On a twilit night in Juneau, Alaska, in December 2003, Nick and Sherrie Jans were walking with Dakotah, their yellow Lab, in the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area not far from their house. Suddenly, a young black wolf appeared on the ice—and began running in their direction. Awestruck but scared, the couple watched as Dakotah broke loose and charged the predator, which was twice the size of the dog. The animals stopped yards apart and gazed at each other “as if each were glimpsing an almost-forgotten face and trying to remember,” recalled Jans. After a few moments, Dakotah ran back to her owners, and the three hurried home, listening to the wolf howl
The locals named him Romeo, and soon his presence was noted by the entire town. Most found it fascinating that Romeo was so friendly, while others assumed that this naturally predatory animal would give into his natural instincts at any moment, potentially attacking their pets and children.
During this time Nick Jans started documenting Romeo. When he did, he uncovered an emotional story, the heart of which describes the tenuous relationships between wild animals and the humans around them.
“The first thing I saw was tracks out on the lake in front of our house on the outskirts of Juneau,” Jans said in an interview with National Geographic. “A few days later, I looked out from my house and there was this wolf out on the ice. I’d had 20 years of experience around wolves up in the Arctic and immediately knew it was a wolf, not a dog. I threw on my skis and found him.”
ROMEO
According to Jans, Romeo seemed totally relaxed and friendly.
And it wasn’t just one interaction, either: Romeo remained his curious, friendly self for the better part of six years.
“For want of a better word,” Jans said, “The only thing I can say from a human perspective is that it amounted to friendship. If you wanted to be scientifically correct, it would be “social mutual tolerance.” But it was more than that. The wolf would come trotting over to say hi, and give a little bow and a relaxed yawn, and go trotting after us when we went skiing. There was no survival benefit. He obviously just enjoyed our company.”
Romeo’s behavior was definitely unusual, as many wolves tend to assert dominance by attacking dogs and other animals.
The wolf got his name because Jans and his family noticed how Romeo was kind of a flirt — particularly with their “Juliet,” a dog named Dakotah. Here, they’re standing nose-to-nose in what seems to be an all-too-perfect photo moment.
Romeo survived for years despite many mortal threats: scented traps, busy roads, illegal hunting, and even a poisoning attempt. He also had to contend with the natural dangers of starvation, injury, and attack by another pack of wolves. By almost any standard, his prolonged proximity to humans and dogs constituted incredibly rare behaviour. There was no obvious survival benefit to his socializing, yet the wolf lingered persistently, a late echo of the original process that must have initiated the domestication of dogs.
“When you get down to the genetic difference between a wolf and a domestic dog, whether it is a Chihuahua or a Great Dane, all dogs are 99.98 percent genetically a wolf. That 0.02 percent obviously looms huge, because if you raise a wolf cub from the time it opens its eyes, it may make a wonderfully bonded animal, but it will not be a dog, no matter what you do. It will act like a wolf and be a wolf. It takes generations to shape the soul of a wolf and its physical shape into man’s best friend.”
Romeo stayed in the area for as long as he lived — and he lived three times longer than most wild wolves do.
“Romeo was the single most transformative event of my life,” Jans said. “The amazing thing was Romeo’s understanding. It wasn’t just our understanding and tolerance. It was the combination of his and ours and the dogs’. We were these three species working out how to get along harmoniously. And we did.”
What happened to Romeo? Romeo disappeared in late September 2009. After some sleuthing, a supporter found he had been shot and killed by Juneau resident Park Myers III and his Pennsylvanian friend Jeff Peacock. Both men were arrested and ended up paying fines, serving a few years on probation, and losing hunting and fishing privileges for a limited time. In late November 2010, a memorial service was held for Romeo and this plaque was laid along a path where he once roamed.
“Nothing can take away the miracle that was Romeo and the years we spent in his company,” writes Jans. “Love, not hate, is the burden we carry.”
Nick Jans’ beautiful account of his unusual relationship is now in a book called A Wolf Called Romeo.
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An Orangutan in Sumatra surprised scientists when he was seen treating an open wound on his cheek with a poultice made from a medicinal plant. It’s the first scientific record of a wild animal healing a wound using a plant with known medicinal properties. The findings were published this week in Scientific Reports1.
Rakus used leaves from a liana climbing vine known to have anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties. Photograph: Saidi Agam/Suaq Project
“It shows that Orangutans and humans share knowledge. Since they live in the same habitat, I would say that’s quite obvious, but still intriguing to realize,” says Caroline Schuppli, a primatologist at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Konstanz, Germany, and a co-author of the study.
In 2009, Schuppli’s team was observing Sumatran Orangutans (Pongo abelii) in the Gunung Leuser National Park in South Aceh, Indonesia, when a young male moved into the forest. He did not have a mature male’s big cheek pads, called flanges, and was probably around 20 years old, Schuppli says. He was named Rakus, or ‘greedy’ in Indonesian, after he ate all the flowers off a gardenia bush in one sitting.
In 2021, Rakus underwent a growth spurt and became a mature flanged male. The researchers observed Rakus fighting with other flanged males to establish dominance and, in June 2022, a field assistant noted an open wound on his face, possibly made by the canines of another male, Schuppli says.
