Latest news with #JaneGoodall
Evening Standard
4 days ago
- Evening Standard
Discover sustainable luxury at this breathtaking rainforest retreat
What's more, The Datai Pledge worked with award winning wildlife photographer Peter Ong to release a limited edition of his book PRIMUS – The Primates of Peninsular Malaysia, documenting Malaysia's diverse and endangered primate species. Featuring awe-inspiring photography by Peter Ong himself and a foreword by renowned conservationist Dr Jane Goodall, the impressive tome will transport you to wondrous rainforests of Peninsular Malaysia. One hundred hand-numbered copies and 20 lettered copies, each signed by the photographer and author himself, have been exclusively printed for The Datai Pledge. All proceeds from sales of these limited edition books go to The Datai Pledge programme to regenerate and support Langkawi's rich biodiversity. Guests can purchase the book at the resort's boutique.
Business Insider
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
Jane Goodall, 91, on being objectified early in her career: 'If my legs were getting me the money, thank you legs'
Jane Goodall, 91, may be one of the world's leading primatologists now, but there was a time when she wasn't being taken seriously. During an appearance on Tuesday's " Call Her Daddy" podcast, Goodall reflected on the challenges she faced in her decadeslong career. Goodall told podcast host Alex Cooper that her love for animals started when she read "Tarzan of the Apes" as a child. "Anyway, I knew there wasn't a Tarzan. But that's when my dream began," Goodall said. "I will grow up, go to Africa, live with wild animals, and write books — no thought of being a scientist." Most people around her thought her dream was unrealistic, except her mother, she said. "And everybody said, 'That's ridiculous. I mean, you don't have money. Africa's far away and you're just a girl,'" Goodall said. Years later, Goodall appeared on the cover of National Geographic. She recalled being objectified by others in the scientific community who said that her looks, not her research, earned her the spotlight. "Well, some of the jealous male scientists would say, well, you know, she's just got this notoriety and she's getting money from Geographic, and they want her on the cover, and they wouldn't put her on the cover if she didn't have nice legs," Goodall said. If someone had said that today, they'd be sued, she added. "Back then, all I wanted was to get back to the chimps. So if my legs were getting me the money, thank you legs. And if you look at those covers, they were jolly nice legs," Goodall said. The English conservationist acknowledged that things are different now. "I did it by accepting that, in a way, they were right. So, thank you for giving me this advantage. It was good to give me that money," Goodall said. "I know that for me it was a long time ago. It was a different era. It wouldn't work today. " While Goodall's experience may have unfolded years ago, gender inequality persists in the workplace. Sexism at work comes in many forms, including wage disparities, stereotypes, and harassment. Several female celebrities have also spoken up about the discrimination they faced in Hollywood. In an interview with Porter magazine in November 2023, Anne Hathaway said she was told her career would "fall off a cliff" after she turned 35. In January 2024, Sofia Vergara told the LA Times that her acting jobs were limited because of her "stupid accent." Kathy Bates told Variety in September that she could have a long acting career only because she " wasn't a beauty queen." A representative for Goodall did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider outside regular hours.
