Rescued circus elephant Ramba arrives at Brazil sanctuary

Yahoo – AFP, October 20, 2019

An elephant named Ramba that used to perform in circuses rests after arriving
at the Brazilian Elephant Sanctuary (AFP Photo/Rogerio Florentino)

Chapada dos Guimarães (Brazil) (AFP) - An Asian elephant that spent decades performing in South American circuses has started a new life in an open-air sanctuary in Brazil, after travelling thousands of kilometers by plane and truck from a Chilean zoo.

Ramba's much-anticipated arrival at the 1,133-hectare (2,800-acre) Elephant Sanctuary Brazil in the central west state of Mato Grosso late Friday was broadcast live on Facebook and viewed thousands of times.

The elephant, estimated to be more than 52 years old, worked in circuses in Argentina and Chile before she was rescued by activists in 2012.

She was then kept in a roadside zoo in Rancagua, in central Chile, while her rescuers searched for a new home.

Her ordeal left her with abscesses as well as kidney and liver problems.

Ramba was flown to the Viracopos international airport near Sao Paulo on Wednesday -- a day before heavily armed gunmen raided the cargo terminal in a daring heist.

She was then transported by flat-bed truck to the sanctuary in Chapada dos Guimaraes, which was opened in 2016 with the help of US-based Global Sanctuary for Elephants (GSE) -- the first of its kind in Latin America.

Ramba joins two other female Asian elephants, Rana and Maia, also former circus performers.

Videos of Ramba's road trip in Brazil were posted online. One shows her munching on watermelons in a metal crate on the back of a truck.

Ramba was accompanied by GSE chief Scott Blais as well as a veterinarian, volunteers and Brazilian federal police.

"Ramba needs a quiet place, one where she feels safe and is not on display, where she is surrounded by others of her kind who truly understand her and can help her to open her heart fully," Blais said in a statement.

"She needs sanctuary."

Plastic microparticles threaten unique Galapagos fauna

Yahoo – AFP, Rodrigo BUENDÍA, March 22, 2019

Iguanas are among the unique creatures inhabiting the Galapagos Islands
whose existence is threatened by plastic waste (AFP Photo/RODRIGO BUENDIA)

Galapagos (Ecuador) (AFP) - Armed only with gloves and large sacks, park rangers and volunteers are battling the scourge of plastic waste blighting the idyllic Galapagos Islands and their unique creatures.

Tons of plastic waste wash up on the shores of the Galapagos islands where microparticles end up in the stomachs of species found only in the Pacific archipelago 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) west of mainland Ecuador.

Those microparticles, often from waste discarded in big cities from other countries and even continents, are perhaps one of the greatest threats to the iguanas, tortoises, birds and fish of the Galapagos.

The tiny plastic pieces become part of the food chain "that we may later feed on," biologist Jennifer Suarez, a marine ecosystems expert with the Galapagos National Parks (PNG), told AFP.

Sun rays and the ocean's saltwater break down bottles, bags, lids, containers and fishing nets.

Factfile on marine iguanas in the Galapagos (AFP Photo/Adrian Leung/

John Saeki)

Yet while those objects may appear solid to the naked eye, when battered against rocks or by the force of waves, microparticles splinter off, which are subsequently ingested by animals.

Every year, and despite the punishing heat and sun, expeditionary groups arrive at Galapagos beaches to survey the damage caused by man.

Sex toys, shoes, lighters, pens and tin cans are amongst the waste found in areas used by animals, including some in danger of extinction.

In uninhabited zones such as Punta Albemarle, in the far north of Isabela Island, where AFP joined a team of cleaners, waste from far and wide was discovered.

"More than 90 percent of the waste gathered doesn't come from Galapagos activities, but rather from South America, Central America and even a great deal of waste with Asian branding," said PNG director Jorge Carrion.

With a population of around 25,000, the archipelago, a UNESCO World Heritage site, has tightened its rules regarding plastics use in recent years.

