Transplant patients’ progress
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Connie Culp was injured when her husband shot her in 2004. She underwent a near-total face transplant at the Cleveland Clinic in 2008 — the first operation of its kind in the United States.
James Maki fell onto the electrified third rail at a Boston subway station on June 30, 2005, destroying the entire of the core of his face. Now after having a transplant, he’s in the process of getting eight false teeth implanted in his mouth and a new set of dentures. He says he can’t wait to eat a rib-eye steak.
Dallas Wiens lost almost his entire face from burns in 2008. He underwent the first full facial transplant in the country in 2011.
Mitch Hunter suffered significant injury after a car accident in 2001. After a face transplant, he now has near-normal sensation, and his speech has continued to improve.
Charla Nash was mauled by a friend’s chimpanzee and underwent a face transplant in May 2011 at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Richard Norris had a gun accident in 1997, and wore a surgical mask for 15 years to hide his face from the world. He is shown, left, in high school in 1993; center, after the gunshot injury; right, after face transplant surgery.
Carmen Blandin Tarleton became disfigured after her estranged husband doused her with industrial-strength lye. After a face transplant, she says she’s “thrilled” and has a new goal: to kiss her boyfriend.
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Editor’s note: Readers responded Wednesday to the story of Carmen Tarleton, who publicly revealed her new face after undergoing a full-face transplant in February. Here, we catch up with others who have had face transplants.
(CNN) — Since 2008, the United States has seen several landmark surgeries in face transplantation, giving people with severely deformed faces new lives through partially or totally different faces from donors.
Receiving a new face is anything but easy. The surgery requires long hours with many medical specialists collaborating to make it happen. The patient then has to adjust to the new face, biologically and psychologically.
There is a complex rehabilitation process where the patient learns how to eat, speak and make facial expressions again, said Dr. Maria Siemionow, director of plastic surgery research at the Cleveland Clinic.
“The surgical procedure itself of transplant is relatively standard,” Siemionow said. “The major problem is the selection of the candidate — who is and who is not the face transplant candidate.”
For instance, doctors at the Cleveland Clinic would not consider someone who is totally blind because one of the requirements is to be able to exercise one’s face in front of a mirror, “to make the face adjusted to the brain,” she said about this still emerging field of surgery.
Here are the major publicly reported cases of facial transplants in the U.S.:
Connie Culp
Surgery: December 2008
Connie Culp received the first near-total face transplant in the U.S. She was injured by a bullet in 2004 when her husband shot her. Culp was left partially blind, unable to smell and speak, and dependent on a surgical opening in her neck to breathe. (The world’s first full-face transplant was done in Spain in 2010.)
A 22-hour operation at the Cleveland Clinic gave her most of a new face from a donor: Anna Kasper of Lakewood, Ohio.
Culp met the family of the donor in December 2010. She said around the same time that she was happy with the transformation.
“I can smell now,” she told CNN in 2010. “I can eat steak, I can eat almost any solid foods — so it’s all getting better.”
Siemionow, who led the surgery, said Thursday doctors at the hospital have been seeing Culp on a monthly basis since the transplant. She described Culp as “fully integrated back in her community.” She is “a happy grandmother” with a boyfriend, and she is “very joyful.”
Culp, now 49, is able to smile, frown and talk, and her speech is easily understood, Siemionow said. Before, Culp did not have a nose; now, she can breathe through it. Researchers have determined that Culp’s brain accepts the new face, based on activity in key brain areas.
She is an advocate of organ donation and travels to deliver speeches about her experience.
“She’s a very powerful personality to actually share her experience to help others,” Siemionow said.
James Maki
Surgery: April 2009
James Maki destroyed the entire core of his face when he fell onto the electrified third rail at a Boston subway station on June 30, 2005. He also suffered severe burns on his arms and hands. His breathing was impaired, and he couldn’t speak coherently. Eating was also impossible; he was fed through a tube in his stomach.
A team of surgeons and other specialists worked for 17 hours at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital to give him a new face from a donor. Maki, who wore dentures before the accident, also got new teeth during the operation. But the teeth didn’t take and eventually began to break.
