#breeding programmes

[markhorday]

The Markhor is the national animal of Pakistan.

Today marks first-ever international day of #Markhor, the majestic ‘snake-eater’ of northern mountains.

[fjordfolk]

every time someone in a discussion about breeding for BOAS reduction in pugs says to 'look up this program called Retromops' i slip a little arsenic into the produce section at the grocery store

[the-magnusinstitute]

i hear james wright was married to mr bouchard's husband does this mean Institute heads have a type or does it mean his husband has a type

either way kinda weird

Hi! Not sure where you’re getting this information, Peter Lukas (I looked up his name) was born in 1970 and therefore would have been three years old when James Wright became Head of the Institute.

I did find something weird though. Apparently according to gossip at the time, Jonah Magnus had quite a close relationship with Mordecai Lukas??? Peter Lukas’ great-grandfather?????

[innerchorus]

A warm-up drabble before I return to working on my main WIP. This one is three words too long but fuck it, I'm just going to share it as it is rather than sit here for too long thinking about what to chop or how to rephrase it.

The Gift

The Holy Master sends Hilmes a gift with ulterior motives.

The woman Hilmes found at his door had a look in her eyes that was somewhere between terror and absence. As still as a statue, her body hung in unnatural compliance at the threshold of the room, wrapped in pure blue silk. Her hair was a wheaten blonde, as was common in those of Maryamian descent. 

He sent her away.

“I see you rejected my gift,” said the black-robed sorcerer when next they met. 

“I have no need for women before I regain my throne.”

“Perhaps I misread your tastes,” the sorcerer mused. “Next time, I shall send you one of my disciples.”

[bas-rouge]

Sorry it shouldn't be a hot take to say "'purpose bred' Beauce mixes are not 'improving the breed'"... you're taking two breeds with very different temperaments, health concerns, and conformation because you want money. That's the purpose. Btw. It's money

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Moment lion cubs take their first steps outside at London Zoo

9 May 2024

London Zoo’s three Asiatic lion cubs have been pictured taking their first steps outside with mother Arya.

The 8-week-old cubs appeared tentative at first, looking to mum for reassurance but were soon spotted skipping around their Indian-inspired habitat, chasing each other and playing with mum’s tail.

Parents Arya and Bhanu are kept at London Zoo as part of their international conservation breeding programme, which includes protecting an important backup population of the big cats.

The cubs - who are yet to be named - were born on 13 March 2024.

Surviving only in the Gir Forest in Gujarat, India, their wild population is particularly vulnerable to disease or natural disaster.

[suspiciousmammal]

Rounded the corner at the yard and saw three very pregnant quarter horse mares staring back at me from a paddock. Nice way to find out that the new boarders brought a whole breeding programme along with them

[ofcowardiceandkings]

saw some funky creatures today

[bronzewool]

Dune is ruining my life.

I have not been able to stop thinking about the series ever since I stumbled across the sequel in the library. And since it's like 1/3 of the length of the original, I picked it up for some light reading just to see if there was something I was missing.

I am frustrated by how much I desperately want to learn more about this world, but I don't wanna read it in this format. The Worldbuilding is fine. The characters are fine. The relationships are fine. The history is fine. The conflict is fine.

I just hate the writing.

Dune Messiah does the same bloody thing in the first book, where it announces the motivations of each character and spoils many plot twists that would have been shocking to learn for yourself. The first chapter even starts with our four central antagonists in the same room talking about how they're going to overthrow House Atreides. So we know who to look out for before Paul even meets them, not that it matters since they're all so bloody incompetent, their plan to overthrow Paul is both way too complicated and laughably straight forward.

It's been 12 years since the first book, Paul got his revenge on the man who killed his father, overthrew the Emperor, and made himself the new Emperor with a devout Fremen army and a monopoly on the Spice extraction.

Except things aren't so perfect. Paul, who is cursed with clairvoyance and has seen the future for all humanity, is trying to avoid the extinction of the human race but, in doing so, has made himself the villain.

