Orangutan Study - VOA Special English (Phần 2) docx

This VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT was written by George Grow.. Wildlife Reacting to Climate Changes This is the VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT.. This VOA Special Englis

Orangutan Study

This is the VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT.

Orangutans are great apes that live in coastal jungles on theislands of Borneo and Sumatra A team of international scientistshas found evidence that some orangutans have developed theirown culture They found evidence that orangutan groups havedifferent ways to communicate, eat and use tools

The findings suggest that the animals' early ancestors may havecreated their own culture as early as fourteen-million years ago.That is when orangutans and other great apes last had a commonancestor Earlier studies had shown that great ape culture hadbeen in existence for up to seven-million years

For scientists, culture is the ability to invent and learn ways ofdoing things These methods must not be the direct result ofbiology or the environment They are learned from others andpassed on to individuals

Science magazine published the study about orangutans Thescientists collected evidence from years of observations in sixareas on Borneo and Sumatra The scientists found that theanimals demonstrated a total of twenty-four signs of culturalactivity Several actions were demonstrated in some orangutangroups, but not others

For example, members of some groups make a kissing noise bytightening their mouths and sucking in air Some groups use leaves

to clean themselves or protect their hands from sharp objects Yetother groups use leaves to crush insects or gather water Thescientists found that some of the animals use sticks as tools toremove insects from holes in trees Other orangutans use sticks toremove seeds from fruit or to touch their bodies

The study also found that some orangutan groups play a sport forfun The animals climb up a dead tree and ride on the tree as it

falls down They hold onto another tree just before the dead treehits the ground Other orangutans often watch this activity.

For years, scientists thought that only humans had cultures.However, evidence for socially-learned traditions among animals isincreasing The best evidence came from a study of chimpanzees

in Africa in nineteen-ninety-nine Scientists say the growing amount

of evidence about animal culture reduces the differences betweenhumans and animals and between culture and nature

This VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT was written

by George Grow

Wildlife Reacting to Climate Changes

This is the VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT.

American scientists say rising temperatures on Earth's surface areforcing animals and plants to move to cooler areas and make otherchanges Their studies found that warmer weather is causing manykinds of wildlife to leave their native environments They also foundthat such natural events as tree flowering and long-distance travel

by birds are now happening earlier in the year Nature magazinereported the findings

The scientists say the result of these changes could beenvironmental damage and local losses of wildlife They also warnthat some creatures could disappear completely

Plants and animals have always had to react to changingenvironments However, the climate is now changing faster thanever before Many scientists blame heat-trapping industrial gasesfor the warmer weather

Camille Parmesan (PAR-meh-zahn) is a biologist at the University

of Texas at Austin She organized one of the studies witheconomist Gary Yohe (YO-ee) of Wesleyan University inMiddletown, Connecticut They examined other studies thatfollowed the movements of about one-thousand-seven-hundred

kinds of wildlife over many years They used mathematicalprograms to make sure that only the best information was studied.

Their most detailed effort involved ninety-nine kinds of birds,insects and plants in North America and Europe They found thatthe territory where these plants and animals live has moved north

by an average of six kilometers every ten years In Europe, somebutterflies now live as much as one-hundred kilometers to the northbecause of changes linked to higher temperatures

Professors Parmesan and Yohe used similar methods to examineone-hundred-seventy-two kinds of wildlife They examined thetiming of events in the spring, such as the appearance of flowersand the reproduction of animals They found that these eventshappened an average of two days earlier than normal every tenyears

In the second study, scientists at Stanford University in Palo Alto,California, examined wildlife and climate information from one-hundred-forty-three studies They found that about eighty percent

of the creatures studied had made changes because of warmerweather

This VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT was written

by George Grow

Keiko the Whale

This is Mary Tillotson And this is Steve Ember with the VOA

Special English program EXPLORATIONS.

Today we tell about what has happened to Keiko (KAY-koh), theorca whale who appeared in the movie "Free Willy." Orcas are theblack-and-white mammals sometimes called killer whales

((SOUNDS: WHALES SINGING))

That is the sound of whales singing Ten years ago, a very friendlywhale named Keiko was filmed for the movie "Free Willy." The

movie tells about a whale named Willy Humans capture andmistreat him But the film ends happily as the huge animal escapesinto the open ocean.