He’s now in the process of getting eight false teeth implanted into his mouth, and he’ll have a new set of dentures, too.
“I’m going to have all my teeth,” Maki, 63, said Thursday. “I’m looking forward to eating a lot of things — like I have to eat stuff that’s really soft. Once I get the teeth in, I can eat whatever. Cashews. Whatever I like.”
He says he can’t wait to eat a rib-eye steak.
Maki is also making facial expressions again. He says he has his good days and bad days. He’s taken up the game of bridge at his local senior center.
Face transplant patient reflects on life
Dallas Wiens
Surgery: March 2011
Dallas Wiens underwent the first full facial transplant in the United States. When Wiens was painting his church as a volunteer in November 2008, his head got too close to a high-voltage power line. He lost almost his entire face from the burns.
Doctors kept Wiens in a medically induced coma for 90 days. In March 2011, he received a new face in a 15-hour procedure at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
“When I woke up, and I was able to feel I had features again — eyes and a nose and a mouth — I even said out loud that this could not be medically possible,” Wiens said in May 2011. “But here I am today.”
Wiens recently married Jamie Nash, a woman who suffered burns on more than 70% of her body after a car crash.
“Our love is deep and strong, and together we will achieve greatness,” Nash wrote on the Jamie Nash TXT L8R Foundation website.
Mitch Hunter
Surgery: April 2011
Mitch Hunter suffered significant injuries in a 2001 car accident, in which he received a severe shock from a high-voltage electrical wire.
The Indiana man was the second full-face transplant recipient in the United States.
A 14-hour surgery gave Hunter a nose, eyelids and facial animation muscles and nerves, Brigham and Women’s Hospital said.
In most of his face, Hunter now has near-normal sensation. His speech has continued to improve.
“Mitch reports that he is very happy with both the aesthetic and the functional outcomes of his operation, and enjoys spending as much time as possible with his family and friends,” the hospital said in a statement. “He recently has taken on active pursuits, including running and training for endurance races. He also has a job in his home state of Indiana and is planning to obtain a degree in information systems.”
Charla Nash
Surgery: May 2011
Charla Nash was mauled by a friend’s chimpanzee, leaving her without a nose, eyelids, lips or hands. Brigham and Women’s Hospital surgeons performed a full facial transplant in a 20-hour procedure.
Initially, she also received two new hands through transplantation as well. A few days later, though, Nash became sick, and the hands were removed.
The first post-surgery pictures of her were released in August 2011.
She said at that time: “I will now be able to do things I once took for granted … I will have lips and will speak clearly once again. I will be able to kiss and hug loved ones. I am tremendously grateful to the donor and her family.”
Face transplant recipient faces public
Richard Lee Norris
Surgery: March 2012
Richard Norris from Virginia was a gun accident in 1997 that took away much of his upper and lower jaws, in addition to lips and nose. He needed a trachea tube to breathe. He wore a surgical mask for 15 years, hiding his deformities from the world.
A team of specialists at the University of Maryland Medical Center performed the procedure, which lasted 36 hours. The surgery involved replacing both jaws, as well as tongue, and skin and underlying nerve and muscle tissue, and an entire set of teeth. Essentially, his entire face was replaced except for his eyes and the back remnant of his throat.
Doctors said Norris’ was the most extensive surgery of its kind.
Norris said in a statement in October, “I am doing well. I spend a lot of my time fishing and working on my golf game. I am also enjoying time with my family and friends.”
The 37-year-old spoke at a University of Maryland fundraising gala on Saturday, his first public appearance since the surgery, according the a hospital spokesman.
“Thank you for the years spent preparing to give me a new life,” he said, according to CNN affiliate WJZ.
In memory of the deceased donor, he said, “Thank you, Joshua. We will always be grateful to you and your family for this gift of life.”
Woman reveals her new face
Carmen Blandin Tarleton
Surgery: February 2013
Carmen Blandin Tarleton became disfigured after her estranged husband doused her with industrial-strength lye. The lye burned more than 80% of her body, and the burns went all the way through her skin. Children would run away from her because of her appearance.
Tarleton was approved for a full facial transplant in December 2011, and it took 14 months to find a donor. The transplant surgery, performed by specialists at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, took 15 hours.
