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Conservation - Blog Posts
i just hope you all know that i love raccoons a lot. i would die for a raccoon i never met. the only reason i would ever be a vet is to help raccoons and other Tennessee native wildlife. and i fully believe i was born in this stupid red state JUST BECAUSE the state animal is a raccoon and i was put here to help them. middle tn is being rapidly industiralized and i hate these stupid outlet malls and stupid condos THAT NO ONE CAN EVEN AFFORD BTW that are stealing wild life’s homes. and they made my water hella hard and gives me dry skin :3
i just really love raccoons guys-
Fight AI and Protect Endangered Cozumel Raccoons!
Remaking this post with better info on how you can help the critically endangered Cozumel raccoon from your own home by BULLYING AI INTO SUBMISSION.
The issue: There is a critically endangered species of raccoon known as the Cozumel/pygmy raccoon. Among a shitload of other threats, the Cozumel raccoon also has to deal with the fact nobody knows it exists. This issue has gotten worse with Google's new "AI Search Overviews." Unfortunately, when people search things like "Mexican raccoons" or "What species of raccoons are in Mexico," all the results show coatis. Which are not raccoons (they are more closely related to Olingos.) Mexico actually has two species of raccoon, the common raccoon (Procyon lotor) and the Cozumel raccoon (Procyon pygmaeus.) If people can't even find the Cozumel raccoon on google without using the actual species name, how tf are folks supposed to know they are endangered and need help?
Anyway, here is a way you can fight back against Google's bullshit AI and search algorithms that are limiting pygmy raccoon conservation efforts:
Method 1: Report Incorrect Google AI Overview Results
1. Google phrases like “Mexican raccoons,” “what species of raccoon are in Mexico," "types of raccoons in Mexico," “what kind of raccoons live in Mexico," etc.
2. If coatis appear instead of actual raccoons in the Google AI Overview, scroll to the bottom and click the thumbs down.
3. Click “Report a problem”
4. Click “Not Factually Correct” or "Unhelpful."
5. Type something along the lines of: “Mexican raccoons are not coatis. The two raccoon species in Mexico are the common raccoon, Procyon lotor and the critically endangered pygmy raccoon/Cozumel raccoon (Procyon pygmaeus)” or "Bro, I searched for raccoons, this is a coati. Show me the raccoons."
6. Click “Include a screen capture” and submit.
Method 2: Report Individual Search Results
Find any search result that refer to coatis as Mexican raccoons
2. Click the three dots next to the listing.
3. Scroll right and click “Feedback.”
4. Select “Inaccurate content” or "Irrelevant content." Again, whatever floats your boat.
5. Explain the error by typing something like I mentioned above.
6. Click “Include screenshot.”
7. Submit your report.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP!!!!
For more information about the pygmy raccoon and the threats they face, feel free to visit my site here! I still have a lot of work to do there, but that is where I will be posting updates about my research as well.
Also, if you are interested in learning more about how AI is impacting wildlife conservation issues, I actually have two youtube videos about the topic! How AI is Hurting Critically Endangered Mexican Raccoons (And How You Can Help)
You've Been Lied to About Canadian Marble Foxes
Studio - Home Office Inspiration for a small contemporary built-in desk with yellow walls, a wood stove, and a metal fireplace in a home studio with a gray ceiling and wall paneling.
Everything is interconnected in ways that are unimaginably complex. I see this in my reading and in my observations of nature. Because of this I am starting to think that plant sameness both contributes to and is contributed to by animal sameness, especially birds.
Lots of invasive plant species in my area are spread by birds. But which kinds of birds? I'm not sure if we know.
But the species of birds which feed upon the berries of the invasive species, are likely to be highly abundant in the areas overtaken by the invasive species, spreading a larger number of seeds of invasive species into the other areas those birds go. When the high density of invasive plants excludes other birds, it causes even greater density and exclusionary capacity of the invasive species, and even more favorable conditions to the birds that feed upon them.
So basically, when plant sameness reduces the number of animal species (and fungus species) that can survive, and when this plant sameness is repeatedly reinforced through management of the landscape, it can start to perpetuate itself through the animal sameness that was created
What this suggests to me, is that there may be a critical threshold of fragmentation and destruction of habitat where invasive species removal by itself is pointless or worse, because the larger-scale landscape has too much plant sameness and animal sameness for native species to come back.
What to do...? Maybe choose plantings for the restored area specifically for vigorous dispersal and high seed and fruit production?
Native, quasi-native and cultivated food plants could all be appropriate, because the goal is to attract the dispersers that cannot survive in the invasive species monoculture environment and redirect dispersers that previously relied on invasive species for food.
This facilitates dispersal of plants between the newly planted restoration and other habitat fragments that can support non-monocultured wildlife.