In real life, however, nobody is sure what the future holds forKeiko Like Willy, Keiko was rescued from poor conditions in ananimal park Since then many people have worked hard to giveKeiko a better life Expert trainers now are trying to teach him tosurvive independently in the open ocean

If he is able to do so, he would be the first orca ever returned to thewild after living most of his life under human control

Keiko's story begins with his birth near Iceland in about seventy-seven He was captured at age two as he swam with hisfamily Then he spent three years in an Icelandic ocean center.Next he was sold to an entertainment center in Niagara Falls,Ontario, Canada There he learned to perform for people who paid

nineteen-to see trained sea animals But he began nineteen-to develop skinproblems

His Canadian owners sold Keiko to an amusement park in MexicoCity Children there loved him But the water in his container wastoo warm for an orca whale And, at times, it was not deep enougheven to cover the skin on his back His skin problems worsened

He acted sad

The Warner Brothers production company entered Keiko's life innineteen-ninety-two The company filmed him for the movie "FreeWilly." The movie told about a young boy who frees a whale calledWilly from an entertainment park The park is controlled bydishonest and uncaring operators Millions of people saw this filmand two others about Willy that followed Keiko the actor-whalebecame famous

Interest in the whale caused an American publication to write aboutthe sad conditions of Keiko's life in Mexico The owner of theMexican park offered to give Keiko to a better home Warner

Brothers and an American businessman, Craig McCaw, promisedthey would create a better home for the popular animal.

((MUSIC: "AND GOD CREATED GREAT WHALES"))

Warner Brothers, Mr McCaw and the Humane Society of theUnited States took part in a campaign to help Keiko More thanone-million children joined the effort The owner of the Mexicanpark gave the whale to an organization called the Free Willy/KeikoFoundation

Mr McCaw and the movie company gave the last money needed

to finish a new home for the whale A special treatment center andaquarium were built in the northwest American state of Oregon

When Keiko arrived in this new home, he weighed nine-hundredkilograms less than he should have His muscles were in poorcondition He had broken some of his teeth by biting on the sides

of his container in Mexico He could hold his breath under water foronly a few minutes

In Oregon, Keiko's skin growths disappeared He learned to holdhis breath for twenty minutes He also ate live fish for the first time.Life at the aquarium was good for Keiko And Keiko was good forthe aquarium in return Many people came to see the orca swimand play

After eighteen months in Oregon, Keiko had gained more than oneton The Free Willy/Keiko Foundation decided he was ready for areturn to the icy ocean where he was born

The next step for Keiko was to move him to Iceland That tookplace in September nineteen-ninety-eight after careful scientificplanning An American Air Force plane flew him to Iceland Aninternational environmental organization, Ocean Futures, and theHumane Society paid for the trip It cost two-million dollars

Keiko's new home was a huge floating cage in Iceland's Klettsvik(KLEETS-VEEK) Bay For four years, animal experts worked toprepare Keiko for life in the wild

The keepers taught him skills he would need to live free Theydeveloped his ability to catch live fish They took him on what theycalled "walks" in the open ocean This meant he would leave hisfloating cage and swim free The keepers would watch him from aboat.

During the summer, trainers released Keiko for an extended test.They wanted to see how well he had learned his lessons Afterbeing freed, Keiko stayed in open waters for several weeks Hetraveled more than one-thousand-two-hundred kilometers, joiningother orcas for a while

But he did not stay with them Instead, he followed boats andappealed for food Keiko ended his trip by entering a protectedarea in Norway called Skaalvik Fjord (SKOLE-VEEK FEE-ORD)near the town of Halsa (HOLE-zah)

Near Halsa, he performed tricks for people who came to see him.His keepers appealed to people to leave Keiko alone Buthundreds of people touched him Some visitors even rode on hisback

Officials in Norway wanted to cooperate with the keepers Theywanted to help Keiko become independent So the officialsrestricted crowds from getting near him Even after that, however,

he swam close to shore He responded to a little girl playing music

on her harmonica A very similar incident had taken place in themovie "Free Willy." Keiko, it seems, wants to be near people

