NAIA Official Blog

Data on wildfire frequency, size, and damage has been documented in the United States since 1983. This is some valuable, if occasionally depressing, information. While the frequency of wildfires hasn’t changed much – they are a predictable event, especially during times when the weather remains hot and dry – the scope of wildfires and the damage they cause has increased dramatically, especially in recent years (the top 10 largest burns have all been since 2004).

For those of us who have lost homes, been forced to evacuate, or who live in areas that often suffocate under a blanket of wildfire smoke, it’s an all-too familiar occurrence. But we aren’t the only animals who have to deal with the smoke and flames each year. An astonishing array of terrestrial animals consider the forests their home, and unlike us, they don’t have the luxury of staying inside with the air purifier running or of packing up and moving to a cooler, wetter environment.

So what do the animals do? Why, adapt to whatever becomes “normal,” of course – sometimes within a single generation!

The aptly-named black fire beetle, for example, uses infrared vision to detect fires from miles away. This special power helps them avoid dangerous fires that are burning too hot and fast, and also draws them toward less hazardous burned-out areas where they can mate and lay their eggs on fire-heated wood.

The spotted owl and black-backed woodpecker similarly enjoy burned out areas. Not to mate and lay eggs, but because so many of these birds’ favorite “snack animals” are forced out into the open after a fire. The mice and insects of the forest surely have a less than enthusiastic view of these birds’ adaptations, but can you blame anyone for taking advantage of a free buffet? In the case of the woodpecker, it has even developed some rather sooty-looking plumage that helps it blend in with the charred trees it frequents.

In what is perhaps a countermeasure to the kind of post-fire-predation we see from animals like the spotted owl, the antechinus (a tiny Australian marsupial) prefers to wait things out by hiding underground and going into a state of torpor. Meanwhile, the frilled lizard (another Aussie critter) has developed a knack for climbing up just the right tree at just the right time in order to avoid getting cooked during a forest fire. That last trick, while impressive, already sounds like a counter-intuitive wildfire survival trick, but it does indeed work for the lizard. However, we must add the caveat that it works “for now,” given the trend of wildfires growing in scope throughout the world.

Obviously, the conditions that caused these animals to adapt are far from ideal, but these changes are fascinating and even hopeful in a way – a reminder that life is remarkably good at, uh, finding a way.

Five animals that have evolved to cope with wildfires

Resources
★     (EPA) Climate Change Indicators: Wildfires
★     How Can I Clear My Home of Wildfire Smoke?

By now we have all heard of the train accident turned ecological disaster in East Palestine, Ohio. The cars were carrying dangerous toxins like vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylene glycol, ethylhexyl acrylate, and benzene. Since the leakages were set on fire to burn up quickly, there is still worry that those byproducts, like dioxene, will travel with the weather across the eastern US. Within the first 24 hours of the derailment, people started to find dead fish floating in nearby streams. Then, residents began to report deaths and illnesses of their chickens, dogs and other livestock. The death toll has risen even more since the incident – on the 23rd of February, the new estimate is 43,700 dead animals, both aquatic and terrestrial.

According to the EPA information on vinyl chloride, the greatest risk is for the gas to seep into soil and get into the groundwater where it cannot dissipate. It will evaporate from water quickly, but it will not break down. Since it is a gas, it dissipated soon after the incident into the surrounding air, and the remainder was incinerated. The air contamination concerns were for the first night, when low temperatures and light winds would have kept any remaining gas close to the ground.

Unfortunately, it is still too early to tell the long-lasting effects of the spill and fire. The most casualties found have been minnows, since the streams close to East Palestine are small enough that large fish do not live in them. Other affected wildlife are amphibians, which are used as indicator species of environmental quality due to the fact that they absorb water through their skin. Overall, environmental experts say that this will take a very long time to heal.

Resources
★     Worried residents near Ohio train derailment report dead fish and chickens as authorities say it’s safe to return
★     A Truck Carrying Nitric Acid Crashed in Tucson. Residents Now Have to Shelter in Plac

The string of bizarre crimes at the Dallas Zoo has finally come to an end. After the Dallas Zoo issued a photo of the suspect from security footage, it caught the eye of churchgoers who recognized him from frequenting a church-owned property. An arrest was made last week after the suspect, Davion Irvin, visited the Dallas World Aquarium (DWA), and asked keepers about the animals’ management and routines. A keeper was immediately tipped off by his behavior and also recognized him from the wanted photo. DWA also houses Emperor tamarins among many other rainforest animals, including hundreds of free flighted birds.

