I love this! The black Jaguar, Jumanji, was such a typical jag about it. “Let’s scent mark it and destroy it! Now it’s perfect! Sit” Reminds me so much of my old boy, OJ.  Also the Caracal, Rusty, was hilarious. Caracal’s come off as a bit snobby and I thought it was perfect how Rusty just sat in the box, totally unfazed – “I’m too sexy for your box.”

            In the early spring and fall, my cat shows are far less busy than in the summer. This gives me an opportunity to talk to the public for longer. One of my favorite things about being a zoo keeper is educating, especially if I feel like people walk away with a new level understanding. One day after my cat show, I was standing around answering questions and a young man came up to me. He told me he really wants to help animals but he doesn't just want to donate money and call it a day. He asked me what else he can do to help. This question caught me a little off guard because it was so open ended, but I told him my opinion.

            I think if you want to help animals and the environment you have to start with yourself first. I think a lot of us are guilted into being environmentally friendly because we're told that the negative impact humans have had on this planet is the whole reason we're in this mess. As I pointed out in my last blog entry, humans do need to act less self-centered that they do now. However, seeing all the headlines about global warming, endangered species and the like can get pretty depressing. The thing I hate about this is that it makes people feel hopeless – or at least I feel hopeless. Feeling hopeless doesn't inspire me to make changes; instead, it makes me feel like nothing I do will have any significant impact. That is, however, not true and I think the little changes are what will make the greatest overall difference.

            I told this young man the best thing he can do is change his lifestyle. Humans will always have a negative impact on the world. So will every other animal that has to eat to survive, but we can still make changes so that keeping us alive and happy doesn't wreck it for every other living thing. I decided that I needed to stop thinking of myself as a species that destroys the planet and start accepting that I need resources to live. Now it's a matter of where I choose to get my resources from.

            Here's some of the things I do to try and help the planet:

1.)                I don't eat sea food. (as a marine biology student it's hard to ignore the horrible fishing practices that go on in our oceans).

2.)                I don't use liners in 3 out of the 4 garbage cans in our house.

3.)                I bring reusable bags to the grocery store, including reusable bags for produce.

4.)                I recycle any plastic bags I accumulate.

5.)                I compost

6.)                I buy biodegradable garbage liners for the kitchen garbage.

7.)                I don't idle the car at train crossing or at stop lights that I know are going to take a long time.

8.)                I buy local when I can afford it and I pick berries in the summer to freeze for winter from local farms.

9.)                I buy eggs that are chicken friendly.

10.)            I volunteer at a local horse rescue shelter once a week

11.)            I buy environmentally friendly detergent for the dishwasher and the washing machine.

12.)            I buy or make environmentally friendly cleaning products and scrub extra hard.

13.)            I tell anyone that is considering getting a wild animal as a pet not to do it and explain why.

14.)            I try very hard to remember to turn off the lights when I leave a room.

15.)            I don't leave the light outside my front door running all day just to provide light for me for 20 seconds when I come home in the evening went it's dark. I have a small flash light on my key chain instead.

16.)            I don't buy things that are individually wrapped.

17.)            I buy bamboo products whenever I can because it's a much more environment friendly material than other kinds of wood.

18.)      I don't litter.

            As you can see I’m not a super hero. There's still things I need to improve on. I’m really lazy about composting and I need to improve. I don't do nearly as much as I might have the potential to but I choose not be feel bad about it because I want to stay motivated to find more ways to make positive changes in my life rather than feel defeated and discouraged. I think I motivated the young man at the cat show to live his life this way and I hope I can convince you guys to make changes where you can and feel good about them!

Don't litter! Baby Muskox will thank you :D

           I’ve been struggling with something lately. When I’ve spoken to people about the plight that animals face in our world it seems to be generally accepted that humans should always come first. This mentality bothers me because I feel that we live so selfishly already that it doesn’t help to think we are somehow more entitled to decided what happens to this world than any of the creatures we share it with. As a zookepper, I’m taking care of the mess other people have made – eagles that have been hit by cars, bears that are pushed out of their habitat and into garbage dumps and so on. That’s not to say I’m a nature purist, since I – by being alive – consume resources as well, however I recognize that animals have a place in this world and that they welfare needs to be a bigger priority than it is.

Let me set one thing straight before I begin. I don’t think I’m a crazy animal person. Animals are my passion for sure, but I think I’ve a placed a realistic value on them in my life. I often see images of zoo keepers or conservation workers cuddling with lions or tigers and all I can see in those images is a death wish. I also see a lack of respect for the animal. I think zoos should be as natural as possible, not an excuse for a petting zoo. With that being said, I think there needs to a much higher value placed on animals and the environment than there is now.

When we’re spending more money on animal welfare than education then I’ll agree that we’re taking this a little far, but I think our current situation is a far cry from this scenario. We live in a world of oceans on the brink of catastrophic collapse, global warming, vanishing glaciers and many other depressing environmental tragedies. In this situation I don’t think people should come first – clearly we’ve been putting ourselves first for long enough.

I’ve heard two arguments as to why humans should reign supreme.

            The first is a religious argument. The bible says “have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” To have dominion over something is to have control, it does not mean take advantage of and pillage – which is what we’re doing now. We are taking too many resources (greed), we consume more that we need to (gluttony), we lust after rare pieces of natures (fur, claws, horns etc…), we have the technology to be more environmentally friendly but we don’t implement these techniques because of sloth and greed – these methods take effort and money. We want to be more important than the world we depend on and this stems from pride. I’ve listed five of the seven deadly sins and if you are wanting to live a biblical life then it doesn’t seem like the human race is doing a very good job of it. I think the biblical argument could be valid if this was actually the way we were living. If we have true dominion of the earth, we should be taking much better care of it.

            The second argument is that we have evolved into a superior race. We have found ways to advance in agriculture, transportation and electronics, but we are at heart a species that - like any other - consumes for our own gain. We have found ways to harvest everything nature has to offer very quickly – too quickly. Our fish and forest industry can hardly replenish itself before we are taking more. It’s in our genetics to survive and thrive. The problem I have with the evolutionary perspective is twofold. Firstly, as a species we haven’t existed for very long. We are but a blip on the evolutionary time scale but in that time we have managed to do damage like none before us. We’ve taken habitats away from animals that existed long before we did. Our sense of entitlement knows no end. Secondly, I think it’s stupid, frankly, to brag about the superiority of human intelligence when we are – plain and simple - destroying the very environment we depend on. We won’t be lookin’ so smart once we’ve destroyed the very thing giving us life. If we’re going to use our intelligence then let’s use it to preserve our planet rather than use it to find faster ways to destroy the world we depend on.

            I think if mother nature were a person and humans were her children, she’d be rolling her eyes at the tantrum we’re throwing right now. There’s too much “I want” floating around and I’m sick of it at the moment.

I think I’ll end my semi-rant for now. Next post I will follow up on this, but in a more positive way :P

 Whooooooa a kitty!