Snakehead

May 26, 2026

Last Friday Melissa and I decided to treat ourselves to a visit to a Wildlife Management Area (WMA) along the Arkansas River that has been getting constant sightings on the Arkansas Birders group. The area is not too far from our house, and I had even visited once before while looking for a place to fish. We did several errands on our way out of town and by the time we were leaving rain had started to fall. By the time we reached the WMA the rain was light but steady. The last section of the road was dirt but well maintained. This area in an old oxbow (curve) that has formed a lake apart from the main channel of the river. The WMA now has 2,180 acres (882 ha) and is primarily managed for migratory waterfowl and wetland restoration by the Arkansas Game and Fish (AG&F) Commission and Ducks Unlimited. This makes the site popular destination for local hunters and bird watchers. Despite all the amazing bird photos we had seen, we saw very few birds. The waterfowl that had been present when I last visited were non-existent (afraid to get wet?) and there were no birds fliting in the trees. As we drove slowly through the area we crossed over a bridge on a backwater section of the lake. I stopped because there were dozens of 1-pound (0.92-l) gas canisters floating in the water. Next to a sunken log in the bayou was a 30-inch (76 cm) snakehead.

When I went online, I found the northern snakehead (Channa argus) is a species of snakehead fish native to temperate East Asia, in China, Russia, North Korea, and South Korea. Their natural range goes from the Amur River watershed in Siberia and Manchuria down to Hainan, China. Snakeheads are an important food fish and one of the most cultivated in its native region, with 562,179 tons (510,000 tonnes) annual production worldwide. This has led to the fish being exported throughout the world and has resulted in established non-native populations in Central Asia and North America. The species has a long dorsal fin with 49 to 50 rays, an anal fin with 31 to 32 rays, a small, anteriorly depressed head, eyes above the middle part of the upper jaw, and a large mouth extending well beyond the eye. The small, slender teeth form velvety bands (villiform) with large canines on the lower jaw and upper mouth plate (palatines). It is generally reported to reach up to 3 feet 3 inches (100 cm) in length, but specimens approaching 4 feet 11 inches (150 cm) are known according to Russian ichthyologists (fish scientists). The largest specimen registered by the International Game Fish Association weighs 21 pounds 0 ounces (9.53 kg). In the US, it is found in Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Arkansas, Missouri, and Mississippi.

The northern snakehead first appeared in US news when a fisherman discovered one in a Maryland pond in 2002. In 2008, the fish was found in drainage ditches in Arkansas because of a commercial fish-farming accident, and flooding may have allowed the species to spread into the nearby White River which would allow an eventual population in the Arkansas and Mississippi Rivers. Arkansas is the birthplace of warmwater aquaculture in the US and currently ranks as the second-largest aquaculture-producing state. It is also the epicenter for the four species of invasive Asian Carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix, Hypophthalmichthys nobilis, Ctenopharyngodon Idella, and Mylopharyngodon piceus). The invasive snakehead can now be added to the list. All five species are said to be quite edible, but getting the American palate to try the fish is a harder sell.

THOUGHTS: AG&F says if you encounter the northern snakehead, silver, bighead, or black carp, kill it (humanely) and report your encounter to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Aquatic Nuisance Species coordinator by email (reportans@agfc.ar.gov). It is illegal to transport these fish species alive. While I did not catch the snakehead, I did report it. Invasive species may never be eradicated, but with help they can be managed. Act for all. Change will come and it starts with you.

Oriole

May 17, 2026

I try to put a variety of seeds in the 11 feeders we have on our pool deck. I purposefully dedicated the two farthest feeders under the trees to the eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis). I put shelled peanuts (Arachis hypogaea) and a corn (Aea mays) log in one and cracked corn in the other. I did this as it was a losing battle to try and keep the squirrels out of all the feeders. I found the northern cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) and common grackles (Quiscalus quiscula) prefer these feeders, while the squirrels run along the fence to feast on the two feeders with common sunflower (Helianthus annuus) seed on the other side of the deck. I have also stocked meal worms (larva of Tenebrio molitor), two feeders with roasted peanut chips, and a wild bird seed mix (cereal grains of Family, Poaceae). I currently stock the two window feeders with safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) seed, but this is messy and I am considering switching back to sunflower chips. The last feeder is a suet corn cake. While most of the birds which visit are the same every day, we do get an occasional new species. Last week the new arrival was a Baltimore oriole.

