Wild & Wondrous - 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

Do You Have a Hope Spot?

1-minute read

We’d like to draw your attention to hope: that feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. Hope is a noun and a verb. It’s a motivator and an incubator. Hope makes room for the possibility of positive change. Hope empowers recovery and resilience. It’s also a place where planetary angels dwell—angels like marine biologist, former NOAA chief scientist and IUCN Patron of Nature Dr. Sylvia Earle, who since 2009, has been on a mission to protect and restore the world’s oceans, one Hope Spot at a time. Through the launch of her marine conservation organization Mission Blue, Dr. Earle made a wish big enough to heal the planet by creating a global network of special places critical to the health of oceans.

Right now, less than 6% of the great big, deep blue is protected, but by recognizing and supporting the efforts of individuals and communities around the world to safeguard our oceans, Mission Blue aims to make that percentage a whole lot bigger. The thoroughly exciting news is that anyone can help by nominating and nurturing a Hope Spot. Large or small, a Hope Spot is any marine area that needs new protection or an existing Marine Protected Area that could benefit from more tender loving care.

So what makes a Hope Spot special?

• An abundance or diversity of species
• Rare, threatened, or endemic species
• Potential to reverse damage
• Spectacles of nature
• Significant historical, cultural, or spiritual values
• Economic importance to the community

There are currently 134 unique marine Hope Spots globally, ranging from Monterey Bay and the Maldive Atolls to the Great Barrier Reef and the Gulf of California, including a new 2021 addition of Jangamo Bay in Mozambique.

Do you have an outstanding oceanic area that you would like to add to the network? Mission Blue is calling all angels—individuals, communities, and organizations who would like to provide hope for a healthier planet through ocean conservation. You can nominate a Hope Spot and start making waves today by filling out this form—all it takes is a click!

If you don’t have a special place to nominate, but you’d still like to offer your support by volunteering at an existing location, contact a Hope Spot champion to find out how to pitch in.

You can learn more about Sylvia Earle’s bold endeavor by watching the Emmy® Award-Winning documentary Mission Blue—currently available on Netflix. And you can listen to Dr. Earle’s TED talk here. We think you’ll agree the high priestess of hope is a true force for nature!

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Lisa S. French August 17, 2021

Climate Change: Fighting the Good Fight

“If facts are the seeds that later produce knowledge and wisdom, then the emotions and the impressions of the senses are the fertile soil in which the seeds must grow.”
Rachel Carson | Marine Biologist

FYI: Here’s a link to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2021 Sixth Assessment Report on how it’s going: not so good!

You can read five important findings from the report here.

As we’re witnessing on a daily basis, the effects of climate breakdown are absolutely heartrending. Although it’s difficult to remain hopeful given the additional uncertainty related to the pandemic, don’t despair. If we act now, there’s still time to save our beautiful, life-sustaining home from the worst impacts of climate change.

Our immense gratitude to the fact-finding, seed-planting scientists at the IPCC for persevering and fighting the good fight—for people, wildlife, and the planet.

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Lisa S. French August 9, 2021

Here Be Leafy Seadragons

1-minute read

Just when we thought we’d discovered every wild and wondrous creature that occupies Australian waters, another unique specimen drifts out of the seagrass and onto our radar. Despite its moniker, the leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques) is no moat-dwelling flame thrower. In fact, it’s not a dragon at all, or even a reptile, but a uniquely beautiful species of fish with frond-like appendages that extend from rings of bony armor encircling its body.

The leafy seadragon’s fishy foliage serves as camouflage that helps the marine animal hide from both predators and prey in the reefs of its southwestern coastal habitat. While the seadragon may have a delicate appearance, don’t let those frills fool you. The voracious carnivore is a crustacean ambush artist, using the suction power of its tubular snout to capture vast quantities of tiny mysid shrimp.

The fish species most likely to be mistaken for underwater escarole has another highly distinctive characteristic: male leafy seadragons pitch in with pregnancy in a big way—they carry and brood eggs. Female seadragons transfer up to 250 eggs to their mate for eight weeks of safe-keeping until they hatch. Some scientists believe that females pass off eggs to papa to hide soon-to-be seadragons from predators—crafty!

Until recently, there were only two known species of seadragons, the leafy and the common (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus). In 2015, for the first time in 150 years, a new seadragon was discovered in waters off the coast of Western Australia, Phyllopteryx dewysea, a.k.a. the Ruby Seadragon. The brilliantly colored, crimson fish is not quite as elegant as its leafy cousin, but it’s splendid just the same.

Researchers think that we’ve only identified 1.6 million species out of an estimated 8.7 million globally. Now that we’re plus one fancy red seadragon, there are 7,099,999 species to go, give or take. That’s a lot of living things to factor into the healthy functioning of our planet. We’d better get busy!

