Randy Olson, Melissa Farlow Photography

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  • Two mustangs groom each other, a common social behavior among wild horses. The mutual grooming brings heads together and reaffirms bonding between horses, reducing social tension within a herd.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222797.jpg
  • A mare watches over a newborn foal that is her grandson, scolding him for trying to nurse with her. Although he is minutes old and just standing for the first time, she is teaching him his first life lessons while his mother rests after just giving birth.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222775.TIF
  • Strong winds blow rain from a storm cloud that violently erupts with loud claps of thunder that sends a band of horses running for safety. The young foal runs behind, following her mother and another mare.<br />
The wild horse herd nervously watched as a storm approached in central South Dakota. When lightning and thunder began, they galloped to a far away fence where they could go no further. The "fight or flight" instinct of behavior is powerful and horses often panic and flee when they sense danger.
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  • A yearling finds a low lying limb on a tree to scratch his back.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222907.jpg
  • Head lowered and ears laid back in an aggressive posture, a stallion is "herding" or "snaking" or to control his mare and foal. The white mustang is also sending a warning to others. Wild stallions protect their families and this behavior is in reaction to a threat to his band.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222801.jpg
  • Two gray stallions put their heads together to smell a territorial marking. Although it may look friendly, the mustangs are exhibiting behavior typical in a wild horse herd when studs are vying for dominance. At this point, they may fight or walk away to battle another time.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222872.TIF
  • Two stallions battle for dominance in a war dance of wild horses showing typical fighting behavior in a herd. Many mustang studs have missing ears, and their bodies are battle-scarred from bite marks and strikes from front hooves. <br />
The mustangs' primitive markings are consistent with ancient coloration of horses brought to North America by the Spanish Conquistadors in the 1600s.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1200520.TIF
  • A young stud lifts his lip catching a whiff of a mare in heat. The Flehmen response is a biological reaction to smell where an animal curls back the upper lip and senses pheromones.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222815.jpg
  • Sandhill cranes fly in to roost in the shallows of the Platte River. They do a courtship dance but this behavior can also be an aggressive or territorial show.<br />
<br />
Every year 400,000 to 600,000 sandhill cranes—80 percent of all the cranes on the planet—congregate along an 80-mile stretch of the central Platte River in Nebraska, to fatten up on waste grain in the empty cornfields in preparation for the journey to their Arctic and subarctic nesting grounds. <br />
<br />
Sandhill cranes among the world’s oldest living birds and one of the planet’s most successful life-forms, having outlasted millions of species (99 percent of species that ever existed are now extinct).
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  • Two foals watch studs fight, learning the behavior they will imitate when they are older. Young wild horses make friends and bond within a horse herd.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222798.jpg
  • Two wild stallions eye each other and begin a ritual to establish dominance. They paw the ground establishing their turf and next they will either walk away or fight. Horses are prey animals with a strong "fight-or-flight" response where they flee for safety but they defend themselves or stand their ground when their hierarchy is challenged.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222816.TIF
  • Grizzlies fish for salmon in one of the best spots where the Ozernaya River flows into Kurilskoe Lake under the backdrop of a volcano.  <br />
<br />
Brown bears are not pack animals and an abundant food supply attracts them to the same place to hunt. The Kurilskoe Preserve is the model for poaching enforcement in all of Kamchatka. It is protected and the last wild place that produces all seven species of salmon.
