Connecting with animals via the chakras

The chakras are energy points identified within the human body originally recognised in Hindu texts, featured in tantric and yogic traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism. The word “chakra" comes from the Sanskrit word for "wheel" or "turning". Humans have seven major chakras located along the centre of the body from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. These subtle energy points regulate and represent our balance in different aspects of life. For an interesting test to see how balanced each chakra is click here. Chakras that are out of balance indicate an unbalanced life and there are varying techniques to obtain realignment. To find out more about balancing chakras, click here.

As humans have chakras, so do animals. They have the seven major chakras as humans which are located in similar positions. However it is also identified that they have an eighth chakra called the brachial chakra. This is located between the shoulders. This chakra governs the animal’s connection with humans. If an animal has a reluctance to be touched or is unwilling to “connect” these are signs that the chakra is unbalanced. Of course, if the animal is unwell due to medical reasons and refuses to interact or a wild animal isn’t willing to run up to you and be patted this is something other than an unbalanced brachial chakra.

If you are working with healing with animals or simply want to bond with a pet you can more visualise balancing this chakra. The colour associated with this chakra is black, or occasionally turquoise. Simply see a wheel of light spinning peacefully and growing in size in the area. When possible touch or hold your hand over the place in the body. Using black tourmaline, diamond, smoky quartz or clear quartz can strengthen the healing. 

Do humans have a similar chakra that assists with connection to animals? There doesn’t seem to be much evidence of the existence of one however there are two chakras that may be relevant. They are:

1) Ta Chui or Big Vertebra Centre in the Chinese system - is located just below the seventh cervical vertebra, where the neck joins the shoulders. This is associated with your ability to embrace others with warmth and love and when unbalanced causes stubbornness, denial and low self esteem.

2) Gai Pe is located between the fifth and sixth thoracic vertebrae, between the shoulder-blades and opposite the heart chakra. When balanced you have a feeling of freedom and a deep sense of the meaning of life and the universe and feel your will to be in harmony with the Divine Will. When unbalanced you will have hostile feelings towards the world.

Whether you tune in to an animal using one of these two chakras or the better know heart or throat chakra this technique can be an extra tool in your tool kit of working and connection with animals in your home or out in the natural world.

Animal Of The Week: the Snowy Owl

The Snowy Owl is one of the largest species of owl and in North America on average is the heaviest owl. In summer Snowy Owls are found in the Arctic tundra of the northernmost stretches of Alaska, Canada and Eurasia. In winter they will migrate south. They have been reported as far south as Texas, Georgia, the American Gulf states, southern Russia, northern China and even the Caribbean.

The thought of living in the Arctic Circle for many of us is a daunting one but the Snowy Owl is well adapted to life in this habitat. The feathers of males are practically all white, while females and young do have dark spots making camouflage easy. Their feathers are also very thick and extend all the way to their talons.

While trees are the chosen nesting place for most birds, these are few and far between in the regions where the Snowy Owl inhabits. They usually build their nest on the ground, preferably on a boulder or mound of dirt. They will sometimes take over abandoned eagle nests. The female will lay 5-14 eggs, one every other around May. They will hatch approximately five weeks later, making them all Geminis and Cancers. Both parents will protect the nest and help raise the young.

Snowy Owls main diet consists of lemmings, mice and other rodents. A Snowy Owl must eat about 7-10 rodents a day and will eat up to 1,600 lemmings a year! Other prey when rodents are in short supply includes hares, muskrats, marmots, squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, prairie dogs, rats, moles, ptarmigan, ducks, geese, shorebirds, ring-necked pheasants, grouse, American coots, grebes, gulls, songbirds, and even other raptors, including other owl species. While most owls are nocturnal the Snowy Owl will hunt just as successfully in day light or at night time. They show great patience and will sit and wait for prey. Once their prey is identified they will attack from the ground or air. They also will take fish near the surface of the water by swooping on them.

Once their prey is caught they will eat the entire animal. Snowy Owls like others owl species have developed a special way of dealing with the unwanted parts of the prey they eat. Several hours after an owl eats, the fur, bones, teeth & feathers of its prey are still in the gizzard are compressed into a pellet the same shape as the gizzard. Once formed, the pellet moves up from the gizzard to the proventriculus, where it remains before being regurgitated. Owls can't eat while a fully formed pellet is present, blocking the digestive track. When an Owl is ready to produce a pellet it usually closes its eyes, gets a funny look in its face, doesn't want to fly and, when the pellet is ready to come out, the beak is opened and the pellet simply drops out. Other birds of prey, such as hawks, also produce pellets but the owl’s digestive juices are less acidic than those of other birds of prey, so there is more material present to form a pellet.

If you are ever trying to locate a Snowy Owl, you are unlikely to hear them calling as they tend to remain silent outside of the breeding season. During the breeding season males have a loud, booming "hoo, hoo" given as a territorial advertisement or mating call. Females rarely hoot. Its attack call is a guttural "krufff-guh-guh-guk". When excited it may emit a loud "hooo-uh, hooo-uh, hooo-uh, wuh-wuh-wuh". Other sounds are dog-like barks, rattling cackles, shrieks, hissing, and bill-snapping. Nestlings "cheep" up to 2 weeks of age, then hiss and squeal.