Days later, Rakus was observed eating the stems and leaves of the creeper akar kuning, which local people use to treat diabetes, dysentery and malaria, among other conditions. Orangutans in the area rarely eat this plant.
Leaves from the akar kuning variety of liana climbing vines. Photograph: Saidi Agam/Suaq Project
In addition to eating the leaves, Rakus chewed them without swallowing and used his fingers to smear the juice on his facial wound over seven minutes. Some flies settled on the wound, whereupon Rakus spread a poultice of leaf-mash on the wound. He ate the plant again the next day. Eight days after his injury, his wound was fully closed.
The research group has seen no other orangutans in the national park self-medicate using akar kuning in 21 years of observation. This could be because wild Orangutans in the region are rarely injured. Or perhaps Rakus is the only one who knows of this treatment, which could be a behaviour he picked up before he moved into the area.
Rakus with his open wound, two days before he was observed applying a poultice of medicinal leaves. Credit: Armas
“It is the first study to scientifically demonstrate that an animal is using a plant with medicinal properties applicable to wounds, and putting those on the wounds and consistently treating over a period of time,” says Michael Huffman, who studies animal self-medication at the Institute for Tropical Medicine at Nagasaki University in Japan.
Huffman says self-medication is seen in many species. Canadian Snow Geese swallow leaves whole to expel tape worms. Dusky-footed Wood Rats line their nests with aromatic plants to fumigate parasites. And Chimpanzees in Gabon have been observed rubbing insects near their wounds, potentially as treatment.
Humans might even have discovered some remedies by watching animals, he says. “Probably our ancestors were looking at other animals and learning about medicines.” When social animals communicate, “that information sticks and can last over generations”.
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According to Gilgit Baltistan wildlife officials, Brian Douglas Williams from the US successfully hunted an Astore Markhor (Capra falconeri) in Doyan, with a ‘trophy size’ of 40-inch horns.
US trophy hunter Brian Douglas Williams with the endangered Astore Markhor.
The hunter paid a $181,000 trophy hunting permit fee to the GB Wildlife Department (GBWD) for the hunt.
The trophy hunting programme starts in October and ends in April the following year.
The Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) government’s wildlife department on auctioned trophy hunting permits for 104 endangered animals, with the highest permit to hunt the Astor Markhor fetching a record $186,000, a wildlife department official confirmed.
The licenses included four for Astore Markhors, 14 for Blue Sheep, and 88 for Himalayan Ibex in various community conservation areas across US Trophy Hunter Pays $181,000 To Kill An Astore Markhor In Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan.
The enormous license fee to kill the rare Markhor, a long-horned goat native to Pakistan and found in its snowy northern mountains, is one of the highest in the world. The trophy hunting program was first introduced by the region’s administration in GB’s Nagar Valley in 1990, attracting international hunters who have since been paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to target a limited number of wild animals in the area. The program was later extended to different areas of GB.
The Astore Markhor
Trophy hunting is viewed worldwide as a controversial practice as it involves hunting of rare animals for sport and displaying their parts as trophies. Conservationists argue the trophy hunting program in northern Pakistan prevents poaching and empowers local communities. Markhors are usually found at heights of 8,000-11,000 feet, but during the winter months descend to between 5,000-6,000 feet, which is when the hunting season kicks off.
Pakistan is famous for the Markhor, which is distinguished by its nimble and sure-footed nature, as well as long winter coat and massive spiral horns, which can grow to more than 1.5 meters (5 feet) in length for males.
The Markhor’s current estimated population is between 3,500 and 5,000, a majority of them in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), followed by Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Balochistan.
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We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals.
It is vital that we protect animals against acts of cruelty, abuse, and neglect by enforcing established animal welfare laws and, when necessary, take action to ensure that those who abuse animals are brought to justice.
Protect All Wildlife are involved in many projects to protect animals’ rights, welfare, and habitats. Money contributed to Protect All Wildlife supports ALL of our worthy programmes and gives us the flexibility to respond to emerging needs. Your donations make our work possible.
Five Elephant calves have been found buried in drainage ditches on tea-growing estates in India in a rare example of burial behaviour in non-human animals.
An Elephant pulling a dead calf on a tea estate in North Bengal, India Credit: Parveen Kaswan and Akashdeep Roy.
Asian Elephant herd members in north Bengal have been documented burying premature calves in irrigation trenches inside tea gardens. The behavior is unique to this species and has been observed in cases in Debpara, Chunabhati, Bharnabari, Majherdabri, and the New Dooars tea gardens near Gorumara and Buxa. In five case studies in north Bengal, herd members dragged the calves away from human settlements before burying them in “leg-upright position” in irrigation trenches inside tea gardens.
Footprints and dung of various sizes indicate that herd members of all ages contributed to each burial. Night guards at the estates reported loud Elephant vocalisations, sometimes lasting as long as 30 to 40 minutes, before the herd left the area.
Akashdeep Roy at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Pune and Parveen Kaswan at the Indian Forest Service suggest that these trumpeting sounds may signify mourning and that the herds showed “helping and compassionate behaviour” during the burials.
“Calf burials are extremely rare events in nature,” says Roy.