When I went online, I found The Baltimore oriole (Icterus galbula) is a small blackbird of the icterus family common in eastern North America as a migratory breeding bird. The species was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Coracias galbula. The bird received its name from the resemblance of the male’s colors to those on the coat-of-arms of 17th-century English Baron Lord Baltimore. There have been observations of interbreeding between the Baltimore oriole and the western Bullock’s oriole (Icterus bullockii) which led to both being classified as a single species, called the northern oriole, from 1973 to 1995. Research by James Rising, a professor of zoology at the University of Toronto, and others showed that the two birds did not interbreed significantly and they are again classified as different species. The Baltimore Oriole is the state bird of Maryland, and the namesake and mascot for the Baltimore Orioles baseball team.

Melissa has a friend who has been texting her pictures of an oriole who has been visiting her feeder. She put out a tray with orange (Citrus sinensis) slices and grape jelly, and they clean her out several times a day. We have only seen the oriole twice on the suet cake, but I figured we might get more activity with orange slices and grape jelly. A number of other birds (and squirrels) are fond of oranges so this may bring other birds as well. I followed the friend’s example and initially set the feeder next to the suet cake, but the grackles pounced on the feeder looking for the peanut chips and knocked it to the ground. This afternoon I set the oriole feeder back up and moved it farther away from the others. Hopefully this will work and attract an oriole before they migrate through our area.

THOUGHTS: When I was growing up in north central Kansas there was a Baltimore oriole that would nest in the branches of a tree outside my second story window. This was a massive American elm tree (Ulmus americana) that stretched over the enclosed side porch. I was fascinated by the bird and its flashy orange and black body. I was also into collecting baseball cards and listening to my older brother’s radio playing baseball as we fell asleep at night. I became a huge fan of the Orioles (team) in part because of my connection to the bird outside my window, along with the fact they became an American League powerhouse in the 1960’s, wining two pennants and their first World Series. Although I now (mostly) follow the Kansas City Royals baseball team, I still have a fond spot for the Orioles. Most of our traditions and habits were ingrained in us during our youth. That is why it is important to train a child to be willing to reach out and embrace others. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Transition

May 14, 2026

Several days ago, I saw what I thought to be a new bird species in my feeders. This grey bird was about the size of a robin but was busy feeding on the suet cake I had placed on the back fence. I was able to snap a photo and then checked the picture against my Google identification app (I find it easier than either my Audubon or Nat Geo birding apps). I was surprised to learn this was an immature Eastern Starling. This morning Melissa called my attention to this same strange bird she had seen feeding on the suet. She was surprised as an adult starling was collecting seed from the suet cake and feeding it to the larger brown bird. She sent me a picture of the two and I recognized the speckled white feathers of the (springtime) adult and the brown feathers of the immature offspring. Both the parent and young were in different stages of plumage transition.

When I went online, I found the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris), also known as the Eastern Starling, undergoes dramatic feather color changes annually. They transition from a spotted winter plumage to glossy, iridescent black in spring. Juveniles are drab brown, transitioning to speckled, then glossy adult plumage over their first year. Juveniles transition from Summer to Early Fall. Freshly fledged (kicked out of the nest) juveniles are plain grayish-brown or dusky brown with a dark bill. From late Fall to Winter the immature birds undergo a post-juvenile molt and then gain iridescent black feathers that are heavily speckled with white and cream-colored spots. Breeding or adult have the same speckled winter colors and during Spring to Summer experience “wear,” as the white, brittle tips of the winter feathers break off, leaving a glossy, iridescent dark plumage (green, purple, and blue) with a yellow bill. This unique “wear molt” allows the starling to change its appearance completely without the high energy cost of growing new feathers in the spring.

