All posts tagged: Endangered

Aquarium welcomes third endangered penguin chick in less than a month

Aquarium welcomes third endangered penguin chick in less than a month

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Last December, staff at Adventure Aquarium in Camden, New Jersey, celebrated the arrival of two newly hatched African penguin chicks (Spheniscus demersus). Their births marked a big moment in conservation efforts for the critically endangered species, but even more good news was apparently on the way.  Less than a month after welcoming Duffy and Oscar to the flock, Adventure Aquarium has announced another newcomer. But instead of naming the facility’s 53rd penguin themselves, aquarium handlers are turning to local visitors for input. Adventure Aquarium’s youngest penguin isn’t Duffy and Oscar’s younger sibling, but the second hatchling from penguin parents Mushu and Hubert (for reference, Duffy and Oscar’s parents are named Myer and Cornelia). In a statement, the facility’s African penguin primary biologist, Maddie Olszewski-Pohle said she and her coworkers are “very excited” for the latest addition. “Both parents did an exceptional job feeding and caring for this chick, who is the biggest this season,” she added. Three newborn African penguin chicks …

Endangered Atheists Clamoring for Freedom

Endangered Atheists Clamoring for Freedom

Published by Sam Flores

We are stunned (and humbled) by the overwhelming number of help requests we received in 2022. The ability to find safe solutions for so many of the threatened nonbelievers who knocked on our door is a testament to the hard work of our small team of Secular Rescue caseworkers. There is no quit here, not when lives are at stake. It’s not just immigration impediments and xenophobic governments that stand in the way of safe refugee mobility; the larger-scale world issues that affect us all in various ways are also obstacles. The fierce repression of ex-Muslims and freethinkers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), our primary region of focus, continued unabated in 2022, with global problems wreaking havoc on the ability of threatened atheists to board flights or cross borders for fresh starts in other, more tolerant nations. Also hindering the ability of people to flee to safety were the lingering global pandemic, rampant inflation and food insecurity, a brutal war in Ukraine and its resultant waves of refugees fleeing for safety, and …