STREET GANGS IN CALGARY, ALBERTA

It’s gangs like these that the people of Calgary have to put up with…

A bit different from the problems in other cities…

It proves that every City has their own "unique" gang problems. They Roam the streets and yards night and day.

They hang out in even the best neighborhoods!

…and you CANNOT (legally) stop them.

AREN’T THEY MAGNIFICENT !!!!???

Shooter and Stunned Idaho Zookeepers

Zookeepers at Pocatello Zoo, Idaho, were worried when they noticed Shooter, a four-year-old elk, acting strangely at his water trough.  Baffled, they watched as the animal – who is so massive some keepers are afraid to even enter his enclosure – tried to dip his hooves into his drinking trough, before attempting to dunk his whole head in the water.

Shooter the elk stands 10ft tall from his hooves to the tip of his antlers. However, they were amazed as the 10 foot tall Shooter lifted his head from the trough clutching a tiny marmot – a kind of large squirrel – between his jaws.

To the rescue! Shooter pulls the hapless marmot from his water trough.  The gentle giant placed the hapless rodent down and nudged it with his hoof, as if checking it for signs of life, before calmly watching it scamper off into the bushes.

Zoo staff caught the entire rescue on camera.  "It really was amazing," said Kate O’Conner, Pocatello’s education co-ordinator.  "Shooter is such a huge animal. Some of the staff don’t like going in the enclosure with him so to see him being so gentle with a little animal was heart-warming.

"He was trying to dunk his head in the water, but his antlers kept getting in the way. Nobody could figure out why he was trying to get his head in, and then he started dipping his feet in. We were all completely confused, until we saw the marmot in his mouth. I think he had nudged the animal away from the edge of the bucket with his antlers and hooves so he could reach it with his mouth without his antlers getting in the way. It was very sweet!"

Down you go:  Shooter gently lowers the tiny rodent to the ground.

Safe, but soaked and somewhat shell shocked, the lucky marmot seems happy to be back on dry land.

Zookeeper Dr. Joy Fox added:  "We think Shooter sensed that the animal was in distress and decided to help.

"However, he could have just decided he didn’t like having something in his way.

"He spent quite a bit of time planning how to grab it."

The zoo plans to auction off Shooter’s incredible antlers when they are shed later in the year.

h/t to Patricia Gillenwater

Slaughter on the Island: Highjacking the Flag of Conservation

Slaughter on the Island: Highjacking the Flag of Conservation

By Lacey Biles, NRA-ILA Hunting Policy Liaison

Nestled in the Pacific Ocean approximately 30 miles from the mainland of Santa Barbara sits a beautiful island where majestic Roosevelt elk and Kaibab mule deer roam free. Ferried across a treacherous channel, these grand species were brought to Santa Rosa Island some 80 years ago, but their days are officially numbered. A complete slaughter of these magnificent animals is scheduled to occur before the midnight tide rises on Dec. 31, 2011. Sharpshooters will be en route to the island soon to comply with a 1996 court settlement and 2007 legislation that reinstated the extermination order.

The 83-square-mile island was privately owned for more than a century before being sold to the National Park Service in 1986 for $30 million. Used as a cattle and sheep ranch for much of its modern history, overgrazing disrupted the balance of the island`s ecosystem. The 1996 lawsuit settlement required the removal of all cattle, sheep and feral hogs from the island, followed by a phased reduction of elk and mule deer to culminate at the end of 2011 with complete extermination.

As this is a government-mandated animal slaughter, you may ask where the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have been in the process. They have been curiously absent, giving us a clear picture of their definition of "conservation." In fact, HSUS` congressional allies, U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and U.S. Rep. Lois Capps, blocked NRA`s efforts to prevent the slaughter in 2007 by inserting a provision into the omnibus appropriations bill that reinstated the extermination order. The animal-saving law blocked by the three lawmakers would have allowed disabled veterans to hunt the majestic elk and mule deer based on biologists` harvest recommendations.

