#Conservation Status: Endangered

[asterwild]

Saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica)

[rondaincorporated]

Hummingbird Species, Part 117

Our bird of the day is the speckled hummingbird, Adelomyia melanogenys. Introduction: The natural world never fails to astound us with its breathtaking array of species, each uniquely adapted to its environment. Among the myriad of avian wonders, the speckled hummingbird, scientifically known as Adelomyia melanogenys, stands out as a truly enigmatic and captivating creature. With its dazzling…

[beamorgan]

me: I am very glad that the steps I deliberately took to encourage wildlife diversity in my garden is working

also me: if that bloody bird doesn't stop squeaking like a rusty wheelbarrow I'm going to set something on fire

[dandelionsresilience]

Good News - June 15-21

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $Kaybarr1735! And if you tip me and give me a way to contact you, at the end of the month I'll send you a link to all of the articles I found but didn't use each week!

1. Victory for Same-Sex Marriage in Thailand

“Thailand’s Senate voted 130-4 today to pass a same-sex marriage bill that the lower house had approved by an overwhelming majority in March. This makes Thailand the first country in Southeast Asia, and the second in Asia, to recognize same-sex relationships. […] The Thai Marriage Equality Act […] will come into force 120 days after publication in the Royal Gazette. It will stand as an example of LGBT rights progress across the Asia-Pacific region and the world.”

2. One of world’s rarest cats no longer endangered

“[The Iberian lynx’s] population grew from 62 mature individuals in 2001 to 648 in 2022. While young and mature lynx combined now have an estimated population of more than 2,000, the IUCN reports. The increase is largely thanks to conservation efforts that have focused on increasing the abundance of its main food source - the also endangered wild rabbit, known as European rabbit. Programmes to free hundreds of captive lynxes and restoring scrublands and forests have also played an important role in ensuring the lynx is no longer endangered.”

3. Planning parenthood for incarcerated men

“[M]any incarcerated young men missed [sex-ed] classroom lessons due to truancy or incarceration. Their lack of knowledge about sexual health puts them at a lifelong disadvantage. De La Cruz [a health educator] will guide [incarcerated youths] in lessons about anatomy and pregnancy, birth control and sexually transmitted infections. He also explores healthy relationships and the pitfalls of toxic masculinity. […] Workshops cover healthy relationships, gender and sexuality, and sex trafficking.”

4. Peru puts endemic fog oasis under protection

“Lomas are unique ecosystems relying on marine fog that host rare and endemic plants and animal species. […] The Peruvian government has formally granted conservation status to the 6,449-hectare (16,000-acre) desert oasis site[….] The site, the first of its kind to become protected after more than 15 years of scientific and advocacy efforts, will help scientists understand climatic and marine cycles in the area[, … and] will be protected for future research and exploration for at least three decades.”

5. Religious groups are protecting Pride events — upending the LGBTQ+ vs. faith narrative

“In some cases, de-escalation teams stand as a physical barrier between protesters and event attendees. In other instances, they try to talk with protesters. The goal is generally to keep everyone safe. Leigh was learning that sometimes this didn’t mean acting as security, but doing actual outreach. That might mean making time and space to listen to hate speech. It might mean offering food or water. […] After undergoing Zoom trainings this spring, the members of some 120 faith organizations will fan out across more than 50 Pride events in 16 states to de-escalate the actions of extremist anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups.”

6. 25 years of research shows how to restore damaged rainforest

“For the first time, results from 25 years of work to rehabilitate fire-damaged and heavily logged rainforest are now being presented. The study fills a knowledge gap about the long-term effects of restoration and may become an important guide for future efforts to restore damaged ecosystems.”

7. Audubon and Grassroots Carbon Announce First-of-its-Kind Partnership to Reward Landowners for Improving Habitats for Birds while Building Healthy Soils

“Participating landowners can profit from additional soil carbon storage created through their regenerative land management practices. These practices restore grasslands, improve bird habits, build soil health and drive nature-based soil organic carbon drawdown through the healthy soils of farms and ranches. […] Additionally, regenerative land management practices improve habitats for birds. […] This partnership exemplifies how sustainable practices can drive positive environmental change while providing tangible economic benefits for landowners.”

8. Circular food systems found to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, require much less agricultural land

“Redesigning the European food system will reduce agricultural land by 44% while dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture by 70%. This reduction is possible with the current consumption of animal protein. “Moreover, animals are recyclers in the system. They can recycle nutrients from human-inedible parts of the organic waste and by-products in the food system and convert them to valuable animal products," Simon says.”

