Gourmet Coffee Made From Poop

Humans show an amazing capacity to make life miserable for any animal that can help them make a buck. Evidence of this can be found in Bali, where civets are held in horrific captivity in order to literally poop out the world’s most expensive cup of coffee.

It’s the world’s most expensive coffee, and it’s made from poop. Or rather, it’s made from coffee beans that are partially digested and then pooped out by the civet, a catlike creature. A cup of kopi luwak, as it’s known, can sell for as much as $80 in the United States.

Civets are being caged and fed a diet of coffee cherries to generate a smoother, less acidic, coffee bean. This is a result of the interaction of a digestive enzyme that modifies the raw coffee bean as it is processed by the civet. More and more civets are being confined in cages to process more and more coffee beans.

Researchers from Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit and the London-based nonprofit World Animal Protection assessed the living conditions of nearly 50 wild civets held in cages at 16 plantations on Bali. The results, published Thursday in the journal Animal Welfare, paint a grim picture.

The tragic irony is that by caging the civets and force feeding them bulk picked coffee cherries results in an inferior product. Yet, one that is aggressive marketed as a gourmet item.

All of this for a luxury item—and a second-rate one, at that. Part of what makes kopi luwak so special, experts say, is that wild civets pick and choose the choicest coffee cherries to eat. Keeping civets in cages and feeding them any old cherries leads to an inferior product.

Run a Google search for kopi luwak and you will find dozens of sources for "wild" civet coffee with exorbitant prices. All is described as harvested from wild civets, but there is no process to certify the veracity of such claims.

No certification scheme exists to ensure that coffee labeled “wild” is actually that. And other coffee certifiers working to ensure environmentally responsible farming and production refuse to certify any kopi luwak whatsoever.

Reputable coffee brokers avoid kopi luwak as the likelihood of it being a product of caged and abused civets is very high. The advice of a top coffee certification expert is simple:

Alex Morgan at the Rainforest Alliance, which uses SAN standards, says it’s too risky to certify kopi luwak. It’s just too hard to establish whether the beans are 100 percent wild-sourced or not.

“My personal advice is generally to avoid it,” he said. “More likely than not it’s going to be coming from a caged production landscape.”

DAILY QUICK READ - APRIL 30, 2016

Where’s the body. Weasel shuts down the Large Hadron Collider or ????

According to internal documents placed online, the Large Hadron Collider at CERN near Geneva has suffered a power outage after the critter chewed on a 66-kilovolt electrical transformer. The unfortunate animal was fried and caused a CERN-wide power cut.

“I can confirm that we had some issues overnight with electrical trouble,” says CERN spokesperson Arnaud Marsollier. “We suspect it might be due to a small animal.”

Was the weasel fried or was it transported to the other side of the universe?

While key leaders met in Kenya to discus putting a halt to the illegal ivory trade, 300 elephants were discovered murdered by poison in Zimbabwe.

Pictures taken by the hunters, which have been obtained exclusively by The Telegraph, reveal horrific scenes. Parts of the national park, whose more accessible areas are visited by thousands of tourists each year, can be seen from the air to be littered with the deflated corpses of elephants, often with their young calves dead beside them, as well as those of other animals.

The hits keep coming. When the oceans can’t sustain life, what’s next?

By 2030 or 2040, according to the study, deoxygenation due to climate change will be detectable in large swaths of the Pacific Ocean, including the areas surrounding Hawaii and off the West Coast of the U.S. mainland.

Swimming in the same gene pool. So many brothers.

Half of men in Western Europe are the descendants of a single Bronze Age ruler, a new study claims, based on genetic research into the Y chromosome of 1,200 men.

12 African lodges where you can save the world in relative luxury.

…high-end lodges and camps that are modelled on a successful low-impact, high-revenue tourism formula, you’ll know that your tourism dollars are going back into conservation projects and community programs with tangible benefits.

Have a great day and take a minute to save the planet.

Light a Fire

Tomorrow's destruction of nearly $200 million worth of elephant tusk ivory and rhino horns will mark the closing of the Giants Club Summit meeting in Kenya.

Political, business and environmental leaders convened today in Kenya to discuss both tactics and strategies to end the illegal trade in ivory that has the potential to drive the estimated 500,000 wild elephants in Africa to extinction by 2025. At the end of the summit, President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, will set fire to 100 tons of ivory - estimated to be 5% of the global stockpile of the material. You can watch that event live here.

