OverFishing with industrial trawlers is one of the ocean’s biggest threats.

Overfishing is simply the process of taking too much wildlife (fish) from the ocean at too fast of a pace for the fish species to breed and replace themselves. It was first recognized as far back as the beginning of the 1800’s when humans all over the world almost completely killed the whale populations. This was all caused by the need for whale blubber to use as oil for lamps. In the 1950’s and 60’s it reared its ugly head again. Back then, some of the popular fish we eat today, like Atlantic cod, California sardines, and herring were almost fished to extinction as well.

Unfortunately, these once regional cases have now ballooned into the global problem that we are experiencing today. The growing population is thirsting for more fish and sea creatures than the ocean can provide, and if we keep fishing like we are now many fish species will become extinct.

Marine biologists and scientists can pinpoint when this widespread commercial fishing began. They also have the ability to tell us when it will end if we do nothing to address the issue. Unfortunately, if we keep fishing like we are now, that time could come rather soon.

A WWF advertising campaign highlighting the plight of the bluefin tuna

During the mid-1900’s governments all over the world were concerned about the growing global population and thought we needed to increase the supply of protein-rich sea creatures for people to eat. This led to the approval of big loans and pro-fishing policies that allowed the rapid spawning of huge industrial fishing operations. Before this time, most of the fish caught in our oceans were from local fisherman with small boats. They did not catch the huge quantities that these new fishing operations were now capable of. So, instead of a group of local fisherman supplying fish for their region, now huge vessels were catching fish for the entire world to eat.

These new large commercial fleets were run by businessmen, not local fishers, who were concerned with nothing but profits. This meant they were extremely aggressive in their fishing methods. They scoured the world’s oceans creating new ways for finding, catching, and processing whatever type of fish they were after. Before you know it, people all over the world became used to being able to eat any type of fish they wanted at much cheaper prices.

The commercial fishing industry hit its high in 1989, but fish numbers have been decreasing ever since. In fact, a report produced in 2003 showed that there were now only 1/10th as many large fish in the oceans and much less plankton than there were prior to the modern industrial era.

The rapid decline of the world’s fish populations has caused modern commercial fishermen to fish much deeper down in the oceans to catch fish farther and farther down the food chain. This “fishing down” is disrupting the delicate balance of marine biodiversity, plankton levels, and the ocean’s sea creatures. In 2006, the Journal of Science predicted that all the large fisheries of the world will collapse by 2048 if fishing rates continued like they are. The declining number of fish in our oceans over the last 50 years has led to the realization that the oceans we thought were vast and contained unlimited life are actually very sensitive and highly vulnerable.

Some scientists believe marine ecosystems and marine biodiversity could be restored with more aggressive management of fisheries, more laws regarding commercial fishing, and better enforcement of those laws. They also propose the rapid increase of aquaculture in order to lessen the need for fishing the oceans. Aquaculture is the process of breeding and raising fish in controlled simulated natural environments, or fish farming.

Overfishing is still a major problem however. A world full of people who have grown accustomed to an abundance of seafood choices and a general lack of caring about the difficult problems marine ecosystems are facing only makes it more difficult to restore the oceans to their once bountiful glory.

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Due to growing visitor numbers to CrazyCreatures.org we have decided to  add some new features and loads of extra information to the site.

Look out for new top ten lists and new ten facts about… articles, plus new concepts and themes.

Don’t forget that if you have any animals that you want to find out about or ideas on how to improve the site then contact the team at CrazyCreatures HQ.

Stay tuned for some brand new content in 2013.

Thanks for reading!

The Crazy Creatures Team

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Wilbert the Wacky Wombat

Funnily they use their backsides to defend themselves! Their skin is hardened so that it is hard for predators like dingoes to bite in to it. When threatened the Wombat will dive down his nearest burrow and block it with his bum!

There are only three species of Wombat and each one is only found in a few selected regions of Australia. The Common Wombat is, as its name quite rightly suggests, the most abundant of all the Wombats and is found on the eastern edges of New South Wales, Victoria and all over Tasmania. The Northern Hairy Nosed Wombat only exists in a very remote pocket of Epping Forest Scientific National Park in central Queensland. This is one of the most endangered animals and the rarest marsupial on earth with only 115 remaining in the wild park. The close cousin, the Southern Hairy Nosed Wombat, is located in the South Australia territory and is also critically endangered.