A volunteer shows a green tea label collected on Isabela Island in the 

Galapagos archipelago (AFP Photo/RODRIGO BUENDIA)

'Chinese brands'

Most of the plastic waste washing up on the Galapagos shores are bottles of Peruvian, Colombian or Panamanian products, and containers with Chinese branding.

That waste "probably comes from the fishing fleets from Asia just outside the Galapagos' exclusive economic area," said Carrion, speaking from the PNG dock in Puerto Ayora, the capital of Santa Cruz Island.

Since 1996, local fishermen have been cleaning the remotest islands and for the last three years, they've been keeping a register.

"This lets us identify the origin of waste on unpopulated coasts," said Suarez.

"Over the last two years of monitoring, we've noticed that the largest number of brands are Peruvian and Chinese."

While currently there is no such legislation, the hope is that this register can be used in the future to make compensation claims against those responsible for environmental harm.

A cormorant sits on her nest surrounded by garbage on the shore of Isabela 

Island in the Galapagos archipelago (AFP Photo/RODRIGO BUENDIA)

Already in 2019, eight tons of waste has been collected, compared to 24 in the whole of 2018 and just under 6.5 tons the year before.

Park rangers also keep a register, but theirs is of the animals affected by the waste, such as the cormorant that builds its nests using used diapers and plastic bags, or the body of a booby found buried in a pile of rubbish.

'Appeal to consciences'

Another shocking discovery is plastic bags that have been bitten by sea turtles that mistake them for jellyfish, an important part of their diet.

"We have indiscriminately thrown so much waste into the sea that it has turned up at coasts where there are no people, but already there is garbage," Sharlyn Zuniga told AFP.

The 24-year-old clean-up volunteer said she came across pristine beaches with fine white sand, but spoilt by rubbish.

Since the start of the year, eight tons of garbage has been collected by volunteers 

on the Galapagos Islands (AFP Photo/Rodrigo BUENDIA)

"What I saw was very hard (to take). We're used to seeing the best part of the Galapagos in pictures and postcards," she said.

Large bags of plastic waste collected on the archipelago are sent to mainland Ecuador to be incinerated.

"We're getting rid of the waste that accumulates in these places, to avoid it breaking down and turning into microparticles," said Suarez.

Over time Carrion hopes less and less waste will be collected but 2019 is expected to turn up as much as 2018.

"We need to go beyond just collecting waste. We need to appeal to consciences on a global level, so people stop throwing waste into the sea," said Carrion.

Galapagos bans fireworks to protect unique wildlife

Yahoo – AFP, December 28, 2018

A Galapagos marine iguana, pictured in January 2018, sunbathes next to tourists
at Tortuga Bay beach on Santa Cruz Island (AFP Photo/Pablo COZZAGLIO)

Quito (AFP) - Fireworks have been banned on the Galapagos Islands to protect the archipelago's unique fauna, the local government said on Friday.

The local council said in a statement that it had agreed "unanimously a resolution that prohibits the importation, sale, distribution and use of fireworks or pyrotechnics in the Galapagos province."

Those fireworks that produce light but no noise have been excluded from the ban.

The islands are home to thousands of residents as well as being a tourist destination, and the measure comes just days before New Year celebrations in which many people traditionally set off fireworks.

"Ecosystems as sensitive as the Galapagos Islands are affected (by fireworks), principally its fauna that is unique," said the council.

It also wants to avoid any potential deterioration in air quality or pollution of water sources.

Animals have suffered from elevated heart rates, nervous stress and anxiety, which have "notably" changed their behavior and affected the survival of species inhabiting this World Heritage Site that belongs to Ecuador.

"This is a gift to conservation for Ecuador and the world," Lorena Tapia, president of the local council, said on her Twitter account.

A campaign to limit the use of fireworks on the Galapagos Islands was launched in 2017.

Single-use plastics have also been banned on the archipelago, about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) off the coast of Ecuador.

