Synthesis Post

          Writing this blog about my field of zoology has been a really great experience for me.  It has allowed me to dig deeper into a field that I find my self incredibly interested in and answer a lot of my questions that I originally had.  This blog not only answered my basic questions, like wage and job availabilities, but also made me push under the surface to find topics that really opened my eyes to what I could do with a field such as zoology.

            Because Zoology is such a large field, there are many different controversies that arise.  One of the most prominent controversies that I found while writing this blog is over ethics.  There is a lot of conflict over the ethical idea of keeping wild animals in captivity.  The insight that this blog has given me on this issue has really changed the way I look at some of the career choices in zoology.  As children, a lot of people have dreams of being whale trainers at SeaWorld or zookeepers, myself included.  After my research, I have realized that I am against organizations that sacrifice the well being of these animals for the entertainment of people.  I would really like to be apart of an organization that rescues the wild animals, rehabilitate them, and then returns them to their natural habitat.  I believe that it is important for humans and animals to coexist together, and when we harm them, it is our responsibility to rescue them. 

            The majority of the subfields in zoology work very hard for the animals of the world. Whether it’s through research, rescue, or just spreading awareness for those species endangered or in harms way, the field of zoology does so much for animals.  Zoologists have been working side by side with these animals to try and keep them alive and better their living conditions.  Organizations like the Rescue and Rehabilitation program at SeaWorld and the Dawn Saves Wildlife are all organizations working very hard to write human wrongs with these animals, and restore their living conditions.   Without zoologists, animals would not have the kind of awareness in society that they do today.  People are working really hard to try to help these animals and keep them around for a really long time. 

This blog has opened my eyes to all kinds of aspects of the zoology field, good and bad.  It has really forced me to think long and hard about how I want to play a part in this field.  Through posts like the Blackfish documentary, Dawn Saves Wildlife, and all of the ethics related ones; I have really been able to narrow down my beliefs about the zoology field and how I want to be apart of it. This field does so much not just for the animals of the world, but also the people with things like helping in advances such as agriculture and medicine.  It is important that people realize the impact that zoology has on the world and the positive differences it can make in the lives of animals and people.  The field of zoology is a very large field with a lot of different pathways that can be taken.  I hope that if I choose to continue with this field I will travel a path where I can be apart of the mission to help the animals around us and make the world a better place.

Free Post #10

     For todays free post I wanted to elaborate a little more on something that I discovered while doing my last post.  In my last post I found a short YouTube video about zoology staring a professional zoologist.  In the video he talks about how he used to train dolphins for the Navy.  I had never heard of something like this before and was very intrigued.  I was kind of worried that this might be something dangerous or scary for the dolphins.  I remember a while back hearing something about how in the olden days, they would strap bombs to dolphins and send them over to enemy ships to set them off.  You can imagine with this image in my head that I would be a little hesitant to look at this subject more.        However, I was to interested not to do a little research.  What  I stumbled upon turned out to be much more humane and very intriguing.
     I discovered that the US Navy actually has a Marine Mammal Program where they employ dolphins and sea lions for their diving and sensory capabilities.  With the seals good eye site and the dolphins echolocation, they are good at swimming through murky waters and finding things like sea mines and mark and retrieve items for divers.  At first  I was a little nervous when they said sea mines, the things that explode underwater to destroy ships, but it turns out that those are made with marine mammals in mind so dolphins are not harmed by them.  They are made to go off if they are hit by a large ship, not swaying from the water or from sea animals.  The site also debunked the rumor about dolphins being used by the Navy to harm or injure humans or carry weapons for that same perpous at any time in history.  the animals are never used for attack missions.  I was very happy to discover this.  The Navy is also held to the same standards as other facilities with marine mammals for the health and care of the animals.
      As cool as this is, and even though the animals must be treated humanly according to the law, is it really right to make these wild animals work like this for us? They are treated well and kept safe while on duty, but at the same time, these are wild animals.  They are doing a great service for us with the duties they perform.  It is not really a black and white issue; there are a lot of different things that must be taken into consideration.  It is really up to individuals the kind of opinion they have on  organizations such as this one.

Work Cited:

US Government. "Marine Mammal Program." US Navy Marine Mammal Program. US Navy, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.

