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 [...]... centimeter long This VOA Special English SCIENCE REPORT was written by George Grow Baby Elephant This is the VOA Special English SCIENCE REPORT People in Washington, DC, are celebrating a new arrival An Asian elephant was born November twenty-fifth at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park The baby elephant weighed almost one-hundred-fifty kilograms Zoo officials named him Kandula (KAHN-du-lah), which means... States that did not migrate to Mexico Scientists say they will know after more study if the monarch populations in Mexico will be able to recover from the die-off This VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT was written by Cynthia Kirk US Navy and Whales This is the VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT In March of the year Two-Thousand, seventeen large ocean animals mysteriously appeared on the coast... 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... Asia This VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT was written by Cynthia Kirk Largest Cockroach Fossil Ever Found This is the VOA Special English SCIENCE REPORT American scientists have reported finding the largest complete remains of a cockroach ever discovered The scientists say the insect was about the size of a small animal They say it lived threehundred-million years ago That is fifty-five million... 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... This VOA Special English SCIENCE REPORT was written by George Grow Orcas Threatened This is the VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT Scientists are worried about orca whales in the waters of the northwest Pacific Ocean These huge black and white sea creatures spend summers near the San Juan Islands near the state of Washington Six years ago, ninety-nine orcas swam there Today, only seventy-eight... fish are more likely to contain industrial waste chemicals called P-C-B's Scientists recently discovered that orcas store P-C-B's in their fat The experts say southern population orcas store more P-C-B's than other kinds of orcas Some researchers suspect the chemicals harm the whales This has not been proven Still, scientists know P-C-B's can damage the nervous system and defense system against disease... nine-million dollars to study ocean animals This VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT was written by Mario Ritter Sumatran Tiger The Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C recently showed a new baby Sumatran tiger to the public for the first time Thousands of people are waiting in long lines to see the rare animal He was born at the zoo September Eighteenth Only about one-hundred-seventy... 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... 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 . 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. 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. 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