After rousing, I came outside to sit and watch the feeders with Melissa. She has been sending me interesting pictures of a variety of birds in the last several days. It appears Melissa has been coming outside around 8:30 am for her morning coffee and has seen a flurry of activity on the feeders. This morning the female eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) was bringing newly procured bugs to the bird house on the pool deck. Her arrival was met with the raucous sound of several young vying for a meal. There was also a second sighting of an orange bird about the size of an American robin (Turdus migratorius) feeding on the suet. This time she was able to take a photo before the bird quickly flew away. Although the bird was partially blocked by a starling fighting for the same cake, it appears to have been a Baltimore oriole (Icterus galbula). Melissa said she goes inside around 11:00 am as the “cool” birds are gone by then and it becomes a fight between the northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) and the common grackles (Quiscalus quiscula). It is only recently the starlings have been present at the 11:00 am transition. I need to get up earlier to see the show.

THOUGHTS: After the 11:00 am transition Melissa went back inside. Lately, the temps are warming up, and the sun has been breaking through the overcast sky by this time. I had re-stocked the feeders when I came out and even knowing I had missed the real show, I decided to stick around and see what might transpire. The mockingbird was making a back-and-forth trip to the meal worms, and I wondered if it was also feeding young. The suet cake was descended upon by a group of six starlings, including two pairs of adult and young feeding at the cake together. This is the time of year where birds transition from the nest to fledgling on the ground to joining parents to learn to feed themselves. Humans go through a similar transition, but it takes a dozen or more years and it literally takes a village to do it right. We need support and not criticism. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Shellear

April 09, 2026

Inside the back section of my local newspaper was a Reuters article about 1000’s of small fish in Africa climbing up a 50-foot (15 m) waterfall. A researcher from the Université de Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo first discovered them 17 years ago at Luvilombo Falls, a waterfall in the south. Pacifique Kiwele Mutambala, another researcher from the same institution, made the trek to the falls between 2018 and 2020 determined to document this African fish. Mutambala witnessed the epic climb but lost all his evidence. The fish had not been scientifically documented until a study was just published in Scientific Reports, with Mutambala as one of the lead authors. Locals have known about this fish for at least 50 years. In the local Sanga language, the shellear is called “kalumba,” which derives from a verb meaning “to stick.”

When I went online, I found the Parkouring shellear (Parakneria thysi) will spend hours crawling up a waterfall’s cliffside to reach better habitats. These tiny fish are about 1.4 to 1.9 inches (3.5 cm to 4.8 cm) long. The fish are remarkable for their endurance and adaptability, as they scale the cliff faces against strong water currents. To move upward, the shellear use hook-like growths on the undersides of their pectoral and pelvic fins to grip the rock, then rock their tails side-to-side to generate extra momentum. The climbing mostly happens between April and May (end of rainy season) when they move to better habitats. Scaling the cliff takes about 9 hours 45 minutes on average to climb the 50-foot-high cliffside of Luvilombo Falls. This is further broken down into about 15 minutes of active moment, 30 minutes of brief pauses, and nine one-hour respites. The process is not always successful as a sudden jet of water can knock them off, forcing them to restart the climb.

Biologists have several theories why the Shellear may attempt these excursions after hard rains wash them downstream. This may be a way for the fish to reach locations with less food competition and fewer predators like the silver butter catfish (Schilbe intermedius). Regardless of the reason, the climbing the waterfall makes the shellear susceptible to illegal fishing tactics. The area is at even greater risk of biodiversity loss due to potential plans to divert the river upstream to irrigate crops during the dry season. The shellear population could disappear entirely if conservation efforts in the Upemba National Park lose support. The study’s authors hope a better understanding of the fish will highlight both the region’s incredible ecosystems, as well as the need to protect them.

