Raffin, MS ’87, a former venture capital consultant, has turned her private plot of land minutes from the Stanford campus into an asylum for exotic birds that are homeless, sick or unwanted. Since rescuing her first dove on a roadway 13 years ago, she has learned how to talk to the animals and read their thoughts, emotions and needs like a female Dr. Dolittle. Every morning, she even gets them dancing to the beat of rock ‘n’ roll.
Pandemonium in Stanford Magazine
Pandemonium on mongabay.com
Twelve percent of the world’s species are considered threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red List, the authority on such matters. While habitat destruction and alien invasive species bear the brunt of the responsibility, the commercial pet trade has contributed to the decline of some of the world’s most beautiful species. But with several species on the brink of extinction in the wild, captive-breeding efforts have taken on new significance. Now a San Francisco Bay Area resident is working to take such efforts to a new level.
