tagged w/ Wildlife
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More than 100 dolphins have beached themselves along Cape Cod in the past month in what researchers are calling a "disturbing" event due to warmer waters off the Massachusetts coast. At least 81 dolphins have died or "died shortly after being discovered"...
http://veracitystew.com/2012/02/02/81-dead-dolphins-on-cape-cod-video/More than 100 dolphins have beached themselves along Cape Cod in the past month in... more
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Los Angeles Times...
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Catalina Island fox makes astounding comeback
Since falling to a low of 100 in 1999, the Catalina Island fox has rebounded to a number — 1,542 — above its previous level, thanks to conservationists' efforts.
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PHOTO:
A Catalina Island fox awaits the attentions of biologists who trap the animals in order to inspect them for illnesses, vaccinate them, outfit them with telemetry collars and monitor their behavior.
(Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times / September 1, 2011)
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By Louis Sahagun, Los Angeles Times
January 19, 2012
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The Catalina Island fox has made one of the most remarkable recoveries known for an endangered species, rebounding in just 13 years from near extinction brought on by a distemper epidemic, wildlife biologists announced Wednesday.
The number of foxes has reached 1,542, surpassing the population of about 1,300 seen before the animals were ravaged by the disease that scientists believe was introduced by a pet dog or a raccoon from the mainland that hitched a ride on a boat or a barge.
"We're beyond proud," said Ann Muscat, president and chief executive of the Santa Catalina Island Conservancy. "It's a testament to what hard work, passion, money and the resiliency of nature can accomplish."
The animals' growing presence is evident across the island in "scent advertisements" — clumps of telltale scat — left on boulders, retainer walls, barbecues and picnic tables. But despite their growing number, Muscat said, "we can't relax. These furry treasures are still just one infected dog or raccoon away from extinction."
The fox — a subspecies found only on the 76-square-mile island — has become this resort destination's emblematic endangered species in part because of its fierce appeal.
The omnivorous 5-pound animals are gray with pointed noses, reddish ears and feet and black-tipped tails. They live about 10 years, pair for life and, with no natural predators on the island, generally enjoy a relatively laid-back existence.
But the population crashed to roughly 100 in 1999, prompting the conservancy and the Institute for Wildlife Studies to launch a $2-million recovery program that included vaccinations and a captive breeding facility. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the fox as endangered in 2004.
The rebound has federal wildlife authorities elated. "It is one of the great recovery efforts — up to this point," said Stephanie Weagley, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "We still have a lot of management and fieldwork to do."
The agency is conducting a five-year status review of the fox, an effort that could lead to eventual removal from the endangered species list. The review takes into account factors such as fluctuations in population and continuing threats.
On an island shared by 3,200 humans, and visited by more than 1 million tourists a year, the leading causes of death for foxes include pet dogs, feral cats and "road kill." The cat-sized foxes are fearless and frequently wander out to sniff at passing vehicles.
Managing the animals now includes trapping foxes, inspecting them for illnesses, vaccinating them against distemper and rabies, outfitting them with telemetry collars and monitoring their behavior.
At daybreak Wednesday, conservancy senior wildlife biologist Julie King and wildlife technician Tyler Dvorak strode through waist-high brush, inspecting the contents of 12 wire box traps baited the night before with kibble and cat food to attract customers. They found four tenants, which growled nervously as King and Dvorak lifted them out to record their vital statistics in a log that chronicles more than a decade of fox research on the island.
Wearing leather gloves, King cradled one of the foxes in her lap and injected a microchip the size of a grain of rice just under the skin between its shoulder blades. Fox No. 57410 was about a year old and somewhat pudgy.
"These are not lean, mean killing machines like wolves," King said. "There's plenty here for them to eat — cactus pears, Catalina cherries, mice — and they can get downright obese."
News of the robust fox population was a main topic of conversation on the island. At the conservancy's nature center a mile south of town, school and youth program specialist Rich Zanelli said, "I'm going to put up a big sign that says, 'Ask me about 1,542.'"
.Los Angeles Times...
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Catalina Island fox makes astounding comeback
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National Geographic...
