During his time with the Comanche he witnessed a sweatbox ritual a sort of spiritual sauna to cleanse the body and purify the mind and was “adopted” by tribe member LaDonna Harris.

He also took part in a private naming ceremony and became Mah-Woo-Meh.

Johnny says: “The name they chose for me means shape-shifter, which I suppose is quite apt and I take great pride in the choice.

Being adopted, what it means and what it’s meant since that day, has given me so much in my life.

“I’m not a particularly spiritual person myself the only church I have ever seen that makes sense to me is the sweatbox. I do smoke a peace pipe as often as possible, because I like peace... ”


LaDonna decided to adopt Johnny after hearing of his Native American heritage and his desire to portray Tonto fairly.

In doing so the 82-year-old was also following tribal traditions.

LaDonna says: “In the past it was part of the Comanche custom for a tribe leader to take a son and daughter for their own.

“They would have raiding parties and go out and take what they wanted. It was mostly horses or livestock, but they would take a son or daughter if they wanted.

“I was just following tradition. Now I consider Johnny my son and he considers me his mum.


“I am sure lots of people are quite envious. When I told my other children they were quite surprised. But they have embraced Johnny and were happy to welcome him into our family.

“He is a charming man and we often speak on the phone.

“It is like any other mother-son relationship. I call him Johnny but he likes to use the Native America term for mum, which is Pia.”



Last Friday Johnny took LaDonna to a special US premiere of The Lone Ranger, which is released in UK cinemas in August.

They were pictured arm-in-arm on the red carpet outside a cinema in Lawton, Oklahoma capital of the Comanche nation.

LaDonna later said that Johnny’s sensitive performance would “make all Comanches very proud”.

Things have not all been positive, however. He has been criticized by some for his take on Tonto.
SOURCE

Artist Jeffro Uitto has an amazing and unique talent as driftwood sculptor. By using salvaged tree branches, sticks and roots found on the Washington coastline, he can carve anything from huge wooden animals to intricate home furniture. Jeffro is also commissioned to make wooden pieces for private homes.

His realistic and giant animal sculptures are made entirely from reclaimed driftwood. It is not a quick project for each piece he carves either. Each sculpture can take years to create and finding the right piece for each project can take months at a time. The various sticks, wooden slabs, and roots that he finds are cured and eventually found a fitting home as his artwork come together.

Jeffro's love for creating art from salvaged driftwood began at an early age. He now runs his own art shop in Tokeland, Washington. In fact his amazing artwork has become so popular that he is inundated with requests to travel and also make driftwood pieces on site. Jeffro says that it is the shapes of the wooden pieces that he finds that are actually the inspiration for his designs.

In describing his unique style of art, Jeffro has said: 'I've always loved working with wood. I love using such beautiful, natural shapes and giving them a new lease of life. I have many different spots where I am able to hunt for material and I find most of my pieces in the winter, when storms are moving the wood around.'

He goes onto to say, 'In fact finding material is half the fun, it's like a big treasure hunt. The pieces I find inspire the project a lot of the time, I will also come up with an idea and then save pieces for as long as it takes to accomplish it. It can be a very long process, from finding and drying the material to then putting the wood into a project. It's definitely challenging at times. Shaping, fitting and moving the wood takes a lot of energy, I'm going to have to live until I'm 300 years old to pull off all the ideas I have.'

Rich Howard has loved the ocean since he was a little kid. He became a certified scuba diver at age 13, and started taking underwater photographs in his twenties.

"Ever since I was 5 or 6 years old and got my first book from Jacques Cousteau, I've just loved the ocean ever since," he said.

It's a love he shares with his wife, Laura. So the couple decided to take a scuba diving trip to La Paz, Mexico, to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary.

Take a look at a slideshow of the couple's photos at wfla.com.

One dive took them to see a colony of sea lions. The Howards said they'd been diving and playing with the friendly animals for about 25 minutes, when the dive master told them the trip was over and they needed to get back on their boat.

Both Laura and Rich were a little frustrated their dive had been cut short. But that feeling quickly changed when they saw four-to-five-foot dorsal fins breaking the surface of the water and heading straight towards them.


"I didn't think killer whales. I thought, oh, it's going to be a humpback, it's going to be a sperm whale, something that we'll see from a distance," Laura Howard said.

But it was a pod of 20 killer whales. The massive mammals started following the fast-moving boat, jumping, flipping and playing in the boat's wake.


