Orangutan Study
This is the VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT.
Orangutans are great apes that live in coastal jungles on the
islands of Borneo and Sumatra. A team of international scientists
has found evidence that some orangutans have developed their
own culture. They found evidence that orangutan groups have
different ways to communicate, eat and use tools.
The findings suggest that the animals' early ancestors may have
created their own culture as early as fourteen-million years ago.
That is when orangutans and other great apes last had a common
ancestor. Earlier studies had shown that great ape culture had
been in existence for up to seven-million years.
For scientists, culture is the ability to invent and learn ways of
doing things. These methods must not be the direct result of
biology or the environment. They are learned from others and
passed on to individuals.
Science magazine published the study about orangutans. The
scientists collected evidence from years of observations in six
areas on Borneo and Sumatra. The scientists found that the
animals demonstrated a total of twenty-four signs of cultural
activity. Several actions were demonstrated in some orangutan
groups, but not others.
For example, members of some groups make a kissing noise by
tightening their mouths and sucking in air. Some groups use leaves
to clean themselves or protect their hands from sharp objects. Yet
other groups use leaves to crush insects or gather water. The
scientists found that some of the animals use sticks as tools to
remove insects from holes in trees. Other orangutans use sticks to
remove seeds from fruit or to touch their bodies.
The study also found that some orangutan groups play a sport for
fun. 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 tree
hits 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 is
increasing. 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 between
humans 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 are
forcing animals and plants to move to cooler areas and make other
changes. Their studies found that warmer weather is causing many
kinds of wildlife to leave their native environments. They also found
that such natural events as tree flowering and long-distance travel
by birds are now happening earlier in the year. Nature magazine
reported the findings.
The scientists say the result of these changes could be
environmental damage and local losses of wildlife. They also warn
that some creatures could disappear completely.
Plants and animals have always had to react to changing
environments. However, the climate is now changing faster than
ever before. Many scientists blame heat-trapping industrial gases
for the warmer weather.
Camille Parmesan (PAR-meh-zahn) is a biologist at the University
of Texas at Austin. She organized one of the studies with
economist Gary Yohe (YO-ee) of Wesleyan University in
Middletown, Connecticut . They examined other studies that

followed the movements of about one-thousand-seven-hundred
kinds of wildlife over many years. They used mathematical
programs 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 that
the territory where these plants and animals live has moved north
by an average of six kilometers every ten years. In Europe, some
butterflies now live as much as one-hundred kilometers to the north
because of changes linked to higher temperatures.
Professors Parmesan and Yohe used similar methods to examine
one-hundred-seventy-two kinds of wildlife. They examined the
timing of events in the spring, such as the appearance of flowers
and the reproduction of animals. They found that these events
happened an average of two days earlier than normal every ten
years.
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 warmer
weather.
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), the
orca whale who appeared in the movie "Free Willy." Orcas are the
black-and-white mammals sometimes called killer whales.
((SOUNDS: WHALES SINGING))
That is the sound of whales singing. Ten years ago, a very friendly

whale named Keiko was filmed for the movie "Free Willy." The
movie tells about a whale named Willy. Humans capture and
mistreat him. But the film ends happily as the huge animal escapes
into the open ocean.
In real life, however, nobody is sure what the future holds for Keiko.
Like Willy, Keiko was rescued from poor conditions in an animal
park. Since then many people have worked hard to give Keiko a
better life. Expert trainers now are trying to teach him to survive
independently in the open ocean.
If he is able to do so, he would be the first orca ever returned to the
wild after living most of his life under human control.
Keiko's story begins with his birth near Iceland in about nineteen-
seventy-seven. He was captured at age two as he swam with his
family. 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
to see trained sea animals. But he began to develop skin
problems.
His Canadian owners sold Keiko to an amusement park in Mexico
City. Children there loved him. But the water in his container was
too warm for an orca whale. And, at times, it was not deep enough
even to cover the skin on his back. His skin problems worsened.
He acted sad.
The Warner Brothers production company entered Keiko's life in
nineteen-ninety-two. The company filmed him for the movie "Free
Willy." The movie told about a young boy who frees a whale called
Willy from an entertainment park. The park is controlled by
dishonest and uncaring operators. Millions of people saw this film
and two others about Willy that followed. Keiko the actor-whale
became famous.

