Unique South African 
 
penguin faces 
 
perilous future. 
 
As the only species 
 
of penguin to originate 
 
in Africa, populations of 
 
the species have declined 
 
by 95% since 
 
pre-industrial times, 
 
with numbers 
 
that continue to plummet. Climate change 
 
and fishing are among 
 
the greatest threats 
 
to the approximately 
 
80,000 that remain. 
 
Also known as 
 
the Black-footed penguin, 
 
this species' vulnerability 
 
was placed in further 
 
jeopardy by a massive 
 
oil spill in the year 2000. 
A swift outpouring 
 
of international help 
 
at that time was credited 
 
with saving nearly 
 
40,000 birds that 
 
were either rescued 
 
from oil contamination 
 
or evacuated to safety. However, 
 
the Black-footed 
 
penguin's numbers have 
 
continued to go down, 
 
and biologists at 
 
the California Academy 
 
of Sciences in the USA 
 
are now coordinating 
 
with zoos throughout 
 
North America 
 
to maintain populations 
 
there, in the hope of 
 
re-introducing them 
 
to the wild once their 
 
natural habitat stabilizes. 
 
Speaking of the need
 
to address both 
 
global warming 
 
and fishing practices, 
 
biologist Brooke Weinstein 
 
of the California 
 
Academy of Sciences 
 
stated, “I don't think 
 
it is too late, but I do think 
 
it's really imperative that 
 
people make the kind of 
 
changes that we need 
 
to make, because 
 
no one wants a world 
 
without penguins.” 
 
Our thanks, 
 
Ms. Weinstein, 
 
California Academy 
 
of Sciences, and all 
 
who are working with 
 
love and dedication 
 
to save the South African 
 
penguin. 
 
Let us all join by 
 
choosing the life-saving 
 
plant-based diet, which 
 
lightens the human 
 
footprint on our planet 
 
and allows other species 
 
to thrive. 
 
With deep concern 
 
for the plight of our 
 
animal co-inhabitants, 
 
Supreme Master Ching Hai 
 
during an August 2009 
 
videoconference 
 
in Thailand 
 
urged humanity, as on 
 
many previous occasions, 
 
toward greater 
 
consideration to ensure 
 
the welfare 
 
of all beings on Earth.
 
Supreme Master Ching Hai : It's a very sad thing 
 
because our animal 
 
friends are suffering 
 
terribly due to the effects 
 
of global warming. 
 
Many of the animals are 
 
dying or at the brink 
 
of extinction 
 
or already gone due to 
 
unbearable temperatures 
 
or they are being forced 
 
out of their habitats, 
 
just like human 
 
climate refugees, except 
 
they are not nearly 
 
as equipped as we are 
 
at adapting to 
 
new environments. 
 
To ensure the peace and 
 
comfort of all our 
 
animal co-inhabitants, 
we really should first 
 
cease to consume them, 
 
any animals at all. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Then, the wild areas and 
 
habitats will be restored 
 
as will be the animals' 
 
natural lives. 
 
That's the best way to 
 
protect them, to show 
 
our love to them. 
http://english.cntv.cn/program/newshour/20110108/106722.shtmlhttp://intbirdrescue.blogspot.com/2010/10/bittersweet-great-penguin-rescue-in.html,
 
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2011/01/09/to_the_rescue/Extra News
 
As part of a priority 
 
“wish list” for US 
 
Congressional members, 
 
editors of the established 
 
technical magazine 
 
Scientific American 
 
join in calling for 
 
sustainable agricultural 
 
policies that would 
 
include halting subsidies 
 
for meat-intensive 
 
factory farming. 
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=a-political-wish-list 
http://www.vegan.com/blog/2010/12/28/scientific-american-calls-for-reforming-ag-subsidies/Officials in the São Paulo 
 
state of Brazil report 
 
that the use of pesticides 
 
on Eucalyptus trees, 
 
grown to provide 
 
cellulose for making 
 
paper and other products, 
 
is also causing a decline 
 
in regional 
 
ant populations.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/361147,pesticides-threaten-social-ecological-aspect-of-ant-hunting-in-brazil.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/05/world/americas/05ants.html 
 
US-based Wildlife 
 
Conservation Society 
 
and China's Heilongjiang 
 
provincial Administration 
 
of Forest Industry 
 
partner to clear illegally 
 
set traps and ensure 
 
the safety of the region's 
 
endangered 
 
Siberian tigers.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2011-01/03/content_11788219.htm