Surprise rescue of Jamaica coral reefs shows nature can heal

Everton Simpson squints at the Caribbean from his motorboat, scanning the dazzling bands of color for hints of what lies beneath. Emerald green indicates sandy bottoms. Sapphire blue lies above seagrass meadows. And deep indigo marks coral reefs. That's where he's headed.

He steers the boat to an unmarked spot he knows as the "coral nursery." ''It's like a forest under the sea," he says, fastening his oxygen tank before tipping backward into the azure waters. He swims straight down 25 feet carrying a pair of metal shears, fishing line and a plastic crate.

On the ocean floor, small coral fragments dangle from suspended ropes, like socks hung on a laundry line. Simpson and other divers tend to this underwater nursery as gardeners mind a flower bed — slowly and painstakingly plucking off snails and fireworms that feast on immature coral.

When each stub grows to about the size of a human hand, Simpson collects them in his crate to individually "transplant" onto a reef, a process akin to individually planting each blade of grass in a lawn.

Even fast-growing coral species add just a few inches a year. And it's not possible to simply scatter seeds.

A few hours later, at an underwater site called Dickie's Reef, Simpson uses fishing line to tie clusters of staghorn coral onto rocky outcroppings — a temporary binding until the coral's limestone skeleton grows and fixes itself onto the rock. The goal is to jumpstart the natural growth of a coral reef. And so far, it's working.

Almost everyone in Jamaica depends on the sea, including the energetic 68-year-old Simpson.

Once a spear fisherman and later a scuba-diving instructor, he started working as a "coral gardener" two years ago — part of grassroots efforts to bring Jamaica's coral reefs back from the brink.

Coral reefs are often called "rainforests of the sea" for the astonishing diversity of life they shelter.

Just 2 percent of the ocean floor is filled with coral, but the branching structures sustain a quarter of all marine species. Clownfish, parrotfish, groupers and snappers lay eggs and hide from predators in the reef's nooks and crannies, and their presence draws eels, sea snakes, octopuses and even sharks. In healthy reefs, jellyfish and sea turtles are regular visitors.

With fish and coral, it's a codependent relationship — the fish rely on the reef to evade danger and lay eggs, and they also eat up the coral's rivals.

After a series of natural and man-made disasters in the 1980s and 1990s, Jamaica lost 85 percent of its once-bountiful reefs. Meanwhile, fish catches declined to a sixth of what they had been in the 1950s, pushing families depending on seafood closer to poverty.

Many scientists thought most of Jamaica's coral reef had been permanently replaced by seaweed, like jungle overtaking a ruined cathedral.

But today, the corals and tropical fish are slowly reappearing, thanks in part to a series of careful interventions.

The delicate labor of the coral gardener is only one part of restoring a reef. Convincing lifelong fishermen to curtail when and where they fish and controlling the surging waste dumped into the ocean are even trickier endeavors.

Still, slowly, the comeback effort is gaining momentum.

"When you give nature a chance, she can repair herself," says Stuart Sandin, a marine biologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California. "It's not too late."

Sandin is studying the health of coral reefs around the world as part of a research project called the "100 Island Challenge." His starting assumption was that the most populated islands would have the most degraded habitats, but he found instead that humans can be either a blessing or a curse, depending on how they manage resources.

When Jamaica's fish populations began to collapse two decades ago, something had to change.

In the past 10 years, more than a dozen grassroots-run coral nurseries and fish sanctuaries have sprung up, supported by small grants from foundations, local businesses such as hotels and scuba clinics, and the Jamaican government.

At the White River Fish Sanctuary, which is only about 2 years old and where Simpson works, the clearest proof of early success is the return of tropical fish that inhabit the reefs — as well as hungry pelicans, skimming the surface of the water to feed on them.

The solution was to create a protected area for immature fish to reach reproductive age before they are caught.

Most of the more established fishermen, who own boats and set out lines and wire cages, have come to accept the no-fishing zone. But some younger men still hunt with lightweight spearguns, swimming out to sea and firing at close-range. These men — some of them poor and with few options — are the most likely trespassers.

Once it became clear that a no-fishing zone actually helped nearby fish populations rebound, however, it became easier to build support. The number of fish in the Oracabessa Bay Fish Sanctuary has doubled between 2011 and 2017, according to Jamaica's National Environment and Planning Agency. And that boosts catches in surrounding areas.

Oracabessa was the first of the grassroots-led efforts to revive Jamaica's coral reefs. Its sanctuary was legally incorporated in 2010, and its approach of enlisting local fishermen as patrols became a model for other regions.

After word got out about Oracabessa, other regions wanted advice.

"The fishermen are mostly on board and happy — that's the distinction. That's why it's working," sanctuary manager Inilek Wilmot says.

Belinda Morrow, a lifelong water-sports enthusiast who runs the White River Marine Association, notes that, in Jamaica, "We all depend on the ocean."

"If we don't have a good healthy reef and a good healthy marine environment, we will lose too much," she says. "Too much of the country relies on the sea."

Foreboding sign for Monterey Bay sea lions

Rescue organizations in southern California are finding sea lion pups sick and emaciated, stranded on beaches without their mothers months earlier than in previous years. This may not bode well for marine mammals in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.

California sea lion pups generally stay with their mothers for their first six months to one year of life. But unseasonably warm water, like that found in “the blob” five years ago, can make it hard for sea lion mothers to find food for their offspring, leading to pups stranded on local beaches. NOAA Fisheries is monitoring a new warm water event that could be affecting sea lion populations.

From 2013 to 2015, scientists observed an unusually warm pocket of water in the northern Pacific where temperatures spiked as high as six to seven degrees above average. In response, marine food webs went haywire and record numbers of starving baby sea lions and seals were stranded along the California coast as their mothers struggled to feed them.

Most California sea lions migrate to the Channel Islands off the coast of Ventura County to breed every year. Because of their proximity to the mating grounds, southern California rescue organizations such as the Pacific Marine Mammal Center and Sea World San Diego often notice problems with pups earlier than the rest of the California coast. These organizations have already reported early rescues of sea lion pups that could be connected with the blob-like conditions.

NOAA Fisheries is monitoring everything from pup weights in the Channel Islands, the health of adult sea lions and ocean temperatures to try to get ahead of any problems.

“We’re paying very close attention to all of those indicators,” says Cara Field, medical director at The Marine Mammal Center whose Monterey Bay Operations rescues animals from Monterey and Santa Cruz counties. During the 2015 blob, The Marine Mammal Center rescued more than 1,000 stranded pups.

Even so, local temperatures are still well below the record blob temperatures, says Francisco Chavez, senior scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. “This [event] doesn’t look to be as big of a beast as the other ones,” says Chavez. “But only time will tell.”

This year’s warming waters are part of a larger trend that has continued to develop over the last decade, says Chavez. Though he says scientists don’t know what specifically is causing the dramatic oscillations in ocean temperatures, they are still investigating the underlying causes.

In the meantime, marine life continues to experience the consequences of a changing climate.

When people start noticing stranded sea lion pups on their beaches, “that means there’s a bigger problem in the ocean,” says Field. Sea lions are a “sentinel species” because they eat a lot of the same fish that humans do. “Our lives are all intertwined together with the health of the ocean… and [sea lions] have a lot to tell us about what’s happening in the ocean,” says Field.

North Carolina's Offshore Shipwrecks Have Surprising New Tenants-Tropical Fish

North Carolina isn’t known as a hotspot for tropical fish, but a new study suggests scuba divers should give the waters off the state’s coast a second look. A new study published in the journal Nature Communications Biology finds that shipwrecks and other structures serving as artificial reefs in deeper waters provide habitat for tropical fish in the northern reaches of the range, and may give these species some refuge as climate change alters reefs to the south.

