endangered species

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Asian Appetites Threaten Florida Turtles

Conservations warn that state's turtles are being eaten out of existence

(Newser) - Asia's insatiable appetite for turtles could be driving some US species to the brink of extinction, the Los Angeles Times reports. The region's newly affluent consumers are happy to shell out top dollar for the delicacy and with most native species already eaten, Florida's turtle exports are booming. Conservationists warn...

Freighters Must Brake for Endangered Whales Off US

Right whale get federal protection from speeding vessels

(Newser) - A new US law may save the world’s 400 remaining North Atlantic right whales from their worst enemy—large ships. Mariners will have to slow to 11.5mph as they slice through parts of the mammal’s migration path between New England and Florida, the Boston Globe reports. Since...

Score Card on Late White House Rules Changes

Bush administration pushes through midnight regulations

(Newser) - With the  Bush White House pushing through a raft of last-minute rules, the nonprofit journalism group ProPublica offers a running list, with the status of each:
  • Business-friendly safety regulations would loosen restrictions on exposure to toxic chemicals in the workplace.
  • Local police would get increased surveillance ability.
  • Loaded guns would
...

Long-Lost 'Furby' Species Found

Tiny primate thought extinct found alive and well in Indonesian mountaintop forest

(Newser) - Scientists on a remote Indonesian mountaintop have discovered a pocket-sized primate not seen alive since the 1920s, CNN reports. The giant-eyed, two-ounce pygmy tarsier had been thought extinct until one was found dead in a rat trap, inspiring a professor from Texas A&M University to lead an expedition to...

Toxic Toads Wiping Out Aussie Crocs
Toxic Toads Wiping Out Aussie Crocs

Toxic Toads Wiping Out Aussie Crocs

Freshwater crocodiles munch on invaders with fatal results

(Newser) - Poisonous cane toads are proving more than a match for Australia's freshwater crocodiles, AFP reports. The toads are hopping their way into the crocs' northern Australia territory in huge numbers, killing off all who opt to make a meal of the invaders. Toad poisoning has already cut the numbers of...

'Water Monster' About to Die Off

Mexican salamander suffers in polluted canals and lagoons

(Newser) - Mexico’s “water monster"—a mere foot long but once central to the Aztec legend and diet—is close to dying out, the AP reports. Axolotls have long endured in the polluted Venice-like canals of Lake Xochimilco in Mexico City, but baby-gobbling fish and ebbing water quality are...

EBay Bans Ivory Sales
 EBay Bans Ivory Sales 

EBay Bans Ivory Sales

Total ban announced ahead of report showing site fuels trade in wildlife products

(Newser) - EBay will introduce a total ban on ivory sales after the holidays in a bid to prevent elephant poaching, Ars Technica reports. The company banned international sales of ivory on its site in 2007 but critics say it did little to halt the trade in illegal ivory. Conservationists estimate 20,...

Palin Can't Keep Beluga Off Endangered List

Whale population just won't rebound

(Newser) - The beluga whales living in Alaska’s Cook Inlet were declared an endangered species yesterday over Sarah Palin’s vehement objections, the New York Times reports. The beluga population was cut almost in half during the late '90s, and hasn’t recovered despite a wave of new protections. But Palin...

Ecuador Chases Citizens Off Galapagos to Save Islands

UN says too many people on islands is destroying animal habitats

(Newser) - Ecuador is forcing those without permission to live in the Galapagos to leave, over fears that a growing human population threatens the species that make the islands unique. Even Ecuadorean citizens need special visas to visit the Galapagos, but thousands of mainland migrants have been staying illegally, drawn by high...

One-Quarter of Mammal Species Imperiled: Survey

Deforestation, climate change among culprits threatening 1,141 types of beasts

(Newser) - Nearly 25% of the world’s mammal species face extinction, the Guardian reports, and 3% are critically endangered. The stark conclusion, based on research conducted over 5 years in 130 countries, paints an especially bleak picture for marine mammals, the highly regarded Red List says. "We are threatening the...

