Near freezing temperatures and 20cm of snow couldn't stop nearly 2000 people from descending onto Parliament Hill for Idle No More!

Idle No More is an ongoing protest movement; which began in December 2012, originating among the Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprising the First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples and their non-Aboriginal supporters in Canada, and to a lesser extent, internationally.

It has consisted of a number of political actions worldwide, inspired in part by the liquid diet hunger strike of Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence and further coordinated via social media. A reaction to alleged legislative abuses of indigenous treaty rights by the Stephen Harper Conservative federal government, the movement takes particular issue with the recent omnibus bill Bill C-45.

The use of flash mobs performing round dances in shopping malls became a recurring theme of the protest during the pre- and post-Christmas shopping season in 2012. On December 17 a flash mob performed a round dance at the Cornwall Centre shopping mall in Regina.

The following day a similar flash mob round dance occurred at West Edmonton Mall. This tactic was also used at the Rideau Centre in Ottawa and St.Vital Centre in Winnipeg. It spread internationally with a similar protest at the Mall of America in Minnesota. Members of the Sandy Bay First Nation in Manitoba blocked the Trans-Canada Highway. Members of the Driftpile First Nation also blocked a road on December 18.


The group executed their second round dance flash mob in Saskatchewan on December 20, this time at Midtown Plaza in Saskatoon. Two thousand people filled the upper and lower levels of the mall for the 10-minute dance of the flash mob. Also on this day, organizers started gathering people around the Vimy war memorial on the Saskatoon riverbank. On December 27 an online source reported that there had been 100 protests in Canada to date
 Source : Wikipedia

While the removal of an animal from the federal endangered species list would normally be cause for celebration among environmentalists, a new report in the journal Conservation Letters asserted that a proposal by the Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the gray wolf from the list would have unintended negative consequences for other endangered species.

“The Fish and Wildlife Service is supposed to detail what the threats are and if they’re substantial enough, they’re supposed to list a species and put in place policies to mitigate the threats,” said report author Jeremy Bruskotter, an ecology professor at The Ohio State University.

In 1973, congress passed the Endangered Species Act, which was drafted to protect any species threatened with extinction throughout all or a major portion of its range. In order for a species to be removed from the list, the FWS must declare it is no longer endangered in all or a “significant portion of its range.”

While the gray wolf has recovered in the northern Rockies and upper Great Lakes, it has not recovered across the other 85 percent of its historic range, from the West Coast through New England in the northern half of the country, and as far east as the middle of Texas in the southern half of the country.


“So what the service is saying is that wolves are going to be called recovered in most of the United States despite the fact that very few wolves live outside these two recovered areas,” Bruskotter said. “Wherever they are now, that’s their range – which means taking the historic and geographic component out of the listing process.”

The report authors said the new rule considers much of the wolf’s historic range uninhabitable due to human settlement and would essentially allow FWS to declare a habitat unsuitable for an endangered animal because a human “threat” exists on the land.

“Here, they’re saying that they recognize the threat of human intolerance and instead of mitigating the threat, they’re just going to say the land is unsuitable,” Bruskotter said.


The report authors argue that the rule “specifically creates incentive to destroy habitat in advance of a listing and do things that aren’t good for endangered species.”

The Endangered Species Act also requires the service to judge the “best available science” in determining if threats have receded and a species is on the mend. The report authors argued that FWS ignored studies that suggest human support for wolf restoration is high, but instead claimed that human populated areas are unsuitable because of intolerance for the animals.

“That process is not the best available science,” Bruskotter said.

Bruskotter acknowledged that FWS is in the unenviable position of being caught between hunters and livestock producers on one side; and wildlife advocates on the other. However, that fact doesn’t excuse the agency from acting on behalf of other endangered species as the law stipulates, he said.

“The law is supposed to help the protected species, not just describe the threats to that species. But to construct this delisting rule, they’ve had to interpret policy and science in every case in a way that either disregards threats to wolves, or treats them as insurmountable,” Bruskotter said. “They’re doing the opposite of what the act requires.”

Source: Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online 

The mystery of how the white picket fence structures appeared in the Peruvian Amazon in June has been solved.

They are the work of a tiny spider that builds it webs on trails lined by cecropia trees in Tambopata National Reserve, Peru.