Scuba-diving research ecologists from NOAA and Duke University conducted species counts at 30 natural and artificial reefs off the coast of North Carolina four times a year between 2013 and 2015. They found that the number and diversity of both tropical and subtropical fish was greater deep in the artificial reefs. At the naturally-occurring reefs, which are typically found in shallow water, temperate species were common.

It’s the depth of the artificial reefs that matters, says Avery Paxton, a marine ecologist at NOAA and Duke University Marine Laboratory, in a press release.

“We didn’t see these patterns on artificial reefs at shallow or intermediate depths, we only saw them on deep reefs, located between 80 to 115 feet below the surface, where water temperatures often experience less seasonal change,” says Paxton.

Why the fish are attracted to these deep artificial reefs is hard to say at the moment. “It could be that the zooplankton and smaller fish these species eat are more plentiful on artificial reefs,” study co-author J. Christopher Taylor, a NOAA marine ecologist, says in the release. “Or it could be that human-made reefs’ complex structures give the fish more nooks and crannies where they can evade predators. We’re still trying to figure it out.”

Whatever the case, the finding could have big implications for how conservationists prepare for climate change. Many studies have found that as ocean temperatures tick up, fish are moving towards the poles, with tropical fish beginning to colonize temperate waters. That trend is expected to continue as climate changes. The artificial reefs in North Carolina and other places could act as refuges or stepping stones for tropical species as they move northward.

Carrie Arnold at National Geographic reports that artificial reefs are actually quite common. Since the 1800s, people have dumped junk in the ocean to create structures for fishing. More recently, humans have deployed structures intentionally to create artificial reefs, including old cars and outdated military equipment — after scrubbing them of any potentially harmful chemicals, of course.

In fact, North Carolina has a program dedicated to creating artificial reefs that has 42 artificial reefs in the ocean and 22 in estuaries. Besides those reefs, North Carolina’s coast is known as “The Graveyard of the Atlantic,” with around 2,000 shipwrecks strung along its coast. Many of those wrecks serve as artificial reefs as well. Just last month, another study showed that those shipwreck-reefs are important to sand tiger sharks, an endangered species that might use the wrecks during its annual migration.

But building artificial reefs is becoming more sophisticated than just scuttling an old ship. Some researchers are experimenting with plastic and silicon reefs that mimic some of the coral species that are disappearing due to ocean temperatures in places like the Mediterranean to give some of the fish species that rely on them a place to survive. Studies like this one could help researchers decide where exactly to deploy new reef technologies.

Ethically Fraught Experiment Has Produced Monkeys With Added Human Brain Genes

In a bid to learn more about the way the human brain develops, scientists in China have added a human brain gene to the genome of rhesus monkeys. It's called MC HP 1, or microcephalin, and it's involved in regulating the foetal growth of the brain.

The addition does seem to have made the monkeys smarter. The transgenic animals' brains took longer to develop - more like those of human children - and they also exhibited better memory skills, and faster reaction times, compared to their unmodified peers.

"This was the first attempt to understand the evolution of human cognition using a transgenic monkey model," geneticist Bing Su of the Kunming Institute of Zoology told Technology Review.

Transgenic organisms are nothing new. The first was published in 1974, when Staphylococcus aureus genes were spliced into Escherichia coli. The first transgenic monkey, inserted with jellyfish genes, was created in 2001.

Human genes have been added to monkeys to study diseases and conditions such as autism, and mice have been modified with human cognition genes, including altered microcephalin. But the researchers believe that this is the first time researchers have used transgenic monkeys to look into the genetic origins of the human brain.

It is, scientists say, an experiment with concerning ethical implications.

The team exposed the monkey embryos to a virus carrying human microcephalin. This generated 11 transgenic rhesus monkeys carrying the human gene, only five of whom actually survived.

"Our findings demonstrated that transgenic nonhuman primates (excluding ape species) have the potential to provide important - and potentially unique - insights into basic questions of what actually makes humans unique, as well as into disorders and clinically relevant phenotypes," the researchers wrote in their paper.

But not everyone agrees. In fact, a 2010 paper expressly condemns the entire concept of editing apes with human brain genes (although not necessarily monkeys), calling such potential studies "ethically unacceptable" due to the elevated risk of harm to the animals.

But using monkeys could be a step down that path.

"The use of transgenic monkeys to study human genes linked to brain evolution is a very risky road to take," geneticist James Sikela of the University of Colorado, who co-authored that 2010 paper, told Technology Review.

"It is a classic slippery slope issue and one that we can expect to recur as this type of research is pursued."

In addition, one of the researchers of this latest study, computer scientist Martin Styner of the University of North Carolina, noted that there were aspects of the study that would not be allowed in a country with stricter regulations, such as the US. In fact, the research was unable to find a publisher in the West.

Chinese genetic research is already being side-eyed after the work of geneticist He Jiankui, who claimed to have edited the germline of human twins. His American collaborator, Michael Deem of Rice University, has also come under fire.

It's difficult to know whether Su's new research would receive the same reception were it not under Jiankui's shadow, but the geneticist is not letting it slow him down. He is already at work making new transgenic monkeys.

But Styner said he considered taking his name off the paper.

"Now we have created this animal which is different than it is supposed to be. When we do experiments, we have to have a good understanding of what we are trying to learn, to help society, and that is not the case here," he said.

"They are trying to understand brain development. And I don't think they are getting there."

The research has been published in National Science Review.

Leopard strikes up friendship with mare at Gujarat farmhouse

A young leopard has forged an unlikely bond with a mare at a farmhouse in Gujarat.

The one-year-old leopard has been visiting the farmhouse, located near a forest at Virod village on Vadodara’s outskirts, for the past four to five days apparently after taking a liking to the mare kept tied there to a tree.

The farmhouse and the mare belong to villager Jagdishbhai Patel, who said the leopard had been coming to his field everyday during the night time.

“The leopard rolls on the grass and plays near the mare, who has not resisted the big cat’s move and keeps standing near the tree without any sign of panic,” he told PTI over phone on Wednesday.

He said while his family was worried about the unusual visitor in their field, the other villagers were flocking to the place to catch a glimpse of the camaraderie between the two animals.

“The leopard has been coming to the farmhouse, located just about 25 metres from my house, after sunset and sits near the mare for some hours before disappearing. The carnivore has not attacked any human being though it bit a dog a couple of days back,” Patel said.

He said his farm labourers were scared of going near the mare to feed it and as a precaution he has shifted his other cattle behind the house.

He also requested the forest department to catch the spotted animal.

Arvind Pawar of the city-based NGO Wildlife Rescue Trust said they had installed two night vision cameras to capture the leopard’s images.

The district forest department’s rescue team member, Nitin Patel, said the young leopard’s mother was also seen near the farmhouse in a video footage.

“While the young feline sits in a water pit dug up near the spot where the mare is tied, its mother was seen climbing a nearby tree,” he said.

A cage along with a bait was placed nearby, but the leopard was yet to be caught, he added.

A red fox family in Yellowstone

Many of the stories I write in this space come from my background in biology, generally information about a specific species. But occasionally I want to share what I've learned about individual animals I've gotten to know. Because I am both a wildlife scientist and a filmmaker, I spend hours and hours in the field watching animals, sometimes the same individuals for days. Over the years I have come to realize how unique animals are, with their own distinctive personalities, likes, dislikes, and quirks.

