conservation

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Trump Admin Sets Sights on Protections for Sage Grouse

A conservation plan to protect the rare bird could be in jeopardy

(Newser) - The sage grouse, which is known for its unique mating dance and only found in North America, has lost up to 90% of its population over the past few decades, dwindling to between 200,000 and 500,000 birds. Now a plan to save the sage grouse that took years...

Poachers Use Conservationists' Tracking Tags Against Them

'There are many ways in which this process can be corrupted'

(Newser) - The tracking tags utilized by conservationists are now being used by poachers to kill the endangered animals they're meant to save, according to a new report published in Conservation Biology . Scientists use tags equipped with GPS or radio transmitters to study animals' behavior, migration, and more. The technology has...

After 130 Years, a 'Historic Homecoming' in Banff

Welcome back, bison

(Newser) - "It's one of the great days for wildlife conservation in the history of North America," says a conservationist following what Parks Canada officials are calling a "historic homecoming" in Alberta's Banff National Park. Sixteen bison, including 10 pregnant cows, were moved 275 miles from Elk...

Obama Makes 'Epic' Environmental Move

President to designate nation's first Atlantic marine national monument

(Newser) - About 150 miles off the coast of Cape Cod, Mass., lies an ecosystem teeming with puffins, whales, underwater mountains, and fissures "deeper than the Grand Canyon," reports National Geographic . That 4,913-square-mile area—an "underwater Yellowstone," per NPR —will now be protected from commercial activity...

Burt's Bees Founder Sees a Dream Fulfilled in Maine

Land she donated becomes a national monument

(Newser) - President Obama on Wednesday created a new national monument in northern Maine on 87,000 acres donated by the co-founder of Burt's Bees, fulfilling conservationist Roxanne Quimby's goal of gifting the land during the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, the AP reports. The Katahdin Woods and...

Deer at Brink of Extinction Survives Afghan Conflicts

Bactrian deer were spotted by researchers for the first time in decades in 2013

(Newser) - In Afghanistan—in spite of multiple wars, habitat destruction, and unregulated hunting—one species feared to have gone extinct in the nation has been spotted and may even be staging a comeback: the rare and majestic Bactrian deer. When they were last surveyed in the 1970s, their local numbers were...

Iraq's 'Garden of Eden' Added to Prestigious List

Wetlands of southern Iraq are one of 12 new UNESCO world heritage sites

(Newser) - Fed by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, vast and remote wetlands along the border with Iran in southern Iraq that are considered to be the biblical "Garden of Eden" have just been named a UNESCO world heritage site, the United Nations reports. Among the 12 new sites added to...

The Numbers Add Up: Peeing in the Shower Makes Sense

It all comes down to water and toilet paper conservation

(Newser) - To pee or not to pee in the shower, that is the question. Various surveys have shown that lots of people do it—one questionnaire on BuzzFeed found that more than 80% of those surveyed say they do. Now IFL Science weighs in on the issue, noting that relieving ourselves...

Finding Dory Could Spell Doom for Her Real-Life Counterparts

But an online petition is hoping to change that

(Newser) - Disney's upcoming film Finding Dory will likely be a hit with kids around the world, and that's got fish-lovers worried. “Now that Disney knows the effect Finding Nemo had on clownfish, they should prepare for the effect Finding Dory will have on blue tang by doing their...

Extremely Rare Rhino Found Last Month Dies

Najaq proved Sumatran rhinos aren't extinct in Borneo

(Newser) - A Sumatran rhino, whose discovery in the wild last month was "hailed as a landmark conservation success," has died only weeks later, AFP reports. According to National Geographic , the rhino, named Najaq, was captured March 12 in Indonesian Borneo in a trap set by conservationists hoping to move...

Obama Grants Protection to 1.8M Acres of California Desert

He's now protected more land and water than any other president

(Newser) - A huge swath of breathtaking California desert just got federal protection courtesy of President Obama. The Los Angeles Times reports Obama named three new national monuments—Mojave Trails, Sand to Snow, and Castle Mountains—Thursday using a 1906 law letting presidents create such monuments to protect "objects of historic...

The US' Only Wild Jaguar Caught on Video

El Jefe lives in the mountains just miles outside of Tucson

(Newser) - America got a good look at the United States' only known wild jaguar in a 41-second video released Wednesday. "The dramatic footage provides a glimpse of the secretive life of one of nature’s most majestic and charismatic creatures," the Center for Biological Diversity states in a press...

Researchers Stumble on 'Hidden' Lion Population

Study confirms lions live in Ethiopia park, possibly another in Sudan

(Newser) - Conservationists say they have confirmed the existence of lions in a remote national park in Ethiopia, a rare piece of good news for a threatened species whose numbers have plunged in many parts of Africa, the AP reports. Born Free, a charity based in Britain, said in a statement Monday...

No More Cecils: African Lions Now on Endangered Species List

And US hunters will need special permit to bring back 'trophies'

(Newser) - Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer caused an uproar when he killed Cecil the lion —and he may have expedited the latest Obama administration mandate. The US Fish and Wildlife Service is set to announce Monday that as of Jan. 22, lions in Africa will be protected under the Endangered Species...

Libido-Less White Tiger Frustrates Zoo, Lady Tiger

Zookeepers hope a sexy new female tiger will do the trick

(Newser) - Male tigers are a lot like human men when it comes to sex. They're shy and awkward about their bodies if they haven't spent a lot of time around female tigers. They take libido enhancers when they get older. And, if a partner their own age isn't...

Fungus Mysteriously Killing America's Rattlesnakes

Conservation efforts 'overwhelmed' by disease's spread

(Newser) - Though rattlesnakes once occupied much of the US, humans have shrunk their populations—and now an insidious fungal disease is doing further damage. Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola surfaced here roughly 10 years ago, and it has since been found in nine eastern states, reports the AP . The eastern massasauga rattlesnake in Illinois...

Study Has Bad News for Reindeer

Reindeer populations experiencing rapid decline

(Newser) - The iconic reindeer is in peril, according to a new study analyzing population trends in China. While their numbers have been in decline for decades, dropping by at least 28% since the 1970s, the rate of decline has increased dramatically since 1998, reports UPI . The study, published in the Journal ...

World Lost Half Its Wildlife in 40 Years

WWF finds decline is even worse than it thought

(Newser) - The World Wildlife Fund has improved its methods of measuring the world's wildlife populations—and discovered that the situation is even worse than previously thought. In its Living Planet report , the numbers are stark: Populations of vertebrate species—including mammals, birds, fish, and reptiles—fell by a staggering average...

California Blue Whales Show Big Rebound

Population returns to 'sustainable levels'

(Newser) - After decades of deadly whaling, the California blue whale population has come back with a vengeance. A study in the Marine Mammal Science journal says that the once-endangered mammal, which can be found from Alaska all the way down to Costa Rica, has bounced back to "sustainable levels,"...

More Elephants Being Killed Than Born

35K killed annually since 2010; deaths driven by illegal ivory trade

(Newser) - A new study tallying the African elephant population has made a stark finding: If poaching continues at its current rate, the animal may be extinct in a century, the BBC reports. "We are shredding the fabric of elephant society and exterminating populations across the continent," says the study'...

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