On Saturday, April 30, Kenya Wildlife Service will host the largest ivory burn in history — a bold statement against elephant poaching, and one we hope will mark the beginning of the end for the global ivory trade, which kills an estimated 33,000 elephants every year.

African and global conservation leaders are working to impact global perceptions of the illegal ivory trade. On a governmental basis substantial progress has been made to marginalize the ivory trade, but the trade continues. The trade still flourishes in Asia with Hong Kong as one of its commercial centers.

Hong Kong's traders are only required to register their ivory holdings annually by weight; the government does not provided licenses by piece.

In the undercover video, one trader explains just how easy it is to exploit this system. When he sells one item, he claims he only needs to substitute a new one made from illegal material.

"The government has no idea how to regulate this," he says, though he insists all his stock is legal.

Hopefully, Saturday's fire will light the way to meaningful global action to abolish the ivory trade.

DAILY QUICK READ, APRIL 29, 2016

Dramatic airlift of rescued lions leaves for South Africa today!

…33 lions rescued from circuses in Peru and Colombia are due to fly to a new life in South Africa on 29 April on a chartered MD11F freighter. The animals, 24 from Peru and nine from Colombia, have been rescued by international campaigning group, Animal Defenders International are heading back to their homeland after both countries banned the use of wild animals in circuses.

The 33 will arrive at the Emoya Big Cat Sanctuary on Saturday, April 30.

When a “pearl” becomes a “backbone,” then we can save the environment.

…those with a tendency to engage in what is called “systems thinking” — embracing complex, multifaceted causal explanations for phenomena and recognizing the unpredictability of how nature works — also tend to value the environment more and to be more concerned about climate change.

Finally getting close to action to save the Mexican gray wolf. Maybe…..

The settlement filed late Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Arizona still needs to be approved by a judge, and it's expected to be challenged by farm bureaus in three states. It would require a recovery plan to be complete by November 2017 with periodic status updates provided to parties in a lawsuit filed against the Fish and Wildlife Service.

"The Mexican gray wolf is very, very close to extinction in large part because of genetic reasons, lack of genetic diversity in the wild wolf population that is the result of years and years of mismanagement. It may be too late but hopefully not."

The attorney handling the farm bureau challenge has an interesting history in New Mexico.

Chickens beware. McDonalds might be considering putting chicken in McNuggets. What's next? Happiness in Happy Meals?

Believe it or not, a single Chicken McNugget from McDonald’s contains 32 ingredients and they’re not all chicken: sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate, calcium lactate…the list goes on.

Cecil lives.

Cecil the Lion became more famous in death than he ever was in life. Yet while many expressed outrage and condemnation, Daniela Relja – an educator and advocate from Barrie, Canada – was not content to leave it at that. She turned her anger and sadness over the killing of Cecil into an initiative to make lions the first ever UNESCO World Heritage Species.

You can sign the petition here.

Premature victory lap?

The world may be hurtling to the worst extinction crisis since the dinosaurs were wiped out, but the US is claiming success in its own efforts to prevent species following the path of titanosaurs, dodos and passenger pigeons.

“...that doesn’t mean we are making progress in general in terms of preservation of biodiversity. Extinctions are happening at an alarming rate. We are plunging headlong into the biggest extinction event in 65m years.”

Maybe it's time to consider the Half Earth proposition.

Saving Ourselves

One of the benefits or volunteering at an animal reserve or rehabilitation facility is that it is a two way street. Helping save wild creatures ultimately helps us save something very human in ourselves. Consider the experience of three women from snow bound New York state who traveled to Thailand to work at an elephant sanctuary.

Their volunteer work included feeding and bathing some of the 68 Asian elephants, and pitching in to complete manual labor around the 250-acre, volunteer-run park devoted to rescuing the endangered species from abusive industries.

Lek Chailert willed the Elephant Nature Park into existence. Her efforts have create a world class facility that has been recognized across the globe for its efforts.

The park has received numerous awards from institutions including the Smithsonian. The founder was named Asian Hero of the Year by Time magazine in 2005 and the park has been featured in many international publications including National Geographic magazine as well as feature documentaries from respected film production companies – Discovery Channel, National Geographic, Animal Planet, BBC, CNN, KTV, RAI, major Thai language TV channels, printed press and radio stations.

