Animal Health & Behavior

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 1993:

Studying the relationship between brain evolution and the death of fetal cells, University of
Tennessee researcher Dr. Robert Williams has discovered that cat species seem to have an unusual capacity for
fast biological adaptation to suit their circumstances. All mammals seem to select adaptive capabilities through
the death of up to half of their neural brain cells just before birth, enabling the remainder to grow, but cats shed as
many as 80% of their fetal neurons––and this explains the key differences between domestic cat brains and those
of Spanish wildcats. Williams studied the brains of domestic cats and Spanish wildcats who had been euthanized
due to illness and/or injury.

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What’s next for the Canadian SPCA? FORMER STAFFERS STRENGTHEN OTHER ORGANIZATIONS

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 1993:

MONTREAL, Quebec –– Embattled Canadian
SPCA president Joan Clark has pledged to resign at the
organization’s next annual meeting, to be held in June, but
observers aren’t betting heavily that Clark will be replaced,
or even that the CSPCA will remain open.
Founded in 1869, the CSPCA is Canada’s oldest
humane organization, but has rarely exercised national lead-
ership during more than a decade of internal turmoil marked
by a declining donor base, and has no staff or programs out-
side the province of Quebec. Although more than 80% of
the Quebec population is French-speaking, the CSPCA
directors and senior staff are primarily English-speaking,
contributing to a image of isolation from the community that
the organization has done little about during a series of pro-
tracted power struggles.

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Hirings and firings

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 1993:

The World-Wide Fund for Nature, known in
the U.S. as the World Wildlife Fund, announced January
22 that Prince Philip of Britain would remain president
until 1996. Philip, whose term was to end in 1994, was
president of the British branch from its founding in 1961
until 1981, when he took his present post. An avid partic-
ipant in blood sports, Philip has led WWF in frequent
alignment with trophy hunters and wildlife traffickers,
opposing most other animal and habitat protection groups.

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BOOKS: Your Heart Your Planet

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 1992:

Your Heart Your Planet. B y
Harvey Diamond. Hay House (501
Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica,
CA 90406). 1990. 238 pages. $7.95
paperback.
Harvey Diamond, founder of
the Fit for Life Foundation, builds upon
his previous experience in health and
physical fitness to demonstrate that ani-
mal products are not only unhealthy for
humans, but are also unhealthy for the
entire biosphere.

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OBITUARIES

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 1992:

The Miami Metrozoo on
December 5 will dedicate the Naomi
Browning Tiger Temple, a new tiger exhib-
it, to the memory of Naomi Browning, 12,
a zoo volunteer and wildlife rehabilitator
who was killed in her home August 24 by
flying debris from Hurricane Andrew.
The late James and Arlene Kirk,
of Lafayette Township, Ohio, left $58,000
to the Medina County Animal Shelter.

BOOKS: A Cat’s Life: Dulcy’s Story

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 1992:

A Cat’s Life: Dulcy’s Story. As given to Dee
Ready. Crown Books (3300 75th Ave., Landover,
MD 20785-1599). 1992. 90 pages. $12.00 cloth.
Would you knowingly give a friend on your
Christmas list an hour of lump-throated, balled-Kleenex
weeping, wailing, sniffling? Sure you would, for an
excuse to buy A Cat’s Life, you loved the funny misery so
much. (Just like having a cat and losing her.)
Author Anna Dolores Ready knows us, from the
foolishly-fond new cat-parent, captivated companion, anx-
iously loving nurse to finally bereft, undone, unhinged,
alone, and ready to sneak down to the humane society,
“just looking,” and start all over again.

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BOOKS: Care of the Wild: First Aid for Wild Creatures

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 1992:

Care of the Wild: First Aid for Wild
Creatures. By William J. Jordan and John
H u g h e s . University of Wisconsin Press (114 N.
Murray St., Madison, WI 53715). 1992. 225 pages.
$11.95 paper; $27.50 cloth.
I’ve never read Care of the Wild all the way
through. I probably should. There are pages of my battered
old 1983 edition that I’ve never read––and pages I’ve read
aloud over the telephone or photocopied many times while
fielding desperate calls from people who have found an
injured this or that and don’t know what to do. Simply put,
Care of the Wild is an invaluable desk reference for anyone
who may encounter wildlife in need of help: wildlife reha-
bilitators, animal control officers, humane societies; any-
one who notices and cares. First published in England, it is
now expanded and updated to more thoroughly cover North
American wildlife, but it did a fairly good job before: I’ve
used it to help other people help opossums, raccoons,
songbirds, rabbits, and deer––who are only a handful of
the species discussed. Care of the Wild won’t replace your
veterinarian, but it will tell you when to call the vet, and
what to do before and afterward.
––Merritt Clifton

BOOKS: Cows Are Vegetarians: a book for vegetarian kids

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 1992:

Cows Are Vegetarians: a book for vegetarian
kids. By Ann Bradley with illustrations by Elise
H u ffman. Healthways Press (P.O. Box 1945, Aptos,
CA 95001). 1992. 20 pages. $9.95 paper.
While the title is a bit of a non sequitur, Cows Are
Vegetarians joyously affirms the vegetarian choice for young
children. It provides them with reassuring facts about nutri-
tion and describes in some detail the environmental benefits
of vegetarianism for rainforest habitats and ultimately, the
planet.

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BOOKS: Wildwoods Wisdom: Encounters With the Natural World

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 1992:

Wildwoods Wisdom: Encounters With the
Natural World, by Doug Elliott. Paragon House
(90 Fifth Ave., New York, N.Y. 10011), 1992. 196
pages. $22.95 cloth.
In this curious mixture of scientific fact and folk
tradition, Doug Elliott distills a lifetime’s curiosity about
the myriad ways in which humans interact with other crea-
tures. Throughout, he combines the self-taught herbalist’s
keen attention to detail, the wildlife artist’s regard for har-
mony, and the folklorist’s appreciation for traditional coun-
try beliefs.

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