Life with Dylan

Category: endangered species

  • Tasmanian devils have arrived at the San Diego Zoo!

    For years Dylan has been fascinated with Tasmanian devils; spending hours looking up information about them and the facial tumor disease that is killing them. Tasmanian devils may not be the cutest animal you have seen, but in my opinion, that is all in the eye of the beholder. 




    The fact that Dylan wants to learn more about the devil facial tumor disease (DFTD), which is a rare, contagious cancer found only in devils, is just one more confirmation that he has found his path in life. DFTD is transmitted from one animal to another through biting, a common behavior among devils when mating and feeding. The disease kills all infected devils within 6 to 12 months and there is no known cure or vaccine. As a conservationist, this is very concerning to him and bringing awareness to the Tasmanian devil is very important to Dylan.







    In fact, seeing a Tasmanian devil in real life is an item on our Family Bucket List. So you can imagine our excitement when the new Australian Outback opened at the San Diego Zoo – a Tasmanian devil was listed as one of the new animals that would be on exhibit. Although it was only a bronze statue, the excitement to take a picture next to a Tasmanian devil was almost more than he could handle. 


    We have known that the devils were coming. We have known that they were in quarantine. On a recent visit we saw the new sign The devils made us do it! and we knew the time was getting closer. 



    Sometime this Fall – however, the exact date when they would make their debut at the San Diego Zoo was still a mystery. Well, that all changed yesterday when I received a press release. We now have a date … October 24, 2013.



    Yesterday the San Diego Zoo announced that four Tasmanian devils arrived from the Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Australia this week and are settling into their new home at the San Diego Zoo. Named Bradley, Bixby, De-Vos (males), and Usmar (a female), they have been brought to the Zoo to increase awareness of the species and to inspire support for Tasmanian devil conservation. One of the main reasons we choose to support San Diego Zoo Global is because of their strong belief in educating the public about all species.



    Tasmanian devils are listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and are native to the island state of Tasmania, which is part of Australia, where they live in forest, woodland and agricultural areas. Tasmanian devils are nocturnal hunters and use their keen senses of smell and hearing to find prey or carrion. They can give off a fierce snarl and high-pitched scream, which can be heard at feeding time, to establish dominance. 


    These animals were given a reputation as mean, unruly animals when Looney Tunes created the character “Taz”, but if you take the time to educate yourself about the Tasmanian devil you will find that they are quite the opposite.


    According to the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program website, the Minister for Environment, Parks and Heritage, Brian Wightman, said “ The zoos were selected by the program on the basis of their high standard of facilities and husbandry, and their proven track record in the conservation of endangered species around the world.” The San Diego Zoo and the Albuquerque Biopark were the two prominent zoos in North America chosen to be the first in this collaborative research program to save the endangered Tasmanian devil. 


    At this time, the San Diego Zoo is the only zoo in the United States with Tasmanian devils –  once again, showing them as leaders in conservation. 



    Receiving a symbolic adoption last year was one thing, but finally getting the chance to see a Tasmanian devil up-close and personal is something that Dylan has been waiting a long time for. We are so excited to meet the new residents of the San Diego Zoo!

    For more information on the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program, go to www.tassiedevil.com.au

  • Update on our adopted Northern White Rhino, Fatu

    The other day we received an email from Helping Rhinos with a subject line of An update on Fatu – Your Adopted Rhino. An update? Did something happen to Fatu? 
    Upon opening the email we were pleasantly surprised to see a new picture of Fatu and some fun information about her favorite things to eat. She loves carrots and bananas!

    We love symbolically adopting all animals and will continue to adopt more.

    However, Fatu will always hold a special place in our heart because she is 1 of only 7 Northern White Rhinos left in the world.

    Fatu is, in a sense, our last hope for the species to survive beyond these last seven.

    For more information an how you can help save the Northern White Rhinos, visit helpingrhinos.org today.

  • The journey to Tiger Trail continues

    On a recent visit to the Safari Park, Dylan was stopped dead in his tracks when he saw this sign.

    He read it, turned around to face me and said, “Mom, that’s me they are talking about.”

    Yes it is Dylan. Yes it is.

    He was so proud and overwhelmed with joy. He just stood there.
    Touching the sign.
    Bonding with the tiger in his own way.

    I will admit I had tears in my eyes watching him. When I asked if I could take his picture with the sign he smiled and said, “You better!”

    He then proceeded to give the tigers a little more – because that’s just how he rolls …

    and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

  • California condors – Bald, Beautiful and Back from the brink of extinction

    Most people associate vultures with darkness and death because that is how movies, television, and books have portrayed them for so long. Yes, they do feed on carcasses of other animals, but this doesn’t make them bad. On the contrary, vultures are a very important part of the food chain and in turn the ecosystem as a whole. Try to imagine a land filled with rotting animals carcasses … it’s not a pretty picture is it?

