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

What’s Good For Lemurs is Good for the Planet

2-minute read

One of our favorite things to do here at FWP is to help restore forests that cool the planet, support the lives and livelihoods of people, and provide food and habitat for endangered wildlife. Through our partnership with Tree-Nation, every month, we have new opportunities to contribute to planting projects that minimize biodiversity loss and protect and restore some of the most threatened wild places on Earth—known in science speak as biodiversity hotspots. There are currently 36 recognized hotspots, home to 2 billion people and teeming with plants, animals and other living organisms that support the functioning of ecosystems that we all depend upon for survival.

About 8,716 miles from where we sit in NYC, give or take a few blocks, is the island country of Madagascar, one of the most biodiverse of all hotspots and a critical priority for nature conservation. Approximately 92% of Madagascar’s mammals, 89% of its plant life, and 95% of reptiles don’t exist anywhere else in the natural world.

In addition to some extraordinary creatures you may have never heard of, like tomato frogs, aye-ayes, and fossas, one of the island’s most familiar and iconic animals is the lemur. Of 101 lemur species, 96% are currently at risk of extinction. Not only do lemurs depend on forests, but forests also benefit from lemurs’ seed dispersal that helps to maintain habitats that other rare species rely on for food, cover, and toing and froing. Like other keystone species globally, including bees, sea otters, and manatees, lemurs are the canaries in the coal mine, their presence or absence is a sign of the health of their native ecosystem.

With only 10% of their natural habitat remaining due to deforestation, overharvesting, and climate change impacts, even the most dedicated lemurs would have a hard time dispersing enough seeds to keep rapidly dwindling forests intact. To give the pop-eyed primates a helping hand, we’re contributing to Madagascar’s reforestation with the Eden Projects. Since 2019, Eden has successfully planted over 10 million mangrove and flowering trees with Tree-Nation in northwest Madagascar, benefiting both people and wildlife.

Although you may be surprised to learn that what’s good for lemurs is good for the planet, to quote Madagascar’s native peoples, “the forest has been present since the dawn of time and always will be, because if it disappears, life will also disappear.” We couldn’t agree more. That’s why we pitch in with planet cooling, habitat restoring, and community-supporting tree planting projects in biodiversity hotspots around the globe. Here’s the July update:

FWP Monthly Carbon Capture Report
Our total YTD carbon capture across six projects is 1,332 tons. That’s equivalent to greenhouse gas emissions avoided by 57,936 trash bags of waste recycled instead of landfilled, 50,729 lamps switched to LEDs, or 1,480,884 pounds of coal burned.

Rolling on… doesn’t it seem like it’s about time for a playlist? We think so. Happy high summer!

…

Lisa S. French August 9, 2022

Healing the Planet: The People Have the Power

1.5-minute read

We hope that you’re thoroughly enjoying the summer roaming season. Being out in the world again and appreciating the astounding beauty of nature serves as a soul-soothing reminder of how critical a hospitable planet is to our well-being. Thanks to a unanimous vote by the United Nations General Assembly as of July 28, your access to a clean, healthy, sustainable environment is no longer just a wishlist item but has now been declared a universal human right.

Did you know that you can play a vital role in maintaining the natural world you love by collaborating with scientists to help address some of our biggest Earthly challenges, like climate change and biodiversity loss?

Now, you may say to yourself, “Self, I am just one person. I can’t make a difference. How can I help with such momentous problems?” Well, you can rev up your big brain and provide your unique and invaluable insights to scientists working to protect and preserve our environment—that’s how. By joining the ranks of millions of citizen scientists around the world, you can participate in advancing the knowledge needed to help maintain the well-being of people, wildlife, and the planet. Does that sound like a plan? Read on…

Every day, new citizen science programs are launched in every corner of the globe, offering opportunities to observe and track species or environmental events that remain invisible to remote monitoring. In many cases, there is no formal training required for participation. All that’s needed is your perceptive peepers and unbridled enthusiasm, and passion for nature. The projects span a vast range of issues, using web platforms and mobile apps to record data.