Known for its endemic species, the volcanic Galapagos Islands played a crucial role in British naturalist Charles Darwin's studies before he came up with his theory of evolution.

Chile penguins win battle in war against mine

Yahoo – AFP, Giovanna FLEITAS, 13 October 2017

They may be less than a meter tall but they have conquered a Goliath: Chile's vulnerable Humboldt penguins have thwarted -- for now at least -- a billion dollar mining project in one of the country's most depressed regions.

The rare species is only found on the coasts of Peru and Chile, which has created the National Humboldt Penguin Reserve -- but it's also an area rich in natural resources which has put the animals on a collision course with mining giant Andes Iron and their $2.5 billion project.

Conservationists jumped to their defense when the company unveiled plans to construct a huge open-cast mine and a port near the reserve, 600 kilometers (250 miles) north of Santiago.

The Dominga mine would have produced 12 million tonnes of iron ore a year, making it the biggest of its kind in the country, and 150,000 tonnes of copper.

For months it made headlines amid a bitter national debate over economic development and environmental conservation that was fought out on social media and split the socialist government of Chilean President Michelle Bachelet.

The project was rejected in March by an environmental commission but Andes Iron appealed the ruling.

In August, a special cabinet committee which included the energy and mines, health and environment ministers, finally vetoed the project citing of a lack of guarantees for the penguins.

Humboldts have been protected here since 1990, when the reserve was set up to encompass the islands of Dama, Choros and Gaviota, a stunning nature trail beloved of whale, sea-lion and penguin watchers.

Thousands of jobs

Rodrigo Flores, vice-president of the fisherman's union in nearby Punta Choros, a jumping off point for tours of the islands, welcomed the move.

"Dominga is an invasive project, for nature and for society," he told AFP. "It is incompatible with a place considered a hotspot of biodiversity at the global level."

But that's not everyone's view.

Joyce Aguirre is one of the project's staunch defenders in the local community of La Higuera.

"Every project has an impact," she said, arguing that the government had a duty to come down on the side of jobs.

"We want to be vigilant and watch what's going to happen. We are the ones who live here and we would never want to damage the area."

The region is among the most underdeveloped in Chile and many locals lament the loss of thousands of jobs promised under the plan.

Conservation NGO Oceana warned of the risks to the ecosystem from the mine, whose port terminal was set to be built only 30 kilometers away from the island of Choros.

The conservation group argued that increased shipping traffic, with its greater risk of oil spills, would do untold harm to a known cetacean migrant route and pristine waters that provide a rich food source to several vulnerable species including the sea otter.

"I've been diving in other areas and I've seen that residue from mining activity is noticeable on the ocean bottom, killing all existing life," said fisherman Mauricio Carrasco. "That's what we're afraid of."

Constant pressure on reserve

In Punta Choros, 160 families in the fishing community play an official role in watching over the penguin reserve, an area of 880 hectares which is home to 80 percent of the species.

Recent studies have shown the water to be pristine, largely due to conservation efforts.

But the reserve "is constantly under threat from mega-projects," warned Liliana Yanes, regional director of the National Forestry Office in Coquimbo.

French giant Suez was forced to pull out of a project to build a power plant in Barrancones, near Choros, in 2010. The then-president Sebastian Pinera demanded that the power plant be built elsewhere after thousands of people protested.

Around 60 kilometers away in the town of La Serena, part of the population has come out strongly against the U-turn on the Dominga project.

"We feel the disappointment, as Chileans, because the government is clipping our wings," said Marta Arancibia, adding that the region was one of the poorest in Chile.

She is a member of a residents association which signed an agreement with Andes Iron in which they promised to invest heavily in local education, healthcare and potable water projects.

"The state hasn't been present for us over the last 20 years, so we see these private enterprise projects as opportunities," said Aguirre, who also signed the agreement.