The good news is listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Conservation list.


Snowy Owl Medicine
The Snowy Owl uses great patience to hunt and teaches us to do the same. Be patient and know that what you need will come. Also know that when the time comes, you are equipped with what you need to handle the situation, just as the snow owl is adapted to living in the icy climates and hunt and digest their prey. Like all owl they are associated with wisdom and prophecy, having the ability to see the unseen, know the unknown. Snowy Owls seem to have the ability to migrate to places where food is plentiful and foresee famine areas.

Athena is the Greek goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, female arts, crafts, justice and skill. She is often depicted with an owl on her shoulder or head. It is said the owl would reveal unknown truths, thus ensuring what she spoke was always the truth.

For the Oglala Lakota Indians, (one of the seven subtribes of the Lakota people) the Snowy Owl represents the North and the north wind. They also were admired and respected by the tribe. Warriors that excelled in combat wore a cap of owl feathers to symbolize their bravery.

PETA's Top 5 on Living Cruelty Free

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), with more than 2.0 million members and supporters, is the largest animal rights organization in the world.

PETA focuses its attention on the four areas in which the largest numbers of animals suffer the most intensely for the longest periods of time: on factory farms, in laboratories, in the clothing trade, and in the entertainment industry.

Ashley Fruno of PETA Asia Pacific talks to the Hump Day Crew on five ways to live in a way that is cruelty free to animals. Her top five are:

1. Going vegan.
2. Buying only cruelty free products.
3. Not supporting zoos and other forms of entertainment using animals.
4. Not wearing wool, fur or leather.
5. Adopting an animal from a shelter and spaying or neutering companion animals.

Click here to listen the Ashley Fruno talking with the Hump Day Crew.

For the latest information, please visit http://www.petaasiapacific.com/

The Mountain Pygmy Possum - only 30 left in the wild

The Mountain Pygmy-possum is the largest of Australia's five species of pygmy-possum, yet it only weighs 45 grams and could easily fit in the palm of your hand. Its mouse-like body is covered in thick greyish fur, it has a long tail, agile front feet designed for gathering food, and strong back feet for gripping. It also has enlarged front teeth for cracking seeds. Unfortunately, there is as little as 30 left in the wild.

Click here to hear what Zoos Victoria is doing to save the Mountain Pygmy-possum from extinction.

For the latest news on Zoos Victoria, please visit http://www.zoo.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/

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/

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/

The Pygmy Hippopotamus

The pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis) is a large mammal native to the forests and swamps of western Africa.

The evolution of the pygmy hippopotamus is most often studied in the context of its larger cousin. Both species were long believed to be most closely related to the family Suidae (pigs and hogs) or Tayassuidae (peccaries), but research within the last 10 years has determined that pygmy hippos and hippos are most closely related to cetaceans (whales and dolphins).The pygmy hippopotamus displays many terrestrial adaptations, but like its larger cousin, it is semi-aquatic and relies on proximity to water to keep its skin moisturized and its body temperature cool. Behaviours such as mating and giving birth may occur in water or on land. The pygmy hippo is herbivorous, feeding on whatever ferns, broad-leaved plants, grasses and fruits it finds in the forests.

A rare nocturnal forest creature, the pygmy hippopotamus is a difficult animal to study in the wild. Pygmy hippos were unknown outside of West Africa until the 19th century. Introduced to zoos in the early 20th century, they breed well in captivity and the vast majority of research is derived from zoo specimens. The survival of the species in captivity is more assured than in the wild: the World Conservation Union estimates that there are fewer than 3,000 pygmy hippos remaining in the wild. Pygmy hippos are primarily threatened by loss of habitat, as forests are logged and converted to farm land, and are also vulnerable to poaching, hunting, natural predators and war.

The breeding success is Australia is imperative as pygmy hippos from other countries can not be brought to Australia due to the risks of Foot and Mouth disease. Thus, it is a great cause for celebration when, at Taronga Zoo, a youngster named ‘Monifa'(pictured), meaning ‘I am lucky' in Nigerian weighed just 3.8 kilograms when it was born in the early hours of October 15 to first-time mother, ‘Petre' and father ‘Timmy'. However after a difficult breach birth, the Zoo's dedicated keepers made the decision to intervene and hand-raise the precious female calf.

Click here to hear me chat with Renae Zammit, one of the keepers who literally moved into the Zoo to care for Monifa in alternate 24 hour shifts, sleeping at the Taronga Wildlife Hospital in order to feed and tend to the youngster's every need.

For more information, please visit www.taronga.org.au

Welcome To All Natural

One thing I am passionate about is giving a voice to those who don't have one....that's right the animals. It is with great pleasure that I present to you a show devoted to animal and environmental conservation as well as ways to live in harmony with nature.

You can hear me on Melbourne's JOY 94.9 each Thursday Morning 9am till 12 noon AEST.

Here are some of my earlier interviews:

Terri Irwin

Spiders with Patrick Honan

The Coral Sea with Lydia Gibson (WWF)

Frogs with Raelene Hobbs

Tasmainian Devils with Tiffany Eastley

Orang Utan with Fleur Butcher

Elephants with Dan Maloney

Rothchild Giraffe with Curtis

Lady Tamara von Forslun, Wiccan High Priestess

Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroo with Ditar Uka