By Nick Engelfried In Colombia’s Magdalena River, a pair of big eyes and two round ears protrude above the water. A long snout slopes away from the eyes, toward a pair of huge nostrils that hint at the very large animal concealed beneath the surface. It’s a full-grown hippopotamus, a […]
By Nick Engelfried The stands in a giant arena are filled with eager spectators, waiting in suspense. In the center stands a man with a sharp lance and a colorful cape, facing an angry bull with lethally sharp horns. Suddenly the bull charges at the man–or matador–who skillfully steps aside […]
By Nick Engelfried Last year, a single organization killed over 375,000 native wild animals in the United States, including cougars, bobcats, black bears, coyotes, foxes, and wolves. The entity responsible wasn’t a hunting club or a private wildlife-killing contest. Rather, it was a secretive agency within the federal government. For […]
By Nick Engelfried For people who care about ending animal cruelty, the modern world is full of products to avoid. From pigs, cows, and chickens slaughtered for meat, to egg-laying hens whose beaks are mutilated in factory farms, to cattle killed for their leather hides, the aisles of stores are […]
By Nick Engelfried For the first time in history, humans are “farming” more fish and other aquatic life for food than we catch from oceans, lakes, and rivers. That’s according to a report recently released by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, which showed aquaculture supplied 51 percent of the […]
By Nick Engelfried Every year, an estimated 7.6 million homeless cats and dogs are taken into shelters in the United States. Some are strays who may never have known a loving home, while others are surrendered by owners who are unable or unwilling to care for them. Each one of […]
By Nick Engelfried Few things are cuter than a loris. These small primates with big, round eyes and bodies covered in fuzzy fur look as if they were born to be cuddled–and as a result, pet lorises have become internet sensations and popular novelty pets. However, the trade in these […]
By Nick Engelfried In 1982, North America’s largest bird seemed to be heading for extinction. California condors, which prior to European colonization soared above forests, prairies, and deserts from what is now British Columbia down into Baja California, had been reduced to just 22 individuals. A variety of factors, from […]
By Nick Engelfried Every summer, millions of people head to ocean beaches to surf, swim, fish, or otherwise enjoy the water. For some, there’s nothing more relaxing than a day at the beach. However, what many beach-goers don’t realize is that they may be recreating in proximity to some of […]
By Nick Engelfried On Spain’s Canary Islands, an international seafood company wants to build the world’s first large industrial octopus farm, raising and slaughtering animals widely considered to be the world’s most intelligent invertebrates. Octopuses, which are solitary creatures in the wild, would be kept in tanks with dozens grouped […]
By Nick Engelfried Nothing is more tragic than the disappearance of a species. Once an animal or plant goes extinct, there’s no bringing it back and the result of millions of years of evolution is gone forever. Today, climate change, habitat destruction, and other effects of human actions are driving […]
By Nick Engelfried With their powerful muscles, streamlined bodies, and ability to run up to 40 miles per hour, greyhounds are master sprinters of the dog world. Over the centuries, greyhounds have been selectively bred to reach greater and greater speeds, and there can be little doubt these dogs enjoy […]
By Nick Engelfried Seabirds are among the natural world’s most impressive world travelers. With migration routes that may span entire oceans, they cover distances almost no other animal will venture in its lifetime. Their streamlined bodies and paraglider-like wings are designed to keep them aloft above the open seas, where […]
By Nick Engelfried Every year, an estimated one to two million large animals are hit by cars or trucks in the United States. The damage from these collisions for both wildlife and people is immense, and includes approximately 200 human deaths, 26,000 human injuries, and $8 billion in property damage. […]
By Nick Engelfried In August 1994, a tanker ship that began its journey in California arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii with a massive prisoner in its hull. Tyke was an African elephant who was born in Mozambique, but was captured from the wild when she was a baby and spent most […]
By Nick Engelfried Birds are among nature’s most beautiful animals, and it’s no wonder countless people are drawn to the idea of having one in their home. The U.S. is believed to be home to more than 40 million pet parrots, alone, and birds are considered the country’s most popular […]
By Nick Engelfried From the Pacific Northwest, to New York, to New England, vast areas of the United States have already suffered this summer from smoky conditions caused by raging wildfires, largely located in Canada. In early June, the smoke blanketing New York City resulted in the metropolitan area temporarily […]
By Nick Engelfried Fur farms, where hundreds of animals spend their entire lives in cramped wire cages before being brutally killed for their skins, are among the fashion industry’s cruelest secrets. Approximately 100 million animals including mink, foxes, chinchillas, rabbits, and raccoon dogs are raised and slaughtered on fur farms […]
By Nick Engelfried Towering above vast herds of wildlife on the African plains, giraffes are among the most distinctly recognizable animals on Earth. Their famously long necks can hardly help but make them stand out, and their immense size earns them a place on a select list of herbivore species […]
By Nick Engelfried Imagine spending almost your entire life crammed in a space so small and crowded that you can barely turn around. It sounds like a nightmare–but this grim fate represents reality for millions of hens on industrial egg farms who are kept in the cruel devices known as […]
By Nick Engelfried The world is facing a biodiversity extinction crisis unlike anything that has happened for millions of years. From climate change caused by burning fossil fuels, to the destruction of habitat to make way for agriculture and development, human activities threaten almost every major ecosystem on Earth and […]
By Nick Engelfried Majestic, beautiful, and famously elusive, wild cats are among the most regal predators to roam the world’s forests, grasslands, and deserts. Lists of wild cat species native to North America commonly include three members: the cougar, bobcat, and lynx, all of which are found over large geographic […]
By Nick Engelfried Hundreds of terrified sheep are herded onto a ship chartered for a distant port. During the next few weeks, the animals will live in cramped, filthy conditions surrounded by their own feces while enduring massive temperature swings as the weather varies from suffocatingly hot to freezing cold. […]
By Nick Engelfried With the exception of the domestic dog, no member of the canine family is more closely associated with humans in North America than the coyote. Larger and more powerful than a fox, but smaller than a wolf, at about 25-35 pounds a typical coyote could be easily […]
By Nick Engelfried Imagine a species that lives in towns of hundreds or thousands of individuals; that changes the surrounding landscape in profound ways; and in which individuals communicate with one another using a complex spoken language. This description may sound like it refers to human beings–but it also applies […]
