Buffalo Going Home. Game Full of Lead. Giorgio Armani. Fur or Faux. Puppies and Kittens Bait. Shaking Mammals. Pet Superstitions. First Parachutist. Hero Olive.

 

For “Mammal Monday”:

Restoring Buffalo to their Home on the Range

“Yesterday, I drove a thousand miles across the Great Plains and saw not a single buffalo. I did see domestic cows and sheep, coal-fired power plants and wind farms, miles of power lines and fences. I saw immense open prairie; grass-covered, wind-scoured, treeless hills tumbling out to the horizon. But in a land where 30 million American bison once roamed in herds that would rival the wildebeest of the African Serengeti, we now have to go out of our way to find one.

If you want to know where all the bison went, ask Jason Baldes.   Jason is an expert on the history of the bison, and as a Shoshone tribal member, he understands this history in a way most of us can’t.

Jason explains that the plants, animals and humans of the American prairie have been evolving together for millennia. Bison were an integral part of the prairie ecosystem: their hooves broke up the soil so seeds could germinate and their wallows – the depressions left when they rolled in the dirt – gathered rain which fed medicinal plants.

The lives of Native Americans were also inextricably tied to the bison. They followed the herds across the plains, relying on the great creatures for food, shelter and tools. They worshipped bison, performing religious ceremonies to promote its abundance and express gratitude for its ultimate sacrifice to them in the hunt.

The U.S. Army recognized this reliance in the late 19th century, when the westward movement of miners and homesteaders led to clashes with the resident Sioux, Cheyenne, Shoshone, and Arapaho. To defeat the tribes and clear the way for “Manifest Destiny,” the U.S. Army used the following tactic: eliminate the tribes’ main food source.

A herd of wild bison approach the author’s car in Yellowstone National Park (Photo by Sarah Pizzo)

A few hundred bison survived the slaughter. Some took shelter in what later became Yellowstone National Park, where they thrive today as the last source of free-roaming, genetically pure bison (i.e. not interbred with domestic cattle).”   More at: http://blog.nwf.org/2012/10/restoring-buffalo-to-their-home-on-the-range/

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Game Full of Lead

“Standard rifle bullets disperse tiny lead fragments throughout the flesh of wild game, raising public health concerns about lead poisoning in those that consume venison, based on a study of white-tailed deer shot by hunters. 

From: http://nutritionfacts.org/video/filled-full-of-lead/

“Lead has also been found in protein powder supplements (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/heavy-metals-in-protein-powder-supplements/), ayervedic medicine supplements (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/get-the-lead-out/), and other animal products (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/cannibalistic-feed-biomagnification/). Maybe in shot kangaroo meat too? Like mercury in tuna (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/nerves-of-mercury/), no level of lead consumption can be considered safe.”

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Giorgio Armani Shows No Compassion for Small Creatures. Take Action!

“Giorgio Armani continues to use rabbit fur in his designs. Rabbit fur operations were recently uncovered in both France and China, where large-scale rabbit slaughter facilities were exposed. Rabbits at these locations were shown to be hung upside down shortly before their skin was cruelly ripped from their bodies.”    More at: http://theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/clickToGive/campaign.faces?siteId=3&adId=59991&placementId=281501&campaign=ArmaniRabbits

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Fur or Faux: Labels faking it

“If you have an article of clothing trimmed with fur, how do you know if its real or not?

Some people might think you could simply check the label, but it's not quite that easy. As technology improves and imported furs get cheaper, it's getting a lot harder to tell – no matter what the labels may read.   The fur or faux test is one that almost all fashion designers, sales clerks and shoppers fail.”     

See video how to tell the difference at: http://www.americanownews.com/story/18165048/faux-vs-fur-labels-fake-you-out

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Stop anyone using puppies and kittens as shark and alligator bait.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kittens Used as Live Bait - 'Kite Fishing' American Rich Doing This!!