One such example is a red fox family I got to know fairly well several years ago when they decided to build their den and have their kits,  in a very public place: under a large Douglas fir tree right next to the Yellowstone Picnic Area on the north side of Yellowstone National Park. From a photographer's view point, it was almost as if we had put up a sign in fox language reading, "Free home to any fox family who doesn't mind having us photograph their every move"! A pair of foxes took us up on that offer and moved in.

You might think that since there were right next to a picnic area they would become habituated to humans and learn to beg for food. Surprisingly that didn't happen, but we never had the foresight to see was what actually did happen. They knew we were there, but they went about their foxy business as if we didn't exist. We kept a respectful distance from them, they understood we meant them no harm, and everyone was happy, especially the 50+ photographers that snapped their pictures every day for about ten days.

We first became aware of their presence when we saw the male digging for a ground squirrel across the road from their den site. That fox knew exactly where the squirrel was. It would repeatedly dig furiously, stop, listen carefully, and then dig some more. At one point it tore a large sagebrush out of the ground, tossed it aside and kept digging. He was on a mission. He finally emerged from the hole, looking quite proud, with a mouth full of ground squirrel and triumphantly crossed the road. It was then that we saw his mate and two of the cutest little kits I've ever seen.

From that moment on we were there every day for hours recording their every move like proud grandparents. They had a routine. The vixen and the month-old kits hung around the den while the male went hunting. Every few hours he came back with a mouth full of several ground squirrels and gave them to the female.

The kits were still nursing but they used the squirrels in their tug-of-war games. Occasionally the female left for a little while, presumably to go hunt, but only when the male was there to babysit. The kits didn't care whether their mom or their dad was there, although they did seem more respectful of their dad. They climbed all over their mom, but they usually kept a little distance between themselves and their dad, who was rather aloof.

On the tenth day a badger suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Badgers have a reputation for being fairly tough, and this one probably had kits to feed as well. The male was out hunting but the female was there. She and the badger fought. The kits went into their den and it was obvious the female was trying to keep the badger away from the den. Every time she lunged and bit, the badger lowered its head and took the brunt of the bites on the back of its head. A little blood was visible, but the badger was determined. The fox fought hard but the badger got into their den. The vixen stared down into the den and dug around the opening, but it was obvious she didn't know how to get the badger out, and the male wasn't there to help. We all had visions of the badger down there killing the kits.

We stood there quietly for about 20 minutes and hoped for the best. After what seemed like hours, the badger came out and then, miracle of miracles, the kits emerged untouched. We don't know this for a fact, but we believe the badger was down there eating their stash of ground squirrels. The female fox and the badger fought again, and again the badger went into their den, but this time the kits stayed above ground.

That evening the female dug a new den about 50 yards to the west of the old one. The old one had at least two exit holes; the new one was shallow, and only had one opening. The next day, when the female had been without food for over 24 hours she left to go hunt. She had never left the kits alone, but I assume her hunger overcame her caution. As soon as she left the kits went into the new den. Then a few minutes later the badger emerged from their old den and went to the new one, silently disappearing down the only entrance/exit hole. There was suddenly dead silence from all the photographers. We knew a second miracle wasn't likely. After what seemed like a long time the female fox returned. She immediately knew the badger was in the new den with her kits and she began to dig, and dig, and dig. The badger finally came out and quickly disappeared. There was no fighting. It just left. The female went down the hole and after a minute or so came out with the small remains of one of the kits.

Then she did the most remarkable thing. She put the remains on the ground and slowly walked around in a circle pushing dirt over them. She was burying her kit.

That's when I lost it.

She did such an unbelievably human-like act. I'm purposely avoiding the use of the word "anthropomorphic" because I don't believe in that word. Of course, humans do things similar to other animals, especially other mammals who we are most closely related to. If we all evolved from common ancestors, it makes sense that we have a bunch of things in common, including the way our brains function. I've watched wolves mourn the loss of one of their pack, bison females mourn when their baby is stillborn, and many other examples of animal feelings. Do I think they grieve the way we do? I don't know. But I do know they show some of the same behaviors we would exhibit in similar situations.

Here Are the Best Dog-Friendly Restaurants and Bars in Dallas

In May 2008, Parigi’s chef/owner Janice Provost led the charge to legalize dogs on patios in the city of Dallas. Today, it’s hard to imagine dining without doggies. It’s practically an American right. Just don’t let them off-leash: restaurants and dog owners have a list of simple rules they must follow, but your best dog won’t care as long as they’re leashed and by your side.

With patio season upon us, here’s a list of top dog-friendly spots for Spot within the Dallas city limits—sorry greater DFW—where people and their furry friends alike can sit, stay, and play all day.

Parigi

The mutt movement all started here, so there’s no way this Oak Lawn bistro wasn’t going to make the list. Dogs of all shapes and sizes can be found mingling with their humans at lunch, brunch, and dinner under the bright yellow umbrellas on the friendly patio for the laid-back vibe of a Parisian sidewalk cafe.

Perfect patio pairing: Escargot and a Veuve Clicquot French 75

Wild Salsa

This mural-clad downtown patio has a colorful Mexican flair (perfect for selfies with your pup) that’s semi-enclosed so the little furry ones won’t be distracted by everything that walks by. Another plus among the city’s dog-friendly restaurants: it’s right across the street from Main Street Garden if he needs a little exercise and potty break.

Perfect patio pairing: Gulf shrimp taquitos and an avocado margarita

Mutts Canine Cantina

It’s not unusual for dogs to outnumber people at this Uptown dog park/outdoor eatery. If you needed to know how this ranks among our pet-friendly bars and restaurants, there are three separate areas for big dogs, small dogs, and well-behaved homo sapiens. In addition to being able to run free and splash around in pools with fellow four-legged friends, dogs have the added perk of their own menu items, including pupsicles and mini beef franks.

Perfect patio pairing: Original chicken sandwich and a bourbon-spiked pecan praline milkshake

Trinity Groves

In addition to offering more than a dozen culinary options, this ever-popular restaurant incubator complex features a massive covered dog-friendly patio shared by all the Singleton Boulevard-facing eateries. So not only can you pop back and forth between restaurants, so can your dog. And you can both log plenty of steps across the street on the Ronald Kirk Pedestrian Bridge.

20 Feet Seafood Joint
The name may sound like some sort of nautical depth to fit the seafood theme, but it’s actually a nod to the owners and their four dogs for the most fun algebra equation of your day: (4 dogs x 4 feet) + (2 people x 2 feet) = 20 feet!) The picnic-table clad patio even features pics of pooches on the napkin holders, so they’ll feel extra welcome. Cold water and roasted salmon skin doggie treats take the hound hospitality one step further.

Perfect patio pairing: Fried Ipswich whole belly clams and 16 bottles of wine (it’s BYOB, so why not?)

Royal Blue Grocery
Get Fifi in her classiest canine couture for a stint on the cozy sidewalk patio of this Highland Park Village market under the shade of blue-and-white striped umbrellas.

Perfect patio pairing: A turkey Reuben (with a side of habanero sauce for a little kick) and an Arnold Palmer from the coffee bar

 Kozy Kitchen

The early bird may get the worm, but early visitors also get the best patio seats at this new addition Lakewood with great big breakfasts to start the day. The wrap-around covered patio makes it a welcoming respite from the heat any time of day.

Perfect patio pairing: The four-egg-and-venison-sausage “Monster” omelet with a spicy Bloody Mary

Truck Yard

Everyone loves to frolic around in the great outdoors at this Lower Greenville beer garden and hangout that’s almost one big outdoor patio entirely. With old truck beds turned into seating, occasional live music, a bar made out of an Airstream trailer, a cheesesteak kitchen, happy hour specials, and an ever-rotating parade of food trucks, this destination just off Greenville Ave. couldn’t be more perfect for pets.