"At a conservative estimate, I've killed sixty-one billion, sterilized ninety planets, completely demoralized five hundred others. I've wiped out the followers of forty religions-"

His followers see him as a god and have become a cult who will cut down all non-believers in his name. He has brought water and wealth to Arrakis but is playing the long game, destroying the lives of billions of innocent people for the sake of trillions not even born yet. He's a hard character to root for when you've spent an entire book watching him struggle to earn his happy ending, only to then watch him commit mass genocide in the name of the greater good.

And the book doesn't tell you straight out the gate that Paul is now evil, but let's you digest the consequences of all his decisions. For example, Paul has full control over the Spice trade, a life-extending drug that most citizens have been exposed to at some point. The spice rightfully belongs to the people of Arrakis (even though Paul himself is not a native), but one of the drawbacks to ingesting spice is that withdrawal eventually leads to death. Everyone who takes one step on Arrakis can never leave or must depend on frequent shipments of the stuff in order to keep on living. We are never privy to the innerworkings of the shipment itself or how much it costs, but I couldn't help but compare the dependency on Spice to insulin, especially when Paul learns that someone has attempted to take one of the sandworms to manufacture their own supply of spice on another desert planet.

The book has great moments like that, but it's spliced with chapters of people sitting in a room talking about power, diplomancy, conspiracy, religion, fate, legacy, guilt. And going over those conversations with a Sherlock Holmes level of deduction to uncover hidden meanings, and talking in different rooms with different people.

There is a lot of talking in this book when the plot can be cut down to: Paul's Consort Princess (that he forced into a political marriage right after dethroning her father) has teamed up with the old reverend Mother from the first book to remove Paul from power with the help of a shapeshifter "face dancer" and a space guild navigator who is invisible to the powers of foresight. The Princess secretly drugs Chani, Paul's lover from the first book, with a contraceptive in order to stop her bearing any future heirs. The Guild Navigator presents an artificial human created from the remains Duncan Idaho, who died in the previous book, as a gift to the Emperor. And the shapeshifter has taken on the form of a Fremen.

The innerworkings of their plan are kept hidden from the reader, but the execution is lacklustre when the entire point of the book is that Paul can't lose. Chani is moved back to Arrakis to see a doctor, so the princess can't keep drugging her. The reverand Mother is apprehended early on in the book. Paul knows the resurrected Duncan is a trap meant to be his undoing, and any tension with the shapeshifter is pointless as Paul sees right through his deception, but plays along anyway.

Much like my frustration with the first book, there isn't a lot of narrative tension when it comes to the plot. The only real suprises in the book are, how the conspiracy plans to use Duncan to take down Paul, and near the end when Chani finally gives birth and Paul did not predict her bearing twins as he only ever saw the future of their daughter, and not a twin son who is hidden from Paul's powers and might change the future Paul fought so hard to achieve.

I both enjoy learning about Dune and hate reading it. To the point I'd rather just read the wiki articles. But I can't seem to get it out of my head and hate myself for not enjoying it more when it is so beloved by so many people I respect, and I dont know of its just because I'm not nearly smart enough to fully understand it

[markhorday]

Enhance efforts to conserve the markhor.

The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 24 May the International Day of the Markhor, A/RES/78/278, and we celebrate it for the first time in 2024.

[bas-rouge]

Me: I should take a break from art for finals week.

Also me: if I don't draw a dog RIGHT NOW,

[artificial-hope]

Local Pokémon fans sees non canon lore scrapped in Gen 4 and decides that’s the reason that dexit happened and gets mad

[markhorday]

Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 2 May 2024.

The General Assembly, Reaffirming its resolution 70/1 of 25 September 2015, entitled “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, by which it adopted a comprehensive, far-reaching and people-centred set of universal and transformative Sustainable Development Goals and targets, Reaffirming also its resolutions 53/199 of 15 December 1998 and 61/185 of 20 December 2006 on the proclamation of international years, and Economic and Social Council resolution 1980/67 of 25 July 1980 on international years and anniversaries, in particular paragraphs 1 to 10 of the annex thereto on the agreed criteria for the proclamation of international years, as well as paragraphs 13 and 14, in which it is stated that an international day or year should not be proclaimed before the basic arrangements for its organization and financing have been made, Reaffirming further the intrinsic value of wildlife and its various contributions, including its ecological, genetic, social, economic, scientific, educational, cultural, recreational and aesthetic contributions to sustainable development and human wellbeing, and recognizing that wild fauna in their many beautiful and varied forms are an irreplaceable part of the natural systems of the Earth which must be protected for this generation and the generations to come, Stressing the urgent need to address the unprecedented global decline in biodiversity, including by preventing the extinction of threatened species, improving and sustaining their conservation status and restoring and safeguarding ecosystems that provide essential functions and services, including services related to water, health, livelihoods and well-being,

