Helping you to choose what’s right for you and your family and most importantly your health

When You’ve Been Fully Vaccinated

How to Protect Yourself and Others Updated July 27, 2021 Print Safer Activities for You and Your Family

• If you are fully vaccinated, you can participate in many of the activities that you did before the pandemic.
• To maximize protection from the Delta variant and prevent possibly spreading it to others, wear a mask indoors in public if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission.
• Wearing a mask is most important if you have a weakened immune system or if, because of your age or an underlying medical condition, you are at increased risk for severe disease, or if someone in your household has a weakened immune system, is at increased risk for severe disease, or is unvaccinated. If this applies to you or your household, you might choose to wear a mask regardless of the level of transmission in your area.
• You should continue to wear a mask where required by laws, rules, regulations, or local guidance.

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band aid light icon If you haven’t been vaccinated yet, find a vaccine.

COVID-19 vaccines are effective at protecting you from getting sick. Based on what we know about COVID-19 vaccines, people who have been fully vaccinated can do things that they had stopped doing because of the pandemic.

These recommendations can help you make decisions about daily activities after you are fully vaccinated. They are not intended for healthcare settings.

Have You Been Fully Vaccinated?

In general, people are considered fully vaccinated: ^±

• 2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or
• 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine

If you don’t meet these requirements, regardless of your age, you are NOT fully vaccinated. Keep taking all precautions until you are fully vaccinated.

If you have a condition or are taking medications that weaken your immune system, you may NOT be protected even if you are fully vaccinated. You should continue to take all precautions recommended for unvaccinated people until advised otherwise by your healthcare provider.

 What You Can Do

If you’ve been fully vaccinated:

• You can resume activities that you did prior to the pandemic.
• To reduce the risk of being infected with the Delta variant and possibly spreading it to others, wear a mask indoors in public if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission.
• You might choose to wear a mask regardless of the level of transmission if you have a weakened immune system or if, because of your age or an underlying medical condition, you are at increased risk for severe disease, or if a member of your household has a weakened immune system, is at increased risk for severe disease, or is unvaccinated.
• If you travel in the United States, you do not need to get tested before or after travel or self-quarantine after travel.
• You need to pay close attention to the situation at your international destination before traveling outside the United States.
  • You do NOT need to get tested before leaving the United States unless your destination requires it.
  • You still need to show a negative test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before boarding an international flight to the United States.
  • You should still get tested 3-5 days after international travel.
  • You do NOT need to self-quarantine after arriving in the United States.
• If you’ve been around someone who has COVID-19, you should get tested 3-5 days after your exposure, even if you don’t have symptoms. You should also wear a mask indoors in public for 14 days following exposure or until your test result is negative. You should isolate for 10 days if your test result is positive.

What You Should Keep Doing

For now, if you’ve been fully vaccinated:

• You will still need to follow guidance at your workplace and local businesses.
• If you travel, you should still take steps to protect yourself and others.
• Wearing a mask over your nose and mouth is required on planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation traveling into, within, or out of the United States and while indoors at U.S. transportation hubs such as airports and stations. Travelers are not required to wear a mask in outdoor areas of a conveyance (like on open deck areas of a ferry or the uncovered top deck of a bus).
• Fully vaccinated international travelers arriving in the United States are still required to get tested 3 days before travel by air into the United States (or show documentation of recovery from COVID-19 in the past 3 months) and should still get tested 3-5 days after their trip.
• You should still watch out for symptoms of COVID-19, especially if you’ve been around someone who is sick. If you have symptoms of COVID-19, you should get tested and stay home and away from others. If your test is positive, isolate at home for 10 days.
• People who have a condition or are taking medications that weaken the immune system, should continue to take all precautions recommended for unvaccinated people until advised otherwise by their healthcare provider.

What We Know

• COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective at preventing COVID-19, including severe illness and death.
• COVID-19 vaccines are effective against severe disease and death from variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 currently circulating in the United States, including the Delta variant.
• Infections happen in only a small proportion of people who are fully vaccinated, even with the Delta variant. When these infections occur among vaccinated people, they tend to be mild.
• If you are fully vaccinated and become infected with the Delta variant, you can spread the virus to others.
• People with weakened immune systems, including people who take immunosuppressive medications, may not be protected even if fully vaccinated.

What We’re Still Learning

• How long COVID-19 vaccines can protect people.

Want to learn more about these recommendations? Read our expanded Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People.

± This guidance applies to COVID-19 vaccines currently authorized for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson (J&J)/Janssen COVID-19 vaccines.  This guidance can also be applied to COVID-19 vaccines that have been listed for emergency use by the World Health Organization (e.g. AstraZeneca/Oxford).

Related Pages

• Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People
• Science Brief: Background Rationale and Evidence for Public Health Recommendations
• Infection Control after Vaccination for Healthcare Workers

Last Updated July 27, 2021 Content source: National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), Division of Viral Diseases homeVaccines

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• Frequently Asked Questions
• About COVID-19 Vaccinesplus icon
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https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated.html

Suspected COVID-Positive Migrants in Texas Suggest Flaws in DHS Quarantine Policies

cis.org

By Andrew R. Arthur on July 29, 2021 5

A La Joya, Texas, police officer was waved into the local Whataburger this week by an individual who was concerned about a group of individuals there who appeared to be ill. The officer discovered a family of migrants who claimed they had been apprehended several days before by the Border Patrol and had tested positive for COVID-19. This suggests there are serious flaws in DHS’s quarantine policies.

Back in March, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas released a statement on the situation at the Southwest border. He asserted that the Biden administration would continue to expel migrants—including migrant families—under Trump-era orders issued by the CDC under Title 42 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mayorkas admitted that the department could only expel family migrants if the Mexican government agreed to take them back, which is becoming a rarity; of the more than 50,000 migrants in family units that were apprehended by Border Patrol at the Southwest border in June, fewer than 8,100 were expelled under Title 42.

The secretary asserted, however, that DHS was taking steps to contain the spread of the coronavirus by such migrants and had “partnered with community-based organizations to test and quarantine families that Mexico has not had the capacity to receive.”

He further contended that his department had “developed a framework for partnering with local mayors and public health officials to pay for 100% of the expense for testing, isolation, and quarantine for migrants”.

Which brings me back to the Whataburger in La Joya, a border town just west of McAllen.

According to La Joya Police Sgt. Manuel Casas, no one had told his city or his police department that the migrants were there, “and no one told us that these people were possibly ill.” I suppose that DHS’s ability to “partner” only goes so far.

Apparently, the family was staying at the nearby Texas Inn & Suites, in rooms that had been booked by Catholic Charities of The Rio Grande Valley to house migrants who had been apprehended by the Border Patrol and released.

Sgt. Casas explained: “The information we have is that everyone that is staying in that hotel is COVID-19 positive because it’s being rented out for them.”