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Pictures: "Extinct" Monkeys With Sideburns Found in Borneo
Miller's grizzled langur
"Extinct" Monkey
Photograph courtesy Eric Fell
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A Miller's grizzled langur pauses while drinking water from a mineral spring, or sepan, in 2011. Feared extinct, the monkey species has been "rediscovered" on the Indonesian island of Borneo, a new study says.
Scientists stumbled onto several of the primates last year during a biodiversity survey of the Wehea Forest, a 98,000-acre (40,000-hectare) habitat in Indonesia's East Kalimantan Province (map). Previously known to live only in a small area along East Kalimantan's central coast, the Wehea discovery extends the species' range.
Numbers of the 13-pound (6-kilogram) langur—known for its white, bristly beard and sideburns—had declined in the animal's coastal habitat due to deforestation, hunting, and large human-caused fires in the 1990s. Later surveys turned up no evidence of the monkey.
"I've been working [in Wehea] for four years—I study primates, and I've never seen it" until now, said study co-author Stephanie Spehar, a primatologist at the University of Wisconsin in Oshkosh. "The fact we found it did come as a big surprise to all of us."
Particularly exciting was that an independent survey team led by study co-author Brent Loken of Ethical Expeditions simultaneously spotted the langurs in another part of the forest. This suggests there are at least two healthy populations and not just an isolated group, said Spehar, whose study appears this month in the American Journal of Primatology.
"We were thrilled when we met up and showed each other our photos," she said.
—Christine Dell'Amore
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Published January 20, 2012
.National Geographic...
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Pictures: "Extinct" Monkeys With Sideburns... more
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Los Angeles Times...
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Tejon Ranch halts hunting after state probe of cougar killings
Suspension is likely to be lifted by the fall hunting season, after ranch officials investigate operations. Kern County prosecutors are weighing charges in illegal hunting of the mountain lions.
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A tule elk on Tejon Ranch is shown. Hunting has been suspended on the property after California officials found mountain lions had been killed illegally.
(Los Angeles Times)
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By Louis Sahagun, Los Angeles Times
January 21, 2012
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Tejon Ranch announced Friday that it plans to suspend its lucrative hunting operations after a California Department of Fish and Game investigation into the illegal killing of mountain lions on the 270,000-acre property.
The yearlong investigation was prompted by claims in a whistle-blower lawsuit filed by a former Tejon Ranch hunting guide who alleges that he was fired after he complained about the illegal killing of mountain lions at the direction of the company.
Bron Sanders made the claims in a lawsuit filed May 3 in Kern County Superior Court. In an earlier interview, Sanders said he personally witnessed 20 mountain lions that were killed without authorization.
Sanders said the killings were motivated by angry sentiments among ranch managers toward a 1990 law that made hunting mountain lions illegal in California. He said managers also blamed mountain lions for eating game prized by trophy hunters who pay up to $20,000 to shoot elk on the ranch, about 60 miles north of Los Angeles.
Tejon Ranch officials said the lawsuit was recently settled.
State wildlife authorities completed their investigation late last year and forwarded the findings to the Kern County district attorney's office, which is weighing possible charges. Kern County prosecutors declined to comment on the case.
Tejon Ranch officials initially denied the allegations, claiming they were "ridiculous and untrue."
But in a statement Friday, Robert A. Stine, president and chief executive officer of Tejon Ranch Co., said the investigation determined that mountain lions were killed without authorization "in clear violation of company policy and the state statute regulating the take of mountain lions in California."
"I was appalled and outraged when I learned the results of the investigation," Stine said. "Tejon Ranch did not then, and certainly does not now condone such activity, and we sincerely regret that such activity took place on our ranch. Accordingly, we are taking every step necessary to ensure it won't happen again."
Tejon Ranch officials said the suspension will begin Jan. 30 with the cooperation of state and federal wildlife authorities and remain in force until the company completes an evaluation of its hunting operations, which generate up to $2 million a year in revenue for the company.
Tejon Ranch spokesman Barry Zoeller said: "We expect to resume hunting operations in time for the fall hunting season, but with more restrictions and fewer hunters."