Interest in the whale caused an American publication to write about
the sad conditions of Keiko's life in Mexico. The owner of the
Mexican park offered to give Keiko to a better home. Warner
Brothers and an American businessman, Craig McCaw, promised
they would create a better home for the popular animal.
((MUSIC: "AND GOD CREATED GREAT WHALES"))
Warner Brothers, Mr. McCaw and the Humane Society of the
United States took part in a campaign to help Keiko. More than
one-million children joined the effort. The owner of the Mexican
park gave the whale to an organization called the Free Willy/Keiko
Foundation.
Mr. McCaw and the movie company gave the last money needed
to finish a new home for the whale. A special treatment center and
aquarium were built in the northwest American state of Oregon.
When Keiko arrived in this new home, he weighed nine-hundred
kilograms less than he should have. His muscles were in poor
condition. He had broken some of his teeth by biting on the sides
of his container in Mexico. He could hold his breath under water for
only a few minutes.
In Oregon, Keiko's skin growths disappeared. He learned to hold
his 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 for
the aquarium in return. Many people came to see the orca swim
and play.
After eighteen months in Oregon, Keiko had gained more than one
ton. The Free Willy/Keiko Foundation decided he was ready for a
return to the icy ocean where he was born.
The next step for Keiko was to move him to Iceland. That took
place in September nineteen-ninety-eight after careful scientific
planning. An American Air Force plane flew him to Iceland. An

international environmental organization, Ocean Futures, and the
Humane 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 to
prepare Keiko for life in the wild.
The keepers taught him skills he would need to live free. They
developed his ability to catch live fish. They took him on what they
called "walks" in the open ocean. This meant he would leave his
floating cage and swim free. The keepers would watch him from a
boat.
During the summer, trainers released Keiko for an extended test.
They wanted to see how well he had learned his lessons. After
being freed, Keiko stayed in open waters for several weeks. He
traveled more than one-thousand-two-hundred kilometers, joining
other orcas for a while.
But he did not stay with them. Instead, he followed boats and
appealed for food. Keiko ended his trip by entering a protected
area 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. But
hundreds of people touched him. Some visitors even rode on his
back.
Officials in Norway wanted to cooperate with the keepers. They
wanted to help Keiko become independent. So the officials
restricted 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 the
movie "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 the
ocean with other orcas. They say he is continuing to make
progress toward this goal.
Some animal experts say, however, that Keiko never can live
completely free in the ocean. They say he is too old to learn all he
needs 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 from
fierce winter storms. The trainers won the whale's co-operation by
offering him large amounts of herring. These fish are Keiko's first
choice of food.
His trainers hope he will see more whales in the new home in
Taknes (Tahk-NESS) Bay. Only a few farm families live nearby.
There are no crowds to interfere with Keiko's training. The trainers
say they will continue their attempts to free him once the weather
improves.
But even if Keiko never becomes independent, his keepers say he
can live the rest of his life in Norway under their care.
Humane Society official Paul Irwin says he sees no reason to move
Keiko again. Mr. Irwin points out that Keiko chose where he wanted
to be and seems happy there. He says he thinks Keiko can stay 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 a
request by an oceanic entertainment center to take Keiko to Miami,
Florida.
The Miami Seaquarium wanted to place Keiko with Lolita, its
female 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 one-

hundred kilometers a day. They say keeping them in restricted
pools of water is cruel. The activists say captured orcas live less
than one-half the normal lifetime of an orca in the ocean. But some
animal experts dispute all these points.
Marilee Menard heads the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and
Aquariums. Mizz Menard says she is pleased that Keiko is being
cared for and watched. But she regrets that his independence
training requires keeping him away from people.
She hopes Keiko's story has a happy ending. So do thousands of
other people who know about the friendly orca. They hope that
whatever happens to him, Keiko's life ends as happily as the movie
that made him famous.
((MUSIC: "AND GOD CREATED GREAT WHALES"))
This Special English program was written by Jerilyn Watson and
produced by Caty Weaver. This is Mary Tillotson. And this is Steve
Ember. 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 the
Samburu National Reserve has been caring for baby antelopes
that it would normally kill and eat. The lioness has become the
most popular animal in the wildlife park. Many people have visited
the park to observe her unusual behavior. Scientists say the
lioness 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 cared
for five young oryxes since January. An oryx is a kind of African
antelope. At birth, the oryx is a light brown color. When it grows up,

