Giant forest rats and clumsy tree kangaroos brought biologist Tim Flannery to New Guinea. Now he feels right at home there despite several near-death experiences. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, stories from the front lines of conservation. Also, a journey into the jungles of Borneo, where endangered orangutans battle eco-tourism.

Ecologist Andrew Blaustein studies declining frog populations all over the world. He tells Jim Fleming that disease pathogens are only part of the problem and worries that the frog deaths mean encroaching environmental catastrophe for humans. Also, ecologist David Wilcove talks with Judith Strasser about our few successes and many failures at saving endangered species. Wilcove's book is "The Condor's Shadow: The Loss and Recovery of Wildlife in America."

Primatologist Birute Galdikas talks with Steve Paulson about her field work with orangutans in the jungles of Borneo. Also, Linda Spalding is the author of "A Dark Place in the Jungle: Science, Orangutans, and Human Nature." She tells Judith Strasser that Birute Galdikas is not the saintly figure she is made out to be in the Western press, and that the orangutans are worse off than ever because of poaching, logging And eco-tourists.

Biologist Tim Flannery has discovered more than twenty new species. He tells Steve Paulson about some of his adventures in the bush — the three foot rats, bad- tempered pythons and wonderfully friendly cannibals. Flannery is a research scientist at the Australian Museum in Sydney, and the author of "Throwim Way Leg: Tree Kangeroos, Possums and Penis Gourds." Throwim way leg is a pidgin phrase meaning to take the first step on a long journey.

Distribution dates:

• week of 06/25/99 - hour 1
• week of 05/30/99 - hour 2