9. Could Treating Injured Raptors Help Lift a Population? Researchers found the work of rehabbers can have long-lasting benefits

“[“Wildlife professionals”] tend to have a dismissive attitude toward addressing individual animal welfare,” [… but f]or most raptor species, they found, birds released after rehabilitation were about as likely to survive as wild birds. Those released birds can have even broader impacts on the population. Back in the wild, the birds mate and breed, raising hatchlings that grow up to mate and breed, too. When the researchers modeled the effects, they found most species would see at least some population-level benefits from returning raptors to the wild.”

10. Indigenous people in the Amazon are helping to build bridges & save primates

“Working together, the Reconecta Project and the Waimiri-Atroari Indigenous people build bridges that connect the forest canopy over the BR-174 road[….] In the first 10 months of monitoring, eight different species were documented — not only monkeys such as the golden-handed tamarin and the common squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus), but also kinkajous (Potos flavus), mouse opossums (Marmosops sp.), and opossums (Didelphis sp.).”

Bonus: A rare maneless zebra was born in the UK

June 8-14 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[uncharismatic-fauna]

An Affinity for the Southern River Terrapin

The southern river terrapin (Batagur affinis), also known as the tungtung or the royal turtle, is a species of freshwater turtle residing, as its name implies, in the southern part of the Malaysian Peninsula, particularly along the western coast. They reside in estuaries, portions of large rivers that are regularly exposed to ocean tides.

While initially plain in appearance, the southern river terrapin can be visually striking. The body and shell are entirely black, or dark brown in females. The only spots of color are carried by males: bright yellow or white eyes and orange inner cheek flaps that are exposed when the mouth opens. Batagur affinis is also quite big, with females (the larger of the two sexes) reaching an average length of 62 cm (24 in) and a weight of 38 kg (83 lbs).

The tungtung is an omnivorous species. Its serrated beak allows it to feed on a variety of plants like grasses, algae, and fruits, as well as freshwater invertebrates like crustaceans and mollusks. Due to the high salinity of their habitats, they often leave the rivers and forage for food on land. The large size and thick shells of adults deters most predators. However, eggs and hatchlings are vulnerable to monitor lizards, otters, birds of prey, and crocodiles.

Mating for Batagur affinis occurs from October to February. Males and females remain relatively solo throughout the rest of the year, although they aren't overly territorial. Once a male locates a female, the two touch noses and he pulses his jaw to emphasize his bright orange cheek pouches and the white stripes on the inside of his throat. After copulation, the female lays a clutch of 20-40 eggs in nests dug in the sandy river bank. Young royal turtles hatch anywhere from 60-120 days later, depending on the temperature of the nest. Juveniles can take 18-22 years to reach maturity. Adults regularly reach ages well over 45, and individuals as old as 100 have been recorded.

Conservation status: The southern river turtle is considered Critically Endangered by the IUCN. Over-harvesting of both eggs and individuals has decimated populations, and those that remain are threatened by habitat destruction. However, both local and international conservation efforts have been underway to preserve the species and its ecosystem.

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Photos

Eng Heng Chan

Paul Calle

Thorn Sophun

[reasonsforhope]

The population of giant pandas in the wild has nearly doubled as China steps up its conservation efforts.

China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration said on Jan 25 there are now around 1,900 pandas in the wild from some 1,100 in the 1980s.

This has been due to China’s efforts to protect the species, considered a national treasure, said Mr Zhang Yue, an official with the administration.

The Giant Panda National Park was established in October 2021, covering a total area of over 22,000 sq km and providing a home to around 72 per cent of the wild giant panda population.

Protected areas for giant pandas have grown from 1.39 million ha to 2.58 million ha since 2012.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature has adjusted the status of giant pandas from “endangered” to “vulnerable”.

“This indicates that China’s giant panda conservation efforts have been recognised by the international wildlife conservation community,” Mr Zhang said.

The global captive population of giant pandas, meanwhile, has now reached 728, with 46 pandas successfully bred in captivity in 2023.

The genetic diversity of captive giant pandas has also improved. The current captive population of giant pandas can maintain 90 per cent genetic diversity for up to 200 years.

As for giant pandas living abroad, Mr Zhang said China has organised field inspections and assessments of 23 overseas cooperation institutions in 19 countries since 2023.

