Dr. Cassie Freund
@cassiefreund.bsky.social
Conservation Portfolio Strategist at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Fellow at Wake Forest's Sabin Center for Environment & Sustainability. Currently researching how the way we talk about animals online affects their conservation.
Reposted by Dr. Cassie Freund
It would cost $30 billion to end homelessness in the USA.
Mark Zuckerberg’s gamble on the "Metaverse" has lost his company more than $77 billion.
December 6, 2025 at 7:03 AM
It would cost $30 billion to end homelessness in the USA.
Reposted by Dr. Cassie Freund
[FOUNDER'S BRIEF - @rhettayersbutler.bsky.social]
In Indonesia’s Mentawai Islands, rich with macaques, gibbons & hornbills, Indigenous youth continue practicing Arat Sabulungan — a belief that every part of nature holds spirits. Rituals before cutting trees or fishing remain a way to keep balance.
In Indonesia’s Mentawai Islands, rich with macaques, gibbons & hornbills, Indigenous youth continue practicing Arat Sabulungan — a belief that every part of nature holds spirits. Rituals before cutting trees or fishing remain a way to keep balance.
How religious beliefs may help protect Mentawai’s forests
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. Off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, the Mentawai Islands…
news.mongabay.com
November 30, 2025 at 9:01 PM
[FOUNDER'S BRIEF - @rhettayersbutler.bsky.social]
In Indonesia’s Mentawai Islands, rich with macaques, gibbons & hornbills, Indigenous youth continue practicing Arat Sabulungan — a belief that every part of nature holds spirits. Rituals before cutting trees or fishing remain a way to keep balance.
In Indonesia’s Mentawai Islands, rich with macaques, gibbons & hornbills, Indigenous youth continue practicing Arat Sabulungan — a belief that every part of nature holds spirits. Rituals before cutting trees or fishing remain a way to keep balance.
Reposted by Dr. Cassie Freund
It’s not a great deal if you don’t need it. And especially this year, others really need support. So for all of us who have enough, let’s refuse to get sucked into the holiday shopping frenzy and share instead of shop. We don’t need more stuff, we need communities where all our neighbors are safe.
November 28, 2025 at 3:54 PM
It’s not a great deal if you don’t need it. And especially this year, others really need support. So for all of us who have enough, let’s refuse to get sucked into the holiday shopping frenzy and share instead of shop. We don’t need more stuff, we need communities where all our neighbors are safe.
Reposted by Dr. Cassie Freund
“I asked ChatGPT” “I asked Claude” I asked this horseshoe crab and he said your ass wouldn’t have lasted two seconds in the Triassic
November 23, 2025 at 9:50 PM
“I asked ChatGPT” “I asked Claude” I asked this horseshoe crab and he said your ass wouldn’t have lasted two seconds in the Triassic
Reposted by Dr. Cassie Freund
Journalist challenge: Use “Machine Learning” when you mean machine learning and “LLM” when you mean LLM. Ditch “AI” as a catch-all term, it’s not useful for readers and it helps companies trying to confuse the public by obscuring the roles played by different technologies. 🧪
November 22, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Journalist challenge: Use “Machine Learning” when you mean machine learning and “LLM” when you mean LLM. Ditch “AI” as a catch-all term, it’s not useful for readers and it helps companies trying to confuse the public by obscuring the roles played by different technologies. 🧪
Reposted by Dr. Cassie Freund
New feature article from TNJ (nation's best student magazine): Inside Yale’s Quiet Reckoning with AI thenewjournalatyale.com/2025/10/insi...
November 16, 2025 at 4:43 PM
New feature article from TNJ (nation's best student magazine): Inside Yale’s Quiet Reckoning with AI thenewjournalatyale.com/2025/10/insi...
Reposted by Dr. Cassie Freund
every time i try to be late to something im still somehow early, chronic midwesterner ahhhhh
November 14, 2025 at 2:55 PM
every time i try to be late to something im still somehow early, chronic midwesterner ahhhhh
Reposted by Dr. Cassie Freund
What we're witnessing with #Melissa is ultra rare in the history of known hurricanes in the Atlantic. This level of sustained intensity and feasting on every joule of ocean heat content without any real disruption is incredible.
Not hyperbole: Jamaica is facing a generational catastrophic event.
Not hyperbole: Jamaica is facing a generational catastrophic event.
October 28, 2025 at 2:23 AM
What we're witnessing with #Melissa is ultra rare in the history of known hurricanes in the Atlantic. This level of sustained intensity and feasting on every joule of ocean heat content without any real disruption is incredible.
