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Article: NATIVE FOREST IS DOOMED ENVIRONMENTALISTS WORK TO SAVE UNIQUE CREATURES, PLANTS.(Living Today)
- Article from:
- Albany Times Union (Albany, NY)
- Article date:
- December 13, 1988
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1988 Albany Times Union. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Tom Masland Chicago Tribune
In what once was the island home of the dodo, naturalists are still fighting a losing battle to save hundreds of equally unique plants and creatures.
"Most are going to become extinct if nothing is done to save them," said Wendy Straum, 29, a U.S.-trained botanist who lives near this quiet harbor with six dogs, three monkeys, four lizards, a tame fruit bat and assorted birds.
She adds, "The native forest is doomed."
Cut off from the African mainland by about 1,200 miles of Indian Ocean, the volcanic island evolved 300 species of flowering plants and 125 species of birds found nowhere else in the ...