Black bears typically have two cubs; rarely, one or three. In 2007, in northern New Hampshire, a black bear Sow gave birth to five healthy young. There were two or three reports of sows with as many as 4 cubs, but five was, and is, very extraordinary.

I learned of them shortly after they emerged from their den and set myself a goal of photographing all five cubs with their mom – no matter how much time and effort was involved. I knew the trail they followed on a fairly regular basis, usually shortly before dark.

After spending nearly four hours a day, seven days a week, for more than six weeks, I had that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and photographed them.
I used the equivalent of a very fast film speed on my digital camera.

The print is properly focused and well exposed, with all six bears posing as if they were in a studio for a family portrait.

I stayed in touch with other people who saw the bears during the summer and into the fall hunting season. All six bears continued to thrive.

As time for hibernation approached, I found still more folks who had seen them and everything remained OK. I stayed away from the bears as I was concerned that they might become habituated to me, or to people in general, as approachable “friends”. This could be dangerous for both man and animal.

After Halloween I received no further reports and could only hope the bears survived until they hibernated. This spring, before the snow disappeared, all six bears came out of their den and wandered the same familiar territory they trekked in the spring of 2007.

I saw them before mid April and dreamed nightly of taking another “family portrait,” an improbable second “once in a lifetime” photograph.

On April 25, 2008 I achieved my dream. When I showed the result to a woman who had purchased a print of the cubs a year earlier she exclaimed, “I have never seen such an extraordinary photograph”.

When something as magical as this happens between man and animal Native Americans say: “We have walked together in the shadow of a rainbow.”

And so it is with humility and great pleasure that I share these photos with you.

Sincerely,
Tom Sears
Digital Photographics

PS. As of today, August 22, 2008, the cubs are doing well but have gone their separate ways and there will not be another “family portrait”.

AMAZING VICTORIES IN 2008

Let’s celebrate our victories for 2008 and may they serve as inspiration and motivation for the work to be done in 2009.

- Illegal Logging Ban Enacted. The United States became the first country in the world to prohibit the import and sale of illegally-sourced wood and wood products. Siberian tigers, orangutans and many other species dependent on forest habitat around the globe will benefit.
by WWF

- Clean Energy Tax Incentives Extended. The U.S. Congress extended tax incentives that encourage individuals and businesses to install renewable energy systems and build energy-efficient buildings.
by WWF

- Sumatran Elephant and Tiger Habitat Protected. Indonesia committed to doubling the size of a national park that is one of the last havens for endangered Sumatran elephants and critically endangered Sumatran tigers.
by WWF

- 50 Million People Switched Off Their Lights for Earth Hour 2008. WWF activists were among the estimated 50 million people around the world who turned off their lights for one hour on March 29, 2008, to demonstrate their commitment to slowing the effects of climate change. Sign up to join us for Earth Hour 2009
by WWF

There is still a lot of work to do and the WWF has a list of campaigns where we can all be a part of and help reach the ears and eyes of the world. Visit World Wildlife Fund.

- Donna Karan dumps fur! Thanks to the hard work of PETA’s staff, members, and volunteers and after nearly a year of pressuring designer Donna Karan to drop fur from her designs—by protesting outside her boutiques, crashing her runway show, and exposing her cruel use of fur online—Donna Karan has announced that all her Fall 2009 lines will be fur-free and that she has “no plans” to use fur in the future. Well done, everyone!
by Peta

For more ways to help and getting active visit Peta’s Action Center.

- Four years have passed since the devastating Asia tsunami of December 26, 2004 — the biggest emergency response in Save the Children’s history.

Today, our primary focus is on helping families become more self-sufficient and enabling children to succeed in school. Thousands of children affected by the tsunami are attending schools. And many of these children are also benefitting from our health, nutrition and child protection programs.
by Save the Children

Last night, I got sucked into watching a few documentaries with overly dramatic titles about insects. I sat in awe for nearly three hours watching ants raise caterpillar larvae as their own, spiders weave thick squares of web to use in a tool-like fashion to capture their prey from the rain-forest floor, and mayflies and cicadas as they shed their skin and emerged from the water and dark underground to start the last and most brief part of their life.

