A Polar Bear in Mexico?

Imagine being adapted to life in the Arctic, and living in a tropical climate instead. This is the situation Yupi the polar bear faces. Yupi is eighteen years old, and lives at the Morelia Zoo in Mexico, where the average daily high temperature is over 20 degrees Celcius year round. But the climate is not the only challenge Yupi faces. Her enclosure is small, barren, lacks shade, and is made entirely of concrete. You can learn more about Yupi's plight at:    http://www.saveyupi.com/

Do you want to try and make a difference in Yupi's life? You can join a campaign to get Yupi moved to a more appropriate northern climate, in an enclosure that has a natural substrate, things to do, and room to move. Write a letter to the Zoo Director at:

Parque Zoologico Benito Juarez
Calzada Juarez S/N, Col. Felix Ireta
C.P. 58070, Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico

If you are a part of a classroom in Toronto and would like to participate in a workshop about polar bears, check out our Keep It Wild website at: http://www.keepitwildeducation.com/

SOS - Save Our Sharks

    SAVE OUR SHARKS, SAVE OUR SEAS

Did you know that sharks kill fewer than 5 people annually, but humans kill 100 million sharks each year? One reason that so many sharks are killed is for shark-fin soup. This fishing practise involves catching a shark, cutting off its fins while its still alive, and dumping the shark back in the ocean, still alive!

Sharks are top predators, and play an important role in ocean ecosystems.  Sharks are at risk of extinction, but you can help them by trying to put an end to shark finning. If you want to help wild animals, start today by signing a petition to encourage Toronto to vote YES on a shark fin ban in Toronto. Find the petition and more information at : http://www.torontolovessharks.com/ 

Postcards from Parkdale

Check out these amazing postcards made by grade 1 students at Parkdale PS. They took part in a Keep It Wild workshop this past spring, and joined the campaign to help Lucy the Elephant.


 


 Here are some of the things the students wrote in their campaign postcards:

"Lucy needs a home and a bigger place to live and eat and she needs a family." - Katelyn

"Lucy needs more elephants to play with."  -Nyima

"Lucy needs a family because she looks sad and she needs more space." - Carlos

"Lucy needs a family because she looks alone. I think you have to find her family." - Riya

"Lucy needs more space and a warmer place like Asia. Lucy needs a family." - Rahul

"Can you help Lucy? Lucy needs a home that is bigger and warmer." - David

Way to go Parkdale! Thanks for your taking the time to draw and write postcards to help Lucy. If your class takes part in a campaign to help wild animals, make sure to let us know, and we'll post it on the blog.

Lucy the Elephant


 Lucy is a female Asian elephant captured from the wild in Sri Lanka when she was just a baby. She was shipped to the Edmonton Valley Zoo in 1977, where she remains today.


 Elephants in captivity require very large spaces, complex natural terrain, pasture, lots of things to do, other elephants to socialize with, and a warm climate. Unfortunately Lucy's life at the Valley Zoo is deficient in many respects.

Female elephants spend their entire lives in relatively stable family groups. They need to have friends and be around others of their own kind. But Lucy lives alone at the Valley Zoo. She has no elephant family or friends and is currently one of only a few elephants living alone in North American zoos.

Elephants have amazing adaptations that allow them to cope with hot climates. However, the Valley Zoo is located in Edmonton, and its weather is very different from the tropical climate of Sri Lanka where Lucy came from. During cold weather Lucy is kept inside a cement-floored barn, as well as at night when the zoo is closed.    

You can learn more about Lucy's story at http://www.savelucy.ca/

If you have suggestions or ideas about how to make life better for Lucy, like moving her to a different facility that has other elephants and a warmer climate, you can share them with the Zoo Director at denise.prefontaine@edmonton.ca.