Oceanariums

May 1, 1996 Archivist Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1996:

Sea World took a high profile
in marine mammal rescue
efforts at opposite corners of the U.S.
in early April:
• In Florida, Sea World
Orlando biology staff led efforts to
discover the cause of 238 wild manatee
deaths––more than ever before
recorded even over a full year––during
the first third of 1996. The toll of 100
through the first 90 days of the year
was already considered alarming,
when 138 more died between March 5
and April 20. About 2,600 manatees
inhabited Florida waters when the
deaths began. Strangely, all of the
victims have been adults. The deaths
roughly coincide with a toxic red tide
that hit 150 miles of Florida’s South
Gulf Coast in April, and red tides can
be lethal to manatees: a red tide in
1982 killed 39 manatees. However,
forensic examination of remains hasn’t
found any direct link between the red
tide and the deaths.

U.S., Peru split on dolphins

May 1, 1996 Archivist Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1996:

WASHINGTON D.C.––The House Resources Subcommittee on
Fisheries, Wildlife, and Oceans on April 18 approved HR 2823, a bill by
Representative Wayne Gilchrest (R-Maryland) to implement the 1995
Declaration of Panama. Endorsed by the Clinton administration, Greenpeace,
the World Wildlife Fund, and the Center for Marine Conservation, HR 2823
and a Senate companion bill, S 1420, change the definition of “dolphinsafe”
to allow the resumed import of tuna netted “on dolphin,” if the number
of “observed” dolphin deaths is less than 5,000 for the fleet for the year.
Proponents of the bill argue that netting “on dolphin” is less harmful
to sea turtles, sharks, and other endangered marine species. Opponents
disagree, including the Humane Society of the U.S., the Sierra Club, and
most other animal and habitat protection groups. “HR 2823 is deadly to dolphins,”

Bill Clinton kisses up to hunters

May 1, 1996 Archivist Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1996:

WASHINGTON D.C. – –
Fending off “vicious rumors that the
president is anti-hunting,” as one
White House official put it, Bill
Clinton on March 25 issued an executive
order recognizing hunters and
fishers as “first partners” in managing
the U.S. National Wildlife Refuges.
“Compatible hunting, fishing,
wildlife observation and photography,
and environmental education
and interpretation are especially recognized
in this Executive Order,”
Clinton said.

I was a fish killer by Steve Hindi

May 1, 1996 Archivist Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1996:

I first fished at age five, with my
brother Greg, who is one year younger.
Each of us caught a perch out of a lake in St.
Paul, Minnesota. Fascinated, we watched
the two perch swim around in a small bucket
until first one and then the other died. I don’t
remember what happened to their bodies, but
I know they were not large enough to eat.
Perch are plentiful, and easy to
hook, and are therefore considered to be a
good species for practice fishing.
Many members from both sides of
my family were fishers, as well as hunters,
trappers, and ranchers. A couple of dead
perch didn’t rate much concern. Like most
children, we learned what we were taught,
setting aside whatever qualms we may have
felt. Our mother raised us to care for cats and
dogs, and we regularly took in strays,
despite housing project rules which forbade
it. However, we were told that fish had no
feelings, and we killed them with abandon.

Overkill in overdrive: Canada halts, then resumes seal massacre

May 1, 1996 Archivist Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1996:

ST. JOHN’S, NEWFOUNDLAND––
The good news was that on April
12, a month early, the Canadian Department
of Fisheries and Oceans halted the bloodiest
seal massacre since 1983, claiming––
though few believed it––that the quota of a
quarter million harp seals had been filled.
The bad news was that on April 16
the DFO told the sealers that it had overcounted,
and to go kill another 60,000.
At that, Canadian Sealers Association
executive director Tina Fagan said her
members might ask for an additional quota of
37,000. Newfoundland fisheries minister
John Efford said the additional quota ought to
be 150,000.

BOOKS: Simon & Schuster Children’s Guide to Birds

April 1, 1996 Archivist Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1996:

S i m o n & Schuster Childre n ’s
Guide to Birds, by Jinny
Johnson, with Dr. Malcolm
Ogilvie. Simon & Schuster (1230
Avenue of the Americas, New York,
NY 10020), 1996. 96 pages, illustrated,
$19.95 hardcover.

What gets children interested in
birdwatching––a dull class, a window, and
a bird outside, or a nice big book full of colorful
creatures called titmice and jackass
penguins? Maybe it’s both. Unfortunately,
pages the size of workbooks make this otherwise
excellent basic guide a bit difficult to
conceal, open, in a lap beneath a
desk––and it’s too big to take out into the
field in a pocket, too. But then, children
are more likely to do their early species
identification from indoors, anyway.

BOOKS: Beastly Abodes: Homes for Birds, Bats, Butterflies and Other Backyard Wildlife

April 1, 1996 Archivist Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1996:

Beastly Abodes: Homes for
Birds, Bats, Butterflies and
Other Backyard Wi l d l i f e, by
Bobbe Needham. Sterling Publishing
Co. (387 Park Ave. South, New York,
NY 10016), 1995. 144 pages, hardcover.
$21.95.

At a glance this looks like just
another book of birdhouses: ornaments for
the garden, never to be occupied by the creatures
they were built for. But though it has
plenty of photos of fancy artistic bird
dwellings, Beastly Abodes also contains an
unexpected wealth of information about
wildlife. Each house comes not only with
plans for building it, but also instructions on
siting it to attract the right creatures. Each is
made with natural or recycled materials that
blend with the surroundings.

International wildlife news

April 1, 1996 Archivist Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1996:

Africa
Members of 840 Masai
families during the second week in
March opened Kimana Tikondo
Group Ranch, a 15-square-mile forprofit
wildlife sanctuary in southern
Kenya, under the shadow of Mount
Kilimanjaro. Just 17 visitors paid
the $10 entrance fee the first week,
most of them members of a delegation
from the Wildlife Conservation
Society, formerly the New York
Zoological Society. Start-up funding
came from the U.S. Agency for
International Development. Kenya
Wildlife Services director David
Western hopes Kimana Tikando and
similar parks can make enough
money to persuade the Masai that
keeping wildlife is more profitable
than killing it to graze more cattle.

Republicans ready to go on ESA

April 1, 1996 Archivist Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1996:

WASHINGTON D.C.– –
House speaker Newt Gingrich on
March 21 signaled imminent motion
toward passing a long-delayed
Endangered Species Act reauthorization
bill, appointing California representative
Richard Pombo and New
York representative Sherwood
Boelert to co-chair a new
Republican task force on the environment.
Pombo is among the most
aggressive foes of the ESA; Boelert
is among the most prominent proESA
Republicans.

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