Wildlife Trafficking

If You Want to Enjoy Wildlife, You'll Have to Pay Your Fair Share in State Parks in the Future

Wildlife Realities 101 - The Polar Bears Will Be Here Long After Human Beings Are Extinct

Wildlife Control Policy for Your Community

There are so many small animals, birds and insects native to North America. Learning more about them and why they call your area of the States home may help you control their population in an effective and harmless way. Educating yourself on your community's wildlife control policy could help you and the animals calling your yard home.

Most cities, communities and even neighborhoods have policies in place to deal with animals considered a "nuisance". Most of these animals are essentially harmless and merely seek out your porch, basement or trash barrels for food and shelter. However, because they can transmit rabies they have to be dealt with.

Dealing with these animals in a humane and careful way is the ideal of most communities. For example, if the bats in your elm tree can be removed carefully and harmlessly then everyone involved can view the situation happily. Raccoons, bats, opossums and even feral cats can all be a problem for homeowners.

It is important to find out the wildlife control policy for your city, community or neighborhood. Taking the situation into your own hands could be dangerous and even illegal. Some communities have specific guidelines for dealing with wild animals. A veterinarian, local police officers or fish and game officials may need to be involved. Trying to capture a raccoon your self could lead to receiving a vicious bite from an animal with rabies. Likewise, killing an animal could lead to a fine.

There are many resources that can provide you with information on your area's wildlife control policy. Contact institutions of higher education, like community colleges and universities. Often a college or university will have a biology department expert that can answer questions. Occasionally, these same institutions will have rehabilitation facilities for wild animals.

You may be able to find information through your city and county. Generally, there is a standard set for an entire area. Perhaps you can go online to your city's website for information or look for resources at city hall or the courthouse.

Local veterinarians can also be a resource. If you have a wild animal inhabiting your yard, they may be just the business to contact. Vets have a variety of cages, leashes even tranquilizers available for wild or vicious animals. They may also be able to tell you where to take baby animals or incapacitated ones.

Finally, your local or county sheriff's office is a good resource. Discuss the situation with them. They may decide to come right over and capture the animal for release in the wild. The sheriff may also be in close contact with the area veterinarian, getting them involved as well.

Regardless, there is information available to you and you should seek it out if you have an issue with wild animals at your home. The wildlife control policy of communities can vary so being aware of discrepancies is important.

The Addo Elephant Park South Africa: An Example of Wildlife Conservation That Worked

Wildlife conservation in South Africa and all over the world has its success stories and its failures. One of the greatest conservation success stories is the Addo Elephant Park in South Africa. It has become a popular destination attracting tourists from all over the world staying in some of the many Addo guest houses that are found on or next to the park. Some are privately owned, through a system of concessions and some are owned by the Addo Elephant Park itself. The accommodation ranges from the luxurious to the basic across all price ranges, much of it a far cry from the parks humble beginnings as a place primarily for the conservation of the areas dwindling elephant population.

Founded in 1931, thanks in large part to Sydney Skaife, the Addo Elephant Park in South Africa, named for the village of Addo which sits on the outskirts, started off with just eleven elephants. The area of the Eastern Cape in which the Addo Elephant Park is situated was once home to massive herds of them, including the legendary Knysna Forest elephant. Due to the popular trade in ivory combined with the relatively poor rural communities in the area the elephants were hunted to near extinction. In 1915 the Eastern Cape farmers made a request to the government to have the remaining Eastern Cape Elephants culled due to the nuisance they caused to the farming activities. Major P.J. Pretorius was given the task of exterminating the remaining Addo Elephants and between 1919 and 1920 shot 114 of them capturing two others and selling them to the circus.

In 1929 Sydney Skaife established the Wild Life Protection and Conservation Society now called the Wildlife Society of Southern Africa. It was his concern over the decimation of the wildlife in the KwaZulu Natal area caused by the tsetse fly control campaign that led him to form the society. He helped establish several game reserves, the most prominent being the Addo Elephant Park South Africa. It started with just the 11 elephants remaining in the surrounding area and no real accommodation or guest houses to speak of and covered an area of just 5000 ha. Over the course of the twentieth century the park underwent a massive expansion.

