Life with Dylan

Category: conservation

  • In less than 5 minutes you can help save a rhino

    Do you want to help save a rhino? What would you say if I told you that just by voting on some pictures, taking only a few minutes of your time, you could help save a rhino? 


    The 2013 IRKA/IRF Rhino Photo Contest had 104 contestants this year – and I was one of them! The 12 photos with most votes will be featured in the 2013 Rhino Conservation Calendar. 


    Beautiful pictures are what makes a calendar special and I would be honored to have my photograph included in this calendar. The more calendars sold means more awareness for the endangered rhinos and more money to help keep them alive. 


    The funds raised from the sale of the calendar will go to the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary (Yayasan Badak Indonesia or YABI).

    Because so many rhinos are being killed by poachers, we need sanctuaries like YABI to protect and breed the rhinos before more species become extinct. YABI is where Ratu, one of the three adult female rhinos at Indonesia’s Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary, gave birth to a 60-lb male calf, named Andatu. Not only was this Ratu’s first baby, but it was the first Sumatran rhino ever born in captivity in Indonesia and only the fifth ever born in captivity worldwide. For more information on the rhino conservation program at YABI, visit the International Rhino Foundation website.


    I am not asking for anything but your time, so if you can spare 5 minutes to help save a rhino I would really appreciate it. Here are the details you need to know.

    1. Voting will be from Aug.6th-20th 
    2. ANYONE can vote, so please pass this along to your friends and family. 
    3. You can only vote once and the photos are “anonymous” to prevent any bias. 
    4. You may only choose a photo once and you must choose 9 photos in total for your vote to count.
    5. The 12 photos that receive the highest amount of votes will be featured in the 2013 Rhino Conservation Calendar and the photographer will receive credit.
    6. Photo winners will be announced September 1st! 
    Please click the Survey Monkey link below and vote for your favorite 9 rhino photos!

    www.surveymonkey.com/s/2013RhinoConservationCalendar 

    Oh, and I happen to really like photo #18 (wink ,wink)

    If you would like to learn more about the endangered rhino and what is being done to save the rhinos around the world, check out IRKA, International Rhino Foundation, and World Rhino Day.

  • Panda Love

    The last few days have been nothing but panda talk at my house … not to mention the various media outlets. Bai Yun made history on Monday when she gave birth to her 6th cub at the San Diego Zoo. This was a high risk pregnancy because of her age and ever since learning that she was showing signs of pregnancy, my son and I have been keeping our fingers crossed that all went well.

    We have spent hours watching the Panda Cam trying to catch a glimpse of the cub, but Bai Yun has been holding the cub very close. It amazes me that such big animal can hold something so small and not harm it.

    Today a video was released by the San Diego Zoo showing Bai Yun leave her cub for a brief moment to get a drink of water and the squeals were non-stop from my home. I am sure they could be heard down the block. The baby is just too cute.

    More than just a successful high risk pregnancy, this panda birth makes the San Diego Zoo the most successful Panda Breeding Center outside of China. That is some pretty big conservation news to brag about. Way to go San Diego Zoo and congratulations to Bai Yun and Gao Gao.

    I took the above photo of Gao Gao on July 4, 2012

  • It’s Global Tiger Day!

    Celebrate the beauty of the tiger, the strength of the tiger, and the innocence of the tiger.

    Take a moment to learn about the challenges tigers face and the conservation efforts being made to save them. Today is the day to spread the word and create awareness. 

    In honor of Global Tiger Day, I have a challenge for you. I will personally donate $1 for every new “like” Life with Dylan gets on Facebook today, with a maximum of a $250 donation, to the Tiger Trail Challenge at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.


    Are you up for my challenge? 

    It’s quite simple … Just “like” Life with Dylan on Facebook, share the challenge with your friends, and the tigers could get $250 toward their new home.

  • 6 Ways you can support Global Tiger Day

    This Sunday is Global Tiger Day – a day of celebration for one of the world’s most beautiful cats.
    A day created to raise awareness for the tigers and for people around the world to support the conservation efforts being made to save the tigers.

    Christopher, a Malayan tiger at the San Diego Zoo

    As I have said before, one person can make a difference. Here are a few ways that you can help support Global Tiger Day and raise awareness for the tigers.

    Most importantly, spread the word and create awareness!


    Share what you will doing to celebrate and support Global Tiger Day in the comments below. 



  • The conservation efforts of non-profit organizations depend on our help

    The cornerstones of conservation efforts are the numerous non-profit organizations that depend on our donations to survive. We all get the mailings, the emails, see the shares on Facebook, and the tweets on twitter. Save the planet, save the oceans, save the rain forests, save the animals.
    They are all doing good and it can be hard to choose just one. $25 here $10 there … does it really do anything?