But, it's not the international acclaim that fuels the passion of the volunteers. It's the opportunity to make a small contribution to the rehabilitation of an abused wild creature

“It absolutely is a feel good thing. But it’s a feel good that makes you understand. What you are feeling good about isn’t just going up and touching an elephant and sitting on his back and riding down to the river, like the tourist businesses nearby are doing. Because that’s feel good too,” she explained.

“This is getting to know the animal and the people who take care of the animal in a way that you can’t experience otherwise. You get to see how they interact in the morning, you get to see what they eat in the morning, you see elephants coming in with injuries and learn about the horrible things that have happened to them, and you talk to the people who take care of them.”

One of the remarkable aspects of this type of volunteer work is that it not only drives an understanding of the animals, but it also helps the volunteer get an glimpse of the complex social interactions that must be navigated to achieve the sustainable community inter-relationships that can drive long term species stability.

“I left with an entirely different view of the whole elephant industry that uses the animals for labor. It‘s a way of life. That has to be dealt with as much as the abuse of the elephants. You can’t change the welfare of the elephants until you find a way to make life better for the people who use them for their livelihoods,” said Jessica.

Experiencing nature and wild creatures at a facility like the Elephant Nature Park changes a person. It rearranges priorities and help people approach life with different expectations.

“If families can start thinking about it in those terms. I mean, Disney World is wonderful, but maybe when you’ve been to Disney World, consider doing something different,” Jessica said. “I’m sure there are all sorts of opportunities on the Internet, nationally and internationally. You can do some sightseeing, you can experience a new culture, it doesn’t cost you much money, and your family has done something positive.”

Just Save One is about more than saving animals and habitats. It's about saving ourselves in the process.

The Painted Dog

One of the most beautiful and intelligent animals on the African continent is the African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus). The wild dog is a highly specialized pack hunter with an 85% rate of success bringing down prey animals. The Wild Dog is listed as endangered, constrained to 12% of their original range, with packs routinely coming into conflict with human activity.

In Namibia, the Naankuse Foundation has several groups of wild dogs in their care. Almost every individual currently living at the center came in as an orphan, some came alone, others with litters of up to 7 pups. Namibia farmers have taken to killing what they see as "nuisance" animals who kill their livestock. The wild dogs amazing hunting ability and extremely high success rate make them vulnerable to blame. Unfortunately farmers may take the shoot first approach and this is something Naankuse works tirelessly to rectify.

One call to the center and either by plane or by truck someone is on site to help farmers with any livestock issues. Either by relocation, GPS tracking or through education they work to keep the wild dogs in the wild. Namibia's Ministry of Environment and Tourism is solely responsible for deciding the fate of the animals who are taken into care at Naankuse and whether or not they can be reintroduced to the wild.

How can you help? Try the Painted Dog Conservation.

DAILY QUICK READ - APRIL 28, 2016

Conversation with Jane Goodall, acclaimed primatologist, the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees and a U.N. Messenger of Peace.

"Every individual matters," she says. "Animals matter, too. They have feelings and every day you live you make some impact on the planet and you have a choice: What kind of impact will I make? Think about the consequences of the little choices, like what you buy, eat, wear. Where did it come from? How was it made? Did it involve cruelty to animals or child slave labor? Do I need it? Gandhi said this planet can provide for human need, but not human greed. That's a very important message."

When is doing the “right thing” the wrong thing to do?

"Often people will come across them and see that they've been orphaned or abandoned when that's not the case," she said. "These ones were in care with the person who found them for about a week before they decided to call for help."

People just want to ride the elephant. What goes wrong when we exploit animals for profit?

Thousands of people have signed a petition against elephant-riding after an animal in Cambodia died after ferrying tourists to the famous Angkor Wat temple complex.

You can sign the petition here.

More developments like this please. Even in solar unfriendly Florida a sustainable community can happen.

Solar power is just the beginning of Kitson’s plans to transform Babcock Ranch into what Kitson & Partners call “the most sustainable, most innovative and health-focused new town in the country.” The town itself is being constructed on an old sod farm, which will minimize the trees that need to be cleared to make way for the development. There are plans for autonomous electric vehicles to run the town’s public transportation fleet. All buildings constructed within the community will be built so that solar panels could eventually be installed on their roofs. The community’s initial downtown structures will all have solar shade structures, outfitted with solar panels, and have roofs that could accommodate more panels should the owner decide they want to expand their capacity.

Every creature has a role to play. At least that's the case if you want a forest.