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  • A young foal rests in a bed of chamomile flowers creating an idyllic scene as he watches the herd graze. Newborn horses sleep up to twelve hours during the day, but graduate to adults that sleep only three hours -- and often standing.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222802.jpg
  • A protected wild mustang foal naps in a meadow near his mother. Newborn horses sleep up to twelve hours during the day, but graduate to adults that sleep only three hours -- and often standing.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222774.jpg
  • A brown bear breast-feeding her cubs at Kurilskoye Lake Preserve. There are almost 15,000 grizzly bears on Russian Kamchatka peninsula that provides habitat and plenty of salmon for bears to thrive on.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7593_1260957.TIF
  • A young mustang foal romps to play in a meadow running circles around his mother while she grazes with other mares in the horse herd.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222786.jpg
  • A wild mustang stallion chases studs away from his mares. Other horses in the herd graze, rarely stopping to watch.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222882.jpg
  • With a burst of speed, a white mustang stallion charges at another wild horse.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222805.jpg
  • A dominant stud shows aggression biting the mustang's neck while attempting to mate in Steen's Mountain.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222779.jpg
  • A frisky mustang foal romps in a meadow.<br />
Foals are often born with a pale shade of their adult color. In the wild, the dull colored coat camouflages babies from predators. However, they typically shed their fuzzy foal coat at three or four months of age and evolve into their adult coloration.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222782.jpg
  • Lured by vegetation, wild horses wander through subdivision yards in the Virginia Highlands.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222842.jpg
  • A bachelor band of wild horses stick together to face into the wind picking up scents. Older studs join younger ones forming a family when none have mares or are accepted into another group.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222828.jpg
  • A Palomino mustang mare intently gallops with a blur and ears pointed forward.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222873.jpg
  • A volunteer cares for and feeds feral cats.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM6842_964872.jpg
  • An older red stallion scarred from bites and fights intently watches a challenging stud. Battles for dominance in a wild horse herd can be brutal.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222871.jpg
  • Spawning salmon runs fill the Ozernaya River, considered the crown jewel of Kamchatka  and runs directly into the Bering Sea.
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  • The Ozernaya River is full of spawning pink salmon— the most abundant—coming in from the left side of the frame, and sockeye—the most valuable—just below them.<br />
<br />
The Kamchatka Shelf in Russia is the last safe place for salmon and the only place on Earth with seven species of oncorhynchus (derived from Greek words meaning hook nose). These photographs illustrate a story about fish that were left alone for millions of years but are now threatened.  <br />
<br />
Along the entire Pacific Rim, salmon production is down to 3 or 4 percent of historic production. Salmon transform from silver missiles in the ocean to brightly colored creatures as they make their way back up their ancestral rivers, and during spawning adult males develop a hooked nose. They stop eating, so it doesn’t matter that their mouths no longer work for food.  The photo in the Ozernaya River, above, shows
    RANDY OLSON_MM7593_1260983-10.TIF
  • Camels have help mating at the camel beauty contest compound.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7803_1260595.JPG
  • Spawning salmon with hook noses dominate traffic in the Ozernaya River. The biggest threat to salmon in Russia is poaching.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7593_1260967.TIF
  • The Kamchatka shelf is the only place where all seven species of Oncorhynchus Salmon can be found. Spawning salmon dominate traffic in the Ozernaya River. <br />
<br />
The salmon migration is one of the last great migrations that shapes the food supply and activities of many species, including humans. Salmon bring marine-derived nutrients from the Kamchatka shelf in the Sea of Okhotsk into the eight major river systems that run off the middle range of mountains that divide Kamchatka in half.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7593_1260965.TIF
  • Colorful spawning salmon in the Ozernaya River. Salmon transform from silver missiles in the ocean to brightly colored creatures as they make their way back up their ancestral rivers, and during spawning adult males develop a hooked nose.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7593_1260961.TIF
  • A brown bear fishing for salmon in icy waters of Kuril Lake. Kamchatka has the highest density of brown bears, also known as grizzly bears, in the world. There are almost 15,000 on the Russian peninsula.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7593_1260960.TIF
  • A brown bear swims with his head underwater as he fishes for salmon in Kuril Lake.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7593_1260955.JPG
  • Spawning salmon in the Ozernaya River.<br />
The Kamchatka Shelf in Russia is the last safe place for salmon and the only place on Earth with seven species of oncorhynchus (derived from Greek words meaning hook nose). These photographs illustrate a story about fish that were left alone for millions of years but are now threatened.  Along the entire Pacific Rim, salmon production is down to 3 or 4 percent of historic production. Salmon transform from silver missiles in the ocean to brightly colored creatures as they make their way back up their ancestral rivers, and during spawning adult males develop a hooked nose. They stop eating, so it doesn’t matter that their mouths no longer work for food.  The photo in the Ozernaya River, above, shows pink salmon— the most abundant—coming in from the left side of the frame, and sockeye—the most valuable—just below them.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7593_1248219.JPG
  • Spawning salmon in the Ozernaya River. Along the entire Pacific Rim, salmon production is down to 3 or 4 percent of historic production. Salmon transform from silver missiles in the ocean to brightly colored creatures as they make their way back up their ancestral rivers, and during spawning adult males develop a hooked nose.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7593_1260983-12.TIF
  • Spawning salmon with hook noses dominate traffic in the Ozernaya River.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7593_1260966.TIF
  • Kurilskoe Lake Preserve is a world heritage site and had serious poaching. But now, two or three wardens are always out on enforcement and they pack out for a month at a time. The official salary for wardens is $200 a month, but the WWF came in and supplemented salaries and bought them the equipment they need to do the job. WWF decided one of the gems of the reserve system that exists in all of Russia should be poaching free.