“The cooperation institutions generally meet the requirements in terms of venue construction, feeding and nursing, and disease prevention and control measures,” Mr Zhang said, adding that pandas living abroad are generally “in good health”.

He said China will further improve the international cooperation management mechanism for giant pandas, carry out regular daily health monitoring and field inspection and assessment, and continue to strengthen cooperation with international partners for the protection of endangered species and biodiversity.

-via The Straits Times, January 25, 2024

[typhlonectes]

GOOD NEWS:

Enduring the Earthquake: Rediscovery of the Critically Endangered Mesilau Stream Toad, Ansonia guibei Inger, 1966 (Anura, Bufonidae) and its conservation implications

EVAN S.H. QUAH, PAUL YAMBUN IMBUN, SZE HUEI YEK

Abstract

The Mesilau Stream Toad (Ansonia guibei) is a species of bufonid endemic to Sabah, Borneo, and restricted to a single mountainous location above 1600m in elevation. The species is only known from the type locality, the Mesilau watershed on Mount Kinabalu. An earthquake in 2015 resulted in massive landslides, causing extensive damage to the species’ habitat at Mesilau. This event was expected to have caused significant population declines of at least 80% or even the potential extinction of the species. A survey in 2017 at Mesilau failed to locate any individuals, which resulted in it being listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN. Surveys in late 2023 to reassess the status of the species and its habitat resulted in the rediscovery of a single subadult specimen of A. guibei. Tadpoles of the species were recorded in the main Mesilau River and one additional tributary, which indicates the species survives and is breeding. Studies are ongoing to collect more ecological data on the species and determine its current distribution. The data gathered will be used to construct a robust conservation plan for the species. Nevertheless, these preliminary observations bode well for the future of the species as it demonstrates that it is resilient and capable of recovering from the damages caused by the earthquake.

Read the paper here:

Enduring the Earthquake: Rediscovery of the Critically Endangered Mesilau Stream Toad, Ansonia guibei Inger, 1966 (Anura, Bufonidae) and its conservation implications | Zootaxa (mapress.com)

[cypherdecypher]

Animal of the Day!

Mindoro Bleeding-heart (Gallicolumba platenae)

(Photo from Animalia Bio)

Conservation Status- Critically Endangered

Habitat- Philippines

Size (Weight/Length)- 200 g; 30 cm

Diet- Fruits; Seeds; Insects

Cool Facts- This bird is completely fine, that’s just their measure of horniness. I’m not joking. During the breeding season, males puff out their chest and strut their stuff for females. The brighter the red, the more fit the male. Mindoro bleeding-hearts live in small flocks alongside green pigeons as they forage for fruit. Unfortunately, these doves are under extreme threat from illegal logging and dynamite-blasting for marble. An estimated 50-250 adults survive. Conservation groups are working to map the forests of Mindoro and do an in depth population survey. There are future hopes for a captive breeding program to bring these birds back from the brink. In addition, they are working with local people to plant native trees to replace areas that were previously logged.

Rating- 13/10 (As a wise man once said “Shot through the heart and you’re to blame…”)

[otherkin-confessional]

i am forever angry at the complete disregard for physically non-human animals in this community. I’m going to say animals meaning animals excluding Homo sapiens from this point on.

you may be thinking ‘huh??? A good chunk of us are non-human animals?’ and yes, that’s true, but it’s worst from them.

view of animals here is so often filtered and glorified. so aesthetic, so human-centric.

so often videos and images reblogged are of animals in distress, in poor situations, showing uncomfortable body language, etc, and it’s seen as cute, shown without second thought.

international wolf day - no mention of how wolves are losing their conservational status, how they’re endangered, how they need help - which is the PURPOSE OF THE DAY, no, it was ‘yay!! Me !! :3’ and I get it, im a wolf too. it makes me happy. but we seriously have zero focus on wolves that are in danger of being shot everyday???

Folk’s view of animals is so … surface level to me. it’s done without nuance, without layers and depths, from a human behavioural perspective, it’s only the acceptable things, it’s always palatable to an extent. yes, more palatable than it may be for non-otherkin, but it’s still so polished. grrrr.

