Posted
on September 4, 2015
There
is a lovely slide show on the National Wildlife Day website –
and it tells us that this year's National Wildlife Day is
specifically honoring the memory of Cecil the Lion. 
So...what
IS National Wildlife Day?
It
was created in 2006 by animal advocate / conservationist Colleen
Paige. She encourages people to partner with local animal
sanctuaries, zoos, schools, libraries, or other organizations to host
events to raise awareness about the needs of local wildlife and of
endangered animals all over the world. Today is also a good time to
thank zoos and sanctuaries for the work that they do to educate the
public about wildlife and to care for and even breed endangered
creatures. We can thank them with letters, articles in newspapers and
on blogs, and of course with donations!
Here
are a few other ideas:
- Draw or paint your favorite wild animal.
- Post your artwork, your photos, or your words on social media in an effort to remind people to care about and for the world's animals.
- Get involved with efforts to save local critters.
Speaking
of local critters...
When
I was young, we worried about the disappearance of the California
condor, which is a really large vulture with a huge wingspan –
about 10 feet (3 meters)!!
In
1987, there were only 22 California condors left. All of them were
captured and bred at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and the Los
Angeles Zoo. We are now finally up to more than 400 condors – and
starting in 1991, the condors began to be reintroduced into the wild.
There are now some condors living in Northern California (for the
first time in more than a century!), Arizona, Utah, and Mexico (Baja
California).
If
you live in California or nearby states and countries, you can join
the crowdsourcing project called Condor Watch, hosted by Zooniverse.
Volunteers can become citizen scientists who participate in active
research!
 |
| Some other success stories, so far, of formerly-endangered creatures local to me include the brown pelican and the California sea otter. |
I
cannot tell you how thrilling it has been to see more and more of
both of these animals in the wild – because, when I was a kid,
growing up in California, we just didn't see them!
I
hope my story of three California success stories (so far) will
encourage you to look around for endangered creatures in your neck of
the wood. Look for success stories local to you, or not-so-successful
(yet!) stories. Look for ways you can help!
Also
on this date:
Plan
ahead:
Check
out my Pinterest boards for:
And
here are my Pinterest boards for:
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