"It was amazing to see them because they were six or eight inches off the back of the boat. Every time they'd come up for a breath of air, they'd spray you," said Rich.

This time it was Laura's turn to be the photographer. She had recently purchased a flip camera with a water-proof case. You can hear her cheering the whales on while she recorded about an hour of video.


"They were spinning, jumping," she said. "One of them really stuck with us the longest and would flip on [his] side and literally look up at me."

The couple said they're glad their dive got cut short, because the whales gave them a memory that will last a lifetime.


"It's really something that reminds me of this wonderful experience that we were so blessed and lucky to have happen to us," Laura said.

The Howards said they were told this is a very unusual experience. The pod of whales has been spotted by locals several times in the last decade, but no one remembers them playing in the wake of a boat.
Source

A crucial stretch of land, dubbed the 'Moose Sex Passage' or 'Moose Love Corridor' is being used to encourage mating for endangered species in Canada.

The thin strip of almost 15 miles bridging Nova Scotia and New Brunswick is being protected to encourage cross-border moose love - thanks to a donation of 845 acres from a former diplomat.

'We're calling it the moose love passage or a sex corridor,' joked Andrew Holland of The Nature Conservancy of Canada, a charity that works to preserve the flora and fauna of the precious 'Chignecto Isthmus' habitat and beyond.

'We hope that this vital area of wilderness will help preserve these endangered species - and give the animals a little fun in the process,' added Mr Holland.

The stunning scenery is also home to endangered bears, Canada lynx and bobcats, which should benefit from the acquisition of the nearby land.


'We still have a lot more work to do, and more land to protect, but this is a very promising step in the right direction,' said Mr Holland.

'There are only 1,000 moose left in Nova Scotia so we hope to act as matchmakers by introducing them to other moose in New Brunswick.'

The donor of the land, Mr Derek Burney, is the former Canadian ambassador to the United States.


He said he was touched and amused by the Moose Sex Project and felt compelled to help out.

'When you conjure it up, you can only smile at the imagery,' he told the Canadian National Post.

'I'm not an expert on moose sex or moose anything, but I think the understanding is that if they can preserve the corridor with things like this then I think there's a good chance the Nova Scotia population will be replenished.'


Moose numbers have been badly depleted in Canada due to illegal poaching and destruction of their habitat.

A parasitic disease called Parelaphostrongylus tenuis or 'brainworm' is also responsible for wiping out huge numbers of the beautiful beasts.
Source

A very cute moment was caught on camera at the Garold Wayne Interactive Zoological Park in Oklahoma a few months ago and the park decided to share the moment on YouTube earlier this week.

Unlikely friendships are the best kind of friendships.

This video from JoeExoticTV shows a baby chimpanzee, two tiger cubs, and wolf pup truly hitting it off. It makes for one of the cutest playdates of all time.

The babies are at the Garold Wayne Interactive Zoological Park in Wynnewood, Okla., according to Yahoo!

Joe Schreibvogel, the entertainment director for G.W. Zoo told Yahoo! in a statement, "Growing up together in the animal world, any kind of species can and will get along."

Despite experiencing damage from Oklahoma's devastating tornadoes, the zoo has taken in nearly 100 animals in need of shelter. If you're interested in helping out, go to donateoklahoma.usza.us.
Source

Just because they're both emblems of American pride doesn't mean fireworks and bald eagles should share the same skyline.

The floating launch pad for next week's July Fourth fireworks display in suburban Seattle is being moved from its usual site to avoid frightening a pair of baby bald eagles nesting in a tree on the shore of Lake Washington, sponsors of the event said on Thursday.

A spokeswoman for the local National Audubon Society chapter said the two eaglets, still too young to fly, might be so startled by the pyrotechnics that they would jump out of their nest and plunge to the ground, leaving them injured or vulnerable to predators.

The fledgling national symbols, apparently unaware they are complicating the Independence Day festivities in the city of Kirkland, east of Seattle, currently spend their days perched in a tall lakeside Douglas fir in the town's Heritage Park.

They are believed to be six to eight weeks old, and probably won't start to fly until the beginning of August, said Mary Brisson, a board member and spokeswoman for Eastside Audubon.


The town's annual fireworks usually are set off from a barge floating in the lake near the park, and Brisson said her group recently asked that the display be moved from its traditional location for the sake of the young raptors. Organizers agreed.

