Please do not feed native animals

The native animals in this park have enough natural food to survive.

You might think that you are being kind to the native birds and animals by giving them your food, but feeding them or leaving rubbish around that they might eat is cruel, not kind!

Feeding animals can make them sick because sometimes our food contains something that native animals cannot easily digest. They can become weak and more likely to catch a disease.

When the animals become accustomed to being fed by people or finding food in rubbish, they can easily lose the ability to hunt and find food for themselves when they need to.

Animals that rely on being fed by humans may become aggressive. They gather near areas of high human activity such as campsites and walking tracks. Animals have been known to fight over food and bother people in the area.

Feeding animals can encourage them to look for food in residential areas or nearby farms, which is dangerous for both the animals and residents.

Please be a friend to our native birds and animals.

Take your remaining food and rubbish with you.

Feeding animals is an offence under By-law 457 and can result in a＄250 fine.

For years, it has been generally accepted that “dog years” are roughly human years times seven—that a 1-year-old puppy is like a 7-year-old child, and an 11-year-old elderly dog is like a 77-year-old senior citizen. But experts say it’s actually much more complicated.

Part of the problem is that while humans have clear measurements for healthy aging, little is known about “normal aging” for our four-legged friends. Big dogs tend to age the fastest—maybe 10 times faster than humans—while little breeds (品种) may live to be 20 years old, with “dog years” about five times human years.

The Dog Aging Project (DAP), founded in 2018, is by far the most ambitious project handling the question of canine longevity (犬类寿命) and studying tens of thousands of dogs of all sizes, breeds and backgrounds to develop a thorough understanding of canine aging. Their open-source dataset will give scientists the tools to assess how well a specific dog is aging and will set the stage for further research into healthy aging—in both dogs and people.

The DAP expects to run for at least 10 years. To date, more than 32,000 dogs have join the “DAP Pack” as the researchers call their canine citizen scientists. “Within a few month the team plans to open their enormous dataset to share with scientists around the world. Researchers from many different fields will have the opportunity to contribute to the study countless different ways, based on their interests. It is an honor to share our work with to scientific community,” said Kate Creevy, lead author on the paper and DAP’s chief veterinary (兽医) officer. “The DAP is creating a resource with the power to transform veterinary medicine, aging research, and many scientific and non-scientific fields of exploration.”

Many of us enjoy watching animals in the wild. They usually make us pleased, cheer us up and, sometimes, even make us frightened. But do you know what they can teach us? Wild geese (鹅), for example, teach a very good lesson about teamwork.

In fall, Canada wild geese fly south to get away from Canada’s cold winter weather. They lift off in no order. Yet very quickly they form a V-shape, with one bird leading the flock (鸟群). Scientists have discovered that wild geese flying in a V-shape can help them to save energy. In this way, they can fly 70 percent farther without rest than those flying alone.

What can human learn from this?

Be cooperative. We have found that wild geese make sound in flight to encourage those that have fallen behind to keep up with the speed. Team members should regularly communicate with each other while working towards a common goal.

Set a good example. When wild geese are on the ground, if something frightens the leader, it might fly off. So does the flock. But if the leader stays calm, the flock will do the same. Wild geese and people usually emulate their leaders. When leading, we must remember that our actions and feelings will be passed on to our followers.

Whether it is in our personal lives or our work, we need other people. We are encouraged by their enthusiasm and energy. If we face the difficulties alone, the risks are greater. Like wild geese, when we work together, our burdens are lighter.