Bird

Compana Pet Brands Reveals New ZuPreem Brand Website Featuring State-of-the Art Nutritional Solutions for Birds, Ferrets, Exotic Felines, and Primates

Retrieved on: 
Friday, February 9, 2024

ST. LOUIS, Feb. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Compana Pet Brands, global leader in pet care and nutrition, reveals a new ZuPreem® brand website, featuring state-of-the-art nutritional product solutions for pet birds, exotic felines, primates, and ferrets.

Key Points: 
  • ST. LOUIS, Feb. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Compana Pet Brands, global leader in pet care and nutrition, reveals a new ZuPreem® brand website , featuring state-of-the-art nutritional product solutions for pet birds , exotic felines, primates, and ferrets.
  • Concurrently with the site launch the ZuPreem brand unveils a new look and feel with an enhanced logo, expanded color palette, typography, and graphics.
  • "We are delighted to share the new ZuPreem website and brand with bird lovers everywhere," said Melissa Ross, Vice President of Marketing and Business Unit Lead (Small Animal, Bird, Homestead), Compana Pet Brands.
  • With its new energy and vibrancy, the updated ZuPreem brand is a colorful celebration of this love.

Harry Potter and the Disenchanted Wildlife: how light and sound shows can harm nocturnal animals

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 8, 2024

Light and sound shows in parks can enthral crowds with their colour, music and storytelling.

Key Points: 
  • Light and sound shows in parks can enthral crowds with their colour, music and storytelling.
  • But unless they are well-located, the shows can also harm wildlife.
  • Research shows artificial light, sound and the presence of lots of people at night can harm wildlife.

A history of community opposition

  • While they often take place along existing walking trails, they attract huge crowds at a time when animals usually have the place to themselves.
  • Most of Australia’s mammals and frogs and many bird and reptile species are nocturnal, or active at night.
  • Light shows proposed for other wildlife conservation areas have also faced community opposition.

Light, sounds, action!

  • For example, it can change their hormone levels, and the numbers and health of their offspring.
  • Light also interferes with the ability of many species to navigate.
  • It masks the natural soundscape, making it harder for animals to find mates or hear the calls of their young.
  • It can also mask smells vital for an animal’s survival, such as that of food and predators.

Long-term harm

  • This cuts in half the time animals have to go about their life-sustaining activities and exposes them to greater risks when they do go out.
  • Light and sound shows are usually temporary – but can have major long-term impacts.
  • For example, males of the genus Antechinus (small marsupials) live long enough for just one short breeding season.

Find a better location

  • Organisers may have minimised impacts where they can, but evidence suggests the impact on wildlife will still be extensive.
  • Finding genuinely suitable locations should be done with care – and should avoid wildlife conservation areas altogether.
  • Euan Ritchie receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Action.
  • Therésa Jones receives funding from the Australian Research Council and is affiliated with NERAL (Network for Ecological Research on Artificial Light).

Love a good light and sound show? Spare a thought for the animals whose homes you’re invading

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 8, 2024

But unless they are well-located, the shows can also harm wildlife.

Key Points: 
  • But unless they are well-located, the shows can also harm wildlife.
  • A planned production at a wildlife sanctuary in outer Melbourne has brought these concerns to the fore.
  • Research shows artificial light, sound and the presence of lots of people at night can harm wildlife.

A history of community opposition

  • While they often take place along existing walking trails, they attract huge crowds at a time when animals usually have the place to themselves.
  • Most of Australia’s mammals and frogs and many bird and reptile species are nocturnal, or active at night.
  • Light shows proposed for other wildlife conservation areas have also faced community opposition.

Light, sounds, action!

  • For example, it can change their hormone levels, and the numbers and health of their offspring.
  • Light also interferes with the ability of many species to navigate.
  • It masks the natural soundscape, making it harder for animals to find mates or hear the calls of their young.
  • It can also mask smells vital for an animal’s survival, such as that of food and predators.

Long-term harm

  • This cuts in half the time animals have to go about their life-sustaining activities and exposes them to greater risks when they do go out.
  • Light and sound shows are usually temporary – but can have major long-term impacts.
  • For example, males of the genus Antechinus (small marsupials) live long enough for just one short breeding season.