The hotel denies that they have “any problems” with COVID-19 (although “officers observed 20 to 30 people outside not wearing masks”, according to Fox News). This article suggests, however, that DHS’s quarantine regime poses a danger to those living in towns along the Southwest border (and elsewhere), because it appears to be no “quarantine” at all.

CDC explains that the concept of quarantine is deeply rooted in world immigration history:

The practice of quarantine, as we know it, began during the 14th century in an effort to protect coastal cities from plague epidemics. Ships arriving in Venice from infected ports were required to sit at anchor for 40 days before landing. This practice, called quarantine, was derived from the Italian words quaranta giorni which mean 40 days.

Today, the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine at CDC “is empowered to detain, medically examine, or conditionally release individuals and wildlife suspected of carrying a communicable disease.”

That division still runs 20 quarantine stations, mostly at major ports of entry. The closest one to La Joya is in Houston, but it is the relatively far away El Paso quarantine station that has jurisdiction over the town.

If COVID-positive migrants (or anyone else for that matter) are free to leave a hotel in which they are being housed and head down the road for burger, they aren’t in “quarantine”.

Sgt. Casas made clear that his department does not have the authority to “stop any of the migrants from leaving the hotel and moving on to another destination in the United States”. That means that La Joya’s problems are your problems, too.

But assuming he’s correct (and there is no reason to believe he isn’t), even if the police could restrict the movements of a group of COVID-positive migrants in order to protect the community, town officials were never told those migrants were there to begin with.

When it comes to COVID and the border, it seems like DHS is saying one thing and doing another. Worse, at the same time that President Biden is warning of “a pandemic of the unvaccinated”, it seems his administration is handing COVID-positive migrants over to NGOs with no restrictions on their movement, and no notice to local officials in the places they are housed.

To quote the president, “C’mon, man!”

https://cis.org/Arthur/Suspected-COVIDPositive-Migrants-Texas-Suggest-Flaws-DHS-Quarantine-Policies?&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social-media&utm_campaign=addtoany

Facts mean everything!!

It's not going to work this time. People are Fed Up

Listen 👇👇 pic.twitter.com/F0jrVisNnv

— RickyLee (@RickyLe80284150) July 28, 2021

Comment on Vaccines

disturbeddeputy

Found this comment on ‘Waking Up 1984’

Just saw this posted on Facebook! All very true!

Out of all the vaccines I have taken in my life: Tetanus, rubella, measles, mumps, polio hep, TB;

Never before have I seen so much confusion over a vaccine that says I have to wear a mask, and socially distance even when fully vaccinated.

Apparently I could still contract or spread the virus even when fully vaccinated.

Never had to have a double shot, never been bribed by establishments to take the vaccine in order to win a car, cash, or other prizes. Never before has a vaccine be available in Primark…!

I never had to worry about cardiac issues and or blood clots and DEATH as a side effect.

I was never judged if I didn’t take it.

I was never discriminated against for travel or other regular services.

The vaccines I have…

View original post 365 more words

PSP Warns Fraudsters are Using Information Stolen from Private-Sector Data Leaks to Apply for Unemployment Compensation Benefits

An Official Pennsylvania Government Website

07/28/2021

​Harrisburg, PA – Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) Secretary Jennifer Berrier, Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) Bureau of Criminal Investigation Director Major Jeremy Richard, and Department of Banking and Securities Deputy Secretary for Financial Services Tim Arthun today reminded Pennsylvanians to be vigilant of fraud and the warning signs and steps to take if they become a victim.

“Fraud is an unfortunate byproduct of any disaster, and we are seeing the proof of that during the global COVID-19 pandemic,” said Secretary Berrier. “It’s frustrating that thousands of data breaches that occurred outside of L&I – and outside of the control of consumers who often had no choice but to give companies their personal data – are now resulting in widespread unemployment fraud attempts. We strongly urge everyone to remain vigilant about fraud and to notify authorities of any suspected fraud activity.”

Across the nation, fraudsters have been applying for unemployment benefits using stolen identities that were obtained in data breaches that occurred outside of state government. There were more than 11,000 data breaches that caused the exposure of more than 1.6 billion records in the U.S. over a span of about 15 years. Many individuals whose personal data was leaked during these breaches are unaware until a fraudster uses their identity to apply for unemployment benefits and they receive notification that a benefits application has been filed in their name.

L&I utilizes numerous fraud-detection measures, including using virtual identity verification vendor ID.me to verify the identities of all new unemployment applicants. Since the new UC benefits system went live June 8, we have prevented approximately $1 billion in state and federal dollars from being paid out to fraudsters.

L&I works with the National Unemployment Insurance Fraud Task ForceOpens In A New Window and other partners, including the FBI, Homeland Security and additional law enforcement agencies, the state treasury and the state attorney general’s office, to identify and block new fraud methods and stop fraud attempts.

“Realize it can happen to you,” said Major Richard. “If you have been a victim, don’t be embarrassed. Instead, report it to law enforcement. The Pennsylvania State Police works closely with its local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to investigate fraud, identity theft, and scams. The sooner law enforcement knows, the better the chances are of recovering your money and catching the scammers.”

For more information on the Pennsylvania State Police, visit psp.pa.govOpens In A New Window.

“Unfortunately, scams and fraud are growing more common while also becoming increasingly more sophisticated,” said Deputy Secretary Arthun. “If you are being contacted unexpectedly with a request for your personal or financial information with promises of something that seems too good to be true, it likely is.”

Anyone can contact the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities with questions or complaints about a financial transaction, company, or product at 1-800-PA-BANKS or using the online complaint formOpens In A New Window.

Visit www.uc.pa.govOpens In A New Window and click on “fraudOpens In A New Window” to learn the warning signs of unemployment benefits fraud, how to report it, and the steps you should take if you become a victim.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Sarah DeSantis, L&I, dlipress@pa.gov 
Corporal Brent Miller, PSP, 717-783-5556, ra-pspcomm@pa.gov
Virginia Lucy, DoBS, 717-214-6036, DoBSComm@pa.gov

https://www.media.pa.gov/Pages/PA-State-Police-Details.aspx?newsid=714

“Parents Defy “No National Anthem” at Softball Game

Report: ‘Mostly’ Single Male Border Crossers Bussed to Louisiana Cities

www.breitbart.com

John Binder 23 Jul 2021

A group of “mostly” single male border crossers, along with some single women, were bussed into four Louisiana cities after being released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), local media reports.

According to WAFB 9 News, border crossers were bussed to Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Natchez, and Monroe, Louisiana, after they were released by DHS thanks to the Biden administration’s expansive catch and release policy.