There’s still a lot of summer left and a lot of options to explore to make an important contribution to healing the Earth. By helping scientists make better and more comprehensive analyses of the state of our home planet, you’ll also improve environmental decision-making that affects the health of local and global communities. Every solution to even seemingly insurmountable problems starts with someone saying, “What is happening here? We should fix this.” So how can we help fix the urgent, closely linked problems of climate change and biodiversity loss? By supporting scientists and working together with people from different backgrounds and abilities to advance the knowledge needed to create a sustainable future for everyone.

Are you in? Great! We’ve pulled together some resources to get you started on your citizen science journey. Pick a project and share what you see:

Scistarter: Find a project by topic or keyword.
Citisci: Create projects, build datasheets, and track your results.
iNaturalist: Explore and share your observations from the natural world.
iSpot: Identify wildlife and share nature with a global community.
GLOBE: Join a global learning and research community to benefit the environment.
Earthwatch: Help tackle urgent environmental challenges through research.
Zooniverse: Contribute to people-powered research.
eMammal: Track wildlife in 110 wildlife projects in 22 countries.
Forestwatcher: Keep tabs on the trees.
Edge of Existence: Help protect some of the most unique and endangered species on the planet.

…

Lisa S. French August 1, 2022

And That’s Why We Hug Trees

2-minute read

As the world turns, if you find yourself in need of a mood boost this summer, we’ve got just the thing—make friends with a local forest. According to public health researchers at the University of Parma, inhaling a forest atmosphere swirling with naturally occurring, mood-elevating aerosols can influence the release of dopamine and GABA, the feel-good neurotransmitters that improve cognitive function, increase feelings of well-being and relaxation, and improve quality of sleep.

Any type of forest in particular? Cone-producing pine, fir, and cypress trees release the highest concentration of beneficial aerosols limonene and pinene, so forests where conifers are king are your best bet to brighten your spirits. Hitting the trail two hours after dawn through to early afternoon is the optimum time for a one-hour forest wander when well-being-enhancing phytochemicals are at peak release.

In addition to tree aerosol inhalation being good for your headspace, regular visits to a forest can improve your overall health. On average, we spend about 90% of our daily lives indoors, under artificial light, which keeps our minds and bodies in a constant state of low-level stress. Exposure to the green scenery, fresh air, clean water, and soothing sounds and scents of nature reduces excess cortisol and adrenaline, stress hormones that can lead to high blood pressure and heart disease.

The International Society of Nature and Forest Medicine recommends forest therapy as an effective, evidence-based, low-cost public health treatment for stress-related symptoms—not to mention doomscrolling induced brain wobble. So, if you’re looking for a free and easy way to crush the cortisol, head out to a forest near you—the conifers are calling.

Lovely, trusty trees—releasing healing aerosols and absorbing greenhouse gas—providing nature-based solutions to everyday stress and climate change. So worth hugging.

ICYMI Nature News

No Bowling for Pandas
Scientists have concluded that pandas developed a long, large thumb-like digit for gripping bamboo six million years ago. Modern-day pandas forfeited the big thumb for a shorter, flatter, hooked digit that enables them to grip tasty greens while also better distributing their weight when roaming. No bowling—or texting—for today’s pandas, but they’re still masters at manipulating bamboo.

Every Frog’s Dream Pad
A newly identified water lily species discovered by researchers in Bolivia has broken the world’s record for leaf size—10.5 feet across. Holy leaping lily pads, that’s one mighty leaf!

Chomping Down on Climate Change
Bison reintroduced to the Oklahoma prairie are taking a bite out of climate change and helping to protect native plants and wildlife through selective grazing. This is how they do it. Chomp on, big fellas.

Wake Riding Whales
For the first time, humpback whales have been recorded wake-riding behind a ship. Scientists believe that the migrating marine mammals hitched a ride to conserve energy. Because, why swim when you can ride—clever cetaceans.

