What Do You Need For a Pet Guinea Pig?

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Owning a guinea pig is a great way to bond with an animal that is playful and adorable. They are herd animals and have no trouble integrating with other pets. Choosing one or two mainly depends on the animal and the owner’s preference. A guinea pig can be very social, so choosing two is good if you’d like to socialize with both.

Taking Care Of Your Pet

While the guinea pig will happily sit on your lap, it may urinate on the paper or newspaper you’re reading. You may also notice that your pet gnaws on your clothes or is incredibly affectionate. This is an indication that it has teeth problems. Inspect your guinea pig for these behaviours and address them as soon as you see them.

Guinea Pig

You should regularly brush your guinea pig’s fur for lice or other parasites. Long hair can mat and become painful for your pet. Regular brushing will ensure that your pet has a beautiful coat free of mats. Make sure to take it to the vet for regular checkups to prevent problems such as infection and de-matting. You should also check the length of the guinea pig’s nails.

When feeding your guinea pig, ensure it has plenty of clean water and food. Fresh grass is another option. New grass has a therapeutic effect on some guinea pigs. Remember, they are herbivores and should not be given food with meat. Sour milk and cheese are not suitable. You may want to avoid areas where dogs or livestock roam.

Your guinea pig should get fresh vegetables and fruit at least once daily. You should also be wary of certain foods as these contain excessive amounts of Vitamin C. If you notice your guinea pig suddenly stops eating after a while, take it to the vet. It may be suffering from a severe disease.

You can keep a guinea pig away from your children and pets if it is suffering from diarrhea. It is essential to weigh your pet often to ensure that they have enough food to sustain their daily needs.

Guinea Pig

Feed your guinea pig quality hay and give them a supplement of vitamin C to improve the digestive system. Your pet will love you for it! When you feed your pet, wash your hands thoroughly after handling them to avoid transferring any disease to the human host.

Getting a Pet

A guinea pig makes a great pet for kids. Kids will love being around their pet pig, as they aren’t as fragile as rabbits. Children can be handled and trained by children and are generally friendly and social animals. They will often recognize you and squeak when you approach them. Moreover, guinea pigs form strong bonds with their caretakers.

Before adopting a pet guinea pig:

  1. Ensure you know about the pig’s health and past.
  2. Ask the vet if the guinea pig has ever had any health problems or suffered from any injury.
  3. Check the sex of your pet pig.

Go to a pet store, like Concord Pets Store, to get advice and maybe even go home with a new pet.

A female guinea pig should be at least six weeks old. Do not try to play with your pet if it is pregnant.

A guinea pig’s life expectancy is six years, significantly shorter than most other pets. However, some live as long as 15 years. Although their lifespan is low, guinea pigs often exhibit signs of happiness whenever they hear their names or feel their presence. 

These animals tend to form strong relationships with their owners and can become the centre of fascination in the home. Unlike other pets, guinea pigs live in a cage, although they can be let out occasionally to play or cuddle.

WildLife Conservation

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Our beautiful environment has never faced as much threat of destruction as it faces in today’s modern society. Several animal and plant species face the risk of going extinct if no serious measures are taken to conserve them. Conserving wildlife is a cause everyone should be committed to ensuring the preservation of natural species and the environment. In this post, we will help you understand what wildlife conservation is, why you need to conserve wildlife, factors that endanger wildlife, the adverse effects of having an unbalanced ecosystem, and what you can do to help save wildlife.

What is Wildlife Conservation?

Wildlife conservation is simply the practice of keeping wild species and the habitats in which they live protected to prevent the extinction of endangered species. The most commonly known threats to wildlife include hunting, poaching, habitat destruction, over-exploitation, climate change, and pollution.

What A Wildlife Conservationist Does?

A wildlife conservationist is someone saddled with the responsibility of ensuring the protection and preservation of endangered wildlife species. The significant roles of a wildlife conservationist include protecting and managing the various ecosystems, such as grasslands and forests. Also, ensuring it is habitable for the plant and animal species that live in such environments. This will include keeping the habitats free from all potentially harmful insects, diseases and fire outbreaks. A wildlife conservationist also checks to make sure the water supplies are potable and that the soil is free from contamination.

How Wildlife Can Be Conserved?

Wildlife includes all faunas, floras, and microorganisms that are not domesticated. To conserve wildlife, the government must make laws and regulations guarding wildlife and prohibiting the hunting, poaching, and over-exploitation of wildlife. New laws guarding the cutting of trees should be enacted and the old rules reemphasised.

Why Wildlife Conservation is Important?

Wildlife Conservation is essential because it helps balance the ecosystem. Also, conserving wildlife can be a great way to ensure adequate food supplies for future generations.