Perfect patio pairing: A loaded Wagyu cheesesteak and a frozen trash can punch

Cane Rosso

Cane Rosso may mean “great pizza” to many in Dallas, but it literally translates to “red dog” in Italian. Founder/owner Jay Jerrier’s first dog was a red-haired Hungarian Vizsla and became the restaurant’s namesake and also the inspiration for Cane Rosso Rescue, which translates to lots of extra dogs at Jerrier’s home while they await adoption. Each location’s patio has a different vibe, but the common theme is a lively place for people of all ages and their mutts to hang out over a shared meal. Visit the Deep Ellum original and take a walk around the neighborhood afterward.

Perfect patio pairing: The signature Cane Rosso pie with an ice-cold Miller Lite draft

Wheelhouse

Dog lovers have it made in the shade in the Design District at this massive covered patio highlighted by artist Daniel Arsham’s “Moving Figure” sculpture. Dogs are so welcome here that “Bark and Brunch” happens regularly (the next edition is this Saturday, April 13 from noon to 3:00 p.m.) with cold water and treats for the well-behaved K-9 set. Help yourself to a few craft beers.

Perfect patio pairing: A house-made, quinoa-based veggie burger with a Salty Dog (natch)

La La Land Kind Cafe
Everything’s feel-good about this coffee shop & cafe in an old house, from the employment of older foster kids to the “dog parking” area in the backyard, which features string lights and plenty of comfy furnishings.

Perfect patio pairing: Honey strawberry toast and an iced strawberry fields matcha latte

Eno’s Pizza Tavern

The infinitely walkable Bishop Arts District is a dog owner’s dream, but when it’s time to take a load off, the sidewalk patio makes a great place for the pups to nap under the canopy of trees while you fuel up on food and quench your thirst with a variety of beverage options.

Perfect patio pairing: Arthichoke fonduta and a seasonal cider from local Bishop Cider Company

Flora Street Cafe

Chef Stephan Pyles’ fine-dining gem in the Dallas Arts District has gone to the dogs—but only at Sunday brunch. The newly expanded patio will feature a champagne and oyster cart, as well as “pooches on the patio” programming during brunch with snacks and water bowls for the dogs. There’s always plenty to do nearby on Sunday afternoons, including the Klyde Warren dog park that only takes a few minutes to reach.

Perfect patio pairing: Pulled pork BBQ eggs Benedict and a spicy blood orange mimosa

Bonus classics: You can’t go wrong with Lee Harvey’s in the Cedars or the Katy Trail Ice House in Uptown. They’re two of the city’s most prominent patios, so they probably need no introduction. We just felt like we couldn’t leave them off.

Celebrities urge the Government to protect animal rights post-Brexit

Celebrities including Jilly Cooper, Joanna Lumley and Mel C of the Spice Girls have backed a campaign demanding the Government strengthens animal rights laws post-Brexit.

More than 20 well-known figures including Bill Oddie and Ben Fogle called for existing EU laws to be maintained and built upon in a letter to The Sunday Telegraph.

Under the Lisbon Treaty, animals are recognised as sentient beings that can feel and understand pain.

The Better Deal For Animals campaign, run by 36 prominent animal charities, wants the Government to keep this legislation within a new act, which also eliminates some practices currently allowed by the EU.

“The welfare of billions of animals is at risk if the Government does not put in place a new law to replicate current EU animal protections,” the group wrote.

“Losing these would mean that British governments would no longer be bound to ensure good standards of animal welfare when creating laws and policies.”

Environment Secretary Michael Gove, who is set to attend an event at Parliament hosted by the campaign group on Tuesday, insisted animal sentience would be recognised.

He said: “Animals are sentient beings who feel pain and suffering, so it is absolutely right that we recognise this in UK law after we leave the EU.

“Our plans to increase protections for animals include raising the maximum sentence for animal cruelty from six months to five years and banning third-party sales of puppies and kittens.

“I will continue to make sure we have the strongest legal protections in place for our animals.”

Vigilantes kill Africa Civet in Benin

A wild African Civet locally known as ‘Edi’ has been killed vigilante at Fanalou Street, Off Country Home Motel Road, Ugbor in Benin City.

Details of how the Civet was killed was sketchy as at press time but pictures of the Civet was posted on Facebook by one Hon Tony Osazuwa.

A Benin based lawyer, Jefferson Uwoghiren, who shared the story and pictures on his facebook page described it as a daredevil leopard but was corrected that the animal was a Civet.

A post by Jefferson reads, “My brother, Hon Tony Osazuwa few minutes ago posted Images of a dare devil leopard killed early this morning by the local vigilante in his area Nigeria. Leopards in Benin?”

However, the killing of the Civet caused outrage online as commentators condemned by some facebook users who preferred that it would have been sent to the Zoo.

Others said it was a mere bush meat that should be consumed.

Abdul Malik in his comment said, “Was it disturbing or attacking the community and if it was, after the capture why was it not taken to a zoo or somewhere safe. Hope say the bush meat belle full una.”

To Bright Edward, “Now that the hungry, lazy and criminal CDA chairmen and their hungry, lazy and criminal followers destroyed their natural habitat selling the land, the poor animals are now everywhere seeking shelter and food. The other day dem turn Bush Baby (Galagos) to witch for Benin city, killed and burn the poor animal for nothing, This is a Civet cat bro. If dem see Leopard the size alone and the looks in its eyes the whole area for don vamoose.”

Aguinede Oghogho said she was traumatised by the killing. “Where are the animals right activist? Am traumatized by a human killing an innocent animal.”

Darlington Ehondor said, “This beautiful cat shouldn’t have been killed, it should have been shot with tranquilizers and, when revived, housed in a zoo or some wildlife facility. So sad we blissfully destroy items of great potential tourist and economic value.”

Norfolk Wind once sought to erect turbines near Bird Island

EDP Renewables' proposal to build a wind farm near Bird Island is not the first time this area in Renville County has been considered for a renewable energy project.

One decade ago, a group of local investors known as Norfolk Wind Energy LLC was very interested in developing what would have been a 40-megawatt wind farm just south of the community. The proximity to a major transmission line and a substation that can serve as the on-ramp to it attracted the group's attention.

The group had to abandon its plans after spending about $750,000 toward the project, with about $500,000 of that amount coming from a large company interested in the renewable energy it would produce, according to David Scheibel of Bird Island, the group's former president.

"A matter of timing," said Scheibel, explaining that challenges that existed at that point in time worked against the investors.

When the group looked to develop its project, demand by prospective wind developers to transmit power basically overwhelmed the entity that oversees the regional transmission grid, according to Scheibel. Known as the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO, it wanted project developers to contribute toward the costs for upgrades to the transmission system, including a line running from Rochester to LaCrosse, Wisconsin, Scheibel said.

MISO initially proposed an interconnection fee for Norfolk Wind that exceeded any potential payout available through a power purchase agreement, he said.

Norfolk Wind was also looking to sell power at a time when major utilities were looking to buy electricity in larger blocks than the 40 megawatts it could offer, he added.

Norfolk also looked at a potential solar power project in the area, but without success. "We chased a lot of avenues trying to get a project together," he said.

Australian birds are way off track as the drought impacts food supply

Birds are on the move around South-East Australia, drought forcing them into areas where they've never been sighted before.

Very few people have ever seen an Australian bustard in Nyngan, NSW,  nor a rare swift parrot in southern Queensland.