Gray Wolf Back on Endangered List

Court overrules Bush administration's move to cross it off

(Newser) - A federal court restored gray wolves to the endangered species list in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin yesterday, again making it not OK to kill wolves that attack livestock or pets, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. In answer to a lawsuit by environmental groups, a judge said the wolves couldn’t...

Half of Europe's Frog Species May Croak

Habitat loss, climate change, disease likely to wipe out amphibian species

(Newser) - Half of all of Europe's amphibian species could be doomed to extinction within the next few decades, scientists warn. Habitat loss and climate change are already wiping out huge numbers of frogs, toads, newts and salamanders, the Independent reports. The situation has been exacerbated by a skin disease that has...

Numbers Soaring, S. Africa Mulls Elephant Cull

In 13 years since killing ban, overpopulation posing serious threat

(Newser) - South Africa's 1995 ban on culling elephants has proven wildly successful—perhaps too successful, writes Karen Lange in National Geographic. As the population has skyrocketed from 8,000 to 13,000 in the years since, starving elephants are now ravaging vegetation and taxing the nation's ecosystem, forcing experts to consider...

Bluefin Tuna Tricked Into Spawning
 Bluefin Tuna Tricked
 Into Spawning

Glossies

Bluefin Tuna Tricked Into Spawning

Australian aims to overcome fish shortage by simulating breeding grounds

(Newser) - A seafood entrepreneur thinks he can solve the world's bluefin tuna shortage by making the fish feel frisky, Time reports. German ex-pat Hagen Stehr, the baron of a $230-million Australian seafood empire, is simulating the tuna's breeding grounds in a hatchery—a "fishy virtual reality" with 14 hours of...

Doom Looms for Spotted Owl
 Doom Looms for Spotted Owl

Doom Looms for Spotted Owl

Invasion of aggressive Eastern owl threatens controversial bird

(Newser) - The outlook appears bleak for America's most controversial bird, reports the Seattle Times. Despite logging bans in huge swathes of old-growth forests initiated 14 years ago to protect the northern spotted owl, researchers have discovered its numbers have dropped by nearly half. The decline is blamed on pre-1994 habitat loss...

Huge Gorilla Population Found in Congo

125,000 endangered primates located in northern Congo Republic

(Newser) - As recently as last year, the western lowland gorilla was listed as one of the world's most critically endangered primate species, nearly wiped out by the Ebola virus. But an arduous survey has revealed that 125,000 gorillas are living in the northern Congo Republic, deep in a swampy region...

It's Raining Baby Pandas in China

Four born in 14 hours in Sichuan province

(Newser) - Four giant pandas were born within 14 hours of each other at a Chinese breeding center over the weekend, giving a much-needed population boost to the endangered species. Nine-year-old Qiyuan gave birth to twins, and two other 8-year-old pandas each gave birth to a cub in Sichuan province, BBC reports....

Zoo Shows Off Baby White Lions
 Zoo Shows Off Baby White Lions 

Zoo Shows Off Baby White Lions

Record-breaking number of rare cubs born on the same day

(Newser) - The world's population of just 200 white lions leaped by seven in a single day when twin lionesses gave birth in June, Der Spiegel reports, and the German safari park where they were born has now unveiled the extremely rare cubs. But while one new mom took to motherhood with...

UN Approves China to Buy Ivory
 UN Approves China to Buy Ivory 

UN Approves China to Buy Ivory

Critics say allowing imports plays 'Russian roulette' with elephants' lives

(Newser) - China has been given a green light to begin importing African ivory by a UN body that banned the sale 10 years ago, a decision that has infuriated conservation groups, the Daily Telegraph reports. African states say they need to sell stockpiles of ivory from elephants that are culled or...

Devils Breed Earlier to Stave Off Cancer

Attempt to outlast disease could be evolutionary

(Newser) - Tasmanian devils are reproducing at a younger age to offset a contagious cancer epidemic, the Daily Telegraph reports. The ill-tempered marsupials, suffering from tumors that cut their lifespan in half, are now breeding at age 1 instead of 2 or 3. "We could be seeing evolution occurring before our...

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