Anthropologist; animal advocate; science writer, next book coming on cats; caretaker of aging cats. Books include How Animals Grieve; Animals' Best Friends: Putting Compassion to Work for Animals; see www.barbarajking.com for more. https://bsky.app/profile/bjking.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/bjking.bsky.social/post/3mvaq77atv22a"The most spectacular mastodon molar that I've ever seen" (said by paleontologist Wayne Thompson), found by geologist Brigid Lynch in California creek bed. #FossilFriday #paleontology #womeninscience #nature #ecology https://www-cdn.abcnews.com/Technology/10000-year-mastodon-tooth-fossil-discovered-california-creek/story?id=13633741611 Sep 2026 14:02 +0000at://did:plc:j2htjnav3e2tb3wvkgn5xqiy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvaq77atv22ahttps://bsky.app/profile/bjking.bsky.social/post/3mvaq77atv22a"The most spectacular mastodon molar that I've ever seen" (said by paleontologist Wayne Thompson), found by geologist Brigid Lynch in California creek bed. #FossilFriday #paleontology #womeninscience #nature #ecology https://www-cdn.abcnews.com/Technology/10000-year-mastodon-tooth-fossil-discovered-california-creek/story?id=13633741611 Sep 2026 14:02 +0000at://did:plc:j2htjnav3e2tb3wvkgn5xqiy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvaq77atv22ahttps://bsky.app/profile/bjking.bsky.social/post/3mv63k2yiv22zFive baby orangutans found in forest in India. Of course wildlife trafficking should be the investigative focus, but we can spare thoughts too for how disorienting and scary this must have been for 5 young apes. #orangutan #primates #wildlifetrafficking #primatology #anthropology https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/10/baby-orangutans-found-india-trafficking-investigation10 Sep 2026 12:47 +0000at://did:plc:j2htjnav3e2tb3wvkgn5xqiy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mv63k2yiv22zhttps://bsky.app/profile/bjking.bsky.social/post/3mv63k2yiv22zFive baby orangutans found in forest in India. Of course wildlife trafficking should be the investigative focus, but we can spare thoughts too for how disorienting and scary this must have been for 5 young apes. #orangutan #primates #wildlifetrafficking #primatology #anthropology https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/10/baby-orangutans-found-india-trafficking-investigation10 Sep 2026 12:47 +0000at://did:plc:j2htjnav3e2tb3wvkgn5xqiy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mv63k2yiv22zhttps://bsky.app/profile/bjking.bsky.social/post/3mv3o7w5hps23Pining for my whip-smart, funny, sweet dear cat companion Marie on the 6th-month anniversary of her death. To all who grieve for a beloved other-than-human family member, I'm with you. #cats #tuxedocats #animals #grief #multispecies09 Sep 2026 13:44 +0000at://did:plc:j2htjnav3e2tb3wvkgn5xqiy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mv3o7w5hps23https://bsky.app/profile/bjking.bsky.social/post/3muz7hkxl7s2hMoving to a "habitat first" strategy: protecting mountain gorillas through a primary focus on protecting forest, instead of on anti-poaching as the first concern #gorillas #primates #anthropology #conservation #nature https://spacedaily.com/j-rwanda-mountain-gorillas-habitat-loss-shrinking-forest08 Sep 2026 14:14 +0000at://did:plc:j2htjnav3e2tb3wvkgn5xqiy/app.bsky.feed.post/3muz7hkxl7s2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/bjking.bsky.social/post/3muwoum6ekk2pThe @nytimes.com challenge: look at this image of a tree for 10 minutes. It's the Angel Oak near Charleston, SC, a large, gorgeous living being. I have loved being on site in this tree's presence! #tree #trees #AngelOak #nature #naturephotography https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/09/06/upshot/10-minute-challenge-angel-oak.html?unlocked_article_code=1._VA.9tk5.Z0WvHrvUQ6ci&smid=url-share07 Sep 2026 14:12 +0000at://did:plc:j2htjnav3e2tb3wvkgn5xqiy/app.bsky.feed.post/3muwoum6ekk2phttps://bsky.app/profile/bjking.bsky.social/post/3muwoum6ekk2pThe @nytimes.com challenge: look at this image of a tree for 10 minutes. It's the Angel Oak near Charleston, SC, a large, gorgeous living being. I have loved being on site in this tree's presence! #tree #trees #AngelOak #nature #naturephotography https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/09/06/upshot/10-minute-challenge-angel-oak.html?unlocked_article_code=1._VA.9tk5.Z0WvHrvUQ6ci&smid=url-share07 Sep 2026 14:12 +0000at://did:plc:j2htjnav3e2tb3wvkgn5xqiy/app.bsky.feed.post/3muwoum6ekk2phttps://bsky.app/profile/bjking.bsky.social/post/3muu6tmysm22pI rummaged in my mind through all the books I had ever read, which was always my first response in a crisis. - by Emily McBride in her debut novel Queen Mab- "motherhood, madness, the myths that haunt us." #SundaySentence #Booksky06 Sep 2026 14:20 +0000at://did:plc:j2htjnav3e2tb3wvkgn5xqiy/app.bsky.feed.post/3muu6tmysm22phttps://bsky.app/profile/bjking.bsky.social/post/3murlb234wk2cThe #BirdoftheDay prompt #InFlight is a good one. In-flight photos are still a big challenge for me (I'll keep at it). Here's takeoff of a laughing gull. #birds #nature05 Sep 2026 13:24 +0000at://did:plc:j2htjnav3e2tb3wvkgn5xqiy/app.bsky.feed.post/3murlb234wk2chttps://bsky.app/profile/bjking.bsky.social/post/3mup3hkkxus26I never blame a patient who chooses this. I do ask: why can't journalists include ONE PERSON who speaks also for the pigs, animals who participate without consent and are killed as part of the process, whose lives are ungrieved by these excited researchers? #xenotransplantation #pigs #animalrights https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/03/well/pig-kidney-bridge-transplant.html?unlocked_article_code=1.