    The California condor is in the vulture family and at one time, not too long ago, was teetering on the brink of extinction. Once widely spread throughout the western United States and Mexico, in 1982 the number of California condors dwindled down to only 22 in the wild.

    Destruction of habitat played a big part in the loss of birds, but an even bigger role was played by lead poisoning. Lead bullets used for hunting were being ingested by the California condors, which resulted in lead poisoning and ultimately their demise. So once again, the carelessness of humans was to blame for another species fighting to stay alive.

    In 1982, San Diego Zoo Global was given permission to start the very first captive breeding program for the California condor. At the time, this was quite controversial because eggs were being removed from the wild. Well, all controversy aside the captive breeding program was put into motion.

    Just this week, three of the four original eggs that were the first to be hatched celebrated their 30th birthday at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. These three condors, Saspe, Sisquoc, and Almiyi helped form the foundation of what we know as the condor recovery program.

    Dylan and I have a great appreciation for the California condor. They are powerful and majestic animals who deserve just as much love and respect as the cute and cuddly animals. On a recent visit to the San Diego Zoo, we had the opportunity to see these birds up close at their exhibit. Unlike other visits when the birds were perched high atop the branches, they were right up at the glass. As we watched them and admired the beauty of the black feathers cloaking their necks and the different shades of pink and varying degrees of baldness; we overheard some things that were not very nice. In fact, they were pretty upsetting to us.

    “What ugly buzzards”

    “Freaks!”

    And my personal favorite …
    “Why would anybody want to have this at a zoo?”

    Dylan having a conversation with the California condors at the San Diego Zoo

    Obviously these people are uneducated and unable to see the beauty of these birds. Rather than put down the California condor for its appearance and the folklore that has given them a bad name, these people should be thankful. Thankful to San Diego Zoo Global for starting the condor breeding program. Thankful that they are able to see a California condor in real life instead of just a picture in a book listing extinct animals.

    San Diego Zoo Global stated that the Safari Park has hatched over 170 chicks and released more than 80 birds in the wild. Currently there are now more than 400 condors, more than half of which are flying free in California, Arizona, and Baja California, Mexico. That is a far cry from the 22 California condors in 1982.

    A prime example of how together, we can make a difference and bring a species back from the brink of extinction.

    To learn more about the California condor and the condor recovery program you can visit the San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy Success Stories page.

  • Did you know 16,000 plants and animals are endangered?

    This number may shock you or seem too high, but it is accurate. We may read more about the bigger, more popular animals, like the rhinos and tigers and elephants, but these are just the tip of the iceberg. So may species are endangered and need our help. From the smallest butterflies who are dying from pesticides to the large polar bears whose home is melting away and everyone in between.


    According to San Diego Zoo Global,  to date, they have reintroduced 33 species back into the wild including: mountain yellow-legged frogs, 5 species of reptiles, 17 species of birds, and 10 species of mammals. In many cases, these efforts have meant the difference between extinction and survival. 
    This, my friends, is why we feel so strongly about supporting San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy.
    It’s not just about going to see the animals at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park – we go to witness first hand the breeding programs at work. 
    The San Diego Zoo is so much more than just a zoo – it is physical proof that together, we are making a difference.  
    Join me and thousands of others who are helping to bring species back from the brink of extinction by becoming a Wildlife Conservancy HERO. Together we can do more.   

  • The day we helped save the Northern White Rhinos

    It is no big secret that we love wildlife and want to do everything we can to help save all endangered species. While choosing just one is not an easy task, we do have favorites – animals that have touched our hearts and will forever have a special place within them. For Dylan and I these animals are the tigers and rhinos because we have connected with them on a personal level.

    One of the ways we love helping save endangered animals and creating awareness about the animal is to symbolically adopt them. We have adopted many animals from the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park, as well as some from World Wildlife Fund. We consider the adopted animals part of our family and carefully select who will be adopted next. One animal in particular that we want desperately to help is the Northern White Rhino. Every time we visit the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and see Nola, I can’t help but feel a sadness that one day she won’t be there anymore – yet at the same time I feel blessed to have known her since many people will never have the opportunity to see a Northern White Rhino in person.

    Imagine my surprise and my joy when I saw a post on Facebook telling me that I could adopt a Northern White Rhino from the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Africa.

    Not just any rhino, but I could choose which rhino I wanted to symbolically adopt and help care for. As much as I wanted to adopt a rhino in my name, I knew that this would mean so much to Dylan – and it would make the perfect Valentine’s Day present.

    I chose to adopt Fatu who is a 12 year old female living at the conservancy with her mother Najin. Fatu is one of the four Northern White Rhinos who was translocated from the Dvur Kralove Zoo in the Czech Republic on December 20, 2009 to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy.

