Animal Tracks News

2010-09-14T10:26:00.049-04:00

The Bears are Back in Town

Alaskan Brown Bears and Polar Bears return to the Columbus Zoo in the new Polar Frontier exhibit

By Beverly Mullet Randall,
Animal Tracks

Bears have returned to the Columbus Zoo in the Polar Frontier exhibit and they are a lot of fun to watch. There are two Alaskan Brown bears, Brutus and Buckeye, and twin Polar Bears, Aurora and Anana, in the exhibit that opened in May. Brutus and Buckeye were orphaned in 2004 outside Anchorage, Alaska and stayed at the Alaska Zoo until they could be brought to Columbus.

Brutus and Buckeye

They're huge and they're strong as you can see from some of their handiwork when they decided to tear off the metal strips covering the joints between the glass window pieces.

The Bears' Habitat
An exhibit sign says busy bears are happy bears and their habitat includes several bear-friendly features:

sand and mulch pits for digging
log over waterfall with holes for browsing
Two "sniff ports" for the bears to smell you
Boulders and fallen trees for playing
Live fish in pool
42,000 gallon pool heated in winter and cooled in summer
2.5" glass to keep bears and people from mingling.

The Columbus Zoo is also reducing its carbon footprint with this exhibit:

The new geothermal unit provides energy to run the Zoo's heating, cooling, and water filtration system in the Polar Frontier which will reduce its use of fossil fuels.

They planted over 700 trees and shrubs which will absorb carbon dioxide.

Bear Facts
As the sign says, even though they're in the same exhibit, there are a number of differences between the two types of bears. The Brown Bear's habitat is the far northern coasts, mountains, grasslands, and tundra, ranging from Asia, Europe, and North America, giving it the largest range of any bear. The Polar Bear's habitat is the pack ice of the Arctic Ocean, and the coastlines in summer. They may be moving inland. One of their habitat adaptations is a streamlined body for swimming. They range from Canada, the USA, Norway, Russia, and Greenland with more than 50% living in Canada. The Brown Bear's food consists of a bit of everything with 50% being vegetation and 50% 'meat' from grubs to salmon to moose. They can weigh up to 1000 pounds. The Polar Bear's food consists of ringed seals' blubber, almost exclusively. "Ice is the key. No ice, no food." They can weigh up to 1500 pounds but may be getting smaller. The Brown Bear population is suffering from regional declines in population while the Polar Bear population is threatened. Both bears are usually loners. Brown Bears gather at major food sources and Polar Bears usually gather in autumn, waiting for ice to form. Both mail and female Brown Bears hibernate for eight months in the winter, while only the pregnant, female Polar Bears hibernate. The number of Polar Bear cubs born may also be in decline.

These pictures and quotes are part of the Columbus Zoo's Polar Exhibit...

Glaciers Then and Now
A Visual Record of Receding Ice

Glaciers are sensitive to changes in temperature and precipitation associated with climate change. Since 2006, the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Colorado has updated old images included in the Glacier Photograph Collection. These repeat photographes of the same glaciers taken from the same vantage point and at the same time of year indicate the extent of glacier/ice retreat. Note the years indicated on each pair of glacier photographs. NSIDC/WDC for Glaciology, Boulder, Compiler 2002. Updated 2009. Glacier Photograph Collection, Boulder, Colorado, USA.

What Can We Do

The sign says:

...Rediscover the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in...
Rachel Carson

"Never silent in the face of destructive trends, Rachel Carson fed a spring of awareness across America and beyond. A biologist with a gentle, clear voice she welcomed here audiences to her love of nature. With an equal determination she warned us of the dangers we pose to nature. Always concerned, always eloquent a tide of environmental consciousness that has not ebbed."

Some personal thoughts on environmental efforts:

The picture of Rachel Carson is at the Columbus Zoo's aviary and the Margaret Mead quote is in the Polar Exhibit. Rachel Carson is credited by many as the leader of the environmental movement. She started out as a Staff Biologist and later Chief Editor in 1949 with the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries which later became the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

In 1951 she wrote The Sea Around Us, a well-researched book about the ecology of our seas and oceans. It was on the New York Times Bestseller List for 86 weeks. In 1955, she wrote The Edge of the Sea which was on the New York Times Bestseller List for 20 weeks.