🌌

[endlingmusings]

"An animal once considered extinct in the wild has seen its classification changed to “endangered,” signifying a remarkable comeback.  The scimitar-horned oryx has recovered its numbers thanks to the efforts of conservationists and zoos worldwide, and they can now be seen wandering the plains of Chad’s Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Faunal Reserve after they were first reintroduced in August 2016. On December 13, the oryx, also known more simply as the scimitar oryx, officially saw its status changed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).  Between 2016 and 2022, 285 scimitar oryx have been released in the unfenced area, and a population estimate in September 2022 put the total number of the species at 575.   “The change from the previous category of Extinct in Wild is genuine, as it results from the successful re-establishment of the species in the wild,” the IUCN’s website reads. According to the Good News Network, who described the news as a “tremendous achievement,” the change of classification for the scimitar oryx is the first time any animal has moved from the “extinct in the wild” designation to “endangered.” Further research from the scientific journal Animals reveals that another animal, Przewalski’s horse, was downgraded from extinct in the wild to endangered back in 2011, but the feat is exceptionally rare regardless.  Upon hearing the news, the Zoological Society of London’s senior conservation biologist Tim Wacher said: “The return of the scimitar-horned oryx is the result of a long-term conservation effort for the species – following in-depth, careful preparation, and championed and supported by the Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi.    “All Saharan antelope species are severely threatened, but this project is proof that with the right will and resources, we can secure a future for them all.”"

- Excerpt from "Scientists thrilled after horned animal once deemed extinct in wild upgraded to endangered species list: 'A tremendous achievement'" by Leo Collis.

[fatehbaz]

Endangered Indian sandalwood. British war to control the forests. Tallying every single tree in the kingdom. European companies claim the ecosystem. Spices and fragrances. Failure of the plantation. Until the twentieth century, the Empire couldn't figure out how to cultivate sandalwood because they didn't understand that the plant is actually a partial root parasite. French perfumes and the creation of "the Sandalwood City".

---

Selling at about $147,000 per metric ton, the aromatic heartwood of Indian sandalwood (S. album) is arguably [among] the most expensive wood in the world. Globally, 90 per cent of the world’s S. album comes from India [...]. And within India, around 70 per cent of S. album comes from the state of Karnataka [...] [and] the erstwhile Kingdom of Mysore. [...] [T]he species came to the brink of extinction. [...] [O]verexploitation led to the sandal tree's critical endangerment in 1974. [...]

---

Francis Buchanan’s 1807 A Journey from Madras through the Countries of Mysore, Canara and Malabar is one of the few European sources to offer insight into pre-colonial forest utilisation in the region. [...] Buchanan records [...] [the] tradition of only harvesting sandalwood once every dozen years may have been an effective local pre-colonial conservation measure. [...] Starting in 1786, Tipu Sultan [ruler of Mysore] stopped trading pepper, sandalwood and cardamom with the British. As a result, trade prospects for the company [East India Company] were looking so bleak that by November 1788, Lord Cornwallis suggested abandoning Tellicherry on the Malabar Coast and reducing Bombay’s status from a presidency to a factory. [...] One way to understand these wars is [...] [that] [t]hey were about economic conquest as much as any other kind of expansion, and sandalwood was one of Mysore’s most prized commodities. In 1799, at the Battle of Srirangapatna, Tipu Sultan was defeated. The kingdom of Mysore became a princely state within British India [...]. [T]he East India Company also immediately started paying the [new rulers] for the right to trade sandalwood.

British control over South Asia’s natural resources was reaching its peak and a sophisticated new imperial forest administration was being developed that sought to solidify state control of the sandalwood trade. In 1864, the extraction and disposal of sandalwood came under the jurisdiction of the Forest Department. [...] Colonial anxiety to maximise profits from sandalwood meant that a government agency was established specifically to oversee the sandalwood trade [...] and so began the government sandalwood depot or koti system. [...]

From the 1860s the [British] government briefly experimented with a survey tallying every sandal tree standing in Mysore [...].

Instead, an intricate system of classification was developed in an effort to maximise profits. By 1898, an 18-tiered sandalwood classification system was instituted, up from a 10-tier system a decade earlier; it seems this led to much confusion and was eventually reduced back to 12 tiers [...].

---

Meanwhile, private European companies also made significant inroads into Mysore territory at this time. By convincing the government to classify forests as ‘wastelands’, and arguing that Europeans would improves these tracts from their ‘semi-savage state’, starting in the 1860s vast areas were taken from local inhabitants and converted into private plantations for the ‘production of cardamom, pepper, coffee and sandalwood’.