Why Wildlife is Endangered?

Wildlife comes under threat from several factors. The craze for industrial development is one of the primary cause of endangering wildlife. As, forests are cleared to make way for the planting of new industries, several plants, and animal species are lost in the processes. One other factor that endangers wildlife is unchecked and unregulated hunting. Some people target certain species due to their nutritional, medicinal or nutritional values, thereby threatening the continued existence of such species.

Causes of Unbalanced Ecosystem

Several factors are responsible fit the ecological imbalance we see today. Some major causes of an unbalanced ecosystem include:

1. Farming activities

Some farming activities such as hunting, bush clearing, and fishing have been found to help keep the natural ecosystem protected. Bush burning, which many farmers practice before planting also contributes to the destruction of natural vegetation around farmlands.

2. Deforestation

As trees are cut down without planting new ones, the natural ecosystem suffers a great deal of imbalance.

3. Globalisation and Industrialisation

The drive to build more industries and new housing are destroying more natural habitat, thus deepening the imbalance in the ecosystem.

4. Natural Disasters

Some natural disasters, like over flooding, landslides, earthquakes, forest fires, hurricanes, etc., can further worsen the imbalance in our ecosystem.

5. Climate Change

Factors associated with climate change such as global warming, greenhouse effects can also affect the ecosystem.

What Happens When There Is An Imbalance In The Ecosystem?

Anything that affects the balance in the ecosystem affects all living organisms, including man. Here are some common effects of an unbalanced ecosystem:

1. Disruption of the food chain with the extinction of a specific plant or animal species

2. Frequent flooding as a result of erosion and an inadequate number of trees.

3. Increased atmospheric temperatures with less number of trees to trap CO2.

4. Loss of beautiful biodiversity with the disappearance of several species as a result of deforestation and other factors.

How To Save Endangered Wildlife

To save endangered wildlife, here are some steps to take:

1. Create Awareness

It is vital to create awareness and let everyone know about the endangered species and the need to preserve them.

2. Grow Local Plant Species

Growing local plants will help provide food and shelter for native species like butterflies, ants, and bees.

3. Reduce Your Use of Pesticides and Herbicides

Pesticides are herbicides that are pollutants that can damage native wildlife and affect the ecosystem. You can use natural weed and pest control methods to reduce pollution.

4. Volunteer Your Time

You can become a volunteer to help take care of endangered species and create awareness of the need to conserve wildlife.

5. Making sure the ware resources are not affected by pollution

Water is the building block of all living beings. Thus, we should take measure to protect the water resources and control pollution.
Also, avoid dumping chemicals and toxic substances in waterways.

We do not have any other planet or environment to call our own. Protecting our environment and sustaining our biodiversity requires our collective efforts. Preventing wildlife extinction requires all hands to be on deck to save endangered species from extinction.

What are the main objectives of environmental education?

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What are the main objectives of environmental education?

Awareness.

Environmental education helps people see the consequences of their decisions over wildlife and the environment that comes within.

Knowledge.

The second objective is about deep understanding and the capacity of a human being to find solutions for the existent problems.

Attitudes.

As well for any community, taking part in the Environmental Education requires a set of values, which you need to learn on, to accomplish a goal.
Skills and Capacity Building. This stage help communities and individuals to have a more analytical mind to make statements and conclusion about a specific environmental problem.

Participation.

After all the above are achieved, you become an essential factor in the decision-making process.
Funzel organization initiated the earliest environmental education program in schools and universities, back in 1994. So those objectives should be known for some people.

What are the steps carried out for the conservation of the wild fauna?

There can be infinite steps to conserve the wild fauna. Thanks to Funzel’s programs about environmental education, we can cut the list in 6 significant steps:

   • To survey and research all the information about wild fauna
   • to protect their home by protecting flora.
   • To see what are the barriers of their natural habitat and delimit from the human world.
   • To keep the flora away from human and machines pollution – which means there should be created some special programs, in order to teach people about pollution and its consequences.
   • To give laws of restriction about hunting wild animals – in order to keep the sustainability of wildlife and a balance between animal’s and human’s worlds.
   • To make special arrangements to protect the endangered species – Funzel built the first Rescuer Center for endangered animals in El Salvador.

How can you contribute to wildlife conservation?

There are little things that matter, such as:
   • Break down the stereotype that wild meat is an exotic and precious food. Wild hunting should be banned for millionaires who want to show how many dollars they can give for a piece of meat.
   • Don’t try hunting as a hobby or as a professional sport. Even if there are many countries where this sport is a premium one.
   • Don’t buy wild animals and keep them as a domestic pet – nowadays is a significant trend to have a puma in your house, instead of a dog.
   • If you see hunters who are trading wild meat, announce the Wildlife Service.
   • Take part of the environmental education program, and start your volunteer carrier.