Andes Iron has signalled its intention to continue the battle in Chile's environmental court and if necessary, take it all the way to the Supreme Court.

Round one to the plucky penguins, though it seems the war has only started.

Chile's #Humboldt penguins win battle in war against mining giant pic.twitter.com/uy2lPQpRgV

— AFP news agency (@AFP) October 13, 2017

First fluorescent frog found in Argentina

Yahoo – AFP, March 17, 2017

Argentine and Brazilian scientists at the Bernardino Rivadaiva Natural Sciences
Museum discovered the first naturally fluorescent frog almost by accident

The first naturally fluorescent frog was discovered recently in Argentina -- almost by chance, a member of the team of researchers told AFP Thursday.

Argentine and Brazilian scientists at the Bernardino Rivadaiva Natural Sciences Museum made the discovery while studying the metabolic origin of pigments in a tree-frog species common to South America.

Under normal light the frog's translucent skin is a muted yellowish-brown color with red dots, but when the scientists shone an ultraviolet light on it, it turned a celestial green.

According to one of them, Carlos Taboada, the case is "the first scientific record of a fluorescent frog."

"We were very excited," said his fellow researcher Julian Faivovich. "It was quite disconcerting."

He said the discovery "radically modifies what is known about fluorescence in terrestrial environments, allowing the discovery of new fluorescent compounds that may have scientific or technological applications."

It also "generates new questions about visual communication in amphibians," he said.

The team studied some 200 more examples to ensure the phenomenon was not due to the frog's captivity, and detected the fluorescent properties in all the specimens.

Maria Lagorio -- an independent researcher and expert in fluorescence, who the research team contacted after the discovery -- told AFP that the trait is common in aquatic species and seen in some insects, "but has never been scientifically reported in amphibians."

The finding was recently published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Frog with yellow eyebrows discovered in Colombia

Mysterious 13ft Sea Creature Washes Up On Beach In Mexico

Yahoo, 10 March 2016

Mysterious 13ft Sea Creature Washes Up On Beach In Mexico

It looks like something from a terrifying horror movie, but this is the mystery sea creature that’s baffled experts after washing up on a tourist beach in Mexico.

The monstrous 4-metre (13-foot-long) beast was discovered on Bonfil Beach, in the city of Acapulco, in the south-west Mexican state of Guerrero.

Stunned beach-goers stood around the beast and began taking photos - while also speculating on the possible species of the creature.

The creature’s body was washed on the shore by strong currents that have been affecting parts of the Mexican coast.

Mysterious 13ft Sea Creature Washes Up On Beach In Mexico

Rosa Comacho, the coordinator of the Civil Guard and Fire Brigade believes the animal had not been dead for a long time - but it has started to rapidly decay.

She said: ‘We have no idea what type of animal this is, but I do know that it does not smell bad or have a fetid aroma.

‘It is four metres long and was found on Bonfil Beach.’

The photos of the mysterious creature have since provoked huge debate online - with some suggesting that it might be a type of giant squid, while others have suggested that it is a whale.

Frog with yellow eyebrows discovered in Colombia

Yahoo – AFP, March 9, 2016

Pristimantis macrummendozai frog was discovered in the Iguaque Merchan
paramos, Colombia's East Andes (AFP Photo)

Bogota (AFP) - A new species of terrestrial frog with yellow eyebrows has been found in Colombia's East Andes, researchers announced.

The Pristimantis macrummendozai was discovered in the Iguaque Merchan paramos, an Alpine ecosystem, north of the town of Arcabuco in the central department of Boyaca, according to the Humboldt Institute, which worked on the study in collaboration with the Environment Ministry.

The discovery "places Colombia among the five most biodiverse countries in the world," said Andres Acosta, curator of the Humboldt Institute's biological collections.

Researchers said on Tuesday the frog has a skin with folds that retain humidity, and that its dark color helps it blend well with the rocky soil of this mountainous region.