    MM7593_20080811_08158.tif
  • An African fish eagle.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7661_1306574.JPG
  • After ritualistic pawing and sniffing, an aggressive gray stallion goes for the throat of another wild horse in a confrontation to establish dominance. Fur flies as the stallion rears back, caught off guard at the attack. Although many conflicts are short and not so brutal, serious injuries can occur as stallions fight. Many mustang studs have missing ears, and their bodies are battle-scarred from bite marks and strikes from front hooves. <br />
White Sands herd from the missile range in Utah have a rare gaited gene.
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  • A stallion nips at at another stud as they fight for dominance in a wild horse herd. Dust rises as the pair clash in the dry summer months in the West.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222803.jpg
  • A white mustang stallion challenges another stud as the herd adjusts to the new dynamic of status as horses introduced.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222800.jpg
  • As night falls, a blur of galloping horses reveals a stud that is chasing a younger male from the band. When males come of age showing sexual maturity, they are driven from the family to find a mate. It is believed this is their natural way of warding off inbreeding. The younger horse must find other males to form a bachelor band or win a mare for his own.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222869.TIF
  • A sleek stud challenges a paint stallion as they clashed near a water hole in Oregon's high desert. Wild horses drink in order of hierarchy that is determined by their dominance. Their hooves thud when pounding each other in a fight within the herd.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222867.jpg
  • Bachelor mustangs spar and mock battle to practice their fighting moves and build up the courage to challenge a stallion to steal mares for their own bands. A thick blanket of fog made it tough for the dominant stallion to keep a watchful eye to protect his band.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222827.TIF
  • Two yearling mock battle to earn confidence to battle a stallion. As they mature, stallions fight for dominance in a herd.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222875.jpg
  • Phantom, a charismatic white mustang, fights a roan stallion at the Wild Horse Sanctuary. He was captured by the U.S. Forest Service and rescued by loyal fans who raised money to save him. Once released with other horses, he was tested for hierarchy in the herd.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222773.jpg
  • Young studs playfully mock battle to earn confidence to battle a stallion. They practice their moves by chasing, biting, kicking and fighting.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222876.jpg
  • Tension mounts as two battle-scarred wild stallions face off. In a wild horse herd, the dominant stallion is challenged by other studs in a brutal quest for hierarchy. Eye to eye, the horses stare and smell each other which is the beginning of the fight ritual. Many mustang studs have missing ears, and their bodies are battle-scarred from bite marks and strikes from front hooves.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222817.jpg
  • Two young studs playfully spar as they gain confidence and moves that will help them challenge older stallions for hierarchy in the herd. They bite and kick, running in circles and kicking up dust around the other horses.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222806.jpg
  • Stallions kick up their heels as they spar in a battle for mares during the foaling season.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222791.jpg
  • Young studs playfully practice their moves to fight for dominance in the White Sands Herd. A well placed bite may give one an advantage in a battle for mares during breeding season. The instinctual training is to insure preservation of the strongest in the herd. Brutal fights can leave mustangs scarred and injured so the yearlings practice as they mature.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222776.jpg
  • Two young foals explore a scratching post tree after watching other horses in the herd pass under it  creating a well-worn path.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222878.jpg
  • Stallions battle for mares during the foaling season which is generally in the spring, There are constant conflicts that interrupt the wild horse's grazing habits.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222810.jpg
  • A woman with an impala skin is arrested by an antipoaching ranger.