A reminder: if you were taught that mosquitoes in general are useless to the environment and could be eliminated “without consequence”, then you were taught incorrectly. People still regularly comment this silly notion on my posts with absolute confidence. Our goal is reducing risk to humans, NOT eliminating the dangerous animal altogether.
You don’t have to like irritating, gross, or dangerous animals (most people do not), but if you are ever arguing for the extinction of an entire animal species try to remember the natural world is unfathomably complex in ways none of us can predict.
Victorian Entry Example of a mid-sized ornate foyer design
Sadly yes. Also russians killing endangered animals in nature reserves and posing with their "hunting trophies"... I wish i was making it up... Anywhere an agressive imperialist barbarian goes... he doesn`t respect humans, so why should he respect nature?
As well as intense human suffering, Russia’s attack has had a catastrophic effect on the environment. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), more than 3m hectares of forest have been affected, including 1m hectares in protected areas. Russian troops have dug trenches, felled trees and planted countless mines. Fires caused by shells have increased CO2 emissions. Giant clouds of smoke can be seen billowing next to a 600-mile-long frontline.
Some of this destruction is accidental. But there have also been extraordinary acts of large-scale Russian sabotage. In June 2023 the Russian military blew up the Kakhovka reservoir to thwart a Ukrainian counter-offensive. The explosion released more than 14 cubic kilometres (14tn litres) of water, flooded dozens of settlements downstream and killed at least 35 people. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said it was a “deliberate and calculated crime”.
The flood killed animals and swept away a fish farm that was trying to restore endangered sturgeon to the Dnipro River. Unique species were lost. In August 2024 there was another ecological disaster when suspected Russian soldiers dumped chemicals from the Russian border village of Tyotkino into the Seym River. The pollution crossed the international border nearby and made its way into Ukraine’s north-eastern Sumy region. The Seym’s ecosystem crashed.
Ukrainians agree that the damage caused by Russia to the environment cannot be easily fixed. Dr Bohdan Vykhor, the executive director of WWF Ukraine, said: “We have lost some parts of nature for ever. It’s impossible to return. It’s objective reality, unfortunately.” Vykhor said it would take many decades and “tremendous effort” to de-mine Ukraine, one of the most densely mined countries in the world. “Until fighting stops, we can’t begin. It’s dangerous,” he said.
The war has destroyed many important habitats for wildlife. Several rare species have suffered, including the red-listed marbled polecat. The Kakhovka flood washed away its breeding areas, Vykhor said, adding: “We can’t say if these creatures still exist in Ukraine.” Meanwhile, Russian soldiers have built military camps on coastal reserves and crucial wetlands used by birds along the Black Sea. The elusive black stork has changed its spring migration route, Vykhor said.
Pasture burning season in the flint hills of Kansas. Love this time of year
Cape Town was on the verge of running out of water. The South African city of 3.7 million people had suffered years of drought. But after nearly running dry earlier this year, the reservoirs are now rising thanks to rain, conservation efforts, and engineering fixes.
The city’s largest reservoir—Theewaterskloof—holds 40 percent of Cape Town’s water storage capacity, so it's a good barometer for the amount of water available. Natural-color images, captured by Landsat 8, show the change in water levels at Theewaterskloof between July 22, 2017, and July 9, 2018.
Read more HERE.
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Hey, guess what? There's this really cool type of wetland. Like, really cool. It's called a vernal pool. You know what makes them different from other wetlands? They'll DRY UP during the summer and fill up again with snow melt and spring rains. A lot of really cool species of animals, like frogs, salamanders, and shrimp, need this type of wetland to survive and reproduce as they need waters that don't have fish in them. We call them obligate species. You know what vernal pools don't have? Fish. You know why? Because they dry up! Ain't that cool?
But you wanna know the sad thing about vernal pools? Some of them are big, but most of them are really small. Some of them can be so small that you can't even tell if they're a vernal pool or just a really big puddle. So they end up getting destroyed really easily. You know why else they get destroyed easily? Even if they are big, if they're not in a database as a vernal pool and they're all dried up, it's really hard to tell that there's a vernal pool right there. California's already lost 90% of it's vernal pools. Not sure about New England and the Midwest, but those three areas are the only places you'll find them in the US. At least in large quantities.
Did you know those obligate species, the amphibians, anyway, have to return to their original pool to reproduce? A lot of them will hazard any trouble just to get back, including roads. Did you know that the destruction of vernal pools not only destroys the pool but also the biodiversity and food source of the surrounding terrestrial habitat?
Just some cool things to think about! If you know of a vernal pool in your area, maybe try and make sure it has its proper protections? Your state's DEP should have a list, hopefully. Your local biodiversity and amphibian friends will thank you!