"Unlike other species, the Pristimantis macrummendozai reproduces well in the humidity of the paramos region, laying its eggs in the ground," the Humboldt Institute said in a statement.

The frog's front legs have sticky pads similar to velcro that allow the male to keep its grip on the female during reproduction.

The Humboldt Institute noted that with this latest discovery, there are now 10 known species of high-altitude frogs in the East Andes, home to 16 paramos regions such as the Chingaza, Santurban, Almorzadero and Cundinamarca.

Frog with yellow eyebrows discovered in Colombia https://t.co/r04pVM2O9J pic.twitter.com/NDSYB1BYQt

— AFP news agency (@AFP) March 9, 2016

Scientists discover 'ghostlike' octopus off Hawaii

Yahoo - AFP, 6 March 2016

This image courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Hohonu Moana 2016, shows small
translucent octopus, nicknamed Casper for his resemblance to the famous
cartoon ghost (AFP Photo)

Washington (AFP) - Scientists have discovered a "ghostlike" octopus in deep water off Hawaii that appears to belong to a previously unknown species, researchers said.

A submersible research craft spotted the small, translucent octopus by chance around 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) underwater off Necker Island on the northwestern end of the Hawaiian Archipelago, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said.

"As the ROV (remotely operated vehicle) was traversing a flat area of rock interspersed with sediment at 4,290 meters, it came across a remarkable little octopod sitting on a flat rock dusted with a light coat of sediment," the NOAA's Michael Vecchione said.

"The appearance of this animal was unlike any published records and was the deepest observation ever" for this type of marine creature, he added, in a statement released on March 2.

The octopus -- nicknamed "Casper the Friendly Ghost" on social media -- was caught on camera by the Okeanos Explorer, which the NOAA uses to explore underwater geology and marine life in little-known parts of the world's oceans.

Vecchione said the newly discovered octopus has a single row of suckers on each tentacle instead of the usual two, but is "particularly unusual because it lacked the pigment cells, called chromatophores, typical of most cephalopods, and it did not seem very muscular."

"It is almost certainly an undescribed species and may not belong to any described genus," he said.

Bolivia, Peru sign $500 mn deal for Lake Titicaca clean-up

Yahoo – AFP, January 8, 2016

Lake Titicaca, which is the highest in the world, at an altitude of 3,800 meters
(12,470 feet) above sea level, provides a habitat for a number of frogs, birds
and fish, including two species that have almost been wiped out (AFP Photo
/Aizar Raldes)

La Paz (AFP) - Bolivia and Peru agreed to provide more than $500 million towards cleaning up Lake Titicaca, whose polluted waters are home to some animals nearing extinction, a Bolivian environment official said.

The deal, which is meant to improve the lake's biodiversity, includes environmental management and recovery through to 2025.

Lake Titicaca, which is the highest in the world, at an altitude of 3,800 meters (12,470 feet) above sea level, provides a habitat for a number of frogs, birds and fish, including two species that have almost been wiped out.

Bolivia's Environment and Water Minister Alexandra Moreira and her Peruvian counterpart Manuel Pulgar signed the agreement during a public event.

"For the short term we have a limit of $117 million and for the long term $400 million," said Moreira's advisor Sergio Arispe.

“It's a logistical matter we are trying to manage through 2025," he said.

Part of the waste in the lake is generated by the Bolivian city of El Alto, near La Paz, which is home to about 800,000 people.

Peru's minister stressed that the two countries are "already taking concrete actions such as investing in water treatment plants to address the main problems the lake is facing."

Pearl Jam donates concert proceeds to Brazil mine victims

Yahoo – AFP, 21 Nov 2015

Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam performs during the fourth annual Global Citizen
 Festival in Central Park Manhattan on September 26, 2015 in New York
 (AFP Photo/Kena Betancur)

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - US rock group Pearl Jam donated proceeds from a concert in Brazil to victims of a toxic mining spill that killed 12 people and was the country's worst environmental disaster.