THOUGHTS: While the Parkouring shellear is the first scientifically documented African species to climb waterfalls, other fish species around the world have evolved similar abilities to scale vertical rock faces. In South America, several species in the order Characiformes (e.g., certain Corydoras catfish) and order Cichliformes (e.g., some cichlids) have been observed climbing waterfalls in the Amazon and Orinoco basins. These fish use similar fin structures and body movements to grip and propel themselves upward. In Southeast Asia, species such as the Asian climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) and certain mudskipper (Family, Oxudercidae) relatives can climb onto mudbanks or rocky substrates, though not always vertical waterfalls. Finally, Australian lungfish (Neoceratodus forsteri), and mudskippers have been documented moving over rocky surfaces, though their climbing is more horizontal or bank based. It seems the more humans research the more diverse our fellow Earth travelers are found to be. Unless we protect and preserve the fragile ecosystems where they reside, knowledge of their diversity will be lost. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Astoria

February 16, 2026

Scrolling the NY Times Headlines feed, I came across a bird who has captured the attention of New Yorkers. The bird arrived in Manhattan’s Battery Park and eventually settled in the area near the Sea Glass Carousel, just north of the Staten Island Ferry terminal. Three human women have become her self-appointed caretakers and visit her daily. New Yorker’s regularly fall in love with celebrity wildlife, including unusual ducks, a pair of coyotes, and Flaco the escaped owl in Central Park. Sunny Corrao, the deputy director of the city parks department’s wildlife unit, said, “She’s the only known turkey in Manhattan, “but this is not unusual.” A turkey was known to hang out in Inwood Hill Park in Upper Manhattan in the past and there are large flocks in the Bronx and on Staten Island. Smaller groups come and go to Queens and Brooklyn. Astoria got her name because she was first spotted in Astoria, Queens, before making her way to Roosevelt Island and, finally, Manhattan.

When I went online, I found Astoria is a descendant of the wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) first domesticated in Pre-Columbian Mexico. The Classical Nahuatl word for the turkey (huehxōlō-tl) and the Spanish guajolote are still used in modern Mexico. Mayan aristocrats and priests had a special connection to turkeys, with ideograms of the birds appearing in Mayan manuscripts. Spanish chroniclers Bernal Díaz del Castillo and Father Bernardino de Sahagún describe the multitude of food (both raw fruits and vegetables and prepared dishes) offered in the vast markets (tianguis) of Tenochtitlán, noting there were tamales made of turkeys, iguanas, chocolate, vegetables, and fruits. Turkeys were first exported to Europe via Spain around 1519 and gained immediate popularity among the aristocratic classes. English settlers brought turkeys to North America during the 17th century. There were an estimated 10 million turkeys in the US during the 17th century, but by the 1930’s only 30,000 remained. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, biologists started trapping wild turkeys and re-introducing them into other states.

The three self-appointed caretakers of Astoria coordinate their schedules in group chats and text messages, sharing photos and updates on Astoria’s location and condition. Keiko Komiya visits the turkey in the morning, and Stella Hamilton and Anke Frohlich are generally there in the afternoon, and for bedtime. Astoria spends her days strutting around on the ground, then every evening (at 20 minutes after sunset) she flies up into a tree to spend the night. Hamilton is a retired nurse and birder who was previously a big fan of Flaco, the Eurasian eagle owl set free from Central Park Zoo. Komiya is an English student and avid birder whose first New York City celebrity bird was the mandarin duck she photographed daily in 2018. Frohlich started photographing birds during the covid-19 pandemic and runs an alternative healing practice in Greenwich Village which allows her to give the birds priority. The women do not worry about Astoria, but everything and everyone else. Young kids chase her, dogs scare her, and people press on her for selfies. Astoria also crosses State Street to bask in the warmth emanating from the Starbucks on the corner and the friends fear she will be hit by a vehicle. Their fears are not unfounded.

