Sunday, August 28, 2011
San Diego Zoo
"young elephants that have experienced assaults on their psyches may exhibit signs of post traumatic stress, just like orphaned children in the wake of war or genocide.
most of the orphans recover to become wild elephants again. they return in wary, halting, half measures at first, caught between a deep devotion to their human caregivers and the irresistible call of their true selves."
-Dame Daphne Sheldrick
Harpy Eagles (San Diego Zoo)
"The most powerful bird of prey on Earth, the harpy eagle, weighs up to 20 pounds (nine kilograms), has a seven-foot (2.1-meter) wing span, and is armed with talons as big as grizzly bear claws. Those deadly talons can exert several hundred pounds (over 50 kilograms) of pressure, crushing the bones of the sloths, monkeys, and other prey the eagle snatches from the rain forest canopy, often killing its victims instantly.
It's no wonder that early South American explorers named harpy eagles after the predatory half-woman, half-bird monster of Greek mythology."
