Elephants 🐘 World 🐘 Day Aug 12 🦣

World 🐘 Elephants Day 🐘 🦣

Journée mondiale de l'éléphant

❤🐘❤Aug 12 🐘

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World Elephant Day is celebrated annually on August 12th to raise awareness about the threats facing elephants and encourage conservation efforts. It aims to highlight the challenges elephants face in both the wild and in captivity, and to inspire action to protect their populations and habitats.

Elephants are native to Africa and Asia. There are two types of African elephant species -- the savanna elephant and forest elephant. Only Asian male elephants grow tusks, while both African male and female elephants can grow tusks. Interestingly, Asian elephants only have one "finger' on their trunk and African elephants have two.

World Elephant Day is an international annual event on August 12, dedicated to the preservation and protection of the world's elephants. Conceived in 2011 by Canadian filmmakers Patricia Sims and Michael Clark of Canazwest Pictures, and Sivaporn Dardarananda, Secretary-General of the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation in Thailand, it was officially founded, supported and launched by Patricia Sims and the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation on August 12, 2012. Since that time, Patricia Sims continues to lead, support and direct World Elephant Day, which is now recognized and celebrated by over 100 wildlife organizations and many individuals in countries across the globe.

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Life of African Elephants

Largest Terrestrial Mammals of the Earth

4K Nature Documentary Film

Are you ready to embark on adventure? Then join us for our marvelous wildlife documentary all about African elephants -- the largest terrestrial mammals of the Earth! 

Relax, sit back, and enjoy getting to know these magnificent creatures better than ever before. Our study of African elephants takes you on a journey through their natural habitats, showcasing their incredible strength, intelligence, and beauty. From the vast savannas to the dense forests, you'll witness the majesty of these gentle giants as they roam freely in their natural habitats. 

This 4K nature documentary film with narration isn't just for relaxation and stress relief; it's also an educational and enriching experience for all ages. Use it as a didactic resource for introducing children to the world of wildlife, or simply immerse yourself in the knowledge and fascinating facts about these amazing creatures. 

Did you know that African elephants are the largest land animals on Earth? Or that their trunks contain over 100,000 muscles and can detect water from over 12 miles away? These are just a couple of the incredible things you will learn about while watching this documentary.

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Key aspects of World Elephant Day:
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Raising Awareness:
The day focuses on educating the public about the threats elephants face, such as poaching, habitat loss, human-elephant conflict, and mistreatment in captivity.
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Promoting Conservation:
It encourages global efforts to protect elephants, including strengthening conservation efforts, improving captive care, and conserving their habitats. 

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Taking Action:
Individuals and organizations are encouraged to take action to support elephant conservation, such as supporting conservation groups, avoiding activities that harm elephants, and advocating for stronger protections. 

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Historical Significance:
World Elephant Day was established in 2012, with Patricia Sims of Canada and the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation of Thailand joining forces to create the event.
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Why is it important?
Elephants face significant threats, including poaching for their tusks, habitat loss due to human encroachment, and conflicts with human populations. These threats are causing elephant populations to decline, and World Elephant Day serves as a reminder of the urgent need to protect these magnificent creatures.
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Elephants are spirited and playful animals. Have you ever seen them frolic in the water? And they will defend their own with their mighty tusks. Whether foraging for food or digging a mud hole, their tusks are vital for survival. Since hunters value the ivory more than the life of the elephant, they endanger the continued existence of these majestic animals.

 

World Elephant Day

Theme

The theme for World Elephant Day 2024 is “Personifying prehistoric beauty, theological relevance, and environmental importance.” This theme highlights the multifaceted significance of elephants, emphasizing their ancient beauty, cultural and spiritual roles, and crucial contributions to environmental health.

Why This Theme Matters

The 2024 theme underscores the rich and varied dimensions of elephant's existence and their impact on the world. By appreciating their prehistoric beauty, we acknowledge the long evolutionary journey of these magnificent creatures. Recognizing their theological relevance highlights the deep cultural and spiritual connections humans have with elephants across different societies. Emphasizing their environmental importance draws attention to the critical role elephants play in maintaining the balance of ecosystems.