The group's singer Eddie Vedder interrupted a show Friday night in Belo Horizonte, capital of the southeast state of Minas Gerais -- where the disaster occurred November 5 -- and called for the mining company involved to be severely punished.

As seen on a video on the news website G1, the group got a standing ovation when Vedder said the take from that concert would go to victims of the disaster.

It struck when a dam collapsed at the waste reservoirs of an iron ore mine, unleashing a torrent of yellowish muck that all but buried a village, left 280,000 people without water and smothered thousands of fish, turtles and other animals.

Besides the 12 dead, another 12 people remain missing.

The mining facility is owned by Samarco, a joint venture between the mining giants BHP Billiton of Australia and Vale of Brazil.

Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira said Friday it was the worst environmental disaster in Brazilian history and that it will take 30 years to clean the basin of the Doce River, into which the sludge flowed.

Samarco has already been hit with damages, fines and frozen funds totalling more than $400 million.

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Peru creates huge national park in Amazon basin

Yahoo – AFP, 7 Nov 2015

Peruvian President Ollanta Humala, pictured on July 28, 2015, will create the Sierra

 del Divisor National Park in a region inhabited by a variety of indigenous communities

living in self-imposed isolation (AFP Photo/Ernesto Benavides)

Lima (AFP) - Peru is creating a national park to protect a vast territory in the Amazon basin that is vulnerable to drug trafficking and illegal logging and mining, the country's environment minister said Saturday.

Called the Sierra del Divisor National Park, it covers an area of about 14,170 square kilometers (5,470 square miles) in a region inhabited by a variety of indigenous communities living in self-imposed isolation.

Peru's President Ollanta Humala will travel to the region Sunday to sign a decree creating the park, Environment Minister Manuel Pulgar Vidal said on his Twitter account.

The park has an estimated 3,000 species of plants and animals, many of them found nowhere else in the world, according to the government.

The announcement comes just three weeks ahead of a UN summit aimed at sealing a global pact on climate change.

Advocates of the new park have said it will enable the capture of 150,000 tonnes of CO2, the equivalent of nearly 40 percent of Peru's daily carbon output.

Sierra del Divisor has been a protected zone since April 2006. Since then, the communities living there have lobbied for its designation as a national park to stiffen legal protections against encroachment by loggers, miners and drug traffickers.

Sierra del Divisor is the second national park created since Humala took office in 2011, after the Gueppi National Park, a 6,260 square kilometer expanse centered on the Gueppi River in southeastern Peru.

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Whale gets close-up of Buenos Aires, delighting onlookers

Yahoo – AFP, 4 Aug 2015

A stranded whale pictured at Puerto Madero harbour in Buenos Aires on

August 3, 2015 (AFP Photo/Juan Mabromata)

Buenos Aires (AFP) - A disoriented whale stunned onlookers and delighted tourists at Buenos Aires' bustling waterfront Monday, swimming alongside boats and periodically surfacing to the perplexed crowds.

The small whale, whose species was not immediately confirmed, turned up well off its healthy course -- near the docks in glitzy Puerto Madero, the capital's upscale neighborhood.

Appearing somewhat distressed, the whale bobbed around a group of yachts docked at the popular residential and nightlife haunt.

A stranded right whale is pictured at 

Puerto Madero harbour in Buenos Aires on

 August 3, 2015 (AFP Photo/Juan

Mabromata)

Marine mammal researcher Enrique Crespo said the whale may have lost its way while migrating.

If it is a young adult, it could survive, but if it is a baby separated from its mother the prognosis is grimmer, he said.

Whale Conservation Institute chief Diego Taboada stressed "it is totally outside its habitat, and it has to be put back on course."

"It has serious problems with its vital signs," he warned, noting that contact with fresh water would likely contribute to infection.

Navy officials were trying to help the animal get out of the fresh water and back to salt water.

Southern right whales migrate toward cold waters of the Mar Argentino area every year, about 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) south of Buenos Aires.

