International Wildlife articles from May 2001

International Wildlife archives from May 2001

Too Wild to Waste
May 1, 2001... Faith Gemmill understands better than most why the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge must be saved from misguided plans to open it to oil production. Faith is a National Wildlife Federation board member and a member of...

Dizzy with Birds - How Thousands of Volunteers Transformed a Degraded New Zealand Island into a Pulsing Wildlife Wonderland
May 1, 2001... THE FIRST HINT of dawn barely tints the summer sky when I slip out of the old bunkhouse on Tiritiri Matangi Island. Across the calm Hauraki Gulf, glittering night lights of New Zealand's largest city, Auckland, remind me that the hubbub of...

TRAPPED! in a Rarely Observed Phenomenon, Beluga Whales Caught in the Arctic Ice Encounter a Powerful Predator
May 1, 2001... TWO YEARS AGO, a sudden April cold snap formed ice at the mouth of Jones Sound in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, trapping about 50 beluga whales (preceding pages). Unable to breathe long enough to swim under the frozen expanse that separated...

Keep the Wild Alive.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2001... Whooper Watch Seeks Volunteers To Monitor Cranes People who live near the Central Platte River in Nebraska have a unique opportunity to help researchers collect information about the rare and majestic whooping crane, one of the 25 species...

EVANGELIST FOR NATURE - Once a Missionary, Jose Alvarez Now Searches Amazonia for New Species-And Preaches Salvation for Their Imperiled Habitat
May 1, 2001... As saddle-back tamarin monkeys leap across the trail in a steamy Peruvian jungle, biologist Jose "Pepe" Alvarez talks to a visitor, apparently oblivious to the cacophony of bird song in the background. Suddenly, he stops in mid sentence. "Did...

The Rise of the Dormouse - Britain's Endearingly Sleepy Hazel Dormouse Is the Focus of Energetic Rescue Efforts
May 1, 2001... The dormouse in Patrick James' hand is not living up to its reputation. It doesn't seem to appreciate that it has an image to uphold, an image cemented 135 years ago by Lewis Carroll in the famous tea-party scene in Alice's Adventures in...

Staying Close to Home - in Bequeathing Territory to Daughters, Solitary Leopards Provide a Glimpse into How Social Groups Evolved
May 1, 2001... Londolozi Game Reserve, South Africa: A 13-year-old leopard called The Mother gives birth to her ninth litter. At the same time, her adult daughter from an earlier litter delivers cubs in a den near her birthplace. Masai Mara National...

Scientists Map Spots Critical to Future of Alaska Sound.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Alaska's spectacular Prince William Sound, famous as the site of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, now faces a more permanent threat from development- spurred in part by a new road that will place the region within a two-hour drive of most of...

Sprawl a Leading Threat To California Species, NWF Finds.(National Wildlife Federation)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Sprawl on the outskirts of urban areas is the leading cause of species imperilment in California, contributing to the decline of 66 percent of the 286 endangered and threatened species found in the state. That's the conclusion of a...

NWF, Affiliate Urge Action on Habitat Of Pronghorn.(National Wildlife Federation)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2001... One of the most dramatic crises affecting America's grasslands is occurring not on the Great Plains but on the nearly 300,000-acre Anderson Mesa, part of the Coconino National Forest near Flagstaff, Arizona. There, one of the state's...

Michigan Dams Ruin Native Fish Habitat, NWF Tells Agency.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... As the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) considers relicensing applications from two Michigan dams, NWF is asking the agency to increase flow from the two dams to restore fish habitat and to remove a remnant dam near one of the...

Campaign Reduces Mercury Waste From Hospitals.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... As a result of the Mercury Free Medicine campaign launched in 1998 by NWF and the Health Care Without Harm coalition, more than 600 hospitals and clinics nationwide have pledged to eliminate the use of mercury- containing devices and...

Supreme Court Deals Devastating Blow to Wetlands.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... NWF is rallying the conservation community to respond to a stunning Supreme Court decision that eliminates federal protection for hundreds of thousands of acres of wetlands. In a recent 5-4 decision, the high court ruled that the Clean...

NWF, eNature.com Boost Virtual Access To Natural World.(National Wildlife Federation)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... The Federation has acquired eNature.com, a site that offers one of the most extensive collections of wildlife and habitat information on the Internet, giving people more opportunities to learn about and connect with nature. San...

Bird Songs, Volunteers and a Chorus on the Web
May 1, 2001... Ray Walter (photo below, with his wife Barbara) was the last lighthouse keeper on tiny Tiritiri Matangi Island, New Zealand. His light guided ships into Auckland Harbor with what was once the most powerful beam in the Southern Hemisphere. Then...