National Wildlife Day is…

National Wildlife Day is… well, it’s complicated!

September 4th has been the day to commemorate National Wildlife Day each year, having been established back in 2005 by animal behaviorist Colleen Paige.

As you may know, there’s no shortage of days to celebrate a million different causes; many of them help mightily to get people’s minds, hearts and contributions focused on an event or a cause; some of them are very worthy, indeed.

National Wildlife Day would fall very close to the top of this dog’s list! It’s an occasion that’s very, very close to my heart.

So Colleen Paige, the founder of this noteworthy day, came to believe that, moving forward, it would be advantageous to celebrate the day on February 22nd to honor the memory of Australian zookeeper and conservationist Steve Irwin on his birthday.

Mr. Irwin, admired and loved by so many in the conservation community, entered the world on February 22nd of 1962. So he would have turned 56 this last February had he not died unexpectedly on September 4th of 2006. Yes, that was exactly 12 years ago today. 

Yes, it is complicated! To sum up where we stand with the celebration of National Wildlife Day right now: today is the day we’ve been celebrating NWD for the last 13 years. It’s the first September 4th since the change was declared, so although “thee day” will be coming around next February 22nd, five and a half months from now, it’s still an awesome thing to celebrate wildlife, advocate for policies and things that make it easier for wildlife and even throw some dollars in that direction, right now, today!

Visit the page for this fine and extremely worthy commemoration by  clicking here.

The World Wildlife Fund is a very well-known org doing fine work in this area. I’ve supported them and invite you to visit their site today.

Partnering with local zoos and wildlife parks is another effective way to help expand your awareness about wildlife and to help them survive and thrive!

If, like me, you’re in the Central Florida region, you may want to visit the sites for the Central Florida Zoo in Sanford or the Brevard Zoo in Melbourne by clicking in the appropriate places above.

Happy National Wildlife Day! Sort of!

 

Doing what I can for the cause today, I am,

“Bulldog Ben” Basile

 

 

Photo credit Ben Lawrence Basile