About 64 pounds of plastic trash killed a young sperm whale that washed up in southeast Spain, according to scientists.
The whale, whose body landed in Cape Palos on Feb. 27, most likely died because it couldn’t digest the plastic trash, fish n…
Category: Conservation
Hey, how about we helicopter grizzly bears into this remote National Park?
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Ancient groves of Douglas fir trees still stand in North Cascades National Park. The little-visited park — it receives less than one percent of the annual visitation of Yellowstone — can resemble the misty, prehistoric woods before the Pacific Northwest was settled. Wolverines, cougars, moose, and hundreds of other species of animals dwell here, living among ponds and beneath towering, pinnacled mountains.
But although these woodlands in Washington State were also once rich in grizzly bears, the park hasn’t confirmed spotting any in years. After being thoroughly hunted, there may be none left. Read more…
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View More Hey, how about we helicopter grizzly bears into this remote National Park?Rhino experts aren’t banking on unproven IVF technology to rescue threatened species
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Guards at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, in Kenya, now only have to keep watch over two northern white rhinos — and their much sought-after horns.
The last male northern white rhino, named Sudan, died at the wildlife conservancy this week after succumbing to old age and failing health.
There are just two females left from the subspecies, Fatu and Najin, who continue to graze at the protected wildlife park. Unless a still unproven reproductive technology in rhinos — in vitro fertilization (IVF) — is used to sustain the subspecies, the northern white rhinos will soon go extinct.
SEE ALSO: Trump administration nixes ban on hunted elephant tusks being carried into the U.S. Read more…
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Sudan, the last male northern white rhino, dies aged 45
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Sudan, the last male northern white rhino on Earth, died on Monday aged 45.
Only one of three of its subspecies, Sudan came to represent the last hope, protected by round-the-clock armed security and given a 700-acre enclosure at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya.
Suffering from age-related health issues and a series of infections, Sudan’s condition worsened over Sunday and Monday. He was unable to stand up, clearly suffering, leading to a decision to euthanise him by his veterinary team.
It is with great sadness that Ol Pejeta Conservancy and the Dvůr Králové Zoo announce that Sudan, the world’s last male northern white rhino, age 45, died at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya on March 19th, 2018 (yesterday). #SudanForever #TheLoneBachelorGone #Only2Left pic.twitter.com/1ncvmjZTy1
— Ol Pejeta (@OlPejeta) March 20, 2018 Read more…
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View More Sudan, the last male northern white rhino, dies aged 45Remote archipelagos teeming with sharks aren’t as pristine as they seem
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When swimming in the waters of the isolated Chagos archipelago in the Indian Ocean, a half-dozen sharks would sometimes surround Francesco Ferretti.
“You are in another world,” said Ferretti, a marine ecologist at Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University. “You feel like you’re in one of the last remaining paradises of the planet.”
The medium-sized reef sharks here are harmless (to humans). The coral is vibrantly colored. The water pure.
And to a large degree, it’s an illusion.
“When you see these places you think there’s less human impact,” said Ferretti in an interview. “However, things are not so simple.” Read more…
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View More Remote archipelagos teeming with sharks aren’t as pristine as they seemTrump administration nixes ban on hunted elephant tusks being carried into the U.S.
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In November 2017, President Donald Trump called the hunting of elephants for their trophy tusks a “horror show.”
It appeared that Trump, who lacks stable policy positions on many issues, strongly opposed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) decision to allow African elephant trophies from Zimbabwe and Zambia to be imported into the U.S. Trump and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke then decided to put the decision to allow trophy imports into the U.S. “on hold.”
Nearly four months later, that hold is coming off. The Trump administration will now consider letting hunting prizes from animals listed on the Endangered Species Act (such as lions and elephants) back into the U.S on a “case by case” basis, the FWS said. This may please Trump’s two oldest sons, who have vacationed in Africa where they shot large game animals — like elephants and leopards. Read more…
More about Science, Africa, Conservation, Elephants, and Hunting
We could see a decline in King Penguins thanks to — you guessed it — climate change
Climate change is leaving these Antarctic cuties in big trouble! The fish king penguins feed on are moving south towards colder waters, making it more difficult for breeding pairs to feed their chicks. Read more…More about Climate, Mashable Video, W…
View More We could see a decline in King Penguins thanks to — you guessed it — climate changePineapple Fund drops $1M on the Sustainable Ocean Alliance and its new accelerator
Less than a month ago I was happy to be able to write about a new accelerator focused narrowly on technological solutions to problems faced by our oceans — and today the organization behind that accelerator has announced that the mysterious Pineapple Fund has backed its conservation play to the tune of $1 million. Read More
The new Park Service head once allowed a billionaire to chop down 130 protected trees
The new acting head of the National Park Service, Paul Daniel Smith, once let the billionaire owner of the Washington Redskins football team chop down 130 trees on protected park land.
Redskins owner Dan Snyder, whose riverfront mansion abutted…
Meet the animals that probably went extinct in 2017
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At the end of each year, wildlife ecologist David Steen compiles a list of critters that have likely gone extinct. The 2017 list includes a bat, cat, and multiple lizards, although other creatures may be gone for good — we just don’t know it yet.
Steen, an ecologist at Auburn University, started the annual extinction list in 2012 to establish a clear, reliable source for the planet’s extinctions. Educating the public about the loss of species, in his view, is as important as it is dispiriting.
“It is depressing, frankly, to think about all the creatures we will never see again but I think it is important for us to perceive extinction as a loss of actual species and not just numbers and rates,” Steen said via email. Read more…
More about Science, Conservation, Extinction, Endangered Species, and Threatened Species
View More Meet the animals that probably went extinct in 2017Internet of Elephants uses AR to get up close to endangered species, turns their migrations into a game
Wildlife conservation groups have made a lot of strides in raising awareness of animals whose populations or natural habitats are endangered, and what we can do to help. Now a startup out of Kenya is tapping into advances made in augmented realit…
View More Internet of Elephants uses AR to get up close to endangered species, turns their migrations into a gameThis new app is like Shazam for frogs
Hear a ribbit? There’s an app for that.
Launched on Nov. 10, FrogID is an iOS and Android app that can identify local frog species by the sound they make.
Chirps, ribbits, peeps, whistles, and croaks heard in backyards, creeks and wetlands can …