Mathew Tekulsky will be writing a regular column about birding in his backyard and neighborhood in Bel Air, California. You can follow his encounters with the birds of the Santa Monica Mountains here on National Geographic News BirdWatcher every fortnight or so.

Europe's eels are heading towards extinction, scientists warn. Stocks there declined an estimated 99 percent since the 1970s. The collapse has spurred a Europe-wide action plan to conserve the species and save related jobs.

When a trained white tiger attacked Las Vegas showman Roy Horn last week, it provided a telling, if horrific, example of how alpha predators view humans. Monster of God author David Quammen argues such man-eating species deserve protection.

Undersea noise from naval exercises appears to give beaked whales the bends. Scientists for years have suspected a link between sonar activities and mass strandings of marine mammals. Autopsies performed on a group of beaked whales that stranded themselves on beaches in the Canary Islands four hours after military sonar activities commenced there support this connection.

Tourism to the world's biodiversity hot spots more than doubled between 1990 and 2000, according to Conservation International. In an interview, National Geographic Traveler geotourism editor Jonathan Tourtellot shares insights on choices travelers can make to benefit—not harm—the places they visit.

Together with Panamanian researchers, a pair of American biologists have proposed a plan they say will be more effective to identify medical cures found in tropical rain forest plants and animals.

The advent of canopy walkways, the networks of elevated bridges and platforms that tower high in the treetops, has allowed scientists to study ecosystems that were once out of reach. Today, tourists are increasingly taking to these aerial sidewalks to peer eye-to-eye with canopy-dwelling creatures and glimpse rare blooms.

Exactly what happens while following the Kratt brothers on their adventures is a new approach to wildlife filmmaking. The premiere episode of Be the Creature finds them shadowing grizzly bears. "We're going deeper into the creature world now," says Martin, "to live on their turf, by their rules—and just see what happens!"

Paleontologists have uncovered the oldest example of a fossilized male sex organ. The 400-million-year-old specimen belongs to an intricately preserved spider relative found in the village of Rhynie in Scotland.

A bird once revered by the ancient Egyptians is fighting back from the brink of extinction. Down to less than 50 pairs worldwide six years ago, ornithologists say northern bald ibis numbers have more than doubled thanks to an emergency conservation program in Morocco.

Illegal loggers in Borneo are moving farther into the interior of the forests, reaching a 20-year study site in Gunung Palung National Park, home to 2,500 orangutans. Orangutans are critically endangered and could go extinct in 10 to 20 years if the habitat destruction isn't halted quickly.

For four decades, Mark Angelo—river conservationist, paddler, teacher, and writer—has traveled along hundreds of waterways on six continents. Well known to Canadians as a passionate and articulate advocate for rivers, he has put together Riverworld, a special presentation that helps draw attention to 2003 as the international year of fresh water.

When a study revealed how badly wildlife and wilderness were faring in Banff National Park, Canada's Rocky Mountain jewel, business and government leaders met to search their civic souls: How to save the park without dying economically? Their solution, says TravelWatch columnist Jonathan Tourtellot, could save the Great Smokies.

A big American crocodile repeatedly lumbered into a village near Costa Rica's Tarcoles River and devoured some local dogs—not an unlikely occurrence in this region. This is just one of several "problem crocs" returning home after relocation. Researchers are testing a new GPS-cell-phone system to track the animals.

Eleven turtles equipped with satellite transmitters are on a voyage of scientific discovery. This is despite four of them swimming straight into Hurricane Isabel after setting off from North Carolina in the U.S. Having survived the ordeal, researchers say these long-distance travelers are providing crucial data about their mysterious lives at sea.