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December 4, 2008 10:16:26 AM CST


endangered species

endangered species news stories

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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 be allowed in some national parks. More »

 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 Sulawesi. She was delighted to find the Furby-like creatures still living in the island cloud forest. More »

More about:  animal endangered species Indonesia extinction primates zoologists

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 crocodiles in some rivers by half. More »

More about:  Australia endangered species crocodile toad venom Northern Territory

 '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 killing them off. Scientists are in a rush to save them, but can't agree on how. More »

 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 20,000 elephants are killed every year for their tusks. More »

More about:  endangered species eBay elephant poaching ivory International Fund for Animal Welfare tusks

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 campaigned hard against declaring them endangered, because it might restrict coastal oil and gas development. More »

More about:  Election 2008 Sarah Palin environment Alaska endangered species whales

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 wages and good schools, the Los Angeles Times reports. More »

More about:  endangered species pollution tourism Ecuador migration biodiversity

 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 future of wildlife and nature and denying our children the chance to experience what we have experienced," said the WWF's chief scientist. More »

More about:  endangered species extinction environmental damage South Asia threatened species mammals marine mammals Southeast Asia river dolphin

 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 be dashed from the list in those states while they were still endangered elsewhere. More »

More about:  Bush administration endangered species endangered species list Great Lakes gray wolf

 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 spread around the globe, devastating amphibian populations. More »

More about:  climate change Europe endangered species wildlife extinction frogs amphibians salamanders Zoological Society of London

 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 the unthinkable: a fresh wave of killing. More »

More about:  South Africa endangered species conservation elephant poaching ivory elephant habitat

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 daylight and water at 73°F—and has succeeded in harvesting fertilized eggs from bluefin breeding stock. More »

More about:  environmentalism endangered species fishing food industry tuna sushi overfishing