Today, Tarleton is completely blind in one eye and partially blind in the other, but she is still able to live on her own in her apartment in Vermont.
She told CNN she especially looks forward to gaining the strength and coordination to kiss the man she calls “the love of my life.”
“I can’t pucker and feel yet,” she said. “But I am looking forward to that day. I know that day will come.”
CNN’s John Bonifield, Madison Park and Elizabeth Cohen contributed to this report.
Article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/02/health/face-transplant-patients/index.html?eref=edition
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Jose Mourinho, right, had been widely expected to return to Chelsea if he leaves Real Madrid at the end of this season — but Alex Ferguson’s decision to retire has prompted a flood of bets from punters that the Portuguese coach will instead go to Manchester United.
Ferguson’s fellow Scot, Everton manager David Moyes, had previously been the bookmakers’ favorite to take over at Old Trafford. The 50-year-old Scot has impressed on a tight budget at the English Premier League club since his arrival in 2002.
Moyes is out of contract in the summer — as is Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes. This season the 68-year-old coach has guided Bayern to the Bundesliga title as well as the Champions League final – the Munich club will play German rivals Borussia Dortmund at Wembley on May 25. However, Heynckes will step down at the end of this season after Bayern opted to appoint Pep Guardiola on a three-year contract from July 1.
Jurgen Klopp is also among the bookies’ frontrunners, having guided Borussia Dortmund to this month’s European Champions League final. The 45-year-old coach helped Dortmund win the German Bundesliga title the previous two seasons.
Ferguson’s former “supersub” Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is another linked with the job. The 40-year-old Norwegian, a Champions League winner with United in 1999, began his managerial career with Molde after injury ended his playing days, and has already won two domestic titles in his homeland. Before that he successfully coached United’s reserves. 
Michael Laudrup is also seen as a contender after a successful first season in the English Premier League with Swansea, guiding the Welsh club to the League Cup trophy. The former Barcelona star has previous managerial experience in Spain with Getafe and Mallorca, and in Russia with Spartak Moscow.
Paris Saint-Germain coach Carlo Ancelotti is another being backed to replace Ferguson. The 53-year-old Italian has won virtually every honor in the game as a player and manager with clubs including AC Milan, Roma and Chelsea. There has been intense speculation Ancelotti will leave French league leaders at the end of the season.
Former United captain Roy Keane was once seen as Ferguson’s future successor, but the Irishman has focused on media work since being sacked by English second division team Ipswich in January 2011. He took Sunderland into the Premier League at the first attempt but quit in December 2008 after a run of poor results.
Rene Meulensteen, right, has been Ferguson’s assistant since 2008, but the 49-year-old Dutchman is not expected to make the step up to the top job despite an association with United that started more than a decade ago as youth coach. 
One of the outsiders is veteran United player Ryan Giggs, who has won 13 English league titles under Ferguson since his debut in 1991. The Welshman, who is 40 in November, has signed another one-year playing contract. 
“Teddy is very sad,” wrote Instagram user @ejgemmag In Manchester, England, of her toy after hearing news of United manager Alex Ferguson’s retirement. 
Instagrammer @johnwalker021, who is half English and half Swedish, displayed his shirt with pride and posted a football chant in honor of Ferguson: “So here’s to Alex Ferguson. He’ll take us all the way! We’re on the road to glory now! Winning at home and away.”
“I felt like I had been punched in the stomach and contemplated calling in sick to work,” said Instagram user @jplubrani, in active service in the U.S. military from Los Angeles. “I got a tear in my eye … All those emotions at once!”
“Lifelong fan” @alexbalding shows his red devil tattoo — Red Devils is the club’s nickname — done the very morning of the announcement Ferguson was to retire. He said he was “devastated” by the news.
“The man will definitely be missed,” said @sosogeed813, who shared this picture from his first Manchester United game. “It was an experience of a lifetime … It is the beautiful game after all. Thanks Sir Alex Ferguson!” 
In Oatley, Australia, @frankiegram1 showed off a sad look while wearing a Manchester United top (with help from his owner, Matt).
“It’s going to be interesting without him,” said Instagrammer @kurto12.
