Welcome back to Robertson’s Reportings! In Georgia, 13 gorillas are currently being treated for COVID-19, including the world’s oldest gorilla who is 60 years old. The gorillas’ caretaker tested positive for the virus and is believed to have passed it onto the animals. Eight gorillas in the San Diego Zoo Safari Park also contracted the virus recently, but they all recovered. The senior director of animal health at the Zoo Atlanta stated, “The teams are very closely monitoring the affected gorillas and are hopeful they will make a complete recovery.”
The crisis at the border is worsening as each day passes. At this point, the border crisis has become a nonpartisan issue. A Politico news story is titled, “It’s not just Republicans. Everyone’s mad at Biden over migration,” as this sentiment seems to be common among Americans. President Biden’s approval rate has drastically decreased over the last few months, and much of this is a result of his and his administration’s handling of the border. The U.S. Border Patrol had to use horses in Del Rio to catch Haitian migrants, but after outrage from photos of this situation, the Biden administration decided to halt the use of these animals.
Over 60 penguins in South Africa were found dead with bee stings around their eyes in a “freak accident.” The theory created by conservationists studying the incident is that, since bees don’t sting unless they are provoked, the hive in the area was accidentally disturbed, causing a mass of bees to swarm and become aggressive. This is especially unfortunate because the birds are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. With only about 41,700 total African Penguins as of 2019, their numbers are continuing to decline.
A Tennessee football player led his team in prayer despite the school district prohibiting coaches and students from praying with their students. A cheerleader from Upperman High School in Baxter, Tennessee stated, “The whole community is going to come together as a whole, and we’re going to [pray] whether they tell us to or not.” This story, particularly a photo of the players with their heads bowed in prayer, went viral within a day. Even for those who are not religious, this act says so much about unity within schools and communities.
See you next time on Robertson’s Reportings, coverage you can count on!
Photo Credits: Bob Vick, Putnam County alumni