Malay Mail
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Wildlife roadkill crisis demands urgent action to protect Malaysia's biodiversity — Kasthuri Patto
MAY 13 — Actively investing resources now to safeguard wildlife at crossings to ensure sustainability for our future generations. 'If we do not do something to help these creatures, we make a mockery of the whole concept of justice.' Jane Goodall, animal rights and climate change activist. The whole country was left shattered, heartbroken and depressed with pictures and videos of a mother elephant that stayed for 5 hours next to the lorry that claimed the life of her little calf, refusing to leave his side. She had to be tranquillised and moved to make way for clearing works. This caused a national outpouring of tears and sympathy for not only the elephant but also for the fate of wildlife in Malaysia – especially those that had perished as roadkill. The whole country was left shattered, heartbroken and depressed with pictures and videos of a mother elephant that stayed for 5 hours next to the lorry that claimed the life of her little calf, refusing to leave his side. Yesterday, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability stated that a total of 2361 wild animals have been killed by vehicles since 2020 – an average of 44 animals killed per month and an average of one per day! While it is commendable animal crossing pathways will be part of new major infrastructure projects like the ECRL, and possibly in other areas, exploring alternative solutions that have been tried and tested is a must at this point. In the European Union policy for energy, climate change and environment, a 'practical support' solution to minimise vehicle-bear collisions collectively shared by Greece, Italy, Romania and Spain through tangible and workable solutions produced almost zero animal fatalities and in some areas, a 90 per cent decrease in animal roadkill. Some of these proposals were radio tagging bears to study their movement and to identify priority crossings areas, to monitor high risk roads and crossing points, traffic volume and vehicle speed, to build and monitor underpasses, flyover animal crossings with camera traps, to install animal-vehicle prevention systems (AVC/PSs) in high risk areas such as animal detection systems that will activate flashlights or warning noises to drivers and to scare of animals from the side of the roads, changes in driver behaviours like driving at reduced speed especially at night at areas known for animal activity, virtual fences with acoustic and visual deterrent sensors using high beams when appropriate, smart roadside infrastructure to detect large animals near the road, creating a geographic database or geodatabase to track wildlife road mortality including through developing a hybrid app that allows users to report animal deaths, sightings near roads to aim public awareness. All these efforts have significantly reduced bear mortality to zero in over 4 years on the Egnatia Highway and 90 per cent of drivers reduced speed in response to the newly installed warning signs. These initiatives were funded by the LIFE Programme which is EU's funding instrument for the environment and climate action. It is not too late for Malaysia to invest in the same – federal ministries and state agencies must work together in not only coughing up funds but to also expedite long term solutions proposed by Government agencies. Additionally, it is also our responsibility as road users to practise caution, care, love and respect for our wildlife when travelling. Enforcement alone is not enough. Malaysia is 5 years away from fulfilling its SDG pledges including SDG 15 which is Life on Land and SDG 14 Life Below Water, it is undeniable that many SDGs are intertwined with animal welfare and biodiversity. Perhaps SDG18 on Zero Animal Exploitation which is in the works is the future of wildlife conservation. We must be part of the solution and it must happen in our generation to see it through. A generation committed, devoted and responsible to safeguard our wildlife in Malaysia. Kasthuri Patto DAP CEC member DAP International Secretary DAP Women Vice Chairperson * This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
CBC
07-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Willow River Centre to temporarily close and relocate due to funding challenges
Kitchener's Willow River Centre is looking for a new home. The centre has been a one-of-a-kind gathering space for Waterloo region's two-spirit and queer Indigenous community. The founders of the centre have decided to temporarily close the current location on 243 King Street East in Kitchener and look for a smaller, cheaper place to lease. The centre's co-founder Bangishimo says they had applied for a variety of grants to be able to stay open, but ultimately didn't receive any additional funding on top of their regional grant. "It's frustrating because like many non profits we haven't been able to secure core funding. We don't have any major donors backing us up here," they said. "We've just been relying on these small grants and an upstream fund from the Region of Waterloo, but upstream isn't meant to be our foundation." Willow River Centre is the first two-spirit, IndigiQueer led community space in Waterloo region with roots in the local LandBack movement, which began in June 2020. That's when the group put up a teepee and two tents in Victoria Park. After four years of working to secure funding, the centre first opened its doors in October 2023. Since then, it has provided a space to host traditional ceremonies, artisan workshops and facilitate community building. In October 2024, Jane Goodall, a world-renowned zoologist and environmentalist, dropped by Willow River Centre for a tour of its garden spaces. WATCH| Jane Goodall tours Indigenous community centre in Kitchener, Ont. Bangishimo says they would be able to afford to keep the centre open in the current location if they partnered up with a second organization. "We love this space. It's in such a great location, it's become a centre for the community for so many grassroots community groups that rent out the space every week and on the weekends. So if there's any groups out there that might be interested in moving in with us, we would be totally open." 