• Prehistoric Beauty: Elephants are living relics of a prehistoric era, representing a direct link to Earth's ancient past. Their grandeur and resilience are testaments to the incredible history of life on our planet.
• Theological Relevance: Elephants hold significant spiritual and cultural importance in many traditions around the world. They are revered in religions like Hinduism and Buddhism, symbolizing wisdom, strength, and prosperity.
• Environmental Importance: As keystone species, elephants play a crucial role in shaping their habitats. They help maintain the ecological balance by dispersing seeds, creating water holes, 

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Mission

The goal of World Elephant Day is to create awareness of the urgent plight of African and Asian elephants, and to share knowledge and positive solutions for the better care and management of captive and wild elephants. African elephants are listed as "Vulnerable" and Asian elephants as "Endangered" on the IUCN Red List of threatened species. One conservationist has stated that both African and Asian elephants face extinction within twelve years. The current population estimates are about 400,000 for African elephants and 40,000 for Asian elephants, although it has been argued that these numbers are much too high.

History

The first World Elephant Day was held on August 12, 2012. The film Return to the Forest, narrated by William Shatner, is about the reintroduction of captive Asian elephants to the wild and was released on the inaugural World Elephant Day. The follow-up feature film When Elephants Were Young, also narrated by Shatner, depicts the life of a young man and young elephant in Thailand.

 

Issues

Poaching

The demand for ivory, which is highest in China leads to the illegal poaching of both African and Asian elephants. For example, one of the world's largest elephants, Satao, was recently killed for his iconic tusks^[ Another iconic Kenyan elephant, Mountain Bull, was also killed by poachers, and with the street value for ivory now exceeding that of gold, African elephants face a poaching epidemic. Elephants are also poached for meat, leather, and body parts, with the illegal wildlife trade putting elephants increasingly in danger, because it is perceived to be a low risk and high profit endeavor. Poachers are often considered trained for this activity due to the amount of tools needed to be transported as well as the large size of these animals.

Habitat loss

The loss of habitat due to deforestation, increases in mining, and agricultural activities has become problematic, especially for Asian elephants. The fragmentation of habitat also creates isolation – this makes breeding more difficult, and allows poachers to find the elephants and set traps more easily. Asian elephants have lost nearly 30-40% of their habitat, making it incredibly difficult to maintain their offspring and themselves. 

 

Human-elephant conflict

Human-elephant conflict is a significant concern, as human populations increase and forest cover decreases, forcing elephants into close proximity with human settlements. Incidents include crop damage and economic losses, as well as both elephant and human casualties.

 

Mistreatment in captivity

A lack of legislation regarding the care and treatment of elephants in zoos, circuses, and tourism often leads to their mistreatment. Captivity can be a serious threat to elephants, and Asian elephants are often illegally captured in the wild and trafficked into the lucrative tourism industry.

 

Celebrity voices

Many notable celebrities have spoken out about the urgency of elephant protection, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Kristin Davis, William Shatner, Yao Ming, Prince William, Jorja Fox, Alec Baldwin, Stephen Fry, Ashley Judd, Jada Pinkett Smith, Kathryn Bigelow, and politicians such as Barack Obama, and Hillary and Chelsea Clinton.

 

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Elephant_Day

 

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5 Elephant Tidbits

1. An elephant has around 150,000 muscles in their trunk, allowing breath, drink, and smell.
2. Elephant skin is around 2.5 cm thick. The wrinkles in their skin holds water to help keep them cool. 
3. On average, an elephant eats around 300 pounds of food a day, including grass, tree shrubs, fruit, and leaves. 
4. Elephants can communicate by feeling vibrations in their bones, carried through the ground.
5. The temporal lobe responsible for memory is larger than a human, meaning an elephant has an amazing memory.

