Magnetic Links
The Web has all sorts of animal sites. Learn more about rhinos, wolves, cheetahs and chimps. Below we've gathered a few of the more useful sites.
The Wolf Education and Resource Center: This Web site belongs to the organization overseeing the Nez Perce wolves - those formerly chronicled by the Dutchers. Find out how the wolves are doing and get information on how to see them.
The International Wolf Center: This site displays numerous pictures of wolves as well as information about how the species is faring across the United States. Find out what wolves eat, how much they weigh and where they live.
Wildlife Conservation Society: This Web site belongs to the organization running the Bronx Zoo as well as several other New York area wildlife facilities. Anchor Dan Rather taped the opening to this week's 48 Hours Adventures at the Bronx Zoo.
The Yellowstone Wolfpack Page: In 1995 the U.S. government began releasing wolves into Yellowstone in an effort to repopulate the area, which had been bereft of wolves for more than 70 years. This page follows the fortunes of various packs and maps each one's territory.
The World Wildlife Fund: The wildlife fund is dedicated to preserving all kinds of endangered species, including tigers, rhinos, pandas and cheetahs. Learn how toxic chemicals and global warming are affecting not only humans but other animals as well.
The Cheetah Conservation Fund: This site is presented by the organization of Laurie Marker, profiled in this week's show. Read her notes from Namibia, covering everything from the installation of her outpost's first real phone to her continuing efforts to save cheetahs from extinction.
The Cheetah Survival Home Page: Although this site is not finished yet, there is already a lot of information here about cheetahs. For instance the name comes from the Hindu word chita, which means "spotted one."
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution: Presented by the nonprofit research center that took Dan Rather deep-sea diving, this site has oceans of information on its watercraft and also on the strange environments it studies. Don't miss the page on the Johnson Sea Link, which carried Rather to the bottom, where he viewed translucent lobsters and siphonofores.
Balikpapan Orangutan Society: The Balikpapan Orangutan Society is a nonprofit organization that provides information - including this Web site - on orangutans and the natural environments where they flourish.
Orangutan Foundation International: Link to the Web site of the Orangutan Foundation International. Created in 1986 by scientist and conservationist Birute Galdikas, the publicly supported Orangutan Foundation conducts research, conservation and education.
International Crane Foundation: The International Crane Foundation works worldwide to conserve cranes and the wetland and grassland communities they depend upon. It provides experience, knowledge and inspiration, along with this Web page, to involve people in reducing threats to these ecosystems.
The Canadian Wildlife Service: The Canadian Wildlife Service Web site offers facts, photos, and a comprehensive guide to whooping cranes that should answer all crane-related questions.
The Big Cats Information Page: This page has a collection of key facts and information about nondomestic felines, or "big cats." More than 35 species are represented here, some with links to photos or other informational Web sites.
Big Cats Online: This site offers both a general and more detailed introduction to the various species of cat life in the wild today. It not only covers the big cats, but also introduces all of the lesser known "wild cat" species.