Local officials, WAFB reports, were not notified ahead of time:

Immigrants bussed to Baton Rouge were dropped off at the Greyhound bus station and directed to St. Vincent de Paul. Volunteers at the shelter gave them bags of goods and toiletries, even though they could not house them. [Emphasis added]

…

However, that is not always the case. Kelley says at the three other drop-off sites in Shreveport, Natchez, and Monroe the group wasn’t told in advance about immigrants seeking asylum in those cities. [Emphasis added]

…

Some of those leaders who say they were left out of the loop include Mayor Sharon Weston Broome, Senator Bill Cassidy, and Congressman Garret Graves. Those who spoke with WAFB say they’re upset with the little to no warning give to local officials. [Emphasis added]

For months, Breitbart News has chronicled Biden’s catch and release operation through which at least tens of thousands of illegal aliens are being briefly detained, put up in migrant hotels, then bussed or flown into the U.S. interior with only the promise that they will show up to their asylum hearings months, or years later.

Most recently, the Biden administration used Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas to fly nearly 800 border crossers into the U.S. interior.

The latest available data, from February 19 to April 22, reveals the Biden administration has flown about 7,200 border crossers into the U.S. interior on domestic commercial flights. Border crossers are allowed to bypass photo identification requirements, boarding flights without a photo ID, and do not have to prove they are negative for the Chinese coronavirus.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here. 

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/07/23/report-mostly-single-male-border-crossers-bussed-to-louisiana-cities/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

Biden administration cancels border wall contracts covering a 31-mile section in Texas

www.businessinsider.com

John L. Dorman

In a photo taken on March 28, 2021, ranch owner Tony Sandoval stands before a portion of the unfinished border wall that former US president Donald Trump tried to build, near the southern Texas border city of Roma. ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images

• The Biden DHS is canceling two border wall contracts in the Laredo sector of the US-Mexico border.
• After taking office in January, President Biden paused ongoing border wall construction.
• Biden’s 2022 budget proposal allocates $1.2 billion for border infrastructure, sans wall funding.
• Sign up for the 10 Things in Politics daily newsletter.

The Biden administration is canceling two border wall contracts in the Laredo sector of the US-Mexico border that span roughly 31 miles, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Friday.

Shortly after taking office in January, President Joe Biden paused border wall construction projects that were initiated by former President Donald Trump, calling for “a review of all resources appropriated or redirected to construct” the barrier.

Friday’s announcement comes after the Biden administration last month returned to the military more than $2 billion in funding that the Trump administration had diverted for border wall construction.

The Biden administration’s handling of Trump’s border wall projects has unfolded at a slower pace due to funds having been allocated through different government agencies.

The contracts for the Laredo projects planned for 31 miles of border wall to be built along the Rio Grande, funded with DHS Fiscal Year 2020 appropriations.

However, construction on the projects had not yet started, nor had land acquisition been executed.

Read more: Trouble is brewing for a Georgia county’s criminal investigation into Donald Trump

“DHS continues to review all other paused border barrier projects and is in the process of determining which projects may be necessary to address life, safety, environmental, or other remediation requirements and where to conduct environmental planning,” the DHS release said. “The Administration also continues to call on Congress to cancel remaining border wall funding and instead fund smarter border security measures, like border technology and modernization of land ports of entry, that are proven to be more effective at improving safety and security at the border.”

The Trump administration constructed roughly 450 miles of wall over four years, according to The Associated Press. However, only 52 miles of wall were built in areas where no barrier had previously existed.

The border between the US and Mexico stretches across more than 1,900 miles; some sections already had barriers prior to Trump taking office in 2017.

DHS is utilizing previously-appropriated funds to assess environmental issues that derived from previous wall construction, as well as reviewing land seizure cases to determine if those acquisitions are still necessary.

Biden’s 2022 budget proposal allocates $1.2 billion for border infrastructure, including security technology, but does not set aside funding for additional wall construction.

GOP Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas last month pledged to continue building a wall at the border, though the legality of the move is being called into question.

“Only Congress and the president can fix our broken border,” Abbott said at the time. “But in the meantime, Texas is going to do everything possible, including beginning to make arrests, to keep our community safe.”

NOW WATCH: Popular Videos from Insider Inc.

https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-administration-ends-border-wall-contracts-laredo-texas-immigration-trump-2021-7?amp&__twitter_impression=true

Larimer County officials urge vaccination as COVID-19 case rate doubles, Delta variant spreads

www.coloradoan.com

While COVID-19 cases remain low in Larimer County, the health department is seeing a slight uptick as the fast-moving Delta variant spreads across Colorado and the U.S. 

The county’s seven-day case rate has doubled in less than a month, going from a low of 22 cases per 100,000 people on June 16 to 48 per 100,000 as of Tuesday. 

At the pandemic’s height, Larimer County reported a seven-day case rate of 522 per 100,000 people on Nov. 19, 2020.

“We still have some work to do,” Larimer County Population Epidemiologist Jared Olson said during a virtual COVID-19 update Monday afternoon. “Vaccination is by far our most powerful tool.” 

Given how much more transmissible Delta is compared to previous COVID-19 variants, it quickly overtook the U.S. this spring and summer, becoming the dominant strain in Colorado by the week of June 6, per Colorado’s state health department. 

A vaccine push:With COVID-19 Delta variant spreading in Larimer County, health officials urge vaccination

One month later, it became the dominant strain nationwide, the CDC announced July 6. 

Current evidence indicates that COVID-19 vaccines approved under emergency use in the U.S. are effective against the Delta variant, according to the CDC.

In Larimer County, 97.4% of COVID-19 cases reported since March 1, 2021, have been among unvaccinated and partially vaccinated people, health officials said Monday. In the rare breakthrough cases seen in fully vaccinated individuals, most have led to mild symptoms or fully asymptomatic responses, Olson said.  

If you opted to forego your second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, a single dose is less effective against the Delta variant compared to previous variants, Olson said.

From Denver:With kids age 11-17 leading in COVID-19 cases, Polis urges families to vaccinate children

In Larimer County, 7,033 people have not received their second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine within 42 days, though it’s possible some received a second dose outside of Larimer County, according to the county health department.

Even if you have gone longer than 42 days since your first vaccine dose, the county still recommends getting your second dose.

As August — and a full return to in-person schooling — nears, Olson said one of the health department’s biggest concerns is a fall surge of COVID-19 cases in Larimer County schools. 

Children younger than 12 remained the only age group without an approved COVID-19 vaccine as of Tuesday.

Since the Delta variant became dominant in Colorado last month, 45 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 17 probable cases have been reported among children under the age of 11 in Larimer County, according to the county’s case data. The youngest person to get COVID-19 in that time was 1-year-old. 

Larimer County has not experienced any juvenile deaths related to COVID-19 infection.

When school does start this fall, the county hopes to see 60% of high school-age children have at least one vaccine dose. About 47% of that age group — ages 14-17 — had received one dose of the vaccine as of Monday.

For middle schoolers, the county is shooting for a one-dose vaccination rate of 45%, up from its current 27%.