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  • Two paint mustangs playfully bite while grazing at South Steens mountain in Oregon. The wild horses are friends and hang out with other bachelors in the herd.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222905.jpg
  • A spotted fawn tries to hide in tall grasses along Pack Creek on Admiralty Island in Tongass National Forest.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7258_1075102.TIF
  • A pregnant mare rolls in the mud with a plastic bucket over her mouth as a muzzle to keep her from being inadvertently eating caterpillars, thus limiting her exposure to toxins.<br />
In 2001, approximately 25% of all pregnant mares in Kentucky aborted their foals within several weeks (over 3,000 mares lost pregnancies), and abortion rates exceeded 60% on some farms because of Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome (MRLS).  The mysterious disease caused mares to spontaneously abort at an early term as well fully developed foals—the babies that survived had heart and eye problems. Those that didn’t die or were put down had brain injuries and are often referred to as “dummy foals.”  University of Kentucky estimates 1400 foals were aborted costing the state 336 million dollars.<br />
<br />
What was known was that mares were being exposed to something in the fields—a fungus or mycotoxin that seemed to be related to the Eastern tent caterpillar that was found in cherry trees. Farms tried to limit their risk and exposure to the grass by putting plastic buckets over their mouths.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7017_720969.jpg
  • A bachelor band of horses group together for protection and company while grazing in the high desert of Steens Mountain in Oregon. Males in a herd form a family when they are young or old but have no mares.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222866.jpg
  • Wild stallions square off at a watering hole as other horses drink. Horses come to drink in a hierarchy, so these two mustangs are competing for dominance as water becomes more scarce for wildlife.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM6659_705725.jpg
  • A wild stallion attempts to escape but is roped by cowboys during a Bureau of Land Managment roundup. The wily wild horse whinnied to the other trapped horses, then tried to outrun his captures.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222836.jpg
  • A bachelor band of wild horses put their heads together to share a good source of food. Males without mares or family create their own bands with other single males.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222795.jpg
  • A U.S. Customs Service agent plays with a search dog near trucks crossing at the Mexican border.<br />
<br />
The Canine Enfocement Program is used to combat terrorism, interdict narcotics, and other contraband while helping to facilitate and process legitimate trade and travel.
    MELISSA FARLOW_04526_1187039.jpg
  • Ears pointed forward, a wild Palomino canters blurring at a fast pace through grasslands and prairie. Palominos are recognized by the color of horse distinguished by their cream, yellow, or gold coat and white or silver mane and tail. The Palomino horse is said to have originated in Spain around 1519, at the beginning of the Spanish New World and Cortez's reign. Although the exact development of these horses is unknown, their origin is rooted in Spain. Ears tipped forward indicate excitement or interest.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222874.jpg
  • A wild mustang trudges through snow pawing at drifts foraging for grasses to survive on in the Ochoco Mountains.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1200574.TIF
  • Surgeonfish  slice through the coral rich waters off Palmyra.
    RANDY OLSON_MM6778_672488.JPG
  • A moose forages amid the woodlands stands in tall grass near Anchorage, Alaska. Alces alces gigas is the largest member of the deer family. Adults range in size from 800-1600 pounds and can be 6 feet tall. Antlers are carried by only males.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM6659_705729-26.JPG
  • A Bald Eagle in flight catches a fish with its talons. Their wingspans measure 7½ ft. The average weight is 10-12 pounds, some weigh up to 16 pounds. Bald Eagles can pick up and fly off with a fish or other prey items that weigh 4-5 pounds, any more weight than that is too heavy and they will stall out and crash.
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  • A black bear (Ursus americanus) shakes water from his head while feeding on salmon in Anan Creek and hour from Wrangell.  Bears fatten up during the heavy run of fish that spawn in the summer.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7258_1075026.TIF
  • A moose forages amid the woodlands stands in tall grass near Anchorage, Alaska. Alces alces gigas is the largest member of the deer family. Adults range in size from 800-1600 pounds and can be 6 feet tall. Antlers are carried by only males.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM6659_705685.jpg
  • A salmon swims away from a brown bear that is fishing for salmon in Kuril Lake.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7593_1260983-2.TIF
  • A brown bear fishing for salmon leaps into Kuril Lake while her cubs wait on the shore. Kamchatka has the highest density of brown bears in the world, with almost 15,000 on the Russian peninsula.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7593_1260983-1.TIF
  • Brown bears fish for salmon in Kuril Lake. So many salmon—pink, chum, sockeye, coho, chinook, and masu—flood the waters that typically solitary brown bears crowd together
    RANDY OLSON_MM7593_1260983-14.TIF
  • A brown bear's claws hang onto the salmon in Kuril Lake.<br />
<br />
Grizzly bears need to eat about 40 fish a day to put on weight to make it through the winter.<br />
<br />
Brown bears in Kamchatka can be 7 to 9 feet in length and weigh 700-800 pounds. Species: U. arctic Genus:Ursus<br />
<br />
Kamchatka has the highest density of brown bears in the world, with almost 15,000 on the Russian peninsula.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7593_1260983-13.TIF
  • A humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) surfaces and dives into Stephens Passage. Studies how the humpback from Southeast Alaska travels mostly to Hawaii to breed and returns in the summer to the cold Alaskan waters.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7258_1075105.TIF
  • A juvenile brown bear (Ursus arctos) crosses Pack Creek to hunt for salmon. The native Tlingít people call Admiralty Island "Kootznoowoo," or "Fortress of the Bears." The island is home to an estimated 1,500 grizzlies.