Audubon Bird Beauty Twofer
The Birdsong Project Volume II is now live, featuring works from Elvis Costello, Yo-Yo-Ma, and The Flaming Lips, among beautiful others. Listen here. And Audubon has announced the tremendously talented winners of the 2022 Audubon Summer Photography award, which happens to include a snap of our friendly local snowy owl perching in Central Park. See here.

FWP Monthly Carbon Capture Report
We’re happy to report that the trees we planted in June across five projects through Tree-Nation bring our 2nd quarter carbon capture total to slightly over one kiloton (1,007 tons). That’s equivalent to 11,330 gallons of gasoline utilized, 1,114,006 pounds of coal burnt, or 2,331 barrels of oil consumed.

That’s all for now. It’s going to be too darn hot out there next week, stay safe, good people.

…

Lisa S. French July 17, 2022

Eyes Wide Open

From The Sense of Wonder
& Silent Spring

“Those who contemplate
the beauty of the earth
find reserves of strength
that will endure
as long as life lasts.”

“The more clearly we can focus
our attention on the wonders
and realities of the universe
about us,
the less taste we shall have
for destruction.”

Rachel Carson

…

Lisa S. French July 2, 2022

Wild flowers meadow with sky in background

Poetry Pause

Answer July

Answer July—
Where is the Bee—
Where is the Blush—
Where is the Hay?

Ah, said July—
Where is the Seed—
Where is the Bud—
Where is the May—
Answer Thee—Me—

Nay—said the May—
Show me the Snow—
Show me the Bells—
Show me the Jay!

Quibbled the Jay—
Where be the Maize—
Where be the Haze—
Where be the Bur?
Here—said the Year—

Emily Dickinson

…

Lisa S. French July 2, 2022

Cloud Break

To make myself understood
and to diminish the distance between us,
I called out: “I am an evening cloud too.”
They stopped still,
evidently taking a good look at me.
Then they stretched towards me
their fine transparent, rosy wings.
That is how evening clouds greet each other.
They had recognized me.

Rainer Maria Rilke

…

Lisa S. French June 26, 2022

A shoebill (Balaeniceps rex) stork standing surrounded by plants and waiting

Say Hello to the Shoebill Stork—If You Dare

2-minute read

If you happened upon a shoebill stork in your travels, your first thought after you stopped shaking in your wading boots would most likely be, “Whoa, that is one super-sized, scarily pre-historic looking bird… dino-bird… bird-o-saur…” Standing five feet tall with a saucer-eyed, do-you-see-how-I-see-you stare and a bone-crusher of a hooked bill, this fearsome swamp dweller is not an escapee from Jurassic Park but a distinctive African wading bird considered one of the most extraordinary feathered creatures on Earth. Let’s dig in to find out what makes the shoebill stork stand out in a flock:

What’s in a Name?
Dubbed Balaeniceps rex, “King Whalehead” or whale-headed stork by British ornithologist John Gould in 1851, the bird was known as abu markub, “father of the shoe” by the Arab people, and schuhschnabel or “shoebill” by the Germans. With a bill shaped like a shoe large enough to hold a human foot, shoebill became the favored moniker. But what kind of shoe? Sneaker? Nope. Stiletto? No. Sandal? Unh-uh. The consensus is that this wading bird’s bill looks like a Dutch clog. Originally grouped with storks, herons, and ibis, scientists have concluded that the shoebill is more closely related to pelicans.

Creature Features
In addition to a powerful 12-inch bill with a piercing nail-like hook on the end, the shoebill has extra-long toes for swamp-stomping and a remarkable eight-foot wingspan.

The Swamp It Calls Home
Found only in the freshwater wetlands of eastern central tropical Africa, the shoebill occupies some of the most inaccessible habitats in the world. The tall, leggy water bird prefers swamps and marshes with lots of reeds and floating vegetation, where it constructs raft-sized nests that can measure up to eight feet across—which, as an aside, is only slightly smaller than a Manhattan studio. Shoebills lay one to three eggs, and it takes about five months for a baby shoebill to mature, leave the nest and stand on its own big bird feet.