She is most know for her book, Silent Spring, published in 1962. Silent Spring documented the toxic long-term effects of pesticides and herbicides, especially DDT, on birds, other wildlife, and man--information she gathered during four years of extensive research. The Silent Spring was the term she used to describe what would eventually result from continued use of pesticides as song birds and other living creatures disappeared from our backyards and landscapes and the coming of Spring was silent as a result.

This book was extremely controversial, raising the ire of the agricultural chemical producers in particular who dubbed the book as "bland," "hysterical," and "sinister." In spite of attacks and efforts to discredit her on a personal and professional level, she stood her ground with the result being that the detrimental effects on the enviornment from pesticide and herbicide use became an issue of intense public, citizan, and consumer concern.

Once the issue was on the "public agenda," polical entities were required to take some kind of action in response to public outcry. After reading Silent Spring, President John F. Kennedy initiated a presidential advisory committee and the U.S. Senate soon opened an investigation of pesticide research.

"The President's Science Advisory Committee issued a report in 1963 largely backing Carson's scientific claims. By 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established as a cabinet-level position and, in 1972, DDT use was banned."1 The EPA was created during President Richard Nixon's administration through an executive order.2

Rachel Carson died of cancer in 1964, before she could fully witness the benefits of her book that raised the public's awareness and launched the environmental movement in the U.S. in the face of controversy, intense lobbying, and personal attacks designed to silence her and the public's concerns. Since the banning of DDT, many endangered species, including the Bald Eagle, have returned, clearly demonstrating the impact a group of concerned citizens or even an individual can have on environmental public policy.

Sources:

1. About.com: Womens' History, Rachel Carson, By Jone Johnson Lewis, About.com Guide, http://womenshistory.about.com/od/carsonrachel/p/rachel_carson.htm

2. Wikipedia: United States Environmental Protection Agency, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Environmental_Protection_Agency

2010-09-09T19:24:00.031-04:00

August 28, 2010 Columbus, Ohio

Ferret Buckeye Bash

By Beverly Mullet Randall, Animal Tracks

On August 28, at the Ferret Buckeye Bash at Vets Memorial, the ferret faithful met for a day of ferret fun, games and appreciation.

Lori Sies displays 26 years of ferret pins. She is from Lynx, Ohio, located about two hours south of Columbus, Ohio in Adams County.

The ferret festivities included ferret tube races...

ferret judging...

ferret awards...

and the winning name for the Name the Rescue Ferret Contest was Gussie.

Barbara Carlson, one of the ferret famous, was there. You might recognize her from the movie that ran on PBS, Ferrets: The Pursuit of Excellence, produced by Mark Lewis Radio Pictures. She is maybe best remembered in that movie singing a song she wrote entitled, "I have a little ferret," or more frequently identified by the refrain, "Ferret, oh, Ferret."

Barbara lives in Pittsburg, PA and currently is the Director of Hide-E-Hole Ferret Rescue and President of the Three Rivers Ferret Council, both in Pennsylvania. "I'm nuts," she says, adding that she is trying to find someone to take on some of these ferret duties so she isn't so busy.

In addition to ferreting, Barbara works as a secretary at Carnegie Mellon University for two "eminent" and "brilliant" mathematicians, Dr. Egon Balas, who is from Transylvania, Hungary and Dr. Gerard Cornuejols. She has worked for Dr. Balas since 1987. She was hired, in part, because she could type 138 wpm with one error and read Dr. Balas' handwriting. She said she has always liked math and as a Carnegie Mellon employee, has taken some classes including calculus, Pascal and C programming, and Strategies of Writing which teaches you to write for your audience. She enjoys writing and has written some short stories, in addition to some songs about ferrets--some original scores and some with her words set to "other people's music." "I do a lot of different things," she says.

Barbara currently has five personal ferrets, 25 shelter ferrets she cares for, and two dogs. She became a ferret person in 1986. Before then she had "all the stereotypical opinions about ferrets." Then a friend of hers introduced her to a ferret that could hold its own with one of her cats that was...formidable. When the ferret and cat met, "they touched noses and the cat sat back and said, 'huh'. I was so impressed."

As a new ferret person, she said she made all the mistakes, such as feeding the wrong food, so she "cornered her vet" in Pennsylvania and started gathering information about the care and feeding of ferrets. Bob of Casey's Hidden Pantry joined in the conversation at this point saying he had also started out feeding his ferrets the "wrong stuff." He and his wife have six ferrets. His first was a rescue from the Greater Chicago Ferret Association. It had insolinoma, a pancreatic cancer with malignant tumors that works the opposite way diabetes works with people, i.e., a diet with too much sugar and carbohydrates can overstimulate the pancreas, causing tumors to form. These tumors cause the pancreas to produce too much insulin, resulting in very low blood sugar levels in the ferret.

