Animal Karma

History rarely remembers the women who endured its harshest chapters—but the Apache never forgot Tze-gu-juni. Born around 1847, she was struck by lightning during a thunderstorm that killed her mother and sister. She survived. Later, captured during the 1880 Mexican massacre at Tres Castillos, she was enslaved and sent to Mexico City. Her captors called her Huera—Spanish slang for a pale woman—though she was simply different from the others, with striking features and a fire in her eyes. For five years, she lived in chains. Then, with nothing but a single knife and a blanket, she escaped with a few other Apache women. Together, they began an unimaginable journey—1,300 miles through desert and danger, guided only by survival. When a mountain lion lunged for her throat, Huera wrapped her blanket tight and fought back. It tore her scalp from her head, but she didn’t stop. She drove her blade into the lion’s heart and lived. Her companions reattached her scalp using cactus thorns—and mountain lion saliva. Still bleeding, Huera pressed forward. Months later, battered but alive, they returned to San Carlos. The community was stunned. She became a shaman, a translator, and a figure of quiet strength among the Chiricahua. Her face bore the scars of survival, but she never wore them with shame. Her second husband, the great warrior Geronimo, called her “the bravest of Apache women.” And yet, outside of her people, the world barely remembers her name.

Ever feel like a fish out of water? Meet the giant mudskipper (Periophthalmodon schlosseri). Believe it or not, this fish needs to breathe air and spends a decent amount of time on land! Found on the muddy shores of mangroves in parts of Southeast Asia, it uses its pectoral fins to “skip” or “walk” across mudflats.

Photo: mysorekid, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, iNaturalist

The Floating Forest of Australia: Nature’s Masterpiece

In Homebush Bay, Sydney, an extraordinary sight awaits—an abandoned steamship that has been transformed into a living, floating forest.

The vessel is the SS Ayrfield, built in the United Kingdom in 1911 and brought to Australia a year later. For decades it worked as a cargo ship, and during World War II it carried supplies for Allied forces across the Pacific. After the war, it continued in the coal trade until its retirement in 1972, when it was sent to Homebush Bay to be dismantled.

But instead of disappearing, the ship remained. Over time, nature claimed it. Trees and thick vegetation rooted themselves deep into its rusting hull, turning the once-industrial vessel into a surreal green oasis adrift on the water. Today, the SS Ayrfield is celebrated as the Floating Forest, a symbol of resilience and one of Sydney’s most photogenic landmarks.

Other wrecks, such as the SS Mortlake Bank, also rest in the bay, though the Ayrfield’s transformation makes it the most iconic. Together, they form part of the region’s maritime heritage—a reminder of its industrial past and the astonishing ways nature can breathe new life into forgotten places.

The Floating Forest is more than a curiosity; it’s proof that even in the most unexpected corners, nature can reclaim, restore, and create beauty from what was once abandoned.

24 Brutally Honest Posts That Manage To Be Both Hilarious Yet Depressing At The Same Time 👇

The water in both tanks came from the same place at the same time.
The only difference? The tank on the right has oysters.

Oysters are nature’s water filters. They can clean up to 50 gallons of water a day each — removing pollutants, excess nutrients, and improving clarity.

That’s how important they are for the health of our seas.
Protect them. Restore them. Let them do their work. 🌊🦪

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1213742207445463&set=a.378070937679265

The Nonhuman Rights Project is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Dr. Jane Goodall. As one of our first board members, Dr. Goodall offered her support for our mission and work in the very early days of the NhRP, when the concept of nonhuman animals as legal persons with rights was still just an idea and not the legal reality it’s now becoming. Dr. Goodall was a personal and professional inspiration to our entire team. Her groundbreaking studies of wild chimpanzees transformed the world’s understanding of nonhuman minds. Our work would not be possible without her, and our gratitude for her contributions to our court cases seeking the right to liberty for imprisoned chimpanzees is beyond measure.

Expressing a deep kinship between her work and ours, Dr. Goodall told us to "never give up" on our mission: “I’m helping people to understand and feel in their hearts that these animals are deserving of personhood.” The Nonhuman Rights Project will continue to take inspiration from Dr. Goodall’s courageous leadership in creating a more just and compassionate world for all.

Grace Bestowed

Dragonfly

Close-up of a dragonfly's wings drying, just after emergence - photo by Kelly Rebar

More info/photos: https://hja.li/ntfp

Reflections on the first habeas hearing on behalf of a nonhuman animal NhRP attorney Spencer Lo reflects on the first habeas corpus hearing on behalf of a nonhuman animal, which took place in 2015 in New York.

Send a message to learn more