These burrowing herbivores love a little dig. These mammals dig quite eccentric housing structures with intricate tunnels leading to underground chambers beneath the grasslands and eucalyptus forests of southern Australia. They have really strong sharp teeth and claws which they use to dig furiously in the dirt. Wombats are fairly solitary animals, although on some occasions have been known to socialize in small colonies. The strong legs of the Wombat come in handy when under threat. Even though they look like innocent cuddly creatures, they can sprint at about 40 kph for a short while and use their back legs to kick out at dingoes or Tasmanian devils who try to attack. Wombats don’t show fear for humans so they often charge at us and because they are fairly powerful and weigh up to 35 kilos.

If you like tracking animals then tracking a Wombat might excite you. Strangely they have poo-poo that is the shape of a cube. Don’t put it in your coffee or eat it though because I don’t think it will taste too good. Alternatively you can just enjoy supporting all the world’s Wombats by celebrating Wombat day on 22nd October every year.

Check out some more photos of our fine marsupial friends on Flickr

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There is a limit to the amount of natural resources our planet can provide to sustain an ever-increasing population. With about 260 people being born every minute and only about 100 people dying in the same time, all the indications show the world’s biggest problem is not climate change, economics, health or education, it is the reason why we have these issues in the first place, human overpopulation. There are simply far too many people on earth than we can deal with at the moment. Unless there is a radical shift in the mentality and acceptance that we all have to contribute and change our behaviour, it is likely that our living environment will get a lot worse before it gets better.

Our amazing ingenuity and adversity to survive and adapt has meant we can now inhabit any part of the earth’s surface. We weren’t built to live in some of the most inhospitable places like the Arctic or the deserts, but with the use of tools, electricity and transportation we can now live in any environment, day or night, anywhere we like. Once we get where we want to go we can use tools to hunt and grow food and build shelter and a community. Previously, this is what happened to our ancestors, but they were limited into where they could settle by the availability of food and accessibility of the area.

7 Billion Souls - www.worldof7billion.org

The way in which we have colonized some parts of the earth could not have been possible without our ability to use animals such as horses and dogs to help us in transporting goods and people over long distances in otherwise impassable terrain. Our ability to grow food, capture animals and store food was the key to our prolonged existence and evolution. Through education and ingenuity this has gradually led us to where we are now. Pockets of wealthy and poor people at different stages in their evolution. Look at any nation and you will find an imbalance.

In developed countries the amount of working people are being out numbered by the elderly. The baby-boomers, arguably the most affluent generation to ever live are now all reaching retirement and they will all require care in some form or other. Lifespans are getting longer and birth rates are decreasing in much of Europe and North America. The developing world on the other hand is reproducing much more, this will mean that the poverty numbers will increase, and this will threaten the environment as the proper infrastructure to support these people does not exist.

Humans and our Ancestors

It is projected that Africa and Asia (mainly India) will increase in population substantially, while Europe, Japan and South Korea are likely to shrink. Immigration will add to the increasing number of people in North America and Australia. Educating and curing the developing countries of diseases and changing their daily behaviour is the most crucial thing we can do to stop them having so many children and allow a more sustainable population in future.

There will come a time when governments cannot possibly provide a continual supply of jobs, housing and healthcare or safety to their people. This will mean that more people will live in poverty and crime will increase. The amount that each person consumes is increasing continually. People need more items to live a comfortable life these days. More gasoline for their cars, more electricity for their gadgets, more money for an ever more expensive world. Sadly people don’t realize these things cannot be produced without a damaging effect to our environment. More oil, fish, wood and water coupled with a constant need to consume will mean that in as little as a few hundred years there will be a serious shortage of materials and food from natural resources leading to more pollution, less food, higher costs and a large number of animals going extinct. The earth’s natural resources are finite, so we have to seriously think how to slow the population increase for the sake of future generations.