State law permits the killing of a mountain lion only if it poses a threat to humans or livestock. The hunter must obtain a state-issued permit and must present the carcass within 24 hours of the kill.
Any violation of the permit requirements is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year or a fine of up to $10,000, or both.
Sanders said his problems started in July 2005 after he killed his first mountain lion. The ranch had a permit for the kill, but Sanders said that Don Geivet, vice president of Tejon Ranch operations, told him: "Don't call anyone about this, and do not turn that carcass in."
Sanders said: "We got two to three mountain lions with that one permit."
.Los Angeles Times...
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Tejon Ranch halts hunting after state probe of cougar... more
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Los Angeles Times...
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Tucson zoo fight involves elephants, Bob Barker
January 18, 2012 | 3:52 pm
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Elephant herd at San Diego Zoo's Safari Park
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Connie is an Asian elephant, Shaba an African one. Nonetheless, they formed a bond, paling around together for three decades at Tucson’s Reid Park Zoo.
So when zoo officials announced plans last year to move Connie to the San Diego Zoo –- without her buddy Shaba -– animal activists were enraged.
The Tucson zoo was planning to bring in a herd of African elephants from San Diego, the Arizona Daily Star reported. Because zoo accreditation standards demand that new herds not mix African and Asian elephants, "due to multiple species differences and possible disease transmission issues," Connie would join other Asian elephants in San Diego.
But local activists Tracy Toland and Jessica Shuman considered the separation cruel. It “defies everything we know about elephants: their intelligence, profoundly deep social bonds (females remain with their mothers for life) and the capacity for deep emotion,” they wrote in the Daily Star.
The women launched a campaign to keep Connie, 44, and Shaba, 31, together and added some celebrity sizzle to the debate. At their behest, former “Price Is Right” host and well-known animal advocate Bob Barker recently offered to contribute $500,000 to send the elephants to a California sanctuary if others could raise matching funds.
This week, Tucson zoo officials reversed course, announcing that Connie and Shaba could both move to San Diego, the Daily Star said. Turns out, San Diego’s Asian elephant herd already has an African member, so Connie and Shaba’s cross-species kinship will fit right in.
.Los Angeles Times...
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Tucson zoo fight involves elephants, Bob Barker
January... more
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KMBC...
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New Set Of Dumped Raccoon Carcasses Found
Expert: Animal Remains Dumped In Field May Not Be Illegal
POSTED: 4:41 pm CST January 11, 2012
UPDATED: 6:44 pm CST January 11, 2012
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- For the second time in two days, another collection of raccoon carcasses have been found dumped in the area.
A utility worker in Jackson County found about 60 of the animals in a field along Highway 50 near Milton Thompson Road. The animals had been skinned and dumped underneath a billboard.
On Tuesday, about 50 raccoons were recovered from a creek near Pattonsburg. The decaying animals in the water posed a potential environmental problem, conservation officials said.
Experts said because the carcasses were found on private land and because trapping season is under way, dumping the animals in the Jackson County site may not be necessarily illegal.
"If it's not their land, it would be illegal dumping and trespassing, and they could be charged with it," said Todd Meese, a wildlife damage biologist from the Missouri Department of Conservation. "If it was their land, it's legal."
He said that the Jackson County site looks like it had become a feeding ground for other wildlife.
"They're going to get fed on by coyotes, fox and other predators," said Meese. "Nature does that. It takes care of itself."
Even if there's nothing illegal about the dumped animals in Jackson County, experts advised burying or burning the animals.
"Dumping raccoons, in my opinion, (is) not a good practice," he said.
Read more: http://www.kmbc.com/news/30190146/detail.html#ixzz1jgi8UuTC
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http://www.kmbc.com/news/30190146/detail.htmlKMBC...
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New Set Of Dumped Raccoon Carcasses Found
Expert: Animal Remains... more
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12 Charged in Sales of Endangered Species
A dozen people are charged in connection with selling rare fish, birds and bear and tiger pelts over the Internet
By Jason Kandel
| Friday, Jan 6, 2012 | Updated 2:51 PM PST
12 Charged in Sales of Endangered Species
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Twelve people were charged in connection with selling rare fish, birds and other endangered species over the Internet.
