Thai fishermen caught a 646-pound catfish believed to have been the world's largest freshwater fish ever recorded, a researcher said Thursday. The 8.9 foot long Mekong giant catfish was the heaviest recorded fish since Thailand started keeping records in 1981.

June 29, 2005

I'm back from my travels in the Balkans. While I was away, a new tiger census found that Siberian tiger populations have stabilized in Russia. Conservationists see this as good news since in recent decades tiger numbers have fallen due to poaching and demand for wildlife products. Tiger body parts are believed to enhance health and sexual performance in some parts of the Asia.

June 6, 2005

Under the bright florescent lights of the reptile house in the Bronx Zoo of New York, a colorful exotic toad makes its final stand. Once gathering by the thousands in the waterfalls of the Kihansi Gorge of Tanzania, the population of the Kihansi Spray Toad now stands at less than 200 individuals. The hasty construction of a desperately needed dam has relegated this species to the fringe of existence. Since medically valuable compounds have been derived from amphibian secretions in the past, researchers at Cornell University are working to determine if any bioactive compounds are present in the skins of Kihansi spray toads before it is too late.

I will be out of contact for a few weeks so mongabay will be quiet for a while. Thank you for your continued interest.

June 5, 2005

John Cain Carter is a Texan rancher who believes that landowners, despite being held in low regard by environmentalists, may be the potential saviors of the rainforest. Carter, among other somewhat environmentally-conscious, yet profit-oriented landowners, wants to promote responsible agricultural practices by encouraging consumers to provide incentives to growers and producers.

June 4, 2005

In the deep South and parts of the Midwest, there exists an extreme type of fishing that has nurtured devotees and opponents alike. Noodling involves the catching of massive catfish -- creatures that can weigh up to 100 pounds (45 kilograms) -- with the fisherman's bare hands.

June 3, 2005

I built a kids-oriented version of the rainforest section of mongabay at kids.mongabay.com. The new site is still a work-in-progress and hopefully I'll have time to revise it later this summer. Currently the site is geared towards middle and high school students but I may launch a version for younger kids as well. On a unrelated note, traffic to mongabay set a new record in May when more than 100,000 visitors per day came to the site.

June 2, 2005

WildMadagascar.org, my site that aims to raise interest and awareness in Madagascar, officially launched. The site features more than 3000 photos from across Madagsacar in addition to information on the country's unique flora and fauna, national park profiles, and a wealth of other resources including maps, a travel forum, and news updates. The site had been in beta since late last year.

June 1, 2005

China has long suffered from alternating periods of severe flooding and drought. Combined with high pollution levels and a history of heedless and haphazard policies, the country is witnessing a precipitous drop in this most essential supply.