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This marsupial has become an overnight internet media sensation even being given her own song! Soon she will even be available as a plush toy. In recent years Germany has established a great record of raising celebrity animals. Back in 2007 Knut the baby Polar Bear cub became famous when the Berlin zoo had to hand rear him after he was rejected by his mother. Then there was Paul the psychic Octopus turned into a star this past summer when he correctly predicted the winner of each of Germany’s World Cup soccer games.

Heidi the cross-eyed Opossum

Heidi shares her home with her sister Naira and friend Teddy. All three marsupials arrived at Leipzig zoo on 5 May 2010 and came from the Ebeltoft and Odense zoos in Denmark. Heidi and Naira are thought to be about two and a half years old. Teddy is one and a half years old. Opossums have one of the shortest life expectancies of any mammal, typically 4 to 5 years. Teddy was born in Ebeltoft and the two sisters originally came from North Carolina in the USA, where they were found as orphans and raised in a wild animal sanctuary by volunteers. Heidi and her fellow Opossums will form part of Gondwanaland, a new tropical experience area at the zoo which will be opening on 1 July 2011. Leipzig Zoo says any money made by Heidi will be invested completely in the “Protecting the Sabah rhinos in Borneo project” which, as a rain forest conservation project, is closely related to the Gondwanaland tropical experience world. They stress that Heidi will NOT be on view to zoo visitors until the park opens.

Virginia Opossum from North America

Heidi is thought to be cross-eyed due to either the diet she had before being abandoned or because she is overweight, ‘which can lead to fat deposits around the eyes’ pushing the eyes out in an unnatural manner. Luckily Opossums are crazy creatures that only come out at night and can find their way around using just their noodley noses. To help Heidi vets at the zoo are putting her on a diet, not Weight Watchers, but a special high fibre that is low in energy, Heidi has apparently already lost a few hundred grams in weight.

Opossums are frequently confused as being the same as Possums but they are not. Possums are found in Australasia and have a very different appearance than their American cousins. There are several different species of Opossums which are members of the marsupial family, animals which raise their young in a pouch. Heidi belongs to the Virginia Opossums which are found all the way from southern Canada, through the USA and Central America. All species are still plentiful and are not threatened with extinction. The common Opossum is actually the only marsupial animal to be found in Canada and the USA.

Opossums are excellent tree climbers and spend much of their time above the ground. They are aided by very long sharp claws, which dig into the bark, and by a strong  gripping tail that can be used as an extra limb. Opossums often settle in tree holes or in dens left by other animals. Forests and shrub land are their favourite habitat but it is not uncommon for them to be found in parks, gardens and man made structures like barns or sheds.

Opossum hanging out on a fence

Even though Opossums are solitary, nocturnal animals, they adapt to human habitat easily and as scavengers they often visit houses to raid rubbish in search for easy food. They are omnivorous creatures and as such their diet consists of anything ranging from carrion, grass, nuts, and fruit to small animals, eggs and insects. They may look placid and harmless they will hunt mice, birds, insects, worms, snakes, and even chickens. They can open their jaws to almost 90 degrees and this results in a powerful bite.

An amazing trick that opossums do is that they can play dead! It is known as “playing possum” whereby the Opossum or Possum reduces their breathing and heart rate and give off a really bad smell. Essentially they mimic the appearance and smell of a dead or sick animal which is a perfect deception for predators.

Cunning and cross-eyed, these are truly incredible creatures.

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Last year saw the relocation of four Northern White Rhino’s back to Africa in an effort to sustain and improve their species before they go extinct. On a more positive note things are still progressing fantastically well with the Northern White Rhinos at Ol Pejeta Conservancy. In the Serengeti National Park in South Africa we hear of the incredible story of conservationist and Rhino expert Berry White who had to act quickly before a bush fire swept over the rhino cabins housing Black Rhinos that could have been killed or seriously injured during acclimatization.

Ivory smuggling is forever the biggest and only issue to the devastation of Rhino (and Elephant) numbers around the world. Illegal trafficking in endangered wildlife is permanently a worry for conservationists and organisations who are trying to combat this illegal trade. The fact that these animals are becoming increasingly rare means that the due to decreasing supplies the price of these creatures, dead or alive, are increasing exponentially. The main culprit is still China which continues to believe that animals provide some kind of magic cure to ill-health. Since Africa contains most of these ‘medicinal’ animals it remains an almost impossible task to control the trade, especially with Africa being a highly corrupt country.