Large-seeded tree species which depend on big animals for seed dispersal grow to greater sizes as adults and thus have higher carbon storage potential than species with smaller seeds in tropical forests worldwide, according to the research.

Losses of large seed dispersers can therefore reduce carbon storage by the earth’s tropical forests by decreasing the volume of vegetation biomass in these forests

.

Species translocation – radical, controversial, necessary…

“The impact that people have on the planet is ever-increasing,” he said. “The times when we could simply hope that we could set areas aside for species are increasingly disappearing. We are in a situation of emerging threats due to climate change that we need to more actively manage species otherwise we will lose them.”

Size doesn’t matter. Big brains may not be the brightest.

Scientists have long known that brain size alone is not a measure of intelligence, and the international team of researchers behind this new study argues that intelligence may be related to the brain’s structure and how many neurons it has.

Richard Leakey, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. You’ll just have to read the article.

“I’m really concerned that, through population growth and unplanned development around the parks, we’ve created ‘islands’ for the wildlife. And if you look at the paleontological record, where there are islands and there has been climate change the island species become extinct long before they do on the mainland because there is nowhere to go.”

Have a productive day and do something to Just Save One.

Success is Possible - Bison Become National Mammal

North America's largest mammal was near extinction at the end of the 19th century. From millions to dozens, the bison (buffalo) herds that had covered the land from horizon to horizon were on the brink. This week the resurgent bison will become the United States' official National Mammal. It has been a long, strange road from near extinction to national symbol.

Bison were the life blood of the Indian tribes of the mid-American Great Plains. The settlement of the West was dependent upon the eradication of the Plains Indian tribes and the destruction of the bison was the cornerstone of U.S. government policy.

The U.S. Army led a campaign to wipe out bison as a way to control tribes. When some in Texas worried about the activity of hunters, Gen. Philip Sheridan, who commanded during the Indian Wars, responded, “Let them kill, skin and sell until the buffalo is exterminated.”

Between the middle and end of the 19th century, the bison population was reduced from millions to perhaps a thousand individuals under the fitful protection of the the U.S. Army and a handful of private owners.

The army tried to protect a few dozen bison living in Yellowstone National Park, and about 1,000 more were owned privately. But other than that, “we fundamentally killed every bison,” said John Calvelli, WCS executive vice president of public affairs.

In 1896 William T. Hornaday, a founder of the American conservation movement, traveled to Montana to gather bison for an exhibit.

“Between the Rocky Mountains and the States lying along the Mississippi River on the west, from Minnesota to Louisiana, the whole country was one vast buffalo range, inhabited by millions of buffaloes,” he wrote, adding that their near-annihilation was due in part to “man’s reckless greed, his wanton destructiveness, and improvidence in not husbanding such resources as come to him from the hand of nature ready made."

A significant and comprehensive restoration effort was put in place and the bison was saved. Not in the millions that had filled the plains before the encroachment of human civilization, but in sufficient numbers to guarantee the continued existence of the bison in the wild.

Today, bison live in every state. The handful of bison that lived in Yellowstone National Park during the 1800s has swelled to roughly 4,900, and now officials are required to control the bison population. Culling has become a routine — and controversial — method to keep the bison numbers in check, as rules prevent relocating the bison to private lands.

An estimated 20,000 bison live on public lands in North America. An additional 162,110 live on private farms and ranches, according to the 2012 U.S. Department of Agriculture census.

It took a concerted and long term effort to save the bison. But, the results prove that such effort can achieve success in bringing species back from the brink of extinction. As humans we just need the will and determination to make these efforts.

Technology vs Poachers - Still Depends on Dedicated People

Whether in government preserves,national parks or private game preserves, many species are being murdered to the brink of extinction by illegal poaching. Poachers annually kill over 30,000 African elephants for their tusks. At current kill rates, African rhinos could be extinct in the wild in 20 years, killed for their horns. The tiger population has been shrinking by 50% each decade since the 1990s, with perhaps only 2,500 mature tiger remaining in the wild.

On the ground, anti-poaching efforts are costly and strain the resources of both public and private preserves. Poachers have the advantage of stealth and are often better equipped than the rangers and guards assigned to protect vast areas. However, anti-poaching forces are finding new, cost effective means to deploy resources and tactics to defend the animals under their care.

With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Army Research Office, researchers are using artificial intelligence (AI) and game theory to solve poaching, illegal logging and other problems worldwide, in collaboration with researchers and conservationists in the U.S., Singapore, Netherlands and Malaysia.