A dozen people have been charged in connection with illegally selling rare fish, birds and exotic animal pelts over the Internet, authorities said on Friday.
The case, dubbed Operation Cyberwild, was announced following the arrest of a Las Vegas man who was charged with selling boots made out of threatened sea turtles.
Federal agents and state game wardens recovered live endangered fish, protected migratory birds, an elephant foot, and pelts from a tiger, a polar bear, a leopard and a bear.
During the investigation, which began in July 2011, agents and game wardens targeted Internet ads placed by sellers in Southern California and southern Nevada.
“We hope that this operation will send a message to individuals selling – or even considering selling – protected wildlife that we are watching and that we take these offenses seriously,” said Erin Dean, resident agent in charge of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Torrance.
The 12 defendants charged in federal and state court each allegedly offered for sale animals or animal parts. The defendants are variously charged with violating the federal Endangered Species Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Lacey Act and various state wildlife laws.
United States Attorney André Birotte Jr. said the sale of endangered animals on the Internet has reached an alarming level, with as much as two-thirds of such sales taking place in the United States. He said that Internet sales of wildlife fuel poaching and make the killing of protected animals more profitable.
“Unfortunately, this delicate system continues to face serious threats, including poaching, the introduction of non-native species and the illegal sale of endangered species,” he said.
Paul Todd, the program manager for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, applauded the effort.
"We hope 'Operation Cyberwild' serves as a wake up call to Internet-based marketplaces," he said in a statement. "The Internet wildlife trade must be addressed if we are to save these animals from extinction at the hands of poachers and their worldwide criminal trade networks."
The defendants charged in the case are:
George Lovell, 49, of Las Vegas;
Lisa Naumu, 49, of San Diego;
Victor Northrop, 48, of Henderson, Nevada;
Karla Trejo, 42, of Sherman Oaks;
Dan Tram “Majkah” Huynh, 30, of San Diego;
Henry Dao, 41, of Garden Grove;
Alex Madar, 27, of San Diego;
Kamipeli Piuleini, 35, of Torrance
Tyler Homesley, 24, of Ramona;
Alfredo Vazquez, 50, of Montebello
James I. Colburn, 66, of Leona Valley;
Blake William Diekman, 27, of South Pasadena.
.NBC Southern California...
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12 Charged in Sales of Endangered Species
A... more
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I saw a sign today that made me want to run home to the internet and do a search. It was in regards to Sec. 486 M.P.C. A law which forbids the feeding of wildlife in San Francisco. This sign listed some of the wildlife and I realized that I have been in violation of this law many time, but luckily I haven't in the past 10 years so I think I'm past the statue of limitations.I saw a sign today that made me want to run home to the internet and do a search. It... more
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Los Angeles Times...
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Nine bald eagles counted so far in winter census
December 19, 2011 | 11:56 am
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Biologists and volunteers spent the weekend scouring lakeside areas in the San Bernardino and San Jacinto mountains for the first bald eagle count of the winter.
Nine bald eagles were seen Saturday by a group of about 80 volunteers and state and federal biologists participating in the eagle census. Four of the eagles (three adults and a juvenile) were found in the Big Bear and Baldwin Lake area; two juveniles were at Lake Arrowhead and Lake Gregory; and one adult and one juvenile were found at Silverwood Lake.
The spotters could tell the difference between juveniles and adults by their color. Juveniles have a brown head and tail, while adults have the white head and tail that takes four to five years to grow in.
Eagle countings will take place in January, February and March. The number of eagles in Southern California is typically low in December, but increases at the beginning of the year as more migrate south.
Eagles like to spend their winters here because of the abundance of ducks and fish.
.Los Angeles Times...
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Nine bald eagles counted so far in winter census... more
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White Wolf Pack...
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December 17, 2011
Feds Shoot Lonely Mexican Gray Wolf Attracted to Dogs
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SILVER CITY, N.M. – At the direction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an endangered Mexican gray wolf was shot dead on private land within the Gila National Forest of New Mexico Wednesday. The lone 4-year-old female wolf was reportedly attracted to a residence to consort with domestic dogs and was shot as a purported threat to human safety. Earlier this year the same wolf had mated with a dog elsewhere and given birth to five hybrid pups, four of which were captured and euthanized; the fifth has not been found.
