September 2021 - Favorite World Press

The FWP weekly digest of wondrous wildlife happenings
and other interesting items from the natural world

Creatures to meet | Things to learn
Things to do

Lisa S. French

Big Bird Art | Peak Leaf Peeping | Zero Rhinos

1.5-minute read

Welcome, fall! Here are this week’s nature picks for your perusal.

Big Bird Art
In New York City, the walls have eyes—they also have beaks. The winged watchers gracing buildings across blocks of northern Manhattan are part of the Audubon Mural Project, a collaboration between the National Audubon Society and Gitler & _____ Gallery. The avian conservation art located in John James Audubon’s Washington Heights neighborhood was created to draw attention to climate-threatened species.

On Saturday, October 2, you can benefit the art of nature and help protect the feathered ones from the impacts of environmental change by participating in the Audubon Murals 5K Art Run. Whether you like to run for fun or are more inclined to stroll, snap, and chat, it’s a beautiful way to spend the day! You can register to pound the pavement with Runstreet.

Interested in learning more about the life and times of Audubon? We highly recommend A Country No More: Rediscovering the Landscapes of John James Audubon, by Krista Elrick.

Peak Leaf Peeping
It’s officially autumn—the glorious season—time for a bit of soul-restoring leaf peeping. For your tree-tracking convenience, our partners at American Forests have put together a handy U.S. foliage map so you can find out the best time to delight in a dose of peak reds and golds. Have a look!

Zero Rhinos
And on the opposite side of the Earth: if you’re a regular reader, you know that we’re big fans of Big Life, one on the most effective wildlife conservation organizations in Africa. Despite the tremendous challenges imposed by the pandemic, Big Life has continued to protect some of the most critically endangered animals on the planet—like the Eastern black rhino.

All but lost to poaching, Eastern black rhinos in the Chyulus, a mountain range in southern Kenya, were reduced to a population of only 7 animals. Big Life stepped up and put 50 community rangers to work in an endeavor to save the species. As a result of their strategic efforts, in the last five years, zero rhinos were poached—a much-needed win for African wildlife.

Watch this stunning film to learn how Big Life put boots on the ground to save the Eastern black rhino from local extinction and how you can support their critical conservation programs across East Africa’s 1.6 million-acre Amboseli Ecosystem.

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Lisa S. French September 25, 2021

Be the Sea Change

1.5-minute read

If you need another great reason to head to the beach in September, the annual International Coastal Cleanup, the world’s largest volunteer effort to clean our waterways, kicks off this weekend.

From rivers to shorelines, from the surface to the depths of the oceans, at the North and South Poles, and throughout every body of water in between, discarded and abandoned trash and debris are diminishing the health of Earth’s waters and wildlife. Every species of marine turtle and more than half of all mammals and sea birds are affected by accumulating trash through entanglement or ingestion. The long list of impacted wildlife includes green sea and hawksbill turtles, North Atlantic right whales, California sea lions, and Atlantic puffins.

Because of its sheer volume and durability, ocean trash—metal, glass, rubber, paper, cloth, and plastic—is one of the biggest threats to marine biodiversity. According to the Marine Biology & Ecology Research Center at Plymouth University, plastic is the biggest water polluter by far. Global plastic production increased from 1.5 million metric tons in 1950 to 368 million in 2019. There are currently an estimated five trillion pieces of plastic littering our oceans.

The Plymouth University study determined that 92% of marine species and as many as one-fifth of animals at risk of extinction had harmful encounters with plastic—netting and rope that cause entanglements and fragments or microplastics that can block digestive systems and lead to reproductive problems and starvation. Microplastics, small bits and pieces, and beads from health and personal care products, also leach toxic chemicals into the water that can wind up in the food chain and potentially on our dinner plates.

While it’s easy to feel overwhelmed in the face of big, here, there, and everywhere environmental challenges like the massive amounts of plastic soup polluting our oceans, participating in the coastal cleanup has an immediate impact. Plus, the Ocean Conservancy has everything you need to be the sea change and connect and collect, including an interactive map to find a local community coordinator and info on how to organize your own cleanup crew and locate a spot in need of tidying.

Rolling up our sleeves and taking the trash out is an easy-to-achieve way to convert hope for a healthy planet into action. So please join us for the sake of oceans, coastal communities, and wildlife—like these baby turtles, one of the marine animals most at risk of consuming plastic.

If you’d like to see more magnificent creatures that will benefit from trash-free seas, check out the work of Conservation Photographer of the Year 2021 Kerim Sabuncuoğlu.