Not hyperbole: Jamaica is facing a generational catastrophic event.
Not hyperbole: Jamaica is facing a generational catastrophic event.
Reposted by Dr. Cassie Freund
At the food pantry I volunteer at we were absolutely swamped today and by many first timers. We ran out of whole categories of food. Please donate cash to your local organization if you at all can.
October 25, 2025 at 11:04 PM
At the food pantry I volunteer at we were absolutely swamped today and by many first timers. We ran out of whole categories of food. Please donate cash to your local organization if you at all can.
Reposted by Dr. Cassie Freund
According to the latest update of the IUCN Red List, 20 species have seen a positive change in their status: they’ve moved farther away from the threat of extinction, thanks to effective conservation measures or reduced threats.
20 animal species on the road to recovery: IUCN Red List update
From three species of Arctic seals to more than half of all birds globally, several animals have slipped closer to extinction, according to the latest update of the IUCN Red List. However, 20 species…
news.mongabay.com
October 17, 2025 at 9:21 PM
According to the latest update of the IUCN Red List, 20 species have seen a positive change in their status: they’ve moved farther away from the threat of extinction, thanks to effective conservation measures or reduced threats.
Reposted by Dr. Cassie Freund
🦒Biologists are often drawn to charismatic species but they do not always have the opportunity to study them. This study reveals some fierce competition in certain academic fields, and illustrates unequal social distribution of research opportunities➡️https://buff.ly/kjYUIBg
October 17, 2025 at 11:04 AM
🦒Biologists are often drawn to charismatic species but they do not always have the opportunity to study them. This study reveals some fierce competition in certain academic fields, and illustrates unequal social distribution of research opportunities➡️https://buff.ly/kjYUIBg
Reposted by Dr. Cassie Freund
twice a year the entire U.S. press becomes a marketing extension of a single billionaire-owned retailer, and nobody in any position of editorial power thinks it's weird or gross
October 8, 2025 at 1:44 PM
twice a year the entire U.S. press becomes a marketing extension of a single billionaire-owned retailer, and nobody in any position of editorial power thinks it's weird or gross
Does anyone out here know what's going on at Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research? Papers languishing with no communications whatsoever, despite me reaching out at least 10 times. Any intel would be great.
October 3, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Does anyone out here know what's going on at Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research? Papers languishing with no communications whatsoever, despite me reaching out at least 10 times. Any intel would be great.
Reposted by Dr. Cassie Freund
Jane taught us that every day we live, we make an impact. The choice is ours as to what kind of impact it will be.
Her life proved that one person, rooted in compassion and sustained by hope, can change the world. Now it is up to us to carry that light forward—not as a farewell, but as a promise.
Her life proved that one person, rooted in compassion and sustained by hope, can change the world. Now it is up to us to carry that light forward—not as a farewell, but as a promise.
October 2, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Jane taught us that every day we live, we make an impact. The choice is ours as to what kind of impact it will be.
Her life proved that one person, rooted in compassion and sustained by hope, can change the world. Now it is up to us to carry that light forward—not as a farewell, but as a promise.
Her life proved that one person, rooted in compassion and sustained by hope, can change the world. Now it is up to us to carry that light forward—not as a farewell, but as a promise.
Reposted by Dr. Cassie Freund
Anyway, learning another language is good for you because you die a thousand deaths of embarrassment and then you come out more humble and even more aware of your various human failings
September 26, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Anyway, learning another language is good for you because you die a thousand deaths of embarrassment and then you come out more humble and even more aware of your various human failings
Incredible photo essay that highlights the impact of sea level rise + subsidence in Java. These communities seem to be so resourceful, but the effects are devastating.
Until the seas take Miami, we'll watch and send thoughts and prayers.
Photos: The Last Residents of a Sinking Village
Some coastal villages in Indonesia’s Central Java province have been largely abandoned in recent years, as rising seas, sinking land, and erosion have left communities and farms underwater.
www.theatlantic.com
September 22, 2025 at 11:47 PM
Incredible photo essay that highlights the impact of sea level rise + subsidence in Java. These communities seem to be so resourceful, but the effects are devastating.
Reposted by Dr. Cassie Freund
stop 👏 anthropomorphizing 👏 the 👏 chatbot 👏
July 20, 2025 at 10:18 PM
stop 👏 anthropomorphizing 👏 the 👏 chatbot 👏
Reposted by Dr. Cassie Freund
46 states have fewer people than the number who will die because Trump, Elon, and Rubio illegally destroyed USAID.
I really don’t understand how anyone in this administration, or anyone who supports them, sleep at night.