“This very sad episode is a result of the Fish and Wildlife Service’s refusal to release enough wolves into the wild to allow this single female to find a mate of her own kind,” said Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity.
The 1996 environmental impact statement on reintroducing Mexican wolves to the wild addressed potential hybridization and promised to minimize it in part through “reestablishing wolf populations in numbers sufficient that potential wolf mates are available for dispersing wolves.” But this has not occurred.
The document projected that by the end of 2006, 102 wolves, including 18 breeding pairs, would live in the wild, with the numbers expected to continue to rise after that; a 2001 scientific review concluded that the recovery area spanning the Arizona and New Mexico border had sufficient deer and elk to be able to support 468 wolves. Yet the highest number of wolves counted was 59 in 2006; at the end of 2010, only 50 wolves, including just two breeding pairs, could be found in the wild.
Despite this shortfall, over the past five years of the reintroduction program, which began in 1998, the federal agency responsible for helping endangered species has only released a single wolf from the captive-breeding pool into the wild (in November 2008) along with 11 wolves who had been captured from the wild in previous years.
Dozens of other wolves were captured and have been indefinitely locked up (and 11 other wolves were shot by the government for livestock depredations, though none in the past four years). Today, 12 once-wild wolves are biologically suitable and legally eligible for release into New Mexico.
“This lonesome wolf did not have to die,” said Robinson. “If there were enough potential mates for her to choose from, this social creature wouldn’t have desperately sought the company of domestic dogs. “To ensure another wolf doesn’t pay the same price, the Obama administration must release more wolves into the wild.”
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Via: http://www.mexicanwolves.org/
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December 17, 2011
Feds Shoot Lonely Mexican Gray Wolf... more
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A wandering bear took the residents of Vancouver by surprise when it appeared aboard a rubbish collection truck in the centre of the Canadian city. The bewildered beast was eventually rescued from the vehicle and released in the wild after it was tranquilised and scooped up in a tarpaulin.
Note: this video has no audio.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajAcoWetBH4A wandering bear took the residents of Vancouver by surprise when it appeared aboard a... more
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Los Angeles Times...
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PHOTO: Congress removed wolves in Montana and Idaho from the protection of the Endangered Species Act in April. (Associated Press)
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The new war on wolves
As soon as federal protection ended, the slaughter began.
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By J. William Gibson
December 8, 2011
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Congress removed wolves in Montana and Idaho from the protection of the Endangered Species Act in April. And this fall, the killing began.
As of Wednesday, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game reported that 154 of its estimated 750 wolves had been "harvested" this year. Legal hunting and trapping — with both snares to strangle and leg traps to capture — will continue through the spring. And if hunting fails to reduce the wolf population sufficiently — to less than 150 wolves — the state says it will use airborne shooters to eliminate more.
In Montana, hunters will be allowed to kill up to 220 wolves this season (or about 40% of the state's roughly 550 wolves). To date, hunters have taken only about 100 wolves, prompting the state to extend the hunting season until the end of January. David Allen, president of the powerful Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, has said he thinks hunters can't do the job, and he is urging the state to follow Idaho's lead and "prepare for more aggressive wolf control methods, perhaps as early as summer 2012."
Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead recently concluded an agreement with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to save 100 to 150 wolves in lands near Yellowstone National Park. But in the remaining 80% of the state, wolves can be killed year-round because they are considered vermin. Roughly 60% of Wyoming's 350 wolves will become targeted for elimination.
What is happening to wolves now, and what is planned for them, doesn't really qualify as hunting. It is an outright war.
In the mid-1990s, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released 66 wolves in Yellowstone and central Idaho, most of the U.S. celebrated. The magnificent wolf, an icon of wilderness that humans had driven to extinction in the United States, would now reoccupy part of its old range. But in the region where the wolves were introduced, the move was much more controversial.
