Animals

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  • Feather forensic expert Carla Dove makes a slide of a partially digested bird feather taken from the autopsy of a Burmese python in Florida's Everglades National Park. Park officials mailed the stomach contents of eight pythons to Dove's lab at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History so she could identify the types of birds the pythons had eaten.
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    Feather forensic expert Carla Dove makes a slide of a partially digested bird feather taken from the autopsy of a Burmese python in Florida's Everglades National Park. Park officials mailed the stomach contents of eight pythons to Dove's lab at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History so she could identify the types of birds the pythons had eaten.
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    Marie McGrory/NPR
  • These partially digested specimens were cleaned, dried and labeled by the National Park Service in Florida and mailed to Dove's lab. The larger bag contains a python's ID number and is filled with smaller bags labeling each specimen.
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    These partially digested specimens were cleaned, dried and labeled by the National Park Service in Florida and mailed to Dove's lab. The larger bag contains a python's ID number and is filled with smaller bags labeling each specimen.
    Previous Next
    Marie McGrory/NPR
  • Dove has a good sense of the species she may be looking for. She pulls out a limpkin (a cranelike bird that lives in Florida) from one of the many drawers in the museum's bird collection to compare its feathers with her sample.
    Hide caption
    Dove has a good sense of the species she may be looking for. She pulls out a limpkin (a cranelike bird that lives in Florida) from one of the many drawers in the museum's bird collection to compare its feathers with her sample.
    Previous Next
    Marie McGrory/NPR
  • The ornithologist works through the feathers of the stuffed birds to find one that matches her sample.
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    The ornithologist works through the feathers of the stuffed birds to find one that matches her sample.
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    Marie McGrory/NPR

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Animal CSI: Inside The Smithsonian's Feather Forensics Lab

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A keen eye and extensive knowledge of feathers allows forensic ornithologist Carla Dove (yes, that's her name) figure out from feather and bone fragments which type of bird crashed into a plane or was eaten by a snake. But the expertise has an uncertain future.

On Morning EditionPlaylist

Chimpanzee Toni celebrated his 50th birthday at the Hellabrunn Zoo in Munich on Nov. 22, 2011.

Rule Would List All Chimps As Endangered, Even Lab Animals

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On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

Dolphin protesting

Why Dolphins Make Us Nervous

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Moyo, a 3-year-old male cheetah from South Africa, chases a lure during the Cheetah Dash event at the Animal Ark in Reno, Nev.

Fancy Feet: Wild Cheetahs Excel At Acceleration

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On Morning EditionPlaylist

U.S.

Immigration Bill May Keep Wage Exemption For Foreign Herders()  

Antonio Basualdo Solorzano has worked at the Ladder Ranch in south-central Wyoming for eight years. On his wages as a guest worker, he's supported seven children back home in Peru.

June 12, 2013 WPRNPeruvian shepherds on guest worker visas tend thousands of sheep in Wyoming, but they only make about half of what agricultural workers elsewhere are paid. Some ranchers say the exemption from minimum wage requirements is necessary; workers' rights advocates say it's exploitation.

Transcript

On Morning EditionPlaylist

Around the Nation

Massive Bat Cave Stirs Texas-Size Debate Over Development()  

Millions of bats live in Bracken Cave, in a rural area near San Antonio. Conservationists are worried that plans for a multithousand-unit housing development will disrupt the bat colony.

June 11, 2013 TPREvery night for thousands of years, bats have poured out of the Bracken Cave Reserve, near San Antonio, by the millions. But conservationists are worried that plans for a housing development nearby will disrupt the bats' rural habitat.

Transcript

On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

To Crack Down On Rhino Poaching, Authorities Turn To Drones()  

This young female rhinoceros, photographed in Kenya in 2011, was killed by ivory poachers a few months after this photo was taken.

June 11, 2013 Sky-high prices for elephant ivory and rhino horn have pushed wildlife poaching to a fever pitch. So in attempt to outfox the sophisticated poaching operations, conservationists and government rangers are teaming up to launch small, camera-carrying drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, above southwest Africa.

Transcript

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Around the Nation

Lessons From Cicadas: A New Jersey Community's Experience()  

A member of Brood II alights on a New Jersey shrub.

June 9, 2013 A symphony of cicadas has moved up the East Coast. In Summit, N.J., as in other communities, residents find their own ways of living alongside the transient creatures that emerge after 17 years of hibernation.

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On Weekend Edition SundayPlaylist

Sports

Palace Malice Pulls Ahead To Win Belmont Stakes()  

Jockey Mike Smith celebrates after guiding Palace Malice to victory during the 145th running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park on Saturday in Elmont, New York.

June 8, 2013 The 3-year-old came into the final leg of the Triple Crown with only one victory, but the colt's trainer says they were "quietly confident coming in."

Summary

heard on air

Mayoral Races Across Mexico Are Turning Into A Zoo

0:29
from Morning Edition
 

European Pet Passport Lets Animals Travel To EU States

0:30
from Morning Edition
 

Around the Nation

Maine College Students Take On A Bear Of A Study

4:00

by Jay Field

from Morning Edition
 

City Life Disrupts Daily Rhythm Of Birds

3:56

by Rhitu Chatterjee

from Morning Edition
 

Ancient Reptile Named After 'Lizard King' Jim Morrison

0:30
from Morning Edition
 

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