More information on the fate of masks in schools this fall is expected next week, Larimer County Public Health Director Tom Gonzales said Monday.

Despite the recent bump in COVID-19 cases, Gonzales said Larimer County likely won’t have to revert back to any of the restrictions imposed during the height of the pandemic, citing a good handle on COVID-19 hospitalization rates.

Erin Udell reports on news, culture, history and more for the Coloradoan. Contact her at ErinUdell@coloradoan.com. The only way she can keep doing what she does is with your support. If you subscribe, thank you. If not, sign up for a digital subscription to the Coloradoan today. 

https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2021/07/13/covid-19-delta-variant-spreads-larimer-county-colorado-cases-double-since-june/7953668002/

Time for your booster shot 💉

Fauci: COVID-19 Booster Shots May Be Needed For Some Americans https://t.co/ONlmOvMCQT pic.twitter.com/muYQXSqn9A

— The Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) July 26, 2021

Petition: Support the end of the captive big cat industry

help.four-paws.org

We need your help to protect ALL big cats in South Africa!

Minister Barbara Creecy has recently released a draft Policy Position on the conservation and ecologically sustainable use of elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros. We are encouraged by the Department’s decisions, but there is no doubt that more needs to be done in South Africa to end the farming and commercial trade in all big cat species.

This change in legislation is more important than ever. The exploitation of big cats in South Africa continues to grow and includes not only indigenous species like lions, but also exotic species such as tigers and jaguars. All big cats deserve protection.

How can you make a difference?

We’re asking you to voice your support of the Government’s decision to close the captive lion industry and furthermore ban ALL breeding and commercial trade of big cats. This is your chance to speak up for the welfare of all captive big cats. You can help with only a few clicks, which will submit a letter to government supporting our recommendations – which you can review in the message to government window..

https://help.four-paws.org/en-ZA/i-support-end-captive-big-cat-industry

Even A Snow Leopard At The San Diego Zoo Has COVID Now

www.yahoo.com

Maggie Clancy

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Who gave the snow leopard at the zoo COVID?!

Just when you thought you knew everything there is to know about COVID-19, the new Delta variant, and ways to keep yourself and your loved ones safe (vaccinate!), this happens. An unvaccinated snow leopard at the San Diego Zoo tested positive for COVID-19. Yes, a snow leopard.

A male snow leopard at the San Diego Zoo is suspected to have contracted SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Wildlife care specialists noticed the snow leopard was coughing and had nasal discharge, prompting the team to test for the virus. Results are pending at this time pic.twitter.com/GWLc6mygmw

— San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (@sandiegozoo) July 24, 2021

Ramil, a nine-year-old male snow leopard, had caretakers concerned when they noticed he had a cough and a runny nose on Thursday, July 22.

Zookeepers took two separate tests of Ramil’s stool and confirmed the presence of COVID-19, according to a statement made by the zoo the following day.

The snow leopard is being monitored closely and does not appear to have any major signs of illness other than the aforementioned symptoms. The origin of the possible exposure is still being investigated as we continue our contact tracing efforts. pic.twitter.com/pMNJcOfrJp

— San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (@sandiegozoo) July 24, 2021

Fortunately, Ramil and his habitat-mates — a female snow leopard and two Amur leopards — seem to be doing okay. Ramil’s symptoms haven’t worsened, and so far, the other three animals have remained safe in quarantine. The exhibit is closed as Ramil recovers and the rest of the animals stay in isolation from the rest of the zoo.

In an abundance of caution, the leopard habitat will be closed to Zoo visitors until further notice. We ask that you keep our snow leopard and the incredible team of dedicated wildlife care professionals and veterinarians who serve him in your thoughts during this time. pic.twitter.com/FDDOnZBbpy

— San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (@sandiegozoo) July 24, 2021

San Diego Zoo is unsure of how the snow leopard contracted the virus in the first place, as staff members are required to wear masks and use other PPE and sanitation precautions. Vaccination, however, is not required for the San Diego Zoo staff.

Ramil isn’t the first animal to contract COVID-19 at the San Diego Zoo. In January, eight gorillas at the zoo’s interactive Safari Park contracted the virus from an asymptomatic zookeeper.

The gorillas’ infection, in conjunction with Ramil’s COVID-19 case, had the zoo again requesting experimental COVID-19 vaccinations for animals most prone to catching the virus — large cats and primates — for emergency use.

A win for science: our partners at @Zoetis, a veterinary pharmaceutical company, developed a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) that we used to vaccinate great apes at the Zoo. The vaccine was created specifically for animals. @NatGeo https://t.co/ZpM5QVD4pl

— San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (@sandiegozoo) March 5, 2021

Again, the animals made a full recovery, but like humans, we still don’t know all of the long-term effects of contracting COVID-19. Some people who have had the virus have experienced elevated heart rates for months after infection, chronic lung issues, and other ailments associated with what people are calling “Long COVID,” or Post Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC). Long COVID can affect nearly any organ in the body, have a wide and varying range of symptoms, and testing long after the initial infection doesn’t always link the lasting symptoms to COVID-19.

Great news! Our gorilla troop has made a full recovery from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans. Starting today, our guests can once again connect with these primates and learn ways they can help save this important species. https://t.co/phlrubBPhr pic.twitter.com/Gpjdxy8UAY

— San Diego Zoo Safari Park (@sdzsafaripark) February 13, 2021

Vaccinating can also help keep you and your pets safe from contracting the virus, though Dr. Anthony Fauci explained in a town hall for kids that they shouldn’t be afraid to go near their pets and can still “give your pet a big hug” and not worry about being dangerous to them.

In the meantime, make sure to be wearing a mask in public, whether you are interacting with wild animals or not, because just like Ramil, the people around you can catch COVID-19 from anyone unvaccinated, even if they aren’t showing symptoms. Let’s keep everyone safe, people and animals alike.

See the original article on ScaryMommy.com

In an abundance of caution, the leopard habitat will be closed to Zoo visitors until further notice. We ask that you keep our snow leopard and the incredible team of dedicated wildlife care professionals and veterinarians who serve him in your thoughts during this time. pic.twitter.com/FDDOnZBbpy

— San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (@sandiegozoo) July 24, 2021

Whale caught on sandbar after giving birth saved by beachgoers

Residents saving mother whale (Credit: Phebe Armas) PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C. (WPDE) —

by Julia Varnier Friday, July 23rd 2021

A Pawleys Island beachgoer said a mother whale who recently gave birth was caught on a sandbar Thursday afternoon. 

The whale’s pup was fine and members of her pod were surrounding her to protect her from nearby sharks due to some blood in the water.  https://ec699d73901d1a68d70a4a03267e0f90.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html?n=0

Several people were able to roll her back out to safety. 