Researchers had no idea what was making the unique webs until a tiny orange spider hatched from an egg next to them. Arachnologists and entomologists are now working to identify which species the spider belongs to.

Although the spider looks similar to a jumping spider, experts have ruled this out because the arrangement of the eyes were different between the families.

This latest discovery was made by wildlife photographer Jeff Cremer during an eight-day-long expedition to the reserve.


He found that the spider species makes a central tower on a tree trunk and forms a circular fence around the outside.

At the base of the tower, the spider lays its eggs. Cremer and his team said they only realised this was the case when one of the spiders hatched and appeared from the bottom.

The first of the structures was spotted in June by Troy Alexander, a graduate student at Georgia Tech.

Alexander discovered the bizarre formation on the bottom of some blue tarpaulin close to the Tambopata Research Center, in southeastern Peru.


He then found three more of the enclosures on tree trunks in the jungle, and told Wired.com that the fences measured around two centimeters across.

To discover what the structures were, or which creature had made them, Alexander posted pictures on various websites asking for any detail that could explain their origin.

Phil Torres, a biologist from Tambopata, posted a link on Twitter to the pictures, equally baffled as to their origin.

Cremer, 35, is from Pueblo in Colorado, but has lived in Peru for nearly eight years. He said: 'We were there on a scientific expedition to find out what was making these strange web structures.


'This was the first expedition to find out what they were. We were able to find out what was making the web structures when some of the eggs inside the towers hatched and a tiny spider came out.'

As well as trying to determine the species, researchers still want to discover why the spiders build the structures, and what they are used for.

'We think the walls may be used to capture tiny mites that we found,' continued Cremer.


'Either that or it may be to provide protection from ants with a barrier to keep them away from the tower structure where the eggs are kept.

'The web structure could also be used as camouflage since it resembles fungus and lichen. What we do know now is the base of the tower contains spider eggs.

'Similar structures have been photographed only twice before and both in South America - once in Ecuador and another time in French Guiana.'
Source

Some men ice fishing on a frozen lake in Russia get an unexpected guest when a red fox approaches them and asks for a snack.

Red foxes live around the world in many diverse habitats including forests, grasslands, mountains, and deserts. They also adapt well to human environments such as farms, suburban areas, and even large communities. The red fox's resourcefulness has earned it a legendary reputation for intelligence and cunning.

Red foxes are solitary hunters who feed on rodents, rabbits, birds, and other small game—but their diet can be as flexible as their home habitat. Foxes will eat fruit and vegetables, fish, frogs, and even worms. If living among humans, foxes will opportunistically dine on garbage and pet food.

Like a cat's, the fox's thick tail aids its balance, but it has other uses as well. A fox uses its tail (or "brush") as a warm cover in cold weather and as a signal flag to communicate with other foxes.


In winter, foxes meet to mate. The vixen (female) typically gives birth to a litter of 2 to 12 pups. At birth, red foxes are actually brown or gray. A new red coat usually grows in by the end of the first month, but some red foxes are golden, reddish-brown, silver, or even black. Both parents care for their young through the summer before they are able to strike out on their own in the fall.
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Snowy owls are a rarity in the Kentuckiana region. For several days, a snowy owl has been spotted near the Gene Snyder and Westport Road area in eastern Jefferson County.

The snow owl is 2,500 miles away from his arctic home. “The morning we caught him he was standing next to the pavement trucks [and they] were going by him, he wasn’t moving,” Sally Seyal from Raptor Rehabilitation of Kentucky said.

The animal was brought to the Raptor Rehabilitation of Kentucky facility weighing just over 2.5 pounds and about 1 to 4 pounds under weight. “We’re happy that he’s survived for two days because he may have very well died initially. He’s still in kind of critical – he’s that thin,” Seyal said. It’s believed the owl migrated south looking for food but scientists are still trying to figure out the reason for this unusual visit this far south.

The malnourished owl is being fed through a tube. “It’s actually baby food mixed with lactated ringers which is a sugar in electrolytes which is what they give patients in surgery,” Seyal said. Volunteers at the rehabilitation center say it could take as long as three months to for the owl to fully recover.