THOUGHTS: While Astoria has grown a devoted fan club, she is not the only wild Turkey residing in New York. “New York City is actually great habitat for a wild turkey,” Jessica Wilson, the executive director of NYC Bird Alliance, said. She noted that the birds are native to the area, have plenty to eat here and do not necessarily need turkey friends. “They often join flocks, but they also are fine on their own — and in general, we try not to interfere with their social life.” Perhaps we should treat people with the same respect. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

DET

February 14, 2026

I found it appropriate that in the middle of the Great Backyard Bird Count 2026 (February 13 to 16, 2026) that my Sunday paper (delivered on Saturday) would have a USA Today article on an annual lottery for the bald eagle tour in Monroe, Michigan. There were approximately 1,200 entries for this year’s 30 lottery winners and their guests. “It’s the largest number since the event began in 2008. It shattered our previous record,” said Maddie Drury, park ranger with the US Fish & Wildlife Service who sponsors the tour. Winners were driven out to the wooded area on the south end of the power plant, where Plum Creek and the power plant’s warm water discharge meets Lake Erie. In winter the warm water draws fish, and the fish draw predators. Amanda Schaub, communications strategist for the plant said, “Consistent with our Michigan Public Service Commission approved plan, the plant is scheduled to retire in 2032.” DET Energy is committed to working closely with the community as they plan for the site’s future.

When I went online, I found several endangered or rare species have a home at the Detroit Edison (DTE) power plant facility. Since the mid-1990’s, DTE Energy has supported peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) reintroduction and breeding programs in southeastern Michigan and near their power plants. Employees assist with banding, tracking and rescuing at-risk chicks. Peregrines have been recorded nesting on the Monroe Power Plant grounds since 1994. Over 100 adult and juvenile bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) have been counted near the shoreline at the Monroe Power Plant and nest regularly at the Fermi 2 Power Plant. Apprentice linemen install utility poles in various bird projects, such as eagle habitat at the Lake Erie Metropark and Humbug Island within the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge, as well as a great blue heron rookery at Lyon Oaks County Park. These projects foster the bird population while giving apprentice linemen experience in installing tall poles without energized lines or power transmission equipment.

The DET Monroe Power Plant is home to other endangered species. The American lotus (Nelumbo lutea) is listed as a threatened species in Michigan. The plant naturally cleans the water in which it lives, which is important for the native fish and wildlife. In partnership with the Lotus Garden Club of Monroe, DTE Energy opens the Monroe Power Plant property for guided tours of the flowerbeds. Lake Sturgeon (Huso fulvescens) are the longest-living fish species in Michigan, with a lifespan of up to 100 years. They can be over eight feet (2.5 m) in length and weigh 800 pounds (363 kg). Sturgeons are listed as threatened or endangered by 19 of the 20 states within their original range in the US. DTE deposited 765 tons (694 mt) of coal cinders (a byproduct of coal combustion), cobble and broken limestone in the Detroit River off Belle Isle to create spawning beds. Common Terns (Sterna hirundo) once numbered in the thousands along the Detroit River but now only 250 breeding pairs can be found there. DTE Energy partnered with others to create an artificial nesting island and nesting habitat.

THOUGHTS: Drury, who is based at the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge in Trenton, calls bald eagles the “most successful conservation story of the US”. For decades the insecticide DDT was widely used to kill insects. Fish ate treated vegetation, birds ate the fish, and affected bald eagles laid fewer viable eggs. In 1963, the continental US had just 417 mating pairs of bald eagles. DDT was banned in 1972, and the eagles have bounced back. In 2007, the US had 9,700 bald eagle mating pairs, and the bald eagle was removed from the endangered list. By 2020, there were 71,000 breeding pairs. The lottery for the DET Monroe Power Plant eagle tour typically opens right after Thanksgiving. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Birds 2025

January 31, 2026

Today’s local newspaper (“Sunday”) ran a front-page story on how the cold weather is prime birding season around back yards and feeders. This reminded me that I am even later this year in reporting my annual birding totals. Once again, I saw several red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) on the power lines going to and from town but was unable to get a picture, so they were not added to my count. While I was able to take my usual trip to the wildlife area this year and did record five different species (long range). However, the lighting was so bad I was unable to identify any but the wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) flock I noticed while trying to capture several deer (again long range) in a filed. Another miss. The end-of-year presence on my feeders was good as the cold weather brought the sparrows (genus, Passer), along with house (Haemorhous mexicanus) and purple (Haemorhous purpureus) finches. The northern cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) did come back in mass but I saw only one or two blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata). I have yet to clean out the bluebird (Sialia sialis) house but have seen the sparrows nosing around the entrance so I will need to get rid of the old debris for this year’s nesting.

