By Nick Engelfried All too often, we humans are used to thinking of ourselves as the only species on Earth capable of advanced thought and emotion. However, as any pet owner has reason to know, many animals are much more intelligent and aware than we tend to give them credit […]
By Nick Engelfried In 2018, shocking video footage appearing to show trapped and drowned dolphins being disposed of by a French fishing vessel sparked outrage among animal lovers. Taken during a secret filming mission off the coast of France, the rare video shows a trawling net being hauled onto a […]
By Nick Engelfried When convicted animal abuser Joseph Maldonado-Passage–also known as “Joe Exotic”–was sentenced to 22 years in prison earlier this year, the case put a spotlight on a sickeningly cruel trade that endangers some of the world’s most amazing wild animals. Wild cats in unaccredited roadside zoos, like the […]
By Nick Engelfried As the deadly effects of the COVID-19 virus have spread around the world, awareness of the Chinese “wet markets” thought to be responsible for introducing the virus to humans has also spread. In some of these markets, wild animals like pangolins and bats are sold for their […]
By Nick Engelfried Earlier this month Nadia, a tiger at the Bronx Zoo, earned an unwelcome distinction: the majestic big cat became the first animal in the United States to officially test positive for COVID-19. Nadia was tested after she, four other tigers, and two lions at the zoo began […]
By Nick Engelfried Few images evoke the wide open spaces of the American West like a herd of wild mustang horses. Wild horses occupy a special place in the culture and history of this country–but their ability to continue roaming free on the plains of the West is far from […]
By Nick Engelfried One of the most successful large predators ever to evolve, wolves once ranged through forests and plains across most of the Northern Hemisphere–including Europe, Asia, and North America. Wolves’ natural intelligence, social behavior, and adaptability to a wide range of habitat types helped them become one of […]
[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,mail” morebutton=”1″ counters=0 fullwidth=”yes” query=”yes”]By Nick Engelfried Covering an area thirteen times larger than that burned during California’s worst fire season, and 46% bigger than the land affected by last year’s Amazon forest fires, devastating bushfires are raging across the continent of Australia, endangering people and animals alike. As […]
[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,mail” morebutton=”1″ counters=0 fullwidth=”yes” query=”yes”]By Nick Engelfried Whether at backyard feeders, gardens, or in their natural habitat along nature trails, wild birds are a source of joy and fascination to thousands of animal and nature lovers. Because most species fly during the day, and many are brightly colored or […]
[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,mail” morebutton=”1″ counters=0 fullwidth=”yes” query=”yes”]By Nick Engelfried Often overlooked and misunderstood, amphibians are perhaps the single most endangered group of animals on the planet. The plight of frogs, toads, salamanders, and their relatives may not receive as much attention as more charismatic animals–but fully 40% of the world’s approximately […]
[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,mail” morebutton=”1″ counters=0 fullwidth=”yes” query=”yes”]By Nick Engelfried There’s no denying it (though some politicians and corporations try): human-caused climate change is here and it’s changing our world in fundamental ways. The major consequences for people are well known and include rising sea levels inundating coastal cities, more intense hurricanes […]
[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,mail” morebutton=”1″ counters=0 fullwidth=”yes” query=”yes”]By Nick Engelfried The Amazon Rainforest is the world’s largest tropical forest, a global stronghold of biodiversity, and one of our best defences against runaway climate change. From huge jaguars, to pygmy marmosets small enough to perch on your hand, the Amazon is home to […]
[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,mail” morebutton=”1″ counters=0 fullwidth=”yes” query=”yes”]By Nick Engelfried Located off the east coast of Africa, the island of Madagascar has been separated from the mainland for approximately 160 million years–since well before the dinosaurs went extinct. During this vast span of time one of the world’s most diverse communities of […]
[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,mail” morebutton=”1″ counters=0 fullwidth=”yes” query=”yes”]By Nick Engelfried At up to almost nineteen feet tall and sometimes weighing well over 2,000 pounds, giraffes are among the most impressive and charismatic of African wildlife species. These immense animals share Africa’s savannas, woodlands, and even some desert areas with elephants, rhinoceroses, lions, […]
[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,mail” morebutton=”1″ counters=0 fullwidth=”yes” query=”yes”]By Nick Engelfried With their scaly skin, penetrating gaze, and some species’ sharp claws or venomous fangs, reptiles may not be the world’s most cute or cuddly creatures. However, despite being radically different from the dogs, cats, and other mammals most of us are used […]
[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,mail” morebutton=”1″ counters=0 fullwidth=”yes” query=”yes”]By Nick Engelfried It’s the time of year when families across the nation get ready to participate in one of our country’s best summertime traditions: the summer vacation. Over the next few months thousands of people will take to the road to visit national and […]
[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,mail” morebutton=”1″ counters=0 fullwidth=”yes” query=”yes”]By Nick Engelfried On a summer evening in 1965, a Dalmatian named Pepper disappeared from the farm where she lived with her loving human family, the Lakavages. She was never to be seen again by the Lackavages, who had adopted her from a nearby kennel. […]
[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,mail” morebutton=”1″ counters=0 fullwidth=”yes” query=”yes”]By Nick Engelfried They’re our closest living relatives of the animal world, some sharing almost 99% of our DNA. They are far more intelligent than scientists once realized, with elaborate social structures and family networks. They make sophisticated use of tools. And they are among […]
[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,mail” morebutton=”1″ counters=0 fullwidth=”yes” query=”yes”]By Nick Engelfried No matter where you live, you can help animals without travelling any farther than your own backyard, balcony, or windowsill. Making small changes to the ways we care for our homes and gardens can have a real effect on animals who live […]
[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,mail” morebutton=”1″ counters=0 fullwidth=”yes” query=”yes”]By Nick Engelfried At 19.3 million acres, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska is one of the last truly huge, intact ecosystems in North America. It’s one of the few places where all three of the continent’s bear species–polar bears, grizzlies, and black bears–can […]
[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,mail” morebutton=”1″ counters=0 fullwidth=”yes” query=”yes”]By Nick Engelfried With their huge size and impressive one-to-two horns protruding from their snouts, rhinos are among the most majestic and charismatic creatures in the world. Rhinos are beloved by animal lovers all over the planet, and with good reason: there is simply no […]
[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,mail” morebutton=”1″ counters=0 fullwidth=”yes” query=”yes”] In laboratories all over the U.S. animals including cats, dogs, rodents, and primates are injected with toxic chemicals, force-fed poisons, and kept in cramped, barren cages as part of routine tests done to prepare new cosmetics for the market. Most of these animals are […]
[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,mail” morebutton=”1″ counters=0 fullwidth=”yes” query=”yes”]By Nick Engelfried On almost any warm, sunny day from spring through early fall, in any outdoor location with flowers and a landscape free of chemical pesticides, you can hear bees buzzing as they fly from blossom to blossom. From big, furry, black-and-yellow bumble bees; […]
[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,mail” morebutton=”1″ counters=0 fullwidth=”yes” query=”yes”] A bald eagle soaring over a wild river; a mother grizzly bear and her cubs roaming through one of the last great tracts of unbroken forest; a sea otter frolicking through a coastal kelp forest; all of these awe-inspiring sights were at some point […]
[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,mail” morebutton=”1″ counters=0 fullwidth=”yes” query=”yes”] When authorities in Madagascar recently responded to a complaint about an overwhelming odor coming from an abandoned house, they discovered nearly 10,000 critically endangered radiated tortoises crawling in their own feces and slowly succumbing to dehydration. The surviving tortoises were taken to a rescue […]