Insects develop complex relationships, care for their young, and work as teams much as we do. When you see a spider or ant running across the floor, it’s likely that they have somewhere important to be in order to complete something that they set out to do that day, just as we run errands and have order in our daily lives. However, often when we see them, we treat their presence as an intrusion, and many people even resort to inhumane methods for dealing with these encounters.

Cockroaches probably bear the brunt of our negative reactions more heavily than most insects. While you certainly don’t want your living space to turn into a cockroach haven, there are humane and affordable methods for discouraging them. Inhumane poisons and traps will do nothing for long-term control and will have you spending more time and money than solving the problem once and for all in an effective and humane manner. With a little time, you can have your environment cockroach-free, and no one has to get hurt. The following is a strategy that I used a couple of years ago, and it worked perfectly.

First and foremost, you must work on prevention. Keep all dishes washed, take trash out frequently, and make sure that unrefrigerated companion animal food is tightly sealed and put away when your animal companion is not eating. Keep countertops wiped down with a vinegar-and-water solution, and sweep, mop, and vacuum regularly. Now for the actual cockroachproofing, you will need the following:
• Non-toxic white glue
• Caulking in either white or clear (available from hardware stores)
• Stoppers for all your drains that do not already have built-in stoppers
• Dried whole bay leaves

Start with one room at a time, and begin with places where you have seen cockroaches. Put stoppers in all your drains—sinks and bathtub―when not in use to prevent roaches from coming in via your drainpipes. Also be sure to repair leaky faucets and pipes, as roaches are attracted to water.

Seal up all gaps between floorboards, under counters, around sink plumbing and windowsills, and near fuse boxes. For larger gaps, use the caulking, and for smaller gaps, use the glue. This will take some time, but if you just work on it for a little while each day, you will have it finished in no time.

Add dried bay leaves to your kitchen drawers and cabinets, too, as they are a great natural repellent and will leave your kitchen smelling wonderful!

P.S. If after your cockroachproofing you find any little guys who got stuck inside, help them out and use something like this to humanely remove them from your living space. Click here for more tips too.

[by Mylie]

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Play FreeRice and Help End World Hunger

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In the past week, more than 30,000 ONE members have signed our petition to Barack Obama and John McCain asking them to keep their poverty-fighting commitments to the world’s most vulnerable people. Together, we’re proving that, even in tough times, we stand up for our principles. And so far, it’s working. Since our campaign began, the candidates have continued to stand by the promises they made earlier in the campaign.

Now we need to keep the pressure on, and to do that we’re going global and breaking records. This Friday, October 17th, through Sunday the 19th is the “Stand Up and Take Action” weekend against poverty, when we’ll join the Global Call To Action Against Poverty and the U.N. Millennium Campaign to set a new Guinness World Record of 67 million people standing up, literally, against poverty – 1% of everyone on earth.Add your name to the petition. Show John McCain, Barack Obama and the world that Americans are serious about keeping our commitments to meet the Millennium Development Goals and halve extreme poverty and global disease by 2015. When you do, we’ll also add your name to the millions around the globe who are standing up against global poverty this weekend.

Barack Obama and John McCain have already gone On The Record in response to the call from ONE members like you, and made historic commitments to end extreme poverty and global disease. In two weeks, we’ll deliver your petitions and give them one more chance to reaffirm where they stand on our issues. Between now and then, let’s Stand Up, set a world record, and make our voices heard as Americans, and as part of a global movement against global poverty.

Thank you for making a difference,

David Lane, ONE.org

Almost all of us grew up eating meat, wearing leather, and going to circuses and zoos. We never considered the impact of these actions on the animals involved. For whatever reason, you are now asking the question: Why should animals have rights? LEARN MORE.

* Animals Are Not Ours to Eat
* Animals Are Not Ours to Wear
* Animals Are Not Ours to Experiment On
* Animals Are Not Ours to Use for Entertainment
* Animals Are Not Ours to Abuse in Any Way

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What Is So Special About Animals?