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  • A falcon perches on its trainer's block.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7803_1260611.JPG
  • A dog relaxes in a motorcycle's sidecar.<br />
Kamchatka has remote village life where during the summer, locals race around in ancient former Soviet motorbikes with sidecars. It is normal to see the family dog tagging along.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7593_1260911.TIF
  • The last thing many migrating salmon see is this: the claws of a massive paw. Brown bears stun their targets with club-like blows, then gobble up their catch. This underwater shot of a brown bear was made at what is known as a Grizzly in Kurilskoe Lake Preserve, a World Heritage Site. A remote location, one must charter an MI-8 helicopter for a two-hour ride each way, so there aren’t many people to bother these bears. Once they memorize your scent they may come very close, and at times I saw 17 bears in the view shed.<br />
<br />
Brown bears in Kamchatka can be 7 to 9 feet in length and weigh 700-800 pounds. Species: U. arctic Genus:Ursus<br />
<br />
Kamchatka has the highest density of brown bears in the world, with almost 15,000 on the Russian peninsula.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7593_1248227.TIF
  • A brown bear photographed underwater while fishing. Bears thrive on salmon but compete with 137 species of fish, birds, and mammals that also depend on salmon as a main staple of their diet. <br />
<br />
Grizzly bears gorge on rich protein of salmon for three months.  Though they munch on greens and berries, salmon are their main protein source and they fatten up before hibernating in the winter. <br />
<br />
Brown bears in Kamchatka can be 7 to 9 feet in length and weigh 700-800 pounds. Species: U. arctic Genus:Ursus<br />
<br />
Kamchatka has the highest density of brown bears in the world, with almost 15,000 on the peninsula.<br />
<br />
To make this photograph, which was selected as one of the best photographs in National Geographic, I had to be approximately six feet away from bears like this one that was charging into the water to try to catch a fish. The water in Duril Lake is murky, so I had to be close and shot this photograph with a 12mm lens.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7593_1248221.TIF
  • Brown bears fishing for salmon in Kuril Lake. Kurilskoe Lake Preserve is a world heritage site and had serious poaching. But now, two or three wardens are always out on enforcement and they pack out for a month at a time. The official salary for wardens is $200 a month, but the WWF came in and supplemented salaries and bought them the equipment they need to do the job. WWF decided one of the gems of the reserve system that exists in all of Russia should be poaching free - and that also protects the brown bears.
    MM7593_20080818_07671.tif
  • Underwater photo of a brown bear fishing for salmon in Kuril Lake.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7593_1260983-15.TIF
  • A humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) surfaces and dives into Stephens Passage. Studies how the humpback from Southeast Alaska travels mostly to Hawaii to breed and returns to the cold Alaskan waters.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7258_1075106.jpg
  • A black bear (Ursus americanus) feeds on abundant pink salmon in Anan Creek adding needed protein to fatten up on a diet that otherwise consists of cranberries, currants, blueberries, devil's club ants and grubs.  Anan Wildlife Observatory in Tongass National Forest is restricted by permit to keep the bears families that feed there wild.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7258_1075091.TIF
  • A young black bear (Ursus americanus) feeds on salmon in Anan Creek. The site is accessible for tourists to view wildlife in Alaska's Tongass National Forest.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7258_1075090.jpg
  • A salmon swims up a 450 foot fish ladder to spawn in a fish hatchery.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7258_1075045.TIF
  • A Thoroughbred nuzzles a cat on a fence. Horses and cats are quite compatible. They are both sensitive and social creatures, and they nearly always get along forming strong bonds of friendship.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7017_737763.jpg
  • Clown fish seeks refuge among sea anemone tentacles.
