Canada. It’s a majestic, unruly landscape inhabited by some of the most fascinating species on earth. Our oceans are teaming with orcas, our trees are bursting with birds of prey and our forests are filled with some of the worlds most endangered species. Here’s a fun little fact; The province of British Columbia is home to as many as Half of Canada’s remaining grizzly bear population. Sadly, it is also the last piece of geography in this vast country that has the best chance to maintain a healthy population because of protective provincial laws. Groups like the David Suzuki Foundation have been working tirelessly for decades to ensure the future of the grizzly bear, however, in the last couple of years, there have been a few snags. The first one being that the Canadian government has been using protected land for the purposes of extracting natural resources. And then there is the issue of habitat encroachment. As the population of Canada steadily grows, people and our urban centers become more and more unaffordable, people move further out from the city and closer to nature. This migration into the wilds may seem  like a more affordable option, and it’s certainly more peaceful, but it’s one of the main reasons that grizzly bear numbers have been rapidly decreasing.

Scientists from around the world who have come to study British Columbia’s grizzly bear population have all come to the consensus that the grizzly is a ‘keystone’ species. It is an integral part of a greater ecosystem, and rather than just being participants of that biosphere, they are in fact drivers of it. Without them, there is no species that is able to regulate prey species or disperse as plant species as the grizzly. They’re foraging is also essential for keeping the forest floor healthy and resource rich. During salmon fishing season, they bring a healthy supply of salmon carcasses into the forest, which leach into the soil, and provide much needed nitrogen to plants and trees.The natural resource sustainability is something that this part of the world cannot exist without, and the consequences are dire when humans start manipulating the natural order of things.

Because of severely decreased salmon stocks, bears aren’t able to provide themselves with the right amount of nutrients to keep them fed through the winter months, which is why the end up in the living room and kitchens of unsuspecting humans. Grizzlies walk the line of endangerment every day. We have systematically logged, poisoned and damaged their natural habitat. We have depleted their natural food sources and because of global warming, we have biologically altered their well being. At this very moment, over 20% of the grizzly populations in Canada are threatened and in danger of disappearing. And between the years 1977 and 2009, more than 11,000 grizzlies have been killed by humans, 87% of which were hunters that may or may not have had a license at the time.

We have watched species around the world go from endangered to extinct, so you would think that having learned from other society’s mistakes we would have learned the first few thousand times. What is it going to take for us to realize that systematically killing of vital species in the animal kingdom has a trickle down effect? When are satisfied with what we have and where we live? Unfortunately these are questions that can’t be answered by just one individual, but it is certainly something to think about.

On a recent visit to the United Kingdom, I had the opportunity to sit and chat with David Youldon, Chief Operating Officer of the African Lion and Environmental Research Trust. I may sound like I’m bragging, but I happen to know him quite well, since he’s my brother-in-law. David, who is actually from England originally, was visiting from his headquarters in Zambia. His visit wasn’t strictly for pleasure, he had also been invited to receive a reward, and oversee a very significant charity auction to help raise funds for his organization. The charity organizer was non other than the greatest modern adventurer in the world, Sir Ranulph Fiennes. Yes, my family does run in some pretty cool circles.

While David was sitting at the dinner table one night, as per usual, I began to probe him about his latest research projects. I wanted to know all about the latest pride that had been released six months earlier, and of course, I wanted to know all about the new cubs that had been born. After my interrogation ended, he started talking about his work in nearby Burundi, and Rwanda. For the last two years, ALERT and David have been trying to negotiate several agreements to secure the future of the African Lion in those countries. David’s program is in the works to breed lions that will later be released in those countries. They have also been collaborating with Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania, but in order to contribute fresh blood to the current populations, it is apparently necessary for sanctioned hunting to occur. And this is where he lost me.

Over the last four years, several celebrities have been photographed standing over the freshly shot, majestic animals. Donald Trump’s two sons (whose names are not even worth mentioning, though I’m sure you know who they are) were photographed with a dead waterbuck, a leopard, a crocodile and more. These images were burned in my mind, and certainly in the minds of animal lovers around the world, especially those who are fighting to save the African big five. So with this in mind, I of course had a billion questions for my brother-in-law. Why on earth would an animal conservationist, support sanctioned hunting?

His first argument was that human beings have absolutely decimated the habitat of every single member of the African animal kingdom. And because of this, we have restricted the movement of lion prides all over the continent. Because of this, prides are susceptible to interbreeding which creates immune deficient lions, not to mention a whole other array of genetic mutations. So this is one reason that sanctioned hunting is a good idea. If hunters are permitted to come in and hunt for trophy, they are regulated as to what they can kill, rather than poaching what they want. Another reason David gave for the importance of sanctioned hunting was that it brought a significant amount of revenue to a country’s GDP. To say that Africa is a poor continent is the understatement of the century. Private companies, with the permission of governments, can charge up to $250,000 for a male lion. No one wants to think about a price tag over the head of such a beautiful animal, but it is certainly something to consider. Think about a country like Botswana where a disproportionate amount of the country’s GDP depends on tourism of all sorts. I realize that this is a controversial idea, and I don’t know where I stand on it personally, as of yet, but there is certainly some validity to the arguments. In the meantime, I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for the future of the African Lion.