The past year has seen an increased number of Rhino’s shot and killed by poachers. In Africa this has even been the case in what most people might think would be a safe place for some of the rarest animals on earth, Kruger National Park in South Africa. When people think of poachers they envision the old-fashioned amateur, cheap labourer sent out by a Mafia to shoot and kill animals for their horns, which are more expensive than gold. The truth today, however, is quite different. Vast networks of criminals link the bridge between the suppliers and the buyers and arm their poachers with hi-tech machinery, including the latest communication devices, helicopters, laser-sighted rifles and night-vision goggles. Luckily the park rangers get some kind of revenge once in a while and they manage to kill a few poachers.

Hopefully 2011 will see an improvement in Rhino numbers and a decrease in trafficking and poaching for ivory and other animal parts. Make sure you show your support for these great animals by learning about them and protecting them.

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Curious Polar Bear... You looking at me?

They Hunt… Polar bears are very sneaky when it comes to sniffing out a meal. They do just that… smelling a meal in the Arctic air from up to 2 km away… they can stroll up to within eye sight of a poor innocent little seal and cunningly hide behind a block of ice or mound of snow and swim up behind the seal and snatch him before he gets away. Alternatively, the Polar Bear just sits for hours by a breathing hole in the ice and waits for an unsuspecting seal to pop its little nose out from under the water and snap! These are examples of active and lazy hunting. Whatever it takes to get a meal!

Check out this cunning Polar Bear stalking a seal!

They Mate… Polar Bears like any animal like to make babies. This courting period usually lasts a few months between April and May when food sources are plentiful and male bears feel at their most energetic. Not a coincidence this, because big male bears will fight violently with each other in competition for a sexy looking female Polar Bear. Male polar bears get so frisky that sometimes they will track down a female over hundreds of kilometres.

They Sleep… When the deed is done the little miss polar bear goes on a bit of a feeding frenzy. Like pregnant ladies they get the urge to fatten themselves up ready for the baby and most importantly the long gestation and hibernation period that will take place. They can easily double their body weight in preparation for this magnificent feat. Come September time the mother bear digs out a nice snow den where she can have her young and feed them well whilst waiting for the ice-flows and seals to return in the spring. That’s a long sleep and a good way to lose weight for mama bear.

They Play… when not out hunting or sleeping down in their den Polar Bears like to fool around. Play fighting with each other or simply rolling around in fresh snow and playing hide and seek. The lovely little cubs of course can exhibit this behaviour better than most, often picking up discarded bones or sea wood or sea weed and messing around with it trying to amuse themselves. Most of this play can be attributed to learning but it is also known to be a form of relaxation and curiosity. Polar Bears like to have fun to you know!

Watch them play around with disguised cameras!

They Die… Only about half of all cubs that are born will survive their first year. The environment and competition for females and food is so high that male bears will often kill cubs or even other adult bears. It doesn’t help that Eskimos are still hunting them trying to cling on to their traditional lifestyles. Declining Territory, Warmer average temperatures and depleting food stocks all lead to an increasing amount of Polar Bear deaths.

Are they intelligent? It is often argued that Polar Bears show a lot of intelligence but mainly these observations are a combination of curiosity and basic instinct. Knowing how to navigate around ice floes and stalk out prey is simply built into the Polar Bear DNA. The species would not survive if it couldn’t figure out simple tasks and act on unusual environments. Every animal has this capability, in the same way monkeys and humans can learn emotion and feelings, Polar Bears can navigate ice floes and know what to eat.

Lovely Polar Bear in its own habitat!

Are they endangered? Yes, they are endangered although their numbers have been known to be altered to show there are far less out there than there actually are. But with continual hunting and trespassing by humans on their territory and with the melting and ever extreme and unpredictable climate it’s getting more difficult for these tough guys to survive.

Do we love them and are they cool? Yes, we love Polar Bears, they are cute bundles of soft white fluff and yes, they are über cool!

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