Part of the reason was the increase, particularly in Idaho and Montana, in paramilitary militia advocates, with their masculine ideal of man as warrior who should fight the hated federal government, by armed force if necessary. They were outraged by what they saw as federal interference in the region spurred by environmentalists, and their ideas found a willing reception among ranchers, who view wolves as a threat to their livestock — even though they ranch on federal land — and hunters, who don't want the wolves reducing the big game population.
The factions have reinforced one another, and today a cultural mythology has emerged that demonizes the federal government, the environmental movement and the wolves themselves. Many false claims have been embraced as truth, including that the Fish and Wildlife Service stole $60 million from federal excise taxes on guns and ammunition to pay for bringing wolves back; that the introduced wolves carry horrible tapeworms that can be easily transmitted to dogs, and ultimately to humans; that the Canadian wolves that were brought in are an entirely different species from the gray wolves that once lived in the Rockies, and that these wolves will kill elk, deer, livestock — even humans — for sport.
The false claims may have had particular resonance because they built on a long tradition in Western culture. During the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church ruled that wolves belonged to the devil: Demons could take the shape of wolves, as could witches. Puritans brought similar ideas to America. Cotton Mather called New England before it was settled a "howling wilderness." Asked to investigate Salem's alleged witches, Mather concluded in his book, "On Witchcraft" (1692): "Evening wolves" (werewolves and witches) were but another of the devil's tests as New England passed from "wilderness" to the "promised land."
And that attitude has persisted. Gary Marbut, president of the influential Montana Shooting Sports Assn., wrote in 2003 that "one might reasonably view man's entire development and creation of civilization as a process of fortifying against wolves."
Politicians from both parties in Western states have been eager to help with the fortifications. In Idaho, Republican Rep. Mike Simpson and the state's governor, Butch Otter, made removal of wolves from the Endangered Species Act a political priority. In Montana, Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg has made delisting wolves central to his 2012 Senate campaign against Democratic Sen. Jon Tester. In April, Tester in turn persuaded fellow Democrats in the Senate to approve his inserting a rider in a budget bill that delisted wolves.
In early November, Sen. Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, made his own political contribution. Thrilled at the testing of a drone aircraft manufactured in Montana, Baucus declared: "Our troops rely on this type of technology every day, and there is an enormous future potential in border security, agriculture and wildlife and predator management." A manufacturer's representative claimed his company's drone "can tell the difference between a wolf and a coyote." Pilotless drone aircraft used by the CIA and the Air Force to target and kill alleged terrorists now appear to be real options to track and kill "enemy" wolves.
How far we have fallen since the mid-1990s, when we celebrated the wolves' reintroduction. During the 2008 presidential election, candidate Barack Obama declared: "Federal policy toward animals should respect the dignity of animals and their rightful place as cohabitants of the environment. We should strive to protect animals and their habitats and prevent animal cruelty, exploitation and neglect."
The president now should make good on that promise.
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J. William Gibson is a sociology professor at Cal State Long Beach and the author of "A Reenchanted World." http://www.jameswilliamgibson.com
.Los Angeles Times...
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PHOTO: Congress removed wolves in Montana and Idaho from... more
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Wildlife WayStation in Dire Financial State
"We are at the end of our rope," said Martine Colette, the sanctuary's founder and director
By Ashley Gordon
| Friday, Dec 2, 2011 | Updated 3:29 PM PST
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Wildlife Waystation in Dire Financial State
Photo: Wildlife Waystation resident Bolero plays with a ball.
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Taking care of wild animals is no easy task. Couple the labor and maintenance involved with a troubled economy and the result is an animal sanctuary on the brink of closure.
Tucked within the Angeles National Forest is the Wildlife WayStation, an animal sanctuary that some 400 wild and exotic animals, birds and reptiles call home. Since it opened its doors in 1976, it has relied solely on corporate and foundation grants, private donations, animal sponsorships and bequests – all of which have dwindled under the current economic climate.
“We are at the end of our rope,” said Martine Colette, the sanctuary’s founder and director. “We cannot stretch a dollar anymore and we are out of dollars.”
Colette said she is experiencing the most significant drop in fundraising activity in her 45 years of animal welfare and rescue work, making it increasingly difficult to meet the $150,000 needed monthly to maintain the WayStation. She even issued a plea for public help.
