DEAR READERS: Please see this June 11 abstract from Nature.com:
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"Elephants seem to use proper names to address their fellows -- a habit that appears to otherwise be unique to humans. Scientists used machine learning to analyze 469 deep rumbles made by wild female African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) and their families in Kenya. They found patterns that indicate that calls are specific to individuals. The researchers also played recorded calls to elephants out in the field and watched how the animals responded. 'They could tell if a call was addressed to them just by hearing that call,' says behavioral ecologist and study co-author Michael Pardo." (For details, read the study “African elephants address one another with individually specific name-like calls” by Michael Pardo, et al., published in Nature Ecology and Evolution, June 2024.)
This research raises the ethical and legal issue of animal personhood, and should serve as another step toward human recognition of animal sentience and our responsibilities for our fellow creatures.
TIME TO STOP KAPPAROT RITUAL POULTRY “SACRIFICE”
Here is an important post from We Animals Media about a ritual practiced by some sects of Orthodox Jews before Yom Kippur. All should be concerned about such mistreatment of animals. Full story available here: weanimalsmedia.org/2023/09/22/documenting-kaporos-chicken-slaughter-in-new-york.
"Traditionally, during Kaporos (aka Kapparot), a live chicken is swung over the head of a practitioner three times while a prayer is recited and the sins of the practitioner are symbolically transferred to the chicken. On the eve of Yom Kippur, the chickens are handed to a shochet (a person certified to kill animals in accordance with shechita law) to be killed and the meat donated to the poor -- or eaten at the pre-Yom Kippur meal.
"In the week leading up to Yom Kippur, the streets of Brooklyn, New York, become one of the largest wet markets in the United States, with an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 chickens being used in the Kapparot ritual and then killed. Those opposed to the practice cite violations to animal welfare laws and public health risks, yet the city of New York allows the practice to continue."
NEVER LEAVE ANIMALS IN CARS IN EXTREME TEMPS
The Denver Animal Protection department has responded to 130 calls so far this year about animals trapped in vehicles during extreme temperatures, and has had 277 calls about animals without access to shelter.
Dog owners and parents/caretakers of infants must be especially cognizant of the risks of heat stroke and death in hot weather. It takes only about 10 minutes for the temperature inside a car to rise by 20 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the AVMA, and leaving a window cracked does not help much, if at all.
Also, taking dogs out for a walk in hot weather can put some at risk -- especially flat-faced breeds, like pugs, and all older dogs. Put your hand on the sidewalk, feel the heat and use your compassion and common sense!
HEAT WAVE IN MEXICO KILLS HOWLER MONKEYS
At least 138 howler monkeys have been found dead since May 16 in Mexico’s Tabasco state along the Gulf Coast. Five more were in critical condition after being taken to local veterinarian Sergio Valenzuela, who provided intravenous fluids for free in an effort to save them.
Hundreds of the monkeys may have died amid an extreme heat wave, drought and habitat loss. Wildlife biologist Gilberto Pozo said howler monkeys “were falling out of the trees like apples ... in a state of severe dehydration, and they died within a matter of minutes.” Birds and reptiles have met similar fates, Pozo says. (Full story: Associated Press, May 22)
Climate change is a reality -- a global crisis that we humans have created and must now take every possible measure to rectify. It is a political and economic challenge, but we cannot continue with a “business as usual” attitude. Each of us can make a difference when we change our lifestyles and food choices to reduce our carbon footprints.
(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.
Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)