The rare regent honeyeater was seen recently in Nowra on the NSW South Coast, far from its normal range in the Capertee Valley near Mudgee.

Also the Victorian mallee's yellow-plumed honeyeater was seen for the first time in Canberra.

The rare swift parrot, which nests in Tasmania, is going far afield to find food, and has been spotted in the high alpine country in NSW for the first time and even as far as southern Queensland.

And an avid twitcher spotted the inland dwellling crimson chat at Sydney airport.

The migration is astounding birdwatchers who are lapping up the rare sightings. Unfortunately, it's a sign things are not well.

The drought has dramatically reduced nestings and forced birds to look further afield for food, as many stands of eucalypts such as the white box have not flowered over winter. The loss of nectar is hurting beekeepers - and birds.

Sean Dooley, of Birdlife Australia, said similar migrations occurred in the millenium drought, but in this drought there had been many very unusual and unique sightings. "The haunting thing is that although many birdwatchers are enjoying seeing these rare sightings, there's this underlying reality that those birds may never return to their normal range," he said.

The city of Sydney for instance has become a refuge for many birds including chats and songlarks, normally only seen in inland open country.

There had also been an "eruption" of sightings of barn owls close to the Victorian and NSW coast as they searched for food, away from their normal inland range. Black and black-shouldered kites had joined them on the coast. Many of the sightings are documented on the website Birdline.

"There's been very little flowering inland because of the drought so birds are moving," Mr Dooley said.

"People think it would be waterbirds that are affected in the drought, but they can move pretty easily. It's with honeyeaters and birds of prey where the drought is really hurting."

"If there's no flowering, they really struggle. There's been a big shift in the distribution of birds. A lot of birds are straying as they struggle to find food." Nestings had also fallen dramatically.

He said the sighting of a rufous songlark in a Sydney suburb of Rockdale recently was a sure sign things were not normal.

The Victorian coasts had seen an influx of birds of prey, including kites and barn owls.

Seeing a critically endangered swift parrot in the high alpine areas was also very unusual. They'd also been seen in Hay and Nyngan.

"We've also seen the first ever record of a yellow-plumed honeyeater in Canberra."

"In many ways it also shows how adaptive some birds are."

The sighting of large Australian bustards far away from their range was a sign there was a natural crisis underway. "They wouldn't move for nothing," he said.

Here's  list of some bird movements:

Regent honeyeater: Normal range: Capertee Valley, Mudgee. Spotted:  NSW Coast, Nowra.

Swift Parrot: Normal range: Tasmania, Eastern Victoria, South Coast NSW. Spotted: southern Queensand, Kosciuzsko,  Nyngan, Hay.

Australian bustard: Normal range: inland Australia. Spotted: North-West victoria, Nyngan, NSW.

Black shouldered kite, black kite: Normal range: inland.  Spotted: Vic Coast

Yellow-plumed honeyeater: Normal range: Victorian mallee. Spotted: Southern NSW, Cootamundra, first ever sighting Canberra.

Barn owl: Normal range: inland. Spotted: Victorian, NSW coasts.

Rufous songlark:  Normal range: inland, open country.  Spotted:  Rockdale, Sydney, Sydney airport.

Crimson chat: Normal range: open country inland. Spotted: Centennial Park, Sydney.

South African lion cubs give hope

New hope

• Sir - It is a matter of great joy that a lioness in South Africa successfully gave birth to two cubs who were conceived with the help of in vitro fertilization. The newborns - a male and a female - are the first "test tube" lion cubs in the world, and spark new hope that the endangered big cat species can be saved from extinction. Recently, the world's last male northern white rhino died, rendering his species nearly extinct. Given the destruction wrought by human beings on the natural world, the same fate awaits species such as lions and tigers, unless steps are taken to make their numbers grow.

Gayatri Ganapathy,

Bangalore
Historic haul

• Sir - India's performance at the recently-concluded Asian Games in Jakarta is a matter of immense pride. The 572 Indian athletes - 312 men and 260 women - who participated in just 36 sports clocked the nation's highest-ever medal tally at the Asiad, with 69 medals. What is most encouraging and humbling, however, is that most of the medallists belong to poor families from far-flung areas of the country. Their performances show that there is immense talent in India just waiting to be tapped. These skills can be properly harnessed if the government introduces better infrastructure and training facilities for athletes.

M.F.U. Tandvi,

Mumbai

• Sir - The athletes who represented India at the Asian Games deserve to be lauded for the nation's best-ever medal haul in the history of the tournament. Track and field athletes did very well. However, Indian teams performed disappointingly in kabaddi and men's hockey - sports in which they were the favourites to win. We would have also been happier had our players done better in archery, shooting and wrestling. The Tokyo Olympics is just two years away. There is an urgent need to ensure that the Asiad medallists keep their winning momentum going so that they can make a mark at the most important international sporting tournament.

Khokan Das,

Calcutta

• Sir - India ended its Asian Games campaign this year with its highest-ever medal tally at the tournament. The 69 medals won include 15 gold, 24 silver and 30 bronze medals. Our sportspersons deserve to be feted for their admirable performances. They have shown that the condition of sports in India has improved, however marginally. But India should not rest on its laurels and be satisfied with its showing at the Asiad, as it still lags far behind other countries such as China, Japan and South Korea in the sporting arena. The minister of youth affairs and sports, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, must take steps to improve training and coaching facilities for our athletes.

Mohd. Usmani,

Mumbai

• Sir - The Asian Games in Jakarta that ended earlier this month turned out to be India's best outing at the quadrennial tournament. The medal haul also highlights the contribution of people from different religious faiths towards bringing glory to the nation. This sends out a very important message: a nation in which the people are united can progress and develop in leaps and bounds, whereas one in which people are divided by religion will get nowhere. Our athletes must be held up as role models.

Mohd. Tariq,

Mumbai
Time for change

• Sir - It was heartening to learn that the Union health ministry has decided to implement a 'charter of patients' rights' which, among other benefits, gives patients the freedom to purchase medicine and get tests done from wherever they choose, irrespective of the centres recommended by doctors or hospitals ("Charter to uphold patients' rights", Sept 1). The charter also outlines patients' right to get information about their illnesses, possible complications, tests required and additional expenses that may crop up. Clinics and hospitals have to provide emergency medical care to any patient irrespective of their ability to pay. Private hospitals and doctors often force patients to get unnecessary tests done from the places they recommend. Patients and their families do not even know what hospitals are going to charge at the time of discharge, as they include absurd costs in the bill to hike the final amount. It is hoped that the charter will help curb such unfair practices.

Kiran Agarwal,

Calcutta
Parting shot

• Sir - Last month, I had left my jacket in the air-conditioned chair car of the Shantiniketan Express. Given the reputation of the Indian Railways with regard to the retrieval of misplaced or stolen belongings, I had no hope of getting it back. Even so, just before boarding the Shantiniketan Express back to Howrah a few days later, I decided to enquire about my jacket. I was pleasantly surprised at the response. The station masters, the chief ticket inspector and their team at the Bolpur station rushed to help me. Phone calls were made to other stations to trace the item, and I was eventually told to go to the office of the deputy station master (commercial) at the Howrah station. The jacket was even kept in safe custody for a few more days so that I could collect it at my convenience. I was overwhelmed at the efficiency and helpfulness I was shown.

Satyajit Das Gupta,

Calcutta

From shrews to elephants, animal reflexes surprisingly slow

While speediness is a priority for any animal trying to escape a predator or avoid a fall, a new study by Simon Fraser University researchers suggests that even the fastest reflexes among all animals are remarkably slow.

