Ellie the Elephant

Hello Everyone!

Today I'm going to talk about elephants, the adorable, gentle creatures that make me smile. Let's start with the basics.

(Doesn't that just make you smile?)

They are the world's largest animal
Two types of elephant: African and Asia
African elephants inhabit the savannah's south of the Sahara Desert, and rain forests of west and central Africa.
Asian elephants are inhabit India, Sri Lanka, China and much of Southeast Asia
Length of life: Up to 70 years old
Weight: 6,000 to 15,000 pounds (wow, they are big)
Diet: Grasses, leaves, bamboo, bark, roots, banana and sugarcane,
Adult elephants can consume 300-400 pounds of food per day.
When elephants drink, they can suck in up to 2 gallons of water.
Elephants don't have bones in their trunk, just muscle
Number of offspring: 1 calf (which will weight 200-250 pounds at birth!)
They are very intelligent and social animals
The patterns on an elephant's ear are unique and they use their ears to express emotion.
Now that you know all about elephants, let's talk about how in trouble these amazing creatures are. Fair warning, the rest may not be for the squeamish at heart.

This species is in serious trouble, all elephants are endangered. They are killed every day, which is an awful truth. The worst part, we, humans, are the reason for it all. Not just because we are taking away their habitat or polluting their earth, we are directly, inhumanely, killing their gentle gaints. Back in 2007, The Time said that

"23,000 elephants killed each year for ivory".

The rate has increased even more in these last four years. Elephants are killed for one reason: their tusks. Greedy, evil people want to get rich so they kill these animals and sell the ivory tusks. Most of ivory tusks are traded in the black market. Elephants are also killed, on a smaller scale, for their meat. In addition, poachers aren't the only ones hunting these animals. People do it for fun, for a prize. Americans travel to Africa and take safari's that allow them to kill these animals. (Why aren't we condemning this?)
Even killing just one or two from a family, which is rare because most poachers kill the entire family at a time. Poachers kill the older elephants because their tusks are larger. This leaves the younger elephants without parents. Sometimes, the poachers don't spend the time to kill the elephant, they just cut off its tusks and leave the animals in pain and forever damaged. Many die within months after their tusks are cut off due to infection and inability to provide for themselves.

Poachers just cut off this elephant to rot after they took it's tusks.
(The men in the picture are anit-poachers, trying to stop this injustice).

  

There are many other pictures on the Internet, but they are just too gruesome. I was looking through some and it is just horrid and heartbreaking what is occurring to these beautiful creatures. I feel so bad that I'm not doing sometimes about it, that I am not stopping it right now, and at first, when I was younger, I couldn't look at the photos. I refused to see these animals killed or mutilated. I would look away, I wouldn't think about it because I felt so bad for these creatures. But then one day I unwillingly saw the awful pictures of the elephants head cut off (above) and I just stopped. I think I might have started crying and I didn't know what to do. I was angry at the people who did this and then I was angry at myself because I was turning away from it. I was being a coward. I was pretending that if I didn't see it, then the killings wouldn't be occuring. But these animals, and many more, are killed every day, whether I admit it or not.  So, I started researching the topic and looking at these pictures, even though it pained me. In 8th grade, I did an entire project on illegal wildlife trade. Part of the presentation included showing pictures of dead elephants and tigers and the bloody remains. My class was shocked. They didn't know this was occurring. They had heard about it, but never actually seen it. For 8th graders, I guess its okay for the majority to not know these actions are occurring. However, it's not okay that the majority of the world is unaware or, if they are aware, not doing anything about it. By not doing about it, by not focusing on this emotional topic, by not protecting these creatures and stopping the trade, we are just as bad the poachers. We aren't holding the guns and the knifes that kill the animals, but we aren't taking them away either.  

I was googling elephant killings and injustices and stumbled upon this article. I would highly recommend reading it. Personally, I found it disguting and pathetic that we care so little about the earth that we kill its creatures just because, just to say we could.

http://j-walkblog.com/index.php?/weblog/posts/woman_kills_elephant/

You can help by donating money. You can help by adopting a herd or single elephant. You can help by sending letters to environmental agencies. But the best thing you can do is teach people. This cause touches my heart and hopefully it has touched yours. However, poeple just don't know about these creatures so teach them. Elephants could face extinction by 2020. In nine years don't you want to be able to see elephants in the wild. I sure do. I want to see them, I want my kids to see them, I want their kids to see them.