Underlining that the markhor (Capra falconeri) is an iconic and ecologically significant species found across the mountainous regions of Central and South Asia, including Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and recognizing that the markhor was categorized as “near threatened” in 2014 and is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species, and has been included in appendix I to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora since 1992, Recognizing that preserving the markhor and its natural habitat is an ecological imperative and a significant opportunity to bolster the regional economy, foster conservation efforts and promote sustainable tourism and economic growth and that conservation efforts will benefit the ecosystem, Stressing that, besides its ecological value, the markhor is a valuable species that contributes to the local economy and conservation initiatives, Recognizing national and regional initiatives for range State cooperation, transboundary approaches and mechanisms at the regional level to foster conservation of the markhor,

Noting the upcoming Ninth World Conference on Mountain Ungulates, to be held in Dushanbe from 12 to 15 October 2024, Recognizing that the greatest threats to the survival of the markhor are habitat loss, illegal hunting, including poaching, and climate change, Recalling its resolution 78/155 of 19 December 2023, entitled “Implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity and its contribution to sustainable development”, in which it called upon parties to the Convention and stakeholders to strengthen international cooperation measures for the fulfillment of obligations contained in the Convention, Recognizing efforts for the conservation of the markhor, including the establishment of breeding programmes and the development of a regional strategy and national action plans for the conservation of the markhor in some range States that aim to protect the species throughout its range,

Decides to proclaim 24 May the International Day of the Markhor;

Invites all Member States, organizations of the United Nations system, other international and regional organizations, civil society, non-governmental organizations, individuals and other relevant stakeholders to observe the International Day of the Markhor, as appropriate;

Invites all relevant stakeholders to give due consideration to enhancing international and regional cooperation in support of efforts to conserve the markhor, given its role in the overall ecosystem;

Invites the United Nations Environment Programme to facilitate the observance of the International Day of the Markhor, mindful of the provisions contained in the annex to Economic and Social Council resolution 1980/67;

Stresses that the cost of all activities that may arise from the implementation of the present resolution should be met from voluntary contributions and that such activities would be subject to the availability and provision of voluntary contributions;

Requests the Secretary-General to bring the present resolution to the attention of all Member States, the organizations of the United Nations system and civil society organizations for appropriate observance.

United Nations General Assembly Resolution 78/278 - International Day of the Markhor.

Seventy-eighth session Agenda item 13: Integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields.

77th plenary meeting - 2 May 2024.

[bas-rouge]

THERE'S 5 ENTLEBUCHERS????!?!?!?

[violetsandshrikes]

as much as i experience frequent environmental grief, i also honour the moments i feel such incredible joy.

recently i got to observe 3 ducklings. they’re pāteke (brown teal), and the most endangered waterfowl on the mainland of aotearoa new zealand- there’s around 2000-2500 of them in the wild.

that number is increasing yearly through breeding programmes and reintroductions, which these three little guys will be part of. they’re unassuming little things, but watching them swim along with their mother while their father sunbathed on a rock to the side, i hope they’re part of their species story of long term survival.

[allsortsoffuckedup]

Public library work is crazy because one minute you’ll be helping a child find books on his latest hyperfixation (cattle breeds if you’re wondering) and the next you’ll be arguing with 70-something year old cult member because you won’t let them use your community display space for their recruitment materials (we’re not a cult! It’s spiritual enlightenment! But we call our leader the Master yes) and THEN suddenly you’ll be running a knitting programme where all the old ladies are hitting on the cop you had to call to come deal with the grown ass man who has developed beef with a literal child, is yelling swear words at said child even though you’ve taken the kid into the staff only area for safety, and will not leave the library without being literally arrested