"Animals as small as shrews and as large as elephants are built out of the same building blocks of nerve and muscle," says Max Donelan, a professor of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology (BPK) and director of SFU's Locomotion Lab. "We sought to understand how these building blocks are configured in different sized animals, and how this limits their performance."

The study is published today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Since an animal's life can hinge on how quickly it can sense and respond to stimuli, the team set out to quantify the speed of the fastest reflex involved in the locomotion of terrestrial mammals, in animals ranging in size from minuscule shrews to massive elephants.

"Not surprisingly, we found that reflexes take a lot longer in large animals -- about 17 times longer than their smallest counterparts," says SFU postdoctoral researcher Heather More. "What was more interesting to us is that these delays are mostly offset by movement times that also increase with size -- relative delay is only twice as long in an elephant as in a shrew, putting large animals at only a slight disadvantage."

More says their findings have implications for all animals, no matter what their size. "When running quickly, all animals are challenged by their lengthy response times which comprise nearly all of their available movement time -- even the fastest reflex for the control of running is remarkably slow." She adds: "If a small animal puts its foot in a hole when sprinting, there is barely enough time for it to adjust its motion while the foot is on the ground, and a large animal has no time at all -- it has to wait until the next step."

More puts these delays in context: "One component of response time, nerve conduction delay, is particularly long in large animals. To compare to engineered systems, it takes less time for an orbiting satellite to send a signal to earth than for an elephant's spinal cord to send a signal to its lower leg."

A different component delay -- the time for a nerve impulse to cross a single synapse in the spinal cord -- is relatively long for small animals and relatively short for large animals. "This synaptic delay is one measure of the time to think -- so large animals have lots of time to think about how to respond to a disturbance, whereas as small animals don't."

The researchers say this means small and large animals likely compensate for their relatively slow reflexes in different ways. "We suspect that small animals rely on pre-flexive control, where their bodies are built in such a way that they can reject disturbances like stepping in a hole without intervention from their nervous system," says Donelan.

"Large animals, on the other hand, may rely more on prediction to think ahead about the consequences of their movements and adjust accordingly."

Donelan's lab has carried out previous locomotion studies involving elephants, giraffes and even kangaroos. A founder of Bionic Power and one of the original inventors of the bionic energy harvester, his research over the years has garnered international attention.

Why are animals tortured and eaten at Yulin dog festival

The Yulin “Lychee and Dog Meat” festival is held every year to mark the summer solstice.

The annual ten-day event can be traced back to 2009 and it is believed between 10,000 and 15,000 dogs are slaughtered for the festival.

Yulin as been slammed by animal rights activists who are looking for new ways to pressurise organisers to cancel the event.

Activists say the dog meat trade is inhumane and unhygienic, pointing to videos of dogs caught with wire lassos, transported in tiny cages and slaughtered with metal rods.

Why are animals tortured and eaten at the Yulin dog meat festival?

Dog meat is a traditional food in some areas of southern China, where it is believed to be good for the body in warm weather.

Yulin resident Wang Yue told Reuters: “Yulin’s so-called lychee and dog meat festival is just a popular custom of ours. Popular customs themselves cannot be right or wrong.

“Those scenes of bloody dog slaughter that you see online, I want to say that the killing of any animal will be bloody. I hope people can look at this objectively.”

People in the southern city of China defend eating the meat as it is a way to celebrate the summer solstice.

However animal protection group Humane Society International said in a statement the festival was “manufactured” by the dog meat trade and insists dog meat is not part of mainstream food culture in China.

Eating dogs is not illegal in China with around 10 to 20 million killed for human consumption every year and even thought the festival is new the custom can be traced back at least 400 years.

The Yulin Municipal Government has repeatedly said it is not able to stop the festival as it claims it does not exist as an official event.

Calls from animal lovers to boycott or cancel the festival provoked a defence of local tradition and accusations that activists were disturbing public order.

International animal rights groups say putting pressure on the dog meat trade has become harder after China stepped up scrutiny of foreign groups by requiring them to register with police.

Chinese activists are trying new tactics to convince authorities to end the dog meat trade.

Zhang Huahua, a university professor at the South China University of Technology in Guangzhou province, complained to Yulin authorities that the festival infringed environmental protection regulations.

Zhang said: "The messy slaughter of numerous dogs transported to Yulin without inspection severely damages public order, popular custom and the environment."

Authorities told Zhang her letter would be processed in line with regulations.

WORLDWIDE swoops on animal abusers rescues 60,000 animals and 1,400 arrests

Up to 1.3 tonnes of ivory along with 43 tonnes of bushmeat from elephants, bears and whales have also been seized in the far-reaching operation – codenamed Thunderstorm.

The UK, United States, European nations along with African, Asian and South American countries have all been involved in the month-long operation which has resulted in the identification of 1,400 suspects.

“Operation Thunderstorm has seen significant seizures at global level, showing how coordinated global operations can maximise impact,” said INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock today.

“By revealing how wildlife trafficking groups use the same routes as criminals involved in other crime areas – often hand in hand with tax evasion, corruption, money laundering and violent crime – Operation Thunderstorm sends a clear message to wildlife criminals that the world’s law enforcement community is homing in on them.”

Police, customs, border officials along with environment, wildlife and forestry officials were involved in making seizures which are still being quantified but said to be worth millions of pounds.

The headline seizures include:

• 43 tonnes of wild meat, including samples from bear, elephant, crocodile, whale and zebra;

• 1.3 tonnes of raw and processed elephant ivory;

• 27,000 reptiles, including 869 alligators/crocodiles, 9,590 turtles and 10,000 snakes;

• Almost 4,000 birds, including pelicans, ostriches, parrots and owls;

• Several tonnes of wood and timber;

• 48 live primates;

• 14 big cats, including a tiger, lion, leopard and jaguar;

• The carcasses of seven bears, including two polar bears.

Welcoming the massive operation, leading conservation charity WWF said it reveals how the planet needs to stop exploiting its vanishing creatures.

WWF chief wildlife advisor Cath Lawson said: “This operation highlights the vast scale of the barbaric trade that is devastating some of the world’s most endangered wildlife. From plants and trees to eels and bears, we need to stop exploiting nature and start valuing it.

“This is a global problem that needs global solutions. The focus now needs to be on the illegal wildlife trade conference that’s taking place in London this October, where world leaders must go beyond words and commit to stamping it out before it's too late.”

During the month-long operation, the Vietnamese authorities seized almost four tonnes of scales from pangolins – the threatened mammal said to be the most trafficked of all animals – as they arrived by ship from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Another four tonnes of pangolin scales were also seized worldwide.

Among the arrests were two attendants in Los Angeles who were attempting to smuggle live spotted turtles to Asia in their personal baggage. Both suspects have been charged with smuggling CITES-protected species.

In Israel, a man was arrested and now awaits deportation to Thailand after a hunting photograph on social media led to the seizure of multiple wildlife items at his home, including fox, jackal and mongoose bodies.

Canadian authorities also intercepted a container holding 18 tonnes of eel meat arriving from Asia, which is thought to have been poached originally from Europe.

Interpol says before the operation went into overdrive intelligence was gathered to target specific hotspots, including land and airport border points and wildlife parks.

Cars, lorries, boats and cargo transporters suspected of moving illicit products were also targeted with searches carried out by officers using specialist sniffer dogs and X-ray scanners.

“By leveraging the global network of worldwide environmental law enforcement experts and customs community’s commitment to protecting wildlife, the World Customs Organisation and its partners have clearly illustrated the power and effectiveness of international cooperation in keeping our natural heritage safe, both now and for future generations,” said WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya.