-lA.JcKH.pOXoSBtK8So_&smid=url-share04 Sep 2026 13:36 +0000at://did:plc:j2htjnav3e2tb3wvkgn5xqiy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mup3hkkxus26https://bsky.app/profile/bjking.bsky.social/post/3mup3hkkxus26I never blame a patient who chooses this. I do ask: why can't journalists include ONE PERSON who speaks also for the pigs, animals who participate without consent and are killed as part of the process, whose lives are ungrieved by these excited researchers? #xenotransplantation #pigs #animalrights https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/03/well/pig-kidney-bridge-transplant.html?unlocked_article_code=1.-lA.JcKH.pOXoSBtK8So_&smid=url-share04 Sep 2026 13:36 +0000at://did:plc:j2htjnav3e2tb3wvkgn5xqiy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mup3hkkxus26https://bsky.app/profile/bjking.bsky.social/post/3mumfmipvws2kWith so much gratitude: rest now, Gloria Steinem. Thank you for world-changing journalism and political activism. I attended a women's college in the 70s and felt the earthquakes. I remember also awaiting each issue of Ms. magazine! #GloriaSteinem #journalism #activism #womensrights https://www.npr.org/2026/09/03/nx-s1-5718381/gloria-steinem-dies03 Sep 2026 12:00 +0000at://did:plc:j2htjnav3e2tb3wvkgn5xqiy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mumfmipvws2khttps://bsky.app/profile/bjking.bsky.social/post/3mumfmipvws2kWith so much gratitude: rest now, Gloria Steinem. Thank you for world-changing journalism and political activism. I attended a women's college in the 70s and felt the earthquakes. I remember also awaiting each issue of Ms. magazine! #GloriaSteinem #journalism #activism #womensrights https://www.npr.org/2026/09/03/nx-s1-5718381/gloria-steinem-dies03 Sep 2026 12:00 +0000at://did:plc:j2htjnav3e2tb3wvkgn5xqiy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mumfmipvws2khttps://bsky.app/profile/bjking.bsky.social/post/3mukmynn3ys2oHigh-impact snaps of the jaw! Cool research on Tasmanian tigers. #paleontology #evolution #animals #nature https://theconversation.com/3d-scans-of-tasmanian-tigers-skull-reveal-it-had-crocodile-style-snapping-jaws-29051502 Sep 2026 19:06 +0000at://did:plc:j2htjnav3e2tb3wvkgn5xqiy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mukmynn3ys2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/bjking.bsky.social/post/3mukg2efgxs2dMy view today at home, Virginia, US. #WindowsonWednesday is one of my favorite places to visit here, weekly. #nature02 Sep 2026 17:02 +0000at://did:plc:j2htjnav3e2tb3wvkgn5xqiy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mukg2efgxs2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/bjking.bsky.social/post/3muhpdud3ek2cThis loss hurts. Wendell Berry's Port William novels transported me, as did his poetry. His non-fiction provoked me, always in useful ways. Rest in peace always. #WendellBerry #writers #naturewriting #farming #Booksky01 Sep 2026 15:11 +0000at://did:plc:j2htjnav3e2tb3wvkgn5xqiy/app.bsky.feed.post/3muhpdud3ek2chttps://bsky.app/profile/bjking.bsky.social/post/3muexkm3o5s2wRobust congratulations to Dawn, who has won the inaugural Fat Marmot Contest! #marmot #animals #nature #wildlife #Colorado https://www.npr.org/2026/08/30/nx-s1-5945683/exclusive-meet-the-inaugural-winner-of-fat-marmot-week31 Aug 2026 12:59 +0000at://did:plc:j2htjnav3e2tb3wvkgn5xqiy/app.bsky.feed.post/3muexkm3o5s2whttps://bsky.app/profile/bjking.bsky.social/post/3muexkm3o5s2wRobust congratulations to Dawn, who has won the inaugural Fat Marmot Contest! #marmot #animals #nature #wildlife #Colorado https://www.npr.org/2026/08/30/nx-s1-5945683/exclusive-meet-the-inaugural-winner-of-fat-marmot-week31 Aug 2026 12:59 +0000at://did:plc:j2htjnav3e2tb3wvkgn5xqiy/app.bsky.feed.post/3muexkm3o5s2whttps://bsky.app/profile/bjking.bsky.social/post/3mucocntxjs2mAnd rumors of a strange interest in women follow Charity like dirt on a hem. - By Tillie Walden from her amazing graphic novel Charity & Sylvia, based on the lives of Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake who lived and loved together in 1800s Vermont. #SundaySentence #queerlit30 Aug 2026 15:09 +0000at://did:plc:j2htjnav3e2tb3wvkgn5xqiy/app.bsky.feed.post/3mucocntxjs2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/bjking.bsky.social/post/3muapauoii22yAt a family funeral today- maybe 150 people, likely more, standing-room only church for a 90 minute service- I was the only person masked. After all these years I should do it without a second thought... I guess the "win" here is just that I DO do it. #COVIDcautious #immunocompromised #publichealth29 Aug 2026 20:20 +0000at://did:plc:j2htjnav3e2tb3wvkgn5xqiy/app.bsky.feed.post/3muapauoii22y