Friday, September 21, 2012

In the News: Zoo Elephants



In the News:  Topeka Zoo Elephants Sunda (Asian Elephant)  and Tembo (African Elephant) need support to find a home in a Sanctuary


Elephants in captivity have a hard life.  Not only are they forced to live in mostly solitude but also in small spaces and unnatural surroundings.  In nature, all female elephants – most captive elephants are female due to their gentler nature – live in a matriarchal herd.  There they give birth to their young and the multi-generational family offers community, support as older siblings tend for the younger ones, and protection.  The elephant herds roam over wide areas foraging for food and water.  A 20-mile walk from their sleeping places to the next watering hole and pasture is not unheard of.  While in Amboseli National Park, Kenya last year, I saw a herd of elephants every morning walking in a single file against the bright red horizon at sunrise.  Later that day we saw them peacefully grazing at a watering hole only to return at dusk back to the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro. 

Two elephants greeting each other

In captivity, these large and heavy animals mainly stand on their feet often on hard cement surfaces and foot problems are the major cause of elephant mortality.  However, there are solutions by releasing these magnificent animals to sanctuaries, where they find community with other elephants and are able to walk, graze, and swim in a more natural environment.  I have visited such a sanctuary here in California:  PAWS Ark 2000 in San Andreas and have seen what a difference this makes.  Please read my story on PAWS here.


There is another beautiful elephant sanctuary in Tennessee. There elephants can roam rolling hills and be in the community of theirs.  Here is a remarkable example of their memory and joy to be together again:  Shirley (52) and Jenny were elephants in a circus and after 22 years, the two are reunited at a Tennessee sanctuary.  Watch the video of the moving story here. After 22 years of separation, The 2 circus elephants recognized each other immediately and the bond was rekindled immediately.  Now they are inseparable.


If you want to help the Topeka Zoo elephants, please read the story below and if you find it in your heart, please click and sign on the petition to give Sunda and Tembo a better life.


Elephants Sunda and Tembo At Topeka Zoo Need Your Help Now!
Please use the form at the bottom of this page to send your message to Topeka officials


In July, IDA Elephant Campaign Director Catherine Doyle visited the Topeka Zoo and was shocked to discover that Asian elephant Sunda had gaping black holes in nails on two feet and that she was frequently shifting her weight from one foot to another, an indication of pain. IDA immediately filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which inspected the facility on August 28 and issued a citation for violations of the Animal Welfare Act.
Though the Topeka Zoo pledged greater transparency following the deaths of several animals under the previous zoo director – including a hippo who died in overheated water and two animals infested with maggots – it is withholding the USDA’s August 28 inspection report from the public as it appeals the citation, even though this is a matter of public record. The zoo already faces formal charges by the USDA that involve 51 "willful violations" of the Animal Welfare Act over a four-year period. This includes providing "minimally appropriate husbandry" for the elephants and failure to inspect their feet as frequently as necessary.
Asian elephant Sunda and African Tembo spend the majority of their lives standing in a tiny concrete barn. Winters are especially hard on them, as freezing weather forces them indoors for virtually the entire season. Sunda suffers from chronic foot infections caused by lack of movement and standing on hard surfaces. Foot disease is a leading killer of elephants in zoos.
Animal Outreach of Kansas has been fighting for five years to send Tembo and Sunda to a sanctuary, where they would live in a large, natural habitat in a far more moderate climate and could choose companions of their own species. Separating Tembo and Sunda is not an issue because they don’t get along, according to zoo records and as seen in a recent TV news report.


Tell the City of Topeka to release the USDA inspection report on the elephants and to send Tembo and Sunda to a sanctuary.
Pl click here:
https://secure2.convio.net/ida/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2245



Til next time,
Meggi

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Tiger TidBits

Tigers - on the brink of extinction:

Photographer unkown


Less than 4,000 remain in the wild, most in isolated pockets spread across increasingly fragmented forests stretching from India to south-eastern China and from the Russian Far East to Sumatra, Indonesia.

Please support conservation efforts wherever you see them!

Below is a suggestion to support the conservation of wild mustangs right here in our 'backyard' in California.  Please join me and Equine Fine Art Photographer Kimerlee Curyl in an afternoon of great equine photography.



For all animal lovers and conservationists:

Please see for yourself how the kindness of a small group of people can make a difference!  
Please join me in October for a great visit at a wild mustang sanctuary right here in California.  
The proceeds will directly benefit the horses at RTF.



     Copyrigth M. Raeder-Photography


An unforgettable afternoon Equine Fine Arts Photographer Kimerlee Curyl and Wildlife Photographer Meggi Raeder

Date:  October 19-21, 2012 [save the date]

For all details click here.


Saturday, September 15, 2012

Reno Balloon Race


The Great Reno Balloon Race

Up, up and away  --  Don’t miss the Video of the event!





In its 31st year the Great Reno Balloon Race has drawn about a hundred of balloonists and thousands of spectators to this colorful event.  Most of you have probably seen a single balloon floating calmly in the air maybe over Napa’s wine country but seeing the mass ascension of a hundred balloons and seeing them ‘dancing’ in the wind against the deep blue sky is an unforgettable sight.

