Analysis
Florida land deal boosts ecological preservation efforts
Yale Environment 360 Jul 9, 08 10:22 AM CDT
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Everglades restoration may finally be a reality, writes Michael Grunwald in Yale Environment 360 during his “vacation from defeatism.” Florida's tentative $1.75 billion land deal with US Sugar would halt sugar production (and pollution) on nearly 300 square miles, and have an ecological ripple-effect that extends beyond saving the Florida Panther or sparing nature from suburban development.
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Loggers, plantations bring great ape
close to extinction
Daily Telegraph (UK) Jul 5, 08 5:46 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Illegal loggers and palm oil plantations may make the orangutan the first great ape to become extinct, scientists warn. In Indonesia, a mere 6,600 of the apes remain, while on Malaysia’s Borneo Island, the population has fallen 10% to 49,600, the Telegraph reports.
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Treasury boss going incommunicado during recess to help save endangered critters
Australia's News Network Jun 27, 08 6:13 PM CDT
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The Australian economy might be wobbly, but the treasury secretary would rather be off romping with northern hairy-nosed wombats, the Brisbane Courier-Mail reports. Ken Henry is unapologetically using the legislature's 5-week winter recess to tend to a small population of endangered critters—to the baying of opposition politicians worried over who will tend the economy while Henry is incommunicado.
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Calif. wildlife group moves to protect rare birds
San Francisco Chronicle Jun 24, 08 2:02 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Wildfires in Northern California spurred the rescue of eight California condors from their Monterey County refuge, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The unusual operation was performed by a US Coast Guard helicopter crew after a wildlife organization said that the fires threatened the condor sanctuary. The birds were taken to another preserve nearby. There are only 315 California condors in existence.
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Harrison Ford, Bo Derek on board with World Bank effort to preserve habitats
CNN Jun 10, 08 11:39 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Actors Bo Derek, Harrison Ford, and Robert Duvall helped the World Bank kick off a tiger-preservation campaign yesterday in Washington, CNN reports, with efforts to save the endangered species' habitats atop the list. Derek, who works with the US State Department to fight trafficking, says the tiger initiative should stem "loss of habitat" and "demand for their body parts, mainly in Asia."
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It was the first to arrive in Iceland for 15 years
Guardian (UK) Jun 6, 08 8:27 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Police in Iceland shot dead a polar bear that swam more than 200 miles to reach the island nation, the Guardian reports. The bear, thought to be the first to reach Iceland since 1993, probably came from Greenland or a floating chunk of Arctic ice. Authorities said they had to shoot the bear for public safety, but conservationists are furious.
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Bears recovering with help from keepers
Guardian (UK) Jun 3, 08 6:52 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Zookeepers are helping pandas traumatized by the Sichuan earthquake get back to normal with hugs and games, the Guardian reports. Eight young pandas have been sent to Beijing Zoo and 47 more remain at the Wolong reserve, where the deputy chief said the animals' appetites are back to normal, but warns it will take up to 20 years for the center to fully recover.
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The feared predator is sociable, curious, and will let you ride its fin
Smithsonian Jun 1, 08 8:53 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Want to pat a great white shark's nose? Or ride its fin for 100 yards? Experts say the much-feared predators are so sociable and curious, you can swim with them or even tread water by their open jaws. "Unlike most fish, white sharks are intelligent, highly inquisitive creatures," one expert tells Paul Raffaele for his worldwide Smithsonian survey.
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As cancer decimates critters, Aussies quarantine them on old prison peninsula
Wall Street Journal May 28, 08 1:22 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The Australian government is stepping in to prevent the Tasmanian Devil from extinction, the Wall Street Journal reports, as the ill-tempered beasties have been dying off thanks to the world’s first contagious cancer, which they transfer by biting each other in the face. So zoologists are now working to quarantine infected devils in a natural prison—the Tasman-Forestier Peninsula.
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Environmental groups sue after feds remove species' protected tag
Salon May 27, 08 11:22 AM CDT
(Newser)
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A success story is at risk of turning into a bloodbath as gray wolves, newly removed from the US endangered-species list, are no longer protected from being hunted outside national parks. A coalition of environmental groups is suing the Bush administration, claiming that the wolves still need protection in the northern Rockies due to low genetic diversity, Salon reports.
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Damaged shelters and little food prompt transfer
AFP May 23, 08 11:36 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Six hungry pandas have been transferred to a new reserve in southwest China in the wake of the region's massive earthquake, AFP reports. Their shelters damaged and food scarce, the giant pandas were moved from the renowned Wolong breeding center; eight others will be sent to Beijing tomorrow ahead of their display at the Olympics. No pandas were killed in the quake, but five staffers at the Wolong center died.
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Study finds severe effects of intentional, unintentional fishing
BBC May 22, 08 1:40 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Ocean sharks are threatened with extinction, with 11 species designated “high-risk” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and five more also in danger. Sharks are dwindling from intentional fishing, which targets them for their meat and fins, and “bycatch” fishing that lands them in nets meant for tuna and swordfish. The group is calling for global catch limits, the BBC reports.
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Blaze threatens endangered
sparrow, homes
CNN May 19, 08 2:43 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Nearly 33,000 acres of Florida's Everglades National Park were burning yesterday with only 20% of the blaze contained, CNN reports. A dense smoke warning was in effect in parts of southern Florida as flames threatened an endangered sparrow species and private property. The fire is the latest in a series of wildfires sweeping Florida, including one near Daytona Beach that has spread over 12,000 acres.
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