In an incredibly disappointing, but not entirely surprising move, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has announced its intention to strip gray wolves of federal protection in the lower 48, which their advocates fear will be a death sentence for them. Gray wolves have already faced such heavy persecution that we nearly killed every […]
Author: Supertrooper
Salt fiends: Search for sodium puts Rwanda’s gorillas in harm’s way
A sodium craving may be the reason endangered mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) from Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda leave the park to raid nearby eucalyptus plantations, according to a recent paper published in Biotropica. Tourists from around the world pay $1,500 for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend just an hour with these majestic great […]
Red wolf: the struggle to save one of the rarest animals on Earth
Attempting to locate one of the rarest animals on the planet, US government scientist Joe Madison pointed an antiquated VHF tracking antenna at a tangle of thick vegetation and twiddled some dials on the receiver. A red wolf, judging by the beeps, was in the vicinity but well-hidden. “Did you hear that beep? That’s a […]
How Are These Rare Burrowing Owls Thriving Next to the Busy LAX Airport?
If you’ve taken off on a flight from Los Angeles International Airport recently, you’d probably never guess that a few hundred feet below you, just beyond the runway’s end, is the winter habitat for 10 rare burrowing owls. It seems like an unlikely spot for wildlife to thrive. The LAX Dunes Preserve is located in […]
POLL: Is it cruel to set up nets that prevent birds nesting?
A battle broke out at the weekend over a hedge in Lincolnshire. The hedge, near the town of Winterton, was covered in netting by Partner Construction, which has applied for planning permission to build 40 homes on the site. This is standard practice, the developer said, in order to prevent birds from nesting in a […]
‘We want to live with them’: wolves airdropped into US to tackle moose problem
At a remote national park, four Canadians were recently airdropped into a dizzying new life in America. They are expert moose hunters, accustomed to cold climates, and covered in fur. A quartet of Canadian wolves was transported by helicopter from their home in Ontario to Isle Royale national park, covering an 894 sq mile island […]
POLL: Should commercial and recreational trapping on public lands be banned?
Trapping on public lands in New Mexico continues to put wildlife, pets and us at risk, but now there’s a real chance it could be banned forever. The Wildlife Protection and Public Safety Act (HB 366), which was just introduced by Rep. Matthew McQueen, Rep. Christine Chandler and Rep. Roberto Gonzales, would ban commercial and […]
Can jaguar tourism save Bolivia’s fast dwindling forests?
ÑUFLO DE CHÁVEZ, Bolivia — Few countries in the tropics have seen their trees chopped down as quickly as Bolivia did between 2001 and 2017.According to data from the University of Maryland and World Resources Institute’s Global Forest Watch, Bolivia lost 45,000 square kilometers (17,400 square miles) of tree cover, or 7 percent of its […]