Spotting them is a big tourist attraction between May and December but they are not often spied in fresh water.

Buenos Aires lies where the fresh water of the Rio de la Plata empties into the South Atlantic Ocean.

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Fears for pink iguanas as Galapagos volcano erupts

Yahoo – AFP, 25 May 2015

The eruption of the volcano Wolf on Isabela Island, Galapagos on
May 25, 2015 (AFP Photo/Diego Paredes)

Quito (AFP) - A volcano in the Galapagos islands erupted for the first time in more than 30 years Monday, sending streams of lava flowing down its slopes and potentially threatening the world's only colony of pink iguanas.

The Galapagos National Park warned on Twitter that Isabela Island, where Wolf volcano erupted at dawn, holds "the world's only population" of the iguanas, Conolophus marthae, also known as the Galapagos rosy iguana.

Park officials told AFP they were not immediately able to establish whether the iguanas were at risk from the eruption.

A tourist boat passing by the uninhabited island informed authorities the 1,707-meter (5,600-foot) volcano was erupting.

Park officials then flew over the area to assess the impact of the eruption.

Pictures released by the park show fiery streams of lava trickling down the side of the volcano as a puff of smoke rises into the air and tongues of fire dart from the crater.

Wolf volcano had last erupted in 1982.

Isabela Island is the largest in the Galapagos, the Ecuadoran archipelago made famous by Charles Darwin's studies of its breathtaking biodiversity, which was crucial in his development of the theory of evolution by natural selection.

The island chain, which sits about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) off the coast of Ecuador, is one of the most volcanically active regions in the world.

Isabela island, which strides the equator, also has four other volcanoes: Darwin, Alcedo, Cerro Azul and Sierra Negra.

The amazing moment stray dogs showed up at a funeral to pay respects to the kindly lady who used to feed them

• Margarita Suarez of Merida, Yucatan, was well known for feeding the stray dogs and cats that would show up at her home
• Family members were stunned when the dogs suddenly appeared at the funeral parlor where Margarita's body was being kept
• On the day of the funeral, March 15, the dogs even formed a procession behind her hearse

Mail Online, David MCCORMACK, 30 March 2015

    

A funeral for a woman in Mexico took an unexpected turn when a number of stray dogs unexpectedly showed up to pay their respects.

Animal lover Margarita Suarez of Merida, Yucatan, passed away earlier this month after battling illness.

During her life she was known for her kindness to all kinds of animals and every morning she would feed the stray dogs and cats that would show up at her home.

Devotion: A funeral for a woman in Mexico took an unexpected
 turn when a number of stray dogs unexpectedly showed up
to pay their respects

Animal lover: Margarita Suarez of Merida, Yucatan, passed away
earlier this month after battling illness

Friends for life: During her life she was known for her kindness to all
kinds of animals and every morning she would fed the stray dogs
 and cats that would show up at her home

She was also known for taking a bag of food along when she went out so she could treat other strays she encountered, reports Misiones Online.

Family members were stunned when the dogs suddenly appeared at the funeral parlor where Margarita's body was being kept.

Workers at the funeral home denied any knowledge of the animals and said they had never seen them before.

Realizing that the animals had come to pay their respects to Margarita, the staff allowed the dogs to come in and they laid peacefully on the floor near the woman's coffin.

Bird and stray dogs attend funeral of woman who fed them

On the day of the funeral, March 15, the dogs even formed a procession behind the hearse and then returned to the funeral home.

They only left once Margarita's body was being prepared for cremation.

'In pain, they jumped for joy, it was wonderful,' said Margarita's daughter Patricia Urrutia.

She believes that the animals had wanted to be there to say goodbye to someone who had been so good to them.