    Fatu has been observed mating, which gives us all hope for the future of Northern White Rhinos.

    I gave Dylan the adoption certificate before school on Valentine’s Day and I don’t think I have ever seen him so excited. Knowing that there are only 7 Northern White Rhinos left in the world today, we are now directly helping to care for one of them. We are making a difference.

    Helping Rhinos is based in the United Kingdom and is proud to say that 100% of every donation received ends up where it is needed most – in the field protecting the rhinos! Along with the adoption certificate we received this picture of Fatu and several fact sheets about the rhinos.

    Fatu’s horns were cut down to ensure she remained safe during the translocation and to hopefully deter poachers. Her horns will grow back because they are made from keratin – just like our fingernails. They have no medicinal value.

    Today is the day to make a difference because tomorrow may be too late. 

    If you would like to help care for these beautiful animals, you can adopt a Northern White Rhino from HelpingRhinos.org just like we did. I can’t tell you how important it is to keep hope alive and continue to spread awareness about the plight of the rhinos. 2012 was a very bad year for the rhinos and I’m praying that 2013 will be better. This chart from Helping Rhinos shows the most current numbers.

    Want to learn more about the Ol Pejeta Conservancy? Did you know they are famous for their conservation work with endangered species and are the largest Black Rhino sanctuary in East Africa? For more information about Ol Pejeta, including how you can visit the conservancy, please visit www.olpejetaconservancy.org

  • Endangered Species Monday – Let’s Save the Rhinos in 2013

    I could never choose just one animal. I mean really, let’s face it, if I could save all the endangered species I would. To say that one is more important than another is not right because they are all equally important and needed on this planet. However, sometimes one animal stands out among the rest. For me that animal was a rhino. A special connection was made the moment that I touched and fed the rhino brothers at the San Diego Zoo. I had looked into the eye of an endangered species and I would never be the same.

    In December I made a decision to make 2013 the year that I personally made a difference for the rhinos. After reading recent news articles, I have never been more sure of a decision.

    A record 668 rhinos were killed in South Africa in 2012 – that is a 50% increase over 2011. This figure astounds me. I shed a tear for each one of the rhinos lost when I read articles about the killings. We must put a stop to poaching and educate people about what rhino horn really is – keratin – the same thing as out hair and fingernails. Rhino horn is not medicine!

    Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, I saw this headline on twitter the other day Poachers hack baby rhino with axe … Wait, was I reading this right? This couldn’t possibly be true. What good is killing a baby rhino? There is no horn to take from a 2 month old baby rhino – this is uncalled for and made me so angry. So angry and so sad that all I could do was cry. This poor defenseless rhino was being attacked because she got in the way of the poachers who were cutting off her mother’s horn.

    2013 is not getting off to a very good start for the rhinos. As of January 11th, the death toll is already up to eight and if this baby doesn’t survive it will be nine. I have no time to spare. The number one way for me to help the rhinos is to create awareness. I will also share stories, photographs and raise as much money as I possibly can. So far I have two ways of raising money for the rhinos …

    San Diego Zoo Safari Park Half Marathon – I will not be able to run the half marathon because I am volunteering to help with the race and with Cinco de Rhino that evening. However, I can still virtually run the race and raise money for the greater one-horned rhinos. Your tax-deductible donation on my fundraising page will help make a difference. $5 or $10 or $25 it doesn’t matter – every little bit helps.

    I have also written a letter addressed to President Zuma as part of the One More Generation letter writing campaign. (Our letters are #557 and #558 – letters are listed alphabetically so scroll down to Fryer) These letters are a way of creating worldwide awareness and bringing our pleas to stop the poaching to President Zuma himself. I would love it if you would write a letter too!

    Something has to change. This needs to be the year that wildlife poachers are stopped before it’s too late. There is not much left that we can do for the Northern White Rhinos and the Javan and Sumatran rhinos are not far behind. If the numbers keep climbing at 50% increases, then we will be that much closer to another animal facing extinction.

  • I ignited a spark and now I want more

    After almost a year of talking about conservation and writing about how we can all make a difference, I finally saw that spark in someone’s eye. You know, that spark you see when something you said or did made another person think hey, I can do this too.

    The best part about this story – the spark I saw was in a child’s eye.

    A few weeks before Christmas a friend of mine told me that her son Riley (5 yrs old) saw a World Wildlife Commercial about saving the tigers and that he wanted to help save them, but he didn’t want to have to touch them. When I heard this I knew what I had to do.

    I would adopt Riley a tiger from the San Diego Zoo and give it to him as a Christmas gift. This way he could help save the tigers.

    Riley was so excited when we gave him his tiger. We told him that his name was Christopher from the San Diego Zoo and by adopting Christopher he was helping to save the tigers.