READ MORE: Boater untangles what could be world’s rarest turtle from balloon litter off East Coast : View This Story on Our Site

https://wpde.com/amp/news/local/whale-caught-on-sandbar-after-giving-birth-saved-by-beachgoers-in-pawleys-island?fbclid=IwAR17SBVZLrXA1c9uPQzmTHknJ8WyWS3JObjyJyxSR6kEU1NaAapXJCti5RE&__twitter_impression=true

DOJ Drops Cases Against Five Visiting Chinese Researchers Accused Of Lying About Ties To China Military

www.dailywire.com

Jeffrey Cawood

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has reportedly dropped cases against five visiting researchers from China accused of lying about their ties to the Chinese military.

The Wall Street Journal described the move as “a major setback to a landmark effort to root out alleged Chinese intelligence gathering in the U.S.”

According to the outlet, federal prosecutors said in court documents filed late Thursday and Friday that “they would no longer pursue visa fraud and other charges against the scientists, including biomedical and cancer researchers in California and a doctoral candidate studying artificial intelligence in Indiana.”

The WSJ reported: “The academics had been arrested last July in an FBI sweep that began after another researcher, Wang Xin, acknowledged to law enforcement – as he tried to leave the U.S. – that he had lied about his military service on his visa application to boost his chances of gaining admission to the U.S., and had been tasked with bringing back some information by a supervisor.” He had worked in a lab at the University of California-San Francisco.

Dr. Juan Tang, 38, another visiting researcher at the University of California-Davis, was set to go on trial in Sacramento on Monday. After her case was formally dropped on Friday, “Tang had her GPS ankle bracelet removed, her Chinese passport returned and she headed toward a flight home to see her mother, husband and 9-year-old daughter for the first time in a year,” according to the Sacramento Bee. The outlet reported, “The motion by Assistant U.S. Attorney Heiko Coppola gave no reason for seeking the dismissal, and acting U.S. Attorney Phillip Talbert declined to comment.”

According to the WSJ, “Judges had dismissed parts of the cases against Ms. Tang and another researcher in recent weeks after finding that FBI agents hadn’t properly informed them of their rights against self-incrimination when interviewing them.”

“In all of our prosecutions, the Department of Justice evaluates the merits of a case as it prepares for trial,” said DOJ spokesman Wyn Hornbuckle. “Recent developments in a handful of cases involving defendants with alleged, undisclosed ties to the People’s Liberation Army of the People’s Republic of China have prompted the Department to re-evaluate these prosecutions, and we have determined that it is now in the interest of justice to dismiss them.”

“The Department continues to place a very high priority on countering the threat posed to American research security and academic integrity by the PRC government’s agenda and policies,” Hornbuckle continued.

The other accused researchers included Chen Song, a neurologist who had been at Stanford University; Guan Lei, a researcher in artificial intelligence at UCLA; and Zhao Kaikai, an artificial intelligence doctoral student at Indiana University.

According to officials, soon after the State Department claimed to have evidence that showed Chinese consulates assisting the visiting scientists last year, more than 1,000 Chinese military-affiliated researchers left the United States.

Related: Group Trying To Convince Asians That America Is Oppressive Has Ties To Chinese State Media

The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a member.

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Well this is a brain twister!?

Kentucky County Seeks To ‘Eliminate Curricular Violence’ With Year-Long Teacher Training Program To End Racism In Math https://t.co/Q40YkUPBe7 pic.twitter.com/RTh8lPBBTF

— The Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) July 24, 2021

I’m going to get you…

Some little bundles of cheetah cub cuteness; as they hone their hunting skills to be just as good as Mum. So precious….& we all say awww ☺️!

Have a great weekend All! 😊

🎥 alinkfilm IG pic.twitter.com/SIy2yehZFG

— XposeTrophyKilling (@TrophyXpose) July 24, 2021

Fort Collins Passes Legal Defense Fund for Illegal Aliens | Federation for American Immigration Reform

www.fairus.org

Tanner Bonovitch Legislative Advisor

FAIR Take | July 2021

Fort Collins, Colorado, recently passed legislation that provides legal funds to illegal aliens to protect them from deportation.  On July 6, the Fort Collins City Council passed Ordinance No. 64 by vote of 5-2. This ordinance appropriates $150,000 away from services for the taxpaying citizens of Fort Collins to pay lawyers for illegal aliens facing immigration proceedings. The ordinance was supported by Susan Gutowsky, Julie Pignataro, Tricia Canonico, Emily Gorgol, and Mayor Jeni Arndt. Only Council Members Kelly Ohlson and Shirley Peel opposed the measure.

As expected, numerous open-borders groups testified in support of the ordinance. There was also a strong showing of Fort Collins residents who testified in opposition.

“The appropriate way to work this [legal defense fund] is through voluntary donations to a nonprofit and possibly with pro bono legal services. Our hard-earned tax dollars are not the City Council’s personal slush fund to do with as you please,” stated one Fort Collins resident.

Another resident, Glen Colton, added that more illegal immigration into the city would negatively impact the job market for American citizens and legal immigrants in Fort Collins, as competition for employment will increase in an economy that has not yet fully recovered from the COVID-19 economic crash.

FAIR staff also submitted written testimony opposing the ordinance, noting in addition to these concerns that funds like these amount to unfair privileges for illegal aliens at the expense of American citizens and legal immigrants, who do not have a right to taxpayer-funded legal representation in civil as opposed to criminal legal matters. 

While taxpayer-funded deportation defense funds appear to be proliferating across Colorado, Aurora, Colorado’s effort failed in January. However, earlier this year the Colorado state legislature passed House Bill (HB) 1194, which created a statewide immigration legal defense fund within the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. The department was tasked with distributing $100,000 to “qualifying nonprofit organizations that provide legal advice, counseling, and representation for, and on behalf of, indigent [illegal aliens] who are subject to an immigration proceeding.” This despite the fact that such funds fly in the face of federal law, which allows illegal aliens to retain counsel but provides that such representation should not be at taxpayer expense. 

https://www.fairus.org/legislation/state-and-local-legislation/illegal-immigration/fort-collins-passes-legal-defense-fund?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=1930b735-41c6-4d5d-a03d-e46f68a5e944

Yosemite ranger gives heartbreaking account of mother bear calling for cub killed by driver

www.fox35orlando.com

FOX 35 Orlando

YOSEMITE, Calif. – A Yosemite National Park ranger has shared a heartfelt, heartbreaking story about a young bear that was struck and killed by a vehicle and her grieving mother that spent hours by her side hoping to wake her up.

“From behind me there’s a deep toned but soft sounding grunt. I immediately know what it is. It’s a vocalization, the kind sows (female bears) make to call to their cubs,” the ranger shared in a Facebook post on Friday, along with a powerfully moving photo of the bear standing over her cub, which the ranger estimated was just months old. 

“This bear is the mom, and she never left her cub,” the ranger continued.