    RANDY OLSON_MM6541_663068.JPG
  • Brown bears fishing for salmon in Kuril Lake. Kurilskoe Lake Preserve is a world heritage site and had serious poaching. But now, two or three wardens are always out on enforcement and they pack out for a month at a time. The official salary for wardens is $200 a month, but the WWF came in and supplemented salaries and bought them the equipment they need to do the job. WWF decided one of the gems of the reserve system that exists in all of Russia should be poaching free - and that also protects the brown bears.
    MM7593_20080818_07674.tif
  • China's only full-time pet photographer kisses a Chow Chow.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7493_1176258.JPG
  • A family of trumpeter swans and a cygnet swims in blue waters of Tangle Lakes near Alaska's Denali National Park. Trumpeter Swans forage in shallow water, reaching under the surface to eat aquatic vegetation. Although Trumpeter Swans have been dubbed “a classic conservation success” and numbers have increased, human threats affect the population. The swans are extremely sensitive to human disturbance at their breeding sites and will abandon nests and cygnets if disturbed.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM6659_705764-3.JPG
  • A family of trumpeter swans and a cygnet swims in blue waters of Tangle Lakes near Alaska's Denali National Park. Trumpeter Swans forage in shallow water, reaching under the surface to eat aquatic vegetation. Although Trumpeter Swans have been dubbed “a classic conservation success” and numbers have increased, human threats affect the population. The swans are extremely sensitive to human disturbance at their breeding sites and will abandon nests and cygnets if disturbed.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM6659_705764-2.JPG
  • Wild horses graze at an abandoned industrial site near a waterhole in Nevada. The scrappy equine are survivors on sparse, dry range as they roam across state, private and public federal land.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222834.TIF
  • A family of trumpeter swans and a cygnet swims in blue waters of Tangle Lakes near Alaska's Denali National Park. Trumpeter Swans forage in shallow water, reaching under the surface to eat aquatic vegetation. Although Trumpeter Swans have been dubbed “a classic conservation success” and numbers have increased, human threats affect the population. The swans are extremely sensitive to human disturbance at their breeding sites and will abandon nests and cygnets if disturbed.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM6659_705764.jpg
  • A family of trumpeter swans swims in clear waters of Tangle Lakes hiding in the grasses in the shadow of Alaska's Denali National Park. Trumpeter Swans forage in shallow water, reaching under the surface to eat aquatic vegetation. Although Trumpeter Swans have been dubbed “a classic conservation success” and numbers have increased, human threats affect the population. The swans are extremely sensitive to human disturbance at their breeding sites and will abandon nests and cygnets if disturbed.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM6659_705759.jpg
  • Brown bears competing for salmon in Kuril Lake. So many salmon—pink, chum, sockeye (above), coho, chinook, and masu—flood the waters that typically solitary brown bears crowd together
    RANDY OLSON_MM7593_1260962.TIF
  • A family of trumpeter swans and a cygnet swims in blue waters of Tangle Lakes near Alaska's Denali National Park. Trumpeter Swans forage in shallow water, reaching under the surface to eat aquatic vegetation. Although Trumpeter Swans have been dubbed “a classic conservation success” and numbers have increased, human threats affect the population. The swans are extremely sensitive to human disturbance at their breeding sites and will abandon nests and cygnets if disturbed.
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  • A helicopter circles back to drive a herd of wild horses across the desert toward a trap in a roundup by the Bureau of Land Management in Nevada. Dust rises as the panicked horses flee the buzzing noise above them. Drought and wild land fire create stressful conditions with little water and food available for the herd.
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  • Horses flee from helicopters in a Bureau of Land Management mustang roundup. Bands stay together to protect the younger wild horses as the herd gallops full speed trying to run to safety.
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  • Separated from the herd, wild horses run to safety as Bureau of Land Management contractors bear down driving mustangs toward a trap using a helicopter for the roundup.
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  • Dogs swim and retrieve balls in a designated area in Prospect Park's Dog Beach. Brooklyn, NY locals use the dog-friendly acres of green space for special off-leash hours at the Long Meadow, Nethermead, Peninsula Meadow and, during those hours, even a place to swim.
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