I know I seem to be on a bit of rant about cats right now, in light of the fact that my last post was about lions, but Earth’s big cats are in danger, and none more so than the tiger. I was on Facebook the other day, and a good friend of mine who’s living in Zambia, working on several different lion initiatives, had posted a photo of a pile of tiger carcasses. Naturally, I was absolutely horrified, and I even started to well up, because I know that the tiger population around the world is in such dire straits, that we really can’t afford to lose even one, let alone ten. The photo was of a hunting group that had slaughtered the animals for both their coats, but more importantly, their bones. They were about to prepare the bones to be crushed and then shipped to China for a premium price.

It’s quite interesting, because a lot of the larger mammals around the world, that are nearing extinction, are doing so because of the roots of ancient Chinese medicine. The Chinese claim that the bones, or acids or genitals of these animals aid in things like virility, aging and overall health. And while I am an anthropologist, and I fully respect the need to preserve ones culture, and ones traditions, I also do not believe in decimating a species of animal because your cultural beliefs say that’s okay. In the case of the tiger, tiger parts have been incorporated into the Chinese medicinal regimen for at least a millennium, and because the tiger is a symbol of strength and power, all medicines that are derived from tiger parts, are believed to endow the recipient with the same qualities. Tiger parts such as whiskers, bones, eyes, and teeth are used to treat and cure ailments like insomnia or erectile dysfunction, and aid with diseases ranging from malaria to meningitis. Ancient Chinese texts claim that the calcium and protein found within a tiger’s bones has anti-inflammatory properties. Hmmmm. Well that’s all well and fine, but so does Ibuprofen, and it’s cheaper, and doesn’t require you to destroy and entire species of animal to bring some swelling down.

There is absolutely no scientific evidence that proves any of the claims made by these ancient texts, and even if there was, we are at a place in medical history where we’re able to cure certain diseases with synthetic drugs, why would we need to use a live animal? But all of this falls on deaf ears as markets like Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, South Korea, Vietnam, and China Towns the world over contribute to a healthy stream of trade in things like Tiger Wine, Tiger Balm, and pills. All of these things contain crushed tiger bone, and despite the fact that there is a perceived moratorium on ‘tiger parts’, these items are still widely available.

The Chinese are not the only ones to blame, however, they are the ones that have put a significant bounty on tiger parts, which encourages poorer nations to kill them for profit. In the West, there is an understanding that killing an animal because of something that was written down a thousand years ago is unacceptable, however, we are forced to walk a delicate cultural line. With hundreds of thousands of alternatives on the market, and alternatives that don’t cost as much, you would think that the answer was simple. But it would seem that there needs to be an awakening. Teachers need to be educating children on the importance of species preservation, so they can go home and educate their parents. Because at the rate we’re going, we’re not going to have tigers for the next generations.

I travel a lot. And when I say a lot, I mean I once visited over twenty-five countries in one year, and every year, at least twice a year, I try and add at least one or more stamps to my passport. A couple of years ago, my gallivanting landed me in Southern Africa where I spent two months over landing from the tip of South Africa into Zimbabwe. After I finished dawdling around, I crossed over into Zambia to go hang out with my brother-in-law for six weeks to work with him on one of the most unique conservation projects to ever be conducted on the African continent. Over the following month and a half, I woke up with the sun and spent my days literally running around the sunburn savannah with two hundred pound lion cubs. Yes, you read that right. Lions.

In the two months I had spent travelling throughout South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and all the others, I never had the opportunity to see a single lion in the wild. I came close once, in Chobe National Park, when a pride of lions had a bit of a scuffle with a herd of female elephants. It was dusk, and though I couldn’t actually see them, I could hear them roar. It was the most chilling, most beautiful sound I had ever heard, and even as I write this, I can see the hair on my arm standing on end, and I can feel my pulse start to race. So when I went for my first official ‘lion walk‘ I’m fairly sure that my heart was in my throat the entire time. But before I drone on about how incredible this program is, let’s first talk about lions, and why this blog is so close to my heart.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been an animal rights activist. I don’t go to zoos, or aquariums and though I eat meat, I always purchase organic meat that has been raised and slaughtered in a humane manner. If you’ve seen animals in the wild, you see no purpose in seeing them in a cage. This is how I felt when I walked along side Toke, a fourteen month old male lion cub who stole my heart. The African Lion Environmental Research Trust, is a captive breeding and release-to-the-wild program. It’s home base is at Antelope Park in Zimbabwe, but there are also bases in Victoria Falls, and Livingstone, Zambia. Their reason for existence is to successfully breed lions to re-populate the African Lion population, one that has decreased as much as 40% in the last 20 years. What most people don’t realize is that the African Lion is an endangered species.