In a Facebook post on July 16, 2021, a Yosemite park ranger shared a moving account of responding to a dead bear cub and learning it was hit by a vehicle. The ranger said that the mother had been by its side for hours trying to wake her cub. (Yosemite National Park)

The post began with the ranger acknowledging how common bear killings were and how hardened rangers’ hearts have become to these calls, due to the frequency of these events. Vehicle-bear collisions have been identified as one of the leading causes of death for black bears in Yosemite.

“‘Bear hit by vehicle, dead on the side of the road.’ Sadly, it’s become routine,” the ranger wrote.

The post went on to explain the process of going into the “routine” of responding to the call, which had come in some five hours earlier.

Once on scene, the ranger went through the steps of taking care of what was expected to be the latest in a string of similar cases. 

“My job here is easy, really: find the bear, move its body far away from the road to prevent any other animals from getting hit while scavenging on it, fill out a report, and collect samples and measurements for research,” the post said. “Then I’m off on my way again with another number to add to the total of bears hit by vehicles this year—data we hope will help prevent future collisions. Pretty callous,” the ranger wrote, adding, “However, the reality behind each of these numbers is not.”

SEE ALSO: California identifies new, rare gray wolf pack

To the ranger, this case would prove to be a painful reminder that each killed bear logged into the system was more than just a number, more than just data as part of a report.

The ranger surveyed the scene, inspecting the surroundings, looking for the usual signs and scanning the road for blood that might reveal where the animal’s body was.   

“I try to remember how many times I’ve done this now and, truthfully, I don’t know,” the writer pondered, while going through the motions, and noted, “This is not what any of us signs up for, but it’s a part of the job nonetheless.” 

And then a clue caught the ranger’s eyes: a vehicle part, presumably something that was once a section of an undercarriage. The training and vast experience prompted the ranger to the next move, to search the immediate area for a bear’s still body. 

SEE ALSO: 2 San Francisco brothers set record crossing large gap on a highline in Yosemite

Two San Francisco brothers claim highline record at Yosemite

Two brothers from San Francisco say they have set a record for the longest highline ever walked in both Yosemite National Park and California. Earlier this month, they and a group of friends spent nearly a week stringing a single, 2,800-foot-long line from Taft Point west across a series of gulleys that plunge 1,600 feet. Highlining is high-altitude slacklining, in which a narrow strip of strong, nylon webbing — usually an inch wide and a few millimeters thick — is strung between two anchor points and serves as a kind of balance beam.

“I turn my gaze from the car part down the embankment on the side of the road and there it is,” the post explained. 

What the ranger found next, prompted a pause as the animal was much smaller than expected. “A cub,” the ranger shared, describing the discovery. “Its tiny light brown body laying just feet from me and the road, nearly invisible to every passerby. It’s a new cub—couldn’t be much more than six months old, now balled up and lifeless under a small pine tree.” 

This call may have hit the ranger a little harder than the others, as the lifeless body was so small. “For a moment I lose track of time as I stand there staring at its tiny body,” the writer explained, noting it didn’t take long to snap out of it and remember what needed to be done next. “…the sound of more cars whizzing by reminds me of my place and my role. I let out a deep sigh and continue on with my task.”

But first, the ranger explained of being compelled to place the small cub in a different location before getting to the “task” of the job. 

“I pick up the cub—it couldn’t be much more than 25 pounds—and begin carrying it off into the woods. I have no certain destination; I’m just walking until I can no longer hear the hiss of the road behind me,” the writer recounted. “The least I can do is find it a nice place to be laid. I lay it down in the grass protected by one of the nearby logs and sit back on the log opposite of it, slightly relieved that it looks far more in place now than when I found it earlier.”

SEE ALSO: Surveillance video shows bear wandering Oakley neighborhood, police search continues

As the ranger started getting to work, there in the quiet of the woods came a sudden and startling sound of a snapping stick. The ranger looked up to find a dark figure, its dark eyes staring back. 

“It’s another bear. Surprised, I stand up quickly and the bear runs off into the brush,” the ranger wrote, noting that the animal took a moment to look back once more before leaving completely. 

The bear did eventually get out of sight, prompting the ranger to chalk it up to being just a coincidence and speculate that the bear might have been looking for food or perhaps the area was a common crossing for others of its kind. 

But within minutes, the ranger would know that it was not just a coincidence, that the bear had intentionally and with purpose found her way there, seeking and hoping for only one thing. And the animal would return as part of that pursuit. The scene that unfolded was a powerful reminder of the important work Yosemite rangers and other conservationists do to try and protect the iconic park and its inhabitants.   

When the bear returned, the ranger would be notified of her presence by the sad, heart-wrenching sound that she made as she called for her cub.

“I turn and look in its direction and there she is, the same bear from before intently staring back at me. It’s no coincidence. I can feel the callousness drain from my body,” the writer recalled. “My heart sinks. It’s been nearly six hours and she still hasn’t given up on her cub. I can just imagine how many times she darted back and forth on that road in attempts to wake it.” 

The ranger detailed the emotional scene, explaining how the mother’s calls to her cub continue, “sounding more pained each time.” The ranger watched on saying it was impossible not to hope that in some miraculous event, the cub would wake up and respond back to her mama. “…but of course, nothing,” the writer shared. “Now here I am, standing between a grieving mother and her child. I feel like a monster.” 

And the ranger decided it was time to leave. “I get up, quickly pack my bag, and get out of there… even though my task is not done.” 

But before leaving the mother bear and her dead cub, the park worker took out a camera to document the grim scene, with hopes of turning this moment into one that would educate visitors to the park and teach them that this moment could have been prevented. 

FLASHBACK Bears struck and killed by speeding drivers in Yosemite National Park

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“Every year we report the number of bears that get hit by vehicles, but numbers don’t always paint a picture,” the writer shared. “I want people to see what I saw: the sad reality behind each of these numbers.”

And the ranger made an urgent call to those who came to the park to take in the majestic world it had to offer.  

(Ellen Ellery)

“So please, remember this,” the ranger pleaded, “we are all just visitors in the home of countless animals and it is up to us to follow the rules that protect them. Go the speed limit, drive alertly, and look out for wildlife. Protecting Yosemite’s black bears is something we can all do.”

File of bear crossing the road.

Visitors to Yosemite National Park can learn more about how to prevent vehicle-bear collisions by clicking here.

https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/yosemite-ranger-gives-heartbreaking-account-of-mother-bear-calling-for-her-dead-cub-asks-drivers-to-slow-down

Wolves Help The World… Hunters Don’t And Never Will

For Indigenous people the removal of Endangered Species Act protections and impending decimation of #wolf populations by trophy hunters isn’t simply an “environmental” or “wildlife” issue—it's a social justice issue. Watch this video, the ACT: https://t.co/rePB96YHlK pic.twitter.com/F2fquJbFE9

— WildEarth Guardians (@wildearthguard) July 23, 2021

Act Now to Protect Birds and Habitats from Plastic Waste

act.abcbirds.org

Tell Congress to Save Birds from Plastic Waste

Every year, 17 billion pounds of plastic enter the marine environment. Despite efforts to promote recycling, less than nine percent of plastics in the U.S. are actually recycled.