Happy spring Happy spring Happy spring Happy spring
today my wisdom is: the ecological crisis of our planet is not a thing that will Suddenly destroy us sometime in the next century—it has taken decades of continuous work for our biosphere to be preserved thus far, and it will take decades more of continuous work to continue preserving it.
The apocalypse is not a single event hovering in the future bearing down on us while we sit helplessly. We are at least 150 years into an ongoing "apocalypse."
Things will continue to steadily get worse without steady action, but "augh! it's already too late to stop climate change and mass extinctions!" is specifically the worst response
Medium in Kent Mid-sized farmhouse sunroom design idea
Malayan Tapirs 5-6-23
Hell is a place where you have to draw a tapir’s head at ¾ view.
I didn’t end up drawing any baby tapirs, but it's important for you all to know they have markings like a watermelon.
My boy screaming at god.
I'll be posting some backlog cuz why not- this is a sketch I finished like a month ago but the original sketches were from 1-2 years ago. Thylacines are really goofy looking, basically Kangaroos but with dog configuration.
DOGE just froze funding to vital Federal and Indigenous conservation programs devoted to supporting the very delicate and tenuous existence of the black-footed ferret.
I fell in love with these animals as a kid traveling to our National Parks. Their rarity and ferocity made me sharply aware, even as a child, of just how much of a responsibility we have toward our environment. I can't bear the thought of them being a fucking casualty of Trump and Musk.
Look at them! They do war dances.
can we get a post going of environmental/conservation progress lately (especially outside of the USA). it can feel so defeating and it’s easy to burn out when you’re surrounded by all the negatives
Who was Marjory Stoneman Douglas?
It is Women’s History Month and we would be remiss if we did not discuss one of the most iconic women in the environmental sciences: Marjory Stoneman Douglas. Marjory’s work in conservation was so impactful she was inducted into several halls of fame, awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and has several institutions now named after her. But just what did Marjory do to earn these honors?
Born in 1890, Marjory Stoneman was a suffragette and an environmental advocate. She became a Miami resident in 1915 when there were under 5,000 people there. From there she would dabble in several different careers in The Miami Herald, the Navy, and as a freelance writer. All of these experiences would cumulate to her writing her book: The Everglades:River of Grass. This book was a pivoting point for the way people viewed the Florida Everglades and its importance. The impact of this book is often compared to Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring.
Her research and writing motivated people like never before to not just see the value in the Everglades, but to protect it from impending real estate development. She is part of the reason the Everglades is now a national park. Her work to protect the Everglades and its conservation continued well into her later years until she died at the age of 108 in 1998.
Two South Florida public schools are named in her honor: Broward County Public Schools’ Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ Marjory Stoneman Douglas Elementary School.
Art and nature go hand-in-hand more often than people think. Previous artist in residence, Jan Kolenda, came out to touch up our tortoise statue. This statue highlights some important tortoise features such as their leathery skin that is adapted to crawling across land, their dome shaped shells, and the scutes that make up their shell.
Decline of the Everglades Snail Kite
The Everglades Snail Kite is a hallmark of Florida wildlife. Found in central and south Florida, this magnificent bird of prey thrives in swampy, wetland habitats (Audubon Society, 2020). Unfortunately the population of this seasoned hunter has dropped at an alarming rate.
The Everglades, a vital habitat to the Snail Kite, has been significantly reduced in size due to expanding infrastructure and construction of surrounding human populations (National Park Service, 2019). Fortuitously, organizations such as the Everglades Foundation have worked tirelessly throughout the years to restore and conserve the Everglades which is home to many of Florida’s unique species. (The Everglades Foundation, 2020).
But habitat loss is not the only struggle the Everglades Snail Kite faces. Their curved beaks are adapted specifically to feed on its namesake: Florida Apple Snails, or Pomacea paludosa. While there are several species of Apple Snails currently located in Florida, Pomacea paludosa is the native species of apple snail to Florida. There is some debate over whether local populations of the Florida Apple Snail may be a separate species from Pomacea paludosa (Schad, 2018), but we will only be referring to Pomacea paludosa for the purpose of this article.
One might think that the addition of new types of apple snails to Florida would mean the expansion of food for the Everglades Snail Kite, but that does not seem to be the case. Their beaks are so specifically adapted to the smaller, curved shells of the Pomacea paludosa, that the Everglades Snail Kite cannot use its beak successfully to feed on larger species of Apple Snails that are invading Florida wetlands. This poses another problem where the larger species of invasive apple snails are outcompeting and displacing the smaller Pomacea paludosa. The Everglades Snail Kite is facing food loss in addition to habitat loss.