He and Barbara both said they found out that the best ferret diet was one high in meat, bones, and organs, including fur for roughage. Barbara added that a mouse is considered to be the "perfect nutritional package" for a ferret. So another benefit of ferret gatherings, in addition to fun, is sharing ferret information.

This show was presented by the Heart of Ohio Ferret Association & Rescue and ferret depot.com. Contributing sponsors were: Ferrets Magazine, Casey's Hidden Pantry, The HideyHole.com, and the Gahanna Animal Hospital. It was sanctioned by the American Ferret Association, Inc.

2010-09-08T13:54:00.067-04:00

Ohio State Fair
August, 2010

Visit to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Exhibit

By Beverly Mullet Randall, Animal Tracks

Every year the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' (ODNR) has an exhibit at the Ohio State Fair and it wouldn't seem like the fair without visiting the wild animals, the Tall Grass Prairie, Ruthven's Aviary, and the Butterfly House. You can also try kayaking. This year, there was a new addition to the exhibit: The Green Restroom.

Here are some highlights:

Bald Eagles' Nest Reconstruction

The Tall Grass Prairie
"Small prairie openings were remanants of a time about 4,000-6,000 years ago when an extended period of warm, dry weather in North America favored the expansion of western prairie eastward as far as central Ohio. As the climate grew cooler and wetter, forests invaded Ohio's prairies. By the 1700s, prairies were found only where soil conditions, periodic fire or extreme typography discouraged the growth of trees. By the time the first pioneers reached the Ohio valley wilderness, they encountered a mosaic of prairie openings. It is estimated that there were more than 300 prairie openings in Ohio, mostly in the western half of the state."

"Pioneers described the the prairie opening as a sea of wild grass and flowering herbs, broken only by numerous and scattered groves of oaks and hickories. The pioneers quickly discovered the hidden wealth of this strange, treeless landscape. Under the dense sod lay fertile black prairie soils. What the prairie farmer did not plow, was used to pasture livestock."

Source: Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Ruthven's Aviary

The Ruthven Aviary is a cooperative educational aviary coordinated by the Ohio Division of Wildlife, Malabar Farm State Park, and the Columbus Zoo. Many of the birds cannot be returned to the wild because of injuries or other health concerns.

"The aviary is named after John B. Ruthven, born 1924. "As a young boy growing up in Cincinnati, Ruthven would often visit the banks of the Ohio River carrying a sketchpad and a dream of preserving wildlife through art. In 2004, Ruthven was awarded the National Medal of Arts by the president of the United States in recognition of his contributions as an artist and naturalist to conserving our natural treasures. In 1997, Ruthven donated the artwork for Ohio's cardinal license plate, which adorns the bumper of nearly 35,000 vehicles and has generated millions of dollars for wildlife conservation throughout the state."
Source: Ohio Department of Natural Resources

The Butterfly House

Gulf Fritillary

Black Swallowtail

The Green Restroom

1. Varia Panels from 3 Form manufactured from 40% pre-consumer recycled materials. The windows reduce the requirement for other lighting during the day.

2. The water closets in both men's and women's restrooms are "dual flush" fixtures which offer the choice between a partial flush of 0.8 gallons or a full flush of 1.6 gallons.

3. The urinal installed in the men's room is a "pint flush" urinal which only uses 1 pint of water when flushed.

4. Counter Tops: Terreon RE by Bradley Corp. manufactured from 25% pre-consumer recycled materials and 8% rapidly renewable materials.

5. The hand dryer dries hands completely in 10-15 seconds and uses 80% less energy. There is a 95% cost savings versus paper towels.