Animals are a big part of our lives, and play a very important role here. They too are an expression of God. We don’t even realize how much of our lives they are. Animals are an essential piece of the work of art that Nature is. We see them everyday. Every morning I like to step outside to my yard with my dogs and contemplate on the majestic beauty of Nature, and everywhere I look I see a creature of Nature. I hear them, and I’m sure they hear and see me too. I dont go out much, so my direct interaction with humans is quite limited, with the animal kingdom, however, is a bit different. Daily I see squirrels, dogs and cats, birds and butterflies of all colors, sizes and shapes, lizards, bees, and I like to interact with them. My dog’s ears stand up when he hears a bird nearby, or sees a bird on a low branch, I believe it’s because the bird has greeted him hello, and he acknowledges. His facial gestures show so kind, his tail wags very gently showing content for seeing a friend.
My neighbor has a huge tree in the yard, it looks old and beautiful, full of wisdom. Sadly, last week one of its big branches ripped right off and fell over the house. Fortunately, there was no damage done, its as if the branch had gently settled over the roof. Ever since this happened the squirrels have taken this tree branch like an amusement park, running and chasing after each other all around the branch, onto the roof and right back up the tree. It’s truly enjoyable to watch. Nature is healing, when we embrace her, She embraces us back giving us Her Love and Her Strength. Interacting with Nature and the animals is a way to practice Natural Healing, we are engaging in an interaction with that realm, which means there is an exchange of energy. This is why its becoming more common to see therapy pets, specially dogs, but also cats, birds, dolphins, apes, and the list goes on. Give yourself the gift of welcoming the animals into your life, you won’t regret it.
Animals help us feel grounded, they also assist us in relieving stress. I like to sing, and when I’m in Nature I feel inspired to chant. It’s an amazing sight how Nature and Her creatures react to our vibrations. I recommend trying it, if you already haven’t .
This routine is a daily blessing to me, I hope it brings you the same.

In The Greatest Degree of Love & Divine Light.

Rev. Adriana Zotelo, RMT

“We’re pleased to share with you some of the recent marine conservation successes your support has helped make happen.

- In Florida, a recently completed study on reef resilience, a concept Conservancy scientists pioneered that involves identifying and protecting corals that are most likely to survive bleaching and other traumatic events, is providing important information about where corals survive and flourish in the Keys.

- Through the Micronesia Challenge, the Caribbean Challenge and the Coral Triangle Initiative, the Conservancy has played a key role in influencing governments to pledge to protect some of the most threatened marine systems.

- The Conservancy has launched a Marine Conservation Fellowship Program to prepare recent college graduates to become the next generation of conservation leaders in Hawai’i. Read about the first two Fellows selected who will learn all aspects of marine resource planning, management and monitoring.

- The Mesoamerican Reef — the largest coral reef in the Atlantic — extends more than 400 miles from Mexico to Honduras. In Belize, the Conservancy is working with local government and partners to protect 13 spawning aggregation sites for endangered reef fish.

Thanks to your support, the Conservancy is able to address the crisis facing our oceans in a way unique from other conservation organizations. We’re focused on protecting and restoring ocean and coastal habitats as a whole, as opposed to protecting individual species or managing fishing quotas.

We will continue to work with communities, partner organizations and governments to create networks of marine protected areas that are resilient in the face of climate change and provide benefits to local communities.

Thank you again for all you’ve done to help make this work possible.

Sincerely,

Sue M. Citro
Senior Digital Membership Manager
The Nature Conservancy

One year ago today, authorities raided Michael Vick’s property in Virginia, gathering evidence that led to his imprisonment on charges related to dogfighting. Although The Humane Society of the United States has battled animal fighting for more than fifty years, your actions last summer and into this year have helped us make great strides in bringing more animal fighters to justice.

These are just a few of the many milestones we’ve already reached in 2008.

