Strangely, about…
A rescue boat races to the scene of an oil tanker fire off the Hong Kong coast Tuesday. Hong Shaokui / China News Service / VCG via Getty Images
An oil tanker caught fire off of Hong Kong’s Lamma Island Tuesday morning, leaving one person dead and two missing.
“We could see that the victim who passed away had been burned,” police representative Wong Wai-hang said in a briefing reported by The New York Times. “There were clear injuries on his head and fractures in his hands and feet.”
An additional 23 crew members were rescued from the water. Four were injured and one was being treated in intensive care.
The explosions were strong enough to be felt by residents of the nearby island, CNN reported.
“My windows shook really badly but (there) was no wind,” Lamma resident Deb Lindsay told CNN. “I thought there had been an earthquake!”
Lamma Island residents worried about a potential oil spill reaching their coastline. Southern Lamma Island hosts a protective nesting site for green turtles, a severely endangered species. An endangered colony of white dolphins also calls Hong Kong waters home.
Hong Kong’s Environmental Protection Department told CNN that cleaning vessels had been immediately placed on standby but that no oil spill had yet been detected. Some liquid was seen spilling from the boat, but it was unclear if it was oil or water from firefighting, and there was no oil residue on the water around the vessel.
The boat had been refueling in Hong Kong on its way to Thailand from the southern Chinese city of Dongguan, The New York Times reported.
The Fire Services Department’s division commander of marine and diving Yiu Men-yeung told The South China Morning Post that the boat was tilted 30 degrees as of Tuesday evening but was at no risk of sinking.
However, officials said the boat was too hot to tow away immediately, or to board to discover the cause of the fire, and would need several days to cool down.
One fire department insider with 30 years of experienced explained to the South China Morning Post that fighting fires on oil tankers was especially challenging:
“Depending on the situation, the two major fireboats spray foam to coat the tanker and suppress combustion. Other fireboats use water jets to cool the vessel,” the insider said, on condition of anonymity.
“It has taken [firefighters overseas] several days or even a few weeks to extinguish oil tanker fires in worst-case scenarios. It is definitely not easy.”
thepetitionsite.com
by: Care2 Team
recipient: Columbus Zoo and Aquarium President/CEO Tom Stalf
78,245 SUPPORTERS – 80,000 GOAL
Giraffes at the Columbus Zoo are dropping like flies. On December 8th, Cami a beloved female giraffe was the third to die in just 30 days, all due to birth-related problems.
The other giraffe deaths included a newborn calf who died just weeks after it had been born and one of Cami’s own calves. When Cami’s caretakers noticed her calf was due to come out hooves first, the staff decided to perform a C-section on her but, according to reports, the calf was born with serious congenital defects and it died shortly after delivery.
Four days after her C-section, Cami herself became ill, and on December 8th, she collapsed and died shortly after.
Cami and the other two giraffes are victims of the Columbus Zoo’s breeding program. Like many other zoos, the Columbus zoo breeds certain animals like giraffes not to help their dwindling populations, but to refill their stock and bring extra cash to the zoo’s coffers. All of us know that baby animals are cute, and zoos often experience booms when famous or “big ticket” animals have young. They are a surefire way to get a quick cash injection.
If the zoo really has the best interest of their animals in mind, they should stop their misguided program. Breeding has already resulted in the loss of three beautiful giraffes.
Tell the Columbus Zoo to do the right thing. Sign the petition and tell them to end their giraffe breeding program today.
by: Care2 Team
recipient: Government leaders of Nigeria, Malawi, and Senegal
48,660 SUPPORTERS – 50,000 GOAL
Giraffes haven’t been having a good few months. First, last November, a newborn calf died just weeks after it had been born. Then, at the same zoo, another giraffe gave birth resulting in the death of both the cow, a beloved giraffe named Cami and her calf.
But as if that wasn’t bad enough, the news for Giraffes has just gotten worse: they have just been added to the endangered species list.
Many people are unaware that the Giraffe is in danger. According to a 2016 survey, there are less than 100,000 of them in the wild. In fact there are are more elephants on Earth than giraffes. Since over the last generation, almost 40% of the species has been lost, their slow disappearance, has been called the “silent extinction.”
Giraffes are in this dire situation because of two main reasons; human encroachment into their habitat and poaching. Construction and other industries have pushed the giraffe off their principal grazing lands and locals in some areas rely on giraffe meat for food or sell it for profit. According to the Rothschild’s Giraffe Project, “freshly severed heads and giraffe bones” can bring in nearly $150. Considering that over half the people in Africa live on less than a $1.25 day. Giraffe poaching is a lucrative business.
While some giraffe species are holding stable, others are so close to disappearing that they have been designated “critically endangered”. The next classification is “extinct in the wild,” meaning the animal can no longer sustain its population naturally.
Giraffes are some of the most famous animals in Africa, but now, like elephants, rhinos and cheetahs they too are in trouble. The countries in which the giraffe roam must do more to protect these iconic African beasts. Nigeria, Malawi, and Senegal, for example, all have declining giraffe populations. They must take action.
Please sign the petition and ask government leaders of Nigeria, Malawi, and Senegal to implement programs to save their giraffes from poaching and habitat loss.
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