The unofficial main square of Lima, Peru, is curiously named after an American president. Parque Kennedy is the chief point of convergence of limeños and tourists alike, more popular even than the city's Parque del Amor (Lovers Park) and its Calle de las Pizzas (Street of Pizzas).   Five-acre Parque Kennedy consists of well-tended trees and lawns, walkways and benches, and...Read More

The orphaned boy read his homework out loud in excited bursts. A nun stood beside him, nodding her approval. I smiled. Most of Mexico’s orphans live nightmarish lives. The Mexican Commission to Defend and Promote Human Rights has exposed conditions at government institutions for orphans as “extremely inhumane” and the U.S.-based Disability Rights International says many...Read More

As I lay my head on the chest of a sleeping tiger, I realized how vulnerable the powerful creatures really are. By 2025, the largest cat species will live only in sanctuaries and zoos. Even then, the 10 original tiger species will shrink to three or four. A hunter killed the last Bali tiger on that Indonesian island in 1937. Someone shot and killed the last of the Javanese tigers,...Read More

Lying on a rocky outcrop in the Sea of Cortez was a sight that haunts me to this day: A sea lion with strands of fishing net slicing into its neck like a garrote. Even from 200 feet away I could see exposed red flesh and imagine the animal's anguish. Help was beyond my control. I'd arrived at that seascape aboard a boat packed with people who'd traveled thousands of miles to...Read More

The lady elephant watched me with huge eyes. I stood a few feet away on a raised deck with a hunk of melon in my hand. The tip of the grey lady's trunk scooped the fruit and placed it on her tongue. As she chewed, she unfurled her trunk again, eager to receive another treat. If I hadn't been told, I might well have overlooked that she kept her left rear foot off the ground as...Read More