Does placing a monetary value on nature promote a greater stewardship of the natural world? The profit motive in the use of natural resources is not a new idea: fossil fuel extraction, logging, agricultural development. However, new strategies in conservation go beyond resource use and attempt to find the economic value of sustainability and conservation. For example, nature-based tourism provides…read more →
Dr. Alan Rabinowitz, a biologist who has studied large wild cats for decades, is working with scientists, officials, and conservationists to protect tigers from increased poaching threats. Tiger poaching is currently booming due to demand for skins and other parts in China and Southeast Asia. Rabinowitz’s conservation organization, Panthera, collaborated with the World Wildlife Society in 2006 to create Tigers…read more →
Richard Ellis, creator of the now-famous blue whale in the Hall of Ocean Life at the Denver Museum of Natural History, has always had an interest in capturing animals’ likenesses. Though pictures of blue whales at the time were scarce and of poor quality, Ellis managed to piece together the physical characteristics to create the iconic 10-ton, Styrofoam and fiberglass…read more →
The photo above represents a beautiful, healthy coral reef which grants extraordinary benefits to both humans and the animal world. The photo below represents a coral reef which is suffocating from coral bleaching. Reefs are vital Coral reefs provide food to millions of people, unique chemicals for use in medicine, protect coastlines from erosion and storms, and are a…read more →
The animals and staff at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, recently made tracks at the zoo’s “Make Your Mark” event. Flippers, hooves, feet, and more were covered in paint and placed on paper for the campaign, which aims to inspire more people to be aware of wild animal conservation. Taronga Zoo’s CEO, Cameron Kerr, believes that the community must become…read more →
Greenpeace recently launched Save The Arctic, a campaign to protect the region from oil drilling, industrial fishing and conflict by declaring it a sanctuary. Now they’ve released a video featuring the voice of Jude Law, and the music of Radiohead. The video below shows a depressed, homeless polar bear rummaging through garbage as it roams the streets of London…read more →
Ken Burns, the Academy Award-nominated director, is something of an expert on America’s National Parks. His 2009 documentary, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, traces the history of the system and travels deeply into some of America’s most beloved national parks. Though important for ecological reasons, Burns also believes that the parks are instrumental in bringing families together, as they offer…read more →
Sri Lanka, an island located off the southern coast of India, has been called “The Pearl of the Indian Ocean” due to its rich culture, tropical forests, diverse landscapes and abundant biodiversity. The rich waters surrounding this pearl are home to a special population of the largest animal to ever exist, the blue whale. Blue whales can be found…read more →
[youtube_sc url="http://youtu.be/MAT_cyhdsaQ" embedcode="old" rel="0" nocookie="1"] Baby Andatu playing in water. Last Saturday, June 23, 2012, at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Way Kambas National Park, the female rhino Ratu gave birth to a baby male after a 16-month gestation period. The baby rhino was named Andatu, a combination of its parent’s names. Andatu is the first Sumatran rhino born in captivity…read more →
The last known wild Tasmanian tiger (thylacine) was shot in 1930, and the last thylacine in captivity died six years later in the Hobart Zoo. The Tasmanian tiger was officially declared extinct in 1986, although sightings of the animal are reported every year. Unfortunately, no proof of living thylacines has come forth. Today only bones, fossils, and a few photographs…read more →
Caves have their own divided ecosystems with different animals occupying each region. Organisms found around the entrance of the cave are generally the same as those found on the surface – spiders, salamanders, etc. Further inside, the creatures tend to fall into three categories – trogloxene, troglophile, and troglobite – distinguished by the amount of time the organism spends on…read more →
The Denver Zoo has created a system that converts waste into energy, as part of the zoo’s campaign to become the “World’s Greenest Zoo.” Later this year, when the system goes online, three million pounds of annual waste created by zoo animals and trash left behind by zoo-goers will be converted into a sustainable and renewable energy source. Instead adding…read more →