- Raids on dogfighting operations increased from 27 between January and April last year to more than 67 raids to date in 2008 — more than doubling the number of reported arrests for this crime.
- Wyoming and Idaho made dogfighting a felony offense — and these two states had been the last holdouts with weak penalties for fighting crimes. Lawmakers in Georgia, Iowa, Maryland, Oregon, and Virginia also passed stronger laws against dogfighting, as part of a wave of 26 states considering legislation to increase penalties.
- Our program granting awards to people helping us bust animal fighters, made possible by the Ware Foundation and our donors, precipitated dogfighting raids in half a dozen states. We paid out 20 rewards and have several pending. The cases range from a Texan who reported on his neighbor and his six scarred pit bulls to major busts with dozens of animals confiscated.
- In February, we worked with the Pima County sheriff to bust two of the nation’s most notorious dogfighting kingpins, Pat Patricks and T.L. Williams, in Arizona. Officials seized more than 150 dogs and arrested six people.
- Our press conferences announcing the reward program — held with five state attorneys general, the Chicago Police Department and the Los Angeles County district attorney — have shined a bright spotlight on dogfighting. We plan more conferences with attorneys general in three additional states.
- We trained more than 700 law enforcement officers on animal fighting and produced a new video about dogfighting. Tens of thousands of our rewards posters are helping ferret out animal fighters across the country.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of dogs are exploited by dogfighters and countless vulnerable animals suffer hunger, thirst, malicious wounding, and death.

I’m proud to report this progress, and I thank you for helping to make it all possible.

One of PETA’s undercover investigators was documenting the horrific conditions on a Tyson Foods factory farm as woekers walked among more than 18,000 peeping baby chicks. As they walked, the workers grabbed sick birds and threw them onto a heap of dying chicks. Disgusted, our investigator asked if he could have two of the discarded babies.
Kokun, a hen, and Potpo, a rooster, were only a few weeks old. PETA immediately took them to a veterinarian, who diagnosed them with a respiratory illness caused by the noxious fumes in the severely crowded warehouse. The vet gave the chicks a guarded prognosi.
After a few days of rest at PETA’s headquarters, Kokun and Potpo went to their permanent home at a nearby sanctuary and soon began to recover. In time, the chicks were able to go outside, sun themselves, preen, and investigate their new home and exciting back yard.
Kokun and Potpo are very affectionate to each other and to their caregiver. The birds run th their caregiver every time she walks out to the birds’ little yard. When she stoops down, the birds jump up on her back and shoulders!

These young chickens are the lucky ones who escaped the misery of a factory farm. With your help, PETA can open the world’s eyes to the plight of these smart, sensitive animals so that millions more chickens will be able to enjoy their lives.

Please, join me in thanking HUGO BOSS for their rapid action towards ending such horrible acts against animals.

In Spirit Blessings

Dear Rev. Adriana,

Danielle Katz
Outreach Program Coordinator

Thank you so much for standing with us in our fight to end the cruel Canadian seal hunt.

Over the past few weeks, the world has watched in horror as Canadian sealers brandished clubs and rifles, brutally slaughtering thousands of defenseless pups, most only a few weeks old. As you read this today, the commercial seal hunt has moved farther north where the killings will resume — with sealers allowed to kill 275,000 seals this year.

Because of your support, we have achieved many landmark victories in our campaign to save the seals — and our efforts are reaching a critical mass. This year, it is clear that the end of the seal slaughter is finally in sight.

Here’s the most exciting piece of news: the European Environment Commissioner has announced a plan to ban the trade in all seal products originating from inhumane hunts. This builds upon the historic declaration by the European parliament in 2006. If an EU-wide ban is enacted, the fashion houses serving the main markets for seal skins today — China and Russia — would be forced to stop, and millions of baby seals would be saved from cruel slaughter. In the meantime, many nations have either banned seal product trade or announced their intentions to do so. They include: Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Croatia, Austria, Slovenia, Panama, Mexico, and the United States. Just the potential for an EU ban on seal products has saved thousands of seals already. Prices paid for seal skins this year have declined so much that most sealers have chosen to stay home.

And we have more good news! The HSUS-led boycott of Canadian seafood in the U.S. has attracted more than 618,000 individuals, 3,500 restaurants, and major grocery chains such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. With more than 80% of Newfoundland’s fishing revenue coming from shellfish and less than 3% from the seal hunt, we have tremendous leverage as consumers to end this hunt! Fishermen are fast realizing they stand to lose more from killing seals than they will ever hope to gain.

To tell the EU that you strongly support a total ban on trade in seal products, please sign our petition here.

Remember, we’ll continue to apply the heat as long as the hunt continues. It’s a ghastly practice, and the scale of the cruelty requires our persistence and perseverance.

Thank you for your continued support during this tragic time on the ice floes of Canada.