USAID cuts could lead to 14 million deaths over the next five years, researchers say
An analysis published Monday in the medical journal The Lancet projects that cuts to the agency will lead to more deaths from diseases like AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
www.nbcnews.com
July 1, 2025 at 12:12 AM
46 states have fewer people than the number who will die because Trump, Elon, and Rubio illegally destroyed USAID.
Reposted by Dr. Cassie Freund
The disparity btwn what’s actually happening in Los Angeles and the way it’s being mischaracterized is one of the biggest stress tests of modern media in recent memory. Botted socials, AI, old clips, declining literacy—it’s like seeing a broken emergency response system hit by a storm.
June 10, 2025 at 9:57 PM
The disparity btwn what’s actually happening in Los Angeles and the way it’s being mischaracterized is one of the biggest stress tests of modern media in recent memory. Botted socials, AI, old clips, declining literacy—it’s like seeing a broken emergency response system hit by a storm.
Reposted by Dr. Cassie Freund
🚨 NEW SPECIES ALERT 🚨 From @mongabay.com, “3,000-year-old trees in Tanzania are new species.” 🌍🧪🌳
news.mongabay.com/2025/03/3000...
news.mongabay.com/2025/03/3000...
‘3,000 year-old’ trees in Tanzania are new species
Botanist Andrea Bianchi and local plant experts Aloyce Mwakisoma and his brother Ruben were exploring two tiny village forest reserves in the Udzungwa mountains in 2019, when they stumbled upon some i...
news.mongabay.com
May 14, 2025 at 2:03 PM
🚨 NEW SPECIES ALERT 🚨 From @mongabay.com, “3,000-year-old trees in Tanzania are new species.” 🌍🧪🌳
news.mongabay.com/2025/03/3000...
news.mongabay.com/2025/03/3000...
Reposted by Dr. Cassie Freund
This year’s Whitley Awards, commonly dubbed the “Green Oscars,” have been presented to seven conservationists from three continents working to protect and revive a diverse range of threatened animals and plants, including jaguars, yew trees and orchids, frogs, monkeys, gibbons, elephants and cranes.
Winners of 2025 Whitley Awards, the ‘Green Oscars,’ are announced
This year’s Whitley Awards, commonly dubbed the “Green Oscars,” have been presented to seven conservationists from three continents working to protect and revive a diverse range of threatened animals…
news.mongabay.com
May 3, 2025 at 1:17 AM
This year’s Whitley Awards, commonly dubbed the “Green Oscars,” have been presented to seven conservationists from three continents working to protect and revive a diverse range of threatened animals and plants, including jaguars, yew trees and orchids, frogs, monkeys, gibbons, elephants and cranes.
Submitting a review for a deserving paper by a first-time author is always a great way to start the day ✨
April 17, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Submitting a review for a deserving paper by a first-time author is always a great way to start the day ✨
Reposted by Dr. Cassie Freund
This is the biggest and best development on fighting climate change in a long time.
"Many of the world’s largest shipping nations decided on Friday to impose a minimum tax of $100 for every ton of carbon dioxide emitted by ships...effectively the first global tax on greenhouse gas emissions."
apnews.com/article/ship...
apnews.com/article/ship...
Major nations agree on first-ever global tax on greenhouse gases with plan that targets shipping
Many of the world’s largest shipping nations decided on Friday to impose a minimum tax of $100 for every ton of carbon dioxide emitted by ships, if their planet-heating emissions are not already accou...
apnews.com
April 11, 2025 at 2:28 PM
This is the biggest and best development on fighting climate change in a long time.
Reposted by Dr. Cassie Freund
Americans should care more about who has access to their data.
How Musk and Trump Are Working to Consolidate Government Data About You (Gift Article)
Databases that Elon Musk’s team is trying to access include more than 300 personal details about members of the U.S. public.
www.nytimes.com
April 9, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Americans should care more about who has access to their data.
Reposted by Dr. Cassie Freund
Four of the Big Five Publishers Sign Letter Urging Congress to Restore IMLS 📚
www.wordsandmoney.com/four-of-the-...
www.wordsandmoney.com/four-of-the-...
Four of the Big Five Publishers Sign Letter Urging Congress to Restore IMLS
Shuttering IMLS would be "an act of monumental neglect, violating the very foundation of America and what it stands for as a country," the publishers assert.
www.wordsandmoney.com
April 5, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Four of the Big Five Publishers Sign Letter Urging Congress to Restore IMLS 📚
www.wordsandmoney.com/four-of-the-...
www.wordsandmoney.com/four-of-the-...