Tag Archives: wildlife

The Associated Press reports: The Biden administration on Monday reversed a policy imposed under former President Donald Trump that drastically weakened the government’s power to enforce a century-old law that protects most U.S. bird species. Trump ended criminal prosecutions against companies responsible for bird deaths that could have been prevented. The move halted enforcement practices under the Migratory Bird Treaty …

NBC News reports: Scientists have cloned the first U.S. endangered species, a black-footed ferret duplicated from the genes of an animal that died over 30 years ago. The slinky predator named Elizabeth Ann, born Dec. 10 and announced Thursday, is cute as a button. Cloning eventually could bring back extinct species such as the passenger pigeon. For now, the technique …

The Citrus County Chronicle reports: The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is searching for information on the person or persons responsible for the harassment of a manatee discovered Sunday in the headwaters of the Homosassa River. The animal had the word “Trump” scraped into its back. Craig Cavanna, senior federal wildlife officer and current investigating officer, said of the …

Burning it all down on the way out: The Trump administration on Tuesday narrowed habitat protections for endangered species, finalizing its second major rollback to the Endangered Species Act. The latest rule narrows the definition of habitat to areas that can currently support a species, a move environmentalists say ignores the changing climate or efforts that could be made to …

The CBC reports: Officials have declared an outbreak of COVID-19 at a mink farm in B.C.’s Fraser Valley, east of Vancouver, after eight people with connections to the site tested positive for the disease. Fraser Health said in a written statement Sunday the farm operators and staff who tested positive are isolating, as are their close contacts. Officials did not …

USA Today reports: The bill, the Big Cat Public Safety Act, passed by a 272-114 vote. It would ban the private ownership of big cats like lions and tigers, a measure “Tiger King’s” Carole Baskin and Big Cat Rescue, the organization she runs with her husband Howard, have spent thousands of dollars and years lobbying for. It would allow existing …

The Washington Post reports: The Trump administration published an analysis Friday concluding that its rule easing companies’ liability for killing birds would not cause significant environmental harm, clearing the way for it to finalize a major rollback before the president’s term ends on Jan. 20. The administration, which is racing to lock in a series of regulatory changes before President-elect …

The Audubon Society reports: The paintings submitted for this year’s federal duck stamp contest feature familiar images of wildlife art: A Cinnamon Teal bobs on a mountain lake. Two Brant tuck in to land in coastal chop. A placid pair of Red-breasted Mergansers float side by side, their jaunty crests aglow in early morning light. But a closer look at …

The Associated Press reports: France’s environment minister has announced a gradual ban on using wild animals in traveling circuses, on keeping dolphins and killer whales in captivity in marine parks and on raising mink on fur farms. Barbara Pompili, France’s minister of ecological transition, said in a news conference Tuesday that bears, tigers, lions, elephants and other wild animals won’t …

Courthouse News reports: Federal prosecutors filed criminal charges Tuesday against a California man who fatally shot a northern elephant seal on a beach on the Central Coast. In September 2019, authorities discovered the corpse of a northern elephant seal on a beach near San Simeon. The animal had been shot in the head. The beach — located off California Highway …

Reuters reports: The Trump administration on Monday finalized a plan to allow oil and gas drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, putting it on track to issue decades-long leases in the pristine wilderness area before a potential change in U.S. leadership. The 19 million acre (7.7 million hectares) refuge is home to wildlife populations including Porcupine caribou and polar …

ABC News reports: Public health officials have announced that a squirrel in Colorado has tested positive for the bubonic plague. The town of Morrison, Colorado, in Jefferson County, which is just west of Denver, made the startling announcement saying that the squirrel is the first case of plague in the county. “Plague is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria …

Sky News reports: A gang of monkeys attacked a laboratory assistant and escaped with a batch of coronavirus blood test samples, it has been reported. The bizarre incident saw the troop of primates launch their assault near Meerut Medical College in Delhi, India. According to local media, the animals then snatched COVID-19 blood test samples that had been taken from …

Via press release from the Bronx Zoo: On April 5, 2020, we reported that a four-year-old female Malayan tiger had tested positive for COVID-19 and three other tigers and three African lions were showing similar symptoms. Samples for testing from the tiger, Nadia, were collected from her nose, throat, and respiratory tract while she was under anesthesia. Subsequently, we can …

The Associated Press reports: A tiger at the Bronx Zoo has tested positive for the new coronavirus, in what is believed to be the first known infection in an animal in the U.S. or a tiger anywhere, federal officials and the zoo said Sunday. The 4-year-old Malayan tiger, and six other tigers and lions that have also fallen ill, are …

The Los Angeles Times reports: California and 17 other states on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s weakening of the Endangered Species Act, a landmark law that has ensured the survival of the California condor, the grizzly bear and other animals close to extinction. The lawsuit is California’s latest in a blitz of legal challenges to the president’s …

The Blast reports: Bristol Palin’s son bagged his first black bear during a hunting trip with the reality star’s ex, Levi Johnston. 10-year-old Tripp just returned to civilization from a camping and hunting trip with his father and stepmom, Sunny Johnston. The former “Dancing With the Stars: Juniors” contestant could be seen posing with the dead black bear after the …

CBS News reports: Like many urban singles, the mountain lion P-22 lives a solitary life in a too-small habitat. And he has a hard time finding a mate in the big city. Famous for traveling across two freeways and making a huge Los Angeles park his home, the lonesome big cat has become a symbol of the shrinking genetic diversity …

First, a report from 2017: The Trump administration’s decision to loosen restrictions around the import of elephant trophies from Zimbabwe and Zambia has turned attention back to the president’s family’s own connection to the controversial sport. Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump are prolific big-game hunters and during the 2016 campaign, images re-emerged of the pair on a 2011 hunting …

The Associated Press reports: The Trump administration is finalizing major changes Monday to the way it enforces the landmark Endangered Species Act, a move it says will reduce regulatory burden but critics charge will drive more creatures to extinction. The administration was making public a final rule overhauling the way the federal government handles protections for plants and animals at …