Imagine strolling through one of Rhode Island’s lovely parks or woodlands on a fine summer afternoon; now imagine the idyll is suddenly shattered by the high pitched cry and slashing claws of a giant bird. If this sounds absurd, think again; emu attacks are now a very real threat to Rhode Islanders. Emus are large flightless birds found primarily in Australia. They can grow to be seven feet tall, and mature birds have been known to breathe fire. These normally antipodal avians were introduced to Rhode Island by Eibbed Aznep in a misguided attempt to farm them for their meat, leather and oil. Sadly, this experiment went awry and some emus escaped into the wild where they have bred to alarming numbers. Rhode Islanders are now faced with dangerous wild emus which have long sharp claws, seem to target police officers especially, and attack from ambush; thus, giving their victims little time to react. Emus are the world’s most dangerous flightless birds.
Initially, a bird would not seem to be much of a threat to a human, but closer examination reveals emus to be physically formidable. While the prospect of being enveloped in flaming bird breath is frightening, it is extremely unlikely during the typical emu attack. Apparently, the incendiary exhalations evolved as a mating display and are only used to attract females and discourage rivals. Emus will, however, use their beaks to peck and bite at enemies, and the resultant bite can be quite nasty and prone to infection. The weapon of choice for Dromaius novaehollandiae, as emus are classified in Latin, is their long sharp claws. These ghastly black and yellow digits can be up to 8 inches long and are razor sharp. Further, Rhode Island’s emus are expert in their use; typically t...
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...ss birds. No other avian species need be considered; ostriches, cassowaries, nandus, rheas, kakpos, kiwis and penguins cannot begin to match the bellicosity of Rhode Island’s emus. Certainly, these species may be dangerous when cornered, but none regularly stalk and attack humans. Daunting physical prowess, exemplified by vicious claws, qualifies the emus as dangerous. But far more importantly, emus use their natural abilities in what can only be called a malevolent manner; attacks on police officers which strike at the very heart of society; and sudden, explosive ambushes which leave victims severely injured or dead. Now is the time for all Rhode Islanders to come together and find a solution for this perilous situation. Failure to act now and to act decisively will result in an ever increasing conflict between man and the world’s most dangerous flightless bird.
Every day many species are slowly becoming either endangered or extinct and recently an endangered bird species called piping plovers, started nesting on Revere Beach. What would seem as a miraculous discovery, many are averse to their new inhabitants on the beach. Many Revere residents are complaining because the piping plovers now occupy parts of “their” beach. But in the article “Revere Beach should welcome the piping plover” The Editorial Board believes that the presence of the piping plover could be greatly beneficial to the city of Revere and I certainly agree. What led me to select this particular article is my concern for the many endangered species in the world like the piping plover. Human hands have led many species to become endangered
perceptions of the blackbird itself, as what it must be like to be that bird. By
Did you know that you happen to be surrounded by invasive species? These species are animals that come into areas they do not belong in. The articles, “Invaders among Us,” and “Invader Alert,” show this. They harm the environment, cost tons of money in damage and extermination, and they have to be prevented.
While driving On Rte10 through the town of Hamden what seems to be an ordinary ride can become a scenic view of our nation’s bird. On a tall skinny Birch tree over 40 ft in the air is lives a bald eagle in its natural habitat. In this nest lives a male adult and female adult with an Eaglet. The nest is located in a farming open field along a river bank. This field and river provides the eagles with a source of food. The eagles mostly eat fish, the adult eagle will swoop down to the water and grab a fish all in one motion flying the meal back to the nest to feed its family. The field is posted to prevent people from ruining the habitat, since the natural reproduction of this eagle is very important to its recovery from being endangered. I was able to view this community form the road and was able to watch the nest and occasionally watch the adult eagle fly away most likely looking for food to feed his family. The nest form my view was huge at least 3 feet in diameter perched up about 40 ft high on a birch tree. The surrounding area of the nest was clear of any branches or trees creating a clear access way for the birds to land. Below the nest was a large open field on the bank of an active river.
Orcas in captivity have shown more aggression then they ever have in the wild. In fact “There has not been any orca attacks recorded in the wild but many in captivity” (pg1). There are over one hundred and fifteen reported cases of orcas attacking trainers in captivity. No matter the experience of the trainer or connectio...
Watson, J. B., & Lashley, K. S. (1915). Homing and related activities of birds,. Washington: Carnegie Institution of Washington.
Alligators are very dangerous animals to humans. Alligator attacks occur around seven times a year, but few are lethal. When people feed them, alligators learn not to be afraid of humans. This causes more alligator attacks and alligators to become more aggressive with humans. Ninety percent of all alligator attacks are caused from people feeding alligators. (langly,2005)
The Piping Plover is a small, endangered bird. It is otherwise known as the Charadrius Melodus (ES: Piping Plover). It lives, and breeds along the Atlantic coast of Canada, but usually around the Great Lakes, in Canada and the U.S.A (Piping Plover Page). Recently, it has been found in the Wasaga Beach area (Springwater News). This bird has not been seen in this area since 1978, so an area of Beach 1, where the Nottawasaga River enters Nottawasaga Bay was fenced off, and could remain closed until July (Springwater News). It also lives in and around Alberta (ES: Piping Plover). These birds generally live on or close to beaches and lakes, usually places with water. This bird generally likes to be around places with sand, like beaches, because it can blend easily. The bird has a back that is sandy brown in colour, so predators can’t see it (Piping Plover Page). They are constantly losing their habitat to buildings, pollution of lakes and ponds, and clearing of forests.
8. Taylor, Dan. 1998. Audubon Society Inspired to Action by Bird Die -offs . 17 Jan. 1998 . E-mail . Available bkus@sunstroke.sdsu.edu
Ruryk, Z. (2008, March 2). One endangered species: But pit bull attacks are down. Retrieved April 20, 2011, from Toronto Sun:
Murrow, Jennifer L., Cindy A. Thatcher, Frank T. van Manen and Joseph D. Clark. A Data-Based Conservation Planning Tool for Florida Panthers. Environ Model Access 2013, 18: 159-170, DOI: 10.1007/s10666-012-9336-0
represent in real life. Birds are a part of a class of animals that have the ability to roam
Denotatively a bird is defined as a, Any of a class (Aves) of warm-blooded vertebrates distinguished by having the body more or less completely covered with feathers and the forelimbs modified as wings, often capable of flying. The authors/Glaspell’s strategic comparison of Mrs. Wright to a bird can be interpreted connotatively that she was a free,
The warblers and larger mammal species on these islands are being affected by similar abiotic factors, but in differing ways for the biotic factors. Specifically, species richness is being affected by island biogeography and its associated costs (abiotic) as well as biotic aspects such as competition, predation pressure, and resources. First, looking at figure 1 we see a strong correlation between species richness, represented by number of different species/island, and land area on each associated island for both larger mammals (R2=0.94) and warblers (R2=0.84). This shows us that the island geography, particularly how big it is, has strong correlation to the number of different species on each island. Land area is related to a number of abiotic features such as environmental heterogeneity, disturbance frequency, distribution, and immigration (Brown et al., 2007).
One particularly warm evening last summer, I walked into my backyard to relax and enjoy some fresh air. Instead, I was greeted by the loud shriek of a chicken. We had an uninvited guest in our vegetable garden. Unfortunately, such chicken invasions are a common occurrence in many areas of Stockton, California. Throughout the United States, municipalities small and large are debating whether or not they should enact residential livestock ordinances, specifically in regards to poultry. Considering that they are often a public nuisance and pose a health risk, local officials should consider restricting the private ownership of chickens in heavily populated urban areas.