The Decline of the Bald Eagle

The Bald Eagle is arguably one of, if not the most, majestic bird in the world.

It is the symbol of our great country. For over 200 years, the bald eagle was an endangered species. Finally in 2007, the Interior Department declared that the numbers of bald eagles have risen enough to be removed from the Endangered Species list. During the colonial times, when the settlers arrived, the numbers of Bald Eagles started declining. The decline was a result of the colonists hunting and fishing the same game that the Bald Eagle was hunting. During the early to mid 1900’s, a chemical known as DDT was being used as an insecticide on plants. Small animals began eating the plants and when the Eagles caught and ate the small birds, they were being poisoned. This further decreased the numbers. After figuring out the DDT was harming the birds and doing many other bad things to the environment, it was banned. Fortunately, the Bald Eagles have made a recovery and have since been taken off the Endangered Species List. Today, the Bald Eagle still faces many threats such as poachers seeking to sell the feathers on the Black Market, landing on power lines and electrocuting themselves, starvation, and poisoning from eating dead animals.

This is another example of how human impacts have affected a wildlife population both directly and indirectly. Fortunately, both the human population and the Bald Eagle have adapted before the Bald Eagle population went extinct.

A Magnificent Recovery

Thirty years ago they were endangered, almost extinct. Today, they seem to be in every lake and pond in the Southeastern United States. Estimates put them at over 1 million now. What is this animal I speak of? The American Alligator of course. Once hunted for their hides, they were nearly extinct. They were placed on the Endangered Species List in 1967 due to such low remaining numbers. After being placed on the Endangered Species List, hunting them for their hides was outlawed. Recovery efforts by state and local governments have worked, and their numbers are now over a million. This rapid growth can be attributed to the mothers, who lay 20-50 eggs at a time. They seem to be in every pond, lake, and river in the southern United States. Alligators like to eat small prey such as fish, birds, snakes, and other small mammals. Larger Alligators can even catch big prey such as deer. The Alligator can reach lengths of up to 18 feet and 600 pounds. They are the largest reptile in all of North America.

People are generally afraid of alligators because they think they will attack you. Attacks do happen, but they are very rare. Generally, they are more afraid of humans than humans are of them. If threatened though, they will protect themselves. Human encounters with alligators are on the rise, especially in Florida, where the human population is ever growing and living near or on the water. It is important to understand that alligators are powerful creatures and need to be respected so.

Importance of Wildlife Preservation

As the human population continues to increase, our effects on wildlife and nature increase as well. Deforestation, mining, over-farming, and many other things destroy the natural environment around us. Destroying one part of nature can have a huge impact on many other parts. For example, destroying one type of plant can lead to the endangerment or extinction of a certain animal due to lack of food. The lack of numbers of that animal can lead to endangerment of another animal that feeds on the previous animal. The natural food chain can collapse leading to the destruction of the entire ecosystem. This may be an extreme example, but human diversification can have a big impact on wildlife. One example of human diversification affecting wildlife is the case of the Florida Panther.

The Florida Panther was once a very populated species spread across several states including Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and even parts of Tennessee and South Carolina. Today, it is believed that only 80-100 Panthers are alive today. Their natural habitat has been reduced to only Southern Florida. The huge drop in numbers and natural habitat is due to many reasons. Human development including houses in their territory and roads through their territories has significantly impacted the Panther species. The reduction of natural territory leads to fighting within the breed over territory disputes, further decreasing the population. Once the population reaches a certain point, there are so few left that inbreeding occurs, causing genetic defects within the breed.

Wildlife has a right to exist. It has a reason for its existence, whether it be for our economic benefit or for human enjoyment, it should be preserved. Deer and many other animals are hunted for their meat for food, but their are rules and regulations in place to prevent over-hunting and depleting the deer population. The same should be done with human diversification to help diminish our effect on wildlife.

Living with the Black Bear

Bears are often known to be ferocious animals that attack people. This may be true for a few species, but for the most part, the black bear native to Florida is known to be shy and non-aggressive to humans. This brochure by the FWC is a good guide to how to live among a bear population. Bears are omnivores and scavengers, so leaving food in a non-secured garbage can attract bears to your home if they smell the food. To avoid bears scavenging around your home, it is a good idea to leave anything that can attract them in a secured or closed off area. Garbage cans, feeders, pet food, fruit trees and even barbecue grills can attract bears. It is important to avoid intentional and unintentional contact with bears, not just for your safety, but for the bear’s safety as well.  As Florida’s human population increases, incidents with bears increase as well because of the destruction of forested areas, where bears live, for new homes. According to this FWC brochure, human encounters with black bears has risen from about a 1000 in 2001 to over 2500 in 2008. Usually shy, the black bear is still a wild animal and can attack when it feels threatened. When a bear attacks, it is usually labeled as a threat to public safety. This often results in the bear being killed, even if the blame for the attack can be placed on humans. It is sad that an innocent bear will be killed because of  the actions of humans. After all, the bear is just doing what comes natural. It is just looking for food. So please, if you live in an area where bears live, follow the simple guidelines in the brochure to help minimize any encounters between the natural bear habitat and the human population.