As a result, the pyrotechnics company will relocate its launch site some 350 yards (meters) farther away from the nest, said Penny Sweet, founder of the civic group, Celebrate Kirkland, which oversees the fireworks.


The company also promised to tailor next Thursday's show to emphasize visual displays with less explosive noise to further minimize disturbing the eagle family.

"That's good for dogs and old people like me," Sweet said wryly.

She added that the new barge site will make the fireworks visible to more of the city as a whole.


Brisson said the revised plan adheres to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service guidelines requiring fireworks displays to be located at least a half-mile from an active bald eagle nest.

As an added attraction, the Audubon Society plans to set up a July Fourth observation site at Heritage Park allowing visitors to view the eaglets and their parents through spotting scopes after the annual holiday parade and before the fireworks.
Source

For centuries dogs have been described as man's best friend.

But a new study suggests the bond between canines and their owners is more like that of an infant to its mother or father.

Research carried out by the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria, found that dogs display a characteristic called the 'secure base effect' which is more commonly associated with babies.

The theory is that children use their parents as a secure base when it comes to interacting with their environment.

Their experiments suggest that a similar bond is also found between dogs and their owners.


Researcher Lisa Horn examined dogs' reactions under three different conditions: 'absent owner', 'silent owner' and 'encouraging owner'.

The dogs could earn a food reward, by manipulating interactive dog toys. Her results showed they seemed much less keen on working for food, when their caregivers were not there than when they were.

Moreover, whether an owner encouraged the dog during the task or remained silent had little influence on the animal's level of motivation.


In a follow-up experiment, Horn and her colleagues replaced the owner with an unfamiliar person.

The scientists observed that dogs hardly interacted with the strangers and were not much more interested in trying to get the food reward than when this person was not there.

The dogs were much more motivated only when their owner was present. The researchers concluded that the owner's presence is important for the animal to behave in a confident manner.


Horn believes the study provides the first evidence for the similarity between the 'secure base effect' found in dog-owner and paternal or maternal relationships.

'One of the things that really surprised us is, that adult dogs behave towards their caregivers like human children do. It will be really interesting to try to find out how this behaviour evolved in the dogs with direct comparisons,' she said.
Source

The Pechanga Pow Wow, June 28-30, is one of the largest in the United States, often drawing 60,000 people to Temecula. It offers a free, cultural event for all ages. Included in the festivities are two fireworks shows.

Each year on the Saturday night of the Pow Wow, the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians also puts on a free fireworks show that equals those of the top amusement parks and sports stadiums.

New this year since the Pow Wow comes earlier than the Fourth of July weekend is an additional, free fireworks extravaganza on Saturday, July 6. Both the June 29 and July 6 pyrotechnics shows will be staged from the Pow Wow grounds and will begin after dusk.

Native drum and peon contests bring out the participants’ competitive spirit as they vie for their share of $80,000 in prizes money. Many spectators say some of the show’s most impressive dancing and drumming happens at the beginning of each day with the Grand Entry. Audiences are treated to an unrivaled display of color, song and culture throughout the Pow Wow. Thomas Phillips of the Kiowa/Creek tribe serves as this year’s Pechanga Pow Wow Master of Ceremonies.


Performers’ ages ranges from 2 to 80. In addition to the performances, the Pechanga Pow Wow features more than 200 vendors selling native arts, crafts, foods and more.

The public is invited to bring low-backed lawn chairs and blankets to view both fireworks shows happening at the Pechanga pow wow grounds. The Pow Wow performances feature bleacher seating for spectators. Free parking is also available throughout the Pechanga Resort and Casino premises and complimentary shuttle service will be provided to and from the event site.

For more information on the 18th Annual Pechanga Pow Wow, call 951-770-4769

Source 

Can animals be altruistic? Well, maybe this story will help you answer that.

Lilica is a dog that lives in a junkyard in São Carlos, Brazil. Her extended family consists of another dog, a cat, chickens and a mule, along with Neile Vania Antonio, who found Lilica abandoned as a puppy and took her in. She loves her family a lot but it is what she does every night that is so amazing to bring her fellow animals food.

Lilica provides for her extended family by venturing two miles each night to pick up food specially prepared for her and the other animals in her family, so that they have food to eat. This smart and loyal dog has been sharing her food with her family every night for three years.