I hope you enjoyed this nature chat.
Stay tuned for more,
KZ

The Environment

Hello Everyone!


This nature chat I'm mixing it up a little. I'll go back to talking about plants and animals later but right now I am just going to talk about my ideas and knowledge. I am a science nerd and hope to spend my life dedicated to science but I am also a writer. Yes it is an odd combination but it allowed me to write this blog and convey the importance of nature, and the organisms in it, to you guys.

When I was little I would created letters to the president. I would climb up my tree, with my cassette player clipped to my shorts and paper and markers tucked under my chin. I would fold the paper in half (hot dog style) and, every time, draw the earth on the front with my blue and green markers. On the inside I would write something like "Dear Mr. President, please save our earth. It needs our help. Kimi" in black marker. I never did anything with them except stuff them in a drawer. Recently I found one stuffed between yearbooks. It brought up childhood memories and made me smile but it also reminded me of something important. I always tried to help the earth, even from a young age, but I never really did anything. Yes, I wrote those letters and I wanted to help but I wasn't changing anything I wasn't starting anything important. I guess that's all I could have done at age five but now I'm 16, I should be doing something now. It's no longer okay for me to try to help, I must help. That's no different from everyone else. At first one can only try to help
and learn about the cause. This "stage" may take a year or two or even five but then it is time to move on. Then it is time to actually start doing something, even if it is small.

As a teenager my life is busy with school, college applications, sports, etc., but this isn't an excuse, it's more of a limitation. I don't have a lot of time to dedicate to nature, so I found something that doesn't take that much time each day. I teach people. This blog is one way I do that. I mean, even if only one person reads it, I have taught someone. Now that person can go and teach another person, and slowly a chain reaction has started. It's simple and effective and it is pretty easy. But I don't just teach on my blog, I teach my friends, my parents, sometimes even people I hardly know. Weaving environmental activism and little nature facts here and there into conversations is fun. I like sharing my knowledge and ideas with people. Maybe they won't always be interested in what I am saying but eventually some of it will be retained and maybe they will pass it onto other people.

What I am trying to say, I guess, is that helping the environment will take time, it will be a hard process. But we, as a community, as a nation, as a world, need to get past this "trying to help" phase we are caught in. We've allowed ourselves to flounder in the response of "what can I do? I'm only one person" and nothing has happened. We have take action and everyone can help by spreading the word. People don't know about the issues, people don't know what is occurring, people just aren't informed.

For years, people have been protesting, spreading the word, getting organized, changing how we live and dedicating their lives to helping the environment. People have gone to the extremes, written books and poems, and taught the public what they believe and have learned. I'm not saying we all need to dedicate our entire lives to this cause, because not everyone can or needs to. I'm saying that we all just need to get involved, be aware and do what we can.

I hope you enjoyed this nature chat.
Stay tuned for more,
KZ

Plants (the carnivorous kind)

Hello Everyone!

Today I am going to talk about plants. I know plants aren't considered as "cool" as animals, but that is a lie. They are really cool, especially the Pitcher plant (Nepenthes macrophylla).
  
Where they live: only on the summit of a mountain on the island of Borneo (South East Asia)
Life length: at least three years
Diet: invertebrates ants, cockroaches, centipedes, flies and beetles
Number of seeds produces: 100 to 500 seeds

With their bright color and nectar, the plants draw insects into them, the insects then fall into the acidic liquid and drown.

They have spikes around their edges.

They differ in color, though the yellow body is the more common than the red.

They are endangered.

Habitat loss, because of logging and increased farming, has really hurt the number of plants.  

How To Help:

• Help save the rainforests of Borneo. Check out this website for interesting tips and information: http://borneo.live.radicaldesigns.org/index.php
• If you have the right environment/supplies grow this plant at home. Make sure you know what you are doing and be responsible. 
• Educate. I know I say this every time, but it is true. The more people that know about these plants, the more they care and will help.
• Get yourself and others interested in plants. People are always paying attention to animals but plants just don't get the same attention, and they need it. You may not be interested in meat eating plants (like me) but I'm sure there is a plant out there that YOU will love and you wouldn't want that plant to disappear just because people didn't know about it.

That's the Pitcher Plant. I hope you enjoyed this nature chat.
Stay tuned for something new,
KZ.

Frogs!

Hello everyone!