Upon questioning, Mr. Irvin admitted he entered the Dallas zoo after hours to cut the fence and take the tamarins, then used the commuter train to travel back to Lancaster with the monkeys in tow. It is a short distance from the tamarin exhibit to the zoo perimeter, and then a short walk to the train station, which has a zoo stop across the street from the front entrance. Mr. Irvin also admitted to the attempted catnapping of the clouded leopard Nova, as well as cutting the langur fencing. It has not yet been determined if he has any connection with the intentional killing of the lappet-faced vulture, Pin. Mr. Irvin did make it clear, however, that he would continue to seek out animals to take upon release, as he is a self-proclaimed animal lover. He has now been charged with six counts of animal cruelty and two counts of burglary.

This string of incidents has rippled across the country. Several similar events have occurred within the same time frame, only adding to the mystery: 12 squirrel monkeys were stolen from a zoo in Louisiana, a Eurasian Eagle Owl got out of a vandalized exhibit at the Central Park Zoo in NYC, a pelican exhibit was vandalized at the Houston Zoo, and an Andean bear got out of its enclosure through a corner of fencing at the Saint Louis Zoo.

Resources
★     Owl who escaped NYC zoo after someone cut enclosure becomes local celebrity
★     A man was arrested in the theft of 12 squirrel monkeys from a Louisiana zoo, but the animals have yet to be found, chief says

With inflation being such a major news item all throughout 2022, the recent spike in egg and poultry prices may have slid under your radar as part of the general increased cost of living. However, if you break it down, a dozen large, grade A eggs cost 60% more than they did a year ago – more than seven times higher than last year’s rate of inflation! – and this increased cost is due to something far more dire than disruptions to the supply chain: it’s avian influenza. It is back in a big way, in an outbreak the USDA is calling the largest animal emergency they have ever faced in this country.

We are all probably aware of avian influenza, at least to the extent that it exists and makes birds sick. But there’s a lot more to it than that. There are several strains of the virus, and more importantly, it is split into two groups: low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) and highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). LPAI, as you may have already guessed, is not as lethal and has a wide range of outcomes: infected birds may suffer from zero clinical signs of the virus, they may sicken enough to die from it, or fall somewhere in between on the spectrum. Despite the fact many birds recover from it, it is still a problem as well as worrisome, since two of the strains are known to mutate into highly pathogenic forms. HPAI, the group threatening farmer’s flocks right now, spreads more rapidly and is far more deadly – especially to domestic poultry.

Since last February, more than 58 million birds have been culled due to the virus, 40 million of them egg-laying chickens. These numbers are despite improvements in monitoring and biosecurity protocols since the last major outbreak in 2015. And unfortunately, preventing and limiting outbreaks could become even more difficult as time progresses, since HPAI appears more and more prevalent in wild birds. Unlike chickens, numerous wild birds carry HPAI without showing serious signs of illness… and they migrate all throughout the world.

Commercial and backyard farmers, the USDA, researchers, and others are all working to find ways of protecting the animals we care for from this terrible illness, but it has been a painfully difficult path, and sadly, there is no obvious quick fix on the horizon.

Resources
★     USGS: What are the different types of avian influenza?
★     Grizzly bears test positive for bird flu in Montana, officials say

A new study analyzing tweets about elephants reveals a disconnect between the conservation issues Twitter users care about versus the numerous threats these animals actually face. It also shows that 73% of the users voicing opinions on vital conservation issues don’t live in countries with elephant populations, and that Twitter users who live alongside elephants resent the way they are portrayed by western social media users.

Some of the top threats to elephants are poaching, habitat loss, and human-elephant conflict. However, western Twitter users are concerned primarily with poaching, and show far less interest in the other key threats. Most troubling, some westerners demonstrate a callous, or even hostile view toward communities that live near elephants. Nobody wants to see these majestic creatures go extinct, but when more concern is shown over the life of an elephant than a dead farmer, it is understandable when bad blood arises.

We can’t say this study’s findings come as a surprise (are you surprised?). However, shining an academic flashlight on these misunderstandings is vitally important when it comes to preserving elephants and the communities that live near them. Successful conservation efforts require both political will and a clear understanding of the problems at hand. Preserving elephants is a huge task. If resources are misallocated and resentment festers between the stakeholders (the sacrifices made for conservation by communities in Batswana which are rarely acknowledged on social media, for example), that task becomes even more difficult.

Resources
★     Shrinking spaces for the world’s largest land animal
★     ​Africa’s elephants more endangered by poaching, habitat loss