Tuesday, December 29, 2020

 

Blog # 103  Rhinoceros, Tiger, Mountain Gorilla, Honeybee, Squirrel…..

 

What do these names have in common?  They are animals or insects, and three are very endangered, nearing extinction.  A fourth, the honeybee, is threatened.  This year, the fifth, squirrels, have become scarce in many parts of Chicago.  Well, let me change that - there have been quite a few dead squirrels spotted in Chicago this year, according to “Squirrel Patrol”, a division of the online Nextdoor, which is looking for squirrels on the north east part of Chicago. 

 

Now, what does this have to do with our health?  Plenty.  You see, when an animal, insect or plant is disappearing without obvious explanation, it is important to find out why their numbers are decreasing.  Sometimes, a fairly obvious cause can be found, such as hunting rhinoceros for their horns or mountain gorillas for their feet and other body parts.  Sometimes loss of habitat is also a main factor, such in the case of tigers.  And sometimes many factors contribute to a more toxic and less supportive environment, which makes creatures, such as honeybees, increasingly vulnerable to parasites and disease.  Cut and paste the link below to your browser to learn more about the decreasing bee population. 

 

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20140502-what-if-bees-went-extinct

 

When the environment is no longer supportive or even destructive for plants, insects and non-human animals, what are the odds that humans will also be impacted?  Since our life cycles are longer than most insects and many animals, and since, unlike plants, we can move away from some dangers, such as fires and floods, the impact on human life is not initially so obvious.  But sometimes the negative effects on human lives are very obvious.  Although viruses are manipulated in labs, there are plenty that we humans acquire from animals like bats and monkeys upon whose habitats we have encroached.  A combination of irresponsible extraction of Earth’s resources and using water, air, and earth as garbage and toxic waste dumping grounds is pushing our planet quickly toward problematic climate change, in particular, global warming.  Some signs of these changes are increasing numbers of storms, hurricanes and tornados.  Wildfires are also becoming much more plentiful and severe, starting earlier and lasting longer than in the past.  Their impact (homes destroyed, lives lost) is felt by humans especially dramatically when we chose to live close to wilderness areas, thus encroaching on homes of animals and plants and threatening their health and even their very existence.  This trespassing eventually results in threats to human health, and sometimes, to human homes and lives.  And so the cycle continues, gaining momentum. 

 

I’ve thought about the reason for the precipitous decrease in squirrel population in some areas of Chicago (some people have also reported a decrease in skunk, racoon and opossum populations) and I have concluded that several factors are involved.  The current pandemic of coronavirus has resulted in many people staying at home, either due to job loss or having to work from home.  Because of this, people are eating at home and disposing of more trash than usual in their residential neighborhoods.  This increased residential trash has resulted in an explosion of the local rat populations, which many people address with rat poison.  Since people are not out and about to feed squirrels this year, the squirrels seek food elsewhere, and some, maybe many, encounter and partake of rat poisoned bait that may be placed in dumpsters, crawlspaces or other places where rats and mice travel and dine. Squirrels too, may be poisoned.  Which may explain, at least in part, the many dead squirrels people have seen this summer and early fall.  This may also be an explanation for the missing skunks, opossums and racoons in some parts of Chicago.  These three types of animals sometimes eat rats and mice, and it’s possible that they are being poisoned by some of the dead rats they consume.  Raptors, too may partake of poisoned animals and consequently suffer neurological damage, which generally will prevent their survival.  The link below will connect you to a site that has some interesting, usually non-toxic suggestions for catching rats and mice.  The Uhlik Repeater trap is no kill, and may be one of the best to use.  And let’s not forget cats as an excellent type of rodent control.  Hopefully they will not be damaged or killed by consuming poisoned rats and mice. 

 

youtube mouse trap Monday

 

This blog’s offer:  call or email me for more information on the above scenario, or for any other reason, including getting a good, health supportive chiropractic and/or acupuncture treatment that will help you resist infection, including the current viral threat we face worldwide.  Take care and stay safe.

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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