For many years, Bruce Bexler dreamed of going where no human had gone before. He wanted to cut a path through unexplored lands and discover rare, exotic species.

That might sound like an impossible dream, but Bexler turned it into a reality. In December 2015, he and a team of Australian and American scientists ventured (冒风险) into an remote tropical rain forest on the island of New Guinea. They were the first people ever to enter the mist-covered region. “As time was limited, we were dropped into the area by helicopter. Once we were on the ground, there were no trails anywhere; it was really hard to get around,” Bexler says.

Within minutes of landing, the team spotted a black chicken-like bird with strange orange skin hanging from its neck. The scientists soon determined that the unusual creature was a type of honeyeater—the first new bird species to be sighted on New Guinea in 60 years.

The honeyeater wasn’t the only surprise for the scientists. They discovered more than 40 previously unknown plant and animal species—13 birds of paradise, 20 frogs, four butterflies, and five palms. “We were like kids in a candy store,” Bexler recalls. “Everywhere we looked, we saw amazing things we had never seen before. ”

The newfound species didn’t shy away from the scientists. Two long-nosed echidnas—primitive egg laying mammals—let the visitors pick them up and take them back to camp to study them. An echidna looks like a hedgehog and is also called a spiny anteater.

Bexler thinks the animals weren’t scared because they had never seen humans before. “In almost all parts of New Guinea, animals are hunted for food, and because of this, they are very cautious of people,” he explains. “This area gives scientists a place where they can go to study the behave our of animals that have not yet learned to be afraid of people.”

Scientists believe the area is probably the largest untouched forest in Asia. Local people told Bexler that not even their ancestors had gone so far into the woods. The wooded area is approximately a 10-day walk from the nearest village.

Bexler and his team did not have enough time during the expedition to study the area completely. They hope to return and expect to record many more undiscovered species. “We just scratched the surface,” Bexler says. “Anyone who goes there will come back with a mystery.”

In order to save the rare northern spotted owl, biologists are doing something that goes against their heart — shooting another owl that’s rapidly taking over spotted owls’ territory (领地) across the northwest.

During the 1990s, a few barred owls showed up in an area of forests along Redwood Creek that was spotted owls’ territory. Barred owls, which reproduce much faster than spotted owls, now claim nearly all this territory. No spotted owls have nested here in recent years.

“It’s very annoying and there’s nothing that’s going to stop this expansion of barred owls,” says Diller, who has studied spotted owls for 25 years. The only possible solution forces him to go against his nature.

Diller’s a hunter, but he was taught never to kill a bird or anything you didn’t plan to eat. Diller remembers the first time he took a shot. “I was so nervous about what I was doing that I had to steady myself against a tree.” Over the past five years, Diller has killed more than 70 barred owls with a shotgun. “I hate it every time I go out and do it,” he says. People recognized that there’s a crisis for spotted owls and those barred owls are part of the cause of that crisis. So, they unwillingly attempted to kill the barred owls.

A group, Friends of Animals, doesn’t believe the government can make a moral argument for shooting an animal, even if it would benefit another animal.

“I don’t see that as being a solution. At some point you have to allow these species to either figure out a way to coexist or for nature to run its course,” says Michael Harris, director of Friends of Animals.

But Diller argues that is an absurd thing to say after all the way humans have changed nature. People cut down most of the forests that used to host barred owls. They made lots of changes to the Great Plains, which he believes helped the barred owl move across the continent.

For Diller, seeing rare spotted owls increase in the forests is worth the pain of shooting barred owls.

“Probably what makes spotted owls so special is the fact that they fly right up to you,” Diller says. “You get to interact with them. It’s almost impossible for a biologist not to fall in love with these birds — they’re just the neatest animal.”

Eight-year-old Owen Howkins suffers from growth delays(迟缓) and poor eyesight. This means that Owen needs a wheelchair to get around. Not surprisingly, he felt people were staring (盯着看) at him, and that made him very uncomfortable, so he became lonely and even stopped going outside of his house. That, however, was all before Haatchi came into his life!

Haatchi had a very unlucky start to life too. Tied to a railway track when he was just five months old, the dog was hit by a train. The hit unjured his tail and a leg so badly that both had to be cut off. Taken to a rescue shelter(救助站), the dog would have probably been killed if his story posted on Facebook had not been seen by Owen’s dad Will. He fell in love with Haatchi and decided to keep him, thinking that they were helping him. It turns out that it was Haatchi who helped them. By always staying at young Owen’s side, he became the boy’s best friend. Slowly Owen liked to go outside. Wherever he goes, the dog follows and protects him. Owen now proudly walks around the neighborhood, showing off his dog and telling anyone willing to listen, Haatchi’s story.

Haatch’s positive influence on the young boy has not gone unnoticed. In October 2012, the International Fund of Animal Welfare presented him with a special award(奖). The amazing friendship between the two has also been shown in a touching short film called “A Boy and His Dog” by students from the filmmaking class at the University of Hertfordshire. It has won several awards and had almost 2 million views. British best-selling author Wendy Holden has also writtern about this touching friendship in a aheartwarming children’s book, which was released on February 13th and had made Owen and Haatchi better known!