Every night Lilica travels to the home of Professor Lucia Helena de Souza, who takes care of 13 stray dogs and 30 cats. To do this she has to walk 2 miles along a busy highway road to meet with Lucia who has developed this special routine with the Lilica. Everyday Lucia prepares her food and puts it in a bag for Lilica. She then meets her every night at 9:30 pm. Lilica eats some of the meal and carries the rest of the food in a bag back to the junkyard to feed the other animals who are also hungry.


Lilica very carefully picks up the bag and then travels back home with the much appreciated dinner for the other animals. Her owner,Neile, confirms that Lilica has been making her nightly meal delivery for three years and that Lilica is a special dog. "People don't do that. Some people hide and do not want to share what they have with others. She did not, Lilica is an exceptional animal."

The following video shows Lilica bringing the food to her family. It is in Portuguese but it is very easy to follow along and very amazing to watch! Lilica is definitely a special dog!

In 1989, a gripping image captured just how seriously the Indians took the issue: a photo showed Tuíra, a woman warrior of the Kayapó tribe, threatening to slice the face of an engineer with her machete at a meeting between Indians and dam officials.

Today, 24 years after Tuíra showed the world that the dam was a matter of life-or-death for Brazilian Indians, Belo Monte is reaching peak construction on the Big Bend of the Xingu River. I interviewed the Xikrin, an indigenous tribe living just a few miles away from Belo Monte on the Bacaja River, a tributary of the Xingu, to see if 24 years was enough time for dam officials to meet their demands and assuage their fears. They said it wasn't.

"I think the dam will ruin everything," says Ngrenhkarati, a grandmother at the Xikrin village of Poti-Krô. She is skeptical of what representatives of Norte Energia, the consortium managing the dam, has told her tribe -- that the dam will have little impact on the Xikrin's environment.

"The engineers say the river won't dry all the way, that the water level will go down only a little," she says. But the water level is not the only impact of the dam -- Ngrenhkarati and others in her village have already witnessed decreased fish populations. The tribe is also weathering through negative impacts on their society: relationships among Xikrin villages are deteriorating. While some village leaders decide to accept compensation offers from Norte Energia, others continue to demand further consultation. The situation has bred feelings of ill will and betrayal among the villages. This is eroding the tribe's vibrant culture, says Mukuka, a leader of Poti-Krô village.


"[Norte Energia] started granting food and gas, and this caused infighting," Mukuka says. Although villagers still interact, the spirit of unity is gone. "We still talk, but it's not the same," he says.

"We Indians want to know, 'What will happen if the river dries up? Will you drag our canoes everywhere?'" Ngrenhkarati says. No one has an answer to her question. According to scientists, nobody -- not even Belo Monte's engineers -- know how the dam will affect the environment until the dam is completed and begins operation.

In the meantime, the Xikrin can only watch, wait, and hope that Norte Energia will make reparations for negative impacts on their life. But how can a company compensate for eroding culture?

"I would like our language and culture to be preserved, to not lose them as other people have," Mukuka says. The task, it seems, is up to them.
SOURCE Nina Wegner Vice President, Vanishing Cultures Projet

Blossom bats are extremely rare. Blossom bats are nectar specialists which feed and groom themselves with the use of their long tongues. Blossom bats are known to hover in front of flowers as they forage and are important pollinators of many rainforest plants. Blossom bats are currently under threat due to loss of feeding and roosting habitat from clearing of forests for agriculture and housing.

In over 18 years of doing bat rescues, Louise Saunders from Bat Conservation & Rescue Qld in Australia, had never come across a Blossom bat. They are the smallest bat in the world and lead very secretive lives. Recently a baby Australian bat called the Blossom bat came into her care following a suspected cat attack.

During her time with bat rescuer Louise Saunders, this little Blossom bat who was named Blossom, recovered and was eventually released back into the wild.

Blossom was still a baby when she came into Louise's care. She was fed a nectar mix recipe and the occasional milk formula which is fed to other baby flying foxes. She gradually gained weight and began to practice flying during the night. Often Blossom would dart in and out of rooms and even hover above Louise as she slept before retiring to her little brown bag at dawn.


Louise summed up her experience with little Blossom this way: "It was the best bat experience of my life without a doubt and the decision to release her was a terrible one for me, but it was the right decision for Blossom. With banana, banksia, melaleuca and eucalypt flowers, and a whole new family to catch up with I’m sure she won’t be missing me like I miss her."

Blossom was recently released on Macleay Island in Qld, Australia.

 Male and female Mohawk dancers perform a Smoke Dance together during National Aboriginal Day celebrations at Place Jacques Cartier in Old Montreal on the Summer Solstice Friday June 21, 2013.

