Save the Honey Bee

I love bees. They are friendly, cooperative little dears that are quite willing to be tough when necessary and work in incredibly complex networks throughout their lives. I also like honey, flowers and agriculture (honeybees and their hives are actually trucked from field to field in many places to maximize their pollination services throughout the growing season of various crops).

Which is why Colony Collapse Disorder is so concerning. The term is used to describe a mysterious phenomenon whereby what entire colonies of bees just disappear and die, and it is spreading fast enough and wide enough to threaten the millions of farms that depend on them to pollinate their crops (as well as the bees themselves) on a massive scale.

And which is also why I'm glad someone is making a public effort to improve the situation. Yes, it's Haagen-Daaz ice cream, and yes, they have a commercial/PR angle, but the money raised goes directly to research at the University of California and Davis and Penn State universities looking into causes and cures for this disease.

So take a minute, learn more and help the honeybees if you are so inclined.

Middle East Falcon Trade Threatens Russia's Birds of Prey

Just as I was reading Samurai Sam's Interesting Links of the Day on the UAE Community blog on Dubai's falcon hospital, the Russian news started to run a story on falcon smuggling from Russia, which is a cruel process during which many birds die. Even if they do not, the process poses a very serious threat to several of Russia's birds, which are taken out of the breeding population while they are young or at prime breeding age. All of this got me thinking as to where the UAE's birds come from. I know there are nurseries in the UAE and Saudi, but I also know that smuggling is a serious issue (the first case of bird flu in Saudi was actually detected in eagles smuggled from Kazakhstan), and in the case of some species (including the aforementioned Kazakh eagles), threatens their very survival.

Once in the UAE, I believe that most people treat their birds well. An acquaintance 's family even has their own falcon medical center, while every falcon that I've seen, in the UAE or Saudi, looked well-cared for. I'm also glad to know that there is a free hospital for owners who want to ensure that their birds get the best care without worrying about how to pay for it. But I just can't see it all as a feel-good story; these birds come from somewhere, and in many cases, it really hurts their species and their homelands.