"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead, American anthropologist, 1901-1978
The majestic Asiatic lion once roamed across Asia and the Middle East and Asia. But, by the early 1900s, the species had suffered from hunting – so much so that only about 20 remained in Western India.
Today, numbers are increasing and now there are about 600 Asiatic lions in the Gir Forest. The problem is that they are very vulnerable to forest fires and to disease.
ZSL is working with the Wildlife Institute of India and the Gujarat Forest Department to ensure the wonderful Asiatic Lion has a future.
4 ways ZSL are helping Asiatic Lions in the Gir Forest
Conservation support including training wildlife rangers and training them in using the SMART tool, which was developed by conservation organisations to establish effective patrolling systems, monitor wildlife populations and movements and identify threats such as poaching or disease
Veterinary support – lions have got stuck down wells and come into conflict with people, and the ZSL staff have taught vets vital lifesaving techniques such as how to intubate anaesthetised lions to help them breathe
Working with the Sakkarbaug Zoo where about 40 Asiatic Lions live – some have been injured too much to return to the wild or for other good reasons they live at the zoo. ZSL and the staff at the zoo share best practice and knowledge about the Asiatic Lions.
Education is vital to engage local communities and help them appreciate the importance of lion conservation.
Can I mention also the Lion Trust (who are specialist fund managers) who sponsor ZSL’s Asiatic Lions Campaign. We need more businesses to get involved like this. Thank you to the Lion Trust.
World Lions’ Day is ROARING towards us (it’s on 10th August 2020) and in doing some research for this website to put up something about it, I have as always found myself getting very immersed in some of the fantastic work that charities are doing.
One of the amazing programmes I found out about today was about a very special dog called Kura and Kura’s Pride.
Kura lives with the team working with the charity Ewaso Lions, who promote wildlife-human co-existence. They believe "the long-term survival of lions and other carnivores depends on finding ways people can coexist with them".
Kura turned up in the charity’s camp on the day of the Kenyan National Elections back in 2013. He was lost and lame and looking for somewhere safe to stay. And 7 years on, he is still with the camp!
And now Kura is heading the Kura Pride initiative, which is working to improve domestic dog welfare in Northern Kenya.
During the period October 2019 and June 2020, Kura’s Pride and partners managed to vaccinate over 2,600 animals against rabies and distemper. These two disease harm people and wildlife so it’s a wonderful thing to get the jabs done.
This video tells you more about it. I was struck by how happy everyone looks, dogs and people.
Kura is the Director of Emotional Stability for the charity Ewaso Lions. As such, he warns everyone of poisonous snakes and leopards nearby, and of course he loudly announces any visitor to camp.
Bears About the House is on BBC2 again on Wednesday 22 July 2020.
Last week, we heard about Mary, a sun bear who was rescued by bear charity Free the Bears, and Giles Clark. She was tiny, malnourished and close to death and she needed 24 hour care.
Bears About the House is on BBC2 is on July 15 and 22 at 8pm! Don’t miss it! There are record bear rescues, the first release of rehabilitated wildlife, many sanctuary developments and some devastating losses.
On 22nd July, Giles and his team head out to rescue David and Jane. They are two five month old terrified moon bear cubs who were taken from the wild. They go home with Giles Clark to have the 24/7 care.
There’s more news on Mary as she graduates from the nursery into her permanent home, taking a confident and determined approach with her.
And there’s devastating news as the team comes to terms with a break in and a theft.
The quarantine building is finished and the sanctuary is able to receive bears from bear bile farms in Laos, which the government there has committed to closing once they have somewhere that the rescued bears can go.
Don’t miss it – and if you can make a donation, please donate.
If you’re outside the UK, the series will reach you later this year, and meantime, lots of never before seen clips of Mary will be on Facebook, Instagram and Youtube.
The charity is registered in Australia and in the UK. There are a number of ways to help – just visit the website – including becoming a bear carer, sponsoring a bear, giving a gift to the bears, and a gift to bear lovers (humans) and of course donating.
International Animal Rescue have just launched their first brown bear adoption.
Wild bears are caught illegally every year – or they are trapped by poachers and they end up in small cages in restaurants and other venues across Armenia for so called public entertainment.
The bears are mentally and physically damaged by this existence – they are bored and frustrated; they have hardly any space to move around in. Their food is unsuitable and insufficient; and they have no enrichment to amuse them. They have no dignity and certainly no freedom.
Enter International Animal Rescue. They launched a campaign in October 2017 alongside their Armenian partners to help save the suffering bears of Armenia and make a difference to bears who’ve been rescued.
The bear centre rescue is run by their partners FPWC and it’s situated high in the mountains of Armenia. The bears have the very highest standards of care, there – they have enrichment activities and can spend their days splashing about in pools and tucking into their favourite treats. Of course, they want to return as many bears as they can to the wild – but sometimes that isn’t just possible and in those cases, they look after the bears for life.
International Animal Rescue rescued Max in 2018. He’s been locked up for 14 years – can you imagine? He was in a tiny cage at a bus depot with his companion Minnie.
Normally, International Animal Rescue rescue Syrian brown bears, found in the wild in Armenia.
Max however is a male Siberian brown bear. He’s half a ton in weight, so he’s the biggest bear International Animal Rescue have seen.
Max will never be able to go back into the wild. He’s had too many years in captivity and he’s a non-native species of bear in Armenia.
But International Animal Rescue have committed to look after Max and ensure his days are full of treats, love and naps!
You can help Max (and his friends) by adopting him to support his ongoing care from 14p a day.
Your adoption will help in several ways:
Pay for the lifetime care of Max and other bears like him
Provide veterinary care to nurse bears back to health
Maintain a peaceful and safe environment for the bears at our sanctuary
Reintroduce bears back to the wild where possible
Visit International Animal rescue here to adopt Max today, and be a part of the effort to care for these bears!
That’s what bees think – so from 11th to 19th July, count the flowers on your lawn. You can get your own Personal Nectar Score to find out how many bees it can feed!
Plantlife want to know what’s on your lawn. Is your lawn giving a bee feast or a bee snack?
Every flower makes a difference because it provides essential nectar and pollen for bees, butterflies and other insects.
The more wild flowers you’ve got in your lawn, the more nectar it will produce.
If you took part in #NoMowMay or #LetItBloomJune or you haven’t mown at all this year, you’re more likely to have more flowers and tons more nectar!
When everyone has submitted their results, Plantlife are going to calculate a National Nectar Index to show how all our lawns across Britain are helping to feed our vital pollinators.
They will also reveal the Top Ten Lawn Flowers and show us all how to increase the number of flowers in our lawns!
Why not set yourself a challenge: see how many wild flowers you’ve got in your lawn this year and see what you can do to increase it next year?
We've stopped mowing sections of our lawn and it's amazing how many more insects we've got - we're loving our own nature show!