“Seeing my favorite team with another manager next season, that’s going to be tough to get used to,” said Instagrammer @shar316 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Thai-Brit Instagrammer @KrisRedford posted a picture of himself proudly wearing his United team shirt.
Instagrammer @mrsagatha_sari’s young son Waltteri wears his United jersey to play football in the southern Finland where they live, in this photo from last summer. She said she was “very sad” about Ferguson’s retirement, but “I guess that change might even be good.”
Alex Ferguson has announced he is retiring at the end of this season, having won his 13th English Premier League title in more than 26 years as manager of Manchester United. 
The 71-year-old is the most successful and longest-serving manager in United’s history, having also won two European Champions League crowns, five FA Cups and four League Cups.
Ferguson survived a difficult first four years at Manchester United before winning a title — the 1990 FA Cup. Here he celebrates with Bryan Robson, who became the first United captain to lift the trophy three times after beating Crystal Palace 1-0 in the final replay. 
Ferguson lifted the European Cup Winners’ Cup for the second time in his career in 1991, when United beat Barcelona 2-1 in the final. He had previously won the now defunct tournament with Scottish club Aberdeen.
In 1993, United won the English title for the first time in 26 years, and Ferguson took the club on a tour of South Africa, where he met Nelson Mandela before the ANC leader became the country’s first post-apartheid president.
Ferguson celebrates with his assistant Brian Kidd after United won the Premiership again in 1994, then went on to secure a domestic double by beating Chelsea in the FA Cup final. United repeated the feat in 1996. 
Ferguson with his grandson Jake before the 1999 FA Cup final victory against Newcastle that sealed United’s third double in six years.
Just four days later, United completed a treble with an incredible last-gasp win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League final. Ferguson and keeper Peter Schmeichel hold the trophy in Barcelona.
Ferguson tried to retire more than a decade ago, announcing at the start of the 2001-02 season that it would be his last. However, he changed his mind the following February but United failed to reach the Champions League final — which was to be played in his native Glasgow.
Another European title followed in 2008, but Barcelona handed United disappointment in the 2009 and 2011 finals. However, Ferguson and his players still earned a parade the latter season after winning a record 19th English league title — the Scot’s 12th.
The next season, United commemorated Ferguson’s 25 years as manager on November 5, 2011.
As a player, Ferguson was a prolific goalscorer for Scottish clubs St. Johnstone and Dunfermline, but his big move to Glasgow Rangers in 1967 proved disappointing and he left two years later. He ended his playing days at Ayr in 1974 without winning a major honor.
Ferguson made his name as a manager at Aberdeen. His fourth Scottish Cup win in 1986 was his last success with the Dons, having won three Scottish league titles and the 1983 European Cup Winners’ Cup — beating mighty Real Madrid in the final.
Ferguson, who briefly managed Scotland at the 1986 World Cup, overhauled the squad at Old Trafford and introduced some of the finest players to grace the EPL in the past two decades. 
Arguably the most important signing was that of French forward Eric Cantona, a $1.9 million bargain from Leeds who led United’s surge to dominance in the 1990s.
The 1993 addition of young midfielder Roy Keane in a then British record transfer fee of £3.75 million from Nottingham Forest provided United with a ferocious future captain.
Ferguson also introduced young talent such as David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and the Neville brothers Gary and Phil — who all went on to become integral members of his team.
Ferguson played a key role in resurrecting the career of Beckham, who had been vilified by England fans after being sent off during the 1998 World Cup defeat by Argentina.
Ferguson famously beat United’s rivals Manchester City to sign Giggs as a teenager, and the Welsh winger has repaid his faith by staying with the club until the present day.
Ferguson’s signing of Cristiano Ronaldo in 2003 paid off as the Portugal forward fired United to Champions League glory in 2008 and was named world player of the year — the first from the EPL to do so — before joining Real Madrid in a record $130 million deal.
Ferguson is well known for his fiery temper and his motivational skills.
In 2003, he infamously kicked a boot into the face of Beckham in the dressing room after a match, but refused to apologize. “If I’d tried it 100 times or million times, it wouldn’t happen again,” he said. “If it did, I would carry on playing.”
