The following clips reflect recent wildlife-related news coverage in the media. The Wildlife Society does not independently verify any statements or assertions in these articles. The statements expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect official TWS policy unless so stated. Likewise, products mentioned herein are not endorsed by The Wildlife Society unless so stated.
Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling unit on fire (Credit: USCG)
Florida Sues BP Over Oil Spill Environmental Damage
(The Associated Press via The Times-Picayune)
Florida has joined a multistate lawsuit stemming from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, seeking to hold British oil company BP accountable for damage to the state’s natural resources. The complaint was filed in Panama City federal court by the state’s secretary of environmental protection and the head of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. It is separate from a lawsuit Florida’s attorney general filed against BP last year over economic losses related to the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. More
NEWS FROM NORTH AMERICA
Jaguar Gets New Layer of US Protection
(Arizona Daily Star)
Nearly 17 years after gaining endangered status in the United States, the jaguar got nearly 765,000 acres of legally designated prime Southwestern habitat to help it survive and recover. But it’s not clear how the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision creating jaguar critical habitat in 15 Southern Arizona mountain ranges and a small slice of southwest New Mexico will affect future projects there — beyond the proposed Rosemont Mine, which the service has said will be OK. More
Manitoba Eyes Better Beluga Protection
(The Canadian Press via Castanet.net)
Manitoba is promising increased protection for one of the largest populations of beluga whales in the world as shipping traffic is poised to increase through their summer home in western Hudson Bay. NDP Conservation Minister Gord Mackintosh says the beluga population is healthy right now and the province wants it to stay that way. As shipping traffic increases in the North, Mackintosh said Manitoba wants to minimize the impact on the iconic sea mammals. More
Tegu Lizards Invade South Florida
(WPLG-TV)
Tegu lizards are reproducing all over South Florida, and they’re taking over the Everglades. They are cold-blooded killers, eating their way through the Everglades and putting an entire species at risk. Tegu lizards call South America home. But because South Floridians are buying them as pets, the large reptiles are the latest animals to be dumped in the woods when they outgrow their welcome. More
‘Rock snot’ Infestation Caused by Climate Change
(Discovery News)
A pesky species of algae — sometimes called “rock snot” due to the way its tendrils attach to rocks in waterways — is infiltrating parts of eastern Canada due to global warming and not accidental introductions from humans tromping around, a new study suggests. Outbreaks of didymo, as the species is called, have been reported in the United States, New Zealand, Europe and Canada in recent decades, causing policymakers and many scientists to say humans transported the algae. More
Idaho Biologist Develops Way to Track Wolf Pup Survival Rate
(The Spokesman-Review)
Lacy Robinson needed to know how many North Idaho wolf pups survived their first year. Not an easy task, the state wildlife biologist soon realized. Most wolf pups looked alike in the grainy images captured by infrared trail cameras, making it difficult to identify them in subsequent photos. Aerial counts had limitations, too. By the time the pups were about 6 months old, they were nearly as large as adults. More
WILDLIFE HEALTH AND DISEASE NEWS
Scientists Complete First Global Inventory of Flu Strains in Birds
(Infection Control Today)
A group of international scientists have completed the first global inventory of flu strains in birds by reviewing more than 50 published studies and genetic data, providing new insight into the drivers of viral diversity and the emergence of disease that can ultimately impact human health and livelihoods. The research, published in the journal PLOS ONE and performed as part of the USAID PREDICT project, identified more than 116 avian flu strains in wild birds. More
Minnesota Mystery: What’s Killing the Moose?
(The New York Times)
For moose, this year’s winter-long deep freeze across the Upper Midwest is truly ideal weather. The large, gangly creatures are adapted to deep snow: Their hollow fur insulates them like fiberglass does in a house. And the prolonged cold helps eradicate pests that prey on moose, like ticks and meningeal worm, or brain worm. Yet moose in Minnesota are dying at an alarming rate, and biologists are perplexed as to why. More
Testing Roadkill Badgers for Bovine TB
(Phys.org)
Scientists at the University of Liverpool, in collaboration with farming groups and wildlife charities, are investigating the presence of bovine tuberculosis in Cheshire wildlife by testing badgers that have been involved in road collisions. A team based at the University’s Leahurst veterinary campus will receive badgers for analysis in a scheme that has been backed by the local National Farmers Union, regional conservation charity, the Cheshire Wildlife Trust, and government veterinary service, The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency. More
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
First Ever Fatwa Issued Against Wildlife Trafficking
(National Geographic)
Indonesia’s top Muslim clerical body has issued a fatwa, or edict, against illegal wildlife trafficking. This unprecedented step by the Indonesian Council of Ulama, in the country with the world’s largest Muslim population, declares illegal hunting or illegal trading of endangered species to be haram (forbidden). For many the word “fatwa” took on ominous tones in 1989 when Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini issued a death threat against Salman Rushdie for blasphemy in his novel The Satanic Verses. More
New Bird Family Discovered in Asia
(BBC Nature)
A unique family of birds containing just one species has been discovered by researchers. Scientists investigating families within the Passerida group of perching birds identified 10 separate branches in their tree of life. The analysis also revealed that the spotted wren-babbler sat on its own branch and was not related to either wrens or wren-babblers. Experts recommend the distinctive bird should now be referred to as Elachura. More