Across China and Vietnam, thousands of endangered moon bears live locked up behind bars, where “farmers” regularly drain their gall bladders for a prized liquid. Here’s one woman’s effort to save them.
Trying to Keep Sane, One Goat at a Time
A year after the sealing of the BP oil well, Louisianans are still dealing with the emotional toll of the spill. Meet Isadore “J.J.” Creppel, a shrimper and net maker who has found his own way to cope. Produced by Barry Yeoman and Richard Ziglar for KRVS, Lafayette, Louisiana, and the Louisiana Public Broadcasting “GulfWatch” […]
200 Ailing Pelicans Change One Man’s Life
The BP spill triggered an outpouring of volunteer energy. Americans lay boom, picked up tar balls, and performed mundane tasks like answering telephones. A few transported and cleaned oiled birds. Regardless of what they did, many volunteers found themselves transformed. Meet party-photographer-turned-bird-lover Bart Siegel. Produced by Barry Yeoman and Richard Ziglar for KRVS, Lafayette, Louisiana, […]
Louisiana’s Great Wet Hope
While the Mississippi was walled off, the Atchafalaya River remained mostly natural. Now its cypress swamps show that commerce and wetlands protection can co-exist. Part 8 of Losing Louisiana, a series originally published in onEarth. DEAN WILSON CUTS THE ENGINE. Stillness surrounds us in the Atchafalaya Basin, two hours west of New Orleans. Cypress trees draped with […]
Do-It-Yourself Genetics
The mapping of the human genome inspired not only a flood of scientific research, but also a flurry of commercial genetic tests aimed at the curious consumer. The author submitted his DNA and gained access to a trove of information—some fascinating, some reassuring, some terrifying. Originally published in Duke Magazine. WHEN WE ADOPTED SCOOTER IN […]
The Louisiana Paradox: Loving Wildlife and Oil Drilling
A family forced onto food stamps by the deepwater moratorium wants drilling to resume — but also laments the American dependence on oil. Part 3 of Losing Louisiana, a series originally published in onEarth. FOREST FOYTLIN WAS WORKING on a deepwater drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico when the radio crackled news of the blowout […]
Operation Rescue
Barbara Woodley hoarded more than 300 dogs, only to keep them in deplorable conditions. It took a three-year legal battle, an army of volunteers, and hundreds of special new owners to save these broken creatures. Originally published in O, The Oprah Magazine. WALTER THE BOSTON TERRIER PADS INTO Heather Jackson’s sunny living room in Sanford, North Carolina. He’s […]
Delta Blues
Drinking water for 23 million Californians. Lifeblood of our farm economy. Why it’s so vital to save this Sacramento delta. Originally published in On Earth. ON THIS BRISK, CLOUDLESS DAY, Tom Zuckerman and I are driving to his duck-hunting club on Rindge Tract, one of the low-slung rural islands that form the nucleus of California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin […]
The Case of the Battered Pet
Who would suspect that a family’s animals could be pawns in domestic violence? Or that their sad condition might tip off investigators to women in trouble? The terrifying truth about cats and dogs. Originally published in O, The Oprah Magazine. MARCELLA HARB-HAUSER, DVM, WAS DOING HER morning rounds at a San Rafael, California, veterinary hospital when […]
Why Do Animals Age?
Scientists studying wild creatures, from turtles and terns to bats and parakeets, are coming up with answers that may help humans stave off some of aging’s most devastating effects. Originally published in National Wildlife. FOR THE REPTILES LIVING in the University of Michigan’s E.S. George Reserve, Justin Congdon is something of a troll under the bridge. A […]
