Good News for Wild Animals

Wild animals made headlines in several places today. 

Here in Ontario, the Community Safety Minister, Madeleine Meilleur, announced changes to protect animals. These include more money and power for the OSPCA (Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), inspections of all zoos and aquariums in the province, and specific guidelines for the care of marine mammals, like the whales and dolpins in marine parks. This will mean that the provinces' 60 zoos and aquariums will be inspected regularly and will need to be registered. Learn more about these changes in the Toronto Star

In the east coast of Canada, the mayors of Atlantic Canada announced that they want that their government to make some new rules about how and where exotic animals are kept. This is in reaction to a terrible tragedy in which 2 young boys were killed by a snake, an African rock python, when they were sleeping in an apartment about a pet store in Campbelton, New Brunswick. Learn more about this issue at CBCNews

And outside of Canada the Government of England has made a decision to ban the use of all wild animals in circuses. The ban will be fully in effect by the end of 2015.  Many leading charities and animal welfare organizations worked together to speak out against wild animals being used in circuses. Wild animals in circuses live in very unnatural environments and endure constant travelling and cramped temporary cages. Learn more about this exciting news in the Express

Toronto Elephants Are on the Move!

Thika, Toka and Iringa, the three elephants from the Toronto Zoo are now on the road, heading for a new chapter in their life at an elephant sanctuary in California. Yesterday, after a long day of waiting for the journey to begin, the elephants were finally loaded onto two trucks, and left the zoo around 10:30. The elephants are doing well on their journey so far. To follow their trip, check out the CBC coverage. And stay tuned to the fifth estate on Friday October 25th to see the full documentary of the elephant trek. 

Gorilla Trackers

Our newest workshop is up and running, available for bookings for the 2013-2014 school year. The workshop is designed to enrich and enhance the grade 3 curriculum on Plants. Gorillas are herbivores and eat over 50 different species of plants. Some of their favourites are wild celery, thistles, and bamboo shoots. But their plant-based diet isn't the only thing students will get to discover. Students will find out what to pack for a trip to the jungle, and whether any of the items are made from plants. And they'll get a chance to find out what gorilla researchers study in the forest - dung! Students will measure, weigh, and dissect gorilla dung, and learn about the crucial role of the gorilla in seed dispersal. 

They'll also get a chance to discover how gorillas use plants not just for food, but for shelter, tools, and more. And of course they'll learn some of the threats that gorillas face, and some great tips about how to take action to help gorillas! 

Keep It Wild is back in the classroom!

Our animal-themed workshops are back in the classroom for the 2013-2014 school year, and our blog is back too, after a bit of a hiatus! Today the first workshop of the new school year was delivered, our Awesome Orcas workshop for grade 4's.

During one of our discussions about how orcas live and communicate within their family pods, several students referred to individual whales as people.  When India put a ban on the import and capture of cetaceans (whales and dolphins) for entertainment this past summer, they released a statement noting that dolphins [and whales] are highly intelligent and should be considered 'non-human persons'. The idea of a non-human person seems like a concept that scientists, lawyers and ethicists might be discussing, but it seems that nine-year-olds are also more than capable of considering the idea of a person who is of a different species.

The grade 4's also learned about orcas in captivity, including Kiska, an orca who has been living without the companionship of another whale since 2011 at Marineland in Niagra Falls.  Learn more about Kiska and Marineland through this series of  Toronto Star articles. 

Photograph of Kiska by JoAnne McArthur We Animals