((MUSIC: "AND GOD CREATED GREAT WHALES"))

The keepers say they still believe Keiko can learn to live in theocean with other orcas They say he is continuing to makeprogress toward this goal

Some animal experts say, however, that Keiko never can livecompletely free in the ocean They say he is too old to learn all heneeds to know

As the warmer season ended, Keiko's trainers decided to lead him

to another area, also near Halsa His new home protects him fromfierce winter storms The trainers won the whale's co-operation byoffering him large amounts of herring These fish are Keiko's firstchoice of food

His trainers hope he will see more whales in the new home inTaknes (Tahk-NESS) Bay Only a few farm families live nearby.There are no crowds to interfere with Keiko's training The trainerssay they will continue their attempts to free him once the weatherimproves

But even if Keiko never becomes independent, his keepers say hecan live the rest of his life in Norway under their care

Humane Society official Paul Irwin says he sees no reason tomove Keiko again Mr Irwin points out that Keiko chose where hewanted to be and seems happy there He says he thinks Keiko canstay as long as Norway accepts his presence

Norwegian officials seem happy to do this The nation bans hunting

or capture of most kinds of whales Norway recently resisted arequest by an oceanic entertainment center to take Keiko to Miami,Florida

The Miami Seaquarium wanted to place Keiko with Lolita, itsfemale orca But animal rights activists say the Seaquarium water

is too warm for orcas And they say the container tank is too small

The activists point to the fact that orcas can swim as many as hundred kilometers a day They say keeping them in restrictedpools of water is cruel The activists say captured orcas live lessthan one-half the normal lifetime of an orca in the ocean But someanimal experts dispute all these points

one-Marilee Menard heads the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks andAquariums Mizz Menard says she is pleased that Keiko is beingcared for and watched But she regrets that his independencetraining requires keeping him away from people

She hopes Keiko's story has a happy ending So do thousands ofother people who know about the friendly orca They hope thatwhatever happens to him, Keiko's life ends as happily as the moviethat made him famous.

((MUSIC: "AND GOD CREATED GREAT WHALES"))

This Special English program was written by Jerilyn Watson andproduced by Caty Weaver This is Mary Tillotson And this is SteveEmber Join us again next week for another Explorations program

on the Voice of America

Kenya Lion Cares for Oryx

This is the VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT.

Scientists do not understand the unusual actions of a female lion in

a protected wildlife park in northern Kenya The lioness in theSamburu National Reserve has been caring for baby antelopesthat it would normally kill and eat The lioness has become themost popular animal in the wildlife park Many people have visitedthe park to observe her unusual behavior Scientists say thelioness has defied the laws of nature

Local people in Kenya named the lioness Kamuniak, which means

"the blessed one" in the local Samburu language She has caredfor five young oryxes since January An oryx is a kind of Africanantelope At birth, the oryx is a light brown color When it grows up,

it develops black and white markings on its face It develops longstraight horns Lions in the wild usually eat them

The lioness became famous in Kenya when pictures of her werepublished on the front page of a local newspaper She was walkingside by side and lying in the grass with a baby oryx

The lioness has cared for each of the five baby oryxes andprotected them from other lions Most of the oryxes later escapedwith the help of their mothers Sometimes, park officials had tointervene to rescue a baby oryx as it became weak from lack of

food Their mothers were usually too afraid of the lioness to getclose enough to feed their young One time, however, a baby oryxwas eaten by a male lion while Kamuniak slept.

The lioness usually does not hunt for food while raising the babyantelopes Experts say she apparently is too concerned about thesafety of the oryxes to leave them alone

Wildlife experts do not understand Kamuniak's actions Some havesaid the lioness wants to be like a mother to the baby antelopesbecause she is unable to give birth to her own babies Others sayshe has a mental disorder Park officials have welcomed natureexperts and researchers to the park to study the lioness's strangebehavior

Last month, one of the oryxes died of starvation and the lioness ate

it It was the first time Kamuniak had eaten one of the younganimals A wildlife official at the park and many visitors weresurprised to see this But the official said it was only nature

This VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT was written

by Cynthia Kirk

Chinook Salmon Deaths

This is the VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT.