“Operation Thunderstorm clearly demonstrates that by pooling our transnational law enforcement collaboration in the field, WCO and Interpol firmly contribute to making sure that borders everywhere divide criminals but connect customs and law enforcement as a whole to make the world a safer place.”

How Does the Summer Solstice Affect Animals?

The summer solstice, which marks the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, happens today (June 21) at 6:07 a.m. EDT (1007 GMT). This event happens when Earth's tilt toward the sun is at its maximum and the sun points directly over the Tropic of Cancer.

That extended daylight makes it difficult for people in northern latitudes to know when to go to sleep if they aren't looking at a clock, but the midnight sun is no problem for many other animals.

On this day, which provides a full 24 hours of daylight above the Arctic Circle, people in northern latitudes are celebrating with special events, like an overnight golf tournament in Dawson City, Yukon, Canada, and a camping festival at England's Stonehenge. But without a watch, those partiers may ignore their bedtime, as humans are terrible at telling time during mostly light or mostly dark periods, according to a 1974 study in The Journal of Physiology. That's because light has a major effect on the human body's circadian rhythm, or sleep-wake cycle. [Photos: Stunning Summer Solstice Photos]

But many animals in northern latitudes can naturally control their sleep-wake cycles in extreme daylight conditions, said Cory Williams, a biologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

"There are animals that stop having a prolonged period of sleep," and they abandon their usual daily rhythm during this time of year, Williams told Live Science. For example, semipalmated sandpipers (Calidris pusilla) — small, brown-and-white shorebirds that breed above the Arctic Circle — are unfazed by the long periods of daylight. They alternate sleeping and waking hours with their nesting mate throughout the day. "When the male is active, the female is at the nest and vice versa," Williams said. "It's not on a 24-hour schedule."

Reindeer also ignore the absence of a light-dark cycle during the summer months. Instead, their sleep cycles are governed by ultradian rhythm, which means they sleep whenever they need to digest food. "They lose that long stretch of sleep they would normally have," Williams said. "They take lots of naps during the day instead of one concentrated bout of sleep.

This happens only in polar species, because their behavior is not entrained by light and dark cycles, Williams said. During this time of the year, the advantage for animals to be active at a particular time of day is lost. For instance, foraging at night doesn't save energy or provide protection from predators since it's daylight all the time.

But not all polar species abandon their circadian rhythm. For example, arctic ground squirrels (Spermophilus parryii) stick to their sleep schedules all year long. They retreat to their burrows during the darkest part of the day in the summer (which still isn't that dark, more like twilight) to save energy, Williams said.

Scientists such as Williams are still working to figure out what is different about polar animals that maintain entrained sleeping rhythms. As average global temperatures increase, animals are relocating to higher latitudes, Williams said, "so it will be interesting to see how animals that haven't been exposed to polar conditions will respond as they move north."

Inside the Pet Prosthetics Company That's Changing Animals' Lives

When Chi Chi the dog was found on the side of the road in South Korea, animal rescuers weren’t sure if she would survive. She had been badly abused and suffered severe blood flow loss to her legs, rendering them immobile. The normal course of action in that situation would have been euthanization, but Chi Chi made it clear that she wasn’t ready to give up. “I always say that her smile saved her,” Derrick Campana, founder of Animal OrthoCare, tells Mental Floss. “She was just so friendly and lovable that she got noticed.” The decision was made to amputate all four of her legs, and it wasn't long before a viral video telling Chi Chi's story caught the attention of a couple in Arizona. Shortly after moving to her new home in the U.S., Chi Chi was outfitted with prosthetics designed by Campana that allowed her to move around freely for the first time since she was rescued.

Campana and the work he does for disabled animals like Chi Chi were the focus of the first episode of Dodo Heroes, a new Animal Planet series that highlights inspiring stories of animal strength and survival. The prosthetics designer fell into the veterinary field by chance: He was working as a doctor specializing in prosthetics for people when a canine patient was brought in to his practice. The doctor the dog was supposed to see wasn’t in, so Campana decided to build an artificial limb for the pooch himself. “I got so much satisfaction and fulfillment out of it that I knew it was something I wanted to do forever,” he says. He launched Animal OrthoCare, his animal bracing and prosthetics company, one month later.

There aren’t many options out there for pet owners looking to provide comfortable, effective prosthetics to their disabled animals. A dog amputee might be fitted with a canine cart, while larger wild animals with missing or dysfunctional limbs are often put down. And when prosthetics are available, the choices are usually limited, sticking pets with something that can exacerbate their pain and discomfort.

Animal OrthoCare is different: It’s the only company in the U.S. that offers custom animal braces, and it’s one of only a handful of custom animal orthotics companies on earth. Animals in need around the world can take advantage of its services. For most requests, Campana mails out a casting kit to the owner or veterinarian of the animal patient. After a cast is made of the patient’s limb, it’s mailed back to Animal OrthoCare’s shop in Virginia, where Campana and his team use it to build a custom prosthetic from medical-grade foam. It takes about a week on average before the final product is ready to ship to the customer's home, where they can attach it to their pet themselves using a hook-and-strap system that can be adjusted for maximum comfort.

In addition to being convenient, the treatment is also relatively affordable, with dog prosthetics starting at $750. Since founding Animal OrthoCare, Campana has helped roughly 20,000 animals walk again—and walk more comfortably.

Chi Chi the Golden Retriever and Jabu the elephant, the two patients featured in Campana's episode of Dodo Heroes, represent two of his biggest challenges to date. Chi Chi is a survivor of the South Korean dog meat trade, and she had been hung upside-down by her legs for so long that it cost her all four of her limbs. According to Campana, quadriplegic dogs are very rare, and dogs with four prosthetics are even rarer. By visiting Chi Chi in her home and adjusting the fit of her artificial limbs, he makes sure she can walk freely without doing any further damage to her body.

Jabu, a 31-year-old elephant living in Botswana, is another extreme example of the animals Campana gets to work with. After Jabu fell into a ditch and injured his leg, the caretakers at the wildlife preserve where he lives reached out to Animal OrthoCare for help. Campana says the leg brace he constructed for the 6-ton creature is likely the world’s first elephant brace. Without it, Jabu may not have survived even another minor injury. “A dog can have this type of injury and live a fine life, but for an animal like Jabu in the wild, it's life-threatening,” he says. “If you're lame out in the African bush, you're not going to live.”

Delta updates comfort-animal policy to one per passenger—and no pit bulls

Delta Air Lines has revised its animal policy again, this time limiting emotional-support animals to one per customer and banning "pit bull type dogs" as either comfort or service animals.

The changes go into effect July 10. The airline said the updates resulted from safety concerns, after several workers were bitten. Delta said it carries about 700 service or comfort animals daily, or nearly 250,000 per year.

The revisions are the latest examples of the major airlines grappling with how to serve passengers who want to bring animals with them in the cabin. Delta had previously updated its animal policy in March, after a 70-pound dog flying as a comfort animal bit a passenger in the next seat on a June 2017 flight from Atlanta to San Diego.

"The safety and security of Delta people and our customers is always our top priority," said Gil West, Delta's chief operating officer. "We will always review and enhance our policies and procedures to ensure that Delta remains a leader in safety."

Each of the major airlines has updated animal policies in recent months, after the Transportation Department was unable to reach a consensus on emotional-support animals between travelers, advocacy groups for the disabled and airlines.

The department is collecting comment about potential changes in animal regulations, after failing to reach a compromise between passengers, advocacy groups for the disabled and airlines. Nearly 3,000 comments have already poured in, with a deadline of July 15.