6. Rogers Block Green CMU manufactured from 30% pre-consumer recycled materials.

Celebration of the Rose

2010-06-17T11:32:00.051-04:00

Cooperative effort showcases thousands of roses at one of the largest municipal rose gardens in the country
Hundreds of visitors enjoy the Whetstone Park of Roses
Vote for Columbus Park of Roses for America's Best Rose Garden
Text, photos & video by Beverly Mullet Randall, Animal Tracks

2007 AARS Moondance, Floribunda

Hundreds of visitors stopped to The City of Columbus' Whetstone Park of Roses and Oakland Nursery as part of the combined "Stop and Smell the Roses" and the "Celebration of the Rose" on June 12 and 13 to view thousands of roses in peak display. The event was a cooperative effort with The Columbus Park of Roses Foundation and Park of Roses Volunteers in partnership with Columbus Recreation and Parks hosting Stop and Smell the Roses; and Oakland Nursery's Celebration of the Rose. WMNI AM920 Plant Talk and WOSU Public Media were affiliated. Some activities of the two-day event included:

Guided tours of the Whetstone Park of Roses Main, Heritage and Earth-Kind Rose Gardens and Herb and Perennial Gardens conducted by Park of Roses Volunteers;

Arbor section of main rose garden

Heritage Rose Garden

Earth-Kind Garden

Perennial Garden

Herb Garden

Consulting rosarians and horticulturists from the Columbus Rose Foundation, Columbus Rose Club and Park of Roses Volunteers available to answer questions on the selection, planting and care of roses, perennials and herbs;

Tiffany, an example of a Hybrid Tea Rose

Crimson Bouquet, Grandiflora

Summer Fashion, Floribunda

Lady Elsie May, Shrub Rose

Artists from Ohio Plein Air Society and Oil Painters of America painting throughout the gardens;

Soothing sounds provided by “Air on Strings” flute and guitar duo;

Columbus Rose Club annual rose exhibition

Photographic exhibit by the Clintonville Historical Society of the Park of Roses throughout its 58 year history.

There were free trolley car rides every 30 minutes between the Park of Roses and Oakland Nursery’s “Celebration of the Rose” festivities which included musical entertainment, gardening experts and groups, Franklin County Dog Shelter, Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District; Columbus Garden Railway Society, and a number of vendors.

Trolley to Oakland Nursery on Oakland Park

Some of Oakland Nursery's roses, including demon-stration of container shrub roses in containers, growing on trellises.

Example of a rose pruned as a standard at Oakland Nursery

The Capital City Chorus Barbershop Quartet provided some of the entertainment at Oakland Nursery.

The Whetstone Park of Roses includes three rose gardens (main, heirloom, and Earth-Kind Demonstration gardens), perennial and herb gardens. There are over 11,500 roses of over 400 varieties.

For an overview of the garden, visit Friends of the Columbus Park of Roses (http://www.parkofroses.org/). As their site says, the Whetstone Park of Roses is currently entered in a national competition to be voted as one of ten “America’s Best Rose Gardens”. "Sponsored by All-American Rose Selections (AARS), the contest encourages visitors to vote for their favorite rose garden. You can vote April 1-July 1, 2010 by going online at www.rose.org/votenow. Results of the judging will be announced in late summer."

Links:

Friends of the Columbus Park of Roses http://www.parkofroses.org/

City of Columbus Parks and Recreation, Park of Roses http://parks.columbus.gov/Facility.aspx?id=28325

Oakland Nursery http://www.oaklandnursery.com/

Earth-Kind Roses Texas Agrilife Extension http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/earthkind/roses/

All-American Rose Selections (AARS) http://www.rose.org/

Rose Club

2010-06-03T18:31:00.072-04:00

Ride to the Statehouse

Columbus, Ohio rolling towards Bike City, USA title

May 17, 2010

By Beverly Mullet Randall, Central Ohio Animal Tracks

A little rain was no deterrent as bikers quickly gathered at the Gateway across from OSU on High Street, Columbus, Ohio about 7:30 am on May 17, 2010 for the Third Annual Bike to Work event kickoff that started at the OSU Gateway and ended at the Statehouse. The event was organized by Consider Biking. The group included over 250 bikers from several area biking groups, local biking businesses, several government and nonprofit agencies, and over 70 CEO's or their representatives. Mayor Michael B. Coleman kicked off the event, followed by Councilwoman Mary Jo Kilroy, Columbus Councilman Hearcel F. Craig, Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) Director Jolene M. Molitoris, Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) Executive Director Chester R. Jourdan, Jr., and Consider Biking Executive Director Jeff Stephens.

Some representatives from Ride for World Health

"Columbus is on its way to being Bike City USA," Coleman said. "And I'm glad to have you here because this is a demonstration of what we can do in our city. We can bike to work, bike home from work, we can use biking as a recreational opportunity. We're going to make Columbus Bike City USA. We're excited about it because this year we're spending $10 million on biking projects all over the city.