American officials say at least twenty-thousand chinook salmonand other fish have died recently in the Klamath River in NorthernCalifornia Scientists are not sure what caused the die-off Butenvironmental groups say the Bush administration's plan to redirectthe flow of the river to provide water for crops may have causedwater levels to drop too low

The Klamath River starts at Upper Klamath Lake in southernOregon and flows into Northern California Then river flows westinto the Pacific Ocean Water management of the Klamath Riverhas been a major dispute between farmers on one side and

fishermen, environmental groups and several Native Americantribes on the other side.

Six months ago, the Bush administration approved a plan toprovide large amounts of water to farmers near the Klamath Riverfor irrigation Farmers depend on water from the upper KlamathLake to irrigate more than eighty-thousand hectares of land.Administration officials said the plan would satisfy farmers andhonor environmental laws But opponents of the plan said it wouldseverely harm the river and its fish

Several fishing groups and others have taken legal action againstthe federal government They said the Bush administration gavetoo much water to farmers for irrigation at the risk of thousands ofsalmon Some of the salmon, such as coho, are protected underthe Endangered Species Act However, chinook salmon do nothave federal protection Chinook were the main victims of therecent fish kill

Scientists disagree about what caused to the fish to die Testsshowed that most of the fish died of lack of oxygen due toinfections that damaged their gills Scientists say the organismsthat caused the infection are common in the river But rarely havethe organisms led to so many deaths

Some scientists say warm and dry weather last month and lowwater flows in the Klamath River could be major reasons for thedeaths They say the river is too low for fish to move upstream tomate They say the fish are dying of disease because they arecrowded into small areas of water

Biologists have called for more water to be released into the riverfor at least six months But so far, federal officials have agreed only

to two weeks of additional water flows

This VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT was written

by Cynthia Kirk

Chronic Wasting Disease in Animals in the USA

This is the VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT.

Chronic wasting disease is infecting large animals like deer and elk

in several areas in the United States The disease was firstdiscovered in nineteen-sixty-seven at a wildlife research center inthe western state of Colorado It was identified as transmissiblespongiform encephalopathy in nineteen-seventy-eight

Biologists believe an abnormal form of a protein causes thedisease The protein infects tissue and spreads quickly Chronicwasting disease causes weight loss and death in animals like deerand elk

In the nineteen-eighties, the disease was found in wild deer and elk

in Colorado and Wyoming Wild groups of animals and deer raised

on farms in other areas developed the disease Today, chronicwasting disease is found in at least eight American states and twoprovinces of Canada

Biologists are concerned about chronic wasting disease because itmay be similar to mad cow disease, the common name of bovinespongiform encephalopathy Mad cow disease can be spread tohumans The human form of the disease is called Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease It causes brain damage that leads to death TheNew York Times reports that about three-hundred Americansbecome infected with that disease each year

Currently, there is no evidence that chronic wasting disease canaffect humans The United States Department of Agriculture alsosays it does not believe that the disease can be spread to otherkinds of animals

The middle western state of Wisconsin has found thirty-one wilddeer infected with chronic wasting disease The state has orderedthat twenty-five- thousand deer be destroyed It wants to testanother twenty-five- thousand animals for the disease

However, some people oppose destroying so many animals Theysay less than three percent of the deer tested for the disease had

it They say it is impossible to completely destroy the disease in thewild.

Hunting for deer in Wisconsin is a huge industry Experts say thedisease will hurt the state's economy Also, many people who huntfor food may have to change their way of life Experts say thespread of chronic wasting disease may affect the tradition ofhunting in America

This VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT was written

by Mario Ritter

Geckos and Their Sticky Feet

This is the VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT.