Family members were stunned when the dogs suddenly appeared
at the funeral parlor where Margarita's body was being kept

Family members were stunned when the dogs suddenly appeared
at the funeral parlor where Margarita's body was being kept

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"Soul Communication" - Feb 22-23, 2014 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version Part I)

“… Animals. You love them, don't you? What do you know about animals, especially the ones you care for and love, the ones you call pets? They have personalities, don't they? They can talk to you! When they communicate, what does that sound like, dear one? What do their voices sound like? "Well, Kryon, you already know they don't have an actual voice." Oh really? Then how do they "talk" to you? Now it gets good, doesn't it? They communicate through concepts. Their conceptual thought groups are available for you to pick up. So guess where you pick up these thoughts? It's through your pineal, which is the interpreter of multidimensional things in your body. It's not your brain, which is picking up their animal broadcasts, dear ones.

Now, some of you are good at this kind of communication. There are ones who are listening to this right now called animal whisperers, and they know exactly what I'm talking about. Why do they call it whispering? I give you my interpretation. It's because the communications are not linear, and they whisper to you through the pineal and not through brain synapse. It comes in thought groups, very softly and all at once, like the smudge. When you pick it up, you know what the dog or cat or horse or hamster or rabbit is trying to communicate. You know the requests they have, perhaps the distress they have, perhaps the celebration or the love they have.

Now, this kind of communication with animals is easy for you, because you all have felt this. I believe you know what I'm speaking about. So apply this lesson, for what I'm teaching today is no different and uses the same process you're going to use in real life and in meditation when you listen to God.

"Kryon, is it true that communicating with animals is soul communication?" Yes, it is theirs to yours, and if you're good at the interpretation of their thoughts, then why doubt yourself about the next step? Practice doing this communication with your own Higher-Self. Your Higher-Self is that part of yourself that vibrates higher than your cellular dimensionality, and it's part of your "soul group". This "soul group" is part of the nine attributes of the Human Being and is the core of you. It is the part that gives you information from the other side of the veil from that which you call God. …”


Kryon Q&A

Question: Dear Kryon: I live in Spain. I am sorry if I will ask you a question you might have already answered, but the translations of your books are very slow and I might not have gathered all information you have already given. I am quite concerned about abandoned animals. It seems that many people buy animals for their children and as soon as they grow, they set them out somewhere. Recently I had the occasion to see a small kitten in the middle of the street. I did not immediately react, since I could have stopped and taken it, without getting out of the car. So, I went on and at the first occasion I could turn, I went back to see if I could take the kitten, but it was to late, somebody had already killed it. This happened some month ago, but I still feel very sorry for that kitten. I just would like to know, what kind of entity are these animals and how does this fit in our world. Are these entities which choose this kind of life, like we do choose our kind of Human life? I see so many abandoned animals and every time I see one, my heart aches... I would like to know more about them.

Answer: Dear one, indeed the answer has been given, but let us give it again so you all understand. Animals are here on earth for three (3) reasons.

(1) The balance of biological life. . . the circle of energy that is needed for you to exist in what you call "nature."

(2) To be harvested. Yes, it's true. Many exist for your sustenance, and this is appropriate. It is a harmony between Human and animal, and always has. Remember the buffalo that willingly came into the indigenous tribes to be sacrificed when called? These are stories that you should examine again. The inappropriateness of today's culture is how these precious creatures are treated. Did you know that if there was an honoring ceremony at their death, they would nourish you better? Did you know that there is ceremony that could benefit all of humanity in this way. Perhaps it's time you saw it.

(3) To be loved and to love. For many cultures, animals serve as surrogate children, loved and taken care of. It gives Humans a chance to show compassion when they need it, and to have unconditional love when they need it. This is extremely important to many, and provides balance and centering for many.

Do animals know all this? At a basic level, they do. Not in the way you "know," but in a cellular awareness they understand that they are here in service to planet earth. If you honor them in all three instances, then balance will be the result. Your feelings about their treatment is important. Temper your reactions with the spiritual logic of their appropriateness and their service to humanity. Honor them in all three cases.