An Elephant calf buried on a tea estate, with its feet protruding from the ground. Credit: Parveen Kaswan and Akashdeep Roy
They were surprised that the calves were buried feet up, but if the herd collectively buried each calf, this is the most accessible position to place the carcass into the drainage ditch, says Roy. As social animals, it may be most important to the elephants to bury the calf’s head, he says.
The calves’ bodies were later exhumed and examined. They ranged in age from 3 months to a year old, and a number of them were malnourished and had infections. Bruising along each calf’s back suggests they were dragged or carried long distances to the burial sites.
African bush Elephants (Loxodonta africana) have been observed covering dead bodies with vegetation and returning to these locations later. However, the Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus) in this study generally avoided returning to the burial sites, instead using alternative pathways.
“These observations offer impressive evidence of the social complexities of Elephants,” says Chase LaDue at the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden. “Others have noted that Elephants appear to behave in unique ways towards their deceased relatives, [but] this paper is the first to describe what appears to be methodical and deliberate burial of Elephant calves after they have been carried to the burial site.”
The land in which Elephants once roamed freely is shrinking as humans expand – especially in India, the world’s most populous country. Only about 22 per cent of the land that Elephants use is within protected areas.
“Understanding how Elephants behave and respond to rapid changes in human-dominated landscapes may help us develop conservation strategies that promote the coexistence of people and Elephants,” says LaDue.
Asian Elephants are recognised as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
An estimated 26,000 of them live in the wild, mostly in India with some in South-East Asia, surviving for an average of 60-70 years outside captivity.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP WILDLIFE
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Everyone who donates will receive a Certificate of Appreciation as a thank you for helping animals in need.
The Mission of Protect All Wildlife is to prevent cruelty and promote the welfare of ALL animals.
We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals.
It is vital that we protect animals against acts of cruelty, abuse, and neglect by enforcing established animal welfare laws and, when necessary, take action to ensure that those who abuse animals are brought to justice.
Protect All Wildlife are involved in many projects to protect animals’ rights, welfare, and habitats. Money contributed to Protect All Wildlife supports ALL of our worthy programmes and gives us the flexibility to respond to emerging needs. Your donations make our work possible.
Some of the animals illegally killed by Ali Haydar Ustay. Credit: Istanbul Police Department’s Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Branch
In an operation conducted in the districts of Sarıyer and Arnavutköy in Istanbul, over 400 taxidermied specimens of protected wild animals were confiscated. The suspect, 85-year-old Ali Haydar Ustay, who established a private museum by hunting animals domestically and internationally, has been apprehended.
During the raid conducted on Wednesday at the identified addresses, over 400 pieces of processed ornamental items and taxidermied animals were seized. New details emerged during the operation, revealing that taxidermied specimens and trophies of wildlife were present. Consequently, Ali Haydar Ustay was apprehended as a “suspect.” During the searches conducted at the addresses, various types of stuffed animals were seized, including Deer, American Antelope, Bison, Jaguar, Crocodile, Bear and Mountain Goat, with an approximate market value of TL 75 million ($2.3).
More of the animals seized by the Istanbul Police Department’s Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Branch.
The raid was the final step in detailed physical and technical tracking and resulted in the seizure of over 400 specimens, including species protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
The haul features taxidermied Polar Bears, Crocodiles, Lions, Jaguars, Cheetahs, Bison, and a notable Mammoth tusk. Authorities have valued the collection at a staggering $2.3 million.
Ustay, known for his extensive hunting expeditions, travelled to 30 countries on six continents to amass his collection. He illegally transported the animals into Turkey via his private aircraft.
The Polar Bear killed by Ali Haydar Ustay. Credit: Istanbul Police Department’s Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Branch.
He went to extraordinary lengths to pursue his prey, including a two-week stint in a tree for a Striped Deer and a two-month stay in Canada for a Polar Bear.
The most egregious of his acts include the hunting and killing of the last known Anadolu Tiger in Turkey. “This is not just a crime against nature but a direct assault on our national heritage and biodiversity,” said a General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks spokesperson.
The skin of the last known Anadolu Tiger in Turkey. Credit: Istanbul Police Department’s Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Branch.
The discovery of the Tiger’s skin in Ustay’s collection has stirred a wave of outrage among wildlife activists and conservationists.
Authorities have commenced the process of handing over the seized items, including trophies, skins, and other artifacts, to the Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks. Ustay is currently undergoing interrogation for his alleged crimes.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP WILDLIFE
You can support ‘Protect All Wildlife’ many projects by donating as little as £5 – It only takes a minute but it can last a lifetime for an animal in need. Please donate below.
Everyone who donates will receive a Certificate of Appreciation as a thank you for helping animals in need.
The Mission of Protect All Wildlife is to prevent cruelty and promote the welfare of ALL animals.
We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals.
It is vital that we protect animals against acts of cruelty, abuse, and neglect by enforcing established animal welfare laws and, when necessary, take action to ensure that those who abuse animals are brought to justice.
Protect All Wildlife are involved in many projects to protect animals’ rights, welfare, and habitats. Money contributed to Protect All Wildlife supports ALL of our worthy programmes and gives us the flexibility to respond to emerging needs. Your donations make our work possible.
Here, Andy Davidson lists the hard-hitting facts, revealing what zoos really spend their money on, and how you’re better off spending yours elsewhere if you care about conservation.