If you’d like to read a lyrical ode to one of the world’s most ornate ocean dwellers, you can get free access to Miho Nonaka’s poem The Leafy Seadragon, through JSTOR.

And if you want to learn more about some of Australia’s most extraordinary animals, we invite you to explore WW’s wildlife down under.

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Lisa S. French August 7, 2021

Traveling Wildebeest Alert

1.5-minute read

One of the most spectacular events in the natural world is taking place now in the African Serengeti—the awe-inspiring, seasonal wildebeest migration. In late spring through fall, up to 1.5 million wildebeest and thousands of zebra and Thomson’s gazelles embark on the long trek from the treeless plains of the southern Serengeti in Tanzania, north to the savannas and woodlands of Kenya.

Navigating Mara River rapids and dodging the hungry lions, cheetahs, and hyenas that trail the herd is no small feat, so what motivates these high plains drifters to travel so far in such massive numbers? Survival.

Like many migrating species, wildebeests are on a mission to find food. These bearded relatives of antelopes can weigh up to 600 muscle-packed pounds. Maintaining almost a billion pounds of wildebeest-i-ness across the herd requires a tremendous amount of grass and water. When the dry season begins in May and food and water are in short supply, wildebeests head west and north, following a route determined by rainfall, grass growth, and access to prime grazing real estate. In early winter, they complete the 300-mile migration loop, tracking the rain and grass back down to the southern plains. Every February, approximately 8,000 calves a day are born in transit and are up on their hooves toddling along with the herd in just three hours—the great migration and life cycle of the wildebeest continues uninterrupted.

The remarkable journey of these African ungulates has now inspired scientists to create algorithms that mimic the highly efficient swarm-like movement of the herd, which instinctually finds the shortest route to the greenest pastures. Intelligent algorithms based on these natural patterns of wildebeest herd migration could be used in cutting-edge applications ranging from unmanned vehicles and planetary mapping to nanobots that can target and destroy cancer cells—because nature is the most intelligent system of all.

Wherever you are in the world, you can keep tabs on the amazing traveling wildebeests courtesy of HerdTracker. Compared to the congestion of mega-migration, this summer’s bumper-to-bumper beach-bound traffic doesn’t seem so bad after all…

If you’d like to learn more about the megafauna of the Serengeti, we highly recommend Animals of the Masai Mara (Wildlife Explorer Guides), by Adam Scott Kennedy and Vicki Kennedy.

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Lisa S. French July 30, 2021

Fireflies That Blink in Sync | New Tree Equity Scores

1-minute read

From A Place Made for We, Favorite World Press

Then each tiny firefly
said hi-hello to the night,
blinking and flashing
its very own tiny light.

Witnessing the luminous dance of blinking, flashing fireflies is one of the quiet delights of summer. Their seasonal light show is so utterly soul-soothing, it’s easy to imagine that they blink for our benefit. We know that these mesmerizing glow dispensers use flashes of light for bug-to-bug communication, but why do some species of male fireflies in large swarms coordinate their flashing and blink in sync?

According to a recent study, it appears that flashing in unison is the bioluminescent language of cooperative courtship. Male fireflies communicate using distinct flash patterns while flying, and females signal back from the ground “message received”. In large swarms of hundreds or thousands of male fireflies, random blinking and flashing could make it overwhelming for lady bugs to visually track and communicate with a specific light pilot. Scientists from the University of Connecticut believe that when groups of male Photinus carolinus fireflies blink in sync, it gives female fireflies a flash-free window to signal their interest and selectively respond to the bug of their choosing. Yes, it’s good to glow—and for some species of fireflies, when it comes to courtship, it’s better to glow together and give a girl some uninterrupted time to blink back.

Got enough trees?

Back in April, we promised to give you an update on United States tree equity scores, and here it is. The new Tree Equity Score tool developed by our partner @AmericanForests gives scores for all 486 urbanized areas of the U.S. and their 150,000 neighborhoods. Each score is an indicator of how close the city is to achieving Tree Equity—ensuring that all, not just some, people can experience the many health, economic, and climate benefits that trees provide. A zero-to-100-point system makes it easy to understand how a community fares. With the knowledge the score provides, community leaders, tree advocates, and concerned citizens can address climate change and public health through the lens of social equity. Visit TreeEquityScore.org to see how your neighborhood stacks up.

We leave you with a gentle reminder that for every print or e-book that you purchase from the FWP series, Frankie and Peaches: Tales of Total Kindness, we’ll plant one wildlands tree in a place where it’s needed most to help cool, clean, and green our home planet. Thanks for reading with us!

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Lisa S. French July 21, 2021