The EPA says protecting bee populations is one of its top priorities. Some factors that contribute to the honeybee decline include loss of habitat, parasites and disease, poor nutrition and pesticide exposure. Credit: Cassie Martin
EPA Funds Aim to Reduce Pesticides, Improve Bee Health
(Environmental Leader)
The EPA has awarded almost half a million in funding to three universities — Louisiana State University, University of Vermont and Pennsylvania State University — for projects to reduce pesticide use and lower risks to honeybees. The agricultural grants for Integrated Pest Management practices also aim to control pests and save money, the agency says. The LSU project ($167,874) aims to minimize impacts to bees from insecticides used in mosquito control. More
NEWS FROM NORTH AMERICA
Researchers: 17 of 31 Largest Carnivores at Risk
(Missoulian via Billings Gazette)
The world’s largest carnivores are facing declines in both population and range, jeopardizing their long-term viability while hinting of a larger ecological disaster, according to a new study published in Science. Co-authored by researchers at the University of Montana, the study found that 17 of the planet’s 31 largest carnivores now occupy less than half of their traditional range, placing them at risk of eventual extinction. More
Alaska Narwhal Tusk Bust Leads to International Smuggling Ring
(Anchorage Daily News)
Federal authorities have unveiled their investigation of an international smuggling ring that trafficked at least $1.5 million worth of narwhal tusks, including 19 shipped to Alaska, where the investigation started. Two Tennessee men, Jay Conrad and Eddie Dunn, have pleaded guilty to trading in illegal animal parts in a conspiracy that stretched across several states and two countries, federal prosecutors revealed. More
Bats Fall to Extreme Weather in Canada Amid Widespread Decline
(The Star)
Despite their mythical portrayal as malevolent bloodsuckers — and a more modern connection with vengeance-minded superheroes — bats on both sides of the planet are fighting for survival against a more banal foe: extreme temperatures. Rescue workers at the Toronto Wildlife Centre are caring for 68 bats, including a colony from Newmarket that was found freezing to death during the ice storm. More
Not All Central Florida Bears Hibernating This Winter, Officials Warn
(Orlando Sentinel)
Just when you thought Florida’s largest land mammal would finally be moseying out of your neighborhood and back into the woods for the winter, it turns out that black bears in Central Florida may not be snoozing like their cousins in the rest of the state. Statistics from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission showed a spike in human-bear encounters in Central Florida in December, a month when bear complaints usually drop way off. More
Mountain Lions in Santa Monica Mountains Need More Room, Experts Say
(Los Angeles Times)
From an urban puma’s perspective, the news of late from greater Los Angeles has been mixed. On the positive front, a small population of mountain lions is surviving in the relatively compact confines of the Santa Monica Mountains, where deer are plentiful and cougars have found mates and reproduced. One healthy male mountain lion has made Griffith Park, in the range’s eastern reaches, his domain and dinette for nearly two years. More
Boreal Forest Protected, but Challenges Remain
(Regina Leader-Post)
Canada has made significant strides in protecting the vast boreal forest that stretches across most of its provinces and territories, but the world’s largest intact forest ecosystem still faces threats, says an environmental group. The amount of boreal forest under some form of government protection has doubled since 2007 to about 12 percent of the total area, biologist Jeff Wells of the Canadian Boreal Initiative said. More
Everglades Refuge ‘Will Get Done,’ US Interior Secretary Vows
(Orlando Sentinel)
It rained endlessly on the U.S. interior secretary’s helicopter, boat and swamp buggy tour of a vast mosaic of ranch land south of Orlando. The gloomiest part of the visit, however, was that Sally Jewell didn’t have news that her agency was ready yet to buy land as part of a planned 150,000-acre Everglades National Wildlife Refuge that will stretch between Orlando and Lake Okeechobee. “We were hoping we would have a big announcement, but we don’t,” Jewell told dozens of enthusiastic ranchers and environmentalists. More
Power Line Nests Put US Ravens in Pole Position for Prey
(BBC)
Ravens in the U.S. are building their nests on electricity power lines and using the height to target their prey, according to new research. The scientists say the majority of ravens in the study area were now living on transmission poles and posed a bigger threat to endangered species. Raven numbers in western states have increased by more than 300 percent in the past 40 years, say the researchers. The study is published in “The Condor: Ornithological Applications.” More
Polar Bear Skin Worth $30,000 Found in Canmore, Alberta
(Huffington Post)
Canmore RCMP have recovered a $30,000 stolen polar bear skin in the scenic Alberta town. Around 12:30 a.m. on Jan. 4, RCMP received a report of a suspicious male in downtown Canmore who appeared to be carrying a bear skin rug. After investigating, police suspect the man may have carried out a break-in at a local business. More
WILDLIFE HEALTH AND DISEASE NEWS
Report: Record Number of Manatees Died in 2013 in Florida
(UPI)
Excluding December, 829 manatees died in Florida waters during 2013, more than double the previous year’s loss of 392, a conservation group said. A key factor driving the rise in manatee deaths is red tide, which accounted for a third of all the deaths, far more than in any year on record, the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility said in a release. The organization said December’s statistics from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission haven’t been tabulated. More
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Heat Wave in Australia Takes Deadly Toll on Wildlife
(The Associated Press via CP24.com)
Bats are dropping from trees, kangaroos are collapsing in the Outback, and gardens are turning brown. While North America freezes under record polar temperatures, the southern hemisphere is experiencing the opposite extreme as heat records are being set in Australia after the hottest year ever. Weather forecasters in Australia said some parts of the sparsely populated Pilbara region along the rugged northwest coast were approaching 122 degrees Fahrenheit. More
China Crushes Tons of Illegal Ivory
(CNN)
China is cracking down on the illegal ivory trade. Several tons of confiscated elephant tusks and carvings were crushed in a ceremony in the city of Guangzhou — just two months after the United States destroyed its own ivory stockpile. Conservationists have welcomed the move as a monumental shift in the government’s approach to the ivory trade, and a crucial first step for China — the world’s largest ivory market — to tackle illicit wildlife trafficking. More
Study Documents Catastrophic Collapse of Sahara’s Wildlife
(YottaFire)
A new study led by the Wildlife Conservation Society and Zoological Society or London warns that the world’s largest tropical desert, the Sahara, has suffered a catastrophic collapse of its wildlife populations. The study by more than 40 authors representing 28 scientific organizations assessed 14 desert species and found that a shocking half of those are regionally extinct or confined to 1 percent or less of their historical range. More