If you’re planning to a visit a zoo this weekend, ask yourself this question. How much of your ticket fee is being used for conservation? Let’s say you pay £15 for your ticket. You may be surprised to hear that the answer is as little as 45p to £1.
Zoo expenditure is vastly different to the expenditure of conservation organisations based in the wild. For example, Chester Zoo spent £40 million on the construction of ‘the islands’, an expansion of more enclosures to the zoo site. Other Western zoos over a ten-year period have spent £400 million on updating enclosures for a mere 200 elephants.
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and South African National Parks are conservation organisations that protect animals in their natural habitats. KWS has an annual budget of £13-14 million with which they protect 2.6 million hectares of that country’s National Parks. On that land are 33,000 Elephants, 2200 Lions and many vitally important habitats that are home to thousands of species of both plant and animal. The annual budget for the South African National Parks is £58 million and this consists of 19 national parks which make up 6% of the total land of South Africa. Just one of these parks houses 600 elephants.
The money used by Western zoos to update elephant enclosures for 200 Elephants could have kept Kenya Wildlife Service going for 14 to 15 years.
Sound shocking? It is. That’s why the chief consultant to the UN Great Ape Survival Project said he was uneasy at the mismatch between lavish spending at zoos and the scarcity of resources available for conserving threatened species in the wild.
Where Is Your Money Going?
Since the 1800s, the zoo has not fundamentally changed. Well known and entertaining animals such as Elephants, Chimps and Giraffes are front and centre and baby animals give zoos a boost in visitors.
The main driver for zoos is boosting public visitation, a goal that has far reaching implications into all zoo management decisions. Conservation, research and education are not their primary goals, making it impossible to term zoos as research or education organisations. In fact, zoos are places of entertainment, where animal welfare is governed by financial feasibility and entertainment value.
90% of species encaged by European zoos are not threatened from extinction. Over 90% of zoo animals are born in captivity. These animals are then paired across zoos to ensure genetic diversity. Gender cannot be predicted and genes are sometimes over represented leading to what the zoos call a ‘surplus of animals’. 3000-5000 of these animals in European zoos are killed each year. On the 8th of February 2014, Copenhagen Zoo (in)famously killed Marius, a healthy 18-month-old male Giraffe.
Afterward, zoo officials performed a three-hour-long demonstration of how to butcher a giraffe before a large crowd of visitors, including many children. The meat was then fed to the zoo’s four Lions. The four Lions, including two young Lions, were killed to make way for a new male. The Giraffe was killed because she could not produce anymore young.
Marius, a healthy male Giraffe, lies dead after he was euthanized at Copenhagen Zoo. Visitors, including children, were invited to watch while the he was dissected. Photo: Peter Hove Olesen.
Even for threatened species such as Pandas, breeding campaigns rarely work. 400 Pandas have been bred by zoos, yet only five have been released into the wild: three survived. It’s not hard to see that captive breeding is not feasible. Animals not brought up in the wild are less likely to survive there if reintroduced. For example, captive populations of Red Junglefowl (wild ancestors of chickens) differ significantly in response to predators after just a handful of generations in captivity. And, a 2008 study by the University of Exeter found that the odds of animals such as Tigers and Wolves surviving freedom is only 33 percent. Animals in captivity do not usually have the natural behaviours needed for success in the wild.
But it’s not just endangered species that are being bred. A 2014 analysis of the European Endangered Species Breeding Programmes, conducted by the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, showed that half of the animals being bred were not classed as endangered in the wild, while 25% were not threatened at all. In fact, all zoos only accommodate a tiny fraction of the 22,000 + species threatened with extinction.
With only 3% of budgets being spent on conversation projects, we can see why wildlife continues to disappear. Zoos show little interest in tackling the root causes of wildlife destruction. Species-rich habitats are being converted to pasture and feed crops as the human appetite for meat swells. Many of the places expected to see the greatest shift in land use from forest to livestock are in 15 ‘megadiverse’ countries, which harbour the largest number of species. As wildlife disappears, zoos ignore the problem. Instead, they contribute to it by feeding millions of customers meat.
The Education Myth
Zoos rebranded in the 1970s as the public became informed to the suffering of zoo animals. UK legislation in the form of 1981 Zoo Licensing Act forced zoos to promote ‘public education and awareness in relation to conservation’. Advocates will say zoos inspire the next generation of conservationists.
This has been categorically debunked by a number of studies, while little information is required to meet the standards of legislation. A 2014 academic study in the Conservation Biology Journal surveyed 2800 children following visits to London Zoo. 62% of the 2800 children were deemed to show no change in learning or, worse, experienced negative learning during their trip to the zoo. It was concluded that the zoo’s impact on children’s belief in their ability to actively do something about conservation was ‘weak’.
In what way could this sad image of a Bear be considered educational?
Do children need to see the animals up close to learn about them? Many children seem to have an encyclopedic knowledge about dinosaurs, far more so than Lions and Tigers. Perhaps the general public wish to see exotic animals up close as we attach closeness to care. But why, then, do they tap on the windows and show disappointment when the Lions are asleep? This is a misplaced, harmful interest, surely.
