Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1991-07-24, Page 17SPFCLAL FFAT1JRF Winged friend - Dody Dunning shows the 15 cm wing span of "Val," one of two brown bats being used for her research of moth/bat interaction. Ambassador to Peru visits former neighbour A small world By Rhonda Vandeworp EXETER - it's a small world - a stan- dard cliche, but a def- inite reality for His Excellency Jim Lead who, after his first year as Ambassador to Peru, dropped by Exeter last week to vis- it a close friend and former neigh- bour of his while living in Paki- stan. Before becoming ambassador last September, Lead served for over 20 years as a foreign service officer in Peru, Pakistan, The Neth- erlands, India, Soviet Union, and Mexico. Lead and his family have seen many countries and experi- enced a wide variety of cultures, but after spending five years in Peru the family fell in love with the country and the people. "I asked to be considered for the position," Lead explains. "They're a gentle people worth fighting for." According to Lead, over the past 20 years Canada has invested time and money into Peru's "fight" against economic devastation, ter- rorism, and human rights viola- tions. Since his last appointment in Lima in the late 1970s, Lead has witnessed a shift in Canada's role in Peru from a purely commercial relationship to one garnished with goodwill. Canada has always shown a strong interest in trade and investment opportunities with Peru. Canadian investors finan- cially back Peru's mining and tele- communications industries, who in return buy much of the necessary parts and machinery from this country. Unfortunately, a series of events following the Revolution of Peruvi- an Armed Forces in 1968 has led the country's economy to slowly deteriorate, and Canadian investots to begin to shy away. As a foreign service officer in Lima in the late seventies, Lead recognized the country was slowly "running out of Igas," and was in need of democrat- ic rule. Further economic downfall occurred in the the early 1980s be- cause of the world recession, and again at the end of the decade when President Alain Garcia's Populist Government isolated the country economically after refusing to pay foreign debts. Peru's recently elected president, Fujimori, and his ministers are making every effort to revitalize the Peruvian economy and to return the nation to the world market. Canada has shown great support for this new government, and over the past few years has established in Peru the largest Canadian aid pro- gram in South America. The Canadian International De- velopment Agency (CIDA) was non-existent in Peru in the 1970s. Although CIDA is technically a non-governmental operation, Lead is the organization's chairman in Peru. CIDA offers key industries the hard currency needed to buy Canadian parts and equipment, and also deposits local currency into a counterpart fund which finances poverty -alleviation projects. "Peruvians look very positively towards Canada," Lead explains, "Canada has a very significant pres- ence in Peruvian mining industries, and its aid projects are being imple- mented in all parts of the country." Peruvians are also now looking positively towards their new gov- ernment which appears to be the country's first non -corrupt leader- ship. Unfortunately, Lead does not expect any major foreign invest- ment in the near future because there still exists the threat of terror- ist groups such as the anti- government Shining Path and other anti-American organizations. Even Canadian church groups seem to be shying away from this South American nation because of reported assassinations and popular trials run by terrorists. In addition Amnesty International's claims Peru has one of the worst human rights records in the world. (There are approximately 1,000 Canadian missionaries in Peru). These discouraging reports have not wavered Lead's devotion to Peru. He, his wife Pat, and three of his children, have made themselves a home in Peru, and they want nothing else but to stand by their "countrymen." Times -Advocate, July 24, 1991 Page 17 Grand Bend camper came for the night life, not the sun and surf By Rhonda Vandeworp GRAND BEND - Most home owners reach for a ten- nis racket when they spot a brown bat swooping above their beds at night. Dody Dunning, on the other hand, greets the furry, birds of the night with a warm welcome and a sincere look of appreciation. Dunning is a biology professor at West Virginia University and has studied bats since her undergradu- ate, honours program in 1956. This year she is spending her sum- mer at the Pinery Provincial Park sleeping during the hot, sunny hours, and arising at night to con- tinue her on-going study of bats. "There is very little appreciation for bats