Elephants are spirited and playful animals. Have you ever seen them frolic in the water? And they will defend their own with their mighty tusks. Whether foraging for food or digging a mud hole, their tusks are vital for survival. Since hunters value the ivory more than the life of the elephant, they endanger the continued existence of these majestic animals.

 

Elephants are in danger of extinction. Poaching for ivory from the tusks and loss of habitat are two of the main problems elephants face today. Through communication, awareness, and community involvement, we can protect this animal and the beauty they bring to nature. 

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 The Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Independent Charge), Shri Anil Madhav Dave addressing the gathering on the occasion of the World Elephant Day 2016, in New Delhi on August 12, 2016.

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We encourage you to learn more about elephants by visiting the WorldElephantDay.org website.

  https://paulcpw.blogspot.com

                       

Jack Kerouac 😿Death of a Cat 🐈 Of Cats and Men 😽

Jack Kerouac
😿 Death of a Cat 😽

≧ ◔ ◡ ◔ ≦

“Ordinarily the death of a cat means little to most men, a lot to fewer men, but to me, and that cat, it was exactly and no lie and sincerely like the death of my little brother - I loved Tyke with all my heart, he was my baby who as a kitten just slept in the palm of my hand and with his little head hanging down, or just purring for hours, just as long as I held him that way, walking or sitting.

- He was like a floppy fur wrap around my wrist, I just twist him around my wrist or drape him and he just purred and purred and even when he got big I still held him that way, I could even hold that big cat in both hands with my arms outstretched right over my head and he’d just purr, he had complete confidence in me -- and when I’d left New York to come to my retreat in the woods I’d carefully kissed him and instructed him to wait for me ‘Attends pour mue kitigingoo’ 

- But my mother said in the letter he had died the NIGHT AFTER I LEFT.”    - Jack Kerouac, Big Sur

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Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac  (March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation.

Of French-Canadian ancestry, Kerouac was raised in a French-speaking home in Lowell, Massachusetts. He "learned English at age six and spoke with a marked accent into his late teens." During World War II, he served in the United States Merchant Marine; he completed his first novel at the time, which was published more than 40 years after his death. His first published book was The Town and the City (1950), and he achieved widespread fame and notoriety with his second, On the Road, in 1957. It made him a beat icon, and he went on to publish 12 more novels and numerous poetry volumes.

Kerouac is recognized for his style of stream of consciousness spontaneous prose. Thematically, his work covers topics such as his Catholic spirituality, jazz, travel, promiscuity, life in New York City, Buddhism, drugs, and poverty. He became an underground celebrity and, with other Beats, a progenitor of the hippie movement, although he remained antagonistic toward some of its politically radical elements. He has a lasting legacy, greatly influencing many of the cultural icons of the 1960s, including Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Jerry Garcia and the Doors.

In 1969, at the age of 47, Kerouac died from an abdominal hemorrhage caused by a lifetime of heavy drinking. Since then, his literary prestige has grown, and several previously unseen works have been published. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kerouac

“I am my mother’s son. All other identities are artificial and recent. Naked, basic, actually, I am my mother’s son. I emerged from her womb and set out on this earth. The earth gave me another identity, that of name, personality, appearance, character, and spirit. The earth is my grandmother; I am the earth’s grandson. The way I comb my hair today has nothing to do with myself, who am my mother’s son and the earth’s grandson. I am put on this earth to prove that I am my mother’s son. I am also on this earth, my grandmother, to be her spokesman, in my chosen and natural way. The earth owns the least to myself; she shall take me back, and my mother too. We have proven the earth’s truth and meaning, which is, simply life and death.”
―  Jack Kerouac: Collected Poems

"As for my mother, there’s no other like her in the world, really. Did she bear me just to have a little child to bless her heart? She got her wish."
 - Jack Kerouac, Desolation Angels

