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Animals / Pets 24 results
A new queen emerges from a queen cell in a honey bee hive of writer and beekeeper Erin Hollinden. Honey bee populations in the U.S. have declined from 6 million in the 1940s to 2.5 million today. But more than 200,000 hobbyist beekeepers such as Erin are trying to keep them (and ultimately us) alive. | Photo by Marla Bitzer

Local Beekeepers Labor with Love as Honey Bees Decline Worldwide
Erin Hollinden
Honey bee populations in the U.S. have declined from 6 million in the 1940s to 2.5 million today. Pesticides, drought, and habitat destruction, are just a few reasons the bees are dying. But more than 200,000 hobbyist beekeepers, like writer Erin Hollinden, are trying to keep them (and ultimately us) alive. Click here to read Erin’s article.
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Nancy Hiller’s latest book, ‘Shop Tails: The Animals Who Help Us Make Things Work,’ is ostensibly about the animals who have accompanied her during her distinguished career as a woodworker. But as reviewer Yaël Ksander writes, ‘Rebel Girl’ Hiller has done this before: use her craft to talk about broader issues. In this case, ‘Shop Tails’ isn’t just another publishing achievement, ‘it’s an artifact of the deep healing Hiller knew she could no longer put off.’

‘Shop Tails: The Animals Who Help Us Make Things Work’ by Nancy Hiller Book Review by Yaël Ksander for the Limestone Reader
Yaël Ksander
You won’t get too far into Nancy Hiller’s new book, Shop Tails: The Animals Who Help Us Make Things Work, without realizing you’re reading more than a book about critters, writes Yaël Ksander in her review for the Limestone Reader. This isn’t the first time Hiller has used woodworking to explore much bigger issues, but Shop Tails was written “at a reckoning point.” Click here to read Yaël’s review.
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Research by Alex Jahn at Indiana University has focused on the rarely studied American robin. For Jahn, birds are sentinels because they can predict what is happening to our ecosystem. Jahn and other researchers around the world use technology such as satellite telemetry to understand how migration affects the lives of birds. With a reported 30 percent of bird species lost since the 1970s, writes Rebecca Hill, the information gathered is more important than ever. | Photo by Skyler Ewing

Keeping Track of Migrating Birds, the ‘Sentinels’ of Our Ecosystem
Rebecca Hill
In 1803, James Audubon tracked birds by tying thread around their legs. Researchers around the world now use technology such as satellite telemetry to understand how migration affects these “sentinels” of our ecosystem. With a reported 30 percent of bird species lost since the 1970s, writes Rebecca Hill, the information gathered is more important than ever. Click here to read the article.
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Ali Beckman brings bugs to life on Instagram @SoFlyTaxidermy, which has more than 140K followers. While the Bloomington resident says her goal is “to make people laugh” and see the beauty in insects, her cartoons often address grittier topics. A collection of her work is being published by Red Lightning Books. | Photos courtesy of Ali Beckman

Bugs Come to Life in Ali Beckman’s So Fly Taxidermy
Dason Anderson
“I get up, I make coffee, and I think about bugs,” says Ali Beckman, a B-town resident whose Instagram account has 145K fans. While her goal is “to make people laugh” and see the beauty in insects, her gritty bug cartoons @SoFlyTaxidermy often address serious topics. Writer Dason Anderson asked Beckman about her work — and her book deal. Click here for the story.
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Peregrine Falcons in America have soared back from the brink of extinction since the 1960s, even in Indiana. Just as humans caused their decline, “it was also dedicated humans who brought these birds back,” writes Jared Posey. This “standout conservation success story” is unusual because peregrines “may be benefiting from an increasingly urban landscape," such as Kinney, pictured here in Indianapolis. | Photo courtesy of Indiana Department of Natural Resources

Peregrine Falcons, a Conservation Success Story
Jared Posey
Peregrine falcons in America have soared back from the brink of extinction since the 1960s, even in Indiana. Just as humans caused their decline, “it was also dedicated humans who brought these birds back,” writes Jared Posey. This “standout conservation success story” is unusual because peregrines “may be benefiting from an increasingly urban landscape.” Click here to read the full story.
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Metamora, Indiana. | Photo by David Wilson

