On October 28, 2011, our class went to the Royal Ontario Museum. We took a guided tour after disposing of my dearly beloved food (unfinished large coke and large fries from MickeyD's, you will be missed). Our tour guide, Ian, was well informed and told delightful story after story to keep us enthused and interested in the topic at hand. One story that he told was particularly memorable, and stuck with me. Below is a brief recap:
In the prairies, the prairie dogs run wild, while the black-footed ferrets choose to stalk their prey at night. The prairie dogs are deemed as cute and cuddly (don't you argue with me, I know what you girls said), while the ferrets are deemed as nuisances. However, it should be the opposite, since the dogs are the ones who create burrows under the ground, while the ferrets kill them. Thus, they were shot to near extinction by the humans, and were thought to be extinct over 40 years ago. Because of the lack of ferrets, the dogs bred like humans (okay, it should be "bred like rabbits" but since there's only 1 billion rabbits and 7 billion humans, which is more appropriate?), causing more tunnels to be made. It was only thirty years ago that a small colony of the ferrets were found and rescued, placed into a zoo to breed more ferrets. However, the ferrets that were bred were lazy, and expected their food to be handed to them on a silver platter. What do you expect though, you grew them in captivity. Anyways, a "boot camp" was made for the ferrets and now they can eat and kill as their ancestors could before.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Biology Blog #9: Five Questions about "The Cove"
2. Where is the dolphin slaughter taking place (city and country)?
In Taiji, Japan.
10. How many dolphins are killed at this secret cove a year?
23,000
14. Dolphin meat has 2000 ppm of mercury in it while the recommended amount is no more than 0.4 ppm. Why do many Japanese people eat it then?
Most Japanese people are unable that they are eating dolphin meat. When they go to their fish market, dolphin meat is usually labelled and sold as another high quality meat. As the women buy it, they are aware of the dangers beneath the packaging and continue to eat it.
19. the Deputy of Fisheries claims that the dolphins are killed humanely. What does one of the crew members do when he says this?
They dispute his claim and show him the footage that they've captured, which puts him in a bad position.
20. The main character goes to the IWC and does what at the end (even though he is banned from their meetings)?
He shows the same video that he showed the Deputy of Fisheries and causes a lot of controversy amongst them.
In Taiji, Japan.
10. How many dolphins are killed at this secret cove a year?
23,000
14. Dolphin meat has 2000 ppm of mercury in it while the recommended amount is no more than 0.4 ppm. Why do many Japanese people eat it then?
Most Japanese people are unable that they are eating dolphin meat. When they go to their fish market, dolphin meat is usually labelled and sold as another high quality meat. As the women buy it, they are aware of the dangers beneath the packaging and continue to eat it.
19. the Deputy of Fisheries claims that the dolphins are killed humanely. What does one of the crew members do when he says this?
They dispute his claim and show him the footage that they've captured, which puts him in a bad position.
20. The main character goes to the IWC and does what at the end (even though he is banned from their meetings)?
He shows the same video that he showed the Deputy of Fisheries and causes a lot of controversy amongst them.
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