Name the baby gorillas in Rwanda

Global Post reports on the sixth annual baby gorilla naming event in Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park.

In a country home to roughly a third of the world’s 700 remaining mountain gorillas, the annual event, known as Kwita Izina, is a celebrity-laden affair designed to draw attention to global awareness of biodiversity and conservation.

Names for the 14 infant gorillas included "Kinyarwanda-language monikers such as "Igihembo" (Prize), "Ubuhamya" (Testimony) and "Umurage" (Legacy) and "Waka Waka," meaning "Do It" in Cameroon’s Fang language."

Read the full story: Rwanda where there are baby gorillas to name

Photo by Jon Rosen / GlobalPost

Egypt desert tourism: eco or not?

Global Post reports on the effects of "ecotourism" to Egypt's western desert region near the town of Bawati.

Desert ecotourism is becoming a popular alternative to the usual Pyramids and Red Sea lures of this North African nation. But the country's economic dependence on tourism is leading to a need to balance out development versus the overrun of ecosystems.

The White Desert - that features otherworldly landscapes (picture right) - is a prime tourist spot that fills up at sunset with snap happy foreigners.

The Bahariya Oasis just north of the White Desert has also seen a rise in visitors to the extent where one-third of the residents now work in tourism.

But the industry isn't regulated well and environmentalists say the economic interests outweigh minimizing impact on the environment. Others in the tourism industry welcome the rise in tourists and want more to come.

Read the full story: Desert ecotourism, what's in it for Egypt?

Photo from A-1 Safari Egypt

Kenya wildlife starve through drought

Global Post reports on how Kenya's drought is affecting not only the people but also the wildlife.

Ten Rare white rhinos (picture right) were moved from drought-stricken Lake Nakuru National Park and released at Nairobi NP, but they are among the lucky survivors

“This is the third year without rain so all the grass is gone. What we’re left with is a barren land of carcasses,” Cynthia Moss (a renowned conservationist who studies the elephants of Kenya’s Amboseli National Park) told GlobalPost.

Moss said this year’s drought is about as bad as she has known in 37 years of researching Amboseli’s elephants. “We had very bad droughts in '76, '84 and 2000 but this is the worst I’ve seen. The old Maasai — the wazee — say it hasn’t been this bad since the 1960s.”

Read the full story: Drought hits Kenya's wildlife

Photo by Thomas Mukoya / Reuters

From old flip-flops to art in Kenya

Global Post reports on recycled flip-flops turned into art in Kenya.

Old flip-flops wash up onto Kenya's beaches from all over the world. A company was formed to make this rubbish into saleable art like: "crazily striped rhinos, elephants and lions looking like mini psychedelic safaris."

Read the full story: Turning flip-flops into art

Swim near a nuclear power plant in Taiwan

Global Post reports on the Taiwanese nuclear power plant looming over a popular beach.

To date, Taiwan has a near spotless nuclear safety record. That means few here fear having their beach time ruined by a meltdown. "Maybe we've just been lucky," [A 52-year-old parking lot attendant] added with a laugh.

But he said the beach has changed dramatically since he was a child. Then, coral covered the shallow sea floor. "Now, they're all dead," he said. "I don't know if it's because of global warming or the nuclear plant."

Read the full story: Welcome to Taiwan's nuclear beach

Photo by Pichi Chuang/Reuters

Galapagos Islands overpopulation problem

Ecotourists like to visit natural sites like the Galapagos Islands, and now the surrounding area is suffering from overpopulation directly related to this industry.

Global Post's Pailin Wedel reports on this below:


View the full story here: Overpopulating paradise

Photo by Guillermo Granja/Reuters