United striker Wayne Rooney said Ferguson’s team talk ahead of the 2008 Champions League final against Chelsea in Moscow “made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.” United denied the London side a first European title after a penalty shootout.
United reached the final again the following season, but lost to Barcelona. Here Ferguson speaks with Britain’s Prince William at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy.
Ferguson’s last match on the European stage was a defeat by Ronaldo’s Real Madrid in the Champions League Round of 16 second-leg match at Old Trafford on March 5, 2013.
Connie Culp was injured when her husband shot her in 2004. She underwent a near-total face transplant at the Cleveland Clinic in 2008 — the first operation of its kind in the United States.
James Maki fell onto the electrified third rail at a Boston subway station on June 30, 2005, destroying the entire of the core of his face. Now after having a transplant, he’s in the process of getting eight false teeth implanted in his mouth and a new set of dentures. He says he can’t wait to eat a rib-eye steak.
Dallas Wiens lost almost his entire face from burns in 2008. He underwent the first full facial transplant in the country in 2011.
Mitch Hunter suffered significant injury after a car accident in 2001. After a face transplant, he now has near-normal sensation, and his speech has continued to improve.
Charla Nash was mauled by a friend’s chimpanzee and underwent a face transplant in May 2011 at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Richard Norris had a gun accident in 1997, and wore a surgical mask for 15 years to hide his face from the world. He is shown, left, in high school in 1993; center, after the gunshot injury; right, after face transplant surgery.
Carmen Blandin Tarleton became disfigured after her estranged husband doused her with industrial-strength lye. After a face transplant, she says she’s “thrilled” and has a new goal: to kiss her boyfriend.
Connie Culp was injured when her husband shot her in 2004. She underwent a near-total face transplant at the Cleveland Clinic in 2008 — the first operation of its kind in the United States.
James Maki fell onto the electrified third rail at a Boston subway station on June 30, 2005, destroying the entire of the core of his face. Now after having a transplant, he’s in the process of getting eight false teeth implanted in his mouth and a new set of dentures. He says he can’t wait to eat a rib-eye steak.
Dallas Wiens lost almost his entire face from burns in 2008. He underwent the first full facial transplant in the country in 2011.
Mitch Hunter suffered significant injury after a car accident in 2001. After a face transplant, he now has near-normal sensation, and his speech has continued to improve.
Charla Nash was mauled by a friend’s chimpanzee and underwent a face transplant in May 2011 at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Richard Norris had a gun accident in 1997, and wore a surgical mask for 15 years to hide his face from the world. He is shown, left, in high school in 1993; center, after the gunshot injury; right, after face transplant surgery.
Carmen Blandin Tarleton became disfigured after her estranged husband doused her with industrial-strength lye. After a face transplant, she says she’s “thrilled” and has a new goal: to kiss her boyfriend.
Connie Culp was injured when her husband shot her in 2004. She underwent a near-total face transplant at the Cleveland Clinic in 2008 — the first operation of its kind in the United States.
James Maki fell onto the electrified third rail at a Boston subway station on June 30, 2005, destroying the entire of the core of his face. Now after having a transplant, he’s in the process of getting eight false teeth implanted in his mouth and a new set of dentures. He says he can’t wait to eat a rib-eye steak.
Dallas Wiens lost almost his entire face from burns in 2008. He underwent the first full facial transplant in the country in 2011.
Mitch Hunter suffered significant injury after a car accident in 2001. After a face transplant, he now has near-normal sensation, and his speech has continued to improve.
Charla Nash was mauled by a friend’s chimpanzee and underwent a face transplant in May 2011 at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Richard Norris had a gun accident in 1997, and wore a surgical mask for 15 years to hide his face from the world. He is shown, left, in high school in 1993; center, after the gunshot injury; right, after face transplant surgery.
Carmen Blandin Tarleton became disfigured after her estranged husband doused her with industrial-strength lye. After a face transplant, she says she’s “thrilled” and has a new goal: to kiss her boyfriend.
Every year the NFL’s 32 teams get to pick, in reverse order according to the previous year’s standings, the top college talent. USC Trojans quarterback Matt Barkley is one of the most highly-rated for 2013. Follow the draft live here.