 It’s a really good sign that he’s feeling better and getting stronger,” Seyal added. Volunteers are deciding to whether release the snowy owl locally or transport it up north to release it back into the wild.
 Source

Anti-fracking protests, the growth of a movement, a hunger strike, an unprecedented turnout at a reconciliation walk and a disgraced senator — all of these aboriginal stories made headlines this year.

1. Elsipogtog anti-fracking protests

Across the country this year First Nations have been making news in opposition to resource extraction. At the heart of resource development battles being waged right across Canada — including the one by Elsipogtog First Nation — is the duty to consult and accommodate aboriginal people when the development is on their traditional land.

The Elsipogtog First Nation began protesting on Sept. 30 with a blockade on Route 134 near Rexton, N.B., but it was the face-off with the RCMP on Oct. 17, 2013, that made news across the country.

Within 24 hours there were supportive actions organized across the country. In the process, the photograph picturing Amanda Polchies, kneeling with a feather raised in front of the RCMP, was retweeted and reworked countless times, making it an iconic image of 2013.

We haven’t heard the last from Elsipogtog, and the First Nations opposition to resource extraction without consultation and accommodation will no doubt be in headlines in 2014.


2. Idle No More

The movement began last year, but it rang in the new year of 2013 with a bang. On Jan. 11, countrywide demonstrations brought attention to changes in Bill C-45, the Conservative government's controversial omnibus budget bill that directly affected First Nations communities.

While it seems that Idle No More has settled into a quiet simmer, there is no doubt that it continues to be a force across the country, and beyond Canadian borders.

In December, Foreign Policy magazine included the four founders of the movement in its prestigious list, Top 100 Global Thinkers. And recently, flashmob round dances took place across Canada, sending out the message that Idle No More will continue to be a presence in 2014.



3. Chief Theresa Spence’s hunger strike

For many, the rise of Idle No More and the hunger strike of Attawapiskat’s Chief Teresa Spence are closely entwined— both hitting the news in January 2013.

4. Vancouver’s Reconciliation Walk

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission held a four-day national event in Vancouver, Sept. 18-21. It culminated in a Reconciliation Walk that drew an unprecedented number of people, more than 10,000 by some estimates.



5. Senator Patrick Brazeau

Finally, a disgraced senator might have been the most talked about aboriginal figure in mainstream news.

Named to the Senate in 2008 by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Patrick Brazeau was a controversial choice right from the start, as he was facing a sexual harassment complaint before a human rights tribunal from his last job as national chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples.
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The Heard Museum's Hoop Dance Championship featured many names familiar to hoop dance fans, including Nakotah LaRance, Tony Duncan, and winner Derrick Suwaima Davis. The Youth Division was won by a possible future star, six-year-old Rito Lopez Jr. (Pima/Apache/Arikara/Hidatsa/Mandan), also known as "RJ."

The video was produced by Lizard Light Productions.

Top American Indian and Canadian First Nation hoop dancers are preparing to enter the competition and win the prestigious title and cash prizes at the two-day competition, in which men and women compete on an equal field.

Over time, the intertribal hoop dance has expanded to incorporate new and creative designs and extremely intricate footwork. Each dancer presents a unique variation of the intertribal hoop dance, weaving in aspects of his or her distinct tradition and culture. Individual routines are presented using as few as four to as many as 50 hoops, which are manipulated to create a variety of designs including animals, butterflies and globes.

Dancers are judged on a slate of five skills – precision, timing/rhythm, showmanship, creativeness and speed.
Source

This is the adorable moment a boy taught his 20-day-old puppy how to howl.

Tiny furball Belka waited for her owner to show her what to do, before trying a high-pitched howl of her own.

The husky was a very keen learner by the looks of it, and seemed to enjoy trying because after a few tries she couldn't seem to stop.

Not surprisingly the video has got over 2 million hits on YouTube.

And Belka's owners explained the meaning of her name in the comments, writing: "Belka means 'Squirrel' in Russian…


"My husband named her that for the colour of her coat… her mom’s name is Laika, which means 'Barker' in Russian and was one of the first animals sent into space by the Russians.

"Laika is actually a very quiet dog and usually only barks when a Polar Bear is near our yard, as we live in Churchill Manitoba…Polar Bear Capital of the world’."
Source

What started as a hike along a Utah ski trail turned into a rescue of one of the country's most majestic creatures.