Of Cats and Men

By Marc Dion

Two friends, husband and wife, owned five cats. One of the cats died this week. His name was Fezzik, named after a character in "The Princess Bride," and he was a particular favorite of the man.
And the man, who is big and bearded, and likes flannel shirts, is bereft. The man is expert in the use of power tools, and can make things out of wood.
If his dog died, people would understand, but they do not understand because Fezzik was a cat, a small thing who could not be reliably trained to retrieve dead ducks, or guard the home, or shake hands on command.
But the cat napped with the man sometimes, and purred, and rubbed against his hand.
My wife and I have two cats, Maggie and Jack. Jack is named after American author Jack Kerouac. Jack is a gray striped cat, not too big, and not too bright. I speak French to Jack because Kerouac and I both spoke the language as children.
Jack sleeps next to my ankles on cold New England nights, and meets me at the door when I come home.
My friend Geoff, co-owner of the late Fezzik, has discovered that people take the death of a cat much less seriously than they do the death of a dog. It bothers him, and I dug out the Kerouac quote at the top of this column to make him feel better.
Say, "My dog died last night," to your co-workers," and they will melt in sympathy. Co-workers of both sexes may even hug you.
Say, "My cat died last night," and the needle on the sympathy gauge will plummet toward "E." This is particularly true if you're a man.
If you're a man, loving a cat is truly the love that dare not speak its name.
https://www.creators.com/read/marc-dion/06/21/of-cats-and-men?fbclid=IwAR2mzNePF2GHsYUuKOW7E_O3woxwKc3Ut7xfiCkuWkzH8f09rnP1C7MIX54
  

Cool Cats: 

Beat Poets & their Feline Friends

Oct 28, 2017

For some reason, if you look back through literary history, it seems most great authors had a fondness for cats. Purrrhaps * that’s because being a writer often requires a rather cat-like existence… but more likely it’s just a case of confirmation bias. The internet loves cats, therefore there will be enough photos of authors and cats circulating online to convince us that cats are somehow muses to the greats of literature. But whichever of those options is true, certainly enough of our great writers have had close relationships with felines to make it seem as though cat-ownership is somehow a pre-requisite for literary brilliance.
The writers of the Beat Generation were no strangers to this odd phenomenon, as I shall explore below: 

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Jack Kerouac
"Ordinarily, the death of a cat means little to most men, a lot to fewer men, but to me, and that cat, it was exactly and no lie and sincerely like the death of my little brother."
Jack Kerouac included the above quote in his novel, Big Sur, about the death of Tyke, his beloved cat. The passage in which he mourns the loss of his cat his heart-wrenching and shows the genuine love he had for the animal.
 …He was my baby who as a kitten just slept in the palm of my hand and with his little head hanging down, or just purring for hours… He was like a floppy fur wrap around my wrist, I just twist him around my wrist or drape him and he just purred and purred and even when he got big I still held him that way, I could even hold that big cat in both hands with my arms outstretched right over my head and he’d just purr, he had complete confidence in me…
When Kerouac traveled Europe, evidently the cats he saw left a significant impression upon him:
What amazed me as much as anything were the fat calm tabby cats of London some of whom slept peacefully right in the doorway of butcher shops as people stepped over them carefully, right there in the sawdust sun but a nose away from the roaring traffic of trams and buses and cars. 

England must be the land of cats, they abide peacefully all over the back fences of St John’s Wood. Elderly ladies feed them lovingly just like Ma feeds my cats. In Tangiers or Mexico City you hardly ever see a cat, if so late at night, because the poor often catch them and eat them. I felt London was blessed by its kind regard for cats.
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William S. Burroughs
Burroughs oddly became quite well-known among cat-loving types for his book, The Cat Inside, , in which he tells bizarrely adorable stories about his precious kitties. For readers familiar with the author’s earlier works like Naked Lunch, this might have been a rather big surprise. Indeed, as a young man, Burroughs was more interested in torturing cats than cuddling them. Something changed in him late in life, and he became a convert to cats, claiming “My relationship with cats has saved me from a deadly, pervasive ignorance.”
Yet aside from passages decrying dogs and musing on the nature of cuteness, Burroughs’ thoughts on cats aren’t entirely alien to his earlier writings. He argues that a cat’s role in the human world is, and always has been, as a “psychic companion” and that above all else they are “practical.”
Elsewhere, Burroughs spoke of the importance of cats in his life. When Allen Ginsberg asked him about love, he claimed that he only wanted to be loved by his cats. In his very last journal entry, he claimed love to be the most important thing in the world… and cited his love for his cats as an example of that sort of love.