But all is not lost. Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, located in Fort Pierce, Florida has successfully completed research on the practice of captive breeding the Florida Apple Snail with a long-term goal of finding ways to replenish wild populations of Pomacea paludosa (Garr, Amber, Helen Posch, Margaret McQuillan, Megan Davis, 2012). These practices, if safely regulated and approved, could be used to help replenish the population of the Everglades Snail Kite by providing it with more food. Regulations and controls are needed to ensure that captive populations would not introduce new bacteria, or diseases to wild populations.
The Everglades Snail Kite is not the only endangered species in Florida, but it is a wonderful example of how—when united—people have the chance to improve many environmental problems.
Audubon Society, 2020. The Everglades Snail Kite. Audubon Florida.
[https://fl.audubon.org/birds/everglade-snail-kite]
Schad, Morgan. 2018. The Discovery of a Forgotten Species in an Unexpected Location: Pomaceamiamiensis in Palm Beach County. Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College.
The Everglades Foundation, 2020. About. [https://www.evergladesfoundation.org/about]
Garr, Amber. Helen Posch. Margaret McQuillan. Megan Davis. 2012. Development of a captive breeding program for the Florida apple snail, Pomacea paludosa: Relaxation and sex ratio recommendations.
Aquaculture. Volume 370-371, Pages 166-171.
[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0044848612006163?via%3Dihub]
National Park Service. 2019. Restoration of Everglades National Park. U.S. Department of the Interior.
South Florida Natural Resources Center. Everglades National Park.
[https://www.nps.gov/ever/learn/nature/upload/RestorationFactSheet%20Lo%20Secure.pdf]
The Sawgrass Nature Center was notified via email today that we will be one of the many businesses featured on the Female-Founded Business Finder. This is a joint project between the Stacy’s Rise Project and the Hello Alice social business platform. The directory is featuring businesses run and founded by women. It can be found by scanning the QR Code on a bag of Stacy’s Pita Chips during the month of November or by clicking here: www.femalefounderfinder.com.
It is important for women to come together and support each other to close the gap between genders in leadership. We are proud to promote this business finder and other businesses of all backgrounds being run by women for women.
Friendly reminder that the Sawgrass Nature Center (legally Coral Springs Nature Center and Wildlife Hospital) is a non-profit, charitable organization that runs on donations and is dedicated to the conservation of wildlife and environmental stewardship. We rehabilitate and released injured, sick, or orphaned wildlife brought to us by the surrounding communities. We also provide a home to over 100 non-releasable animals due to permanent injuries or their non-native status. Our education department is responsible for organize on and offsite programming as well as developing a program to provide free educational and professional development resources to Title I schools in South Florida.
Feel free to check us out on our website, or like us on social media. We really appreciate the support :)
In honor of World Animal Day, the SNC is spotlighting our Eurasian Collared Dove, named Ginger. Ginger was rescued from a pet store that wanted to put him down because of his inability to stand up straight. When he came to the SNC, we found that he could stand perfectly when he was given a proper perching space.
Because Ginger is an exotic animal to Florida, we are not allowed to release him. Instead, he will live at the SNC with loving care takers as an Educational Ambassador.
The Sawgrass Nature Center is home to an aviary of recovering and permanent winged residents. This blue jay is one of the many that are to be soon as you walk through the surrounding enclosure.
It is Turtle Tuesday at the SNC with our Loggerhead Musk Turtle, Molly. Molly is a resident freshwater turtle that is used for many of our educational programs.
Loggerhead Musk Turtles (Sternotherus minor) are mostly carnivorous, but have also been known to munch on plants. Their jaws are strong enough to crack the shells of small snails, crayfish, insects, and mollusks.
They are found throughout the Southeast United States in a variety of clear, freshwater wetland areas.
Fun Fact: When threatened, musk turtles will release a foul smelling musk and bite with their powerful jaws.
Our resident adult gator, Wally, shows off her top row of teeth with a curvy smile. American Alligators are a common sight for Floridians. Whether they’re borrowing our pools, sharing our golf courses, or sunbathing at our favorite parks, alligators are just a normal part of Florida living. Remember the best thing to do when encountering a gator in the wild is to leave it alone and put a wide amount of space between you and it. If you encounter a large, threatening alligator, contact FWC’s gator hotline (866-392-4286).
This is a reminder that tortoises can NOT swim like other turtles. If tortoises are dropped in water, they will drown. You can tell the difference between a swimming turtle and a tortoise by looking at their feet. Turtles will have webbed feet that help them swim, or flippers. Tortoises do not have webbed feet.
Can beer help save the bees? Check out this neat article we found: https://learn.kegerator.com/hops-help-bees/
In honor of National Wildlife Day, we took out our native Florida gator for an educational program. Florida gators are considered a keystone species. That means they’re responsible for establishing an ecosystem/habitat for several other species of animals to inhabit as well. Without gators, Florida’s animal ecology would be in serious trouble.
Note: licensed and trained professionals are responsible for handling all wild animals. Please do not try this at home.