“We saw a bird just struggling to fly. Within a few seconds of us getting close, we could tell it was a bald eagle, so it was pretty shocking,” said Taylor Schulte, a Connecticut native who spoke to NBC Connecticut via Skype.

He helped to pick up the bald eagle. Schulte and his father-in-law wrapped it in a coat and took it to safety, not knowing what was wrong with the bald eagle.

“You just feel for it," Schulte said. "The bird clearly was injured or sick, something was wrong with it. You could tell it wasn't at 100 percent, so we initially thought, you know, what could be wrong with it? They had a run a story not too long ago, here locally, about the birds getting injured or getting sick."

They took the bird home and waited for wildlife experts to come to collect the eagle and give it the proper care.


“There's no doubt that that bird wouldn't have even had a chance if we weren't there. With the cold temperatures and the predators in the area. If we hadn't been there, that bird, there's no way it would be alive right now. It definitely needed help,” said Schulte.

Schulte says he was happy to give the bird the help it needed.

“To have an opportunity to save our nation's bird was incredible,” he said.
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Gray wolves are endangered and have recently been brought back from the brink of extinction. In 1978, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) declared all species of canis lupus south of Canada as endangered. Now, the USFWS wants to remove the wolves’ protected status. The gray wolf is protected under the Endangered Species Act, and while conservation efforts have been very successful, scientists believe that removing their protected status is a premature move.

Crying “Wolf”

In 2012, a resolution was offered to both Congress and the Senate requesting that gray wolves in Michigan be delisted and established as a game species. In both resolutions, there was a paragraph stating a fictional account of wolves attempting to prey on young children. The account was entirely false. Children were never in harms way, and the wolf that had been sighted fled after the family dog barked at it. The resolution cited this incident as the main reason for delisting the gray wolf because the author(s) did not “want to wait for a tragedy” to happen. They suggested that due to the increasing wolf population, or conservation efforts, an attack on children would eventually occur.


Many have argued that this false statement played a large role in the decision to delist the gray wolf as an endangered species in Michigan. The senator responsible for this falsehood eventually made a formal apology. Unfortunately, the resolution was not revoked.

Setting Wolves Up for Failure

Included in these resolutions were reports of wolves attacking cattle at an alarming rate, but 96 of the 149 cows reportedly killed, were killed on a single farm. On this particular farm, the animals were left unsupervised and when they died of causes unrelated to wolves, their bodies were left rotting in the fields. (Dead animals attract wolves.) The property owner did not follow the protocols put in place by authorities for deterring wolves. Furthermore, the owner failed to care for the donkeys given to him by authorities as part of the wolf-deterring protocol. The donkeys eventually died of dehydration. The environment provided by the landowner was an invitation to wolves. The bodies were eventually removed by the state and no charges were brought against the owner of the farm.


According to a report in the Huffington Post, Montana has sold over 6,000 wolf-hunting licenses that give hunters permission to kill five wolves each. The current wolf population is just over 600. Clearly, there aren’t enough wolves to accommodate 6,000 hunters, but when one takes a look at the numbers, the math makes perfect, unethical sense.

Yellowstone National Park generates about $30 million from wolf watching, but it costs about $150 million to reintroduce and recover wolves into the Northern Rockies. Montana generated over $100,000 from selling 6,000 hunting licenses; licenses that are valid per season. The state of Montana’s Fish, Wildlife, and Parks is holding a public comment hearing now, through Dec. 20, 2013. You can make your comments heard here.


Why You Should Care

Wolves are essential to maintaining a balanced ecosystem. They keep deer and elk populations in check, preying on the weak and sick, thus keeping the herds healthy. Without a large natural predator, herds can ruin ecosystems and cause an imbalance in a region’s flora and fauna. For example, in Yellowstone National Park, elk populations sky rocketed after the gray wolf was exterminated, as a result, the aspen tree became endangered. When wolves were reintroduced to the park, the elk populations became balanced. Now, both the aspen tree and the wolves are making a come back.

