Adopt An Animal

Everbody is doing it!

Celebrities are adopting....

...and now you can too! But why adopt a child when you can adopt an animal...

Click here to listen to Paul Clark from Zoos Victoria discuss the advantages of adopting an animal from Melbourne Zoo.

For more information, please visit http://www.zoo.org.au/

What's So Bad About GM Foods?

Who benefits from GM Foods? It seems only large, genetic engineering companies. Canadian Farmer Ross Murray grew GM canola for four years. He found that it did not live up to industry promises - it cost more to grow and yielded less than conventional canola. The guaranteed weed control worked in the beginning, but later the GM canola became a weed itself, and managing it increased costs and chemical usage.

NSW and Victoria are now growing GE canola for the second year running, and GE canola may be on supermarket shelves this year in the form of canola oil. The big issue for Greenpeace right now is the labelling of GE foods in Australia, and the contamination of GE crops into non-GE crops during harvest. Current food labelling laws do not require oils, highly processed foods and products derived from livestock fed GE feed to be labelled.

Greenpeace is joined by a growing chorus of opponents to GE foods including consumer, health and environment groups, over 170 leading Australian chefs, nutritionists, experts, and over 22,000 Australians who are asking for the labelling of all food containing GE ingredients, and for the proper safety testing of GE food.

What can you do?

1. Sign the current petition calling for adequate labelling of GE foods: www.truefood.org.au/OurRightToKnow

2. Write to their state and federal health minister requesting the government keep its promises and protect public health and consumer choice by introducing, and strictly enforcing, legislation to ensure that:
GM crops are only approved if they are proven to be safe 'beyond reasonable doubt' using evidence from independent, long-term, published studies - measuring indicators relevant to human health.
All GM foods are clearly labelled, including highly processed products such as oils, starches and sugars from GM crops; and meat, milk, cheese and eggs from animals fed GM feed.

3. Shop with the Greenpeace True Food Guide, a guide to shopping GE-free (get a free copy by phoning Greenpeace on 1800 815 151 or download from http://www.truefood.org.au/)Lousie Sales of Greenpeace Australia talks about what's wrong with Genetic Modified Food and why we need to push for improved labelling in Australia.

4. Enjoy this video from the Greenpeace International Website:


Click here to listen to the interview with Louise Sales of Greenpeace, Australia.

You can also find further information at the website www.greenpeace.org/australia/issues/GE and Greenpeace's consumer-focused website for the True Food Network: http://www.truefood.org.au/.

Playing with Bongos - The Bongo Antelope

The Bongo Antelope is a large colorful antelope with large ears, bright chestnut to dark brown with vivid white-yellow markings and stripes and spiral-horns.

Some fast facts on Bongos are:

1. Bongos are the largest forest antelope.

2. Native people believe if they eat or touch bongo they will have spasms similar to epileptic seizures. Because of this superstition, bongos have been relatively unharmed in their native ranges.

3. Population counts are sketchy as these are very secretive animals. Even researchers who study these antelope often do not see them. Much of what is known about them comes from captive animals and studies at salt licks on the edge of forests.

4. They have been known to eat burned wood after lightning storms. This behavior is believed to be a means of getting salt or minerals.

5. Bongos are great high jumpers but prefer to go under or around obstacles.

6. Bongos use their prehensile tongue to grasp the vegetation they feed on.

7. In order to swiftly maneuver through the dense forest vegetation, bongos tilt their chin up, causing their horns to lie flat against their back. They take this position so frequently older bongos often have bald spots on their back from the tips of their horns rubbing away the fur.

Click here to listen to Jason Barry discuss Bongos.

For further information on the Melbourne Zoo, please visit http://www.zoo.org.au/

The Wilderness Society Update - 25th and 28th May, 2009

The Wilderness Society is a community-based environmental protection organisation. They work to safeguard our sources of clean water and air, to tackle devastating climate change, to create a safe future for life on Earth, and to give a better world to our children. The majority of our work is in Australia, with a strong focus on natural environments and the role they play in keeping our world safe.

They were born in 1976, and our first major victory was Australia's most famous environmental campaign - saving the Franklin River. Since then, with the support of thousands of concerned people across the country, we've worked to protect millions of hectares of our greatest wild places.