Birds are particularly vulnerable to plastic pollution. Many seabirds, like Laysan Albatross, are seriously injured or killed when they ingest or become entangled with plastic trash.

To address the plastic pollution crisis, Congress has introduced the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act of 2021 (S.984/H.R.2238). This bill would put the onus on manufacturers to take care of the plastic waste that they produce, ultimately reducing the amount of plastic that gets into our oceans and the toll it takes on birds.

Take action today: Contact your U.S. Representative and Senators and ask them to pass the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act. Read More

https://act.abcbirds.org/a/take-action-plastics

Red Tide Leaves Hundreds of Tons of Fish Dead in Florida’s Tampa Bay

Officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) survey dead fish in Tampa Bay. FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute

Olivia Rosane Jul. 19, 2021 02:00PM EST Oceans

AboutContact UsSubscribemarine life

A deadly red tide has returned to Florida’s Tampa Bay, prompting protests over government inaction. https://8b66429a38b58a8c96240c83caaace26.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.htmlReport Advertisement

The solid waste division of Pinellas County, where Tampa Bay is located, said they had picked up 600 tons of dead marine life since late June, as NPR reported.

“The bay is really hurting right now,” Pinellas County resident Maya Burke told NPR. “It’s significant numbers of dead fish all up and down the food chain, from small forage fish all the way up to tarpon, manatees, dolphins… If it’s swimming in the bay, right now it’s washing up dead.”

The devastation prompted more than 100 protestors to march along the St. Petersburg waterfront on Saturday, as The AP reported. The demonstrators called on Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to declare a state of emergency in order to provide funds to address the problem.

“This is not political,” protest organizer Aimee Conlee said at the demonstration, as The AP reported. “This is life. This is water, and water is life.”

The St. Petersburg City Council backed the call with a resolution passed last week, but DeSantis has said there is enough funding available from the state’s Department of Environmental Protection without a declaration.

Red tides are caused by an overabundance of the algae Karenia brevis, The Smithsonian explained. This algae is naturally occurring in the Gulf of Mexico, but is made worse by nutrient pollution, according to The AP. It is unusual for these blooms to occur in Tampa Bay during the summer months, NPR reported. Instead, they typically begin in the fall and end by January. The last serious summer red tide was in 2018, and this year’s outbreak looks to be worse.

“This is not normal,” NOAA oceanographer Richard Stumpf told NPR. “The fact that it’s been three years since the last one is not good.”

The outbreak comes around three months after a major leak at a phosphate plant wastewater pond located in a Piney Point reservoir near Tampa Bay. Experts say pollutants from the leak could be worsening the tide, but are unlikely to be its original source.

“I don’t think that the red tide was originated as a consequence of Piney Point,” Tom Frazer, Florida’s former chief science officer and a professor and dean at the University of South Florida College of Marine Science, said in a public discussion reported by WUSF. “One of the things that we saw with the red tide early on was that it was south of the discharge area, with the red tide continuing to kind of migrate or move northward into lower Tampa Bay.”

He said that other sources of the outbreak could be runoff from septic tanks, stormwater systems and agricultural or lawn fertilizer.

The number of fish washing up dead on the beach could also have been increased by winds from Tropical Storm Elsa earlier this month, according to NPR. Pinellas County and St. Petersburg officials said they removed nine tons of fish in a 24-hour period following the storm, according to The Independent.

Red tides can also harm human health by worsening the effects of asthma and other respiratory conditions. Scientists warn these events may get even worse because of the climate crisis, since warmer waters favor the algae and more extreme precipitation events increase runoff and nutrient pollution.

“Because of climate change, we are at a crossroad with regard to control of harmful algal blooms, and must aggressively tackle the problem before it becomes so difficult that in many ecosystems we are faced with the option of allowing these micro-organisms to go unchecked,” experts warned in a 2015 letter published in Environmental Science & Technology.

• Water being pumped into Tampa Bay could cause a massive algae … ›
• Florida Manatees Die in Record Numbers From Lack of Food … ›

• Red Tide, stench of dead fish hangs over Fort De Soto beaches ›
• In Tampa, 600 Tons of Dead Fish Washed Onto Beaches : NPR ›

marine lifefishconservationclimate crisisclimate changewastewater EcoWatch Daily NewsletterYour EmailRelated Articles from EcoWatch coral reefs

https://www.ecowatch.com/red-tide-fish-dead-tampa-bay-2653844544.html#toggle-gdpr

In the US, the Supreme Court has ruled that vaccinated people worldwide are products, patented goods, according to US law, no longer human.

“135 detained migrants test positive for COVID-19”

Biden’s border crisis fuels the opioid crisis

www.gop.com

Joe Biden’s border crisis is having deadly consequences nationwide.

Border agents apprehended 188,829 illegal immigrants last month, the most since March 2000, and as the number of people surging to the border has increased, so has the flow of lethal drugs.

For the 5^th straight month, more fentanyl has been seized at the southwest border than in the corresponding months in 2018, 2019, and 2020 combined.

Enough fentanyl was seized in June 2021 to kill 238 million Americans.

That was just the fentanyl that was seized. Biden’s own Border Patrol Chief warns that cartels are “dictating” where illegal immigrants cross the border so criminals can smuggle lethal narcotics without detection.

As CBS News reports, the result is “a flood of drugs coming into this country at the US-Mexico border” with “deadly consequences” throughout the nation – reporting confirmed by law enforcement, who described a fentanyl explosion linked to Biden’s border crisis.

Biden’s open borders agenda is aiding and abetting the flow of lethal drugs, fueling a nationwide opioid crisis, profiting criminal organizations, and costing American lives.

---

Immigration Border Security Read more Blogs

https://www.gop.com/bidens-border-crisis-fuels-the-opioid-crisis/

BREAKING: Biden Indicates He Wants To Ban The Sale Of Handguns

www.dailywire.com

Daily Wire News

President Joe Biden said during a CNN town hall on Wednesday night that he is pushing to eliminate the sales of handguns.

“I’m the only guy that ever got — passed legislation when I was a senator to make sure we eliminated assault weapons,” Biden said. “The idea you need a weapon that can have the ability to fire 20, 30, 40, 50, 120 shots from that weapon, whether it’s a, whether it’s a 9mm pistol or whether it’s a rifle, is ridiculous.”

“I’m continuing to push to eliminate the sale of those things, but I’m not likely to get that done in the near term,” Biden added.

WATCH:

They’re not hiding their intentions. Joe Biden says he wants to ban handguns — not merely AR-15s like their previous dishonest talking points suggested. Watch Biden stumble through this town hall answer. pic.twitter.com/DI3CDTN1wL

— (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) July 22, 2021

The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a member.

