My latest article for Science News for Students goes in a totally different direction than my first one (all about free electron lasers).
While rhinos and tigers are simpler in some ways than x-ray lasers, the article still took months from start to finish. First, I read Eric Dinerstein’s book, Kingdom of the Rarities (a great read!), and then I arranged a time to interview him. He gave me lots of great contacts to learn more about rare species, but all of them were outside of the U.S. — in Nepal and Malaysia. Calling Nepal proved to be a challenge, but I was able to connect with Naresh Subedi (in the picture below with a baby rhinoceros).
Interesting facts I learned while working on this article:
- Rarity is normal – there are many more rare species than common species in the world.
- One-horned rhinoceroses are making a comeback in Nepal
- Sumatran rhinos are in big trouble (under 100 left), and can only be saved with IVF and other medical interventions to help females become pregnant
- Rhino pee is worth money