Say “No” To The Anti-Wolf Agenda

Are you a registered Michigan voter? Sign the legal petition to give Michigan voters a say in the matter here. You can also sign this petition if you want to help launch a second referendum in Michigan to preserve the first one.

People do not eat wolves, and they are not game animals. Trophy hunters, who just want to kill wolves for fun, hunt them. Wolves have an important place in the American landscape. Conservation efforts were launched to help restore balance to our country’s ecosystem, not so that fun-hunters could have another pelt to add to their trophy collection.

 Source: http://www.onegreenplanet.org

A golden retriever was rescued from the frozen Charles River Sunday afternoon after falling through the ice.

Wellesley police received a frantic 911 call from a woman at the Elm Bank Reservation who said that her five-year-old golden retriever Crosby had fallen through the ice on the Charles River.

Rescue crews were able to track down the dog using the caller’s cell phone GPS location.

A Wellesley Fire Department rescue team was able to pull the dog, who was about 50 yards offshore, out of the frozen river.

"I then went into the water and swam out breaking ice to the dog. We helped break more ice to get back to shore. They pulled us in with rope and we were able to get the dog up onto shore,” Wellesley Fire Lt. Paul Delaney said.


Firefighters used cold water survival suits to reach Crosby, who trapped by ice.

The dog was shaken, but is expected to be okay. He was reunited with his family a short time after the 20-minute rescue.
Source

Drawing on his long association with the first people of his homeland Australia, Utopia is both an epic portrayal of the oldest continuous human culture, and an investigation into a suppressed colonial past and rapacious present.

Utopia is John Pilger's new feature documentary, made for the cinema and ITV. Drawing on his long association with the first people of Australia, his homeland, Utopia is both an epic portrayal of the oldest continuous human culture and an investigation into a suppressed colonial past and rapacious present.

One of the world's best kept secrets is revealed against a background of the greatest boom in mineral wealth. Has the 'lucky country' inherited South African apartheid?

Utopia tells a universal story of power and resistance in the media age driven by old imperatives and presented as liberalism. Directed by John Pilger and Alan Lowery and edited by Joe Frost.


John Pilger was born and grew up in Bondi, Sydney, Australia. He launched his first newspaper at Sydney High School and later completed a four year cadetship with Australian Consolidated Press. "It was one of the strictest language courses I know," he says. "Devised by a celebrated, literate editor, Brian Penton, the aim was economy of language and accuracy. It certainly taught me to admire writing that was spare, precise and free of cliches, that didn't retreat into the passive voice and used adjectives only when absolutely necessary. I have long since slipped that leash, but those early disciplines helped shape my journalism and writing and my understanding of moving and still pictures".

Like many of his Australian generation, Pilger and two colleagues left for Europe in the early 1960s. They set up an ill-fated freelance 'agency' in Italy (with the grand title of 'Interep') and quickly went broke. Arriving in London, Pilger freelanced, then joined Reuters, moving to the London Daily Mirror, Britain's biggest selling newspaper, which was then changing to a serious tabloid.
Source

Utopia - A Film by John Pilger - Official trailer from Dartmouth Films on Vimeo.

Two adorable newborn polar bear cubs play with their mother while they journey to the frozen sea. One cute cub climbs and hangs off mother's back. Features cubs play-fighting and nursing with mom. Very cute video!

Basic facts about nursing of a wild polar bear.

Female polar bears have four mammary glands. Mothers nurse their cubs in a sitting position, or lying down on their side or back.

During their first few weeks of life, polar bear cubs nurse most of the time and stay close to their mother to keep warm.

For the next three or four months the cubs nurse as often as six times a day. The length and number of nursing bouts gradually decreases as the cubs grow older.


Mother polar bears nurse their cubs for as long as 30 months. Some cubs stop nursing as young as 18 months of age, but remain with their mothers for survival until they are 30 months old.

The average fat content of polar bear milk is 33%, similar to the milkfat of other marine mammals. For comparison, human milk has a 3-5% fat content.

Mother polar bears are extremely protective of their young, even risking their own lives in their cubs' defense.
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Warrenton Firefighters rescued two horses that fell through the ice of a lake Thursday. It happened just two days after the crews practiced for ice rescues in their new protective suits.