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Record rise in tiger population in Manas National Park may cause infighting & deaths

www.sentinelassam.com

Sentinel Digital Desk

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Over three-fold increase in the number of adult tigers in the Manas National Park in a decade that has created a national record in tiger conservation in the country, may also result in infighting inside the park.

Such fear and apprehension are seen among renowned wildlife activists and NGOs.

“Better management and protection measures have increased to tigers in Manas, which is a positive sign. But in coming years, the focus should be given on the management of the prey base, so that deaths due to infighting do not take place”, said Dr Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, CEO of Aaranyak, leading wildlife protection and conservation NGO said.

The National Park once ravaged by the problem of insurgency can now boast of having 38 adult tigers. The park had only 10 adult tigers in 2010.

The 12th annual camera trapping survey conducted this year has revealed the presence of 48 tigers, of which 38 are adults, 3 sub-adults and 7 cubs in Manas. Among the adult tigers, 21 are females, 16 males and 1 unidentified sex. The extensive systematic camera trap survey was carried out for the first time in Manas Tiger Reserve covering Manas National Park, First Addition to Manas National Park and Barnadi Wildlife Sanctuary-together covering a total area of 876 sq. km approximately.

The annual survey in Manas using camera-traps is led by the Field Director of Manas Tiger Reserve and supported by Aaranyak and WWF India and has been continuing since 2010 in Manas for monitoring the tigers, co-predators and prey animals, with constant support from various donors and collaborators. This year Manas is celebrating the 12th year of collaboration with Aaranyak and WWF India for the annual camera trapping survey dedicated to assessing the population status of tigers in the area.

Dr M Firoz Ahmed, scientist and head of Tiger Research and Conservation Division, Aaranyak said, “Manas is a unique landscape that offers tremendous scope for conservation of Tigers and another biodiversity in a transboundary conservation landscape. The future of conservation of the landscape lies with both India and Bhutan as the forest on either side of the international boundary complements with each other, which was proved by new understandings how individual tigers share transboundary space.”

Also Read: A 3-fold rise in Manas tiger population creates a conservation record

https://www.sentinelassam.com/amp/guwahati-city/record-rise-in-tiger-population-in-manas-national-park-may-cause-infighting-deaths-aaranyak-547457?__twitter_impression=true

I swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me 🤐 oh wait…we can’t say God anymore so there’s no penalty for lying 😷

Watch part of the epic clash between @RandPaul and Dr. Fauci.

So who is lying? @TianaTheFirst provides @BuckSexton with the facts.

"He knows that he potentially funded this thing." pic.twitter.com/kT0k3C6Srj

— The First (@TheFirstonTV) July 22, 2021

World’s feral pigs produce as much CO2 as 1.1m cars each year, study finds

www.theguardian.com

Donna Lu

The climate impact of wild pigs around the world is equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions of 1.1m cars annually, according to new research.

Modelling by an international team of researchers estimates that feral pigs release 4.9m metric tonnes of carbon dioxide each year globally by uprooting soil.

Researcher Dr Christopher O’Bryan of the University of Queensland said feral pigs were one of the most widespread vertebrate invasive species on the planet.

“Pigs are native to Europe and parts of Asia, but they’ve been introduced to every continent except Antarctica,” he said.

“When we think of climate change, we tend to think of the classic fossil fuel problem. This is one of the additional threats to carbon, and to climate change potentially, that hasn’t really been explored in any global sense.”

Feral hogs uproot soil while searching for food, in a process O’Bryan likens to “mini tractors that are ploughing soil”. Doing so exposes microbes in the soil to oxygen. The microbes “reproduce at a rapid rate and then that can produce carbon emissions [in the form of] CO₂.”

“Any form of land-use change can have an effect on carbon emissions from the soil,” O’Bryan said. “The same thing happens when you put a tractor through a field or you deforest land.”

The researchers estimate that wild pigs are uprooting an area upwards of 36,000 sq km (14,000 sq miles) in regions where they are not native.

Oceania had the largest area of land disturbed by wild pigs – roughly 22,000 sq km – followed by North America. The pigs in Oceania accounted for more than 60% of the animal’s estimated yearly emissions, emitting nearly 3m metric tonnes of CO₂, equivalent to about 643,000 cars.

The findings of the study, published in the journal Global Change Biology, were drawn from three models. One model predicted wild pig density globally across 10,000 simulations, based on existing information about wild pig populations and locations.

A second model converted pig density into an area of disturbed land, and a third estimated the amount of CO₂ emitted when soil is disturbed.

Nicholas Patton, a PhD student at the University of Canterbury, said there was some uncertainty in the modelling as a result of the variability of the carbon content in soils and the densities of wild pigs in different areas.

“Areas that are peat bogs or black soils … especially ones that have a lot of moisture, they’re a sink for carbon,” said Patton. “When pigs get in there and root around, they have a lot more potential for that carbon to be released [than from other soils].”

In addition to their climate impacts, the destructive impact of wild hogs has been well documented. O’Bryan said managing the animals was a challenge that would involve prioritising whichever of their impacts was deemed most significant.

“If all we care about is agriculture, then the cost and the benefits of managing pigs will be different than if all we cared about was carbon emissions, than if all we cared about was biodiversity.

“At the end of the day, feral pigs are a human problem. We’ve spread them around the world. This is another human-mediated climate impact.”

… we have a small favour to ask. With much of the US now trapped in a vicious cycle of heat, wildfires and drought, our climate journalism has never been more essential, and we need your support to keep producing it.

Perhaps you’re familiar with the Guardian’s reputation for hard-hitting, urgent reporting on the environment. We view the climate crisis as the defining issue of our time. It is already here, making growing parts of our planet uninhabitable. As parts of the world emerge from the pandemic, carbon emissions are again on the rise, risking a rare opportunity to transition to a more sustainable future.

The Guardian has renounced fossil fuel advertising, becoming the first major global news organisation to do so. We have committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2030. And we are consistently increasing our investment in environmental reporting, recognising that an informed public is crucial to keeping the worst of the crisis at bay.

More than 1.5 million readers, in 180 countries, have recently taken the step to support us financially – keeping us open to all and fiercely independent. With no shareholders or billionaire owner, we can set our own agenda and provide trustworthy journalism that’s free from commercial and political influence, offering a counterweight to the spread of misinformation. When it’s never mattered more, we can investigate and challenge without fear or favour.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/19/worlds-feral-pigs-produce-as-much-co2-as-11m-cars-each-year-study-finds

USA will celebrate freedom in three and a half years!

NOW – "Freedom Day" celebration at a nightclub in London as #COVID19-related restrictions have been lifted in England.pic.twitter.com/tsEqCU4QM0

— Disclose.tv 🚨 (@disclosetv) July 18, 2021

150 dead, thousands feared missing as floods devastate Western Europe