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Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg was more inclined to use the word “cat” to refer to people than actual felines, and didn’t leave much of a written record of his relationship with the cats in his life. However, he owned a cat during his stay at the Beat Hotel in Paris, and upon returning to the U.S. after that trip he adopted another cat. Later in life, while living at East Hill Farm, he also owned cats.
That isn’t to say cats were entirely absent from his poetry. They pop up in little poems he noted down in his journals, with one of the better lines being:
Truth climbs upon the bed like a black cat purring
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https://www.beatdom.com/cool-cats-beat-poets-feline-friends/

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https://naturecpw.tumblr.com/tagged/Jack%20Kerouac

https://paulcpw.blogspot.com/search/label/Books%20%2F%20Literature

               

Cat Day 😻 August 8th 🐈 National

😸  Cat Day  😺

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National Cat Day is a celebration which takes place on 8 August of every year. It was created in 2002 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare. It is a day to raise awareness for cats and learn about ways to help and protect them.

In 2020, custodianship of International Cat Day passed to International Cat Care, a not-for-profit British organization that has been striving to improve the health and welfare of domestic cats worldwide since 1958.

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It takes place on August 8th in Canada, or October 29th in the United States. The National Cat Day website states that the holiday was first celebrated in 2005 "to help galvanize the public to recognize the number of cats that need to be rescued each year and also to encourage cat lovers to celebrate the cat(s) in their life for the unconditional love and companionship they bestow upon us." 

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The day is founded by Pet and Family Lifestyle Expert, Colleen Paige supported by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a nonprofit organization which also works to encourage pet adoption.

International Cat Day, August 8th, was created in 2002 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

International Cat Day, sometimes referred to as World Cat Day, is celebrated in many countries around the world including most european countries, Australia, India and the U.S. and is growing worldwide.

Some countries have their own days to celebrate cat day. Russia celebrates World Cat Day on March 1st  and Cat Day is unofficially celebrated on February 22nd, a fun day to celebrate cats that started in Japan and is growing worldwide for the fun social aspect of the day.

😺 😹 😻 😽 🙀 😿 😾 😻 😸

🐈International Cat Day🐈

International Cat Day is a celebration which takes place on 8 August, every year. It was created in 2002 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

International Cat Day is also referred to as World Cat Day in some countries and since its inception, it has been growing worldwide.

While most countries now observe this unofficial holiday on August 8th, Russia celebrates National Cat Day on 1 March and the U.S. celebrate both International Cat Day and their own National Cat Day on October 29th. 

International Cat Day is a day to raise awareness for cats and learn about ways to help and protect them. Cat Day is another unofficial Cat Holiday observed on February 22, that originated in Japan and has become a social media sensation and is growing worldwide as people across the globe share their cat pictures and videos.

In 2020 custodianship of International Cat Day passed to International Cat Care, a not-for-profit British organization that has been striving to improve the health and welfare of domestic cats worldwide since 1958.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Cat_Day  

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🐱  National Cat Day 😻

National Cat Day is celebrated in various countries. In some areas it is an awareness day to raise public awareness of cat adoption - homeless cats.