    Some may argue and say yes, that $10 does help an organization. However, after many years of spreading my money to a variety of non-profit organizations I decided to make all of my contributions to just one this year. To help conservation efforts on a local level, where I can see what my money is doing, and also on a global level where I can help make a difference for animals across the globe was my goal. There are so many great non-profits and I want my money going to an organization that I can personally relate to.

    Ultimately, my decision was based on the local level. When I saw first hand what my money was doing, there was no doubt in my mind. My monthly contributions would go to San Diego Zoo Global.

    This amazing video shows all that San Diego Zoo Global does for the animals, planet, and the people who come to visit the parks.

    Each month I give a specified amount to San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy as a Wildlife Conservancy Hero.  When extra funds are available, rather than give $10 to another organization, I help out by buying something on the monthly wish list. This is a wonderful way to make $5 – $10 go a long way because the wish list will tell you exactly what the money will buy. Items tend to go quickly, so I always check within the first few days of the month for the best selection – toward the end of the month the items left on the list are a little higher priced than I can afford.

    I have fed a condor for a week, fed a Manchurian brown bear for 3 days, and supplied various enrichment toys for animals. My donations have helped in conservation efforts across the globe. So sure, that $10 does make a difference – but think of the difference hundreds of dollars can make for San Diego Zoo Global.

    Do you make donations to non-profit organizations?  If so, what organization do you support?

  • Why conservation is important to me

    Everyone has something they hold close to their heart. Something they are passionate about and that somehow connects with them on a personal level. As you have probably figured out, I am passionate about conservation and preserving what the earth has to offer for our future generations. 

    We recently lost an animal known as Lonesome George. He was the last of his species and now my family will never get to see this La Pinta Island giant tortoise. When my son and I read about this loss, we cried. Some may think crying over an animal you’ve never met is ridiculous. Others may think there are hundreds of other Galapagos tortoises – you see them at the zoo. These are the people that don’t get it. They don’t get the big picture and I would say that only a third of them ever will.

    I will probably live longer than the Northern White Rhino species. My sons children will probably never get a chance to see a Northern White Rhino. Why? Because these animals are hunted and killed … Just as the tigers and elephants are hunted and killed. When I read stories about this in the news, like the one I read today, it makes me sad and angry. I sit here racking my brain trying to figure out how I can help. These animals can’t talk. They can’t ask for help. So it is up to people like me, people who call themselves conservationist, to bring awareness to others about the plight of these animals and the importance of keeping them alive. Not just for our children and grandchildren to see, but for the survival of the animal world.

    When I see a picture of an endangered animal or one at the zoo or read a sign at the zoo that says only 39 left in the wild, I literally stop and catch my breath. These animals are so beautiful and I fear that too many people take them for granted.

    Don’t assume that because you can see an animal at a zoo today it will still be there in 20 years. Zoos educate us about the animals and let us see them up close, but the best way to ensure a species survival is for the species to thrive in the wild.

    Once you come face to face with an endangered animal, you will do whatever it takes to save them. I am proud to call myself a conservationist. I will continue to be an advocate for the environment and wildlife because one person can and does make a difference.

    Con·ser·va·tion·ist
    Noun: A person who advocates or acts for the protection and preservation of the environment and wildlife.

  • Birthday wishes really do come true

    Tomorrow is Dylan’s 9th birthday and all he wanted for his birthday was to raise $1,000 for the tigers at San Diego Zoo Safari Park. He wanted to help save the species from extinction and build a new home for them called Tiger Trail.

    As you probably know, Dylan had various fundraisers, recycled cans and bottles, saved all of his allowance money, and many people donated money in his name. Some people I know and some who donated are complete strangers who found Dylan’s story and donated through social media links.

    I am very happy to report that as of today Dylan has raised $1,317 for Tiger Trail.

    (and that’s not including birthday money that I know is coming in the mail still from family)

    Tomorrow we will be spending the day at the Safari Park and meeting some big cats, including the tigers, up close on a Behind the Scenes Safari Tour that we won from the Pin It For Tigers contest last month.  The perfect birthday as far as Dylan is concerned.

    Although Dylan has met his goal, the tigers still need our help. For the Safari Park to receive the anonymous donation of $9 million, they must raise $2 million on their own.

    This is a screen shot from the Safari Parks website showing how much they have raised so far. As you can see, they are almost halfway there.

    Whether you make a donation in Dylan’s name or just go to the Tiger Trail Challenge website makes no difference to me. What matters is that you donate. For every $2 that is donated, the park receives $9 – which means Dylan’s $1,217 is actually $5,476. That is pretty amazing if you ask me.

