Women are breaking into India's male-dominated safari guide profession and earning praise for their skills and unique approach.
- Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve hired six women guides starting in 2015, now has 52 female guides.
- ProNat program launched in 2018 by Pugdundee Safaris has trained over 270 alumni, including 35 women.
- Shahnaz Suleman Baig became one of first female forest guides despite community resistance and male guide opposition.
Community and grassroots efforts
Scientists and volunteers are bringing a nearly-extinct Australian orchid back from the brink through years of careful lab work and field restoration.
- The Royal Botanic Gardens nursery now holds over 500 rosella spider orchid plants—double the wild population estimate.
- Wild populations grew from 120 in 2000 to 600 by 2023, but remain vulnerable to a single wildfire.
- The orchids require a specific fungal symbiote to germinate, which scientists had to manually introduce in petri dishes over three years.
Acts of kindness and generosityScientific and medical breakthroughsWildlife and conservation wins
Former oil executive ditches lucrative career to fight climate crisis after 20 years in the industry.
- Samantha Cooper left Mobil and BP after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill sparked her awakening.
- She now directs Business Declares, helping corporations address climate, ecological, and social emergencies.
- Cooper quotes: 'I found such freedom by doing so. And I'm an awful lot happier with a lot less.'
Petfinder celebrates 30 years by flying 100+ shelter pets to adoption-ready communities and donating 1.5 million pounds of food.
- Campaign runs August 17 to November 16, funded by partnership with Greater Good Charities.
- One rescue flight relocates pets from Los Angeles to New Jersey for better adoption chances.
- Petfinder has facilitated 40 million adoptions across 12,000+ shelters and rescue groups since 1996.
Acts of kindness and generosity
Scientists just discovered a new frog species that's been hiding in plain sight across millions of acres for over 100 years.
- The Milpe robber frog spans 16 million acres across Chocó forests in Ecuador and Colombia.
- Its mating call sounds remarkably similar to a smoke detector chirp, making it easy to detect.
- Study published July 24 in ZooKeys journal by Santiago Ron and colleagues at Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador.
Scientific and medical breakthroughsWildlife and conservation wins