A Lion Is Taunted By Zoo Visitors At Animal City In Lebanon
In reality there is nothing sufficient in the mainstream that educates the public about animals and their conservation. Zoos, school, television – they all fail in this respect. The evidence is very clear: the World Wildlife Fund report that the planet’s fish, bird, mammal and reptile populations plunged 52 per cent from 1970 to 2010. That’s a stunning 52% of all fish, bird, mammal and reptile life lost in 40 years.
Human encroachment is destroying wildlife, but zoos do not consider that information entertaining and, as mentioned, entertainment is the only real driver of ticket sales. Paul Boyle, senior vice president for conservation and education at the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, says “People leave their homes, and the intent is not to save animals in Africa—it’s to have a family outing.”
The Imprisonment Of Animals
An Oxford University study based over four decades of observing animals in captivity and in the wild found that animals such as Polar Bears, Lions, Tigers, Cheetahs show the most evidence of stress and/or psychological dysfunction in captivity. In the same study, 80% of carnivores show abnormal repetitive behaviour. This is a major problem for zoos as these animals are the most popular with visitors.
There are approximately 3200 Tigers left in the wild. In the United States alone, there are over 5000 Tigers in captivity. This is not the result of successful breeding programmes. These Tigers are being born in captivity and they die in captivity. They are the star attraction. It’s hard to imagine a zoo without a Tiger. One particular zoo in the US houses dozens of Tigers. They let visitors handle cubs and have their picture taken while talking up their conservation programmes, despite the fact that their average Tiger enclosure is about 18,000 times smaller than the animals’ natural roaming range. It is simply impossible for these poor Tigers to express instinctive behaviour.
Tourists watch a Tiger cub play with a stuffed toy during a petting and photo opportunity at Myrtle Beach Safari. Photo Credit: Steve Winter, Nat Geo Image Collection.
In two extensive studies, it was found that the lifespan of Elephants is more than halved by living in zoos. A government-funded study of Elephants in UK zoos found that 54% of the Elephants showed behavioural problems during the daytime. In 2016 18 African Elephants, a species designated as threatened within their natural habitats in Swaziland, were captured and transported to three zoos in the US to entertain the public there.
Despite the best intentions of zoo employees to create a happy environment for an animal, zoos are fundamentally unable to recreate the wild setting. Cheetahs cannot run at maximum speed, Elephants cannot walk hundreds of miles (except in circles), birds cannot migrate and fly long distances. Animals are unable to hunt, choose who to spend time with and find their suitable home. Another problem is privacy and noise levels. Human interaction is not normal and constant noise can cause problems. Animals often become depressed and obsessive.
Sometimes zoos are nothing but cages on concrete. Here in the UK, zoos have higher welfare standards, yet its employees and its visitors are still blissfully ignorant to the damage we cause to them. Zoos are well-versed in spreading misinformation and exaggerating the small areas of conservation they achieve to placate the public, ensuring visitor numbers stay high.
Today, the decisions relating to the conservation of animals fall under the power of Western organisations and trusts, not with local communities in Africa or the Amazon. So not only does the money firmly stay within the West, but so does the decision making process. Wildlife can only be saved by empowering their protection in their natural habitats.
If you really care about putting an end to poaching, saving wildlife and keeping wild animals where they belong then pound for pound, your donation should be going to conservation organisations that protect animals in their natural habitats. You won’t receive anything in return and you will have to find somewhere else to visit on your Saturdays, BUT you will be directly saving wild animals. They are the FUTURE: zoos are the PAST.
An Original Article By Andy Davidson, Vegan Society.
Stereotypic behaviors, also known as “zoochosis” are performed sometimes for hours each day, sometimes endlessly. It is unnatural & indicates underlying stress. Credit: In Defence Of Animals
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP WILDLIFE
You can support ‘Protect All Wildlife’ many projects by donating as little as £5 – It only takes a minute but it can last a lifetime for an animal in need. Please donate below.
Everyone who donates will receive a Certificate of Appreciation as a thank you for helping animals in need.
The Mission of Protect All Wildlife is to prevent cruelty and promote the welfare of ALL animals.
We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals.
It is vital that we protect animals against acts of cruelty, abuse, and neglect by enforcing established animal welfare laws and, when necessary, take action to ensure that those who abuse animals are brought to justice.
Protect All Wildlife are involved in many projects to protect animals’ rights, welfare, and habitats. Money contributed to Protect All Wildlife supports ALL of our worthy programmes and gives us the flexibility to respond to emerging needs. Your donations make our work possible.
The train carriage that was ‘home’ to four Bengal Tigers. Credit: Four Paws/Nicolas Cabona.
The four Bengal Tigers, who lived 15 years in a train carriage in Argentina, have now been at their new home in South Africa for two years.
FAMILY OF FOUR
In 2007, a travelling circus abandoned the 18-year-old male and 15-year-old female Tiger in a train carriage in San Luis province in the west of Argentina. The circus asked a local farmer to temporarily take care of them, but never returned. The animals remained in the train carriage and had two babies.
The farmer didn’t inform the authorities of the situation given that it is illegal to keep wild animals privately in Argentina and simply tried to take care of them as best he could.
PRISON. Credit: Four Paws/Hristo Vladev
In 2021, Argentinian authorities became aware of the bad living conditions of the Tigers and began looking for solutions for the animals.