---

Yet attempts to cultivate sandalwood on both forest department and privately owned plantations proved to be a dismal failure. There were [...] major problems facing sandalwood supply in the period before the twentieth century besides overexploitation and European monopoly. [...] Before the first quarter of the twentieth century European foresters simply could not figure out how to grow sandalwood trees effectively.

The main reason for this is that sandal is what is now known as a semi-parasite or root parasite; besides a main taproot that absorbs nutrients from the earth, the sandal tree grows parasitical roots (or haustoria) that derive sustenance from neighbouring brush and trees. [...] Dietrich Brandis, the man often regaled as the father of Indian forestry, reported being unaware of the [sole significant English-language scientific paper on sandalwood root parasitism] when he worked at Kew Gardens in London on South Asian ‘forest flora’ in 1872–73. Thus it was not until 1902 that the issue started to receive attention in the scientific community, when C.A. Barber, a government botanist in Madras [...] himself pointed out, 'no one seems to be at all sure whether the sandalwood is or is not a true parasite'.

Well into the early decades of twentieth century, silviculture of sandal proved a complete failure. The problem was the typical monoculture approach of tree farming in which all other species were removed and so the tree could not survive. [...]

The long wait time until maturity of the tree must also be considered. Only sandal heartwood and roots develop fragrance, and trees only begin developing fragrance in significant quantities after about thirty years. Not only did traders, who were typically just sailing through, not have the botanical know-how to replant the tree, but they almost certainly would not be there to see a return on their investments if they did. [...]

---

The main problem facing the sustainable harvest and continued survival of sandalwood in India [...] came from the advent of the sandalwood oil industry at the beginning of the twentieth century. During World War I, vast amounts of sandal were stockpiled in Mysore because perfumeries in France had stopped production and it had become illegal to export to German perfumeries. In 1915, a Government Sandalwood Oil Factory was built in Mysore. In 1917, it began distilling. [...] [S]andalwood production now ramped up immensely. It was at this time that Mysore came to be known as ‘the Sandalwood City’.

---

Text above by: Ezra Rashkow. "Perfumed the axe that laid it low: The endangerment of sandalwood in southern India." Indian Economic and Social History Review 51, no. 1, pages 41-70. March 2014. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me. Italicized first paragraph/heading in this post added by me. Presented here for commentary, teaching, criticism purposes.]

[dougdimmadodo]

Louisiana Pine Snake (Pituophis ruthveni)

Family: Colubrid Snake Family (Colubridae)

IUCN Conservation Status: Endangered

Among North America's rarest snakes, the Louisiana Pine Snake's small population size is the result of its highly specific habitat requirements and the resulting sensitivity to human-driven habitat changes that comes with them; members of this species feed primarily on Baird's Pocket Gophers (a specific species of burrowing rodent,) and almost always live in abandoned Baird's Pocket Gopher burrows (often after having eaten the burrows creator,) and as such in areas where Baird's Pocket Gophers are not present Lousiana Pine Snakes cannot survive. Native to western Lousiana and eastern Texas, members of this species do best in pine forests (particularly those dominated by a specific species of pine, Pinus palustris, forests of which are noted to generally support high levels of biodiversity as a result of the loose canopies they form which allow many smaller species of plants to coexist with them,) and spend most of their lives underground, rarely travelling far from their stolen burrows. They emerge from their burrows mainly during the mid-day to hunt (targeting rabbits, frogs and other rodents when Baird's Pocket Gophers are scarce,) but otherwise remain concealed underground in order to avoid predation and unusually high or low temperatures; during the winter, when the weather becomes colder and prey becomes scarcer, they travel deeper into a Baird's Pocket Gopher burrow and hibernate until the early spring.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Image Source: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/29041-Pituophis-ruthveni

[art-that-fucks-you-up-tournament]

SET TEN - ROUND ONE - MATCH SEVEN

”I am Happy Because Everyone Loves Me” (1928 - Louis Wain) / “瀕危形態 (Endangered Forms)” (2022 - Red Hong Yi (康怡))

I AM HAPPY BECAUSE EVERYONE LOVES ME: It makes me want to live! I AM happy! Everyone loves me! I'm tired of living life where I don't care if I live or die- I don't want to do that! I don't just "not want to die-" no, I want to live! Life is beautiful and I'm a part of it! (anonymous)