Kansas City Chiefs, the NFL’s worst team last year, will have first pick. Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o is one of the most coveted players despite last year’s controversy about his “hoax girlfriend.”
Cornerback Tyrann Mathieu, seen here training at the 2013 NFL scouting combine, was cut from Louisiana State University’s football program last year for violating team rules, and was later arrested for possessing marijuana. The 20-year-old says he wants a fresh start in the draft.
West Viriginia’s Geno Smith has been tipped by some as the best quarterback in the draft. Last year he broke the Mountaineers’ consecutive pass completions record and tied the NCAA completion percentage record.
This year’s draftees will seek to follow in the footsteps of famous predecessors. Peyton Manning, the No. 1 pick in 1998, became a Super Bowl-winning MVP with the Indianapolis Colts, where he has set numerous records.
Fellow quarterback John Elway, the No. 1 pick in 1983, won two Super Bowl rings with the Denver Broncos — where the Hall of Famer is now Executive Vice President of Football Operations.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell takes center stage at the draft, which is held each year at New York’s iconic Radio City Music Hall.
Last year Robert Griffin III was taken by the Washington Redskins as the second draft pick, and the quarterback was named offensive rookie of the year by the Associated Press.
Andrew Luck went to the Colts as 2012′s top pick, having delayed his entry by a year. Fan groups started a “Suck for Luck” campaign in the hope their team would get the quarterback. He broke a rookie record for passing yards in his debut season. Like Elway, he is a Stanford alumni.
Luke Joeckel of Texas AM prepares for a play against the Missouri Tigers on November 24, 2012, in College Station, Texas. Joeckel, an All-American offensive tackle, is expected to be selected early in the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday, April 25. Click through to see more first round hopefuls as predicted by NFL.com.
Dion Jordan of the Oregon Ducks warms up before a game against the Arkansas State Red Wolves on September 1, 2012, in Eugene, Oregon.
Eric Fisher of Central Michigan watches the Senior Bowl on January 26 in Mobile, Alabama.
Defensive tackle Star Lotulelei of the Utah Utes battles Torian White of the UCLA Bruins at the Rose Bowl on October 13, 2012, in Pasadena, California.
Lane Johnson of Oklahoma participates in the 2013 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 23 in Indianapolis.
Dee Milliner of Alabama runs the ball against the Arkansas Razorbacks on September 15, 2012, in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Ziggy Ansah of Brigham Young University works out during the 2013 NFL Combine on February 25 in Indianapolis.
Ryan Nassib of Syracuse looks to pass against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at High Point Solutions Stadium on October 13, 2012, in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Barkevious Mingo of Louisiana State University sacks quarterback Clint Moseley of the Auburn Tigers on October 22, 2011, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Sharrif Floyd of the Florida Gators warms up prior to the game against the Georgia Bulldogs at EverBank Field on October 27, 2012, in Jacksonville, Florida.
Offensive lineman D.J. Fluker of Alabama lines up against Mississippi on October 15, 2011, in Oxford, Mississippi.
North Carolina Tar Heels guard Jonathan Cooper lines up against Georgia Tech in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on November 10, 2012.
Tavon Austin of the West Virginia Mountaineers runs the ball against the Oklahoma Sooners on November 17, 2012, at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Safety Kenny Vaccaro of the Texas Longhorns attempts to tackle running back Joseph Randall of the Oklahoma State Cowboys on October 15, 2011, at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. 
Jarvis Jones of the Georgia Bulldogs celebrates after a win against the Georgia Southern Eagles at Sanford Stadium on November 17, 2012, in Athens, Georgia.
Chance Warmack of the Alabama Crimson Tide walks to the sideline during a timeout against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at Bryant-Denny Stadium on September 8, 2012, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. 
Xavier Rhodes of Florida State takes on the Northern Illinois Huskies during the Discover Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium on January 1 in Miami Gardens, Florida. 
Sheldon Richardson of Missouri works out during the 2013 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 25 in Indianapolis.
Florida State defensive end Cornellius Carradine takes on the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks at Doak S. Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida, on September 3, 2011.