FOUR PAWS TO THE RESCUE
By February 2022, through the bars of their cages, the four Tigers had watched the sunrise over the meadow more than 5,000 times. Freedom had always been right in front of them, yet so far away.
The cages were barely larger than the size of two parking spaces and were part of an old train carriage – unfit for any animal. In the beginning, it was only two of them. Then two cubs were born, who are 10 years old today. They were trapped behind bars in dirty conditions, with little space to move on a train wagon – which has been stood still since then.
Animal welfare organization Four Paws rescued Sandro, Mafalda, Messi and Gustavo from their cages and transferred them to LionsRock Big Cat Sanctuary.
Veterinarians of Four Paws spent weeks on-site to prepare the Tigers with positive reinforcement so that the transfer would be as safe as possible for the animals.
“These Tigers spent over 15 years in the same 75m² space, surrounded by the same landscape and without any stimulation of their instincts or natural behaviour. Our team needed to be around them so they would stay calm in our presence and during the transfer,” Four Paws veterinarian Amir Khalil, who led the rescue mission, said.
The Tigers had to be taken out of their cages, moved into transport crates and on a truck to the airport, flown from Argentina to South Africa, and taken off the airport on trucks to their new home. The total journey took more than 70 hours.
At LionsRock, Mafalda took a little time before leaving her transport crate, but the three other Tigers started to explore the new surroundings almost immediately, Four Paws said.
Mafalda hesitantly enters her new life of freedom. Credit: Four Paws
“These Tigers have never felt grass or earth under their paws. It’s the first time they can see the sky above them, not just metal bars and a roof,” Khalil said.
“Now they have hundreds of square meters full of new feelings, tastes and smells. It is overwhelming for them to be in a completely new environment, but animals are quick at adapting to better living conditions,” he added.
Messi and Sandro enjoying their freedom. Credit: Four Paws/Daniel Born
“The road to rehabilitation for these animals now begins,” Hildegard Pirker, who manages LionsRock Big Cat Sanctuary, said
There are only around 3,900 Tigers left in the wild, Four Paws said, adding that due to a lack of regulations, Tigers are kept in captivity and traded around the world for human entertainment and killed for their skin, fur, bones, and teeth.
The Train Tigers of Argentina – two years on. Credit: Four Paws.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP WILDLIFE
You can support ‘Protect All Wildlife’ by donating as little as £1 – It only takes a minute but it can last a lifetime for an animal in need. Please donate below.
Everyone who donates will receive a Certificate of Appreciation as a thank you for helping animals in need.
The Mission of Protect All Wildlife is to prevent cruelty and promote the welfare of ALL animals.
We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals.
It is vital that we protect animals against acts of cruelty, abuse, and neglect by enforcing established animal welfare laws and, when necessary, take action to ensure that those who abuse animals are brought to justice.
Protect All Wildlife are involved in many projects to protect animals’ rights, welfare, and habitats. Money contributed to Protect All Wildlife supports ALL of our worthy programmes and gives us the flexibility to respond to emerging needs. Your donations make our work possible.
Days after a young boy fell into the gorilla exhibit at the Cincinnati zoo — prompting the zoo’s decision to shoot and kill Harambe, a 17-year-old Gorilla — an archived video emerged showing a similar incident 20 years earlier, with a very different outcome.
Binti Jua gently cradles the young boy
In summer 1996, a 3-year-old boy slipped away from his mother and squeezed through a barrier at Brookfield Zoo in Illinois, plummeting more than 15 feet into the enclosure holding seven Gorillas. Gorillas are known to be fiercely territorial animals. They will fight to the death to defend their families.
However, one of the Gorillas, a rare Western Lowland Gorilla called Binti Jua, meaning “daughter of sunshine” went over to the boy and cradled him in her arms, all while her own young child Koola was on her back. She then went over to the edge of the enclosure and waited for the zookeepers to come and collect the child. Binti handed the child over peacefully before returning to the rest of the Gorillas.
An ABC News broadcast of the drama that unfolded at Brookfield Zoo.
Binti received worldwide praise. The boy and the mother have never been identified, but the boy did stay in a hospital for 4 days. Animal behavioral experts claim Binti used her maternal instincts to look after the child. This may have been influenced by the fact that she had her own baby Gorilla with her at the time.
Binti Jua feeding one of her babies.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP WILDLIFE
You can support ‘Protect All Wildlife’ by donating as little as £1 – It only takes a minute but it can last a lifetime for an animal in need. Please donate below.
Everyone who donates will receive a Certificate of Appreciation as a thank you for helping animals in need.
The Mission of Protect All Wildlife is to prevent cruelty and promote the welfare of ALL animals.
We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals.
It is vital that we protect animals against acts of cruelty, abuse, and neglect by enforcing established animal welfare laws and, when necessary, take action to ensure that those who abuse animals are brought to justice.
Protect All Wildlife are involved in many projects to protect animals’ rights, welfare, and habitats. Money contributed to Protect All Wildlife supports ALL of our worthy programmes and gives us the flexibility to respond to emerging needs. Your donations make our work possible.
When Mike Towler first met Cropper the Fox he had been in a tangle with a dog and came off worse. Cropper had been rescued by The Fox Project in Tunbridge Wells. Not only was he badly injured, he was also suffering from toxoplasmosis, a dangerous parasitic infection. He was in no shape to be returned to the wild. There were only two choices: euthanise Cropper or find him a home. That is where Mike came in.