it develops black and white markings on its face. It develops long
straight horns. Lions in the wild usually eat them.
The lioness became famous in Kenya when pictures of her were
published on the front page of a local newspaper. She was walking
side by side and lying in the grass with a baby oryx.
The lioness has cared for each of the five baby oryxes and
protected them from other lions. Most of the oryxes later escaped
with the help of their mothers. Sometimes, park officials had to
intervene to rescue a baby oryx as it became weak from lack of
food. Their mothers were usually too afraid of the lioness to get
close enough to feed their young. One time, however, a baby oryx
was eaten by a male lion while Kamuniak slept.
The lioness usually does not hunt for food while raising the baby
antelopes. Experts say she apparently is too concerned about the
safety of the oryxes to leave them alone.
Wildlife experts do not understand Kamuniak's actions. Some have
said the lioness wants to be like a mother to the baby antelopes
because she is unable to give birth to her own babies. Others say
she has a mental disorder. Park officials have welcomed nature
experts and researchers to the park to study the lioness's strange
behavior.
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 young
animals. A wildlife official at the park and many visitors were
surprised 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 salmon

and other fish have died recently in the Klamath River in Northern
California. Scientists are not sure what caused the die-off. But
environmental groups say the Bush administration's plan to redirect
the flow of the river to provide water for crops may have caused
water levels to drop too low.
The Klamath River starts at Upper Klamath Lake in southern
Oregon and flows into Northern California. Then river flows west
into the Pacific Ocean. Water management of the Klamath River
has been a major dispute between farmers on one side and
fishermen, environmental groups and several Native American
tribes on the other side.
Six months ago, the Bush administration approved a plan to
provide large amounts of water to farmers near the Klamath River
for irrigation. Farmers depend on water from the upper Klamath
Lake to irrigate more than eighty-thousand hectares of land.
Administration officials said the plan would satisfy farmers and
honor environmental laws. But opponents of the plan said it would
severely harm the river and its fish.
Several fishing groups and others have taken legal action against
the federal government. They said the Bush administration gave
too much water to farmers for irrigation at the risk of thousands of
salmon. Some of the salmon, such as coho, are protected under
the Endangered Species Act. However, chinook salmon do not
have federal protection. Chinook were the main victims of the
recent fish kill.
Scientists disagree about what caused to the fish to die. Tests
showed that most of the fish died of lack of oxygen due to
infections that damaged their gills. Scientists say the organisms
that caused the infection are common in the river. But rarely have
the organisms led to so many deaths.

Some scientists say warm and dry weather last month and low
water flows in the Klamath River could be major reasons for the
deaths. They say the river is too low for fish to move upstream to
mate. They say the fish are dying of disease because they are
crowded into small areas of water.
Biologists have called for more water to be released into the river
for 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 first
discovered in nineteen-sixty-seven at a wildlife research center in
the western state of Colorado. It was identified as transmissible
spongiform encephalopathy in nineteen-seventy-eight.
Biologists believe an abnormal form of a protein causes the
disease. The protein infects tissue and spreads quickly. Chronic
wasting disease causes weight loss and death in animals like deer
and 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, chronic
wasting disease is found in at least eight American states and two
provinces of Canada.
Biologists are concerned about chronic wasting disease because it
may be similar to mad cow disease, the common name of bovine
spongiform encephalopathy. Mad cow disease can be spread to
humans. The human form of the disease is called Creutzfeldt-