But, it isn’t just the NSF, the military and a vast collection of researchers and techies that are working to protect wildlife. High school students prove that inspired and committed individuals can also join in the fight against poaching.

Alger-Meyer said the park rangers like to use helicopters to look for poachers from above the 300,000 acres of the park. However, fuel is expensive.

"I thought they could use a drone for this, and it would be a lot cheaper and more efficient," Alger-Meyer said. "I came back to Denver and told Nathan 'We have to do something about this.'"

Most of us don't need a drone to find a problem. The key is seeing the problem and working on a solution. This is something we all can do in our own way. Just Save One is all about the power of the individual whether animal or human to make a difference.

DAILY QUICK READ - APRIL 27, 2016

Global CO2 emissions decoupled from economic growth driven by the rapid growth of renewable power globally.

In the more than 40 years in which the IEA has been providing information on CO2emissions, there have been only four periods in which emissions stood still or fell compared to the previous year. Three of those – the early 1980s, 1992 and 2009 – were associated with global economic weakness. But the recent stall in emissions comes amid economic expansion: according to the International Monetary Fund, global GDP grew by 3.4% in 2014 and 3.1% in 2015.

Despite strong protests it is open season on endangered species in Malta.

The Maltese government chose to open the hunting season in spring even though the Turtle Dove has been declared as a vulnerable species and although it is known that there is a strong presence of individuals who kill protected birds. .

Also, open season on anyone shining a light on this annual slaughter.

Packham, who presents the nature show Springwatch on BBC, had monitored the 2014 spring hunting season in a video diary entitled ‘Malta-Massacre on Migration’. However, his visit ended on a sour note when the police held him for five hours, following complaints by hunting federation FKNK that he had breached their privacy and “defamed the hunting fraternity”.

When the media move on, the story must be over. Right?

Six years ago this month, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig blew its top and broke the Gulf of Mexico. Like so many things, this was a very big story until the day that it wasn't. All that ended was the coverage.

Maybe not so over.

…the most poignant revelation in this report has to do with the disaster's effects on pelicans. Evidence of oil contamination, or contamination by the chemical dispersants used in the spill's aftermath, was found in 80 percent of pelican eggs.

In Minnesota.

That's where the pelicans winter.

Coydogs, Lynxcats and Pizzlies. Hybridization - nature wins or disaster ahead.

Some scientists and conservationists see the coywolf as a nightmare of the Anthropocene — a poster child of mongrelization as plants and animals reshuffle in response to habitat loss, climate change and invasive species.

ABSA

ABSA was the first white rhino in the Western Cape region of South Africa in 250 years. That was the time when the last rhinos were hunted out of that area. His new home at Aquila Game Park was to be the center of a breeding project to increase the population of rhinos and broaden the gene pool of the nearly extinct species. He had just begun to do his job when poachers attacked the small crash of rhinos at Aquila.

...two teams of poachers had entered the 7 500 hectare reserve in the early hours of Saturday 20 August 2011.They entered on foot using thermal night vision equipment to help them track down the rhinos. They effortlessly administered schedule seven drugs into three of the six resident rhinos.

The poachers only wanted the rhinos' horns. Made of the same material as human finger/toe nails, rhino horn powder is essentially useless as any sort of medication. Yet, despite this, the mythology of its medicinal power has created an insatiable demand in Asia driving prices in excess of $65,000 per kilogram. This attack killed one young male, nearly killed ABSA's daughter and after removing his horns with a chain saw, left ABSA bleeding to death.

ABSA struggled for life for four days after the attack, but ultimately he died from loss of blood and shock. Since 2008, 4000 rhinos have been killed by poachers intent on harvesting only their horns. Despite worldwide outrage, China continues to allow the horns and powdered horns to be imported. Despite worldwide outrage the United Stated Congress will take no stand on this deadly trade.

Rhinos have made an incredible comeback in South Africa thanks to government and private cooperation. Private game parks like Aquila help both in increasing the number of rhinos and diversifying the gene pool. Last week the South African government abandoned a controversial plan to sell harvested rhino horn into the world market. The advocates of the plan felt that by using South Africa's humanely harvested horn powder (a stockpile worth $2 billion at current prices) more money could be allocated to protecting rhinos from poachers. Major conservation organizations were opposed to the plan, believing that it could lead to increase demand and therefore more aggressive poaching and that, by participating in it, the trade in rhino horns would be legitimized.

