2019
August
08
Thursday

Monitor Daily Podcast

August 08, 2019
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Noelle Swan
Weekly Editor

Welcome to your Daily. Today’s edition explores shifting attitudes on gun control, the human toll of climate change, a rare moment of unity in Brazil around pension reform, the efficacy of busing in education, and the thorny nature of emotional support animals.

What does recovery look like? In Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park, it looks like puppies – adorable puppies with mottled coats, giant teddy-bear-like ears, and a ravenous appetite for fresh meat.

Gorongosa was once a haven for painted wolves – or African wild dogs, as they are more commonly known. But nearly two decades of civil war wiped out 95% of the park’s wildlife.

The havoc and devastation that war brings to human communities is well documented. But the toll that armed conflict takes on wildlife is often overlooked. A multidecade study in Africa found the frequency of conflict to be the most important predictor of wildlife population decline.

Fortunately, that same study found that total collapse was infrequent, suggesting that with careful conservation, recovery is possible.

Gorongosa offers a glimmer of that possibility.

In recent years, the park has slowly been coming back to life, thanks to conservation efforts funded by American philanthropist Gregory Carr. First came the herbivores: elephants, impalas, buffaloes, and more. Carnivore populations have been harder to restore.

But one year after the introduction of 14 painted wolves, the park’s ranks are approaching 50. And leopards are starting to gain a foothold, too. “We’ve got cubs everywhere,” Gorongosa’s carnivore expert Paola Bouley told The New York Times.

These early successes are giving conservationists hope – one ferocious litter at a time.


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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

Patterns

Tracing global connections
Amanda Perobelli/Reuters
A demonstrator protests against proposed pension reforms in São Paulo July 10, 2019. This week, Brazil's lower house of Congress approved a bill that would raise minimum retirement ages and reduce benefits for some workers.

The Explainer

Steve Griffin/The Deseret News/AP
Tiffany Thayne plays with her emotional support dog Dusty in her apartment in Provo, Utah, on March 13, 2019. Ms. Thayne is training Dusty, a collie puppy.

The Monitor's View

AP
The sun sets near Milan, Italy. A new U.N. report on climate change finds the world has warmed as humans degrade the land.

A Christian Science Perspective

About this feature

A message of love

Dominic Lipinski/PA/AP
Beatles look-alikes and thousands of fans gather to walk across Abbey Road on the 50th anniversary of the album cover "Abbey Road" in London, Aug. 8, 2019. To re-create the iconic shot, by Scottish photographer Iain Macmillan, they aimed to cross exactly 50 years to the minute after the Fab Four did.
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Jacob Turcotte. )

A look ahead

Thanks for joining us today. Come back tomorrow when we’ll take a look at why police are embracing body cameras.

Also, a quick note: Yesterday’s editorial misspelled the name of the Charleston shooter, Dylann Roof.

More issues

2019
August
08
Thursday
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