The Trump administration’s plan to shrink four land-based national monuments has provoked howls of anguish from environmental groups, Native American tribes and some businesses, such as the outdoors company Patagonia. Accompanying changes to protected monuments in the oceans – vastly larger areas than their land-based counterparts – have received less attention, but could have major […]
Tag: sea turtle
Coast Guard Rescues Sea Turtle Entangled Amid Bales of Cocaine
A military plane happened to be in the right place at the right time in November when its occupants spotted debris floating in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Central America. They notified the U.S. Coast Guard. A Coast Guard crew aboard the cutter Thetis dispatched a small boat to sail over to the […]
Victory! TripAdvisor stops selling tickets to cruel Sea Turtle farm
Animal advocates are celebrating a victory amidst ongoing efforts to end sea turtle cruelty: TripAdvisor has stopped selling tickets to the controversial Cayman Turtle Centre, a tourist attraction where endangered green sea turtles are farmed for meat. Located in the Cayman Islands, the Cayman Turtle Centre has drawn significant criticism over the years for mistreating […]
How the world’s largest cruise line can stand up for sea turtles
As the world’s largest cruise line, Carnival Cruise Lines has the power to help stop the suffering of endangered green sea turtles. A tourist facility in the Cayman Islands, The Cayman Turtle Centre: Island Wildlife Encounter, has been on the radar for years over concerns about how it’s mistreating its resident sea turtles. The facility […]
POLL: Should the Hawksbill turtle trade be closed down?
The Critically Endangered Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) is being hunted to extinction for its shell. Colored in hues of gold, amber, and brown, the animal’s striking shell is carved into jewelry, combs, guitar picks, and other trinkets, andthen sold in markets across Latin America and the Caribbean. This demand for turtleshell products is driving […]
How wildlife may fare under Trump
What a president will do for wildlife has never been much of a campaign issue. Debates focus on national security, trade, economics, and to a lesser degree in this election cycle, on the environment. Wildlife, however, plays a part in all those concerns. Take, for example, the illegal wildlife trade. It’s a multibillion-dollar business that […]
Video: Watch the Incredible Migration of Thousands of Giant Spider Crabs in Australia
Australia is famous for its teeming, colorful biodiversity like sea turtles, giant clams, and coral, but it’s the Great Barrier Reef that often receives the most attention for its wildlife. Of course, other areas around Australia boast an incredible amount of unique wildlife, like the Ningaloo Marine Park along Australia’s West Coast, for example, that […]
Photos: mass turtle hatching produces over 200,000 babies
Biologists recently documented one of nature’s least-known, big events. On the banks of the Purus River in the Brazilian Amazon, researchers witnessed the mass-hatching of an estimated 210,000 giant South American river turtles (Podocnemis expansa). The giant South American river turtle, or Arrau, is the world’s largest side-necked turtle and can grow up to 80 […]