All that said leads to my “great reveal” concerning my birder totals for 2025. The number of feeders has fluctuated throughout the year as I began with 12 feeders offering different types of food. The squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) and grackles (Quiscalas quiscula) managed to take out my camera feeder, and the finches have all but abandoned the thistle seed feeder for some reason. I also switched to safflower kernels rather than black oil sunflower in my two window feeders hoping to discourage the squirrels (it sort of works). That leaves me with 9 active seed feeders to go along with the 9 hummingbird feeders. Now, on to the results. You may recall I recorded 26 species in my first year (2020), ended with a high of 52 species in 2021, dropped to 44 species in 2022, a low of 30 species in 2023, and then rebounded to 39 species in 2024. During 2025 I was able to rise a little higher and recorded 44 different species. My European sightings happened again as we took two trips, one to the Greek Isles (9 birds) and another up the Danube River (8 birds). The bus ride to the Neuschwanstein Castle (Disney’s type site for his princess castles) also yielded 4 different species of raptors, but I was unable to document them.

Most of my sightings have been limited to the immediate area, but we are planning to expand that during 2026. We are taking the RV along the interior to the Atlantic side of Florida and then back along the Gulf of Mexico as our return. This will hopefully produce some new shore bird sightings. We are then driving across Oklahoma to Arizona with a return through Utah. This should record a few species of desert birds. Then we are scheduled for an Alaskan cruise in June which should score some Pacific birds. I am hoping between our trips I can raise my totals (and overall species count) to new levels this year. We will see.

THOUGHTS: I am looking forward to participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count 2026 again this year. The 2025 count had hundreds or thousands of people from all over the world and found 8,078 species of the world’s known species, or 158 more than in 2024. Be sure to mark your calendars for the Great Backyard Bird Count 2026 (February 13 to February 16, 2026). You can sign up and find how to participate at https://www.birdcount.org/participate. Once again, birds are the (literal) canary in the mine shaft (earth) when it comes to gauging the health of our ecosystems. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Bustards

January 30, 2026

WAY down on my MSN browser I came across an article on an invasive species that is disrupting the fragile ecosystem of the Desert National Park (DNP) in Rajasthan, a state in northwest India. Hybrid pigs, from wild boar (Sus scrofa) and domestic pig (Sus domesticus), appeared in the park after a canal project brought in permanent water sources and crops, turning the arid desert into a pig haven. In the past two decades the invasive species have become opportunistic predators and competitors endangering local plants and animals. Manas Shukla, a wildlife researcher at the DNP, said, “The invasive pigs are becoming a major competitor of threatened vulture populations over food that can further impact these declining species.” Farmers have reported crop damage, attacks on livestock, and even humans. Bustards (Family, Otididae) and vultures (Family, Accipitridae) are also at risk, as the pigs eat the eggs of ground-nesting birds and the carcasses eaten by the scavengers.

When I went online, I found Bustards are a family of large, terrestrial birds living mainly in dry grasslands and steppe regions. The word bustard comes from the Old French “bistarda”. The naturalist William Turner listed the English spelling as both “bustard” and “bistard” in 1544. All the common names are derived from Latin avis tarda or aves tardas given by Pliny the Elder. The word tarda comes from tardus (Latin, “slow” and “deliberate”), which aptly describes the species’ typical walking style. The two largest species of bustards, the kori bustard (Ardeotis kori) and the great bustard (Otis tarda), are frequently cited as the world’s heaviest flying birds. Males can exceed 44 pounds (20 kg), and average around 30 pounds (13.5 kg), with a length of 59 inches (150 cm). The smallest species is the brown bustard (Eupodotis humilis), which is 16 inches (40 cm) long and averages 1.3 pounds (600 g). Bustards are among the most sexually dimorphic groups of birds with males often 30% longer and sometimes more than twice the weight of females. Bustards are omnivorous and opportunistic, eating leaves, buds, seeds, fruit, small vertebrates, and invertebrates.