The nonprofit has significantly cut back on permanent support staff, instead, relying more heavily on volunteers to help with the day-to-day operation.
In addition, Los Angeles County requires such a facility to obtain a conditional use permit in order to open to the public.
“When we have a hearing, we contact the associated [governmental] agencies and they actually formulate conditions that would be appropriate for that facility,” said John Gutwein, deputy director of the Land Use Regulation Division of the county’s department of Regional Planning.
While the WayStation remains a licensed animal sanctuary, the high costs associated with county-required repairs has kept its doors shut to the public for the last seven years.
Because of this, the organization finds itself in a Catch-22: It is in need of money to meet county requirements before the public is allowed on the premises; however, it is lacking the money that would be raised through public visitation to make repairs.
Gutwein said he visited the organization six or seven years ago and at the time thought the level of animal restraint was not suitable for outside visitors. He also expressed concern involving an evacuation plan for the animals if a fire were to start in the high-brush area.
Still, he said the WayStation’s issues are completely due to a lack of resources.
“If [Colette] did have the resources, I have no doubt she could make those improvements so perhaps parts of the facility could be open to the public," he said.
Colette said the WayStation is mostly funded by the Average Joe, the people the economy has hurt the most. For this reason, she believes the best case scenario for long-term sustainability of the organization would be a partnership with a company that could get behind its brand.
“I know that the public will be empathetic and there will be a certain amount of dollars sent to the station,” Colette said. “But the real solutions have to come from any of the options I’ve outlined.”
The worst case scenario would be the closure of the 160-acre property and would leave the government with the difficult task of relocating hundreds of troubled animals.
“We have an opportunity to make a difference in these animals’ lives now. Once we are unable to care for them, governmental agencies step in,” Colette said. “That is a very scary concept.”
Marcia Mayeda, director of the county’s Department of Animal Care & Control, said that if her department had to intervene it would work with the United States Department of Agriculture to find a solution.
“It is not easy. We’ve taken over 300 dogs over time from people who could no longer care for them,” Mayeda said. “Although tigers are way different, we do have a lot of resources to help find new homes from them.”
.NBC L.A. ...
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Wildlife WayStation in Dire Financial State
"We are at... more
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We live in a very inter-connected world. This is something that conservationists have
learned when studying the species that they are trying to protect; It's not good enough to
create protected habitats that are isolated, like islands surrounded by roads, fences,
farmlands, cities, etc.
link:http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/five-things-you-need-to-know-about-wildlife-corridors.htmlWe live in a very inter-connected world. This is something that conservationists have... more
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Court ruling keeps Yellowstone grizzlies on 'threatened' list
November 22, 2011 | 1:16 pm
A ruling by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 2007 decision to remove the "threatened" designation for Yellowstone grizzly bears under the Endangered Species Act
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Conservationists won a major battle Tuesday in their campaign to protect Yellowstone grizzly bears when a federal appeals court ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service erred in removing Endangered Species Act protections for "one of the American West's most iconic wild animals."
The ruling by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the wildlife agency's 2007 decision to remove the "threatened" designation for the bears under the Endangered Species Act.
Tuesday's ruling cited climate change as having accelerated a beetle infestation destroying the bears' vital white-bark pine food source. The grizzly is only the second wildlife species, after the polar bear, to earn protection in recognition of harm caused by global warming. Both are considered "threatened."
The three-judge panel embraced conservationists' warnings that the decline in the grizzlies' fodder would likely drive them to forage in more populous areas around the park, increasing incidents of confrontation between humans and the omnivorous bears.
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Dramatic rescue of mother and baby elephant
By Dominique van Heerden, CNN
updated 4:20 PM EST, Thu November 10, 2011
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(CNN) -- Most conservationists would agree that you should not interfere with mother nature. But there are exceptions to every rule.
Staff and tourists at Kapani Safari Lodge in Zambia were caught by surprise when a mother and baby elephant became trapped in mud.
Saying they couldn't just "stand by and watch them slowly die," what ensued was a dramatic rescue.
Together with the South Luangwa Conservation Society (SLCS) and the local wildlife authority, the team devised a plan to get the elephants out. The rest of the herd initially tried to help the screaming mother and baby escape, but they were stuck too deep.