Hobbies and Interests
Despite its menacing appearance, the shoebill is no avian warrior. The low-energy, solitary bird spends about 85% of its time standing, preening, and sitting on platforms of vegetation. The sluggish species stands motionless for hours, waiting for a tasty meal to swim by and then collapses on its prey hooked-bill first in a frenzy of wing-flapping. Although the shoebill is capable of flying long distances, it’s not migratory, spends only 0.9% of its time in the air, and only occasionally perches in trees.

Favorite Foods
Most partial to carp and lungfish, the patient fisher-bird is also keen on turtles, water snakes, lizards, and baby crocodiles—also known as the wetlands buffet.

Communication Style
You won’t hear energetic chitter-chattering or soul-stirring swamp songs from the shoebill. The rat-a-tat-tat sound of machine-gun fire it produces is known as bill clattering, and it’s used to both delight lady birds and deter predators. When not on high alert for love or danger, the otherwise quiet bird may offer a gentle nod in greeting. And if you see a shoebill shake its head from side to side, it’s not a judgy sign of disapproval but an attempt to dislodge weedy debris or leftover lungfish.

Shoebill Stressors
Like so many amazing animal species globally, shoebill populations across Africa are declining. Habitat loss, climate change, and illegal capture for the bird trade are taking their toll on the avian wonders. The IUCN estimates that only 3,300 to 5,300 shoebills are left in the wild. As our home planet continues to undergo rapid environmental change, vulnerable animals like the shoebill need all the help they can get to survive. If you’d like to join an international community of people working to create a better world for wondrous wildlife like the shoebill, head on over to Birdlife.org—nature needs more followers!

ICYMI Nature News

Styrofoam Eating Superworms
Move over plastic-eating bacterium, scientists from the University of Queensland have discovered that the larvae of the darkling beetle can survive solely on Styrofoam. Apparently, the little wrigglers prefer a light meal. By all means, dig in!

Turtle-y Not Extinct
Princeton scientists have announced big news for a big tortoise. The Galápagos “fantastic giant tortoise” believed to be extinct for the past 100 years is thankfully still with us. Researchers have located a fifty-year-old female tortoise, which they’ve named Fernanda, and transported her to a rescue and breeding facility for safekeeping. After a half century of keeping herself to herself, we’re glad Fernanda finally came out of her shell.

Polar Bear Work Around
Polar bears in Greenland have come up with a new hunting strategy to compensate for climate change-induced loss of sea ice. It seems these arctic dwellers are smarter than the average bear—although the average bear is smarter than you thought.

You Could Even Say It Glows
Photographer Callie Chee has captured sparkling images of nature’s night lights in a gallery series on bioluminescent lifeforms. Eerily beautiful!

“If Not Now, Then When?”
And the winner of the 2022 Environmental Music Prize is Australian rock artists King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard for their call-to-action track If Not Now, Then When? When indeed.

That’s all for now Earthlings. Happy summer solstice. Have a super week!

…

Lisa S. French June 20, 2022

Where the Wild Things Are: The Atlantic Forest

2-minute read

Golden lion tamarins, wooly spider monkeys, maned three-toed sloths, red-tailed parrots. These are just a few of the thousands of species of amazing animals that occupy the Atlantic Forest in South America, the second most diverse ecosystem on the planet after the Amazon—and one of the most endangered.

From coastal lowlands to mist-covered mountain ranges, this vitally important biodiversity hotspot that extends from the southeastern coast of Brazil into Argentina and Paraguay once covered 370 million acres—about 3.5 times the land mass of California. Scientists now estimate that the Brazilian acreage of the Atlantic Forest has been reduced to remnants that are roughly only eight percent of its original size. Just eight percent.

Deforestation and fragmentation resulting from land use change, pollution, climate change and invasive species have accelerated the loss of habitat for the mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians that make this tropical forest their home, presenting new challenges to survival they may not have the capacity to overcome. Many of the Atlantic Forest’s endangered species, like the spectacular carroty-maned tamarin (pictured above), cannot be found anywhere else in the wild.

