Anastasia

Born Free: Elsa the Lioness

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This is the most famous lion to ever walk on this planet. Her life was very short but she left a mark that will be there for many centuries to come. Elsa came in to the life of George and Joy Adamson in 1956 with her two sisters 'Big One' and Lustica when George was forced to kill their mother during one of his game drives. Later on, 'Big One' and Lustica were taken to the Rotterdam Zoo in Netherlands.

Elsa remained in the care of the Adamsons. A relationship soon developed and she was more of a domesticated pet than a wild lioness. Joy Adamson was closer to Elsa than anyone else and their relationship was that of equals. Joy Adamson was determined to teach Elsa how to survive in the wild and she gave it her all. With a lot of setbacks, she managed to teach her how to survive in the wild. Elsa's life was documented in many books and films earning her world recognition and fame. When she was three years old, she brought three cubs of her own to show the Adamsons. This was an emotionally charged moment as the Adamsons hugged and embraced Elsa and her litter. They named the cubs little Elsa, Gopa and Jespah. The four later returned to the wild but they kept in touch with the Adamsons.

Elsa's life was suddenly cut short when she was only five years old when she succumbed to an attack of babesiosis, a blood disease that mostly affects the cats' family. Her remains were buried in the Meru National Park. Elsa's story shows us that there is more to the wild animals than we care to know. They too have a compassionate and softer side that we can relate to if only we take time to understand them; those animals too need love, care and affection, that we humans can coexist with them and still respect each other. Let us all do all we can to make this a better planet for all animals.

via www.articlesbase.co

Let us all respect animals' rights to be free in their natural habitat. To me, hunters are criminals and there should be a law banning all animal hunting. Environmentalists and conservationists don't seem to be working hard on this as most countries make big money out of hunting licences. It is also cruel to train animals to perform tricks for our entertainment! Experimenting on animals is just as cruel not to mention that animal experimentation can raise ethical questions such as :

• Is it acceptable to give a laboratory animal a human ear or heart?
• Is it ethical to experiment on animals without painkillers or anaesthetics?
• Genetics engineering can mean that laboratory animals are given genes which can cause  birth defects. When they reproduce, their youngs will be born with genetic problems. How justifiable is this?

 

The Cyprus Muflon

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The muflon (agrino in Greek) is a kind of wild sheep, similar to the American bighorn , which lives on the islands of Sardinia, Corsica, Rhodes and Cyprus. In Italy, it has been recently cloned (2001) but it only survived 7 months. In Cyprus, a rare subspecies of the muflon (ovis gmelini aphion) is to be found exclusively at Stavros Tis Psokas in Paphos Forest and at Platania (Troodos Mountains) and nowhere else in the world. It is, therefore, an endangered species as only 1200 muflons live in Cyprus in their natural habitat and are listed as protected species. Hunting the Cyprus muflon is illegal and punished with imprisonment.

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It's not always easy to see them as they live in groups in the forest and are guided by a male -their leader - followed by the female and their lambs. I've only seen them once at Stavros Tis Psokas at the crack of dawn as they were heading for food and water. I was told that they eat wild vegetation they can find in the forest.

The Cyprus Muflon is also the logo of Cyprus Airways - our national carrier.

Cyprus and Denmark top the EU garbage heap - Cyprus Mail

CYPRIOTS Danes and the Irish produce the most waste per capita in the whole European Union, while the Czechs, Poles and Slovaks the least, data from the EU's statistics office showed yesterday.

Eurostat said one Dane produced on average 802 kg of municipal waste in 2008, the highest rate in the 27-nation bloc. Cypriots generated 770 kg of waste on average – 10 kilos per person more than the average American - and the Irish 733 kg.

However the data also showed that even though Danes produce more waste, Denmark burned 54 per cent of its waste, recycled a further 24 per cent and composted 18 per cent, putting only 4 per cent of it into landfills.

Cyprus, however, stowed 87 per cent of the rubbish in landfills and recycled only the remaining 13 per cent, compared to 48 per cent in Germany – the top country for recycling in the EU.

The island was in sixth highest position when it came to landfill dumping. But taking into account the fact that the other countries ahead of Cyprus - five eastern European states - only produce half the amount of rubbish per person, the situation changes.

The Czechs produced 306 kilos of rubbish per capita, the Poles 320 kilos and the Slovaks 328 kilos.

The figures leave Cyprus clearly in the landfill lead along with Malta, which although produces 100 kilos per person less, throws 97 per cent on landfills and recycles only three per cent.

Environment Commissioner Charalambos Theopemptou said yesterday the difference between Cyprus and Denmark when it came to the waste issue was that the latter had efficient system to dispose of it. “This is the difference. It’s what you do with the waste after you produce it,” he said.

“Other countries have policies to cut waste, strict checks strict recycling laws. Not anyone who wants is allowed to dump waste.

He said that in other countries companies, supermarkets and others who produce a lot of waste are not allowed to dump them in landfills. They are forced to take them for recycling.

“They are very strict,” he said. “We have landfills and we dump whatever we want.”

Last week DISY deputy Kyriacos Hadjiyiannis described Cyprus as an “open landfill” during a House

Environment Committee.

Chairman Andreas Fakontis said 113 landfills are currently in operation across Cyprus and there was absolutely no policy for scaling back the production of refuse. He said no measures are taken to cut waste and save money by having smaller waste processing units.

He also said abandoned landfills were one of the most serious environmental problems in Cyprus. “While they are closed, they continue to be sources of pollution; the ground continues to be contaminated; the aquifers; toxic substances are produced and foul smell,” Fakontis said.

Fakontis added that people continue to dump rubbish in these landfills illegally.

The House wants inspectors who will be responsible to penalise those who dump waste illegally by imposing a substantial on-the-spot fine.

Fakontis said the government has given its okay but these ‘green’ inspectors have not been appointed yet.

The committee said it would send a letter to Interior Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis in a bid to expedite the procedure and tackle the problem.

via www.cyprus-mail.com

I am very willing to recycle but there are NO recycle bins in my neighbourhood. And I don't always have the time to drive to the city centre for recycling. I believe that the government should place recycle bins everywhere in Larnaca. Just like in Germany!

Photo Credit - Cyprus Mail