Posts by Laurel Neme
George Schaller
Animal Investigators is an excellent book, timely, well-written, and fascinating. And it gives important credit to the USFWS Forensic Lab which has in recent years done outstanding and critical work, as the cases in the book illustrate. I have been a little involved in the shahtoosh wool problem — the wool of Tibetan antelope —…
Read MoreTIME.com Animal Investigators Photo Gallery
Wildlife Forensics Lab In her book, Animal Investigators, author Laurel Neme explores how wildlife forensic scientists are solving crimes and saving endangered species. Go to Time.com Photo Gallery
Read MoreOregon Public Broadcasting
Oregon Public Broadcasting, Morning Edition (radio interview). Air date TBD. – http://www.opb.org/radio/
Read MoreAnimal Investigators available on Book-of-the-Month Club
Book explores the world’s first wildlife forensics lab
Review By JESSICA KNOBLAUCH of Mother Nature Network (mnn.com) is also picked up by The Miami Herald
Read MoreBook Review by Mother Nature Network April 2009
Animal Investigators By Laurel A Neme Ph.D. A new book explores how the world’s first wildlife forensics lab is solving crimes and saving endangered species. By Jessica Knoblauch Mother Nature Network (MNN.COM) Not long ago, illegal wildlife smugglers could pretty much get away with murder. From selling polar bear rugs to crocodile-face ashtrays, these smugglers…
Read MoreEagle Feathers Illegally Sold
Feathers from protected bird are a coveted item in many parts of the world. While Animal Investigators details a case of feathered body costumes of Brazil’s Amazon Indians, feathered artifacts from Native Americans in the United States are equally as coveted. In March 2009, four men were arrested by federal fish and wildlife agents after an investigation…
Read MoreArticle in Orion Magazine March-April 2009
Sacred & Mundane Artifacts of Contemporary Culture Fuzzy Forensics by Laurel A. Neme The liquid-nitrogen freezer sits unobtrusively up against the far wall, but crack it open, and, after the clouds clear, you’ll see stacks of animal blood and tissue samples. Turn the corner and you’ll find a walkin freezer off the evidence room full…
Read MoreIvory Carving
The captain contemplated the walrus tusk. If he listened, it would show him what to carve. It had its own soul, and the captain brought out its beauty through careful craftsmanship. Until he started, he wouldn’t know what color or combination of colors it held. Some pieces had a milky iridescence while others looked creamy…
Read MoreCrafting Walrus-Skin Boats
The captain bent over the bow of his walrus-skin angyapiget frame. Like other Eskimo master boat builders and ship captains in his village, he needed to recover his craft every three or four years. He always used hides from female walruses because they were smoother, more flexible and easier to work with than the skins…
Read MoreMaking Walrus-Skin Boats
Preparing the Hide The captain and his extended family draped the walrus hides across makeshift sawhorses. They’d fermented the hide until the hair fell. Now, with sharpened ulus (a traditional moon-shaped knife with a broad steel blade), they scraped off any remaining bits of fat and muscle. Their hard work paid off: a couple hours…
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