With time, Lakhi’s age caught up with her, and she showed signs of slowing down, old injuries got inflamed and she seemed to prefer resting against the mud beds in her enclosure
With time, Lakhi’s age caught up with her, and she showed signs of slowing down, old injuries got inflamed and she seemed to prefer resting against the mud beds in her enclosure. Late Saturday evening on the 3rd of March, she seemed more weary than usual, and even as her knees buckled under her, Asha and Coco rushed to her side to support her. Asha appeared calm and strong, as if she knew in her own way that this was it – Coco panicked initially, rushing about and running circles around her fallen friend. The team rushed in, the crane was called in to lift her back to her feet and support her – the elephants moved aside and watched, Asha touching them gently as they huddled together. They stood back as the team tried to get her back to her feet, even the younger elephants seemed uncharacteristically calm. Maybe they knew, maybe they realised it was time to let go and had their chance to say their goodbyes, and wanted to let her pass in peace. Lakhi resisted being lifted, as if she too knew her time had come. She let out her final breath and slumped down against the mud bed, eyes shut looking like she was completely at peace. As the team moved away, heartbroken, Asha rumbled loudly from where she was standing, but none of the elephants moved – Coco let out a small wail, and from every enclosure elephants responded softly with rumbles, trumpets and huffs all the way from the bulls to the closerby females like Phoolkali like an orchestra of calm, reassuring solidarity for their fallen friend.
Username: All_the_Best Published on 2024-12-24 11:53:18 ID NUMBER: 127760
Forest fires, set up by potential land-invaders, advancing quickly on the Amazon forested part of Fazenda São Marcelo, they were successfully contained later on, in this 11,000 hectares forested conservation/reserved area. Image credit: Rafael Hoogesteijn/Fernando Tortato/Panthera
The rapid loss of the Amazon rainforest concerns the world, but the latest facts and figures are not encouraging. Implementing sound conservation strategies to protect the Amazon's umbrella species, the jaguars could be one of the ways to bring about positive change. Panthera scientists suggest strict monitoring of the rainforest's jaguar population and costly conservation interventions in areas with the greatest number of jaguars. They also recommend creating more protected areas, reducing meat consumption, promoting beef and wood certification, and improving cattle production.
Orcas have evolved to swim as far as 40 miles in one day to forage for food, exercise, and socialize. In addition to swimming, killer whales will dive several times per day to depths of 100 to 500 feet below the water's surface. They are naturally inclined to travel far and dive deep, which is part of the reason killer whales often struggle in captivity, where tanks can't grant the same range and the mammals sometimes develop boredom and stress due to repetitive activities.
Mothers carry their babies in utero for a 17-month gestation period, and they give birth every three to 10 years until becoming menopausal around age 40. They are exceptionally protective of their offspring, and often adolescent females are recruited to assist in caring for calves. Mothers will nurse their babies for up to two years, forming a bond so strong that if a mother dies, the mortality rate of her sons increases. Orcas are some of the affected mammals in the ocean due to pollution, and the contaminants make their way into breastmilk, increasing the mortality rate of all young to 50% within the first year.
Killer whales hunt in pods, similar to a wolf pack, which is how they earned the moniker "wolves of the sea." A pod is a family group of up to 40 individual orcas and they prey on a variety on animals, using different techniques to capture them. While resident pods will focus on fish, transient pods are typically on the hunt for larger marine mammals.
Orcas work cooperatively to herd fish into a compact area where they're easier to consume. If they're after penguins, sea lions, or other animals on the surface, the killer whales will slap their tails on the water, creating a large wave that sends their prey off ice floes and within reach. Pods of orcas can take down something as large as a blue whale by surrounding it, then chasing and biting at the mammal until it weakens enough to be ripped apart and eaten.
As social creatures, orcas value sharing their hunt and females will share all the fish they catch with their offspring. Males, however, will only give away about 15% of their catch, typically shared with their mothers.
The distinct black-and-white patterning of the orca - back body, white underside, white patches above and behind the eyes, and a saddle patch behind the dorsal fin - serves a unique purpose. Creatures looking down on the killer whale, from a perch like an ice floe, may not see it because the black back will blend in with dark ocean waters. The white belly can camouflage into light streaming from the sky toward the sea, which also makes the orca difficult to pick out from beneath. The effect allows killer whales to sneak up on unsuspecting prey.
Orcas were named killer whales by ancient sailors, who observed pods of the mammal hunting down prey and taking out larger whales at sea. They were often called "whale killer," which eventually became "killer whale." However, the orca is not a whale at all, but is actually part of the dolphin family, Delphinidae. They are the only species in their specific genus, but are most closely related to dolphins from Australia and South East Asia.
The orca is an apex predator, meaning it's at the top of its food chain and has no immediate threat as one of the largest and most powerful aquatic animals. However, the species is still threatened by environmental concerns, such as fishing equipment discarded or lost at sea like nets that pose entanglement dangers, chemicals that don't break down in nature and become stored in the fatty tissue of the orcas when they digest contaminated food, and shock waves from underwater explosives or military sonar that can cause orca blood vessels to burst and hemorrhage.
