We do not remember days.We remember moments.
~Inspirationfeed

Only about 400 individuals remain of the West African Giraffe, which is solely found in Niger. Photo by John Butler

Nairobi, Kenya, June 20, 2014 
African Wildlife Foundation

As the first-ever annual World Giraffe Day on June 21 approaches, world’s tallest land mammal threatened by conflict with humans, habitat loss, war, and disease

The overall giraffe population in Africa has fallen by 40 percent in the past decade in a half and, at 80,000 individuals, is currently one-fifth the size of the African elephant population. This year conservationists are raising awareness about the plight of this African icon on the first-ever annual World Giraffe Day, June 21, when the world’s tallest land mammal with the longest neck is celebrated on the longest day of the year. World Giraffe Day offers a rare chance to spotlight the giraffe, which, alongside elephants, rhinos, and other African megafauna, is being threatened by a number of human activities, including poaching, disease, habitat loss, war, and conflict with humans over scarce resources. 

“Giraffes are one of Africa’s most beloved animals and always seem to be a part of the traditional African backdrop,” says Dr. Philip Muruthi, African Wildlife Foundation’s (AWF’s) senior director of conservation science.

Though listed as “least concern” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, giraffe camelopardalis does include two subspecies, the West African giraffe and the Rothschild’s giraffe that are now categorized as endangered. The small population of West African giraffe, located in Niger, comprises an estimated 400 individuals, while the Rothschild’s giraffe, found only in Kenya and Uganda, numbers about 1,100.

“Because there is a lack of data about local populations as well as the continental giraffe population, it’s important for the scientific community to undertake giraffe research. This will give us a clearer picture of the situation on the ground and help focus resources and protection efforts,” explains Muruthi. 

Over the past few years, AWF has worked with partners and local communities for the past few years in Niger to better understand and protect the West African giraffe.

“The West African giraffe lives only in Niger, mainly on community lands and farms. This coexistence with humans has led to reduced and degraded habitat for giraffe, as well as incidents of human–giraffe conflict,” says Theo Way Nana, a conservation management trainee for African Wildlife Foundation who is currently engaged in the organization’s giraffe and elephant conservation work in Niger, Burkina Faso, and Benin. To that end, AWF has supported periodic giraffe censuses, engaged local communities to mitigate human–giraffe conflict, and worked with residents to restore giraffe habitat.

World Giraffe Day was established by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF), the only charitable organization focused solely on conservation of the African giraffe. AWF consulted with GCF on its West African giraffe work in Niger, and GCF is currently compiling data on the status of all giraffe populations in Africa into a Giraffe Conservation Status Report, which will help guide their IUCN Red List assessment and conservation management into the future. The Giraffe Conservation Status Report is expected to be available in early 2015.

“Much attention has been focused on elephants and rhinos lately—as well it should. We cannot, however, forget about Africa’s giraffes, whose populations have plummeted in a very short period of time. If we are not careful, while we are working to save some of Africa’s megafauna, Africa could end up losing one of the most iconic African megafauna—the giraffe—altogether,” says Dr. Julian Fennessy, executive director and conservation scientist of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation.

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We remember moments.

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Perfect love casts out fear. If fear exists, then there is not perfect love.
You have so little faith in yourself because you are unwilling to accept the fact that perfect love is in you, and so you seek without for what you cannot find within.

Source: A Course in Miracles

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Only about 400 individuals remain of the West African Giraffe, which is solely found in Niger.
The overall giraffe population in Africa has fallen by 40 percent in the past decade in a half and, at 80,000 individuals, is currently one-fifth the size of the African elephant population.

“Giraffes are one of Africa’s most beloved animals and always seem to be a part of the traditional African backdrop,” says Dr. Philip Muruthi, African Wildlife Foundation’s (AWF’s) senior director of conservation science.

“The West African giraffe lives only in Niger, mainly on community lands and farms. This coexistence with humans has led to reduced and degraded habitat for giraffe, as well as incidents of human–giraffe conflict,” says Theo Way Nana, a conservation management trainee for African Wildlife Foundation who is currently engaged in the organization’s giraffe and elephant conservation work in Niger, Burkina Faso, and Benin. To that end, AWF has supported periodic giraffe censuses, engaged local communities to mitigate human–giraffe conflict, and worked with residents to restore giraffe habitat.

Video and full story
http://leelavadeeflower.blogspot.com/2014/10/no-more-than-80000-giraffe-left-in.html

Source: Nairobi, Kenya, African Wildlife Foundation; Photo by John Butler

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Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.
At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received,
how much money we have made, how many great things we have done.
We will be judged by “I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat,
I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.

~Mother Teresa

If you find no one to support you on the spiritual path, walk alone.
There is no companionship with the immature.
 ~Buddha,The Dhammapada

In war, both the winners and losers lose. ~Venerable Wuling

Being a Nice Guy, doesn’t mean you are a push over. It also doesn’t mean you are easy to manipulate or take advantage of. No, being a Nice Guy simply means you care, have no time to get mad at the small stuff, and you think of the world in larger terms than self. And despite living in the shadow of the bad guys and paying for mistakes you didn’t make, you hold on sometimes more than you should, but when you can no longer, you move on because it’s the right thing to do.  ~Eugene Nathaniel Butler

Heart-breaking letters from young children…

Daniel Pye, The Phnom Penh Post
Sat, 4 October 2014

This is a hell for children,” the letter reads. “I fled from war in Iraq but got stuck in harsh jail in Nauru where [there] is nothing but cruelty.”

The 15-year-old’s appeal is one of hundreds written by some of the 222 children, who are refugees or are seeking asylum in Australia, held on the tiny island nation of Nauru.

Many are impounded at camp OPC3, under the supervision of private Australian security firms. Conditions are dismal, and the inhabitants’ hopes of reaching Australia were dashed last week when the country inked a deal to resettle refugees in Cambodia.

In a series of submissions to the Australian Human Rights Commission’s ongoing inquiry into the country’s “off-shore processing” policy, children on Nauru have documented the suffering they endure in the camps.

“You’re nothing but a cult of racist liers [sic] [whose] aim is to kill the peoples even children on Nauru,” wrote one child. “Nauru is hell and you know everything about it … imagine [if] your children were in … our circumstances.”

Another child drew a row of dead refugees with nooses around their necks. Another, from Iran, scribbled a picture of Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott shooting a refugee. “Neither Iran, nor Australia, has freedom,” the child wrote.

Some of the scores of submissions to the Australian Human Rights Commission. Photo Supplied

The children described cramped, stuffy accommodation, inedible food crawling with insects and a lack of basic necessities like water and medical care.

In another submission, a child protection worker described the allegations of sexual abuse at the hands of guards that have emerged from the camp.

“Children have been sexually assaulted and threatened with sexual assault, and they are not allowed to leave the camp, even with family members able to care for them here.”

“Everyone here is depressed,” wrote one child. “F—k my life.”

Be a reflection of what you'd like to see in others. If you want love, give love, if you want honesty, give honesty, if you want respect, give respect. You get in return, what you give.

Always be yourself. Never try to hide who you are. The only shame is to have shame. Always stand up for what you believe in. Always question what other people tell you. Never regret the past…It's a waste of time. There's a reason for everything; Every mistake, every moment of weakness, every terrible thing that has happened to you. Grow from it. The only way you can ever get the respect of others is when you show them that you respect yourself… ~Unknown

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