Jacob disease. It causes brain damage that leads to death. The
New York Times reports that about three-hundred Americans
become infected with that disease each year.
Currently, there is no evidence that chronic wasting disease can
affect humans. The United States Department of Agriculture also
says it does not believe that the disease can be spread to other
kinds of animals.
The middle western state of Wisconsin has found thirty-one wild
deer infected with chronic wasting disease. The state has ordered
that twenty-five- thousand deer be destroyed. It wants to test
another twenty-five- thousand animals for the disease.
However, some people oppose destroying so many animals. They
say less than three percent of the deer tested for the disease had
it. They say it is impossible to completely destroy the disease in the
wild.
Hunting for deer in Wisconsin is a huge industry. Experts say the
disease will hurt the state's economy. Also, many people who hunt
for food may have to change their way of life. Experts say the
spread of chronic wasting disease may affect the tradition of
hunting 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 lizards
can stick to any surface. For example, geckos can climb up walls
and across the top of a room. Scientists have studied the little
lizards for hundreds of years to learn the secret of how they stick to
things. Now, they say they have finally solved the mystery. They
hope the finding will help them develop powerful materials that hold

things together.
A team of American biologists and engineers carried out the study.
Their findings were published in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences.
Geckos have millions of very small hairs on their toes. The end of
each hair splits into as many as one-thousand smaller hairs. So the
gecko's foot has hundreds of millions of tiny hairs that touch a
surface.
Scientists have debated the purpose of these hairs. Some thought
the hairs dug into a surface. Others thought geckos released a
natural sticky substance onto their hairy toes to hold onto a
surface, like a leaf, and prevent enemies from pulling them loose.
Over the years, scientists have put geckos into water to see if they
would stick. They do. They have dropped them into strong devices,
but their sticking ability was not weakened. Scientists also have
used radiation to neutralize static electricity. They thought
electrostatic force helped the animals hold on to a surface.
Scientists say the gecko's sticking power comes from something
called the van der Waals force. The term was named after the
Dutch scientist who first described it more than one-hundred years
ago. The force is the attraction between molecules at the ends of
the gecko's toe hairs and the surface of an object. When molecules
are so close together, the unbalanced electrical charges around
the molecules can attract one another. This provides the attraction
between the foot of the gecko and a wall or other object.
The scientists showed that a single gecko toe hair has enough
holding power to lift an insect. They say a small group of hairs the
size 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 to

develop new products. The scientists recently joined with a
company 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 on
importing and selling twenty-eight kinds of fish known as the
snakehead. Experts say the fish is a threat to the environment
because it eats other fish, plants and animals.
The snakehead fish is native to the Yangtze River in China. It has
appeared in at least seven American states. It can grow to be
almost one meter long. The snakehead can breathe air and can
stay out of the water for as many as three days. The fish can leave
the water and move across land to find food in other bodies of
water.
The snakehead has a wide mouth, sharp teeth and powerful jaws.
Some people say it looks like a snake's head. The fish can swallow
other large fish. It also eats small animals, including frogs, birds
and mammals. Biologists say the snakehead has no known
enemies.
Snakeheads are usually sold in fish markets or in pet stores in the
United States. They are known for their excellent taste.
In May, a northern snakehead was discovered in a small lake in
Crofton, Maryland. A local man has since admitted that he put two
snakeheads into the pond two years ago. He said he had bought
the fish from a market in New York City. At first, he was going to
cook the fish and eat them, but he later decided not to do this.
Biologists recently caught about one-hundred baby snakeheads in
the pond in Crofton. They fear that hundreds more may be in the

water. If the fish escape from the pond, they could move to the
Little Patuxent River, about seventy meters away. Scientists fear
the fish could kill the wildlife in the river.
A group of scientists decided that the fish had to be killed before
this could happen. After several tests, they decided that poisoning
the 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 survive
through winters. Other species require warmer climates for
survival.
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 been
confirmed.
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 the
world's oceans. The new sonar system will be used to search for
especially quiet submarines. The device works by sending sound
waves through the water. When the sound waves hit an object, its
presence is confirmed.
The new sonar system can find objects ten times farther away than
the sonar used now. The Navy plans to use the new system in
eighty percent of the world's oceans. The noise from the sonar
device is about as loud as a large airplane leaving the ground.
The Navy has permission to use the new sonar system for five
years. Officials say the Navy will have to follow rules on when and