    Now Riley has a very special friend named Bear. Bear has been with Riley since the day he was born. Bear goes everywhere with Riley and there was a day not too long ago that Riley thought he had lost Bear. His Dad captured this beautiful image filled with emotion and a child’s love for an animal. So you are probably thinking what does Bear have to do with the tiger? Well, I had to let you know just how special Bear was for you to understand how special it was when I found out that Christopher (tiger) was traveling alongside Bear.

    Not only was Christopher hanging out with Riley and Bear, but Riley was telling people about his Mommy’s friend who adopted the tiger for him so that he could help save the tigers. A 5 year old boy creating awareness about the plight of the tigers as a result of something I did … you bet I’m on cloud nine!

    Oh, and he sleeps with Riley too.

    I’ve said before that educating children will change the world and when a child starts telling his friends and family about saving the tigers, well that just makes me more confident that I am doing something right. Riley brought Christopher to school today for share day. This, this is what it’s all about.

    iPhone pictures from today

    When I shared the news about Riley and his newly adopted tiger with a friend of mine he said, “Be careful … That feeling, the one you got when you saw that spark ignite because of you, it’s addictive.”

    Man was he right – I love it and want more! Every time Riley’s parents post a new picture and I see Christopher right there with him I get that feeling all over again. Riley is making a difference for the tigers by telling his friends about his adopted tiger and I am so proud of him.

    This is what I want from life – I want to make a difference and inspire others to do the same.

    Thank you Desi and Tammy for providing the pictures.

  • Clouded Leopard cubs are the “purrfect” addition to the San Diego Zoo

    The San Diego Zoo received a special delivery this week all the way from the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere – two adorable 14-week-old clouded leopard cubs! The cubs made their debut in the Children’s Zoo Neonatal Assisted Care Unit and can be seen here daily for the next 30 days while in quarantine. The clouded leopard brothers are part of a very successful breeding program, which is helping to increase the population of this critically endangered animal.

    Clouded leopard cub Riki-san
    Photo taken on December 6, 2012, by Ken Bohn, San Diego Zoo, ZSSD 2012 ©

    According to San Diego Zoo zookeepers, Thirteen-pound Riki-san is the larger of the two cats but also the more timed one. His coat pattern is darker and his rosettes are more pronounced.
    Haui-san weighs 11.5 pounds, is feisty and quite playful, enticing is bigger brother to wrestle and play a game of chase.

    Clouded leopard cub Haui-san
    Photo taken on December 6, 2012, by Ken Bohn, San Diego Zoo, ZSSD 2012 ©

    Although we have not seen the clouded leopard cubs yet, I can guarantee that our first stop next week will be at the Children’s Zoo Neonatal Assisted Care Unit to welcome Riki-san and Haui-san. To find out more about the critically endangered clouded leopard, visit the zoos website.

    After the quarantine period, the two cubs will join the San Diego Zoo’s Backstage Pass animal ambassador program, but until then you can see them in the nursery. As you will see in this video provided by the San Diego Zoo, Riki-san and Haui-san seem very happy in their new home.

    Watch as they pounce, climb, and play with each other in the nursery. If this video doesn’t make you smile, then I don’t know what will.

    The San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy is dedicated to bringing endangered species back from the brink of extinction. The work of the Conservancy includes onsite wildlife conservation efforts at the San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, and international field programs in more than 35 countries. 

  • Enadangered Species Monday – Giving the gift of hope

    One of my favorite ways to help save endangered species is to symbolically adopt and animal and give it as a gift. This holiday season, why not take a look through the World Wildlife Fund virtual Gift Catalog and give someone more than just a present – give them the gift of hope and inspiration to save endangered species.

    You can choose from 100 different animals and they offer six levels of adoption ranging from $25 – $250 so there really is something for everyone. World Wildlife Fund makes it easy to search through the different animals too. You can sort your searches by most popular, by threat level, and by region.

    Selecting an animal might be difficult for some people, but World Wildlife Fund has made this easy too – you can purchase a Gift Adoption Card and let the recipient choose their own animal to symbolically adopt.

    The San Diego Zoo also offers animal adoptions at various levels from $35 – $1,000 and a few limited edition holiday adoptions. The San Diego Zoo monthly Wish List is another place I like to shop for gifts. Although these gifts can’t be wrapped up, it sure is nice to give two gifts at once. This year I purchased several gifts for the animals in honor of family members. Their gifts will be the gift of giving and I think that is the best kind of gift.

    If you are an ocean lover, check out the Aquarium of the Pacific’s Adopt and Animal program where you can symbolically adopt penguins, sharks, otters, sea turtles, seals, and more starting at only $10.

    Most zoos, aquariums and other non-profit organizations offer animal adoptions. Contact your local zoo or support an organization that you like and give the gift of hope this holiday season.