瀕危形態 (ENDANGERED FORMS): HRNGGGGGGGG there’s something so wordless about this sculpture that i can’t even put into words because i think it speaks for itself. the tiger covered in the net so caringly woven. i think the statement of the net being more painstakingly detailed than the statue itself says something about tigers and their conservation and how much we actually care. the fact that the tiger isn’t painted and is left just roughly stone hewn just sort of hits you. ( @x-ca1iber )

(”i am happy because everyone loves me” is a ink and chalk piece on paper by Louis Wain, and is held at the Bethlem Museum of the Mind along with most of Louis Wain's other works. It measures 14×10.8 cm (5.5 x 4.2 in)

“瀕危形態 (Endangered Forms)” is a fiberglass and rattan sculpture by Malaysian artist Red Hong Yi (康怡). It measures 220 x 70 x 60cm (86.6 x 27.6 x 23.6 in), and was made for the WWF Tiger Trail 2022.)

[horizon-verizon]

Alicent is such a pussy ass bitch, “the beacon burns green when House Hightower calls their banner to war,” she wore a green dress to Rhaenyra’s wedding to signal her allegiance to her house over her husband’s and as a call to arms, and since then, she wore GREEN EVERYDAY, but now that the war that she’s been instigating for 16 years pops off, she suddenly wants to wear blue, fuck off to the forest, and pretend like it’s not what she wanted. I truly can’t stand her mosquitamuerta ass.

"mosquitamuerta" -- I searched it up, means someone who 's doing something shady but makes themselves look innocent and not responsible for it.

Yeah, that's my other issue with Alicent. I have said several times how the green dress moment made no sense for several reasons[twitter, this one more about how she would never have chosen that particular dress], Alicent of episodes 6-7 show a "warring" Alicent. It's not just that she would never choose to wear that dress and not for the color, but it's that the writers nullified Alicent's whole arc of her becoming a true direct and rounded threat towards the blacks when we get to the 8th episode.

Or maybe they were forced to nullify it and make nothing of it after episode 7 bc they erroneously positioned the conservative "rebel". Or that it inevitably fell apart.

There is a huge difference b/t bk!Rhaenyra wearing her black dress in clear, broadcasted self-affirming defiance to the woman who is trying to get her removed from her position using her gender against her VS show!Alicent "rebelling" because Rhaenyra refused to endanger herself and tell the truth about her, Cole, & Daemon. Rhaenyra was not complying to those sexist calls made by both fans AND those who had to have been at court & went closer to the queen's party for her to just give up. This is itself a knock against patriarchy.

Whereas with show!Alicent--though yes she is clearly trying to convey she won't try to fit herself into the Targaryen family, work for the royal family's interests more, make herself more "Targ"--it is also true that she ends up still trying to genuinely [key word] trying to make Viserys comfortable, make herself his perfect wife, follow what she thinks was his wishes (and I'm talking about before he died and after episode 5), etc.. She, unlike red-black-dress-bk!Rhaenyra, is still sincerely trying to abide by the patriarchal feudal status quo's principles of wifely obedience/solicitation to punch down on Rhaenyra, the "rebel". Thus, yeah, Alicent's green dress moment just transitions into the downward spiral she vaults herself on.

It would have made way more sense for Alicent to confront Otto, the person who actually ruined her life by pimping her out to Viserys. No, she is in a repressed delusion and probably would never, but that's exactly my point--this moment is supposed to be a clarifying moment where we the viewer/reader see who has been the victim, who the harasser, who the protagonist, who the antagonist, who the beleaguered, who the harasser. Giving that to the woman who will unfairly abuse Rhaenyra for basically not complying with an abusive system as perfectly as she should is self defeating, opposite of what this story is about, and discourages female self assertion through a distortion and using a token woman to do that job for you. Look, it's a woman doing this, and a terribly abused woman, too, she has to be right! Rhaenyra is the one who should have "done her duty" and not lie to Alicent! Meanwhile, Alicent's father is trying to get Rhaenyra removed and Alicent, back in episode 3, did not tell Rhaenyra that Otto is basically forcing her to visit Viserys and become his wife. No, Alicent was telling her to not mind the political plots of the men, or mind men's business when Rhaenyra is heir (and must concern herself w/politics!) AND Otto is one of those Rhaenyra has to watch out for but Alicent is actively preventing her from doing so!! And not even purposefully, which does not make her impressive, but sad. Which isn't fun and a total downgrade from her orig self.

