SeaWorld to End Orca Breeding Program

SeaWorld announced on March 17, 2016 that the company will end all orca (killer whale) breeding now. It will also introduce new, inspiring, natural orca encounters, rather than theatrical shows, with focus on orca enrichment, exercise, and overall health. Those change will start in its San Diego park in 2017, followed by San Antonio and then Orlando locations in 2019.

The postcard, purchased at a local stamp show, shows Orky and Corky, the only pair of mature breeding Orcas at Hanna-Barbera's Marineland in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. They were receiving a fraction of the some 450 pounds of fish as their daily consumption. Marineland, first opened in 1954, was purchased by the owners of SeaWorld San Diego in 1987. The new owners moved these popular killer whales and other animals to their San Diego facility and abruptly closed Marineland.

The current changes come as a result of the pressure from animal rights groups in protesting SeaWorld for its treatment of the killer whales and other sea mammals in captive. Now, Seaworld will have to ponder its own fate: how to survive without orca shows?

Ringling Bros. Ending Elephant Acts in 3 Years

After 145 years, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is ending its elephant acts by 2018, among the concerns over animal treatment.

The circus currently has 13 elephants traveling with its tour units. They will be relocated to the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation in Polk City, Florida once their acts end. More than 40 other elephants are already at the Center. However, other exotic animals such as lions and tigers will continue performing.

It's a victory for the animal rights groups such as PETA and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals who have been claiming mistreatment of circus animals for a long time. While the parent company of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus was able to won a nearly $16 million settlement from a number of animal-rights groups including the Humane Society of the United States, ending a 14-year legal battle, it was the shifting consumer perceptions done the elephant acts in.

The stamped card features one of the eight USPS Vintage Circus Posters Commemorative stamps which uses a reproduction of a 1926 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey poster made by the Strobridge Lithographing Company, showing an ornately costumed elephant. The vintage poster used a bragging tag line “5 Big Herds of Performing Elephants in 5 Circus Rings at One Time” to advertise the Greatest Show on Earth. The card has a pictorial first-day-of-issue postmark on May 5, 2014 from Sarasota, FL 34230.

Penguin One

Postcard US-3014308 to Japan shows one of Southwest Airlines' specialty planes, Penguin One, taking off from McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. It is the latest co-branded 737 jets under the partnership with SeaWorld since 1988. The current SeaWorld fleet includes Shamu Two, entering service on May 30, 1990; and Shamu Three, on September 7, 1990. The first jet Shamu One, introduced on May 23, 1988, has since retired.

However, animal rights activists have protested Southwest Airlines' relationship with SeaWorld for its treatment of the killer whales and other sea mammals in captive. Under the pressure from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and other animal rights groups, Southwest announced on July 31, 2014 that it would concluded its 26-year partnership with SeaWorld by the end of the year. Penguin One, just introduced to the fleet last year on June 20, 2013, will be painted back to the traditional Southwest color scheme along with Shamu Two and Shamu Three.

Least Chipmunk

Postcard US-2205864 to Belarus was one of the several wildlife cards that I bought at the Mount Charleston Visitor Center. The description on the card says "the Least Chipmunk climbs swiftly and nimbly, often ascending tress to sun itself or build a summer nest. The winter nest is less sheltered and constructed of grass and other fibrous or downy material. It will use its large cheek pouches to carry food back to its nest. It feeds on seeds, fruit, insects and reptiles."

International Day for Biological Diversity

Water and Biodiversity

My postcard US-1889056 sent to Sweden can be a perfect remembrance of the International Day for Biological Diversity, or World Biodiversity Day. currently held on May 22. It is sanctioned by United Nations to increase awareness of biodiversity issues. It was first held on December 29 from 1993 to 2000 to mark the day when the Convention on Biological Diversity went into effect in 1993. However, the date was shifted in 2000 to commemorate the adoption of the Convention at the Rio Earth Summit on May 22, 1992 . The theme for 2013 is Water and Biodiversity.

The picture on the card was taken at Mirage's indoor fountain area on September 22, 2012. Water use by casinos in Las Vegas has long been a topic for study and debate as lavish and ambitious water features in the middle of the desert often give the impression of water waste. A 2003 UNLV thesis "Consumptive Water Use at the Mirage Hotel and the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada" by Johann A. Feller indicated that consumptive water use at the Mirage Hotel and the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino is much less than previously estimated. Sara Tabatabaie, a doctoral student at the University of Colorado Boulder also discussed the water use myth in her blog in 2012. However, researchers from the Pacific Institute argued in their report Hidden Oasis that much more could be done in improving water conservation and efficiency in Las Vegas.

There are many places in Las Vegas where you can appreciate biodiversity. You can visit Springs Preserve, Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Valley of Fire State Park, Spring Mountain Ranch State Park, Mount Charleston or Lake Mead National Recreation Area where you can observe native animals and plants. In particular, I found this site birdandhike.com very informational on bird watching and hiking around Las Vegas. They even have a section for dragonflies, (and AIRCRAFTS). 

For tourist attractions, Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage, Wildlife Habitat at the Flamingo, Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, and Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay are a few places where you can see exotic plants and animals.