In August 2012, when thousands of honeybees landed on the wings of a Delta aircraft headed to New York, interrupting refueling and baggage loading, Ben Shertzer, wildlife administrator at Pittsburgh International Airport, turned to master beekeeper Steve Repasky. Shertzer learned from Repasky that honeybee numbers have sharply declined in recent years. Perhaps, thought Shertzer, the airport could host some hives (蜂箱).

Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), first reported in 2006 by Pennsylvania beekeeper David Hackenberg, occurs when the vast majority of bees in any given colony — generally worker bees — die out unexpectedly. Therefore, Hackenberg transports his hives across the country to pollinate (对……授粉) crops: They might travel from Pennsylvania to California, and then, a few months later, those same hives might be moved to Maine for the blueberry crop. In 2006, Hackenberg had left 400 hives in a field to pollinate Brazilian pepper trees; when he returned to the hives a month later, all but 36 hives had been abandoned. The bees had just disappeared, leaving behind the queen and a few baby bees. By 2013, more than 10 million bee colonies had been lost worldwide.

Shertzer and Repasky approached airport management about placing hives in 2013, but were told that the program didn’t fit the airport’s vision. It wasn’t until Christina Cassotis came on board as CEO in 2015 that things turned around. The airport currently has 110 colonies. The program actually benefits the airport as well as the honeybees.

“Swarming (成群飞行) is reproductive behavior,” says Repasky. “In the spring, a healthy colony will divide into two parts, and will take off in a swarm to locate a new home, traveling upwards of a mile or more. While they’re searching, they’ll stop to rest on the first solid object they can find, whether it’s the wing of an aircraft, a runway taxi light, or a baggage cart.” To prevent this behavior, Shertzer and Repasky have placed 15 “swarm traps” around the airfield offering the bees alternative landing spots. It’s worked: Whereas the airport used to have 15 or more swarms a year interrupting air operations, in the past year it has had just three.

The African penguin lives on St. Croix island off the east coast of South Africa. A new study has found that African penguins are leaving their natural environment to escape noisy ship refueling activities.

The island once held the world’s largest reproducing (繁殖) population of the animals. But the population has dropped sharply since South Africa started permitting ships in the area to refuel at sea six years ago, the study found.

Lorien Pichegru, acting director of the Coastal and Marine Research Institute at Nelson Mandela University, which led the study, said the organization had found that noise levels in the area had doubled since the refueling activities began. Scientists say high noise levels affect the ability of ocean animals to find and catch other animals for food. Noise also makes it more difficult for the animals to communicate with each other and map travel paths. “This year we are at 1,200 breeding pairs at St Croix from 8,500 pairs in 2016,” Pichegru said.

The study recently appeared in the publication Science of the Total Environment. The researchers said the study is the first to explore the effects of ocean traffic noise pollution on a seabird.

Nelson Mandela University’s study collected data from ship identification tools to estimate underwater noise from passing ships. Oil-covered penguins were found in 2019 in Algoa Bay after an oil spill (泄露) from ship-to-ship refueling. Environmental groups have called for the activities to be stopped in the bay.

Pichegru said penguins in the area were already struggling to survive because of a series of issues, including industrial fishing activities. She added that the refueling activities did not kill all the penguins. However, “It was just the thing that made the whole ecology tip over and then the penguins couldn’t deal with that,” she said.

Olivia Sievers, a flight instructor in Germany, is a wonderful person who loves animals. Her flights frequently took her to Buenos Aires, where she had to spend 2 days in a guesthouse. Olivia was walking toward her guesthouse one day when she noticed a stray dog(流浪狗)in front of the hotel room door. She turned her head to this dog and fed him. Seeing him got cold, Olivia covered him with a blanket. The next day Olivia continued to feed the dog because she realized she couldn’t avoid interacting with him. Then it was time to go back to Germany. When Olivia got out of the guesthouse, she saw the dog standing outside in a respectful manner to see her off.

The dog seemed to form a relationship with the woman and started to wait for her at the entrance gate from that day forward. Olivia gave him the name Rubio. Rubio would always obey Olivia’s instructions. He gladly rolled his eyes, lay down on one side, and decided to wait for Olivia to touch his stomach. He desired the focus he once received. Sometimes animals require love and affection(感情).

Olivia had to fly to Buenos Aires every 3 months. The guesthouse staff informed her that the dog had visited the hotel each day for months, looking forward to meeting her. Then he decided to wait for Olivia patiently. Olivia requested that Rubio be taken in by a local shelter. They consented, but nothing came of it: Rubio fled from the shelter and returned to the guesthouse.

Olivia Sievers eventually chose to adopt the dog and bring him to Germany, where Rubio had a happy fresh start. The cheerful dog quickly adjusted to his new life.