...Plus, Rhaenyra of the show didn't even understand wtf Alicent was doing with the green dress bc on her end she still thinks Alicent doesn't know bc Alicent has not let anyone know what Cole said to her...by contrast, it is likely that bk!Alicent understood Rhaenyra's message in her wearing the black dress at her anniversary.

That moment of episode 5 was peak gaslighting, male gaze, & manipulation.

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Good Golly Miss Amazon Molly!

The Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa) is a species of fish found only in the Tuxpan River, the Rio Grande, and the Nueces River in northern Mexico and the southern United States. Within these rivers, P. formosa typically prefers slower moving streams and ditches with plenty of vegetation, and are usually found in freshwater systems.

Amazon mollies are rather small and plain. The body is teardrop-shaped, and adults only grow up to 10 cm (3 in) long. They are mainly silver in color, although they may have rows of small, light brown spots running down their sides. In addition, some individuals may have black spots along their dorsal and tail fins.

Like most other mollies, the Amazon molly is an omnivore. They may feed on algae, seaweed, insects, and mosquito larvae. In turn, they themselves can be prey for larger aquatic insects like giant water bugs, other fishes, alligators, frogs, egrets and herons, and racoons. To avoid predators, P. formosa tends to stay in groups where it is less easy to be singled out.

Perhaps the most interesting feature of the Amazon molly are its reproductive habits. This species is entirely female, and reproduces via a process called gynogenesis. First, females are courted by males from other molly species such as P. latipinna, P. mexicana, P. latipunctata, or P. sphenops. Mating triggers the release of eggs, but the male's sperm is destroyed before it can fertilize them. Instead, the male gets the advantage of increased attractiveness to females of their own species, as these females are more likely to mate with males that have already mated with P. formosa.

After mating, the female broods her eggs for 30-40 days. She then gives live birth to anywhere from 60 to 100 fry, which are all clones of their mother. These young recieve no further parental care, but are fairly independent and are fully capable of reproduction after about 1-6 months, depending on the temperature of the water; warmer waters increase the rate of maturity. Individuals can live anywhere from 1-3 years in the wild.

Conservation status: the IUCN considers the Amazon molly to be Least Concern. However, one of the species that are used to trigger reproduction, the broadspotted molly (Poecilia latipunctata) is Critically Endangered. Primary threats to the Amazon molly include habitat degradation or loss due to construction and damming.

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Photos

Dr. Manfred Schartl

[reasonsforhope]

Note: Reasons to Be Cheerful has had weirdly huge formatting issues for the past six or so months, so if that version is a mess, this link should work better.

"Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), the Sunshine State’s largest power utility, employs all the people you might expect: electricians, lineworkers, mechanical engineers — and a few you might not. For over 40 years, the company has kept a team of wildlife biologists on staff. Their task? Monitoring the giant carnivorous reptiles that reside in one of the state’s nuclear power plants. 

Saving the American Crocodile

What sounds like a low-budget creature feature is actually a wildly successful conservation story. It goes like this: In 1975, the shy and reclusive American crocodile was facing extinction. Over-hunting and habitat decline caused by encroaching development had pushed its numbers to a record low. By 1975, when it was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, there were only 200 to 300 left. 

Three years later, in 1978, workers at the Turkey Point nuclear power plant in Homestead, Florida happened upon something that must have made them gasp: a crocodile nest along one of the plant’s 5,900-acre “cooling canals.” Rather than drive the crocs away — perhaps the easiest solution — FPL hired a team of biologists and implemented a Crocodile Management Plan. Its goal was unconventional: provide a suitable habitat for the crocs within the workings of the nuclear power plant, allowing both to coexist.  

Over the course of the next 30 years, FPL’s wildlife biologists monitored nests, tagged hatchlings and generally created a hospitable environment for the reptiles. As it turned out, the plant’s cooling canals provided an ideal habitat: drained earth that never floods on which to lay eggs directly adjacent to water. Over the years, more and more crocs made the cooling canals home. By 1985, the nests at Turkey Point were responsible for 10 percent of American crocodile hatchlings in South Florida. In 2007, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service downgraded the American crocodile’s status from endangered to threatened, singling out FPL for its efforts. 

The program continues to this day. To date, biologists have tagged some 7,000 babies born at the plant. In 2021, there were a record-setting 565 crocodile hatchlings at the Turkey Point facility. 