Jamar Taylor of Boise State plays against the Georgia Bulldogs at the Georgia Dome on September 3, 2011, in Atlanta. 
Jonathan Cyprien of Florida International participates in the 2013 NFL Combine on February 26 in Indianapolis.
DeAndre Hopkins of the Clemson Tigers catches a touchdown pass over Chris Davis of the Auburn Tigers at the Georgia Dome on September 1, 2012, in Atlanta.
Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o prepares for a play against Alabama during the BCS National Championship game at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on January 7.
Defensive end Datone Jones of UCLA celebrates a victory over the USC Trojans at the Rose Bowl on November 17, 2012, in Pasadena, California.
Justin Hunter of Tennessee runs with the ball against Branden Smith of the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium on September 29, 2012, in Athens, Georgia.
Tyler Eifert of Notre Dame runs the ball against the Purdue Boilermakers at Notre Dame Stadium on September 8, 2012, in South Bend, Indiana.
Menelik Watson of Florida State takes on the Northern Illinois Huskies during the 2013 Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens, Florida, on January 1.
North Carolina Tar Heels defensive tackle Sylvester Williams prepares for a play during the 2011 Advocare V100 Independence Bowl game against the Missouri Tigers in Shreveport, Louisiana, on December 26, 2011.
Bjoern Werner of Florida State works out during the 2013 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 25 in Indianapolis.
Cornerback Desmond Trufant of the Washington Huskies celebrates after intercepting a pass against Stanford on September 27, 2012, at CenturyLink Field in Seattle.
Defensive lineman Jesse Williams of Alabama lines up against Kent State on September 3, 2011, at Bryant Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Kansas State linebacker Arthur Brown plays against the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma, on September 22, 2012.
Conservationists say poachers have shrunk Africa’s forest elephant population by more than 60%, threatening the magnificent mammals with eventual extinction.
Once wide-ranging, forest elephants are now reluctant to roam because of humans encroaching on their habitats, compromising the future of this species. 
Environmentalists and park rangers patrol Cameroon’s Lobeke National Park as part of efforts to deter poaching and arrest illegal hunters.
Seized ivory tusks are displayed during a Hong Kong Customs press conference on January 4, 2013. The precious commodity is selling for hundreds, even thousands of dollars per kilogram on the black market. 
Last year, heavily-armed poachers from Sudan arrived on horseback to the Bouba Ndjida Park in northern Cameroon. They slaughtered more than 300 elephants within a matter of weeks, taking only the tusks.
Conservation group WWF project manager Zacharie Nzooh says the elephant stands a chance so long as the crackdown on ivory markets continues.
“The number of elephants in the national park of Lobeke has not reached a critical stage,” says Nzooh. “I am certain that if significant efforts are put in place the elephants will survive. Those efforts must be made on different levels, on site level, on an international level and on a national level.”
Lobeke is situated in southeast Cameroon, within the Congo Basin forest. The park and its peripheral zone cover more than 650,000 hectares.
Conservationists say poachers have shrunk Africa’s forest elephant population by more than 60%, threatening the magnificent mammals with eventual extinction.
Once wide-ranging, forest elephants are now reluctant to roam because of humans encroaching on their habitats, compromising the future of this species. 
Environmentalists and park rangers patrol Cameroon’s Lobeke National Park as part of efforts to deter poaching and arrest illegal hunters.
Seized ivory tusks are displayed during a Hong Kong Customs press conference on January 4, 2013. The precious commodity is selling for hundreds, even thousands of dollars per kilogram on the black market. 
Last year, heavily-armed poachers from Sudan arrived on horseback to the Bouba Ndjida Park in northern Cameroon. They slaughtered more than 300 elephants within a matter of weeks, taking only the tusks.
Conservation group WWF project manager Zacharie Nzooh says the elephant stands a chance so long as the crackdown on ivory markets continues.
“The number of elephants in the national park of Lobeke has not reached a critical stage,” says Nzooh. “I am certain that if significant efforts are put in place the elephants will survive. Those efforts must be made on different levels, on site level, on an international level and on a national level.”
Lobeke is situated in southeast Cameroon, within the Congo Basin forest. The park and its peripheral zone cover more than 650,000 hectares.