They whistled, beat drums, sang and waved an array of flags as they brought lunchtime traffic to a halt on the bridge connecting Ottawa and Gatineau, Que. Some carried signs that read “A sacred journey for future generations” and “A walk for unity.”

Activists say the march marks the beginning of a “Sovereignty Summer, which is an offshoot of the Idle No More movement that encompasses other aboriginal groups.

The Idle No More cause, which began in December and January, was a protest against the Conservative government’s omnibus Bill C-45, which First Nations groups claim threatens their treaty rights set out in the Constitution.

Many of those same frustrations were on full display Friday as the crowd gathered on the lawn of Parliament Hill, the empty scaffolding and stage for the coming Canada Day festivities looming behind them.


“You’ve journeyed from many miles, you’ve come here together in unity with your heart and spirit to raise an awareness that we are a people, we have been here since time immemorial,” said hereditary leader Claudette Commanda. “You do this on behalf of your youth and those that are not here yet.

“And it is a powerful message that you are giving to all of Canada and as well as to all of the world.”
Source

A chance encounter on a lake in Northern Saskatchewan has a fisherman talking about the white wolf that swam his way.

Bob Thacker, from Vancouver, was on an annual summer fishing trip with his brother when they spotted something unusual on Shadd Lake.

"I saw what I thought was a bit fat duck," Thacker told CBC News. "And as we approached it I thought that's not a duck, it's like a polar bear or an albino bear."

As their boat motored closer, Thacker said their local guide quickly identified the animal as a rare white wolf.


"It was a white wolf that you don't see very often," Thacker said, adding it was even more unusual to see one swimming across a relatively large lake.


Thacker learned from his guide that the wolf may have been part of a pack and been kicked out for some reason. The wolf may also have been tracking prey.


"I had never seen a wolf before and was just amazed by it," he added. "We got very close to it, but we didn't want to disturb it or frighten it because it still had a ways to swim. So we just got up close, took the video and took off to let it be."
Source

These incredible images show an extremely rare pink dolphin as it leaps out of an Amazonian river.

The pink mammal, which usually hides deep in the Rio Negro river - a tributary of the Amazon - was spotted leaping out of the water.

Weighing in at 21 stone the creature, known as an Amazon Pink River Dolphin, looked impressively agile as it rose above the waves.

The pictures were taken by Michel Watson, a tourist. The 66-year-old, from France, managed to capture several images of the elusive freshwater dolphin before it disappeared back into the water along with a friend.

He said it was the first time he had seen the mysterious mammal. He added: 'I was thrilled when I saw it. I was so happy because they don't usually jump a lot and don't normally play like the common marine dolphin so it was quite unusual.


'I believe their skin is thinner than that of a normal dolphin so the blood vessels are just under the skin which gives it the pink colour. They sort of look like pigs with long beaks.'

The Amazon Pink River Dolphin is the largest freshwater dolphin in the world and can grow up to nine feet long.


Scientists do not know exactly know why the dolphins are pink. However, they believe that the coloration is due in part to the dolphin's diet of crabs and shell fish as well as the presence of a large number of blood capillaries near the surface of the dolphin's skin.

The unique animals are known to flush an even brighter shade of pink when they are excited.
Source

And on Friday night, Johnny Depp surprised members of the tribe at an advanced screening of the film in Lawton, Oklahoma.

Just a day before its world debut at Disney's California Adventure, the 50-year-old met the people who have welcomed him into their culture.

The A-list actor was formally adopted by the New Mexico-based group of Indians because the character he plays in the movie, Tonto, is of that tribe.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, LaDonna Harris, a Comanche and president of Americans For Indian Opportunity, heard about his role and invited him to join the tribe last year.

In honour of their great connection, LaDonna and Johnny walked the red carpet together on Friday night.


'He's a very thoughtful human being, and throughout his life and career,' she said, 'he has exhibited traits that are aligned with the values and worldview that Indigenous peoples share.'

Before the advanced screening, Johnny told the crowd: 'I'm so proud to be here and so proud to be a part of this.


'If I can help in any way to pass the message along to the children, to understand that where they came from, they are warriors and nothing less.'

The excited crowd was not only thrilled by the prolific actor's surprise appearance, but also by the tribal dancers and princesses that decorated the ceremony.

The Disney Western film will be released in the U.S. on Wednesday, July 3.
Source