With one million species at risk of extinction globally, restoring degraded forest ecosystems that provide food and shelter for native wildlife is a top priority to safeguard biodiversity that supports all of life on Earth.

Through our partnership with Tree-Nation, we’re delighted to have connected with the Copaiba Environmentalist Association in Brazil to help plant native trees in the Atlantic Forest and guarantee a sustainable future for one of the last remaining places on Earth where the wild things are.

If you’re looking for an outstanding way to celebrate World Environment Day, you can learn more about the global movement to restore nature and check out active projects at Restor.eco and Rewild.org. Join us!

ICYMI Nature News

Skydiving Salamanders
When you make your home at the top of a 150-foot redwood tree, learning how to safely glide to the ground is an essential skill. Scientists have determined that the wandering salamander has perfected a life-saving parachuting technique to slow its descent when it falls. Who needs wings to fly when you have a twisty tail and torso? Dream big little amphibians, dream big.

The World’s Largest Plant
What’s 4,500 years old and three times the length of Manhattan? A stupendous seagrass located off the coast of Western Australia. Scientists believe the gargantuan marine plant grew from just one seed.

The World’s Oldest Tree
The granddaddy of all trees has been discovered in Chile’s Alerce Costero national park. The ancient Patagonian cypress is estimated to be 5,484 years old. It doesn’t look a day over 5,000 to us.

More and More Monarchs
The eastern monarch population wintering in Mexico’s forests has bounced back by 35%. Hooray for much-needed good nature news!

This Art is for the Birds
Audubon has launched the Birdsong Project, an unprecedented collaboration of more than 220 music and visual artists, actors, and literary figures contributing their creativity to celebrate the joy birds bring to the world. So beautiful. Check it out!

And it’s Moorhen for the Win
In semi-nature-related news, hearty congratulations to E. W. Scripps National Spelling Bee champion Harini Logan whose final correct spelling was a bird word—moorhen for the win. Speed-speller Harini is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious—and yes, we spell-checked.

FWP Monthly Carbon Capture Report
The trees that we planted through Tree-Nation in May will capture and store 555.6 tons of C02. That’s equivalent to 614,721 pounds of coal burned or 1,379,113 miles driven by an average gasoline-powered vehicle. Our suck-it-up stats total to date through the TN platform: 661.2 tons of CO2 stored.

…

Lisa S. French June 5, 2022

For Love of the Living World

1.5-minute read

It’s International Biodiversity Day!

So, what are we celebrating? Every living thing on our amazing planet.

From the tiny to the tremendous, biodiversity—that’s short for biological diversity—includes bacteria, plants, animals, and we humans, of course. It’s giraffes and gorillas, whales and wombats, bees and butterflies, flowers and fungi, and you and me—oh, and the FWP Maine Coon cat Stella.

Every living organism represents a thread in the fabric of life on Earth. The greater the variety of threads in the fabric, the stronger, the more resilient and more beautiful the weave. Scientists estimate that there are approximately 8.7 million different species of plants and animals on the planet, and they’re still counting.

Maintaining biological diversity is incredibly important to sustaining all living things and supporting our physical, mental, spiritual health and well-being. How important is it? Let’s count the ways we depend on biodiversity:

Oxygen. Yeah. That’s a big one.
Clean water. Also a must-have item.
Carbon storage. Bad things start to happen when our home gets too hot.
Photosynthesis, nutrient cycling, pollination. That’s how our gardens grow.
Food, medicine, building materials for shelter. Can’t live life without all of those.
Resilience against flooding, major storms, and zoonotic disease. Now more than ever.
Reduced heart disease, asthma, and diabetes. Healthier is happier.
Reduced stress, anxiety, depression, and aggression. Very essential service.

Love You World. Love You Right Back, People.
When we take care of the living world, it takes care of us—and that’s a big thing to celebrate today and every day. You can learn more about how to help maintain the fabric of life on Earth from the Center for Biological Diversity.