Click here to listen to Adam Barralet hosting Heating Up and talking with Scott Alderson
Click here to listen to the final show of All Natural with Adam Barralet talking with with Amelia Young.

For more information on The Wilderness Society, please visit http://www.wilderness.org.au/

Zoos Victoria work around the World.

Zoos Victoria works in partnership with many animal conservation programs around the world. Chris Banks- Zoos Victoria's Conservation Partnerships Coordinator discusses two such partnerships.

Two such partnerships are:

Sumatran Conservation Program
Zoos Victoria is working closely with Fauna & Flora International to protect a major part of the Gunung Leuser National Park in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. This is a critically important region where Sumatran Orang-utans, Sumatran Tigers and Sumatran Elephants all still survive.

Tenkile Conservation Program
Expanding human populations in the forests of Papua New Guinea have led to dramatic increases in the demand for native wildlife for food. In the Torricelli Mountain Ranges, in the country’s far north-west, where hunting wildlife is the main protein source, this has led to the decline in wildlife in the area. Our partner, the Tenkile Conservation Alliance, is using the Tenkile or Scott's Tree Kangaroo, and Weimang or Golden-mantled Tree Kangaroo, as flagships to achieve and evaluate conservation outcomes in the Torricelli Mountains. Importantly, this links biodiversity conservation goals with the development of sustainable resource alternatives for local communities.

Click here to listen to the Zoos Victoria Conservation Partnerships Coordinator Chris Banks discuss the two partnerships.

For all the great work done by Zoos Victoria, please visit http://www.zoo.org.au/

Can you ride a Rhino?

Whether or not you can ride a rhino, I am not certain but I do know the following about the White Rhino:

1. There are two sub-species of White Rhinoceros in Africa:
Southern White Rhinoceros (C. s. simum) Near threatened.
Northern White Rhinoceros (C. s. cottoni) Critically endangered.

2. Just 300 years ago Southern White Rhinoceros occurred across large areas of Southern Africa. They are now restricted to just eight countries: Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

3. The Southern White Rhinoceros was thought to have become extinct in the late 19th century due to intense hunting, until a small herd was found in South Africa in 1897.

4. A survey conducted by the IUCN in 2004 found there are approximately 11000 to 12000 Southern White Rhinoceros and their populations are steadily increasing.

5. The white rhino takes its name from its "wide" muzzle (weit in Afrikaans).

6. Colouration of white rhinoceros and the black rhinoceros does not actually vary much.

7. The white rhino is exclusively a herbivore and grazes on mostly the short grasses of the savannah.

8. White Rhinoceros charge at speeds of up to 45 km/h, but can only maintain this speed for a short distance.

9. Rhinoceros are very short sighted but compensating for this lack of sight, the rhino has keen hearing and one of nature's strongest senses of smell. A rhino’s olfactory passages are larger than its brain. They can detect scent more than several kilometres away, an ability superior to bloodhounds.

10. They are particularly alert on windy days perhaps because they are not sure exactly where the sounds and smells are coming from.

But can you ride a rhino? Click here to find out from the interview with Brooke Squires.

For more information about the rhinos at Zoos Victoria, please visit http://www.zoo.org.au/

The Wilderness Society Update

The Wilderness Society is a community-based environmental protection organisation. They work to safeguard our sources of clean water and air, to tackle devastating climate change, to create a safe future for life on Earth, and to give a better world to our children. The majority of our work is in Australia, with a strong focus on natural environments and the role they play in keeping our world safe.

They were born in 1976, and our first major victory was Australia's most famous environmental campaign - saving the Franklin River. Since then, with the support of thousands of concerned people across the country, we've worked to protect millions of hectares of our greatest wild places.

Click here to listen to the latest from The Wilderness Society with Amelia Young.

For more information on The Wilderness Society, please visit http://www.wilderness.org.au/

Autumn - The Time To Let Go

Autumn is a time for letting go of unnecessary things from our life, just as the trees around us are letting go of their unneeded leaves and animals start to store what they need for the cold winter ahead.

Click here to listen to Lady Tamara von Forslun discuss the relevance of Autumn.

An Update on Whaling from Greenpeace

Japan and it's Whaling Efforts seems to have dropped from the media's attention recently but there is still a lot happening.

Click here to listen to the latest from Greenpeace Whaling and Forests Campaigner Reece Turner.

