Cute (but doomed) lemurs and other heart-wrenching stories

Happy Presidents' Day! This week's articles have absolutely nothing to do with stovepipe hats or cherry trees, but they are all worth your time -- probably more so than the holiday mattress sale at your friendly neighborhood retailer.

This was actually a light week for publications, with just three news articles hitting the interwebs. It wasn't a light work week, though. I have about a dozen features (plus more news articles) in various stages of completion. You can expect a whole heck of a lot of articles coming your way in March.

Until then, though, here's some holiday reading for you -- two articles for Scientific American and one for TakePart:

Gorgeous Blue-Eyed Lemur Faces Extinction in 11 Years

Critically Endangered Tarantula Links India and Sri Lanka

Saving Africa's Elephants--In the United States

That's it for today. You may now resume your presidential deal-shopping. More next week!

Tigers and other ferocious felines

Happy Monday, folks. I've got a pretty wide-ranging list of stories for you this week, so settle in.

First up, my two "Extinction Countdown" posts for Scientific American:

Tiger Populations in Nepal Can’t Grow without More Food and Space

Endangered Species and the Global Society: A Discussion with 360 Magazine [This is actually a Storify of a Twitter conversation I had with the magazine's editors and readers.]


Next, two new wildlife/poaching articles for TakePart:

Australia’s Secret Weapon to Kill Millions of Feral Cats and Save Endangered Marsupials

This Rare Philippine Turtle Is Being Driven to Extinction by Pet Owners


Finally this week, my first article for IEEE-USA InSight, the successor magazine to Today's Engineer, to which I have been contributing since 2007:

Pop Goes the Engineer


More next Monday!

Birds, Apes, Cats and Otters

"They're killing me for my what????"

The end of January was all wildlife, all the time.

Well, that's what you'd think based on the published headlines. I worked on several other things that won't see publication for a while yet. I'm not complaining, though. These four articles all cover important topics and they all did very well in terms of readership.

First up, two articles for TakePart:

This Rare Bird is Worth More than Ivory to Poachers

It's Open Season on the Impossibly Cute River Otter


And here are two more articles for Scientific American:

Rescued Baby Orangutan Sheds Light on Cruel, Illegal Pet Trade

Rarely Seen Saharan Cheetah Revealed in Incredible Photos


That's it for this week. Look for another headline list in seven days!

Venus flytraps and other horrors

This week's articles ranged from terrible news to slightly less terrible news.

First up, the terrible news for Scientific American:

1,215: The Record Number of Rhinos Poached in 2014

Venus Flytraps Risk Extinction in the Wild at the Hands of Poachers


And here's the not-quite-so-horrible news for TakePart:

The Troubling Reason Why These Rare, Beautiful Lynxes Are Dying Off

Canada Wants to Kill Gray Wolves to Save Another Struggling Species


Hopefully this coming week will bring some happier articles.

Bears and Beers

I gotta say, I write about some weird stuff. Some of it's amazing and awe-inspiring. Other subjects are enough to turn my stomach. But I can't turn away, and neither should you.

Here are five new articles links for you -- two for Scientific American and three for TakePart. They're all wildlife-related in one way or another. Some are cute. Others not so much. Can you guess which was this week's most popular?


The Real Paddington Bear: Cute, Unique and Endangered

Mexican Wolves Finally Get Endangered Species Status

The Horrible Truth Behind Those Slow Loris Videos You Love

Iceland Brewer Promotes Whale-Testicle Beer. Yes, Really

Watch This Orangutan Try to Talk Like a Human


There's lots more in the week to come, so follow me on Twitter for the headlines as each new article is published.

Here There Be Dragons

"Grrr. I'm a dragon."

Happy Monday, folks! The first real week of 2015 brought forth a bevy of new articles bearing my byline. These included several news items plus a couple of features that I turned in last year.

First up, my latest "Extinction Countdown" articles for Scientific American:

Teeny, Tiny Relative of Komodo Dragon Discovered in Australia

Monarch Butterflies Could Gain Endangered Species Protection


Next, three new wildlife/animals/poaching articles for TakePart:

Here's One Beyoncé and Jay Z Selfie You Shouldn't 'Like' If You Love Wildlife

Millionaire Spends Stunning Amount of Money to Save 1,400 Monkeys From Medical Experimentation

This Remote Tribe Could Be Wiped Out for the Most Trivial of Reasons


And finally, two new engineering-related features for IEEE's The Institute:

Four Ways Women Engineers Can Increase Their Wealth [This actually contains good advice for just about anyone]

TryEngineering is Now Available for Smartphones


That's it for this week. I expect to be just as busy in the coming days, so make sure to follow me on Twitter for headlines as they happen and come back here next Monday for another link compendium.

Smartwatches: My First Article of 2015

 My first article of 2015 is now available and it's a doozy. "Smartwatches: Not Ready for Prime Time" appears as one of the cover features in the January/February issue of Consumers Digest magazine, which is on newsstands now. You can also read it here if you're a subscriber, along with a web-only supplement about smartwatch security issues. I enjoyed working on this piece -- it took a few months of research and interviews -- and I think it will help to illuminate this little-understood new technology.