Wisdom, a Laysan albatross, has once again returned to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial and has laid an egg. The approximately 67-year-old flies thousands of miles every year before returning to the Midway Atoll. Although these graceful birds nest on tropical Pacific islands, they can travel as far as […]
When you think of ways the White House could, in fact, “make America great again,” allowing big game hunters to bring elephant heads back into the country is probably nowhere on that list. Nevertheless, the Trump administration has just announced that it will get rid of restrictions that prevented hunters from doing just that. A […]
An aging oil pipeline moves 23 million gallons of oil and natural gas liquids per day along the bottomlands of the Straits of Mackinac, where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron crash into each other in the heart of the Great Lakes. This pipeline – Line 5, built in 1953 – is operated by the same […]
For years, the wolf known as “White Lady” delighted visitors who were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of her when they visited Yellowstone National Park. At 12 years old, the alpha female of the Canyon Pack had lived twice as long as other wolves in the park. Within nine years, with the same alpha […]
The recent deaths of Casey, a yellow Lab killed by a cyanide bomb in Idaho, as well as two other pet dogs who became unintended victims in Wyoming, have focused attention on the secretive government agency that planted those deadly M-44 explosives: Wildlife Services (WS), a program within the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and […]
Fourteen-year-old Canyon Mansfield was out walking the family Labrador, Casey, on public land in the outskirts of Pocatello, Idaho, last month. As they roamed a hill near their home, Canyon spied a piece of metal protruding from the snowy ground that resembled the head of a garden sprinkler. When he bent down to touch it, […]
I hate political, or personal, drama—it’s rather an odd thing for a Chicago woman of Irish descent, born-and-raised as a Cubs fan, but that’s just the way I am. I got all three of those traits, along with my normally low blood pressure, from my Grandpa. But today I can feel that blood pressure rising, […]
It’s a done deal. Seventeen elephants from Swaziland are today en route to three U.S. zoos despite an attempt by an animal welfare group to stop the controversial move. The elephants are bound for the Dallas Zoo, the Sedgwick County Zoo, in Wichita, Kansas, and the Henry Doorly Zoo, in Omaha, Nebraska. And the nonprofit […]
Under intense criticism from animal welfare groups and others—and now facing a lawsuit—the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) recently approved a permit allowing three U.S. zoos to import 18 wild elephants from Swaziland. The elephants—3 males and 15 females ranging from 6 to 25 years old—will go to the Dallas Zoo, Sedgwick County Zoo, […]
Wildlife Services—ever heard of it? No, not the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. That’s something different. The Fish and Wildlife Service is part of the Department of the Interior, charged with enforcing wildlife laws, restoring habitat, and protecting fish, plants, and animals. Wildlife Services isn’t your state fish and game commission, either, which issues hunting […]
Over the past two decades, populations of America’s iconic orange and black monarch butterflies have declined by more than 80 percent. Now, two environmental groups — the The Center for Biological Diversity and Center for Food Safety — have filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to […]
The African lion—thousands of miles away but beloved by Americans—might become protected under U.S. law, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Monday. The proposed new rule would list lions as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. If approved, the law would make it illegal to kill or hunt captive lions in the U.S. without […]
Monarch butterflies were once a common sight throughout the North American heartland. In Mexico, where they overwinter, single trees would often be covered in thousands. But declines in milkweed – their caterpillars’ only source of food – have led to a 90 percent decline in monarch numbers. Now, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) […]