Geckos are small lizards that live in warm climates These lizardscan stick to any surface For example, geckos can climb up wallsand across the top of a room Scientists have studied the littlelizards for hundreds of years to learn the secret of how they stick tothings Now, they say they have finally solved the mystery Theyhope the finding will help them develop powerful materials that holdthings together

A team of American biologists and engineers carried out the study.Their findings were published in the Proceedings of the NationalAcademy of Sciences

Geckos have millions of very small hairs on their toes The end ofeach hair splits into as many as one-thousand smaller hairs So thegecko's foot has hundreds of millions of tiny hairs that touch asurface

Scientists have debated the purpose of these hairs Some thoughtthe hairs dug into a surface Others thought geckos released anatural sticky substance onto their hairy toes to hold onto asurface, like a leaf, and prevent enemies from pulling them loose

Over the years, scientists have put geckos into water to see if theywould stick They do They have dropped them into strong devices,but their sticking ability was not weakened Scientists also haveused radiation to neutralize static electricity They thoughtelectrostatic force helped the animals hold on to a surface.

Scientists say the gecko's sticking power comes from somethingcalled the van der Waals force The term was named after theDutch scientist who first described it more than one-hundred yearsago The force is the attraction between molecules at the ends ofthe gecko's toe hairs and the surface of an object When moleculesare so close together, the unbalanced electrical charges aroundthe molecules can attract one another This provides the attractionbetween the foot of the gecko and a wall or other object

The scientists showed that a single gecko toe hair has enoughholding power to lift an insect They say a small group of hairs thesize of a coin could possibly lift a small child

Scientists say they have created the first sticky substance based

on the geckos' hairs They hope to use the powerful substance todevelop new products The scientists recently joined with acompany to develop robots that can climb walls

This VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT was written

by Cynthia Kirk

US Proposes Ban on Snakehead Fish

This is the VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT.

American Interior Secretary Gale Norton has proposed a ban onimporting and selling twenty-eight kinds of fish known as thesnakehead Experts say the fish is a threat to the environmentbecause it eats other fish, plants and animals

The snakehead fish is native to the Yangtze River in China It hasappeared in at least seven American states It can grow to bealmost one meter long The snakehead can breathe air and can

stay out of the water for as many as three days The fish can leavethe water and move across land to find food in other bodies ofwater.

The snakehead has a wide mouth, sharp teeth and powerful jaws.Some people say it looks like a snake's head The fish can swallowother large fish It also eats small animals, including frogs, birdsand mammals Biologists say the snakehead has no knownenemies

Snakeheads are usually sold in fish markets or in pet stores in theUnited States They are known for their excellent taste

In May, a northern snakehead was discovered in a small lake inCrofton, Maryland A local man has since admitted that he put twosnakeheads into the pond two years ago He said he had boughtthe fish from a market in New York City At first, he was going tocook the fish and eat them, but he later decided not to do this

Biologists recently caught about one-hundred baby snakeheads inthe pond in Crofton They fear that hundreds more may be in thewater If the fish escape from the pond, they could move to theLittle Patuxent River, about seventy meters away Scientists fearthe fish could kill the wildlife in the river

A group of scientists decided that the fish had to be killed beforethis could happen After several tests, they decided that poisoningthe pond with chemicals was the best way to kill the snakeheads

The northern snakehead is only one of many kinds of snakeheads.But it is of most concern because it is the only kind that can survivethrough winters Other species require warmer climates forsurvival

Snakeheads also have been discovered in Hawaii, Florida,California, Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island But Maryland

is the only state where reproduction of the species has beenconfirmed

This VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT was written

by Cynthia Kirk

Navy Sonar and Ocean Animals

This is the VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT.

American officials have approved a plan for the United States Navy

to use loud, low-frequency sound wave devices on two ships in theworld's oceans The new sonar system will be used to search forespecially quiet submarines The device works by sending soundwaves through the water When the sound waves hit an object, itspresence is confirmed

The new sonar system can find objects ten times farther away thanthe sonar used now The Navy plans to use the new system ineighty percent of the world's oceans The noise from the sonardevice is about as loud as a large airplane leaving the ground

The Navy has permission to use the new sonar system for fiveyears Officials say the Navy will have to follow rules on when andwhere to use the sonar devices

They say the Navy will not be permitted to use the sonar if whalesare seen within two kilometers of the ships The sonar also will bebanned within nineteen kilometers of any coast

The Navy also is required to investigate the possible effects of thesound waves on ocean animals This includes the ability of whales

to communicate with each other The officials say these measureswill protect the animals from any serious harm

However, environmental activists do not agree One group, theNational Resources Defense Council, may take legal action to try

to stop the Navy's plans The group criticizes putting the systeminto operation before knowing its possible effects

The National Resources Defense Council also notes that pastmilitary sonar has killed whales Two years ago, the Navy used

very loud sonar devices in deep waters around the BahamaIslands More than fifteen whales and a dolphin later were foundtrapped on land along several coasts At least six of the whalesand the dolphin died.