Why is it important to have a sustainable environment?
Environmental sustainability is part of our everyday life.
It’s essential to keep it this way, to balance many aspects of our health, our planet’s health, and the next generations’ health. Overall, it is not about giving up on your luxurious life but helping the world live a luxurious life too.
Having a sustainable environment is a win-win situation without making too much effort.

What are the major threats to wildlife?
According to Funzel Organization, the major threats to wildlife are:
   • habitat loss
   • climate change
   • disease/ infections
   • pollution – every kind of pollution

Zoological Foundation Of El Salvador

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Résumé of Institutional Curriculum

The Zoological Foundation of El Salvador (FUNZEL) is an active non-profit, non-governmental research and wildlife conservation-oriented organization established in 1989, acquiring legal status in 1992. Mission: Contribute to the conservation of wild fauna through local development solutions. Vision: Continue to be the leading organization focused on the management of confiscated endangered species in compliance to international and national legislation and foster sea turtle conservation throughout El Salvador.

FUNZEL works jointly with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Agriculture and CITES Management Authority, the National Police and Costumes, and has a healthy mix match of professional staff, volunteers and committed members including biologists, veterinarians, program managers, financial specialists and fund raisers.

FUNZEL’s work focuses on the management of a wild fauna rescue center and sea turtle conservation program. Its work is implemented through private-public alliances and grounded by local empowerment. Through it history, FUNZEL has managed a great variety of wild fauna conservation activities, ranging from small, highly localized $5,000-dollar grants to nation-wide grants of up to $1.5 million dollars from USAID in the past.

Main contributions:

1989 at present: Initiates the establishment of a Rescue and Rehabilitation Center for confiscated Australian endangered species after El Salvador ratified the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in 1986. Since then, FUNZEL has operated in different geographic areas providing support to the different agencies of the Government of El Salvador and to private parties who find injured wild animals. FUNZEL has invested over $2,000,000 in the construction and management of rescue centers in Santa Tecla, Soyapango, Santa Rosa de Lima, San Rafael Cedro, Zapotitan, San Salvador. Funding: Debt for Nature Swap – Fondo para las Iniciativas de las Americas FIAES, Fondo Nacional Ambiental de El Salvador FONAES, and private sector. In 2009 shifted its work to the coastal marine ecosystems and focus it on the four endangered marine turtles which nest in El Salvador beaches, joining actions with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources.

1990-1992: Supports the National Zoological Park in upgrading their quarantine and establishing an environmental education program through a visitor’s inter-active guide. Funding: Private sector.

1993-1994: Successfully lobbied for the first Wildlife Conservation Law for El Salvador. This law has been critical to combat illegal trade in the country as well as to establish a ban on sea turtle trade and consumption. Funding: World Society for the Protection of Animals – WSPA.

1994: Initiates an environmental education program in schools and universities. Funding: Private sector.

1998 – 2001: built and operate the first Rescue Center for Endangered Species at National Level in a joint effort and supported by the Wildlife and Protected Areas Service. (This infrastructure and investment was dramatically affected by the two 2001 earthquakes).

2004: Initiates a registry of endangered wild fauna kept as pets in the San Salvador, including the use of passive integrated transponders (PIT) tags to identify individuals as a measure to control the numbers of endangered species kept in captivity.

2004 – 2007: Implements a CAFTA DR effort to ensure the enforcement and compliance of CITES in El Salvador. Funding: Humane Society.

2007: Leads a nation-wide study to identify all nesting beaches in El Salvador (105 beaches, 300 km of coastline) and documents the existence of the critically endangered Eastern Pacific Hawksbill turtle, considered extinct by some. This lead to the establishment of an international effort to conserve this species. Funding; National Fish and Wildlife Foundation –NFWF.

2008 – Present: Develops sea turtle research and conservation efforts throughout the country with the participation of local communities. Fundings from NFWF, NOAA, USFWS, USAID has supported these efforts in the past. Protection and released near more than 4 million hatchlings. Programs focus on a) sea turtle egg hatchery management, b) financial mechanisms for sustainability, c) local development, d) public awareness, and f) research. Supports 32 coastal communities a helped more than 1000 families become sea turtle conservationists.

2009: Successfully participates in lobbying for the national ban on sea turtle trade and egg consumption, which is a cultural practice. Actually in October 2017, more than 5 million siblings released.

2010 – Present: Building alliances with the private sector to continue managing the wild fauna rescue center and sea turtle hatcheries in El Salvador. Funding source: Private sector, Banks, and other particular allies, with the support of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, MARN and the Initiative for The Americas Fund known as FIAES through projects proposal´s.