Birds Fall in Love too...!

A speed dating experiment has suggested that birds and humans are remarkably similar when it comes to choosing mates and falling in love. Using a population of 160 birds, these researchers set up a speed-dating session, leaving groups of 20 females to choose freely between 20 males.

Once the birds had paired off, half of the couples were allowed to go off into a life of 'wedded bliss'. However, for the other half, the researchers intervened, like overbearing Victorian parents, splitting up the happy pair, and forcibly pairing them with other broken-hearted individuals. Strikingly, the final number of surviving chicks was 37% higher for individuals in chosen pairs than those in non-chosen pairs.

This research proves again, that non-human creatures too have emotions. They each also have a distinguished personality, and they too deserve the same respect and dignity that we are expected to give to any other human.

Banned - World's Biggest Animal Sacrifice Event, Gadhimai

The world's biggest animal sacrifice event, held every five years for for around 265 years at the Gadhimai Festival in Nepal; has been cancelled indefinitely by the Gadhimai Temple Trust. This welcome move will spare the lives of millions of innocent animals over coming years.


With the Supreme Court of India’s intervention to prohibit the movement of animals from India to Nepal, there was a reduction of up to 70 percent in the number of animals sacrificed from 2009. The Supreme Court’s order resulted in more than 100 arrests of those breaching the order, and more than 2,500 animals saved. Earlier this month the Supreme Court of India issued directions to states to set up mechanisms to prevent animals from being taken to Gadhimai in future and create awareness against animal sacrifice.

The origins of Gadhimai date back around 265 years ago, when the founder of the Gadhimai Temple, Bhagwan Chowdhary, had a dream that the goddess Gadhimai wanted blood in return for freeing him from prison, protecting him from evil and promising prosperity and power. The goddess asked for a human sacrifice, but Chowdhary successfully offered an animal instead, and this been repeated every five years since. It is estimated that more than 500,000 buffalo, goats, chickens and other animals were decapitated at Gadhimai in 2009, but in 2014 the numbers had reduced by 70 percent.


There were rigorous negotiations and campaigning by Animal Welfare Network Nepal, Humane Society International-India, People for Animals-India and thousands of independent voices against this massacre of animals at Gadhimai. And it all resulted in a tremendous victory for compassion that will save millions of animals now. We can't thank enough all the people and organizations that made this victory possible.

52% of Wildlife Lost in past 40 Years

52% of the world’s animals have vanished in last 40 years, according to a WWF ( World Wildlife Fund ) report. The 2014 Living Planet Report stated that between 1970 and 2010, populations of mammals, reptiles, amphibians and fish around the globe dropped 52%! Examples of wildlife that are suffering serious population collapse include elephants in Africa which could be extinct within our lifetime!! Marine turtles have seen an 80% drop in numbers.

The amount of carbon in our atmosphere has risen to levels not seen in more than a million years, triggering climate change that is already destabilizing ecosystems. High concentrations of reactive nitrogen are degrading lands, rivers and oceans. Stress on already scarce water supplies is increasing. And over 60% of the essential services provided by nature from forests to seas are in decline. With 39% of terrestrial wildlife gone, 39% of marine wildlife gone and 76% of freshwater wildlife gone…all in the past 40 years, we are headed towards a catastrophe. Perhaps man will only stop after he has nothing more to destroy, and then mankind will be destroyed too. After all the awareness drives and endless animal safety projects and millions spent for them, animals are still dying, and they are dying faster. Are we really so dumb not to understand that if there are no animals on the Earth, we won’t be here either??

Ants fighting Global Warming!!

That every creature on Earth is here for a purpose, and that we must not kill any of them, has been proved right again. According to the journal Geology, ants may be cooling the Earth by helping trap carbon dioxide from the environment! A long-term experiment tracking the ants’ effects on soil suggests they cooled Earth’s climate as their numbers grew.

Certain ant species “weather” minerals in order to secrete calcium carbonate, better known as limestone. The process traps and removes a tiny bit of carbon dioxide gas from atmosphere. This ant limestone factory is a small-scale version of the massive planetary-cooling process that takes place in the oceans, known as carbon sequestration, according to a report.

It was discovered that ants were powerful weathering agents by tracking the breakdown of basalt sand. The experiment also shows that ants appear to break down the minerals 50 to 300 times faster than sand left undisturbed on bare ground.

There are other scientific explanations given in the report about how ants do it. But the important point is that every creature on Earth is here for a purpose. To kill them, eat them and torture them is against humanity and against divinity. God and nature have blessed us with animals to save us from calamities which we must understand and respect the existence of animals.

Raju, the Elephant, No More a Slave after 50 Years…

Raju, the elephant, that had been chained throughout his 50-year life and subjected to severe abuse all his life, was recently rescued from his captors in the Uttar Pradesh state of India. The elephant was used for begging, joy rides, and performing tricks to appease people for money. He had also been poked with spikes and had wounds in several parts of his body. He had even been fed paper and plastic! The elephant’s taste buds have been damaged and he cannot taste food anymore! Even his digestive system will take a long time to recover! They say he was probably taken from a forest as a calf and then sold several times to different owners! So much for the innocent soul to suffer!! The elephant was crying while being unchained!

This elephant was seized by the Forest Department from his owner when he could not produce the documents for his possession. But what about those 50 long years that this majestic animal spent in severe abuse and torture? And why couldn’t he be rescued earlier? This incident arouses anger, disappointment and disbelief about the greed of humans who would go beyond any limit of cruelty to inflict abuse on innocent animals for monetary gains.

What have we come to as a community? Are we still savages? This whole episode is unbelievable and almost ends my hope and faith in humanity.

Man Killed for Feeding Stray Dogs???

A dog lover, who cared for stray dogs by giving them food and water, was killed by his neighbor who couldn't stand his passion for stray animals! This unfortunate incident happened in Howrah city in Kolkata state of India. The victim had gone out to feed stray dogs as usual when the murderer came charging at him, complaining that the dogs were a nuisance and created problems for the people. When the animal lover was attacked, the dogs charged at the attacker and he fled. But he came back later, this time with an iron rod, and started hitting the animal lover on the head. This resulted in the death of the animal lover.

This cruel and sad incident clearly shows how intolerant our society has become of animals and animal lovers. And this has happened in a country which is known to worship animals as different forms of God!! Why kill animals and accuse them of creating a nuisance when we have destroyed their habitat? If we leave no place for them to live, we will have to be ready to co-exist with them. In fact, all the animals want to stay away from the merciless humankind and try their best to avoid them. But with their shrinking habitat, they have no option but to live with us and suffer heavily in return.

This kind of cruelty and insensitivity is totally unacceptable. The government and the authorities must ensure the safety of animals and animal lovers. How long will animals be tortured and killed for no fault of theirs?

250 Lions Dead in 5 Years

250 lions have died in past 5 years in Gir wildlife sanctuary and its periphery in India. The death of lions in such huge numbers is alarming. It raises serious concerns about the upkeep and safety of lions in India. Many lions were run over by trains which operate through this area! Many others died by electrocution and by falling in wells!

This all proves how callous we are in our approach to provide a safe life to these majestic animals. Imagine lions dying by being run over by trains, by electrocution, and by falling in wells! Where are the safety measures? Can't these animals be provided with a safe habitat protected from man-made hazards?

Animals don't take anything from nature except what nature offers them. They don't manufacture or build anything and don't exploit the Earth for commercial benefits. Yet, they can't live in peace, and have to perish because of the selfishness of the human race. Safety measures must be taken immediately to save these lions from further damage and death. It must be ensured that their habitat is free from trains, electricity and wells...!!!