Leading environmental organizations support the decision to veer from a legal trade and stick with the ban, adopted by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in 1977. WildAid head Peter Knights said it was “in the best interests of South Africa and all rhinos.” The World Wildlife Fund praised the move while expressing concerns that any legal horn would merely mask the presence of illegal products poachers had gathered. “The scale of the illicit activity associated with the trafficking of rhino horns by international organized crime networks and the extent of the illegal domestic markets in Asia, we do not believe that a well-managed legal trade is feasible without negative impacts for wild rhinos at this time,” the group said in a statement.

Meanwhile, back at Aquila the battle for the rhino goes on.

Aquila Private Game Reserve is proud to announce the birth of a baby white Rhino at the reserve near Touws River in the Western Cape on the morning of 13th October 2015. This new addition to Aquila’s Big 5 is the first rhino to be born at Aquila in 10 years.

How can you help?

Save the Rhino.

Saving Private Rhino.

Yes, ABSA was nicknamed for the South African bank that helped Aquila finance his purchase. No naming rights were involved.

Happy World Penguin Day!

Happy World Penguin Day! African penguins (Spehniscus demursus) are an endangered species of penguin found along the coast of South Africa and some islands off of Namibia. African penguin numbers have declined nearly 90% in the last 50 years as a result of human wildlife conflicts. Oil spills, over fishing and guano (used for nest building) collection have led to these dramatic reductions in numbers. It is the hope of researchers, conservationists and zoo keepers alike that if we work together to ensure these penguins have a stable habitat and food source we can turn the fate of this species around. Several organizations including SAMREC and Dyer Island Conservation Trust are working tirelessly to rescue, rehabilitate and release injured, ill and abandoned penguins.

This juvenile penguin was abandoned by his parents at their nest site in a colony near Cape Town. Over fishing has resulted in adult penguins having to venture farther and farther from the coast to find fish, leaving the chicks to fend for themselves for increased periods of time. The defenseless chicks are easy prey for predators or they can end up abandoned if their parents are lost while making the long hunting runs. Ultimately this means more and more chicks are not making it to adulthood.

SAMREC.....

But you can help...

Dyer island Conservation Trust

Global Penguin Society

Just click one!

Focus on the Individual

Save Just One is a hope, a prayer, a call to action. As individuals who care about the survival of all life on this planet, we can easily be overwhelmed by the extent of what is quite literally an extinction crisis for species after species of animals, insects and plants. On this site, we will tell stories of individual creatures because we believe it is easier to understand and respond to this crisis if we see these creatures as individuals. Humans can relate more effectively to a single creature in crisis and by doing so, better understand the impact of the loss of whole species of creatures.

A pride, a herd or a crash is made up of individual animals. These animals interact with each other as distinctly different individuals. All lion, elephants or rhinos are not interchangeable within their own social groups. Seeing these interactions helps us understand the importance of savings the individual as the key to saving the group.

Studies have shown that elephants experience many of the same emotions as human beings. Elephants are indeed capable of sadness, joy and distress and this is shown when a member of the herd dies. Family is all-important to elephants and the death of a family member has effects on the structure of the herd, particularly if this is the matriarch, as the younger members rely so heavily on her guidance.

If we all work to Save Just One imagine the cumulative impact such an effort would have.

Shrinky

One of the highlights of this blog will be telling real life stories of individual animals in need of help. Our first animal is a Chacma baboon named "Shrinky". Shrinky was taken from the wild and made into a pet. She was abused by her owner. The result was brain damage and serious mobility issues. Shrinky would not survive on her own. With the help of Naankuse, Shrinky has found a home where she is cared for physically and socially. That is an aspect of conservation that is part of the Naankuse ethic. Taking care of an animal that, through no fault of her own, has been injured by the intersection of the wild with the encroachment of humans into native animal habitats. As Shrinky grows the cost of her care will also grow.

Please think about how you can help.

Why Are We Here?

You could just sit around while the wild things of the world disappear and become extinct. Zoos (at least some of them) are great, but we share the planet with a massive diversity of creatures which we are quickly eliminating. The hope of this site is to help people make a difference. To give everyone the chance to access organizations that are trying to make a difference in the world. How you choose to use this access is up to you, but we have a limited amount of time to save the wild things of this world. This site will give you the opportunity to, at least, just save one. What if everyone did that?

“The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.” Albert Einstein