Throughout Borneo, orangutans playfully swing from branch to branch, enjoying the wooded wonderland they call home – but dangers are often hiding in the shadows. Although the name “Orangutan” actually translates to “man of the forest” in the Malay language – it appears thatman may pose their greatest threat.

Southeast Asia is home to the world’s smallest bear species, the Malayan sun bear. About half the size of an American black bear, these diminutive creatures spend their time living in the tree-tops of Borneo. Despite possessing very lengthy and intimidating claws, it appears that these bears may be defenseless against the growing threats that face them throughout their range.

It’s Friday - and officially the last day of the project here in Nicaragua. We all met for breakfast and then geared up to go sea turtle watching. I had seen many baby turtles, but I could not leave without seeing at least one adult turtle. Jose wanted to show us how they monitor the turtles coming to the beach. Ideally, they want males so that they can tag them and take DNA testing for their research – but it’s harder to find males since they don’t come ashore to lay eggs.

Deep in the forests of Vietnam, an amazing array of diverse wildlife –Asian elephants, gibbons, langurs, wild cattle, and deer – roam freely. While this area (The Vinh Cuu Nature Reserve) is supposed to provide a safe haven for many endangered species - it seems that illegal hunting and trade still remain a big problem.

The widespread hunting and illegal trade of wildlife in Vietnam is a major threat to many species - fortunately the Education for Vietnam organization (ENV) is fighting back for animals. The northern border of the country is often used by smugglers to supply Chinese consumer markets with wildlife such as pangolins, freshwater turtles, snakes, and monitor lizards sourced from other Asian countries. Also popular through this “back-door” delivery system are shipments of elephant ivory from Africa, tigers

With just 3,000 Grevy’s zebra left in the world, The Grevy’s Zebra Trust was established to address the urgent need to conserve this zebra species, found only in northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia where drought has been severe, habitat has shrunk and they are illegally killed and persecuted due to competition for resources with domestic cattle.

For young women looking to get into the field of veterinary science or marine biology, Dr. Lara Croft is an inspiration. Here's a little bit of informaiton on her background and some great photos of her doing some amazing work at SeaWorld.

Dr. Croft is one of three SeaWorld Orlando staff veterinarians. In this capacity, Dr. Croft maintains the health of the park's animals, including killer whales, dolphins, sea lions, seals, birds, fish, and turtles.