Kelly Chaisson

Sustainable Choices to Protect Ethiopian Wolves (Photo of Ethiopian Wolf by  Wikimedia Commons ) Ethiopian Wolf Ethiopian wolves are small, long canids. According to the African Wildlife Foundation they can reach up to 3 feet long and weigh 24 to 42 pounds. Their fur coat is a red color with patches of white on their belly, chest, and throat. Ethiopian wolves also have long bushy tails that are usually black in color. This species of wolves are found in Ethiopian highlands. Specifically, this species is confined to seven isolated mountain ranges in the Ethiopian highlands. They tend to be found in the Simien Mountains, Arsi Mountains, and Bale Mountains. Ethiopian wolves are towards the top of the food chain, preying predominately on Afroalpine rodents. Sometimes a small group of wolves will work together to take down a young antelopes, hares, and lambs. There are no other animals in their habitat that eat or prey on the Ethiopian wolves. According to the Ethiopian Wol...

Photo of plastic pollution affecting wildlife by Jedimentat44 on Flickr The article I read was titled " Dead whale found with 40 kilograms of plastic bags in its stomach ", written by Matthew Robinson and published on CNN’s website. The article discussed the findings of a whale that died from eating too many plastic bags that are floating in our oceans. We have talked a lot in class about the implications of plastic and how they usually end up in the ocean. We have also learned that plastic is not able to go away, but rather breaks down into tiny pieces. The whale talked about in the article was found with over 88 pounds of plastic in it’s stomach. It was confirmed that this is what killed the whale because it was unable to digest the plastic and therefore could not eat or drink anything else, technically dying from starvation and dehydration. I think this article highlights the huge issue our planet has with plastics and the detrimental impact it is having on our wil...