The National Marine Fisheries Service and the Navy investigatedthe incident Investigators said the noise from the sonar led to thedeaths of the ocean animals They also found that all but one ofthe dead whales had bled around the brain and ear bones

The Navy says the new sonar system is necessary because othernations are developing quiet submarines It says the effect on sealife will be minor

This VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT was written

by Caty Weaver

Elk Disease

This is the VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT.

A mysterious disease is killing animals in one of America's mostpopular natural areas The animals are large deer called elk

Elk once lived in most areas of the United States But hunters killed

so many of them that they survived only in the western states.Some elk have been brought back to other areas of the country.Wildlife officials recently decided to re-establish elk populations inthe eastern part of the country In the past two years, they havebrought two groups of elk from Canada to an area in the state ofNorth Carolina The National Park Service released the elk in theGreat Smoky Mountains National Park

Now, three of the elk have died mysteriously Some biologists fearthat the elk may have died from chronic wasting disease Biologistssay there were no signs of infection in the elk until they becameweak and died Some biologists say the disease cannot beobserved except in a dead animal

It is not known if the disease can spread to cattle or other farmanimals However, chronic wasting disease is linked with mad cowdisease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy Wildlife expertssay the only way to stop the disease from spreading is to killthousands of elk.

The elk in North Carolina first came from a protected area inAlberta, Canada A total of about fifty elk were released into theCataloochee area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.Everything seemed to be going well until a park biologist foundthree dead female elk Two of the animals were pregnant Theanimals appeared to have been starved The National Park Servicereported the deaths in late April Now, state biologists have bannedtransporting elk into and out of the area

Concern over diseases affecting wild animals like elk hasincreased recently in the United States The state of Wisconsinannounced a plan to destroy fifteen-thousand deer Officials inWisconsin fear that some deer in the state may carry chronicwasting disease

The disease was first found in the western state of Colorado in thenineteen-sixties Since then, it has been found in deer and elkpopulations in several states

Some national park biologists do not believe that chronic wastingdisease killed the elk in North Carolina They hope that studies ofthe dead animals will soon show that they are right

This VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT was written

by Mario Ritter

Featherless Chickens

This is the VOA Special English AGRICULTURE REPORT.

Humans have long wanted to change animals to meet their needs.Now, an Israeli scientist is developing chickens without thefeathers that cover a bird's body

The new chickens have red skins They look unusual Yet thescientist says they have less fat and may grow faster than otherchickens He adds that the lack of feathers will keep the birds cool

in the Middle East and other warm climates

Avigdor Cahaner (AH-vig-dor cah-HA-ner) is a genetic scientist atHebrew University in Jerusalem He also is a vice president of theWorld Poultry Science Association, an industry trade group Mr.Cahaner hopes to create what he believes the world needs ameaty, low-fat chicken

Other scientists have developed chickens that gain weight quickly.These large birds are called broiler chickens Mr Cahaner notesthat broiler chickens must eat a lot of food in order to grow quickly.This means they also produce a lot of body heat The birds will die

if their body temperatures rise too high

In warm climates, farmers who raise chickens often are required touse air-cooling systems in buildings where the birds live Mr.Cahaner says poor farmers in developing countries often do nothave the money needed for the cooling equipment

The Israeli scientist has already produced a number of chickenswithout feathers He started with a natural version of a featherlesschicken discovered fifty years ago He has been mating these birdswith normal chickens

Mr Cahaner says the new chickens will save money in processingcosts because they do not need to have their feathers removed

He notes that feather removal requires the use of large amounts ofwater and electric power He says the birds are better for theenvironment because they produce less waste in the form offeathers He also says the chicken meat is more nutritious

Animal rights activists have criticized his experiments The activistssay chickens without feathers suffer more than other birds Theysay feathers help protect chickens from harmful organisms andsunburn

Mr Cahaner says his featherless birds are not designed for coolerclimates Currently, his birds are smaller than other chickens Hehopes that additional experiments will help increase their size.

