Month: November 2016

The Midland Zoo in Sioux City just lost one of their three polar bears they have on display. Polar bears have been a main attraction and have thrived at this zoo since 1985.

The oldest and most playful polar bear, 16-year-old, Homer, was found by zookeeper Sara N. Getty at 7 this morning, just an hour after his feeding. Sara says, “Homer was a very curious and playful polar bear and we will miss him terribly.”

After the incident, the other two polar bears were removed from the exhibit. They are both being monitored by veterinary staff, headed by Dr. Shanda Lear. She explains, “The zoo will perform a necropsy to try to determine the cause of death,” she continues, “the results will not be available for several weeks.”

Zoo director, Chris P. Bacon, says they are doing everything they can to determine how their polar bear died. He emphasized the primary goals of the zoo are the preservation of species and animal welfare.

The zoo’s unique exhibit allows the bears to engage in natural behaviors like playing in snow, digging in gravel, and hunting trout in the chilled pool. These bears are educating zoo visitors about threatened animals such as themselves.

Newly awarded Oscar winner for Best Actor and UN Messenger of Peace, Leonardo DiCaprio gave a speech over climate change to the UN last week. And he did so by connecting today’s issues with President Abraham Lincoln.

DiCaprio started with a quote from President Lincoln saying how we need to “disenthrall ourselves” which will help us save our country.

While DiCaprio is widely known for his powerful performances in films such as Titanic, The Great Gatsby, and latest, The Revenant, in his speech, he highlighted his world travels and experiences with people that are affected by the changing of the natural balance of our planet. He touched on problems including pollution in Beijing, deforestation in Canada, and flooding in India.

“I do not need to throw statistics at you, you know them better than I do,” says DiCaprio. He continues, “Climate change is happening faster than even the most pessimistic of scientists warned us decades ago.”

A large applause followed DiCaprio’s comment on fossil fuels needing to stay in the ground “where they belong”. He makes sense of all of this by explaining that it’s not only good for the world and environment, but is also smart economically.

He then starts his conclusion with a call to action. He explained that we need to lead, inspire, and empower, as President Lincoln did in his time. His last quote is from President Lincoln that says “We will be remembered in spite of ourselves. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor, to the last generation.”

DiCaprio finishes hoping to resonate and leave his words in everyone’s thoughts saying we are the “last best hope” and it is our duty to protect our planet.