because they are nocturnal, and we are diurnal," Dunning ex- plains. "But bats are fascinating because there are so many kinds." Although there are only four or five types of bats living in Ontario, over 60 species of bats exist throughout the world. Since this mammal is primarily a tropical ani- mal, the majority of the species are found further south. Dunning explains bats are divid- ed into two main groups depending on their means of night "seeing." The first group, primitive bats, have large, sensitive eyes to wit- ness the goings-on of the night hours. The largest bat of this type is the Old World Fruit Bat which has a wing span of six feet (Don't worry, this bat only eats fruit and is generally found in East Asia and Australia). The second division of bats, which Dunning and her colleagues are studying, has small eyes and enormous ears. Instead of finding its way through the dark with its eyes, this bat releases high pulses of sound by chirping, and listening for the echo. With the use of "echo location," a bat can sense if an ob- ject is large enough to rest on, or if it is an insect flapping its wings. Although most of the insects are unaware of the bat's presence, there are certain types of prey, like the praying mantis and moths which can hear the bat's cry and make an escape. Presently, ,there is an un- dergraduate student at the Pinery who is doing research for her hon- ours program regarding the evasive behavior of moths. Dunning has chosen to take the study of bat/moth interaction one step further. She explains there are certain foul -tasting moths that will not flee from the bat, but instead talk back to the mammal in a con- descending, come -and -get -me mat- ter. A few years ago Dunning worked on a similar study, but only moni- tored the reactions of one species of bats. This summer, and again in the fall when she begins a one-year sabbatical at a laboratory at York University, she will be looking at the interaction between several bat species and the undesirable moths. This summer, Dunning has decid- ed to study the reactions of two specific brown bats which she keeps in captivity. Therefore, much of her outdoors work does not involve the surveillance of bats, but instead the capturing of the moths for her chosen pair to feed on. After an evening with Dunning and her colleagues, one begins to gain a respect for their work and for their winged objects of study. Dunning could not stress enough that the common brown bat flying above your head at night is of no harm to you. In fact, its presence may even be beneficial. "Bats in the hair is hogwash," Dunning begins. "They sense it as a bi* boring object. It's incredibly stupid to kill them. They are among the few night animals that will eat the night insects that gener- ally cat people," Another group of ,students stay- ing at the Pinery for the summer is studying local, wild bats and their interaction with moths. Lalita, a graduate student working on her PhD, and her field assistant, David Pearl, are studying the Red and Hoaxing bats - furry, "very cute looking" animals, as described by the graduate student. These tree - testing animals are generally diffi- cult to find, but her supervisor in the 1960s, discovered the Pinery to be a haven for these two species. TORONTO, HAMILTON, LON- DON & WINDSOR, YOU GOTTA GO! Those great big buildings have to be air conditioned, or else nobody could work in them. They would literally cook, or smother, or both. And, of course, air condition- ing is a four-letter word, so down they come. But is it all that bad? Most air conditioning today uses R22, an HCFC, not a CFC. R22 was exempted from the Montreal Protocol as being relatively innocuous, and is being used to replace CFC's in many cas- es. So if you have home air con- ditioning, don't apologize. Save your guilt for your re- frigerator, freezer, your car air conditioning, for buying milk, meat and produce at the mar- ket, stuff life that. Feel better now? Ltial BAILEY'S OF HENSALL LTD. FURNACES - HEAT PUMPS CENTRAL AIR CONDITIONING Highway #4 North 262-2020 Hensall 262-2626 o„ Your Home Comfort Peep& WAREHOUSE C LEARANCE SUPER BUYS ON BARBECUES PATIO & ACCESSORIES FURNITURE NOW ON LAWN & GARDEN EQUIPMENT �•f • Lawn trimmers • Lawn Edging • Hand tools • Hand sprayers • Hoses & hose accessories O/O Planters OFF Not exactly int illustrated Visitors of Old Fort Gibson - During a recent visit to their homeland, Canada's Ambassador to Peru Jim Lead (left) and his famity dropped by to see Exeter's Gibby Gibson and his wife, Zella. Lead's family includes, from left: Jennifer, Michael, his wife Pat, Sheila, and in front, David. WINDOWS AND DOORS ON SPECIAL HENSALL DISTRICT .CO-OPERATIVE • VANITIES AND TOP ON SPECIAL Not exactly as illustrated Exeter Store Only 235-2081