“The Human Society of America has announced overcrowding in their shelters by cats and kittens as a result of global warming. Earth’s warming temperatures have caused longer and more frequent breeding seasons.  Rich, arrogant traveling anglers are taking advantage of this surplus of kittens by using these helpless animals as live bait for sharks, blue marlin and tarpon. These sick individuals abuse cats and kittens for their own twisted amusement and calling it "sport".”

More at: http://www.causes.com/actions/1679274?recruiter_id=147111171&utm_campaign=invite&utm_medium=wall&utm_source=fb

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Slow-motion mammals shaking themselves dry

“This is not just another cute animal video compilation. This is science. David Hu and colleagues at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta filmed 16 wet mammals as they shook themselves dry. Watch their slow-motion footage and find out how fast different species need to shake.”

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Pet Superstition Dispelling

Pet expert Marc Marrone dispels some myths about black cats, dogs, birds and rabbits.

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From me:  Black cats are considered lucky in Europe.

Superstition, prejudice, bringer of good or bad luck

“The folklore surrounding black cats varies from culture to culture. In Great Britain, and in Ireland, black cats are a symbol of good luck. The Scottish believe that a strange black cat's arrival to the home signifies prosperity. In Celtic mythology, a fairy known as the Cat Sìth takes the form of a black cat. Black cats are also considered good luck in Japan, and Australia.  Furthermore, it is believed that a lady who owns a black cat will have many suitors.”    From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_cat

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Many places in the Bible it tells us not to be superstitious:

“A Christian is called away from superstition, error, bondage, deception, guilt, depravity, ignorance and a destructive life, from being a captive of Satan.”

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On This Day:

The first parachutist, Oct 22, 1797:

“The first parachute jump of note is made by André-Jacques Garnerin from a hydrogen balloon 3,200 feet above Paris.

Leonardo da Vinci conceived the idea of the parachute in his writings, and the Frenchman Louis-Sebastien Lenormand fashioned a kind of parachute out of two umbrellas and jumped from a tree in 1783, but André-Jacques Garnerin was the first to design and test parachutes capable of slowing a man's fall from a high altitude.

Garnerin first conceived of the possibility of using air resistance to slow an individual's fall from a high altitude while a prisoner during the French Revolution. Although he never employed a parachute to escape from the high ramparts of the Hungarian prison where he spent three years, Garnerin never lost interest in the concept of the parachute. In 1797, he completed his first parachute, a canopy 23 feet in diameter and attached to a basket with suspension lines.

On October 22, 1797, Garnerin attached the parachute to a hydrogen balloon and ascended to an altitude of 3,200 feet. He then clambered into the basket and severed the parachute from the balloon. As he failed to include an air vent at the top of the prototype, Garnerin oscillated wildly in his descent, but he landed shaken but unhurt half a mile from the balloon's takeoff site. In 1799, Garnerin's wife, Jeanne-Genevieve, became the first female parachutist. In 1802, Garnerin made a spectacular jump from 8,000 feet during an exhibition in England. He died in a balloon accident in 1823 while preparing to test a new parachute.”

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173rd Airborne trooper saves comrades, Oct 22, 1965:

“In action this day near Phu Cuong, about 35 miles northwest of Saigon, PFC Milton Lee Olive III of Company B, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry, throws himself on an enemy grenade and saves four soldiers, including his platoon leader, 1st Lt. James Sanford.

The action came during a patrol that made contact with Communist forces on the southern fringes of the infamous "Iron Triangle," a traditional Communist stronghold. Private Olive's body absorbed the full, deadly blast of the grenade and he died saving his comrades. Lieutenant Sanford later said of Olive's act that "It was the most incredible display of selfless bravery I ever witnessed." Olive, a native of Chicago, was only 18 years old when he died; he received the Medal of Honor posthumously six months later. The city of Chicago honored its fallen hero by naming a junior college, a lakefront park, and a portion of the McCormick Place convention center after him.”

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Yesterday:

I was busy taking care of the kitten, Misty and Prime, doing laundry, paying bills, making nut butters, tending to some long overdue emails, and getting caught up on various jobs around the house that I hadn’t done on the Sabbath day.