The perennial fighting in Afghanistan has led to the decline of many animals and fish native to the country. In the midst of the war torn country lies something new, a wildlife preserve.

The preserve, called Band-e-Amir, was established in April of last year with the help of Canadian wildlife biologist Chris Shank. The preserve is the home to nearly 5,000 people who graze animals, farm, and fish on the land.

It is hoped that the preserve will help protect against habitat destruction for wild goats, sheep, wolves, foxes, birds, and fish, all of which have been depleted though illegal hunting, trade, and poaching. In some instances, fisherman use explosives which kill all aquatic creatures in the vicinity.  Other animals, like the snow leopard, have been completely wiped from the area.

Plant life has not fared much better than animal life.  Overgrazing and overfarming have ruined some tracts of land, as has deforestation and illegal harvests.

The overall goal is to conserve the land and animals for the betterment of the people who live there.

For more visit The Canadian Press or USAID/Afghanistan.

SeaWorld Orlando is currently taking care of three endangered loggerhead turtle hatchlings. The wild turtles were spotted by park rangers in Cape Canaveral shortly after they hatched on the beach. The turtles were unable to make the trip from their nest to the ocean because of the rough waters created by Hurricane Bill. The staff at SeaWorld will return the turtles to the wild once the sea calms down.

Newly hatched loggerhead turtles face a multitude of challenges. To get from their nests to the water they need to avoid gulls which will eat them. They can also become confused and disoriented by beachside activity, parking lot lights, and man-made noise.

There is not a great deal known about the narwhal, a whale most familiar for its long spiraled horn. Researchers are trying to change that by attempting to net and tag a narwhal in Greenland.  Thousands of narwhals spend their summer in the cold waters off of Greenland’s shore.

Researcher Kristin Laidre has spent the last eight years attempting to tag a narwhal with a satellite transmitter which would send a variety of information. She is interested in knowing where narwhals travel and how deep they dive.

Laidre has managed to attach satellite transmitters to narwhals in other regions, but the Greenland population seems to be much more difficult to get close to.  Perhaps in another summer she’ll get lucky and finally attach a transmitter, but for her, this summer has ended the same way the last eight have.

For the full story and a podcast visit NPR.org.

At Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay there is an unusual pair of best friends.  Zoo keepers have noticed that Bea, a three year old giraffe, and Wilma the ostrich have been spending time together.  This is unusual because animals have a tendency to prefer the company of their own species.

Read more about giraffes at Animal Fact Guide.

The Detroit Zoo is holding a competition to name their two newest black and white ruffled lemurs. The male and female twins were born in June.

Anyone may suggest names through the zoo’s website. The deadline is September 2nd at midnight. It is suggested that names have a Malagasy origin as lemurs are native to Madagascar.

Zoo staff will select five male names and five female names to put for public vote.

Vote here.

Quadruplet red panda cubs have been born in the Denver Zoo.  The three boys and one girl are only the fifth group of quadruplets born in the United States.

Their parents, Sophia and He-Ping, were matched up from different zoos in an effort to maintain healthy and genetically diverse populations. They gave birth to a set of twins last year.

Red pandas are listed as endangered species, with only 2500 in the wild. They are found in the Himalayas and feed mainly on bamboo. They are at risk because of hunting and habitat destruction.

For more information and to download a baby red panda wallpaper, visit The Denver Zoo website.

Watch a very enlightening talk by Willie Smits of the Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Foundation about the reforestation project in Samboja Lestari, an area in Borneo devoid of fertility and viability in 2004 which is now a sustainable living environment for people, orangutans, and other wildlife.

For more information:
Samboja Lestari Page on Orangutan Outreach Website
BOS Samboja Lestari Create Rainforest Site

To learn more about Bornean orangutans, see Animal Fact Guide’s article: Bornean Orangutan.

In the last 10 years 353 new species have been discovered in the eastern Himalayas,  a mountain range in southern Asia. Among the species discovered are the smallest deer, a tree frog that can glide with its large webbed feet, and a new monkey species.  These newly discovered species are at risk, according to the WWF. The region the species were discovered in is at risk of climate change, deforestation, overgrazing, and poaching.

Read more at Yahoo.com.

Smithsonian magazine is holding a free museum day on Saturday, September 26. Museums all over the country will have free admission on that day. All you need to do is print out a pass from Smithsonian magazine and bring it with you to a participating museum.

This a great opportunity to spend a hot summer day learning something new.

Visit the Smithsonian magazine website for a list of participating museums and to print out a free admission ticket.

Climate change may be to blame for decreasing populations of pikas, a furry relative of rabbits. Pikas make their home in the mountainous regions of the western United States but are threatened by rising temperatures. While other animals are able to move as a way to adapt to changing temperatures, pikas will not migrate. Once they decide on a home they will stay there, even if it results in their death.

If the pika becomes listed as a threatened or endangered species, laws can be changed or created to curb activities that create greenhouse gases.

For more, visit NPR.org.