Find a better location

  • Organisers may have minimised impacts where they can, but evidence suggests the impact on wildlife will still be extensive.
  • Finding genuinely suitable locations should be done with care – and should avoid wildlife conservation areas altogether.
  • Euan Ritchie receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Action.
  • Therésa Jones receives funding from the Australian Research Council and is affiliated with NERAL (Network for Ecological Research on Artificial Light).

ZIVO Bioscience Reports Additional Findings from Positive 42-Day Coccidiosis Challenge Study

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Zivo Bioscience, Inc. (OTCQB: ZIVO) (the “Company”), a biotech/agtech R&D company engaged in the development of therapeutic, medicinal and nutritional product candidates derived from proprietary algal cultures, announces additional findings from its 42-day coccidiosis challenge study that demonstrate the product’s positive impact on the cost of broiler production as an alternative to commonly-used antibiotics.

Key Points: 
  • Zivo Bioscience, Inc. (OTCQB: ZIVO) (the “Company”), a biotech/agtech R&D company engaged in the development of therapeutic, medicinal and nutritional product candidates derived from proprietary algal cultures, announces additional findings from its 42-day coccidiosis challenge study that demonstrate the product’s positive impact on the cost of broiler production as an alternative to commonly-used antibiotics.
  • These new results, along with earlier findings, further demonstrate the benefits of ZIVO’s product across the broiler production value chain.
  • ZIVO previously reported the effects of its product on the health of broiler chickens exposed to coccidiosis during the course of a 42-day grow out period, which is typical for the poultry industry.
  • We believe these findings will facilitate and expand dialogues with potential partners in the agriculture and animal health industries,” said John Payne, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ZIVO Bioscience.

The Nationals want renewables to stay in the cities – but the clean energy grid doesn’t work like that

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Instead, renewables should be restricted to large solar arrays on commercial buildings in the cities.

Key Points: 
  • Instead, renewables should be restricted to large solar arrays on commercial buildings in the cities.
  • The country-focused minor party presumably hopes to capitalise on rural scepticism of large scale renewable projects – especially angst around new transmission lines.
  • Unfortunately, fencing off renewables in the cities won’t work.

The best place to build a wind farm

  • Climate change is accelerating
    Decisions around where to build large renewable projects cannot be left solely to the market – or derailed by protest.
  • Solar only works at daytime, hydro can be affected by drought or water shortages, and the wind doesn’t blow consistently.
  • By itself, a wind farm can’t provide power at a consistent rate or in lockstep with demand.
  • To make wind power consistent, you have to build wind farms in different locations chosen for their unique local wind climate.
  • When we added all wind farms under construction or with planning approval, we found these inefficiencies persist.

We have to get better at placing renewables

  • Right now, the cost is masked by the fact that wind’s share in the energy market is small.
  • To figure out the quality of the wind, regulators usually take measurements at the site and look at historic data.
  • Second, approvals are site-specific – we don’t compare how similar this potential wind farm will be to farms already built.
  • That means many wind farms simply don’t meet expectations of how much extra power they can supply to the grid.
  • We could avoid building wind farms in sub-optimal locations, build fewer overall, and accelerate the shift to cheap clean energy.


Christian Jakob receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) and is the Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Weather of the 21st Century. Andrew Gunn does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Bird Toys Market to Hit US$ 2.16 Billion By 2030: Report by CoherentMI

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 7, 2024

• North America is expected to hold a dominant position in the bird toys market over the forecast period, due to the region's high pet ownership rates and the popularity of bird companionship.

Key Points: 
  • • North America is expected to hold a dominant position in the bird toys market over the forecast period, due to the region's high pet ownership rates and the popularity of bird companionship.
  • These key players offer a wide range of bird toys to cater to the diverse needs of pet owners.
  • One market opportunity in the bird toys industry is the increasing demand for eco-friendly toys.
  • Another market opportunity in the bird toys industry arises from the growing trend of pet ownership and the humanization of pets.