Columbus is on its way to being Bike City USA.
Mayor "Bikin' Mike" Coleman

That includes construction of all street bike way projects, bike lanes and sharrow signs. And starting in a couple of weeks we will put 189 sharrow pavement markings on High Street between Nationwide Boulevard and Morse Road." Coleman said Columbus City Council needs to pass legislation to fund this and that Councilman Hearcel F. Craig is the sponsor of that legislation. He added that these sharrow pavement markings will go together with 54 Share the Road signs already installed last fall on that same stretch of High Street. "Now we've got to share the road. Bikers and riders. We have the same pavement. We're going to share the road in a responsible way for both bikers and riders," he added.

Mayor Coleman introduced Councilwoman Mary Jo Kilroy as "another great biking partner who is getting money from Washington, D.C., funnelling it to Columbus so that we can build bike ways around our city." Mary Jo Kilroy said, "I'm proud that the Recovery Act money is able to put the bike improvements to work here right away and we're working with sustainable communities and livable communities in Washington, too, so that the 2011 budget includes money for all modes of transportation, including the two-wheeled kind."

At this point, Mayor Coleman called a tomato, a corn, a carrot, and a flower pot to the podium--people dressed as these items to raise awareness of the health and environmental benefits of biking.

Councilman Craig took the podium, thanking all the participants and saying, "I can tell you that my Council colleagues and I are committed to doing all that we can with the administration to make this Bike City, USA. He also thanked Consider Biking Executive Director Jeff Stephens adding, "You connect and continue to do so much great work answering that call, spreading the gospel for cycling...how being on bikes makes you feel good."

ODOT Director Jolene Molinaris said, "Mayor, the Governor and you share a vision about transportation that includes all modes and if we're going to have an Ohio that's competitive, we have to have a biking community that's second to none and ODOT has committed, since 1992, over $100 million in biking around the state but, in addition, $16 million from the Recovery Act, thank you Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy."

MORPC Executive Director Chester R. Jourdan, Jr. took the podium. "What a great morning in Columbus, USA. I think one of the things this shows is that no matter what kind of weather there is, you can get out and bike every day." He also thanked the participants and their cooperative efforts. "Recently, MORPC along with the City of Columbus passed something called Complete Streets. We're the largest major metro in the nation with a Complete Street policy currently in place today." He added that cooperation of this kind for transportation was just the beginning of helping to move Columbus into the global marketplace of the future, ending with, "Let's get out and bike!"

Before introducing Consider Biking's Jeff Stephens, Coleman said he had just bicycled with him the week before in the Tour of the Scioto River Valley (TOSRV) event. "We rode all the way to Portsmouth just last week...115 miles against 40 mph head winds in 32 degree temperatures. I loved every minute of it."

"It was a great day," Stephens said. "One of our friends passed and they said to the Mayor, 'You better watch out for that Jeff Stephens, he's like a gateway drug into some bad stuff.' He (Coleman) said, 'Don't worry, I'm addicted.'"

After also thanking all the participants, Stephens said, "We're here to talk about these sharrows. These are these markings we put down on the road. We're going to see more bicyclists nationally and locally, that's just the facts Jack, ok. So we know, it's been proven that cyclists are safest on the road, but cyclists don't want to get on the road, many, until they feel there is some kind of accommodations for them. A sharrow is one of those great accommodations that sort of puts bikers in traffic where they belong as operators of vehicles, so all of us here, we need to operate as vehicles.

Columbus' first sharrow pavement marking at the OSU Gateway on High Street.

"This is that 'expect bikes', that 'bikes' are the law. So that's what this marking is all about and just the one last thing I've been saying a lot lately. The thing that many people fear the most is being hit from behind by a motor vehicle. That is such a little slice in the piece of the pie called other, its almost nonexistent so get out there on the road, take your place, be confident, find some of the resources and the people and the education classes that can help you become a confident cyclist to ride on the road. So thank you all for all you're doing. Let's ride bikes."

And they're off.

Look for the carrot, corn, flower pot, and tomato bringing up the rear.

Some biking links:
Consider Biking www.considerbiking.org
Share the Road www.sharetheroadcolumbus.org
Yay Bikes! www.yaybikes.org
Ride for World Health www.rideforworldhealth.org