"Reconciliation Ecology"

Turkey Point’s efforts are an example of what is known in the conservation world as “reconciliation ecology.” Rather than create separate areas where nature or animals can thrive in isolation from humans, reconciliation ecology suggests that we can blend the rich natural world with the world of human activity. Michael Rosenzweig, an emeritus professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona, was a leading force in establishing this concept. The author of Win-Win Ecology: How the Earth’s Species can Survive in the Midst of Human Enterprise, Rosenzweig has pointed out that although human encroachment has typically been considered a threat to biodiversity, the notion that the world must be either “holy” or “profane,” ecologically speaking, is simply not true.  

“In addition to its primary value as a conservation tool, reconciliation ecology offers a valuable social byproduct,” writes Rosenzweig in his first chapter. “It promises to reduce the endless bickering and legal wrangling that characterize environmental issues today.”

-via Reasons to Be Cheerful, May 5, 2022. Article continues below. All headings added by me for added readability.

Dr. Madhusudan Katti, an associate professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources at North Carolina State University, was inspired by Rosenzweig when he did his postdoc at Arizona State. Katti has now been in the field of reconciliation ecology for two decades and teaches classes on the subject. “To me it’s finding solutions to reconciling human development with biodiversity conservation,” Katti says.

This common ground between development and conservation can be consciously planned, like FPL managing a crocodile habitat at a nuclear power plant or the state-sponsored vertical gardens and commercial farms on high-rise buildings in Singapore. Other examples include the restoration of the coral reef around an undersea restaurant in Eilat, Israel, or recent legislation in New York City requiring patterned glass on high-rise buildings, making windows more visible to migratory birds. Other planned examples of reconciliation ecology can be more individually scaled: a rooftop garden in an urban setting, modifying your garden to earn a “backyard bird habitat” certification from the Audubon Society, or even just mowing your lawn less often...

Reconciliation Ecology: Nature's Already Doing It Without Us

But there are countless examples of “accidental” incidents of reconciliation ecology, as well. One of Katti’s favorites is the kit fox of California’s San Joaquin Valley. “The kit fox was one of the very first species listed on the Endangered Species Act,” Katti says. Its decline was caused by habitat loss through agricultural and industrial development, as well as the extermination of the gray wolf population, which led to an increase in coyotes. So kit foxes adapted and moved to new habitats. One of these was the city of Bakersfield, California.

“Bakersfield, surrounded by oil pumps, would be the last place you’d expect to find an endangered species,” Katti says. But researchers think kit foxes have migrated to Bakersfield because they actually have more protection there from predators like coyotes and bobcats. “The kit foxes have figured out that if they can tolerate the human disturbance and live with people, then they are safer from all these other predators,” he says. 

Living in the city has led to some interesting behavioral changes. In the wild, for instance, a female kit fox gives birth to her young and raises them by herself in a den. But in the city, researchers have observed multiple females raising their litters together in the same den. “It’s like a form of cooperative breeding,” Katti says. “That wouldn’t happen in the wild.” ...

The Big Picture: How We Think about Conservation

Reconciliation Ecology isn’t just we humans welcoming animals like crocodiles and foxes into our environments, though. It’s also living with nature in a way that most Western societies haven’t done since the Enlightenment. “In recent years, there’s been a recognition that the ‘fortress conservation’ model — keeping nature separated from humans and not thinking of or valuing human-inhabited landscapes — those ideas are outdated,” says Katti.

In fact, in Katti’s classes on reconciliation ecology, he embraces the notion of reconnecting people with their land if they have been unjustly separated from it. “The term reconciliation also applies to all the colonial legacies where both nature and people have been harmed,” Katti says. “For Indigenous communities, the harm done to ecosystems, it’s happened together. So you can talk about addressing both. That’s where a lot of my thinking is at the moment.” 

A hopeful version of this sort of reconciliation is happening in California where colleagues of Katti’s who are tribal members are re-introducing “tribal burns” in some areas. Controlled burns have been a part of many Indigenous cultures for millenia, both as a way to prevent devastating forest fires, but also to encourage the growth of certain plants like hazel that are used for basket-weaving and other crafts. 

“The notion that people don’t belong there and ‘let nature take care of itself’ doesn’t really work,” Katti says. “That’s the legacy of Western European Enlightenment thinking — a divide between human and nature. That is a real faulty view of nature. People have been part of the ecosystem forever.”

-via Reasons to Be Cheerful, May 5, 2022