Bird Toys Market to Hit US$ 2.16 Billion By 2030: Report by CoherentMI

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 7, 2024

• North America is expected to hold a dominant position in the bird toys market over the forecast period, due to the region's high pet ownership rates and the popularity of bird companionship.

Key Points: 
  • • North America is expected to hold a dominant position in the bird toys market over the forecast period, due to the region's high pet ownership rates and the popularity of bird companionship.
  • These key players offer a wide range of bird toys to cater to the diverse needs of pet owners.
  • One market opportunity in the bird toys industry is the increasing demand for eco-friendly toys.
  • Another market opportunity in the bird toys industry arises from the growing trend of pet ownership and the humanization of pets.

Trees can make farms more sustainable – here’s how to help farmers plant more

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 7, 2024

At the same time, this change would nourish the health of the soil, regulate the micro-climate and support pest-controlling wildlife.

Key Points: 
  • At the same time, this change would nourish the health of the soil, regulate the micro-climate and support pest-controlling wildlife.
  • On a large scale, it could help mitigate climate change by storing more carbon in land that can still serve other purposes.
  • There is a lot of scope for planting trees on farms in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

India’s agroforestry experiment

  • The Indian supreme court had banned all tree felling except that permitted under the forest working plan three years earlier.
  • Before farmers could sell the timber they grew, their request to fell the tree would need to be approved by the government.
  • Farmers were apprehensive about planting something they may not get permission to harvest, and teak trees take 20 years to yield timber.
  • By 2014, India had a national agroforestry policy that offered farmers saplings and simpler procedures for harvesting and transporting trees.

Trees on farms, not tree farms

  • These are essentially farms growing nothing but trees.
  • These plantations largely comprise exotic and fast-growing trees like eucalyptus, poplar and casuarina, which are all exempt from felling regulations.
  • There is a rush globally to plant more trees on farms without considering what farmers will do with the tree in 20 years, or how it may interfere with crop production.
  • Trees should still be encouraged on farms; preferably native trees that are beneficial for local diets and medicine.
  • Scattered trees of many species on small farms have bigger benefits for farmers and the environment than single-species plantations.


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Dhanapal Govindarajulu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Witness the return of migratory birds this spring with The BC Bird Trail

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 7, 2024

RICHMOND, British Columbia, Feb. 07, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The BC Bird Trail is excited to invite birding enthusiasts of all levels and ages to grab their binoculars and celebrate the return of millions of migratory birds this spring, which is considered peak birdwatching season in BC!

Key Points: 
  • Head to a birdwatching hotspot this spring with The BC Bird Trail.
  • Photo Credit: The BC Bird Trail
    RICHMOND, British Columbia, Feb. 07, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The BC Bird Trail is excited to invite birding enthusiasts of all levels and ages to grab their binoculars and celebrate the return of millions of migratory birds this spring, which is considered peak birdwatching season in BC!
  • Spring birding gives you a better chance of spotting more rare birds than at other times of the year.
  • Keep an eye on the BC Rare Bird Alert blog for rare bird sightings in your area!

Nikon releases first MAJOR firmware UPGRADE veR. 2.0 for the Nikon Z 8

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 7, 2024

MELVILLE, N.Y., Feb. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The critically acclaimed, editorially celebrated and award-winning Nikon Z 8 is getting even better. Today, Nikon announced the availability of the first major firmware update for the Z 8, Firmware Ver. 2.0. This free update adds multiple features and enhancements for still-image, video capture and improved workflow. Additionally, Nikon has also announced availability of the latest version of NX Tether, Nikon's free tethering software for still and video professionals.

Key Points: 
  • Today, Nikon announced the availability of the first major firmware update for the Z 8, Firmware Ver.
  • Additionally, Nikon has also announced availability of the latest version of NX Tether, Nikon's free tethering software for still and video professionals.
  • 2.0, a computer software application that enhances functionality for tethered shooting2 with a Nikon digital camera, available free of charge.
  • (supported cameras: Z 9, Z 8)
    Supports an efficient workflow when switching between still image and video recording, and a multi-functional yet simple and easy-to-use user interface.