I have visited Reno and photographed the Balloon Race now for several years and won’t get tired of it.  Last weekend 6 photographers joined me in Reno to experience this unique photo opportunity.  We stayed comfortably in spacious condos with all amenities to be well rested for the early morning activities – and early means really early before dawn.  We left for the Rancho San Rafael just outside Reno shortly after 4am to be there for the glow show and see 7 special night-flying balloons – the dawn patrol - ascend at the start of dawn.  During the glow show and the ‘dawn patrol’ the balloonists choreograph their burners that heat up the air in the balloons to make them ascend with the music - each balloon representing another instrument.  Against the dark sky it is quite a sight to see.

Glow Show

The Wells Fargo StageCoach Balloon

The Smiley Balloon

Dawn Patrol


As dawn lightens the sky, the wind carries the Dawn Patrol over the horizon.

As the sun rises, the balloonists prepare for the mass ascension of ~100 balloons and it is fascinating to observe the balloonists and their crew as they prepare for rising in the air.  The balloons are laid out on the ground, first filled with cold air using big fans. 



Once inflated, the burners throwing big flames are turned on heating up the air and the balloon rights itself.




All the while, people walk between the balloons, experience the heat from the burners while standing close and looking into the balloon.  Overhead, a flock of geese makes a fly-over curious what’s going on down there.






The Shark Balloon over towers all.




If you have never been to a balloon festival, don't miss the opportunity to come to Reno with me
on September 6-9, 2013!   Save the Date!

Til next time,
Meggi

For those who are interested, the video was composed of over 2500 images taken over 3 days of the festival.

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For all Animal lovers and conservationists:

Please see for yourself how the kindness of a small group of people can make a difference!  
Please join me in October for a great visit at a wild mustang sanctuary right here in California.  
The proceeds will directly benefit the horses at RTF.



     Copyrigth M. Raeder-Photography


An unforgettable afternoon Equine Fine Arts Photographer Kimerlee Curyl and Wildlife Photographer Meggi Raeder

Date:  October 19-21, 2012 [save the date]

For all details click here.



Monday, September 3, 2012

Amur Leopard



Spring Wildlife: Cubs, Pups and Kittens- 2013 Photo Workshop

I recently had the incredible fortune to see and photograph an Amur Leopard kitten.  While I would love to see these beautiful cats in the wild, it would be very difficult to have this opportunity  given the small number of cats and their location deep in the eastern parts of Russia  (please see the 'In the News' story below).  The images shown here are from a captive Amur Leopard kitten, just 2 months old.

 Amur Leopard - 2 months old
Copyright M. Raeder-Photography 

If you would like to see and photograph this beautiful animal and many other wildlife, please join me for the
 Spring Wildlife 2013 Photo Workshop.  You can find all the details here.


 Amur Leopard - 2 months old
Copyright M. Raeder-Photography 

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In the News:  Hope for the World’s Rarest Cat –The Amur Leopard – to Emerge from the Brink of Extinction 

For thousands of year, the Amur leopard has lived in the vast forests and rocky mountain slopes of eastern Russia and northern China. The Amur leopard is one of the rarest of cats with only ~30 animals surviving in the wild.  The many threats for its survival include poaching, habitat loss, inbreeding, local development projects and a lack of understanding and commitment to conservation from villages and the government.

But as reported by the World Wildlife fund (WWF) in April, there is hope for the survival of this beautiful cat.  The victory for these cats was 10 years in the making when the Russian Government announced the establishment of the “Land of the Leopard National Park”.  WWF among a variety of other international NGOs together with the Russian Government have worked tirelessly for 10 years to save the endangered cat.  With only 30 cats in the wild and ~200 in captivity, their survival was precarious.  For this extremely rare wild cat, habitat loss to farming communities together with poaching for its exotic skin and other body parts that are believed to have medicinal value in Chinese traditional medicine, have driven the Amur leopard to the brink of existence.  Since the leopard’s habitat and breeding area is passed down between generations, it is even more important to preserve those places where they live today.

With Russia’s creation of the new “Land of the Leopard National Park”, 650,000 acres of the Amur leopard’s breeding area in Russia have been set aside which constitutes 60% of its remaining habitat.  The remainder of the leopard’s habitat crosses the border into northern China and as of this writing is unprotected land.  The Russian park will offer varying levels of protection for the leopards alongside with economic opportunities for the local region.  There will be habitat areas with strictly limited access, as well as areas for recreational and ecotourism access that will provide the local community with economic opportunities. 

WWF indicates that creating sustainable habitat for endangered species is never easy in light of the pressures from local communities for their agricultural and farming needs. But the creation of the “Land of the Leopards” shows that with patience, the right commitment and partnerships habitat and refuges that protect incredible wild species can still be saved. 

[Reported by WWF.org]


 Amur Leopard - 2 months old
Copyright M. Raeder-Photography 

Snow Leopard - 2 months old
Copyright M. Raeder-Photography 

Young Grey Wolf
Copyright M. Raeder-Photography 


To see  these rare animals and have the opportunity to photograph them in a natural setting, please join me for an unforgettable Photo Workshop in Montana in June 2013:


                 Amur Leopard
                 ©M. Raeder-Photography
Spring Wildlife: Cubs, Pups and Kittens
An amazing opportunity to photograph wildlife babies:  wolf pups, fox kittens, lynx kittens, Badger pups and more!
Come face-to-face with these wonderful babies!

Date:  June 28-July 1,  2013
Optional Activities June 25-27, 2013

For further details pl click here.

Til next time,
Meggi


To see more images of the Amur Leopard posted by WWF, please follow this link:
http://worldwildlife.org/media?species_id=amur-leopard