I was recently thinking up animals/plants to talk about and decided I would choose the Poison Dart Frog. The idea came to me when I was cleaning up my room. I have saved a lot of my school work, especially from elementary school. Well in first grade, when I was at MSNV, I wrote this "paper" on Frogs. It was simple, had a lot of pictures, and made me smile. So, we will learn about these frogs.

(I've been a real nature girl since I was little. I have many plastic poison dart frogs and the blue was always my favorite).
Where they live: Mostly in the rainforests of Central and South America
Length of life: About 1-3 years (though sometimes for 10 years)
Weight: 0.2 to 6 grams
Diet: Small insects, such as crickets and fruit flies
They produce: 8-10 eggs
When do they lay eggs: during the summer (rainy season)
Not all poison dart frogs are deadly. Plus, only three species are deadly to humans.
Some poison dart frogs are endangered because their habitat is being destroyed.
They are called poison dart frogs because some native tribes have used them to poison their darts.
In captivity poison dart frogs are not poisonous.
The blue poison dart frog (seen above) was only discovered in 1968
A group of frogs is sometimes called an army.

What you can do:

• Spread the word. Frogs, like many other small and less known organisms, don't get the attention they need. By talking about frogs and teaching others, awareness starts. Then more action will be taken to help.
• Don't waste paper, food or any materials for that matter. Rainforests are being cut down to provide more food, wood and space for humans. Frogs are losing their habitat because of this.
• Reduce, reuse, and recycle.
• Check out the Save The Frogs website. It is America's only public charity helping protect frogs and other amphibians of the world. They have a great list of 50 things YOU can do to help. (link:  http://www.savethefrogs.com/)
• Become a part of the Rainforest Action Network. They are a really cool website that is a helping save our rainforests. Plus, there is great information there.

That's the Posion Dart Frog. I hope you enjoyed that nature chat.
Stay tuned for more,
KZ.

Cheetahs, cheetahs, cheetahs.

Hello, everyone.
Are we ready to talk to nature? Let's go.

Our first animal: the Cheetah (because it is amazing).

Facts:
Where they live: Africa in savannas and open woodlands
Length of life: 10 to 12 years
Weight: 88-143 pounds
Diet: meat (gazelles, antelope, hares)
Their babies are called: cubs
How many cubs in each litter: 2 to 5
Males are slightly larger than females
Cubs stay with their mothers until they are 12 to 20 months old.
They only need to drink once every three to four days
They can't climb trees
Why they are cool: they are the fastest land mammal. They can run as fast as 60 to 70 miles per hour! (That's like cars on a highway).
Sad fact: Only 7000 to 12000 remain in the world.
They are considered threatened

What can you do?
Many people say we should all help save the environment, get involved, donate. But as a high school student, I know its hard, especially kids. We don't have money to give. We can't join groups and organizations because we are (mostly) to young. We don't have a big voice. But there are ways for everyone to help.

For kids:

• If you have Facebook, you should play Wildlife Refuge. The Cheetah Conservation Fund encourages it. Show your friends, get the word out. It raises awarness. Link: http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=100587823340171)
• Go to the Zoo. It's fun and helps the cause.
• Spread the word. Cheetah's are beautiful creatures yet many people don't know they are in danger of extcintion.
• Talk to your parents. See if you can become a member of the zoo close to you. See if you can "adopt" a Cheetah online. (You won't actually adopt them, but you can give money to help save them, you can often see them on webcams, or get information on how they are doing). Good places to go for that are the National Zoo website, Cheetah Conversation Fund.
• Talk to your teachers. See if you can do a lesson about cheetahs, or other threatened species. Think up ways your class can help in school.

For others:

• Donate to World Wildlife Fund or to other organizations that help Cheetahs and other species. Link:(https://secure2.convio.net/wwf/site/SPageServer?pagename=donate_to_charity&s_src=AWE1100GD000)
• Become a member of your local zoo or wildlife organization. (Usually you get a cool bumper sticker too).
• There are many ways to help but the easiest is just be more environmentally friendly. Recycle, don't waste food, water, and energy, don't buy materials made out of endagered animals (elephant tusks, tiger skins, cheetah skins etc.), and spread the word. The only way to truly solve our environmental problems is get everyone involved by teaching and just talking about it.

Well, that's it. My first blog article done. Hope you enjoyed that nature chat.
Stay tuned for more,
KZ.