8 Fun and Weird Hoosier Places to Explore This Summer
Allison Yates
From nightmares to utopias, from the classic to the kitschy, Indiana has many unique and unconventional places to explore. If you’re uninspired by the same old vacation spots, take a day trip or weekend excursion to these unusual places — all less than a three-hour drive from Bloomington. Writer Allison Yates leads the way. Read the full story here.
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The plight of bees could also be the plight of the human race. When writer Erin Hollinden decided to start her own beehive, and save the world, she found plenty of support from a community of experts and other beekeepers. Here, Hollinden's bees cover one of the frames lifted from the hive. | Photo by Marla Bitzer

Plight of the Honeybee — Beekeepers Save Bees for Us All
Erin Hollinden
The plight of bees could also be the plight of the human race. When writer Erin Hollinden decided to start her own beehive, and save the world, she found plenty of support from a community of experts and other beekeepers. Read about how she got her hive humming here.
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"Pollinating Projectiles!, To Bee or Not To Bee" is one of many paintings in Joe and Bess Bohon Lee's exhibition, Professor Animalia’s Menagerie of Struggling Species. The show will take place throughout the month of April at Blueline Gallery. | Courtesy image

‘Professor Animalia’s Menagerie of Struggling Species’ Opens at Blueline Gallery
Claude Cookman
Ladies and Gentlemen, step right up to see Professor Animalia’s Menagerie of Struggling Species! Witness with your own eyes more than a dozen circus-midway banners depicting rare and endangered species. The exhibition by artists Joe and Bess Bohon Lee opens April 6 at Blueline Gallery. Writer Claude Cookman takes us inside the “tent.” Click here to read the full story.
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Some Hoosier farmers raise millions of animals that spend much of their lives in confinement — their sole existence in these “Confined Feeding Operations” is to get plump enough for market. But some of these animals, such as the pig pictured here, are rescued and find their way to Uplands PEAK, a farm animal sanctuary. | Photo by Alexianna Mundy, Paulina M Photography

Sanctuary Moving, Growing, Giving Farm Animals Freedom
Susan M. Brackney
Some Hoosier farmers raise millions of animals that spend much of their lives in confinement — their sole existence in these “Confined Feeding Operations” is to get plump enough for market. But some of these animals are rescued and find their way to Uplands PEAK, a farm animal sanctuary. Writer Susan M. Brackney writes more about the refuge. Click here to read the full story.
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Every spring and fall, Indiana is at the heart of the eastern sandhill crane migration. Witness it once and you’ll mark their return on your calendar every year, writes LP contributor Jared Posey. | Photo by Katie Posey

The Mesmerizing Sandhill Cranes, ‘Calling Us Home’
Jared Posey
Every spring and fall, Indiana is at the heart of the eastern sandhill crane migration. Witness it once and you’ll mark their return on your calendar every year, writes LP contributor Jared Posey. “Flocks of sandhill cranes are a potent symbol of wildness,” he says, their loud, rolling chatter “calling us home.” Click here to read the full story.
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From head to hoof, People & Animal Learning Services (PALS) therapy horse Daisy Mae stands a full 2 feet 4 inches tall. Shown here with a PALS team member, Daisy Mae often visits nursing homes, recreation centers, schools, therapy centers, and more, in addition to working with clients in the PALS Horsemanship Program. | Photo by Sierra Vandervort

Daisy Mae, PALS Tiny Animal Ambassador
Sierra Vandervort
She provides therapy for nearly 200 children and adults. And she’s only seven hands tall. Daisy Mae is a therapy horse at People & Animal Learning Services. Writer Sierra Vandervort talks to the PALS crew about the miniature horse affected by equine dwarfism, and the comfort she brings to people in Monroe County. Click here to read the full story.
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A tricolored bat is one of ten species of bats found in Indiana. Southern Indiana has some of the country’s largest roosting places for Indiana bats. But these Hoosier mammals face many threats to their survival. | Illustration by April McKay

Bats! Hoosier Neighbors Deserve ‘Respect and Admiration’
April McKay
Southern Indiana has some of the country’s largest roosting places for Indiana bats. But these Hoosier mammals face many threats. Writer and bat fan April McKay gives us an in-depth look at these wondrous creatures, and how to help secure their survival — such as attending the Indiana Bat Festival. Click here to read the full story.
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