where to use the sonar devices.
They say the Navy will not be permitted to use the sonar if whales
are seen within two kilometers of the ships. The sonar also will be
banned within nineteen kilometers of any coast.
The Navy also is required to investigate the possible effects of the
sound waves on ocean animals. This includes the ability of whales
to communicate with each other. The officials say these measures
will protect the animals from any serious harm.
However, environmental activists do not agree. One group, the
National Resources Defense Council, may take legal action to try
to stop the Navy's plans. The group criticizes putting the system
into operation before knowing its possible effects.
The National Resources Defense Council also notes that past
military sonar has killed whales. Two years ago, the Navy used
very loud sonar devices in deep waters around the Bahama
Islands. More than fifteen whales and a dolphin later were found
trapped on land along several coasts. At least six of the whales
and the dolphin died.
The National Marine Fisheries Service and the Navy investigated
the incident. Investigators said the noise from the sonar led to the
deaths of the ocean animals. They also found that all but one of the
dead whales had bled around the brain and ear bones.
The Navy says the new sonar system is necessary because other
nations are developing quiet submarines. It says the effect on sea
life 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 most

popular 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 in
the eastern part of the country. In the past two years, they have
brought two groups of elk from Canada to an area in the state of
North Carolina. The National Park Service released the elk in the
Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Now, three of the elk have died mysteriously. Some biologists fear
that the elk may have died from chronic wasting disease. Biologists
say there were no signs of infection in the elk until they became
weak and died. Some biologists say the disease cannot be
observed except in a dead animal.
It is not known if the disease can spread to cattle or other farm
animals. However, chronic wasting disease is linked with mad cow
disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Wildlife experts say
the only way to stop the disease from spreading is to kill thousands
of elk.
The elk in North Carolina first came from a protected area in
Alberta, Canada. A total of about fifty elk were released into the
Cataloochee area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Everything seemed to be going well until a park biologist found
three dead female elk. Two of the animals were pregnant. The
animals appeared to have been starved. The National Park Service
reported the deaths in late April. Now, state biologists have banned
transporting elk into and out of the area.
Concern over diseases affecting wild animals like elk has
increased recently in the United States. The state of Wisconsin
announced a plan to destroy fifteen-thousand deer. Officials in

Wisconsin fear that some deer in the state may carry chronic
wasting disease.
The disease was first found in the western state of Colorado in the
nineteen-sixties. Since then, it has been found in deer and elk
populations in several states.
Some national park biologists do not believe that chronic wasting
disease killed the elk in North Carolina. They hope that studies of
the 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 the feathers
that cover a bird's body.
The new chickens have red skins. They look unusual. Yet the
scientist says they have less fat and may grow faster than other
chickens. 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 at
Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He also is a vice president of the
World Poultry Science Association, an industry trade group. Mr.
Cahaner hopes to create what he believes the world needs a
meaty, low-fat chicken.
Other scientists have developed chickens that gain weight quickly.
These large birds are called broiler chickens. Mr. Cahaner notes
that 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 to

use air-cooling systems in buildings where the birds live. Mr.
Cahaner says poor farmers in developing countries often do not
have the money needed for the cooling equipment.
The Israeli scientist has already produced a number of chickens
without feathers. He started with a natural version of a featherless
chicken discovered fifty years ago. He has been mating these birds
with normal chickens.
Mr. Cahaner says the new chickens will save money in processing
costs because they do not need to have their feathers removed.
He notes that feather removal requires the use of large amounts of
water and electric power. He says the birds are better for the
environment because they produce less waste in the form of
feathers. He also says the chicken meat is more nutritious.
Animal rights activists have criticized his experiments. The activists
say chickens without feathers suffer more than other birds. They
say feathers help protect chickens from harmful organisms and
sunburn.
Mr. Cahaner says his featherless birds are not designed for cooler
climates. Currently, his birds are smaller than other chickens. He
hopes 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 a
small frog called the coqui (ko-KEE). There may be millions of the
small frogs in Hawaii. However, they do not belong there. They are
normally found in the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico and in the
southeastern United States. The coqui frogs are harming Hawaii's
environment. And the extremely loud noise they make is causing