As social animals, orcas rely on a system of communication tools to talk with members of their pods, navigate the ocean, and hunt. On the surface, they use body language like breaching, slapping their flippers or tail, or bringing their head out of the water. Each population of killer whales has its own unique language, developed over millions of years, and made up of a series of whistles, clicks, pulsed calls, low-frequency pops, and jaw claps made by forcing air through the nasal passages and amplifying the sound through the fatty area of their heads, commonly referred to as the melon. When receiving sound, the orca uses its jaw - sound waves from echolocution travel from the jaw to the inner ear and then to the brain, where a detailed image is created. Their echolocution is considered the most powerful and most sophisticated of any animal.
Forest fires, set up by potential land-invaders, advancing quickly on the Amazon forested part of Fazenda São Marcelo, they were successfully contained later on, in this 11,000 hectares forested conservation/reserved area. Image credit: Rafael Hoogesteijn/Fernando Tortato/Panthera
The rapid loss of the Amazon rainforest concerns the world, but the latest facts and figures are not encouraging. Implementing sound conservation strategies to protect the Amazon's umbrella species, the jaguars could be one of the ways to bring about positive change. Panthera scientists suggest strict monitoring of the rainforest's jaguar population and costly conservation interventions in areas with the greatest number of jaguars. They also recommend creating more protected areas, reducing meat consumption, promoting beef and wood certification, and improving cattle production.
Orcas have evolved to swim as far as 40 miles in one day to forage for food, exercise, and socialize. In addition to swimming, killer whales will dive several times per day to depths of 100 to 500 feet below the water's surface. They are naturally inclined to travel far and dive deep, which is part of the reason killer whales often struggle in captivity, where tanks can't grant the same range and the mammals sometimes develop boredom and stress due to repetitive activities.
Mothers carry their babies in utero for a 17-month gestation period, and they give birth every three to 10 years until becoming menopausal around age 40. They are exceptionally protective of their offspring, and often adolescent females are recruited to assist in caring for calves. Mothers will nurse their babies for up to two years, forming a bond so strong that if a mother dies, the mortality rate of her sons increases. Orcas are some of the affected mammals in the ocean due to pollution, and the contaminants make their way into breastmilk, increasing the mortality rate of all young to 50% within the first year.
Killer whales hunt in pods, similar to a wolf pack, which is how they earned the moniker "wolves of the sea." A pod is a family group of up to 40 individual orcas and they prey on a variety on animals, using different techniques to capture them. While resident pods will focus on fish, transient pods are typically on the hunt for larger marine mammals.
Orcas work cooperatively to herd fish into a compact area where they're easier to consume. If they're after penguins, sea lions, or other animals on the surface, the killer whales will slap their tails on the water, creating a large wave that sends their prey off ice floes and within reach. Pods of orcas can take down something as large as a blue whale by surrounding it, then chasing and biting at the mammal until it weakens enough to be ripped apart and eaten.
As social creatures, orcas value sharing their hunt and females will share all the fish they catch with their offspring. Males, however, will only give away about 15% of their catch, typically shared with their mothers.
The distinct black-and-white patterning of the orca - back body, white underside, white patches above and behind the eyes, and a saddle patch behind the dorsal fin - serves a unique purpose. Creatures looking down on the killer whale, from a perch like an ice floe, may not see it because the black back will blend in with dark ocean waters. The white belly can camouflage into light streaming from the sky toward the sea, which also makes the orca difficult to pick out from beneath. The effect allows killer whales to sneak up on unsuspecting prey.
Orcas were named killer whales by ancient sailors, who observed pods of the mammal hunting down prey and taking out larger whales at sea. They were often called "whale killer," which eventually became "killer whale." However, the orca is not a whale at all, but is actually part of the dolphin family, Delphinidae. They are the only species in their specific genus, but are most closely related to dolphins from Australia and South East Asia.
The orca is an apex predator, meaning it's at the top of its food chain and has no immediate threat as one of the largest and most powerful aquatic animals. However, the species is still threatened by environmental concerns, such as fishing equipment discarded or lost at sea like nets that pose entanglement dangers, chemicals that don't break down in nature and become stored in the fatty tissue of the orcas when they digest contaminated food, and shock waves from underwater explosives or military sonar that can cause orca blood vessels to burst and hemorrhage.
As social animals, orcas rely on a system of communication tools to talk with members of their pods, navigate the ocean, and hunt. On the surface, they use body language like breaching, slapping their flippers or tail, or bringing their head out of the water. Each population of killer whales has its own unique language, developed over millions of years, and made up of a series of whistles, clicks, pulsed calls, low-frequency pops, and jaw claps made by forcing air through the nasal passages and amplifying the sound through the fatty area of their heads, commonly referred to as the melon. When receiving sound, the orca uses its jaw - sound waves from echolocution travel from the jaw to the inner ear and then to the brain, where a detailed image is created. Their echolocution is considered the most powerful and most sophisticated of any animal.