    The Safari Park has until December 31, 2012 to meet the $2 million goal.

    Dylan and I will continue to send money because this is something that we both believe in.
    For all of you who donated in Dylan’s name and  helped make his birthday wish come true …

    THANK YOU!



  • Our long awaited walk with the reptiles at San Diego Zoo

    When most people think of the 4th of the July, they think of BBQ’s, picnics, homemade desserts and fireworks with friends and family. Well, we spent the 4th a little differently this year. Still with friends and family, just not the human kind.

    After what seemed like a year of construction, the San Diego Zoo had its grand opening of the new Reptile Walk on July 4, 2012 – we had to be there. Dylan and I had both missed seeing the frogs and especially the Galapagos tortoises. The new long awaited Reptile Walk is amazing and definitely worth the wait.

    Still located behind the Reptile House, the Reptile Walk is a beautiful stroll down planked pathways that are lined with trees and lush landscaping.

    Once  through the entrance, you enter the first building which houses the amphibians and California native species.

    The new open-air design allows for better public viewing and the enclosures are much bigger. You still have to look around to find those tiny frogs, but the glass is now a good 4-5 times larger than before. Here you will see poison dart frogs, tree frogs, mossy frogs, king snakes, giant horned lizards, a green tree boa, and more. 

    I’m not sure if it was the new habitats or if it was too early in the morning (9 a.m.), but there were about five animals that we couldn’t find in their enclosures. We did go back at night and see a few more, but then it was too dark for pictures.

    Next, another pathway takes you to the new Chinese Alligators. These reptiles are critically endangered and most now live only in breeding centers like the San Diego Zoo.

    One of things I love most about the San Diego Zoo is the informative signs throughout the zoo like this one. Every trip is a learning experience for me and Dylan.

    (more…)

  • Goodbye Lonesome George

    You’ve heard it said before … Extinction is forever, Endangered means we still have time … and sadly today this quote has a new meaning to the world.

    Lonesome George passed away today. He was the last Galapagos tortoise of his species.

    Although many breeding attempts were made, the conservation efforts were unsuccessful. Galapagos National Park rangers estimate that Lonesome George was about 100 years old.

    Lonesome George became known as a conservation icon and will always be remembered to me and Dylan as the one we never got to meet. So many other species are critically endangered and need our help. Don’t let them be the last one like Lonesome George.

    Goodbye Lonesome George.

    Photo courtesy of putneymark under the Creative Commons License.

  • If I can make one person aware, then I have accomplished my goal

    When someone tells me I can’t do something, that what I am doing doesn’t matter in the big picture – well, that just makes me do it even more.

    People told me I was crazy to change my blog and stop doing the “blogger” thing. That nobody wanted to read about animals, conservation, the environment, or my beliefs toward these issues. I have been told that I am alienating my “friends”. Well, if these so called friends respected me and my beliefs, then they wouldn’t feel this way. Rather, they would support me.

    A little over a week ago, I tweeted this picture of Nola and Angalifu from the San Diego Zoo Safari Park with the caption “This picture shows 1/4 of the world’s Northern White Rhino population. Warning it may shock you”

    Yes, you did the math correctly. There are only 7 Northern White Rhinos left living in the world. These animals are critically endangered and will be disappear in your lifetime if something is not done to stop the poachers.

    Between my tweet, the re-tweets, my posting on Facebook, and the Facebook shares – over 20,000 people saw this picture. In fact, someone just re-tweeted this yesterday so that number has increased.

    That my friends is called creating awareness and making a difference. 

    I entered a contest and created a board on Pinterest called Pin It For Tigers to show how beautiful these animals are and bring attention to the drastically declining numbers in the wild. I became an advocate for the tigers. Once my board was named as one of the finalist, I had 20 new followers of that board and several re-pins.

    That my friends is called creating awareness and making a difference.

    When my 8-year old son decided to raise money for the tigers at San Diego Zoo Safari Park in lieu of birthday presents and a party, his friends began asking him how they could help. Third graders wanted to know about the plight of the tigers – and you know that they went home and told their parents about what Dylan said in his class.

    That my friends is called creating awareness and making a difference.

    When I share pictures of new babies born at zoos and aquariums, they make people smile. Who doesn’t melt when they see a picture like this? These people will then want to visit the zoos and aquariums, which are mostly non-profit organizations, in turn helping to support the animals and the conservation efforts made for them.

    Photo courtesy of Terri Haines, Aquarium of the Pacific



    That my friends is called creating awareness and making a difference.

    No matter what your passion is …

    No matter what your cause is …

    Regardless of your age …

    Never.

    Ever.

    Underestimate the power you have to create awareness and make a difference in the world.