    

11/7 Post: Remixing Knowledge

     For todays post we were assigned to find a remix source dealing with our field.  I found a video online where a professional zoologist, Gary Wilson, talks about his experiences in the field and what zoology means and does for the animals.  Below is the video I found:

     The idea that is being focused on in this video is the job of a zoologist and the importance of animals in our world and for our ecosystem.  Gary's video presentation is arranged in a way that is easy to follow; first explaining his interest and experiences with animals then leading to the jobs of a zoologist and how doing those jobs expresses the importance of animals.  In his video, he is trying to revise peoples idea about the importance of zoology as a field and just animals in general.  He makes sure to explain that animals are a very important part of our ecosystem, and in turn, us.  He obviously believes that it is important for people to help out these animals and is trying to convince the viewers so.  The style of this piece makes it very easy to comprehend.  Gary uses simple language and refrains from using big words.  He also keeps his sentence structures easily understandable and not at all confusing.  His style helps him to easily relate to the viewers because Gary uses language that is used in everyones everyday vocabulary making it easily understandable.  The delivery style of this piece also makes it more relatable and personal to the audience.  As a video, it makes it a more popular viewing utility and just more pleasant over all to observe.  The internet, and videos, are a much more popular type of delivery method in this day and age and is much more responded to than things like books or articles. 

     Over all I think that Gary's video is a very successful one on the RAIDS scale.  It is easily comprehendible while still being interesting, and getting his point across.  This video does a very good job of providing an easy concise summery of the zoology field, and expressing the importance of animals in our society. 

Work Cited:

Zoo Animals: About Zoologists. YouTube. eHow, 7 Jul. 2009. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.     

Free Post #9

     For todays free post I didn't really have an idea of what to write about.  I decided to ask a few people about if they had any questions about the field of zoology.  One of the questions I got was what they do with the animals at the zoo in the winter time.  I found this question really interesting because I have never really thought about it before.  I know that zoos still stay open in the winter but what do they do with the animals like giraffes and lions that come from places like Africa wehre it is warm year round?  I decided to do some research.
     It turns out that while zoos do stay open till the winter, they make the habitats for the animals as close to their natural habitats as possible.  Animals like the bears and polar bears that are accustom to the cold temperatures can live just fine, but animals like lions and wild dogs have heated rocks and caves to lay in/on.  One of the biggest concerns is the giraffes, "giraffes are not adaptable" (Where Do the Zoo Animals go for the Winter?).  animals like giraffes are brought to stay inside for the winter.  For these animals it is important to make sure they are receiving the same amount of care as they had when they lived in their enclosures outside.  They must receive exercise by moving and keeping their minds bright by doing puzzles (Bowerman)!  These animals must be kept happy in order to continue to survive in captivity.
     It is good that zoos take into account the natural climates of the animals to try to make their zoo life as close to home as possible.  However, I still feel that there is truly nothing like the real deal for these animals and they should be left to thrive in the wild where they belong.    

Works Cited:

"Where Do the Zoo Animals go for the Winter?" CBSBoston. N.p. 1 Oct. 2010. Web. 8 Nov. 2013.

Bowerman, Todd. "What do Cold Cities Do With Zoo Animals in the Winter?" Animals by Demand Media. Pawnation. n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2013.

10/24 Post: Practicing Your Knowledge (Hands on Activity)

     Todays post was a little challenging.  We were given the assignment to participate in a hands on activity  related to our field.  This proved to be especially difficult for me, as I have been focusing my blog on marine mammals.  Living in Michigan, it is pretty uncommon to see whales and other marine animals outside of places like zoos and such.  I had to remind myself that the field of zoology doesn't just deal with marine mammals, it encompasses all animals and the study for them and their lives and habitats.  So I decided to step outside of the usual animals I have been talking about, but still pick one that interested me.  Along with marine mammals and wildlife, horses have always held a large interest for me.  I took riding lessons as a child and my mom owned horses for most of her life, including the beginning of mine. A few months back, my mom heard of a new baby horses that had just been born at her old barn, Pine Meadows.  So I went home over the weekend and my mom took me up to the barn so I could observe the baby horse and the interactions between use and the mom and the baby.
     My first observation was that the baby horse was sooooo cute!!  it was really fun to see how interested it was in its surroundings because everything was so new to it.  it would run over to the people and its trainers, or explore different patches of grass then run back over to its mom for a little.  It was interesting to see how open the baby was to new things and how friendly it was.  A lot of times older horses will ignore you and just go about their business, but the baby was very interested in its surrounding.
     It was also very interesting to realize how alike these creatures are to humans.  Just like the baby horse, human babies are also very  are fascinated by what is around them and they like to explore, but still keep a close relationship with their mother.  It really just drives home the idea of how much animals are like us and how we need to learn to share the planet with them.
     research and observation is a very big part of the field of zoology.  Having this skill and using it are very important aspects of the job.  In the future, I hope to do some research with marine mammals and their lives under the sea because I realize how important this is, but I don't want that to be all I do.  I would really like a chance to interact with these animals and develop some up close and personal observations about them.