Through Our Eyes

Eye Help Animals Red Fox Wildlife Eye

In a continuing blog of what we can do to help wildlife in our own neighborhood, one very important way you can help is by providing water. We have a pond on our property and I have seen many birds, such as the Great Blue Heron, fishing there from time to time. I’m sure they also take a drink when they need it and so do the other birds that visit as well as deer, fox, and other wildlife we have seen on our property.

I also put out a couple of bird baths that birds will bathe in and also get a drink when needed. One couple, the Phoebes, have nested in the same spot for several years now so we make sure one of the bird baths is close by. We find them sitting on the edge regularly and are happy they call our backyard home.

Eye Help Animals is Saving Wildlife Together with their special edition Mug

This holiday season, give the gifts of wildlife, saving them that is. With each gift you purchase from Eye Help Animals, a donation of 25% from profits will be given to an organization that is dedicated to saving wildlife. Check out our gift shop – I’m sure we have something for everyone on your list! (Gifts include Wildlife Eye Collectible pins – collect all 32 of them, canvas bags, t-shirts, baseball caps with Tiger eye, Tiger prints, and our exclusive, one-of-a-kind, hand-painted wildlife earrings – in large and small sizes!)

Again, National Geographic magazine came to my aid when looking for a blog to post. The latest issue, October 2013, is their 125^th Anniversary Collector’s Edition and it is called “The Photo Issue”.

The magazine, a keeper, is filled with amazing photos, which is something that NatGeo has been famous for over the many years that it has been in publication.

Of course, there was an article with photos of animals.  The word ‘Protect’ was prominently displayed throughout and the quote from one of the authors that may become a prediction of the future fate of wildlife “Zoos are the last refuge against a rising tide of extinction.”

In the past we’ve had EHA supporters comment about our collaboration with Zoo Atlanta and the fact that we were looking to develop similar partnerships. They saw it as a negative collaboration and thought we should not align ourselves with establishments that put animals behind bars. What I have found through my education during the years since we founded Eye Help Animals is the truth in what the above quote is saying. There are species of animals that are so close to becoming endangered that zoos may be their protector, their last hope against extinction and the only place that many species of animals will be found.

Has anyone noticed that we have fewer bees around these days? Well, apparently we do and finally something is being done about it.  It seems the most obvious cause to check is what WE are doing to disrupt the natural flow of the planet. There is usually a new insecticide out there that hasn’t been fully tested before joining the others on the shelves in our stores.

As it turns out, there is one, a neonicotinoid pesticide, that has been linked to a decline in the populations of bees and other pollinators.

In April of this year, the European commission proposed restriction in the use of neonicotinoid pesticides for two years.

Like everything these days, social media is critical in this kind of campaign with millions of voters signing online petitions. By the time the first meeting to discuss the ban had taken place, over two and a half million people had voted online to ban the pesticide.

A list that I recently found on the Pure Travel website listed the Top 7 most endangered animals on earth. They are:

Rhinoceros
Gorilla
Polar Bear
Leopard
Marine Turtles
Orangutan
Giant Panda

Although there are several sub-species among these seven, many of the sub-species are endangered.  Basically, there is no single species that does not have at least one sub-species that qualifies as endangered.

Currently, Eye Help Animals supports the Gorilla, Orangutan, Giant Panda, and Polar Bear. Our third collection will be coming out soon and will include the Rhinoceros, Leatherback Turtle, and Snow Leopard.

Our goal at Eye Help Animals is to support all wildlife – our third collection is focused on saving many of our endangered species.  Look for our 3rd Wildlife Eye collection coming in 2013!

Gorilla Wildlife Eyes Collectible Pin   $4.95
25% of our profits are donated to wildlife conservation and habitat preservation organizations worldwide.

What do Barry White and Marvin Gaye have in common? Why flamingo mating of course! Eve was not the only one tempted by the apple, just ask the people at the Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Center in Southwest China. Read more about these zoo “Tricks” at Mental_floss “7 Tricks Zoos Use to Get Endangered Animals to Mate” by Lauren Hansen.

-OC Natalie Kelley

This beautiful wildlife collectible pin features the artwork of professional artist DJ Geribo. Depicted is the eye of the Giant Panda. Wear this pin with pride and know that you are helping to save the giant panda! 25% of the profit from every item we sell helps save wildlife and protect habitat. See Our Mission Statement to find out more. 38% Status ENDANGERED Details Price: $4.95

Go to the Defenders of Wildlife website to Take Action for Panthers. According to the DoW Take Action alert, “Florida panthers once prowled and flourished in America’s southeastern woodlands and swamps, but today fewer than 160 of these majestic cats remain in a tiny remnant of their historic range. And that habitat is shrinking every day – gobbled up by subdivisions and commercial development.

We’re in a race against time. As panther habitat becomes more and more fragmented, it will be increasingly difficult for these creatures to stay out of harm’s way.”

https://secure.defenders.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2539&JServSessionIdr004=2rwv6urbb1.app224a

Eye Help Animals Cougar Eye $4.95 for collectible pin

In an article in Living Green magazine, the question of how do you choose climate change when you are an animal lover was posed. There is no easy and inexpensive solution when you  “consider the $56 million that was spent so far to rescue and relocate desert tortoises from the upheaval caused by the construction of a Mojave Desert solar plant” (quoted in Business Week).

“The $2.2 billion Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System will use 173,500 computer-controlled mirrors to aim 1,000-degree rays at boilers mounted atop three 459-foot towers, turning water into enough steam-generated electricity to power 140,000 homes. Its developer, BrightSource Energy, sees it as a solar equivalent of the Hoover Dam.”

Unfortunately, these solar towers are uprooting many desert tortoises from their burrows, including the gopherus agassizii, the state reptile of California and Nevada. The reptile, which once numbered in the millions, is now estimated at 100,000 in the US and Mexico.

Conservation and Native American groups have filed lawsuits to halt industrial-scale solar plants that are planned for public lands in the Mojave.

Take Action! Since Congress delisted wolves from the endangered list in Idaho and handed over their lives to state officials, more than 400 wolves have been killed. The tragedy that swept through Idaho is due to come to Wyoming at the end of this month, unless we help by signing the petition. Over 62,000 signatures have been added, but 38,000 more are needed to hit the 100,000 mark but August 31. Click on the link to sign the petition through the Defenders of Wildlife Take Action website.

https://secure.defenders.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=2487&JServSessionIdr004=0jpgtck7z3.app217a

The March 2012 issue of Biological Conservation features a 5-year study that tracked the behaviour of 125 pronghorn in Wyoming’s Jonah and PAPA gas fields. Using GPS collars, it was discovered that there was an 82 percent decline of habitat use for wintering animals. “By detecting behavioral changes, it is possible to identify threshold levels of gas field infrastructure development before any significant population declines,” reported John Beckmann of WCS’s North American Program and lead author.

 Fifty percent of North America’s pronghorn live in Wyoming. Herds that were attracted to the mesa above the natural gas deposits are now being forced into less desirable areas. The authors of this in-depth study warn that pronghorn can only lose so much winter range before their population will begin to decline. Read the entire article here: http://phys.org/news/2012-05-gas-linked-wildlife-habitat-loss.html