Airlines basically have at least four ways for passengers to bring animals on flights. But uncertainty about standards for the different categories has led to conflicts between passengers and airlines.

Most airlines allow passengers to ship animals in crates with luggage. But occasionally pets die under those circumstances, and high-profile incidents raised concerns. The department counted 506,994 animals transported in cargo last year, including 24 that died, 15 that were injured and one that was lost.

Airlines generally allow passengers to bring smaller pets in containers in the cabin, so long as they fit beneath the seat. But that option costs $75 to $125, depending on the airline.

The dispute over regulations and airline policies is about what animals can travel for free with passengers in the cabin without cages.

The Americans with Disabilities Act recognized dogs and miniature horses as trained service animals. The Air Carrier Access Act then said service animals could fly in the cabin with passengers, while also opening the door to broader range of emotional-support animals, which assist passengers with mental-health issues.

Airlines typically require travelers to have a note from a medical provider describing the need for an emotional-support animal and documentation of the animal's health. But some crew members and passengers suspect that travelers bring pets as comfort animals to avoid fees.

In recent years, the variety of emotional-support animals exploded to include monkeys, pigs and ducks as emotional-support animals, although airlines didn't have to accept reptiles, ferrets or rodents. These comfort animals, which didn't require specified training, sometimes upset other passengers.

As the variety of animals on flights multiplied, so did complaints. The department received 2,443 complaints from travelers with service animals on U.S. and foreign airlines in 2016 and another 2,499 last year.

Can lab animals be studied in the wild?

The environment a laboratory animal lives in can have a dramatic impact on whether it’s a good model for human disease. A mouse that lives in a shoebox-size cage, for example, gets less exercise than its wild relatives, and thus may not be the best model for studying obesity.

Enriched environments with bigger cages and more toys can help, says Garet Lahvis, but the best way to make animals good models is to take them out of the lab—and, in some cases, study them outside in the great wide world. This could be accomplished with cutting-edge electronics and remote sensors, says the behavioral neuroscientist at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. He’s presenting his proposal today at the Behavior Genetics Association’s annual conference in Boston.

Lahvis chatted with Science about what studying lab animals in the wild could look like, and why some researchers think it won’t happen. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Q: Why did you become interested in this idea?

A: Our lab studies social behavior in mice. We’ve shown that mice have the capacity for empathy when they hear other mice getting an electrical shock, and that mice are gregarious—they like to hang out with each other. But we were studying them in these small, relatively sterile cages—not anything like they’d encounter in the wild. About 6 or 7 years ago, I started thinking, “How could it be normal for you to spend your entire life with only three other individuals in a small room? Are the mice we’re looking at really normal?” Once that door opened, I started to think about everything else that could go wrong with lab animal research.

Q: What’s wrong with current housing for lab animals?

A: Animals have to deal with a massive landscape in the wild. They need to hunt for food, avoid predators, seek mates, and deal with complex environmental variables, from rain to shifting light conditions. If you live in a cage, even a cage with lots of toys and companions, everything is the same. You’re not using your brain.

We haven’t had any big breakthroughs for psychiatric diseases; even with cancer drugs, the success rates have been very low. I think a contributing factor is that we’re keeping these animals in such unnatural conditions.

Q: What’s the solution?

A: We need to make the lives of these animals as close as possible to what their lives would be like in the wild. If you’re studying something on a macro level—like how an “autistic” animal responds to its companions—you have to put the animal in a situation where it’s dealing with a ton of social and environmental variables, and those variables need to constantly be changing. You can’t just put a couple of mice in a cage for 4 minutes and ask how long they spend sniffing each other’s butts.

Q: So take the animals out of the lab?

A: One option is to put the animals in an outdoor pen, so they’re dealing with things like foraging and weather that they don’t have to in the lab.

But we could also do some of this work in the wild. For example, [some] mice live in barns. So we could construct a real barn in the wild, one that would have all the challenges and opportunities of real barn living, except perhaps we’d try to make sure the barn never got too hot or too cold, and that the animals couldn’t escape. Then you could introduce, for example, a bunch of mice that were genetically predisposed to breast cancer.

Q: But how could you study such free-roaming animals?

A: You could tag them with a radio frequency tag to keep track of them, and implant them with devices that would allow you to measure physiological variables like heart rate. Then you could inject them with a drug and catch them with traps at regular intervals to see if their tumors were shrinking.

Pretty much everything we can do in the lab, we can do in the wild through remote telemetry and other electronics. You could even use camera traps, for example, to see how animals solve puzzle boxes in the wild. Or you could use probes implanted in an animal’s brain to remotely turn genetically modified neurons on and off.

We’ve done this ourselves with ground squirrels. We’ve used video cameras to compare how these animals behave in the wild to how they behave in the lab.

Q: What are the limitations?

A: I wouldn’t modify the genes of animals we’re studying in the wild, in case they escape. Some critics say it’s also a lot more expensive and labor intensive to study lab animals in the wild.

But we also spend a lot of money on infrastructure, cage cleaning, and other things in the lab—and we spend money on experiments year after year that have no relevance to human health. We should spend more money and do it right. Instead, we’re putting monkeys in mop closets.

Q: How have scientists responded to your proposal?

A: Most of them don’t question the science. They realize this is a better way to do things. But they do question the accounting. They think it will cost too much. So the pressure to change has to come from the outside—from an organization like the National Institutes of Health.

Q: What’s the next step?

A: I’ve convened neuroscientists and wildlife biologists in Oregon to explore how use of naturalistic environments can improve research. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Oregon State University, and the National Science Foundation have all expressed interest in exploring this.

Q: Have you stopped doing animal research in the lab?

A: I ended my mouse colony and stopped writing grants to study animals in cages a couple of years ago. If this doesn’t work out, [laughs] my days are probably numbered.

Event raises funds for animals in need of forever homes

Every year thousands of homeless animals are in need of a forever home in mid-Michigan.

Sunday the "Paws in the park" event, hosted by the Capital Area Humane Society, didn't only raise money for a local shelter, but it hoped to raise awareness.

The event had little dogs, big dogs, dogs up for adoption and dogs in costumes who flooded the Cooley Law Stadium for a day of games, endless doggy treats, and a good cause.

Julia Willson, the President & CEO of the Capital Area Humane Society said these events are a fun way to attract dogs and their owners. She said, "This type of event funds our activities, including finding new homes for animals that don't have homes, spay and neuter services and providing a wide range of care for the animals in our community."

And in the community here in mid-Michigan, Willson said she cares for hundreds of animals on any given day at the shelter. She told News 10 this major issue is not just a local one but extends on a much larger scale. "It's really a national problem, I think many communities experience the fact that many animals don't have a home," Willson said.

With a lot of animals living in shelters, owners at the event said they suggest people look at shelters before purchasing their pet from anywhere else.

Marilyn Jackson, a rescued dog owner, got her dog Miles from a family that could no longer care for him. "There are so many loving dogs that are great with family and kids who need homes, and its best sometimes to adopt and not shop," Jackson said.

Sarah Dobbrastine is another dog owner who is also no stranger to having her own rescued dogs, "There are always going to be animals looking for homes."

Dobbrastine has welcomed 10 huskies into her home, all of which she rescued or were given to her from people who know she likes that breed.

She told News 10, "more than half of mine have been abused or abandoned so that's how they came to be, or just people who gave them to me because they knew I dog sledded." She said she loves huskies for their personalities and comforting quality.

Sunday was a walk for animals in need, a walk animals took one paw at a time.