This VOA Special English AGRICULTURE REPORT was written

by George Grow

Coqui Frogs Invade Hawaii

This is the VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT.

Experts say the American state of Hawaii has been invaded by asmall frog called the coqui (ko-KEE) There may be millions of thesmall frogs in Hawaii However, they do not belong there They arenormally found in the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico and in thesoutheastern United States The coqui frogs are harming Hawaii'senvironment And the extremely loud noise they make is causingproblems for Hawaiian citizens and visitors

The coqui invaders arrived in Hawaii about ten years ago Theywere believed to have been brought in accidentally in shipments ofplants from Puerto Rico or Florida Their numbers have sharplyincreased They have quickly spread around the Hawaiian Islandshidden in plants

The coqui is a brown frog about five centimeters long During theday, the frogs hide in wet protected areas, such as under plantleaves At night, the frogs move onto trees to feed, call to femalesand mate

In their native Puerto Rico, local people celebrate coqui frogs But

in Hawaii, the foreign frog has been condemned as a harmfulanimal

The coqui frogs are a major threat to Hawaii's environmentalsystem The frogs eat thousands of insects every night Theseinsects are important for the reproduction of plants The insectsalso are important food for Hawaii's native, rare birds

The frogs also are affecting the tourism industry in Hawaii.Increasing numbers of hotels, visitors and local people haveprotested about the loud calls made by male coqui frogs to femalefrogs At night, the noise often makes it difficult for people to sleep.The mating call of the male coqui sounds like: "Ko-Kee! Ko-Kee!"That is how they got their name.

The frogs do not have any natural enemies in Hawaii to reducetheir population size The warm weather permits them to lay eggsall year long.There are many efforts in Hawaii designed to stop thespread of the coqui It is a crime to transport, sell or release thefrogs there

The Hawaiian Department of Agriculture is trying to find aneffective chemical that can be safely used to kill the frogs For now,the frogs may only be captured by hand The Hawaiian Department

of Agriculture says the greatest threat to the economy andenvironment of the state is from harmful invasive species, like thecoqui

This VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT was written

by Cynthia Kirk

Whooping Crane Recovery Project

This is the VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT.

Scientists are trying to create the first migrating group of whoopingcranes in the eastern United States in more than one-hundredyears Migrating birds fly long distances to different areas of thecountry when the seasons change For example, they fly from coldareas to warm areas to spend the winter

The migration project is designed to increase the number ofwhooping cranes These large, beautiful birds are in danger ofdisappearing

Cranes are one of the most threatened families of birds in theworld Whooping cranes are the rarest of all cranes There arefewer than three-hundred-fifty birds left in the world.

Whooping cranes do not produce many baby birds That makes itdifficult to replace birds killed by hunting, natural events, animals,accidents and disease Scientists hope the migration effort will lead

to increased reproduction among whooping cranes

In October, researchers trained eight young whooping cranes to flybehind small airplanes The planes led the endangered birds ontheir first migration They flew from the middle western state ofWisconsin to a protected area in the southeastern state of Floridafor the winter

The cranes and planes arrived in Florida in December, following afifty-day flight They flew across seven states One crane diedduring the trip Two others were killed by animals in Florida

The five remaining whooping cranes returned to the Necedah SEE-dah) National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin on their own lastmonth The return north was the cranes' first unassisted migration.They were guided only by their natural abilities

(neh-Scientists from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and theInternational Crane Foundation have been studying the birds sincethey began their northern migration They say their flight back toWisconsin was quicker than anyone had expected It took ten daysand covered almost two-thousand kilometers

Scientists had known that existing wild whooping cranes were able

to fly great distances during migration But they did not know if theycould teach young whooping cranes to migrate

The scientists will observe these whooping cranes during thesummer and as they migrate back south in the fall Scientists hopethe effort will teach them more about how to save the endangeredbirds