problems for Hawaiian citizens and visitors.
The coqui invaders arrived in Hawaii about ten years ago. They
were believed to have been brought in accidentally in shipments of
plants from Puerto Rico or Florida. Their numbers have sharply
increased. They have quickly spread around the Hawaiian Islands
hidden in plants.
The coqui is a brown frog about five centimeters long. During the
day, the frogs hide in wet protected areas, such as under plant
leaves. At night, the frogs move onto trees to feed, call to females
and mate.
In their native Puerto Rico, local people celebrate coqui frogs. But
in Hawaii, the foreign frog has been condemned as a harmful
animal.
The coqui frogs are a major threat to Hawaii's environmental
system. The frogs eat thousands of insects every night. These
insects are important for the reproduction of plants. The insects
also 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 have
protested about the loud calls made by male coqui frogs to female
frogs. 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 reduce
their population size. The warm weather permits them to lay eggs
all year long.There are many efforts in Hawaii designed to stop the
spread of the coqui. It is a crime to transport, sell or release the
frogs there.
The Hawaiian Department of Agriculture is trying to find an
effective 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 and
environment of the state is from harmful invasive species, like the
coqui.
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 whooping
cranes in the eastern United States in more than one-hundred
years. Migrating birds fly long distances to different areas of the
country when the seasons change. For example, they fly from cold
areas to warm areas to spend the winter.
The migration project is designed to increase the number of
whooping cranes. These large, beautiful birds are in danger of
disappearing.
Cranes are one of the most threatened families of birds in the
world. Whooping cranes are the rarest of all cranes. There are
fewer than three-hundred-fifty birds left in the world.
Whooping cranes do not produce many baby birds. That makes it
difficult 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 fly
behind small airplanes. The planes led the endangered birds on
their first migration. They flew from the middle western state of
Wisconsin to a protected area in the southeastern state of Florida
for the winter.
The cranes and planes arrived in Florida in December, following a
fifty-day flight. They flew across seven states. One crane died

during the trip. Two others were killed by animals in Florida.
The five remaining whooping cranes returned to the Necedah (neh-
SEE-dah) National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin on their own last
month. The return north was the cranes' first unassisted migration.
They were guided only by their natural abilities.
Scientists from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the
International Crane Foundation have been studying the birds since
they began their northern migration. They say their flight back to
Wisconsin was quicker than anyone had expected. It took ten days
and 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 they
could teach young whooping cranes to migrate.
The scientists will observe these whooping cranes during the
summer and as they migrate back south in the fall. Scientists hope
the effort will teach them more about how to save the endangered
birds.
This VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT was written
by Cynthia Kirk.
Saving Sea Turtles
This is the VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT.
Environmental groups in the United States are leading a campaign
to save thousands of endangered sea turtles. They have asked
Pope John Paul the Second to ban turtle meat during the Christian
religious observance known as Lent. Christians observe Lent in
preparation for the holiday of Easter.
Environmental groups say illegal turtle hunting is one of the major
threats to endangered sea turtles in southern California and
Mexico. It has been illegal to harvest and eat sea turtle meat in
Mexico for more than ten years. However, demand for sea turtle

meat is widespread in both Southern California and Mexico.
Biologists believe that illegal hunting is one of the main reasons for
the sharp drop in sea turtle populations during the past thirty years.
The week before Easter Sunday is an especially deadly time for
the turtles. As many as five-thousand turtles are killed during this
time each year.
Many Mexicans and Mexican Americans eat turtle meat during the
days before Easter. Many people do not eat meat during this holy
time in order to obey the rules of Lent. Because sea turtles swim,
many people consider them to be fish. Fish is permitted during
Lent.
The Sea Turtle Conservation Network is a coalition of fishermen,
environmental activists and researchers. They sent a letter to Pope
John Paul. They urged the Roman Catholic Church leader to
officially declare that sea turtle flesh is meat, not fish or seafood.
They say thousands of these endangered animals would be saved
if people did not eat them during this religious period. The letter
also asked members of the Catholic Church to obey laws banning
the capture of turtles in Mexico and the United States.
About thirty-five-thousand endangered sea turtles are killed illegally
near the coasts of Baja, California, each year. Studies have shown
a sharp drop in the numbers of females. They travel from as far
away as Japan to lay their eggs on local beaches.
Environmental activists say hunting sea turtles for their meat is the
main barrier to the recovery of the species. They have urged the
governments of the United States and Mexico to improve
enforcement of the ban on sea turtle harvesting.
This VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT was written
by Cynthia Kirk.
Slow Tyrannosaurus Rex