There are a number of factors that threaten the African Lion, number one on the list of course being humans. Human expansion has both threatened and forced migration patterns to reroute which upsets a pride’s ability to hunt. Environmental issues have also caused vital watering holes to dry up, and have forced rivers to remain underground, which has directly effected prey populations. In places like the Ngorongoro Crater, lion populations there are suffering from disease originating from excessive inbreeding.

So why am I telling you this? Well, by the year 2070, the African Lion may not be here for the next generations to enjoy, and I don’t want that to happen. This blog is dedicated to all of the exquisite species that are disappearing. I cannot imagine an Africa without lions, and I feel that if I can shed some light on some of these endangered species, it will motivate the masses to do something about it. So let’s save the African Lion.

We all know that you can’t survive in the US if you don’t have a credit card. I probably didn’t use the right verb. We all know that you have a slim chance at getting that credit when you want to buy a house when you get older and have a family.

I’m European but I’m aware that in North America you have no chance at getting a credit if you don’t have a credit history. Or from what I understand you need to have a credit card. Since the credit card is like a credit which you must replenish every month I thought I should give you some advices on how to spend your credit. We all know that the best that can happen from using a credit card is you can get a great credit score. The obvious is that you need to only get things that you are able to pay. So you should write down the money you get each month from either your parents or from your job. Take 20% of it out and that’s the money which you are going to spend from your credit card. You should always have money to one side that are cash and not in a card or something.

If you are keen on buying yourself clothes and whatever else things that aren’t that important for your life then you should never get over the limit. There are always times in which we say we should treat ourselves and we buy a little more than what we can pay. The idea is for you to reduce those moments and not get things that are over that 20% cash limit that I told you about. Next, keep in mind that there are 29 more days until you get your next payment. Don’t splash out and buy everything that you’ve wanted to buy in the last days. If you’ve already spent your limit last month, there is a chance that you will do so again this month. Always buy things like clothes just before you get your payment. If you still have credit then you’re a good planner. You needn’t get an accountant to do all of the calculations for you in order to have a good credit score.

The world of poker has drastically changed over the years with the creation of internet poker. More “professionals” are bred online now than ever before, and all of this commotion begs the question of which is better – live poker or online poker? I’m writing this article as an American, which means I actually can’t play for money online anymore. Nevertheless, the comparison below could be used for play money as well as real money, depending on where you live. Let’s take a moment to compare the internet and the real world to see where you should spend your time. That way you can put your duct tape scholarship to good use at the slots! Wait, what?

Cough, cough. Anyway…

Availability

One of the biggest differences between online poker and live poker is the amount of chances you actually have to play. Even in 24 hour casinos, there are going to be hours of the day that there is simply no one around to play poker. With the internet, there are tons of games going on at all times of the day, giving you the action you need when you need it. If you are a night owl or just someone that prefers to play poker when you first wake up, you will probably need to take your desires to the internet. Otherwise, you may be hard pressed to find a casino open in your area.

Culture

When you play poker online, you get a chance to play with people around the world. I almost never play poker with an entire table of Americans. It just doesn’t happen. By getting that sprinkling of other players around you, you can learn how poker is played worldwide and maybe even chat with someone about their culture. It’s an eye opening experience a lot of online players take for granted. I’m not saying that you can’t have a multi-cultural live table, but the chances of that are much less likely than those on a site like PokerStars.com. Just keep this as food for thought.

Professionals

I dare you to tell me one time when you’ve been playing at your local casino and played against someone like Phil Hellmuth, Chris Ferguson, or Jennifer Harman. Unless you live in Las Vegas and have the kind of cash to throw around with those guys, the most you’ll ever see of the pros is what they look like on TV. With the internet though, you could actually play in a tournament against a professional poker player, and you get PAID to knock them out of a tournament. How cool is that? You can’t find star studded fun like that anywhere else.

Options

There are so many different games to play with online poker that you will never have to settle for a game you don’t like. When you play live, you have to play whatever is being offered at the table at that time. When I used to play a lot of poker online, I would play Omaha for a week straight and then just get tired of it. When that happened, I could move over to some simple Hold’Em, or maybe even a game of stud. My options were almost limitless, and yours could be as well. You can easily expand your horizons by playing online.

Reading Players

In online poker, you can’t read players as easily because you can’t see their faces. At the same time, they can’t read you. This is perfect if you (like me) have a crappy, readable poker face. All you have to do is leave your avatar static and it does your poker face for you. Then you can adjust your reaction times and other elements to manipulate other plays on the table with you. This is hard for some people to do, but you can get the hang of it over time. You just have to figure out how the internet differs from the real world.

I could keep going on and on…

I could keep going on with this, but I think you get the point. While it is still fun to play poker live with other people, the experience as a whole is made a lot better on the internet. I just wish I had the chance to play for money now. I’d be rolling in the dough You can see all of these benefits for yourself though if you sign up for an account. Have fun!