Caring for a Koala

Koalas are interesting animals. Did you know that they do not usually drink any water? Koala’s main diet is composed of Eucalyptus leaves, which supplies them with not only the food they need, but also the hydration that they need. The poor koala in this video is an orphan because the mother koala was killed. He became so stressed that he developed a severe case of conjunctivitis. Conjunctivitis (also known as pink eye) is an infection of the eye that is quite painful. The koala was treated for the infection and recovered fully a few weeks later. After the full recovery, he was released back into the wild.

Not only was the koala cared for, he was cared for by an all-volunteer staff. They give up their time to care for sick or injured animals in an effort to help them. Without people like them, that koala would have suffered much longer than he did. Equally important, without donations from charitable people, he would have never received the help he needed.  Like them, we here at Genesis Rescue are an all volunteer staff, supported from generous donations. All donations are used for the rescue or rehabilitation of animals. This includes building the infrastructure necessary to house the animals in rehabilitation, providing food, water and medicine to treat their injuries or providing permanent care for the animals that cannot be released back into the wild.

The Mighty Wolf

The wolf is known as a predator that often needs to be killed. Information on the wolf can be found here. It is a top tier predator that travels in packs to kill its prey. They like to eat deer and elk, but will also scavenge for other dead animals if necessary. Most people will hunt down and kill wolves, especially farmers who have lost livestock because of wolves. Because of this hunting and human diversification into wolf territory, the wolf has become endangered in the United States. Habitat loss due to human diversification has created many encounters between humans and wolves. Many organizations are working to promote the preservation of the wolf species by informing people of ways to deal with wolves in a non-lethal way. Building fences and setting up lighting and alarm fixtures can help prevent wolves from attacking livestock. One of the most important things though is removing and dead and dying livestock, because wolves are scavengers and attack weak or already dead animals.

At our clinic we have two wolves. Wolfie is a young female and has some growing to do. She has some British Columbian bloodlines. She loves to play and has lots of energy. Her previous owner was ill from a long stay in the hospital and could not raise the pups. Wolfie was less than 4 weeks old when she came to live with us. We thought she would be a good companion for Alpha who has lived alone for many years.

Our other wolf is Alpha, a Gray Wolf. She has been with us for many years now, and has a very happy-go-lucky attitude.

We are working to promote understanding of wolves and how they are not the dangerous creatures that many movies and people make them out to be.

It’s just a mouse, right?

It’s just a mouse. That’s what the mother was thinking when she pulled into the driveway of Wildlife Rescue with her daughter. A little background on them first. Wildlife Rescue is a non-profit organization based in Pennsylvania, with the goal of rescuing and caring for injured wildlife. Much like us here at Genesis Rescue, they are run purely on volunteers and donations. Back to the story. The daughter had a cat and that cat caught a mice and wounded it pretty severely. She did not want the poor mouse to die, so she insisted they take it somewhere to help it. The mother brought it to Wildlife Rescue and began apologizing for bringing in such an “insignificant creature”. What she didn’t realize is that lowly mouse is just as important as any other animal. Every animal has a value in its life and if injured, deserves our attention to help rescue it. The chances of the little mouse surviving the injuries were slim, but several weeks later that mouse was not only still alive, but was fully recovered from its injuries. That little girl had the privilege to release that mouse back into the wild. The daughter and the mother both learned a valuable lesson that day. No matter how insignificant a creature may seem, life is precious and saving the life of that little mouse was joyful.

Rescuing the Florida Panther

Tonight I ran across an encouraging article about two Florida Panther cubs being rescued from the wild after the mother had died. The article can be found here.    The Florida Panther is on the Endangered Species List, and in an ongoing attempt to save the Florida Panther from extinction, several wildlife agencies and non-profit groups have sought to save and re-populate the breed. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission tags and tracks many Panthers across the state, and one of the mother’s they tagged died, leaving her 4 and a half month old cubs to fend for themselves. In the wild, the cubs would have never survived, they were simply too young. A rescue attempt was made to trap the cubs and relocate them to a wildlife conservation center where they would be cared for until they were old enough to be released back into the wild. Officials set up remote cameras and sensors along with several traps. Tracks of the cubs were spotted, but several days went by with no luck catching the baby cubs. Eventually two of the three cubs were trapped and transported to the White Oak Conservation Center where they received proper care. The cubs will be kept for about a year until they are old enough to survive in the wild.

Although one cub is presumed dead, this story is inspiring. With only about 100 Panthers in existence today, rescuing and caring for the two cubs helps the population survive. Many problems, such as in-breeding and habitat loss, still exist for the Panther. Programs are being instituted to end in-breeding and habitat loss. Texas cougars, close relatives of the the Panther, are being introduced into Florida to breed with the Panther to reduce in-breeding and genetic defects.The success of the programs being instituted to protect and increase the population will not be seen for many years, but small achievements like this will surely help preserve the Panther species.