Beer Can Hill

By EMMANUEL TUMANJONG (AP) –  February 10th, 2010

YAOUNDE, Cameroon — A conservation group is caring for more than 1,000 African gray parrots with help from an Ohio zoo after the birds were rescued from smugglers who had stuffed them into crates bound for the Middle East.

At least 120 of the birds have died since they were saved last month. The remaining parrots have been transferred to a wildlife conservation center in the West African nation, said Ofir Drori, director of a conservation group called the Last Great Ape Organization.

“The birds have been tied down for too long. They are very tired, many are sick,” he said Tuesday.

The parrots are kept as pets, but they also are believed to possess special powers in countries such as India, China, Nigeria and Cameroon, where the birds are used by witch doctors for rituals.

Cameroonian officials found the parrots stuffed into poorly ventilated wooden crates at the airport. Drori said the crates were being ferried to a Kuwait-bound Ethiopian Airlines flight.

The birds will be released into their natural habitat in a few months after veterinarians complete treating them, Drori said.

The Columbus Zoo in the U.S. state of Ohio said it will provide a grant of $6,000 to help feed the parrots and provide emergency care.

It was the third time in two years that authorities have stopped a shipment of parrots from being taken onto an Ethiopian Airlines flight. Ethiopian Airlines could not be immediately reached for comment.

In 2007, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora put a ban on the trade and export of the African gray parrots in five countries including Cameroon.

Two days before the authorities saved the 1,120 parrots, the Last Great Ape Organization, with the help of U.S. investigators and the Cameroon government, tracked down an Internet trader in the southwest regional capital of Buea who had struck a deal to deliver 23 African gray parrots to the United States. The trader is now awaiting trial.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

December 21, 1956 – February 9, 2010

For more information, see this site.

“I hope we shall… crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and to bid defiance to the laws of our country.” ~ Thomas Jefferson, letter to George Logan. November 12, 1816

source.

Sources reported last week that one of Lonesome George’s girlfriends has laid eggs. It has not been confirmed whether or not they are fertile.

Merlin wants everyone to know that he’s been in Fresno this whole time!

_{Beer Can Hill is participating in Blogathon 2009 by updating twice an hour, for 24 hours, today. Proceeds are going to RAINN.}

Article.

_{Beer Can Hill is participating in Blogathon 2009 by updating twice an hour, for 24 hours, today. Proceeds are going to RAINN.}

Article.

_{Beer Can Hill is participating in Blogathon 2009 by updating twice an hour, for 24 hours, today. Proceeds are going to RAINN.}

More.

Federal agents have apprehended accused child molester Edward Eugene Harper, who was on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list.

A jury in Arkansas convicted evangelist Tony Alamo on Friday of 10 federal counts of taking minors across state lines for sex.

_{Beer Can Hill is participating in Blogathon 2009 by updating twice an hour, for 24 hours, today. Proceeds are going to RAINN.}

• Air conditioning.
• Parrots and a tortoise that make me laugh when I am sad.
• My friends & family.
• Being alive.
• The proven ability to adapt & overcome.
• My 5th Blogathon sponsor!

_{Beer Can Hill is participating in Blogathon 2009 by updating twice an hour, for 24 hours, today. Proceeds are going to RAINN.}

The definition of sexual violence varies in different regions and cultures. RAINN has information about the different forms of sexual abuse that are prevalent in the world here.

If you or somebody care you care about has been attacked, this section of RAINN’s site offers information about what can be done.

Being proactive about your safety is always an excellent idea.

_{Beer Can Hill is participating in Blogathon 2009 by updating twice an hour, for 24 hours, today. Proceeds are going to RAINN.}

Generally speaking, I try to mind my own business. I think people do a lot of stupid and wrong things, but I try to stay out of it. Sometimes I can’t though.

I found this dog locked in a parked car yesterday afternoon. It was over 100 degrees outside so I know it had to be hotter in that car. The dog had no water and had barked itself hoarse. I did not want to have to vandalize somebody’s vehicle and hoped that the owner would be returning soon. I don’t make it a habit to tattle on people, but when children or animals are being mistreated I have a duty to. So I called animal control and waited. If the dog started showing signs of heat stroke I was going to have to bust the window and deal with the consequences. I didn’t want to act like a nut, but I also didn’t want the dog to die via Chrysler Oven.

Its owner, a pregnant woman with two children, came out after I had waited there 20 minutes. I asked her why she left her dog in the car with no water. She told me it wasn’t a big deal. I asked her why she didn’t leave her children in the car too if it wasn’t a big deal. She became defensive, but I could tell that she knew she was wrong. I told her I had reported her and to leave her dog home next time.

This is not the first time I’ve been in this situation. And it will probably not be my last.

A car can heat up to 120 degrees, even if parked in the shade. Dogs can’t perspire like people do, and can easily die of heat exhaustion if put in this situation. Even with water and open windows, a pet or child can die if left in a vehicle in hot temperatures. I don’t understand why people don’t comprehend this or have no empathy for another creature’s suffering. I wouldn’t leave my cell phone or I-POD in my truck in this weather because the heat could fry them. I wouldn’t sit in my truck with the windows up in this heat either. My tortoise Merlin is biologically engineered to live in a harsh dry climate, but he would never be put in the situation that the Yorky was yesterday.

Whether or not you personally care for them, animals depend on people to help them out. We’re supposed to be the most intelligent and reasonable species. We need to start acting like it.

More information about protecting your pet from the heat is available here at the Humane Society’s site.

In honor of the 40th anniversary of The Stonewall Inn riot (that sparked Gay Pride marches across the nation), Toys In Babeland is  offering 40% off four of their most popular products. It includes three free condoms.  The offer is good while supplies last.  Be sure to enter PRIDE09 in the coupon code box to get your free condoms with purchase!*