Beluga Whale Saves Drowning Diver

Text by Laura Buckley

Tack on another reason why we love whales. Last week, a beluga named Mila saved a drowning diver in Harbin, northeast China, the Telegraph reports.

Yang Yun, 26, was competing in a free diving contest to become a whale trainer at the Polar Land Aquarium when her legs suddenly felt paralyzed. In the test, divers had to sink to the bottom of the 20-foot, beluga-filled, arctic pool and stay underwater for as long as possible without breathing equipment. To her horror, Yun's legs cramped in the icy water, making her unable to swim to surface. "I began to choke and sank even lower and I thought that was it for me – I was dead," Yun said. 

Enter Mila. The beluga spotted Yun and guided her to safety by placing Yun's leg in her mouth (see the video, top, and sorry for the cheese factor). "I felt this incredible force under me driving me to the surface," Yun said. An organizer of the event credited Mila with saving Yun's life: "She's a sensitive animal who works closely with humans and I think this girl owes her life." Belugas, also called white whales, are social animals and very vocal communicators.

News: World's Rarest Leopard Found in Russia

Good news from the Wildlife Conservation Society:

The world’s rarest big cat is alive and well. At least one of them, that is, according to researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) who captured and released a female Far Eastern leopard in Russia last week.
The capture was made in Primorsky Krai along the Russian-Chinese border by a team of scientists from WCS and the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Biology and Soils (IBS).

The team is evaluating the health and potential effects of inbreeding for this tiny population, which experts believe contains no more than 10-15 females. Other collaborators include: Wildlife Vets International, National Cancer Institute, and the Zoological Society of London. The Far Eastern leopard is perhaps the world’s most endangered big cat, with an estimated 25-40 individuals inhabiting a narrow strip of land in the far southeastern corner of the Russian Federation.

The leopardess, nicknamed “Alyona” by the researchers who captured her, was in good physical condition, weighing a healthy 85 pounds (39 kilograms). A preliminary health analysis revealed that she is he is believed to be between 8-10 years old. The animal has since been released unharmed.

One of the options scientists are considering is trans-locating leopards from other areas to increase genetic diversity—similar to what happened with Florida panthers when animals from Texas were brought in to supplement the remaining population. Today, Florida panthers have risen from less than ten individuals to a population of approximately 100.

Over the last 100 years, Far Eastern leopard numbers have been reduced by poaching combined with habitat loss. However, both camera-trapping and snow-tracking surveys indicate that the population has been stable for the last 30 years, but with a high rate of turnover of individuals. If inbreeding or disease can be kept in check, WCS and its partners believe there is great potential for increasing survival rates and habitat recovery in both Russia and Northeast China.

Photograph by Andrew Harrington

The Adventure Life with Steve Casimiro Gear: Twice is Nice for Carriers of Rice

Text and photos by West Coast Editor Steve Casimiro

Skip the attempts at creative writing, let’s get right to the point: This super-rad Keen messenger bag is made of recycled rice sacks, which were discarded, discovered in a corner of Keen’s shoe factory in Panyu, China, and repurposed as this one of a kind carryall. Giant recycled rice sacks, how cool is that?

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Kayakers Find Big Water on China’s Salween River

Filed April 28 by Kyle Dickman
Photographs by Adam Mills Elliott

It's been a phenomenal week of kayaking for the Epicocity crew on southwest China's Salween River. Himalayan snowmelt left the Salween swollen with rapids that were the biggest and most exciting we've paddled over the past two months.

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The Adventure Life with Steve Casimiro Banished Everest Climber, In His Own Words

Virginia climber Brant Holland made headlines this week for becoming the first person kicked off Mt. Everest and out of Nepal for carrying a “Free Tibet” banner up the mountain. Chinese authorities, worried that the Olympic torch will be held up on its way to the top of Everest by protests over China’s role in Tibet, have closed access to the summit until May 10. Although Holland was climbing the south side, Nepal has been cooperating with China and has deployed army troops at Everest Base Camp.

On Monday, Holland was deported. On Thursday, he spoke to National Geographic ADVENTURE West Coast Editor Steve Casimiro.

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Rafters Get Last Look at the Great Bend of the Yangtze

Text by Rivers in Demand teammate Kyle Dickman

A year from now, it will be impossible to repeat the eight-day rafting trip we just completed down the Great Bend of the Yangtze. This 120-mile section of the Yangtze, like many of China's rivers, will be dammed in 2009. It was amazing to experience this world-class stretch of whitewater before it changes forever.

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Photograph by Adam Mills Elliott