PETA criticized Google’s Steve Irwin art and people are not happy

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PETA is facing negative backlash (again), this time for calling out Google and Steve Irwin on Friday.

The Google homepage featured an illustration of Irwin, the late Australian zookeeper and conservationist, holding a crocodile on what would have been his 57th birthday. It was an image that PETA referred to as “dangerous” and “fawning.”

PETA quote tweeted Google about 12 hours after the graphic went up, which still fell squarely on Irwin’s birthday (he died after being stung by a ray in 2006).

#SteveIrwin was killed while harassing a ray; he dangled his baby while feeding a crocodile & wrestled wild animals who were minding their own business. Today’s #GoogleDoodle sends a dangerous, fawning message. Wild animals are entitled to be left alone in their natural habitatshttps://t.co/9JfJiBhGLw

— PETA (@peta) February 22, 2019 Read more…

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Illegal animal trade uncovered on Facebook in Thailand

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A wildlife trafficking watchdog is calling out Facebook for hundreds of listings of animals in Thailand.

TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring organization, is releasing a report today detailing a multiyear investigation that monitored Facebook groups that facilitated the sale of wildlife. The listings included live and dead animals, as well as animal body parts according to the BBC.

Of the over 1,500 animal listings discovered by TRAFFIC, more than half of the animals offered up for trade are protected under Thailand’s Wild Animal Reservation and Protection Act. Some of the listed animals, such as the Helmeted Hornbill and the Siamese crocodile are a critically endangered species. In the case of a species like the Helmeted Hornbill and the Siamese crocodile, TRAFFIC says its critically endangered status meant that even a single creature removed from the wild would be detrimental for the species’ survival. Read more…

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A bear cam mom showed up at the river with 4 cubs. How many will survive?

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One of the most watched bears in the world — Bear 402 — has returned to Alaska’s brown bear cam this summer with a litter of four small cubs. 

Bear 402 typically spends much of July standing atop the Brooks River waterfall waiting for salmon to leap into the air on their journey upriver. Here, explore.org has positioned cameras in Katmai National Park to watch wild brown bears, like 402, catch fish, tussle, and grow fat during the long days of the Alaskan summer.

This summer, Bear 402 will attempt to keep four mostly helpless cubs alive. And this is a mighty task. Litters of two and sometimes three are common, but rarely four. And in the past, 402 has had trouble keeping just one young cub alive.  Read more…

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Cannibalism, infanticide: The dark side of Alaska’s bear cam

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On a sunny May morning in 2014, as the Alaskan subarctic was beginning to warm up, park rangers watched a young female bear, Tundra, explore the marshland around the famous Brooks River. 

Two months later, she was dead.

Tundra, also known as Bear 130, had been partially eaten by another bear.

Her grim death, like many harsh bear realities, happened beyond the view of the bear cams — the live streaming webcams set up along the mile and a half Brooks River by explore.org.

One of the peaks of the bear-viewing summer season has now arrived, as the legendary Alaskan salmon run entices brown bears to congregate around the Brooks River waterfall, in remote Katmai National Park. In this wild, far-off  realm, people globally tune in to watch bears snatching salmon out of the air, and once full of fish, dozing beside the river.  Read more…

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Striking photos show the ‘apocalyptic’ blaze engulfing UK moorland

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Wildfires of “apocalyptic” proportions have engulfed Saddleworth Moor, near Manchester, northern England, for several days this week. 

The blaze began on Sunday 24 June during a heatwave which saw temperatures across the UK rise to record highs. 

The fires — which set seven square miles of grassland ablaze — have resulted in the greater Manchester region being blanketed in a canopy of thick smoke. 

Large wildfires spreading across Saddleworth Moor and towards residential areas.

Large wildfires spreading across Saddleworth Moor and towards residential areas.

Image: Joel Goodman/LNP/REX/Shutterstock

Dry peat, high temperatures, and unrelenting winds are said to be hindering attempts to keep the fire under control.  Read more…

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View More Striking photos show the ‘apocalyptic’ blaze engulfing UK moorland

Striking photos show the ‘apocalyptic’ blaze engulfing UK moorland

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Wildfires of “apocalyptic” proportions have engulfed Saddleworth Moor, near Manchester, northern England, for several days this week. 

The blaze began on Sunday 24 June during a heatwave which saw temperatures across the UK rise to record highs. 

The fires — which set seven square miles of grassland ablaze — have resulted in the greater Manchester region being blanketed in a canopy of thick smoke. 

Large wildfires spreading across Saddleworth Moor and towards residential areas.

Large wildfires spreading across Saddleworth Moor and towards residential areas.

Image: Joel Goodman/LNP/REX/Shutterstock

Dry peat, high temperatures, and unrelenting winds are said to be hindering attempts to keep the fire under control.  Read more…

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View More Striking photos show the ‘apocalyptic’ blaze engulfing UK moorland

From puffins to brown bears: The 10 best wildlife livestreams of the summer

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Whether it’s a pair of hawks nesting over a bustling city, or a young lioness lounging in the sun, when technology and animals peacefully combine the results can be phenomenal. 

That idea is no better exemplified than in the following wildlife livestreams, giving us a glimpse into the secret lives of animals around the world.

So, sit back, relax, and hit play on our picks for the best wildlife webcams around today.

International Wolf Center

Just south of the Canadian border, deep in the woods of Minnesota, a team of passionate biologists opened a habitat dedicated to researching gray wolves.  Read more…

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View More From puffins to brown bears: The 10 best wildlife livestreams of the summer

The discovery of the first known manta ray nursery was a happy accident

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The world’s first confirmed manta ray nursery was found thanks to some good luck.

Marine scientist Joshua Stewart, was working to connect the dots between manta ray populations that live near each other at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.

What he found instead, according to a new study published in Marine Biology, was something he had barely seen in his seven years of manta ray research: a juvenile manta ray.

“On my very first dive, I saw a manta right away. [Researchers at Flower Garden Banks] had already told me that the rays there were small, so I wasn’t shocked,” Stewart said in an interview.  Read more…

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