ICYMI Nature Items:

Yummy, Yummy Plastic
Scientists are working on re-engineering a plastic-eating bacterium to break down plastic twice as fast. Given the estimated 6.3 billion tons of plastic polluting the world, we hope that bacterium is hungry.

Songbirds of Western Africa
Shika Shika is back with Volume III of the Endangered Birdsong Project. 100% of proceeds from the album will be donated to conservation projects across Western Africa. Have a listen to some sample tweets and trills here.

Big Birds of Manhattan
If you’re local to NYC, the Audubon Murals 5K Run & Walk is on June 5. Whether you’re a stroller or a sprinter, you can register here to take a tour of the big birds of Manhattan and help support the Audubon Society’s critical work protecting our feathered friends from the impacts of climate change.

Run Around the World
Wherever you find yourself in the first week of June, you can help raise funds to protect biodiversity by participating in the World Wildlife Fund’s live virtual 5K for Nature on June 4th. Or you can choose the WWF 5K anywhere, anytime option and run around your backyard at 3 a.m. in your jammies, if that’s how you roll. Choose your pathway for nature-preservation here.

…

Lisa S. French May 22, 2022

Clever Dolphins Choose Friends Wisely

1.5-minute read

Reciprocity is a deep instinct; it is the basic currency of social life.

Jonathan Haidt

Widely recognized as one of the most intelligent animals on the planet, bottlenose dolphins use their big brains to form complex social alliances that help increase their odds of survival. Much the same way that we humans look for positive characteristics in close friends like trustworthiness, loyalty, and dependability, dolphins also have make-or-break criteria for choosing BFFs (best finned friends). And what’s the number one trait they look for in an ally? Reciprocity.

According to a new study from the University of Bristol, male dolphins in Shark Bay, Australia use many of the same cognitive skills as humans to observe behavior, determine the strength of their relationships, and decide who to count on when the chips are down. They choose their long-term teammates based on experiences of mutual support and cooperation.

Caller ID for Dolphins
Because no two dolphins sound alike, the clever creatures keep track of who’s who based on signature whistles. The Bristol researchers analyzed 30 years of behavior and 40 different whistle playback experiments and determined that bottlenose dolphins recognize a true friend when they hear one. Whether an individual dolphin responds to a whistle depends on memories of past reciprocity from the whistler. To have a good dolphin friend, be a good dolphin friend—or it’s straight to voice mail.

ICYMI Nature News:

Chatty, Chatty Mushrooms
As reported in the Guardian, a scientist has theorized that fungi have something to say and 50 different “words” to say it. Who wouldn’t like chatty mushrooms?

The Bird Is Back
A bit of happy news on the bird front—the legendary ivory-billed woodpecker is not extinct after all. Although you were never truly gone, welcome back, feathery friend.

More Earth Music
To rally the music industry on behalf of organizations addressing the climate emergency, artist Brian Eno has launched the fund-raising org EarthPercent. You can learn about their critical mission here, and you can listen to some new EarthPercent music here—courtesy of the good people at Bandcamp.

Saving Bees with Sunflowers
Are you looking for a great way to pitch in on behalf of bees this summer? If you live in North America, you can join the Great Sunflower Project to help track and conserve our precious pollinators. You can learn all about it here, and you can find scads of bee-licious sunflower plants to get you started here.

Tree Read
If you’re a planet-appreciating friend of forests, we’ve got an essential read for you. Ever Green: Saving Big Forests to Save the Planet, by John W. Reid and Thomas E. Lovejoy, is a beautifully written, hopeful, and compelling call-to-action to save the Earth’s five giant forests—and a fascinating travelogue even for non-tree-geeks.

FWP Monthly Carbon Capture Report
FYI, the trees that we planted with Tree-Nation in April will capture and store over 106 tons of CO2. That’s equivalent to the emissions from over 128,000 pounds of coal burned or 14 million smartphones charged. We’re rolling on with the lovely, leafy sky vacuums.

…

Lisa S. French May 6, 2022