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2015-08-16

Together we’ve been watching the challenges faced by local wolf and wolfdog sanctuary, In Harmony With Nature, as they faced the potential for losing their property over the past year following an illness of a benefactor and other difficulties.  You helped us share the story, raise funds, and work to make a paw-sitive difference for these amazing animals and local educational resource.  THANK YOU for your support!!

Gavin, Volunteer with the Artist Heroes project

This refuge has been in a veritable Schrodinger’s Box for quite a while – and we will soon get to peek inside.  Your continued support over the next couple of weeks could mean the difference between a bright future for these animals – or an uncertain and potentially devastating one.

The property was lost at action to the bank – they outbid the individual who entered the auction to save the property.  Now, the property is with a company that will be selling it – and the sanctuary has the option to work with them.  There are many potential positive outcomes, but in a likely scenario In Harmony will need to have the cash to purchase the property.

If you haven’t pledged yet, or would consider making an additional pledge, please log in today.  Your contribution could make all the difference.

How does this benefit you and our greater community?  Come join our Picnic With Wolves on December 5th for a tour, or simply think about the potential for local youth to have a wolf and wolfdog tour or service project to learn about a unique aspect of responsible pet ownership and breeding; a group tour or service event for your social group, work group, or team; and most importantly the service to these animals that is unique, specialized, and in great demand.   There are scores of wolfdogs on waiting lists for rescues – and only a few specialized agencies able to care for them.  Let’s not lose this one, that is located in our local community and has the potential not only to impact the animals, but to provide a wonderful engagement opportunity for us all.

You can learn more about the refuge at IHWN.org.

Other Links:

• In Harmony With Nature – IHWN.org
• Artist Heroes Project – a project of BE. advocating for IHWN
• Science League for Kids – volunteer project at the IHWN property
• Picnic With Wolves I – the first Picnic With Wolves event.
• Picnic With Wolves II – Join us!
• Images of the IHWN residents – with captions
• Howlin’ Woof Laughter – IHWN comedians
• IHWN residents perform: “I Feel Pretty”

http://ihwn.org/

SOURCE

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Chosen as Picture of the Week

Reposted from Conservation India

by Ganesh Raghunathan

Man-made structures such as open water tanks and open wells are death traps for wildlife — from tortoises, frogs and snakes to elephants. Conservation volunteers near forest areas should map these and work with the Forest Department to close or barricade them to avoid incidents like this.

It was that time of the year again, when elephants slowly started marking their presence. Like every year, there were incidents of households getting hit here and there, thankfully, nothing major though. What is always interesting to note every year is the consistency they maintain in terms of their movement patterns, and also in the damage sites they choose! Early that morning I decided to take off from my daily routine in front of my Macbook’s hypnotizing screen. I went to one of the restoration plots with my colleague Vijay when I got a frantic call informing us about an elephant that had fallen into a tank. There wasn’t a moment to waste. After months of adrenaline rush created by leopards and gaurs, the elephants were back to continue their annual schedule. I rushed to the field with Anand and Vijay. Kulbhushan and Bhagyashree who were visiting also hopped in with us to the rescue mission.

As expected, she was one of our study individuals, part of one of the herds M. Ananda Kumar and our team have been monitoring for the past decade. Her panic-stricken calf, was trumpeting loudly and running around in the vicinity until the forest department staff got close to her. It was no easy task indeed, even for the elephant to attempt a climb. What was fortunate was that the tank was amidst a forest patch, away from houses, which made the tough part of crowd control fairly easy. For a minute, I paused and processed my memories and remembered that the herd was last sighted in that area two days ago. The thoughts of the elephant being in the tank all that while bothered me.

The immediate move by the forest department staff was to demolish the side of the tank so she could use the rubble to climb out, which was also the only practical thing to do there. We set up a go pro camera belonging to Varun Nayar who was in Vaparai as a part of a documentary. You can see the video of how the elephant climbed out of the pit!

Ganesh Raghunathan and M. Ananda Kumar of the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF) have been working on mitigating Human-Elephant conflict in the Valparai plateau in the Anamalai Hills of the Western Ghats.

About the author

Ganesh Raghunathan

Ganesh Raghunathan currently works on understanding and resolving Human-Elephant conflict.

Tags: animal rescue, elephant, elephant rehabilitation, forest department, human-elephant conflict (HEC), Human-Wildlife conflict, NCF, tamil nadu, tea / coffee estates, valparai