This is the VOA Special English SCIENCE REPORT.
Ancient animals called dinosaurs have captured the imagination of
millions of people around the world. The huge dinosaur
Tyrannosaurus rex has even been in popular American movies like
"Jurassic Park." In some movies, Tyrannosaurus rex is shown
running at top speed after cars and helicopters. The Tyrannosaurus
in the movies is a terrible combination of speed and power.
Yet two biological scientists say this is probably wrong. They are
John Hutchinson of Stanford University in California and Mariano
Garcia of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Their research
suggests that Tyrannosaurus rex could only walk slowly. They
reported their findings in the publication Nature.
Mr. Hutchinson and Mr. Garcia used a biological computer model
to study the bones of the ancient creature. They found that the legs
of Tyrannosaurus were not strong enough for the animal to be able
to run fast.
The meat-eating dinosaur weighed almost six-thousand kilograms.
Mr. Hutchinson says the animal's legs would have had to be huge
to enable the creature to run fast. He says its leg muscles would
have had to be eighty-five percent of its total weight.
The findings of the two biological scientists conflict with current
scientific information about Tyrannosaurus. Until now, scientists
believed that the huge dinosaur could run up to seventy kilometers
an hour. This idea has passed into popular culture all the way to
the directors of Hollywood movies.
Not all scientists agree with the findings of Mr. Hutchinson and Mr.
Garcia. In the last twenty years, scientists who study ancient bones
have linked dinosaurs to birds. Some paleontologists believe the
bird-like bones of giant dinosaurs suggest that some of these
ancient creatures were fast runners. Many paleontologists continue

to believe that the bone structure of Tyrannosaurus shows that it
could run fast.
The debate over how fast some dinosaurs ran probably will
continue for some time. The last Tyrannosaurus rex died about
sixty-five-million years ago. Paleontologists can only know the
giant creature from its mineral fossil remains. Tyrannosaurus
always will remain a creature of popular action movies and of the
imagination.
This VOA Special English SCIENCE REPORT was written by
Mario Ritter.
Bird Brains
This is the VOA Special English SCIENCE REPORT.
American scientists have found that some birds are more intelligent
than experts had believed. The scientists say birds have abilities
that involve communication and different kinds of memory. In some
unusual cases, their abilities seem better than those of humans.
The findings were presented at the yearly meeting of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science. The scientists met for
six days last month in Boston, Massachusetts.
Irene Pepperberg presented her research about a Grey parrot
named Griffin. He lives in her laboratory at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology in Cambridge.
Mizz Pepperberg says Griffin can arrange objects in order of size.
She says the talking bird also can combine words in the right order.
For example, he will combine words when asking for a piece of
food.
The researcher says experts had thought that only humans and
other mammals with large brains have the ability to combine
objects and words. She believes that bird brains have the ability to
understand that complex tasks must be done in the correct order.

Some birds have other memory skills. For example, they collect
and store thousands of seeds in autumn, and find them later in
winter.
Alan Kamil (pronounced camel) and Alan Bond of the University of
Nebraska are studying the memories of birds called jays and
nutcrackers. Their experiments suggest that these birds use
natural objects to find the seeds they have stored. They found the
birds use at least three objects, such as rocks or trees, to find the
stored seeds.
Mr. Kamil also was able to train a jay to choose one object instead
of another. The bird used this skill to receive a prize, such as food.
Scientists also say some birds can learn as many as two-thousand
different songs. They say songs may have developed as a way for
birds to communicate with other birds.
Verner Bingman of Bowling Green State University in Ohio also
presented research at the science meeting in Boston. Mr. Bingman
believes that birds must have a special guidance system in their
brain. He says that understanding how a bird's brain operates may
help us better understand how a human brain processes
information.