There seems no doubt that Meadow is glad to be back on dry land and so is Meadow’s partner Zihna. Both horses escaped a life threatening situation after falling through thin ice in Warren County. Their owner Tina Churchill had trouble watching the ordeal. Churchill said, “It was gut wrenching. I was horrified. It was a piece of my heart when you raise these babies. We bred the mares. I saw them born.”

Her husband called Warrenton firefighters for help. Instead of a 200 pound human, they would use their skills to bring two half ton horses to safety, it was dangerous. Fire Chief Michael Owenby said, “They were struggling. They were having a difficult time. We knew we needed to get them out as quick as possible.”

Firefighters used a chainsaw to cut a path so the horses could get out. Finally, after an hour they were freed from their icy prison. Chief Owenby said, “It feels really good to go out and this and get them out of there and know they’re going to be okay.” Churchill saluted firefighters, “They’re my heroes. They came to the rescue and were here in a heartbeat and jumped right in a situation they weren’t necessarily required to do and saved the day and saved these horses.”


The horses are very special, they are used in therapy for young people who battle mental health problems. Both Meadow and Zihna suffered some cuts to their legs but other than that they are okay.


They’ve probably learned their lesson about walking on thin ice. There is a lesson for humans too. Matt Dabbs is a Warrenton Firefighter. He said, “If your animal falls through do not try to rescue it yourself you’ll be risking your own life.”
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When you're a young, frolicking snow leopard, the best sight you could wish to see is surely... snow.

And so it proved for this six-month-old cub, appropriately named Everest, who delighted visitors on his public debut at his zoo in Chicago.

The cheeky chappie, who now weighs nearly 15lbs, even used the new-found camouflage to hide away before pouncing on his mother Sarani.

Three-year-old Sarani and her mate Sabu arrived at Brookfield Zoo in Chicago two years ago from Tautphaus Park Zoo in Idaho Falls and Cape May County Park Zoo in New Jersey, respectively.

Snow leopards are listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the world's oldest and largest global environmental organization.


They are solitary animals, except for mating and when females are raising cubs.


Offspring remain with their mother until they are independent, around 18 to 22 months.


They reach sexual maturity between two to three years of age.

A leading snow leopard conservation organization, The Snow Leopard Trust, estimates population numbers in the wild are 3,500 and 7,000.
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A moving video of the extraordinary recovery -- and resilience -- of an abandoned dog who was left to die in a trash heap is reminding us this week of the healing power of love, friendship and second chances.

On Nov. 15, when Eldad Hagar first laid eyes on Miley, an abandoned dog living among piles of trash on the outskirts of Los Angeles, his heart broke.

"When I got there, I almost couldn't believe what I was seeing," Hagar, the co-founder of animal rescue organization Hope For Paws, told The Huffington Post of his first encounter with the pup. "It's almost as if this place was struck by a tsunami."

Miley, covered in mange and infections, was so lifeless and defeated that Hagar, who recorded the dog's rescue on camera, says she "didn't even have the energy" to run away from him as he approached her.


Hagar says he rushed to Miley's side after he heard about the pooch's plight from a local resident. The tipster told him that Miley had been living in the trash heap for at least a few months. It is believed that she was abandoned by her owners.

Though he knew that Miley wouldn't be in good shape, Hagar says he was still shocked when he finally made contact with her. Her physical deterioration was "definitely one of the worst cases" he'd ever seen, he said.

He knew he had to get Miley to a hospital right away.

Gaining the pup's trust was no easy feat, however. Hagar says he offered her food and sat with her in the pile of trash for an hour before she was finally ready to leave with him. Then he got her into his car to be brought to the vet.

"She was very lucky we rescued her when we did, because her condition would have continued to deteriorate until she would have died a miserable and painful death," Hagar said.


After examining Miley, veterinarian Dr. Lisa Youn discovered that the pooch wasn't just suffering from mange and bacterial infections, but parasites and malnutrition, as well.

"She was in so much pain," Hagar said.

Over the next two weeks, Miley got intensive medical care and was treated with antibiotics, medicine for parasites and frequent medicated baths. Slowly but surely, her spirits began to lift.


It wasn't, however, until Miley found a best friend that her recovery took a dramatic turn for the better.