The battle over Santa Rosa Island illustrates diverging definitions of "conservation." Theodore Roosevelt was largely responsible for sparking America`s conservation movement after witnessing the detritus left behind by the 19th century`s commercial big game slaughter. An avid hunter throughout his life, Roosevelt could not countenance big game populations dwindling below sustainable hunting levels. He helped to create the North American Wildlife Conservation Model, which used regulated hunting as an essential tool to bring back numerous species from the brink of extinction and help them thrive again.

Regulated hunting of Roosevelt elk and Kaibab mule deer on Santa Rosa Island has been employed and celebrated for decades, keeping populations in check that have no natural predators. Although the presence of such majestic beasts enriches the experience of all who visit the island, HSUS and PETA seem to prefer total extermination of the elk and deer populations rather than allowing one more hunter to take to the field. Again, these anti-hunting extremists refuse to acknowledge that hunters are largely responsible for preserving America`s wild lands and the wild things that Roosevelt held sacrosanct.

Animal "rights" extremists have tried to seize the word "conservation" and change its definition to remove hunting as a tool. Unfortunately, they have had some success and Santa Rosa Island may be their next victory.

The impact that domestic cattle and sheep, and feral hogs, can have on a unique landscape such as Santa Rosa Island is well known. A total of 1,175 hogs were killed during the `90s, but estimates put the number of hogs as high as 3,200 prior to a major drought in the late `80s. With voracious appetites, it is no wonder that the flora and fauna suffered tremendously. Some states see significant habitat impacts with similar hog populations. After the removal of domestic cattle, sheep and feral hogs, Santa Rosa`s ecosystem dramatically rebounded.

So why have the elk and mule deer been sentenced to die when the island`s ecosystem is rebounding? No reasonable answer has been given; the only explanation is that the two ungulate species are "non-native." Allowing the North American Wildlife Conservation Model to prevail through elk and mule deer management would mean a modicum of impact on the island`s environment. That is apparently too tall an order for HSUS and PETA because it would mean continued hunting of a few animals. The animal "rights" folks instead sit idly by as government-paid sharpshooters are scheduled to perform a 19th century-style slaughter, with the modern twist of using helicopters instead of horses.

There are only three native terrestrial mammals on Santa Rosa: the deer mouse, island fox and spotted skunk. With the domestic cattle, sheep and feral hogs gone from the island, a proper ecosystem could be easily maintained with the continued inclusion of scientifically managed elk and deer herds.

Roosevelt elk and Kaibab mule deer are only found in a small segment of North America and they are a celebrated part of Santa Rosa for a multitude of visitors from hikers to hunters. The isolated island population of these magnificent animals represents an important insurance policy if disease ever broke out on the mainland that could lead either species to extinction. Having an isolated species pool, a Noah`s Ark of sorts, can prove invaluable as proper elk and mule deer habitat on the mainland continues to erode because of urbanization, leaving species` health prone to widespread disease events.

President Roosevelt eloquently wrote of elk in 1902:

"Surely all men who care for nature, no less than all men who care for big game hunting, should combine to try to see that not merely the states but the Federal authorities make every effort, and are given every power, to prevent the extermination of this stately and beautiful animal, the lordliest of the deer kind in the entire world."

I believe that the president who sparked the American conservation movement would write the very same words about the Santa Rosa slaughter today. The elk and mule deer herds could be so managed through hunting and other means as to have minimal impact on the island`s various flora and fauna with a continued existence as balanced members of the island`s ecosystem. This would continue the North American Wildlife Conservation Model that has become the envy of the world, albeit to the angst of the animal "rights" crowd simply because hunting would continue. It makes one wonder if these anti-hunting extremists would prefer to see more animals exterminated so that, in their twisted minds, no "suffering" would exist. It is hard to see any other way they would be satisfied given their inaction on Santa Rosa.

