Disney Adds Signs Warning of Alligators and Snakes

A private swap to Pennsylvania shows a card produced by SFWMD. It reads on the back: "The broad-snouted American alligator navigates freely through rivers and lakes in southern Florida. Remnants of a prehistoric ear, alligators are a protected species that continues to flourish." The number of alligators living in Florida is estimated at 1.3 million. Central to state's identity, it was featured on  a 32-cent commemorative stamp, issued in Tallahassee, Florida on March 3, 1995, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Florida Statehood.

Although alligator attacks are rare, properties at Walt Disney World are adding signs warning "Alligators and snakes in area" at their beaches after an alligator dragged a 2-year-old boy from Nebraska to his death in a lagoon near the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa on June 14, 2016. At the time of incident, only "No Swimming" signs were posted without any specific reference to alligators.

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Yuccas Blooming on the Desert

Postcard US-3285001 to Finland was a vintage linen card Yucca Whipplei blooming with a background of mighty San Jacinto Mountain in California.

Native to southern California, United States and Baja California, Mexico, Yucca whipplei ( Hesperoyucca whipplei) is a species of flowering plant in the genus Hesperoyucca, but closely related to, and previously usually included in, the genus Yucca. It is extremely drought tolerant and thrives in clay soils. The fiber from its leaves was used extensively by Native Americans for making sandal, cloth, and rope.

Obama Delivers Earth Day Messages in Florida

President Obama traveled to the Everglades in South Florida earlier today to highlight the impact of climate change on the American economy. The irony is that in Florida, where rising sea levels pose an imminent threat to 30% of the state's beaches in the next 85 years, state officials have taken an Ostrich Policy on climate change by banning the terms “climate change”, “global warming” and "sustainability" in any official state communications, emails, or reports.

Obama took a tour on the Anhinga Trail in the park on wooden boardwalk over vast 1.5 million-acre wetlands that are served as habitats to diverse species such as alligators and whooping cranes. Shown on the outgoing postcard US-3263777 to the Netherlands, a whooping crane can be more than 4 feet or 1.2 meters tall when standing erect. Indigenous to Florida but rare, whooping cranes were re-introduced in the mid-1990s to stimulate population recovery. These species are threaten as their habitats are impacted by salt water seeping inland caused by rising sea levels, which offers a vivid illustration over the relationship between theoretical arguments about carbon emissions and real-life implications. Studies also reveal that rising sea levels are threatening an $82 billion state tourism economy, and drinking water for more than 7 million Florida residents — more than a third of Florida's population.

President Obama is using his trip, timed to coincide with Earth Day, to push for an environment agenda that will cut carbon emissions by 28% by 2025 in an attempt to alleviate the impacts of climate change.

ARCHELON

Postcard NL-2619878 from the Netherlands was a produced by ARCHELON, the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece, showing a loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), an endangered species protected by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Founded in 1983, ARCHELON aims to protect sea turtles and their habitats in Greece through research, public awareness campaigns, and restoring habitats. It operates a rescue center built in 1994.

In my previous blog the World Turtle Day, Sea Turtle Oversight Protection (STOP) in Florida was featured for their work in rescuing those new sea turtle hatchlings disoriented by the street lights. You can still help by becoming a supporting member or joining a rescue walk in the 2014 season that lasts from May to October.

International Tiger Day

Today is International Tiger Day, an annual celebration on July 29 to raise awareness for tiger conservation. It started in 2010 at the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit in Russia. The most recent estimate shows only 3,200 tigers still in the wild, including 500 Siberian tigers. 95% of the total population have disappeared in the past 100 years; three subspecies: Bali , Caspian and Javan, have already been extinct by 1940s, 1970s, and 1970s respectively.

Habitat loss has been a direct contributor for the tiger population decline. Tigers lost 93% of their natural habitat due to human activities including deforestation, urbanization, and agricultural expansion. Climate change is also a factor as rising sea levels threaten to wipe out the last remaining habitat of Bengal tigers in the Sundarbans, a large mangrove forest area between India and Bangladesh on the northern coast of the Indian Ocean. Therefore, It is ultimate important to protect the natural habitats of tigers for tiger conservation to be successful.

USPS issued the Save Vanishing Species stamp featuring a tiger cub on September 20, 2011, with its net proceeds from sale benefiting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Multinational Species Conservation Funds. The Funds in turn supports efforts by numerous conservation organizations, including WWF which implements conservation projects such as surveying tigers and their prey in Nepal.

The featured postcard was sent from Connecticut as US-2140597.

A Dawn Redwood Leaf

Postcard CN-1290114 from China shows a hand-drawing leaf of the dawn redwood (水杉), a fast-growing, endangered coniferous tree. Metasequoia glyptostroboides, is the sole living species of the genus Metasequoia, one of three species in the subfamily Sequoioideae.

First discovered in 1941, it is native to the Sichuan–Hubei region of China. Currently, the largest dawn redwood forest consists of only 5,000 - 6,000 trees in its natural habitat, while a number of smaller groups have less than 30 trees each. It is listed as endangered and known as a "living fossil".

In 1995, the Crescent Ridge Dawn Redwoods Preserve was established in North Carolina with a goal of panting up to 5,000 dawn redwood trees in the wild. Currently, with more than 200 trees thriving, it remains the only Eastern redwood forest in America, and the sole wild dawn redwood forest outside of China.

De Alde Feanen National Park

Postcard NL-2466145 from the Netherlands shows the Alde Feanen National Park, located in Friesland Province, the Netherlands. It is part of the Natura 2000, an ecological network of protected areas in the European Union. There are at least 450 plant species and 100 bird species in the morass, lake, forest, peatland and meadow ecosystems.

Mother & Young Baby

Earth Day celebration continues as postcard TH-165704 from Thailand arrived yesterday, showing a pair of mother and baby Asian elephants, the largest living land animals in Asia.

Since 1986, E. maximus,  one of the three subspecies of the Asian elephant, has been listed as endangered by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). In 2003, the wild population, mainly living in Sri Lanka, was estimated at between 41,410 and 52,345 individuals. According to a 2008 study, The population had declined by at least 50% over the last three generations, estimated to be around 60 to 75 years. Like many other threatened species, habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation was a major factor.

Mount Olympus

On this Earth Day came postcard GR-38421 showing Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece with 52 peaks, deep gorges, and exceptional biodiversity. According to Wikepedia, its highest peak Mytikas, meaning "nose", rises to 2,917 meters or 9,570 feet and is one of the highest peaks in Europe in terms of topographic prominence. Olympus was notable in Ancient Greek Mythology as the home of the Twelve Olympians. Mount Olympus is also noted for its very rich flora with several special species. It has been the first National Park of Greece since 1938, and a World's Biosphere Reserve.