Mike Trowler with Cropper, the rescued Red Fox in his garden.
Mike Towler gave Cropper a home. A retired engineer, has been described as a man on a mission. Mike is fascinated by Fox behaviour and spends a great deal of time with them. In addition to nursing injured Foxes back to health, he also takes in orphaned Fox cubs and raises them until they can be released back into the wild. He does this by releasing them into his nine-acre garden. A few remain to be fed each night, some stay in the area for several years, while others take off to establish their own territories further afield.
Mike and Cropper having a nap
When Cropper was nursed back to health by Mike’s patience, love and determination, Cropper became a member of Mike’s family. Cropper would eat food from the dog’s dish and curl up with the cats, but mostly, he would spend time with Mike. The two would even go for walks together and Mike would roll him over and give him belly rubs
After six happy years with Mike, Cropper passed away in 2007. However, another Fox, Jack, who had been suffering similar ailments, has moved in with Mike. Jack enjoys watching TV with Mike and even reluctantly tolerates a bath in the sink.
In addition to Foxes, Mike is also friends with a couple of Badgers. One of the Badgers, a female he named Benji, eats from a bowl while he holds it and allow him to pet her.
Mike warns that rescuing Foxes takes a great deal of patience and understanding, and a strong awareness of Fox behaviour. He says that Fox urine is especially odorous and difficult to remove.
You can support ‘Protect All Wildlife’ by donating as little as £1 – It only takes a minute but it can last a lifetime for an animal in need. Please donate below.
Everyone who donates will receive a Certificate of Appreciation as a thank you for helping animals in need.
The Mission of Protect All Wildlife is to prevent cruelty and promote the welfare of ALL animals.
We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals.
It is vital that we protect animals against acts of cruelty, abuse, and neglect by enforcing established animal welfare laws and, when necessary, take action to ensure that those who abuse animals are brought to justice.
Protect All Wildlife are involved in many projects to protect animals’ rights, welfare, and habitats. Money contributed to Protect All Wildlife supports ALL of our worthy programmes and gives us the flexibility to respond to emerging needs. Your donations make our work possible.
Much has been written about the controversial movie Blackfish, the 2013 film that vilified SeaWorld for use of captive orcas. Many in the theme park community have attacked the movie as a hit piece, while others in the anti-animal captivity community used it as a call to arms. But for all the discussion and passion that the movie generated, history tells us that this issue is as old as the industry itself. If told completely, this story shines a different kind of light on the culture of the times, and also on an iconic figure in American history. Once upon a time, a 110 years before Blackfish and Tilikum there was another movie, and an Elephant named Topsy.
Sometime around 1875, Topsy was smuggled as a baby out of Asia and brought into America to perform in the Forepaugh circus. Billed as the first “American born elephant,” she became the star of the show. Like many circus performers at the time, she was subject to harsh treatment during training sessions. Trainers of the time were vicious towards the animals in their attempts to control them, prodding the elephants with sharp hooks between the eyes and in the head. Beatings, hot pokers, and even guns were also common methods of training. By most accounts, Topsy was one of the fan favorites. Behind the scenes though, she endured years of harsh treatment. Her crooked tail was a point of emphasis with promoters. In reality, it was the result of a particularly severe beating. Over the years, her temper became shorter and shorter, and she attacked several handlers and was reportedly responsible for the deaths of three of them. In 1902, one particular (alcoholic) trainer named James Fielding Blount foolishly met his end. After a night of heavy drinking, Blount went into the elephant tent and offered Topsy a drink of whiskey. Her refusal angered Blount, who reportedly then stuck a lit cigar on the tip of her trunk. He was then promptly thrown down and crushed.
After this highly-publicized incident, Topsy was then sold to Coney Island amusement operator Paul Boynton. When Boynton sold his operation to the founders of Luna Park, Topsy and her trainer were part of the sale. Luna Park was under construction at the time, so for a brief time she was put to work hauling loads of building material. After a new site for the “Trip to the Moon” attraction was cleared, the workers tried, but simply couldn’t move the massive structure to its new location. Topsy was called upon to do the job. With the help of a few horses, she pushed the building nearly a mile to its new location. Police arrested one of her handlers that day after observing “excessive” use of a sharp object to prod the elephant. Her trainers reportedly kept a pitchfork handy. He was tried for animal cruelty but later was acquitted because the amount of prodding was deemed acceptable. Subsequent incidents and moments of aggression occurred, all under the watchful eye of the press. The final straw came when trainer Whitey Ault got drunk and decided to ride Topsy down Surf Avenue. When Whitey was arrested and taken to the station, Topsy followed them down the street and then tried to go into the police station behind them. Whitey was fired for this incident, leaving nobody on the staff that could handle Topsy. With costs of her care high and no one to take care of the elephant, Luna Park owners Thompson and Dundy tried to get rid of her. However, all the bad press over the past year had tarnished the elephant’s reputation. No zoo would take her, no show would have her. They tried to raffle her off, then to give her away for free, but had no success. After exhausting many options, the decision was then made to euthanize Topsy.