Team managers from the conservation society slipped a rope around the baby and after a few attempts managed to pull her out of the muddy pit. The team says it took a lot of coaxing to get her out and on her feet though, adding that she "was terribly frightened and wouldn't leave her mum's side".
Getting the adult elephant out of the mud was a far more challenging task -- by the time the baby had been rescued, its mother was dehydrated and exhausted. But the SLCS team eventually pulled her out too, using a tractor and rope.
Staff at Kapani Lodge say it was "heart-warming to see how many local people joined in the efforts to free the two elephants... it was the happiest possible ending."
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Dramatic rescue of mother and baby elephant
By Dominique van... more
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We live in a very inter-connected world. This is something that conservationists have learned when studying the species that they are trying to protect; It's not good enough to create protected habitats that are isolated, like islands surrounded by roads, fences, farmlands, cities, etc. That's not how most species have evolved.
link:http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/five-things-you-need-to-know-about-wildlife-corridors.htmlWe live in a very inter-connected world. This is something that conservationists have... more
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“The review of existing literature shows that the EMRs are interfering with the biological systems in more ways than one and there had already been some warning bells sounded in the case on bees and birds, which probably heralds the seriousness of this issue and indicates the vulnerability of other species as well,” the study found. http://naturalsociety.com/cellphone-tower-emr-damaging-birds-insects-humans/“The review of existing literature shows that the EMRs are interfering with the... more
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Toxic algae is sucking the oxygen out of Lake Erie.
The lake is currently undergoing one of the worst algae blooms in decades, turning the water a scummy bright green. According to NASA, blooms like this did occur in the 1950's and 60's, but now phosphorus from farms, sewage, and industry have fertilized the waters.
After the 60's, increased regulations and improvements in agriculture and sewage treatment limited the phosphorus and helped to control the blooms. However, the shallower Western basin near Detroit has been more susceptible to the algae than other deeper areas.
The exact reason behind the bloom is a bit unclear, but scientists believe it could be linked to increased rainfall and, believe it or not, mussels. It seems the types of mussel, zebra and quagga that have invaded the lake feed on phytoplankton instead of algae, making it even easier for the blooms to occur, according to NASA.
While the algae doesn't directly kill fish, it's still not good. As the algae dies, it's broken down by bacteria which uses oxygen from the water. This oxygen removal creates areas where fish can't survive. In addition, if consumed, it can also create flu-like symptoms in people or even kill pets.
Former Vice President Al Gore spoke Thursday in Detroit on the matter, associating climate change with the algae problem. "We're still acting as if it's perfectly OK to use this thin-shelled atmosphere as an open sewer. It's not OK," he said. "We need to listen to the scientists. We need to use the tried and true method of using the best evidence, debating and discussing it, but not pretending that facts are not facts."
While in the past, some have criticized Gore, claiming that he's made exaggerated statements about the environment, yesterday's speech drew upon some pretty hard scientific evidence, leading many leaders at the International Joint Commission to listen a bit more intently.
More at the linkToxic algae is sucking the oxygen out of Lake Erie.
The lake is currently... more
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Another soft, deep roar. Dr Patterson emerges from a side door, closing it behind her, and joins me on the porch. Koko makes a sign. Dr Patterson translates: “Visit. Do you.
“Oh, sweetheart,” she says to Koko, then turns to me: “She’d like you to go inside.” Over the years Koko has inadvertently become a poster child for the gorilla conservation movement. There are several subspecies of gorilla, and today, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, all are either endangered or critically endangered.
It’s rare that anyone gets to meet Koko up close. I find out just how seldom at the Gorilla Foundation offices when I’m told most of the staff there have only ever been outside her enclosure. A handful of celebrities, Leonardo Di Caprio and Robin Williams included, plus a few business leaders have had the pleasure, but this was to raise her profile or secure donations for the foundation. Few journalists have had the opportunity, and I’m told none has spent as long as I will – an hour-and-a-half – in her company.http://tinyurl.com/6yhoct2Another soft, deep roar. Dr Patterson emerges from a side door, closing it behind her,... more
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