Today the Addo Elephant Park South Africa covers 164 000 ha and there are plans to expand it to 360 000 ha. It currently includes a marine reserve which makes it one of the only places in the world where you can see the "big 7," the original big 5 with the Southern Right whale and the Great White shark added to the list. The expansion was achieved largely through buying up farms from willing sellers around the reserve and setting up concessions which allowed the private sector to open Addo guest houses and semi-private game reserves within the park boundaries. These Addo guest houses have played a large role in helping the conservation efforts of the Addo Elephant Park South Africa by bringing in foreign revenue and, more importantly, interest to the park. This is helping to educate the world about the necessity of conservation such as that being practiced at the Addo Elephant Park in South Africa.

Wildlife Removal Keeps the Roads Safe

Try for a moment to imagine strolling aimlessly through your backyard, admiring the luscious green scenery as a bandit marked critter scurries your way. Upon instinct your manner of reaction is that this cute, cuddly mischievous looking creature is friendly and wants to play! Well I am sorry to say that you are sadly mistaken and this black-eyed critter is the perfect host for a dreadful disease called Rabies. Now of course not every stray animal you see is going to have rabies, however, there are many tell telling signs that you can associate and use to avoid such encounters.

First off, Rabies is a viral disease that affects the nervous system of humans and other animals. It is mostly transferred by saliva entering a wound which in turn travels through your blood stream to your brain causing inflammation and swelling. The most common hosts for rabies in the United States are bats, though worldwide, dogs are the dominant source for transmission. Other animals that could carry rabies are raccoons, skunks, foxes and any other stray mammal.

Keeping these carriers away from society has become quite a task. Animal Wildlife Removal experts pride themselves on keeping the streets safe from rabid mammals. They will come to your home, business or property and remove any animal deemed unfit for its surroundings. They are of course regulated by state regulations to trap and relocate this animal appropriately.

The largest issue face by wildlife removal experts is educating others on how to deal with potential rabies exposure. If you are bitten by an animal it is very important to immediately call 911. It is also important to attempt capture of your enemy to use for testing to make sure that the animal is or isn't a host for rabies. If unable to test the animal you could be in for a wild ride of month long treatments costing up to two thousand dollars.

It is important to never handle a wild animal: dog, squirrel, skunk, or raccoon that you are unsure of. Making sure that your children are aware and to inform an adult if they see a sick or injured animal and to not touch is also very important. The most common deaths from rabies exposure are in children.

So when it comes to admiring and handling cuddly stray creatures, think twice. Call your local wildlife removal experts for advice on how to handle any wildlife in your area.

Wildlife - 5 Ways You Can Help Preserve Endangered Wildlife Animals

The list of Endangered Wildlife and Animals is getting large each year. One conservative estimate has placed almost forty percent of all the species in the verge of having the ecological extinction. Not only the traditional wetlands are being taken away to find new place to create plantations but also the cities are growing at phenomenal rate too. The effected plant and animal life in the midst of all this is quite large, you can find the animals like polar bears, pandas and even Indian tigers in this list that were proud heritage once. Here are some ideas being threshed out to save most if not all of our endangered wildlife and animals for future.

? Spreading the Awareness
? Wildlife protection and feeding initiative
? Joining the hands with worthy organizations
? Stop purchasing any endangered plants or animal related products
? Arrange fundraising and charity events

The first thing that you can do to preserve these animals and plants in need is to create awareness about them. The list of endangered spices is visible on the internet so one can read about it, talk to friend or even tell the kids about the fate of these animals that might not survive if a collective effort is not made.

The wildlife protection and activates can be started even in your area too. Read about the different animals and plants in your area that might be facing such fate. Arranging the feeding programs can be great way to be part of this. During this project you can start making the bird feeders, bird baths, clean the protected area of human waste especially the plastic that is practically indestructible.

The social action and collective efforts can be made for protection of these species you can start the campaign for signature and even change or start of a new piece of legislation too. Being part of the organizations like WWF and Greenpeace can be great idea too. Similarly you should not purchase any materials or product that might use these endangered animals or plants.