Killing a 10-foot tall, three-ton elephant in 1903 wasn’t a simple proposition, let alone doing so in a quick and humane way. They didn’t have a gun big enough to quickly do the job, and even though it had been done to other elephants before, the idea of hanging her was thrown out.
Thomas Edison
The owners of Luna Park turned to inventor Thomas Edison, who by 1903 had fought and lost the “battle of the currents” for the electricity standard to be used in the United States. Edison’s direct current (DC) methods had been used extensively at first, but the more efficient alternating current (AC) method, invented by Nikola Tesla and backed by industrial giant George Westinghouse, had gained traction and was becoming the standard for distribution. Trying to keep his standard intact (and preservation of the royalties), Edison had engaged in a propaganda war, discouraging the use of AC by lobbying Congress, spreading false rumors and misinformation, and staging public demonstrations of its danger by electrocuting stray and unwanted animals. For a time his technicians were regularly dispatched for this matter, killing dogs and cats, and in some cases horses and cows. He commissioned a partner to develop the electric chair for the state of New York with AC current, even though he himself was reportedly an opponent of capital punishment.
Edison’s “experience” with the matter and his standing as an authority on electricity prompted Thompson and Dundy to call. Even though the current war was over, he apparently for one reason or another couldn’t resist the opportunity to demonstrate the “dangers” of AC one more time…this time on the largest land animal in the world. Some say he was still fighting the war in his own mind, others say Edison still harbored a grudge from the loss and participated out of vindictiveness. Whichever the case, he signed on to do it, and he would document the whole thing with another one of his inventions, the movie camera.
In another sign of the times, the ever-enterprising owners of Luna Park knew the attention the story had gotten, and they initially intended to charge admission for the public execution. The press coverage though had also attracted the attention of the SPCA, who flatly refused to allow that to happen. In turn, the admission fee idea was thrown out, but the public would still be allowed to watch. By this time, Topsy had been characterized in the press like a convicted killer condemned to death, and so the people came to watch.
The ‘execution’ of Topsy the Elephant
The execution date was set for January 4, 1903. A crowd of about thousand gathered in the courtyard of the half-finished Luna Park to witness the spectacle. Topsy’s old trainer Whitey Ault was offered a then handsome sum of $25 to help bring the Elephant to her demise, but the saddened trainer turned it down, saying he wouldn’t do it for a thousand. With no qualified people to handle her, leading a very docile Topsy to the platform proved difficult. She wouldn’t cross the bridge to the middle of the lagoon. After technicians moved the wood and metal platform to her, she wouldn’t stand in place, then she shook off the electrodes that were hooked to her, and then refused to eat the cyanide laced carrots that were offered to her…almost as if she knew what was going on. After some coaxing, Topsy finally ate the carrots and the switch was thrown.
She died almost instantly, and almost took one of the Edison technicians with her. He was also electrocuted when he threw the switch. Even though she had already been pronounced dead, workers tightened a noose around her neck for ten minutes to make sure. SPCA doctors on hand pronounced it as the most humane way to kill an animal they had ever seen, and Edison had his documentary. The film “Electrocuting An Elephant” depicted the first actual death on screen, and was seen by audiences across the country. A part of it remains intact online [warning: disturbing images] for the curious to view. Ultimately, the film did nothing to either advance his agenda or raise any kind of awareness for animal cruelty. Audiences of the time were simply more interested in the novelty of the motion picture, the spectacle, and being entertained. Perhaps some things haven’t really changed after all.
Ultimately, Topsy’s story provides a bit of perspective on today’s state of affairs. Her story of a systematic life of abuse in the circus and the spectacle surrounding her death is the true epitome of animal cruelty. Topsy was not the only circus animal of the time to endure this kind of treatment, to be killed, or to kill a human being, but she was the most well known and well documented. Her brief role in the early theme park industry as well as American history makes the story worth telling, however horrible it may be. As for today, the debate continues. People may or may not agree with the use of marine animals in a theme park, but SeaWorld’s animal treatment methods, and its practices of conservation, animal rescue and rehabilitation, research, and education stand in stark contrast to the brutality of the Forepaugh circus and its contemporaries.
For years there were reports of ghost sightings, but the story of Topsy largely disappeared for a long time. In recent years Topsy has reappeared in pop culture, namely the television show Bob’s Burgers and the 2009 video game Assassin’s Creed II. A book about Topsy and the early American circus written by Michael Daly was published in 2013. A memorial dedicated to her sits in the Coney Island museum.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP ANIMALS IN NEED
You can support our work by donating as little as £5 – It only takes a minute but it can last a lifetime for an animal in need.
Everyone who donates will receive a Certificate of Appreciation as a thank you for helping animals in need.
The Mission of Protect All Wildlife is to prevent cruelty and promote the welfare of ALL animals.
We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals.
It is vital that we protect animals against acts of cruelty, abuse, and neglect by enforcing established animal welfare laws and, when necessary, take action to ensure that those who abuse animals are brought to justice.
Protect All Wildlife are involved in many projects to protect animals’ rights, welfare, and habitats. Money contributed to Protect All Wildlife supports ALL of our worthy programmes and gives us the flexibility to respond to emerging needs. Your donations make our work possible.
PROTECT ALL WILDLIFE 