And if you’re keen to help shrink the plastics-sphere and keep the indestructible stuff out of our waterways, the World Wildlife Fund has ten tips to reduce your plastic footprint.

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Lisa S. French September 18, 2021

50% for the Planet | Climate-Resilient Forests

1-minute read

If the cascading and intensifying extreme weather events of 2021 have shown us anything, it’s that nature is deteriorating at an alarming rate. We’re urgently in need of effective planet-saving strategies to help the Earth keep doing what it does best—sustain life. Two organizations dedicated to helping the planet heal are right on that mission: The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and FWP tree-planting partner, American Forests.

A Yes Vote for Making Room
To tackle the twin threats of climate change and biodiversity loss, on September 10, an overwhelming majority of delegates to the IUCN World Conservation Congress agreed that humanity must protect at least half of Earth’s land, inland water, and oceans, aiming for a minimum of 30% by 2030. The IUCN’s ambitious proposal would create connected networks of protected areas to conserve and restore habitats, plant, and animal species so we can build a more sustainable relationship with nature—a relationship that will benefit the lives and livelihoods of all people globally, including local and indigenous communities.

Fighting Forest Fires with Science
Maintaining healthy and resilient forests will play a critical role in achieving the IUCN’s goal, which is why American Forests is improving the science of forest management. Planting the right trees in the right place is essential in a rapidly warming, fire-prone world. By picking climate and disease-resilient species and managing forests for changing environments, American Forests is working to protect and regenerate the trees that store carbon, clean our air, filter water, and provide food and shelter for people and wildlife. You can read more about why trees matter here and how you can plant a tree, or two, or three with FWP here.

As nature continues to respond to environmental stressors in new and startlingly unpredictable ways, and we rally together in the vital undertaking of planet preservation, we leave you with a gentle reminder from one of Earth’s endangered forest dwellers, to focus on the simple joys of small things.

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Lisa S. French September 12, 2021

Twenty Years of Empty Sky

From The Dark Interval:

Where things become truly difficult
and unbearable, we find ourselves in a place already
very close to its transformation.

Rainer Maria Rilke

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Lisa S. French September 11, 2021

moth long tail butterfly (Actias dubernardi)

Moths: Sonar-Jamming Night Fliers

1-minute read

Did you know that you have sonar-deflecting insects fluttering around your patch after dark? No? Well, look up at your outdoor lights and say hello to the Lepidopterans, aka moths.

Why do moths need anti-sonar capabilities, you ask? Just who is tracking these secret pollinators in the night sky? Bats!

The web-winged nemeses of moths use echolocation to stealthily ping and then swoop in on flying food sources. To equalize the odds of survival in their air space, some moths have developed sonar jamming mechanisms to disrupt bat signals so they can live to fly another day.

And how do these bat-attack countermeasures work? According to researchers at Boise State and Wake Forest Universities, moths have evolved with a range of adaptations to protect themselves from predators. Some species have developed ears, some are highly skilled at evasive flight, and some, like tiger and silk moths, use sensory illusions to alter bat reality and redirect tracking sonar away from essential body parts.

To reduce a bat’s ability to home in on its dinner target, tiger moths produce ultrasonic clicks that jam sonar and the spinning hindwing tails of silk moths scramble returning echoes. While night flier fake-outs aren’t 100% effective in preventing airstrikes, by exploiting vulnerabilities in the auditory systems of bats, these evolutionary adaptations give moths a fighting chance at survival.

If you’re wondering why we need moths anyway, then you haven’t met this extraordinary fellow. In addition to their nice-to-have-around existence value, these nighttime pollinators help maintain healthy habitats for other wildlife by promoting plant biodiversity in meadows, pastures, woodlands, and roadsides. Plus, like their pollinating bee pals, moths are smart. They’re able to learn floral scents that have been altered by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) so that they can keep on pollinating pollution-affected flowering plants. Smart, strangely beautiful, and consistently pollinating—what’s not to like?

Btw, fair play to bats regarding moth plucking. They’re also important night pollinators that contribute to the functioning of food webs and balanced ecosystems.

Throughout September, you can learn more about beneficial insects like moths and the critical role they play in supporting the health of our planet during the NYC High Line’s month-long horticulture celebration. Check out free bug-fest events here.

Speaking of essential fliers, be sure to have a look at the Bird Photographer of the Year 2021 winners. Outstanding!

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Lisa S. French September 2, 2021