Rest assured that NRA will continue the fight to save the Santa Rosa elk and mule deer to the final hour. Join the fight; contact your United States senators and representative and ask them to call off the sharpshooters. If all concerned NRA members join forces, perhaps we can prevent the senseless slaughter of these remarkable animal populations and keep the animal "rights" extremists from taking hunting out of conservation.

Posted: 8/9/2011 12:00:00 AM

Source: NRA-ILA

Elk Born in Yellowstone – Amazing Photos

Superb  photos of a cow elk giving birth to her calf right next to  the Administration building at Yellowstone National Park  headquarters in Mammoth Hot Springs! You can see how  wildlife and people can live together harmoniously. And I  figure it is one of the few places in the Yellowstone area  where a cow elk can safely have her calf without it being  eaten immediately by a grizzly or a wolf! Enjoy these great  photos!

Yellowstone National Park

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When  I see nature in action like this, several things immediately  go through my mind…I know animals have feelings and love  just like humans….and I know there has to be a God to have  created us all…. things like this just didn’t evolve out  of the oceans, folks…there had to be an Architect, A Head  Engineer…it’s too complicated….this is absolutely the  emotions of love and maternal instincts at the  finest.

Related:

Wild Pics Capture Grizzly Chasing Bison in Yellowstone Park

Oh Deer… Guess Who Came to Dinner?

Just One More Pet

Beef verses Bison For Dogs

Although cows (beef) and buffalo (bison) are both considered “red” meats, they are two distinct protein sources. Veterinarians have recognized that feeding your pet (or your own body, for that matter) the exact same food for a lifetime cheats your pet out of excellent nutrition that a variety of meats and other foods can offer.

Remember, there is no one “perfect” protein, or food. Variety is critical for your pet to receive the full spectrum of amino acids, essential fatty acids, trace minerals, vitamins and antioxidants necessary to thrive. Bison meat is one of the richest natural sources of CoQ10 (humans should eat more bison as well!). Your dog will benefit from offering him or her this terrific alternative to the typical beef or chicken-based dog foods.

I recommend you rotate at least 3 different proteins annually (the more the better… I feed LOTS of different proteins to my pack: rabbit, ostrich, duck, quail, chicken, turkey, beef, bison, elk, venison, goat and fish before starting the list over).  

I also occasionally throw in some roast (free-range) pork, if I have fixed it for the family. However, if you do feed your dog some pork now and then make  sure the meat is fresh and well cooked, eliminating the chance of your dog getting worms from eating eating it. Pork is a fatty meat and has the potential to cause pancreatitis, a painful and potentially life threating illness, so feed it sparingly.

I also feed my dogs organ meats:  heart, liver, kidney, pancreas, gizzards, and brain twice a week. Organ meats are a nutrient dense source of food and too much organ meat is not good.

• There are two approaches to feeding organ meat:

  1. Feed organ meats in larger amounts twice per week.

  2. Feed organ meats every day but in smaller amounts

• Liver is high in oil soluble vitamin A (not to be confused with the vegetable source of vitamin A also known as beta carotene). If you feed too much liver then you will actually cause liver stones because liver stones are created when the body gets too much oil soluble vitamin A. 

• If you choose option 1 and thus feed organ meats twice per week, then the organ meat should be approximately 50% of the meat source. So let’s say, as an example, you were feeding 1 cup of meat. In this situation you would then use approximately 1/2 cup organ meat and 1/2 cup muscle meat.

• If you choose option 2 and thus feed organ meat every day then approximately 10% of the meat source should be organ meat. So let’s say again, as an example, that you were feeding 1 cup of meat. In this situation you would add approximately 1/8 of a cup as organ meat and the rest as muscle meat.  My personal favourite is heart because of its high taurine content.  Taurine is an essential amino acid.  Also often mix the liver or organs with brown rice and veggies.

Your dog will thank you for the variety.

Source:  Dr. Mercola

Another reason to feed your pets inside…

Patience