Forest officials have removed the pigs from bustard enclosures but have yet to enforce large-scale control measures due to wildlife protection laws. Researchers argue that the invasive pigs are not native wildlife and should be controlled or translocated to protect the local ecosystem. Human intervention, like building infrastructure or bringing in artificial water sources, changes ecosystems to unintentionally favor invasive animals. Native populations decline because the ecosystems have changed and allowed invasive species to proliferate. About 2 in 5 threatened or endangered species are at risk due to invasive species, according to the National Wildlife Federation. Invaders bring harm by outcompeting, preying on, and spreading diseases, along with disrupting food chains, and destroying habitats.

THOUGHTS: Like the threat to the Bustards, human activity can bring invasive species to new environments. Travel and trade transport species but changing land use can also allow them to move and prosper. Converting land for agricultural use opens it to exploitation from invasive species. The United Nations shared that human activity has already altered approximately 70% of the world’s ice-free land, and often in ways that unintentionally reshape local habitats. Many of the world’s creation stories place humans as the caretakers of the world rather than exploiters of its resources. Ignorance (or apathy) can no longer be an excuse for destruction of the environment. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Snake-tail

December 30, 2025

It seems fitting that just before New Years I come across an article on ending relationships. Female praying mantises are notorious for eating their mates during or after sex. According to Christopher Oufiero, head of the Towson University Mantis Lab, mantis has some of the most diverse camouflage strategies in the animal kingdom and much of mantis behavior, especially mating, remains a mystery. “Mantises are good at not being found. It’s kind of what they do,” says Lohitashwa Garikipati, a doctoral student at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. However, Oufiero and Garikipati were part of a study that found a dwarf mantis species in which males avoid this fate with an elaborate dance where it moves its abdomen. Sometimes this is sinuously like the coils of a serpent and sometimes jerkily like the tail of a rattlesnake. Their behavior inspires its name, the snake-tail mantis.

When I went online, I found the snake-tail mantises (Ameles serpentiscauda) are in an order of insects (Mantodea) that contain over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The discovery of the snake-tail mantis began with a chance encounter in the summer of 2024 when on a remote beach in Sardinia, an Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea. Battiston’s colleague Oscar Maioglio spotted some dwarf mantises on shrubs along the shoreline he thought resembled a known species of dwarf mantis (Ameles andreae), except that their wings were smaller than expected. He collected a few individuals to rear back in his lab. When he and Maioglio saw the specimens mating they knew these mantises did not belong to any other known species. The small wings and serpentine courtship dance of the collected specimens strongly suggested they belonged to a unique, never-before-documented species, and genetic analyses confirmed it.

One major open question is the function of these courtship displays. Whatever the deeper meaning, scientists theorize that performing a courtship dance reduces the male’s risk of the female eating him after mating. It seems to succeed as the researchers observed no sexual cannibalism among the lab-reared snake-tail mantises. “Why or how selection for this mating display may have occurred remains to be seen,” says Garikipati. “But I think it is an interesting clue that tells us that these little animals are probably a lot more complicated than we give them credit for.” There is some urgency behind Battiston’s eagerness to learn more about the snake-tail mantis. As far as he and his colleagues can tell, the new species is only found in a restricted area of a few hundred yards along the Sardinian coastline. While most of this habitat lies inside a protected area, increasing tourism and overgrazing by sheep and goats could threaten the entire species’ existence. To ensure the future of the snake-tail mantis, Battiston and his colleagues have proposed that the IUCN categorize it as Critically Endangered and recommended stricter measures to preserve its habitat.

