Last week we celebrated Endangered Species Day, a day to celebrate and learn about our world’s many endangered species and how we can protect NOT ONLY them but also protect ourselves and our planet from viruses and pandemics, for you, your children, your children’s children, your companion animals, and everything we share this amazing planet with!
I don’t think I have ever asked for a favor from our followers, but today I am going to put that out there and ASK, BEG, and PRAY!
As a direct favor to me, would you please watch both of these videos with your family and share them with as many people possible!!
#1 Jane Goodall on Animal-Human Interconnectedness and the Pandemic
#2 Jane Goodall Shares a Message About Covid-19
With the passing of my beautiful and amazing Mom, Katherine Lee, on Easter weekend, my hope is to work even harder to share her life’s mission to protect all animals and the earth. I remember so well her fighting with my father in the 60s because he was upset and embarrassed that his 7 year old daughter (me) was going door to door canvassing against the seal hunt (you just didn’t do that back then!). Her reaction to this was to simply drive me door to door so I could get to more people. My Mom was given so many awards and recognition for her lifelong volunteer services with the SPCA and wildlife associations, Children’s Aid… not to mention her own rescue farm and day to day contribution to our community. She taught me that we are all on this beautiful planet together and we need to support everything to have a healthy ecosystem, body and home (our earth).
So, thinking about this day I wanted to share some beautiful and amazing stories we’ve heard about wild animals not only reclaiming their spaces but coming back to vital areas they need to to procreate as people hunker down and stay home.
Our lives revolve around animals, big and small, and just because we don’t have a tiger in the barn, a giraffe in the backyard, or a walrus in the bathtub, doesn’t mean they aren’t as near and dear to our hearts as our pups, kitties, horses, bunnies, and pigs! Believe us, if we could save them all and allow them to live their lives without cruelty or endangerment, we would and I am determined and will make it my life mission to continue to try!
Just hearing the amazing animals stories we have since Covid-19 broke a few months ago brings us profound hope!
Whether endangered or not, these are some of our favorite stories from the last few weeks.
Endangered Sea Turtles Lay Eggs on Empty Beaches
More than 70,000 Olive Ridley sea turtles were seen nesting along the coast of the eastern Indian state of Odisha. These turtles are the most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world, but they are still listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
Last year, the sea turtles didn’t have their annual nesting, and while some say that was because of various factors like natural disasters, others have attributed this year’s nesting to the stay-at-home-restrictions in place. Because of the lockdown, the turtles were able to nest safely without fear of human disturbance.
It wasn’t just in India that this happened either! Nearly 100 critically endangered Hawksbill sea turtles also hatched on a deserted beach in Brazil. The Hawksbill sea turtle is also listed as endangered by the IUCN. Again, because of lockdown measures in the area, the turtles were able to nest undisturbed on the usually tourist-crowded beach.
First Baby Bison Born on Wanuskewin Land in 150 Years
For the first time in roughly 150 years, a bison was born on the land at Wanuskewin Heritage Park in Saskatchewan, Canada.
According to Wanuskewin officials, the occasion marks the first bison born on their ancestral land since before the 1876 signing of Treaty Six and the local extinction of the species.
In an interview with the Saskatoon StarPheonix, Wanuskewin CEO Darlene Brander said the birth is “a historic moment in Wanuskewin’s timeline.” She notes, “When you take in the COVID-19 pandemic and all the implications of it and how it impacted our lives, to hear about this ray of hope through the baby bison being born at the park, it was incredibly significant.” Talk about a silver lining!
Wanuskewin elders have been trying to bring bison back to the park for 40 years. “We have been waiting for this day at Wanuskewin for a very long time,” Brander said. And whether this can be attributed to Covid-19 restrictions or not (the park has been closed to the public), it is still a major ray of sunshine and a joyful moment for all!
Wildlife in the Venice Canals
Italy has been one of the hardest hit by Corona, and while we all saw the heart-wrenching images we also witnessed the moving images of community and love.
And while people sang from their rooftops, the canals welcomed the wildlife. The hundreds of canals in Venice have been emptied of motorboat taxis, transport and tourist boats, and the vaporetti water buses have been running on a reduced schedule. And though we know now that the images of a dolphin in the Venice canals were actually taken in Sardinia, that doesn’t negate the fact that the canals are changing! Residents of Venice have reported seeing more fish, ducks, flourishing seaweed, and even dolphins (yes, there are more reports) in the now crystal clear waters.
And even if these animals have always been there, just going about their business unseen because of the murky water, the fact that they’re now visible and citizens have a chance to marvel at them is in itself a wondrous thing!
Whales Spotted Breaching in Vancouver Harbour
Whales are not an uncommon site off the coast of British Columbia, especially at certain times of the year. But there has been an increase in reported sightings within the waters in and around Vancouver, an area that normally has lots of ship traffic, and thus minimal whale traffic.
These sightings have included the humpback whale, which tend to be far common in the Strait of Georgia, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and just off the west coast of Vancouver Island, rather than so close to the cost. Humpback whales in the Pacific migrate to the coast of Mexico and Central America in the winter and return to the coastal area spanning from California to southern BC in the summer and fall. Residents have been keeping a keen eye out to catch a glimpse from their balconies, watching as they breach the water and playfully splash around.
Animals in The Streets
As people around the world stay home in the hopes of flattening the curve, they’ve also shared some awe-inspiring images of animals reclaiming the streets. And while the images of empty streets may seem ominous, when they’re filled with wildlife we’re all reminded that we share this world with some beautiful animals that are showing up to give us hope and to prove to us that we, all of us, are resilient.
- Buffalo in New Delhi, India, have been spotted taking advantage of the empty highways and trotting along without a care in the world.
- Wild deer are gathering in the often crowded streets of Japan, making themselves at home amidst the quiet.
- Reduced boating traffic and a ban on fishing in Istanbul has prompted dolphins to frolic closer to shore.
- The usually tourist-filled roads of Kruger National Park in South Africa have been reclaimed as the ideal napping spot for lions.
Nature is wondrous and we have, for way too long, forgotten that. It has been replaced but speed boats, sun bathing, ATVs, computer games, Facebook… all things that are temporary and do not dictate our health and survival. But the earth and its health, from air and water quality and all the creatures we share it with, absolutely does!
Cheers to the animals. Let them be wild. And let us remember that this is their Earth as much as it is ours. When the isolation is over, let’s be aware that, for a time, these streets once again became their space. Be cautious that when we’re back out doing our day-to-day that we may once more be encroaching on reclaimed space. This pandemic has and will continue to have devastating effects on many, many people, people who’s lives have been lost and some who’s lives will never be the same. We must not squander this pain! We must learn from nature and the time we’ve been forced to have to find a better way, a kinder, gentler, and more respectful environmentally scientific way to not only survive this but thrive for generations to come. We have been given a chance and have seen empirical proof that we can heal when we come together and that includes man, beast and planet. Please contact your MPs, your political parties, and demand that we pay attention to what we have learned through this. Together, we can demand a cleaner, healthier, more conscious world for all. It is not an ask, it is our right!
~ Love Julie and the Animals xo
