1 . In San Francisco, a large group of sea lions move themselves out of the bay waters and hang out on PIER 39, which is a popular tourist destination. According to dock (码头)officials, this is the most sea lions seen in the region in 15 years.

“Over 1,000 sea lions have been counted this week,” PIER 39 harbormaster Sheila Chandor told many different media. “The surge in sea lions is usually a good sign of their strong population and healthy living environment,” said Adam Ratner, Director of Conservation Engagement at the Marine Mammal(海洋哺乳动物) Center in Sausalito, California.

“California sea lions are sentinels(哨兵) of the ocean,” Ratner said. Their population to some extent reflects the health of the ocean. Therefore, seeing a large number of California sea lions is clearly a good thing.

For nearly 35 years, the slippery(滑的) residents have been a star attraction for tourists. That autumn in 1989, PIER 39 had just been repaired, but the ships had not yet been moved back. At that moment, the sea lions unexpected arrival not only attracted fans but also created enemies. According to a website, some dock residents and workers were scared away by the strong and very unpleasant smell and noise of their new neighbors, while others saw these animals as a bright spot after the destructive Loma Prieta earthquake.

The officials sought help from the Marine Mammal Center to find a way to deal with sea lions. Ratner said that the final decision is to let the sea lions stay and coexist with humans. “The fact proves that this is really a good thing,” he said. “This is just a proof of how we can truly work together and think about how we can share our coasts with marine mammals and other wildlife in a way that benefits all the parties involved.”

3 . Have you ever been hungry and sleepy and wished you could solve both problems at once? If you were a reindeer (驯鹿) , it would be easy. According to a new research, these talented deer can have a snooze while they eat their food.

Reindeer live in the Arctic and other northern regions where the winters are extremely dark and cold. Food can be rare in winter, so during the warmer months the deer must eat as much as they possibly can.

Like cows, reindeer use a process called rumination (反刍) to break down the tough plant they eat. This process involves passing the food back and forth between their mouth and the four “stomachs”, chewing it repeatedly until all the nutrients (营养) have been absorbed. In summer, all that chewing seems to leave very little time for sleep.

To find out their secret to getting enough rest, scientists fitted four reindeer with devices that monitored their brain waves. While the reindeer were ruminating, their brain waves were similar to the patterns shown during sleep. The animals sat or stood quietly with their eyes closed, and they were less likely than usual to react to. the movements of a neighbouring deer. “They were in a very relaxed state, ” researcher Melanie Furrer said.

The chewing movement made it hard for the researchers to tell whether, the animals’ brain waves were truly in sleep mode. But when they tested the deer again after rumination, the animals' brain activity showed that they felt rested.

If reindeer are kept awake for too long, they need extra “recovery sleep” to catch up. After ruminating, however, the deer did not need as much recovery sleep. Study co-author Gabriela Wagner said that ruminating serves two different purposes at the same time —eating and sleeping.

9 . I’m an ecologist studying the cultural value and sustainability of wildlife use by traders and traditional healers in South Africa. I am also a traditional healer myself and work with conservationists to protect wildlife.

In southern Africa, traditional healers use plant and animal materials, known as umuthi (means medicine), that might come from endangered species such as lions and pangolins (穿山甲). This can create tension between umuthi traders and conservation professionals. I think a lot about the balance to be struck between cultural identity, healing traditions and the urgent need for wildlife preservation. I meet with traditional healers and umuthi traders in markets in Johannesburg. Behind me, dried umuthi lines the walls in glass jars and my hands are arranged to form one of the greetings of a traditional healer.

Being a healer as well as a PhD candidate at the University of Cape Town brings me unique insights/opinions. Often, conservation objectives clash with deeply rooted cultural practices. I try to bridge those two fields and build trust between healers, tribal authorities, traders and conservationists — a challenging endeavour in the light of historical research practices.

Practices that bring these groups together, such as ones that promote home-grown medicinal plants, have had promising outcomes. I talk to communities about our conservation laws and how they could be changed to allow sustainable harvesting of natural products. I want to make communities become administrators of their environment. After all, if plants and animals go extinct, then that threatens the lives of traders and healers alike.

My double role as a healer and researcher creates its own complexities (复杂性). Yet, I remain optimistic that harmonious coexistence is achievable. My purpose is to enlarge the voices of traditional healers, respect their wisdom, and preserve the balance between culture and conservation for generations to come.

10 . How much do you love animals? Maybe not as much as photographer Joel Sartore. He is traveling the world to take pictures of as many animals as he can find, which allows people to focus on the beauty and uniqueness of each animal.

Sartore is working to take photos of all 20,000 different types of animals living in the world’s zoos, aquariums (水族馆) and wildlife shelters. And he’s already taken nearly 15,000! He hopes his photos will raise awareness of these planet’s most endangered creatures, and that he can document them before they’re gone. “My job is to tell their stories and hope that the world cares in time,” he told The Weather Channel in 2022.

Sartore calls his project the Photo Ark, like the story of Noah’s Ark, in which a large boat is built to save every type of animal in the world from a flood. He founded the Photo Ark in 2006 in his hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska.

He doesn’t just take his animal photos in the usual zoo environment, however — he puts each animal on a black or white background with studio lights. This helps him photograph their true colors, and lets people see a little mouse as clearly as a big elephant — and look each animal right in the eye. “When people connect to animals through eye contact, we’ve got a real chance at changing human behavior,” Sartore says.

The response has indeed been huge. Sartore has more than 1.6 million followers online and a best-selling series of Photo Ark books. He asks people to buy his books and photos, give money to the Photo Ark, and support zoos, aquariums and wildlife shelters near where they live.