'We've done all of the right things' The doors of the centre will remain open as a community space through June. Bangishimo and co-founder Amy Smoke say they currently don't have money to keep the centre running after the end of June. There are still three years left on the lease and they are looking for someone to sublet the space. "It's only been a year. We've been trying to get on our feet and we've got a lot of support from the community," Smoke said. "We're really surrounded by folks who have stood with us and supported us in solidarity since 2020, even before we even had the brick and mortar.... [There's] a lot of support in moving forward what we can still accomplish without having a physical space." WATCH| New zine celebrates 'IndigiJoy' in Waterloo region New zine celebrates 'IndigiJoy' in Waterloo region 11 months ago Duration 3:15 The IndigiJoy zine is the first of its kind created at the Willow River Centre in downtown Kitchener. It features the artwork of nine local artists who are both Indigenous and queer. The zine's co-creators Olivia Maine and Cat Free explained the idea behind the zine, which they're hoping will help raise money for local LandBack initiatives. The founders said staff at the centre did everything they could to stay afloat. "We've done all of the right things. We've followed all of the rules. We got a lawyer and a lease and registered and did all the things. We're playing the colonial capitalist game and it just hasn't been as successful," Smoke said. "These games are not meant for us." Permanent fire space opening this year Bangishimo said there will continue to be gatherings and programming in Victoria Park. "We're planning on doing our monthly gatherings in the park that we've always done over the last five years," they said, adding the city of Kitchener is working with them to open a new permanent space for a sacred fire. "That's something that's supposed to happen this year actually, which we're really excited about." Bangishimo says Jeffery Silcox-Childs, the city's director of parks and cemeteries, has guaranteed to put money aside to help build the permanent fire space at the park sometime this year. The co-founders of the centre are hoping to host fundraising events at the park this summer to help pay for the centre's new home.
Mint
29-04-2025
- Science
- Mint
Clicks & growls: Why AI's hearing the call of the wild
Google has used artificial intelligence (AI) to decode and mimic dolphin sounds, advancing our understanding of marine life. But can AI truly outperform human insight in interpreting animal communication? Also Read | Return of Indian tech brands: Is it for real this time? Dolphins are famously socially skilled, intelligent, agile, joyful and playful, thus sharing many emotional similarities with (some) humans. Just as British ethologist Jane Goodall studied the social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees, Denise Herzing has studied dolphin communication in the wild since 1985, making The Wild Dolphin Project (WDP) the longest running underwater dolphin research project in the world. Google, in partnership with Georgia Tech and WDP, used an AI model to analyse vocal patterns much like a language model, identifying structure and predicting sequences. Also Read | Why Pakistan's trade ban is more sound than fury Dolphins use distinct sounds for different social situations: whistles act like names for individual identification, especially between mothers and calves; squawks often occur during conflicts; and click buzzes are used in courtship. DolphinGemma, Google's 400 million parameter model that runs on Pixel6 smartphones, decodes these sounds by combining audio tech with data from WDP acquired by studying wild dolphins in the Bahamas. On National Dolphin Day (14 April), Google showcased advances to its AI model that can now analyse dolphin vocal patterns and generate realistic, dolphin-like sounds. Also Read | Return of the dire wolf: Is this a Game of Clones? AI is being used to detect how parrots, crows, wolves, whales, chimpanzees and octopuses communicate. NatureLM-audio is the first audio-language model built for animal sounds and can generalize to unseen species. Other projects use AI and robotics to decode sperm whale clicks, or listen to elephants to detect possible warning calls and mating signals. It aids conservation by monitoring endangered species. Decoding communication reveals ecosystem health, alerting us to pollution and climate change. It enhances human-animal interactions and fosters empathy. AI, combined with satellite imagery, camera traps and bioacoustics, is being used in Guacamaya to monitor deforestation and protect the Amazon, a collaboration between Universidad de los Andes, Instituto SINCHI, Instituto Humboldt, Planet Labs and Microsoft AI for Good Lab. AI can detect animal sound patterns, but without context— is the animal mating, feeding or in danger?—its interpretations are limited. The risk of humans assuming animals 'talk" like humans do, messy field data, and species-specific behaviours can complicate analysis. AI might identify correlations but not true meaning or intent. Human intuition helps. These systems often require custom models and extensive resources, making large-scale, accurate decoding of animal communication a complex effort.