Miley met Frankie the chihuahua after he was rescued from a sewer tunnel by Hagar and a friend. The tiny dog had almost drowned, Hagar said, because of a spell of heavy rain.

"He was so scared of everything," Hagar wrote of Frankie in the video. "Miley took Frankie under her wing and they quickly became really good friends."
SOURCE

Tonight, the Moon is going to be as small as it will get at Full stage the entire year. When the Moon reaches Full phase today, it will be roughly two and a half days from apogee, the farthest point from Earth in the Moon's orbit. So, what else of this 'Mini Moon?'

According to current scientific theory and shown plausible by computer models, our Moon probably originated in a massive impact between Earth and a Mars-sized body. In the crash, the impacting body was shattered and the outer layers if Earth were thrown into space. For a time, Earth was surrounded by a ring of debris, much like Saturn is today. However, unlike with Saturn, the floating bits of rock and metal reconstituted into a new world, our Moon. In time, thanks to its sheer mass, the Moon would start pulling away from Earth, a process that continues even today at a rate of about an inch a year.(Source)

December Full Moon names

Kaitvitjuitk (Inuit).
Cold Moon (Celtic).
Night Moon (Taos).
Respect Moon (Hopi).
Bitter Moon (Chinese).
Peach Moon (Choctaw).
Twelfth Moon (Dakotah).
Big Winter Moon (Creek).


Real Goose Moon (Kiowa).
Cold Time Moon (Mohawk).
Ashes Fire Moon (San Juan).
Oak Moon (Medieval English).
Big Bear’s Moon (Winnebago).
Long Night Moon (Neo-Pagan).
Popping Trees Moon (Arapaho).
Running Wolves Moon (Cheyenne).
Frost Fish Moon (Passamaquoddy).
Cold Moon, Long Nights Moon (Algonquin).
Snow Moon, Before Yule Moon (Cherokee).
Oak Moon : Full, : Snow Moon Dark (Janic).
Popping Tress Moon, Deer Horn Shedding Moon (Sioux).

Other moon names : Wolf Moon, Turning Moon, Heavy Snow Moon, Aerra Geola, Under Burn Moon, Big Winter Moon, Winter Maker Moon, Yellow Leaves Moon, Little Finger Moon, Mid-Winter Moon, Wintermonat, Small Spirits Moon.

The cold weather may have caused havoc for many but this giant panda obviously could not wait to make the most of the heaviest snowfall seen in ten years in the Chinese city of Kunming.

The panda could be seen rolling about in the cold as well as doing its best impression of a pole-r bear after two days of snowfall had left a Chinese animal park covered.

The black and white bear was seen playing with a pole at Yunnan Wild Animals Park, in Kunming, Yunnan Province of China, and at one point was seen climbing up it.

According to gbtimes, one of the zookeepers at the park said winter was the giant pandas' favourite season despite the cold temperatures.

Kunming, known as the Spring City for its mild weather, has this week witnessed its heavist snowfall in ten years.


Note: The panda, also known as the giant panda to distinguish it from the unrelated red panda, is a bear native to south central China. It is easily recognized by the large, distinctive black patches around its eyes, over the ears, and across its round body.
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Michigan native Iggy Pop, a music legend and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, has endorsed the Keep Michigan Wolves Protected campaign to stop the trophy hunting of wolves and restore the right of Michigan voters to have a say over wildlife policy. Michigan’s first wolf hunt in decades begins tomorrow.

In a letter to Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, dated Nov. 12, 2013, Pop writes: “As a Michigan native and someone who has cared about animals, both wild and domestic, for as long as I can remember, I was dismayed…that a bill you signed last May (S.B. 288/P.A. 21) gave Michigan’s Natural Resources Commission the authority to decide which animals can be hunted…which resulted in the first authorized wolf hunt since wolves underwent state protection in 1965.”

“To further compound the issue Mlive.com just unveiled several investigative reports that reveal the state used ‘half-truths’ and ‘falsehoods’ to support authorizing a hunting season on wolves in Michigan. The reports make clear that the decision to approve wolf hunting was based on fraudulent information and not sound science,” said Pop.