THOUGHTS: While the male snake-tail mantis avoids the female abruptly ending the relationship, many human pairings end around Christmas and New Year’s. Psychology Today says the holidays highlight how reality may not match one’s ideal. The gift-giving, travel and parties also increase stress around money, a top area of conflict. Meeting parents or navigating whose family to visit creates further tension and pressure, along with a perceived pressure to “define” the relationship. The New Year acts as a natural reset point for evaluating life choices and can lead to a post-holiday breakup surge, causing January to become “breakup month”. While breaking up may seem like getting your head bitten off, at least you are not a (male) mantis. Relationships require work. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Tortoise

December 24, 2025

Inside Monday’s newspaper was a USA Today article on a dog being trained to help with relocation of a threatened species in Florida. Gerry-Anna Jones, a trainer at Goldstar Puppy Academy in Fort Pierce, is training Echo, a 3-year-old male husky-shepherd mix, to sniff out a small fake scented shell so the reptiles can be moved and protected before their habitat is developed. Florida’s building boom is having a disastrous effect on the reptiles which are a 60-million-year-old keystone species whose burrow provides food and habitat for about 365 species of bugs, reptiles, rodents and other mammals. Before 2007, developers could bury them alive, which suffocated or starved them. Since being deemed a threatened species, they must be relocated. Relocations have increased 358% on the Treasure Coast from 178 in 2014 to 816 in 2021, compared to 66% in Florida from 6,730 in 2014 to 11,171 in 2021, according to Neal Halstead, research director and lead instructor in the authorized gopher tortoise relocation agent training program at the nonprofit Wildlands Conservation.

When I went online, I found the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae native to the southeastern US. The genus Gopherus contains only tortoise’s native to North America. The species has forefeet well adapted for burrowing, and elephantine (stocky) hind feet, a feature common to most tortoises. The front legs have scales to protect the tortoise while burrowing. Individuals are dark brown to gray-black in color, with a yellow bottom shell (plastron). A projection on the throat (gular) is evident on the front (anterior) plastron where the head projects from the shell. The female has a flat plastron while the male has a concave plastron that is generally longer than the female. The adult upper section of the shell (carapace) length ranges from 6 to 11 inches (15 to 28 cm), with a maximum of 16 inches (41 cm), and is at least twice as long as it is high. Body mass averages 8.8 pounds (4 kg), with a range of 4.4 to 13.2 pounds (2–6 kg). They are the only extant species of the genus Gopherus found east of the Mississippi River. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists the gopher tortoise as “vulnerable”, primarily because of habitat degradation. The animals are considered threatened in some states while they are endangered in others. The gopher tortoise is the state reptile of Georgia and the state tortoise of Florida.

Jones is working with Echo to switch from scent samples to live tortoises now that he knows his job, with a goal to have Echo ready for field work by spring 2026. “He has been able to pick up the scent,” Jones said, “This morning (December 18), he hit on a burrow.” She trains Echo to zigzag through the landscape until he smells a live tortoise. After pinpointing a location, Echo will lie down next to a tortoise or its burrow. Handlers will work with a registered gopher tortoise agent or researcher to collect data and move the animal to a permitted recipient site if needed. At the recipient site, the tortoise ideally will become habituated to its new home range over several months to prevent the tortoises from homing back to their old burrow. Jones believes the collaboration between the Goldstar Academy and Gopher Tortoise Alliance is a major step toward conservation.

THOUGHTS: While Echo is being trained to find the gopher tortoise, other dogs are being trained to locate other species. Dogs are used in surveys with the Mojave Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) prior to construction to protect critical habitat. Dogs find Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) to aid research on reptile diseases by the St. Louis Zoo. Dogs located the

once-thought-extinct western pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata) in California’s Golden Gate National Recreation Area. I was impressed that the kids were able to determine which hand their treat was in! The association between wolves and hunter–gatherers began 17,500 years ago and they are the only domesticated large carnivore. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.