Observed by Canada; Italy; Japan; Russia; Sweden; United Kingdom; United States
Date 
August 8th (Canada)
October 29th (United States)
February 22nd (Japan)
March 1st (Russia)
February 17th (Italy, Brazil, Poland)
December 1st (Sweden) 

 

For decades, bodega cats have quietly shaped the rhythm of New York life - napping in shop windows, guarding against rodents, and becoming familiar faces to regulars passing through. They’ve never needed recognition to belong, yet now the state is finally stepping in to safeguard them.
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This move isn’t about disrupting a long-standing custom. It’s about honoring a piece of city culture while making sure the cats who are already part of these neighborhoods are protected and cared for. In a city that moves fast, it’s a rare moment of slowing down to look after the lives that have always been there. 🐾 See less
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The mere presence of a cat in a bodega will deter mice and rats.
However, the bodega operator needs to make sure the cat’s need for food, water, shelter and hygiene are being met and that the cat/s don’t contaminate any food being offered for sale.
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Cats in the past were used in granaries to deter rats from being in there. The cats in the photo look well fed. I am a household cat owner. I hope the City requires that the store cats get annual physicals, & vaccinations.

National Cat Day

National Cat Day is celebrated in various countries. In some areas it is an awareness day to raise public awareness of cat adoption. 

United States and Canada
In the US and Canada, the day focuses on animal rescue
In the US and Canada, National Cat Day is an awareness day to raise public awareness of cat adoption, taking place on August 8 in Canada and October 29 in the United States.
The National Cat Day website states that the holiday was first celebrated in 2005 "to help galvanize the public to recognize the number of cats that need to be rescued each year and also to encourage cat lovers to celebrate the cat(s) in their life for the unconditional love and companionship they bestow upon us." The day was founded by Colleen Paige, a pet and family lifestyle expert, who was supported by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which is a nonprofit pet adoption organization.
Japan

In Japan, National Cat Day is celebrated on February 22, as the date resembles the words "nyan nyan nyan" (meow meow meow). The date was decided on this date in a poll between cat-keepers by the Executive Cat Day Committee in 1978. It is celebrated with people posing with photographs of themselves with their pet cats, and businesses selling cat-themed cuisine.

Russia
In Russia, National Cat Day is celebrated on March 1.

International Cat Day takes place on August 8th of every year. 

Created in 2002 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare, this global celebration raises awareness about feline well-being, protection, and safety. There are roughly 500 million cats around the globe bringing joy, companionship, and a bit of attitude to our households. 

🌍 Global Feline Organizations

International Cat Care: A veterinary-supported society advancing feline medicine standards worldwide.
The International Cat Association (TICA): The world's largest genetic registry for pedigreed cats. 

🐾 Top Global Cat Breeds

Scottish Fold: Famous for its sweet temperament and uniquely folded ears.
Maine Coon: Known as the gentle giant of the domesticated cat world.
Siamese: Celebrated for its striking blue, almond-shaped eyes and vocal personality.
Persian: The quintessential calm, quiet, and affectionate lap cat. 

Would you like some fun tips on how to celebrate your feline friend, or are you interested in learning about the rarest international cat breeds?

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Cat_Day

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*** REMEMBERING THE CATS ***

Thousands of cats were dispatched to the trenches during WW1 to keep rodent numbers down and act as early warning detectors for mustard gas. So many gave great comfort to the troops as companions and mascots. 

How many cats survived we will never know? 

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Paws At The Ready - The cats of World War One had significant role in all the campaigns, we must honor their bravery too.

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Give thought to all the kitties who served in World War One.
A battalion of the finest who never fired a gun.
What was their role?
Whether hunting rodents out at sea, or loyal friends to men, these many cats had vital roles, time and time again.
The food was saved.
A common sight in trenches deep, dispatching mice and rats, the soldiers’ had a special bond with many of these cats.
Many were treasured mascots.

Some detected mustard gas, whilst others were off shore.
Some of the feline heroes - Togo was the Dreadnought’s cat, The Swan had their lad Ching.
Pincher was the Vinex’s mog, it was luck they hoped they’d bring.

‘Martinpuich’ was aptly named, by The 9th battalion chaps.
Pitouchi was the orphaned kit, who’d survived on army scraps.
Spark Plug, Tabby and many more were companions to the troops.
The feline unsung heroes, those cats who became recruits.
We’ll never truly realize just what these cats went through.
So spare a thought and give some thanks for what they did for you!
Lest We Forget! 

 A gunner with the regimental cat in a trench in Cambrin, 

France, February 6th, 1918.

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