“I am asking all of my fans in Michigan to sign up and help gather signatures to reverse this decision and protect the wolf from future hunts,” Pop continues. “The senseless killing of these majestic animals for sport is a disappointment to the people of Michigan and a stain on its Government.” He called on Gov. Snyder to “do the right thing by staying the hunt and allowing the people’s voice to be heard” on the issue.


Click here to view Iggy Pop's letter to Gov. Snyder.

Keep Michigan Wolves Protected launched a second petition drive in August to overturn P.A. 21. Persons interested in volunteering, donating or learning more about the issue can visit KeepWolvesProtected.com.
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Druzhok is part of the Andreev household in the Amur region of Russia. He’s a likable but obstinate 4-year-old mutt. His owner Elena says…

If he wants to run around, no chain will stop him. He will break it and run away. And when he’s had enough he comes and shows his neck like he’s saying, “Leash me, I’m ready.”

“Druzhok” means “Little Friend,” and this past summer he proved that he’ll run away if he pleases, but also that he lives up to his name.

In August, the Andreevs and 100,000 others in their area had to be evacuated because of flooding. Of course, they took Druzhok with them. They went to stay with some friends who were not affected by the floods. These friends lived in a small apartment, so Druzhok stayed outside. But he was used to living outside, so this wasn’t really strange or problematic for him.


For a couple nights he slept under the Andreevs’ car, guarding it and waiting like everyone else for the flooding to go down and life to go back to normal. But then on the third morning he was gone.

They couldn’t find him anywhere until they finally took a boat back to their house. There they found him staying out of the water by standing on the top step of the stoop.


Finding out he was the Andreevs’ dog, rescuers in the area told them that he wouldn’t allow them into the house and he that he refused to be taken to safety.

Elana Andreev tearfully described the situation…


It’s deep here. He couldn’t run, he had to swim. The dog stood on the top step of the porch in the cold water all night.

We sailed into the yard and saw him. He was standing there and trembling, and wouldn’t move away from his place. But when he saw us he was so happy. We took him into the boat and he rushed to lick us. We all were so happy.
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In the small town of Webster, Texas on Bay Area Boulevard in the shadows of an ordinary office building, Gypsy, a stray black lab mix, took up residence outside the building four months ago. The office people took turns feeding Gypsy seven days a week.

This was an extraordinary display of compassion that ended up drawing the people there together. “Everybody is worried about Gypsy,” said employee, Roy Coleman. “I think most people have a big heart, and they can’t stand to see anything, human or animal, suffer.”

According to Stacey McMahan, “It’s funny, because she’s kind of brought together a lot of people in the building you’ve never talked to before. But they’ve all kind of come together just because of this little dog.”

At one point fellow employee, Melanie Bringol, bought Gypsy a dog house but then thought she needed something more permanent. Bringol managed to catch Gypsy, and took her to her home in Santa Fe with a fenced in back yard.


“She got out, climbed the fence and came back here to the office. Eight days later she showed up. She walked 18 miles,”Melanie Bringol said. “I think she had to cross over two freeways, (I-)45 and Highway 3 to get over here,” added Stacey McMahan.

The new plan for the group is to trap Gypsy, take her to a vet who’s volunteered his services and ultimately find her a permanent home. However, so far, she hasn’t taken the bait. “Something is drawing her to this building,” Coleman said.

Could just be it’s the kindness of the people inside.

Sometimes heroes come in all sizes and ages. Such was the case in Brazil recently when a dog had been hit by a car in the city of Itajaí. The injured dog remained in the road after the driver who struck it drove off.

That was when 11-year-old Jean Fernandes, a brave boy who was passing by at the time saw the incident and made the decision to help the dog and bring it to safety. Jean then ran between the oncoming vehicles to pick up the helpless and hurt dog.

Luckily he was able to get the dog out of the middle of the street without any incidents or injury to himself or the dog. According to Jean's mother, Rubia Liliana Rose, this was not unusual behavior. She stated that her son loves animals and will rescue ones he finds abandoned or abused.

Amazingly, the whole incident was captured by photographer Rafaela Martins. His photos drew praise from netizens after Brazil's News Agency of Animal Rights posted the story to its Facebook page on Monday.


As for the injured dog, she has since been named Honey, or Mel in Portuguese. She is still in the care of vets at a local animal control center but is doing just fine, all thanks to a brave young man named Jean.