Find out more about Greenpeace at http://www.greenpeace.org.au/

Growling Grass Frog

The Growling Grass Frog is a highly endangered Australian Frog. There is hardly any left in the wild and Werribee Zoo is breeding them in the hope of returning them to the wild.

Click here to listen to Werribee Zoo Keeper Kwai Chang-Kum discuss the Growling Grass Frog.

For more information about the zoos of Melbourne, please visit http://www.zoo.org.au/

Capuchin Monkeys

Capuchin Monkeys are from Central America living together in groups of 10 to 35 members. They are undemanding regarding their habitat and can thus be found in many differing areas. Potential predators include jaguars, cougars, coyotes, snakes and crocodiles, although there has only been one published observation of a predator taking a capuchin in the wild. The main predator of the Tufted Capuchin is the Harpy Eagle, which has been seen bringing several capuchins back to its nest.

Their is a new group of Capuchins at the Melbourne Zoo. The females came from one Zoo in NZ and the males came from another New Zealand Zoo. They were introduced to each other with a very successful outcome. They now have two babies in the group, and all animals have settled in extremely well.

Capuchins are an endangered species.

Click here to listen to the interview with Melbourne Zoo's Senior Curator, Dan Maloney.

For information on Melbourne's Zoos, please visit http://www.zoo.org.au/

Good Fish Friday - Buying Seafood this Easter (or any time)? Make it Sustainable

This Easter the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) is calling on the public to make a good choice on Good Friday and avoid overfished seafood species.

With Australians' love affair with seafood, some of our most popular fish species are being pushed to the edge of extinction by increasing consumer demand and destructive fishing methods. Species such as orange roughy, broadbill swordfish and southern bluefin tuna are on the overfished list and need a break if they are to recover from being loved to death.
In the 1990s seafood consumption in Australia increased by 13 per cent and this trend has continued into the 2000s, with Australians now eating an average of 21kg of seafood per person each year. '

"Not surprisingly, this has increased pressure on fish stocks dramatically and the number of fish species classified as 'overfished' has quadrupled since the 1990s," said National Marketing Manager, Ingrid Neilson.

"Australia's Sustainable Seafood Guide was created in response to a demand from the Australian public who loved eating seafood, but also loved our oceans," Neilson said.

"If you love our oceans, you can make a responsible choice this Easter. Choose whiting instead of deep sea dory, bream instead of shark and calamari instead of unsustainable commercial scallops," Neilson said. "Australia's Sustainable Seafood Guide can lead you to better seafood choices this Easter and help protect our fish stocks at the same time," Neilson concluded.

AMCS is an independent, national not-for-profit charity that has been operating for over 40 years. Their conservation work is funded through the generous support of Australians who want to give something back.

Additional information
1. The Australian Marine Conservation Society is a national charity dedicated to protecting our ocean wildlife. We work to create marine national parks, save our endangered ocean wildlife and make our fisheries sustainable.

2. The proceeds from sales of the Guide go directly back into the campaign to help reduce overfishing and provide the public with sustainable seafood choices.

3. The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation has reported that over 75% of the world's fish stocks are fully exploited or over-exploited.

4. Scientists report that over 90 per cent of sharks and other big fish species have been removed from the world's oceans.

5. Australian overfished species that should be avoided include orange roughy, shark (flake), oreo dories and southern bluefin tuna.
- If you are eating seafood, you can make a 'better choice' by opting for:
- Whiting over oreos (dory, deep sea dory)
- Bream over 'shark' (flake, boneless fillet)
- Flathead over redfish (Nannygai)
- Calamari over scallops
- Tropical Trevally over tuna and swordfish

6. Unsustainable seacage aquaculture species should also be avoided. Seacage aquaculture adds pressure to our wild fisheries, uses fish meal made from wild fish and pollutes our waterways.

7. Some restaurants and seafood retailers no longer sell overfished species and environmental accreditation for commercial fishing operations is inspiring some fisheries to improve their environmental performance.

8. Ask your fish merchant the following questions. If they answer 'Yes' then say 'No Thanks' to purchasing that species.
- Is the species long-lived (>20yrs) or slow growing?
- Is it a deep sea species?
- Is it a shark or ray?

Click here to listen to the interview with Ingrid Neilson

Seafood Guides can be ordered online at http://www.marineconservation.org.au/ or by calling 1800 066 299.