(Audubon Magazine)
The Most Endangered Bird in the Continental U.S.
The Fight to Save the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow Inspires All Who Love Wildlife
There are probably fewer than 200 Florida grasshopper sparrows left, and as of this writing they’re restricted to the state park and the nearby Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area. The population at Avon Park Air Force Range, where researchers had counted 130 singing males 14 years ago, apparently winked out in 2012. Counts of singing males at the state park dropped from 150 in 2002 to 14 in 2012 and at Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area from 150 in 2008 to 60 in 2012. It’s difficult to catch or even inventory the females because they are shy, songless, and indistinguishable from the males unless they’re in hand during the breeding season, when one can see that they lack an engorged “cloacal protuberance” (bird version of a penis).
Frehley the Border Collie with Biologist Bud Marks
Frehley the Border Collie is on a mission and living, yep, a dog's life. He was on death row in an animal shelter, but biologists rescued Frehley to work in the forests of the Jemez Mountains.
Frehley, and other dogs, now sniff for the scat of endangered species worldwide. No ecosystem appears to be outside the abilities of these Conservation Canines. From pocket mice to elephants to killer whales, tracking other animals is natural for these working dogs. Frehley, et al. are loving every minute!
Nature Helping Nature: Conservation Canines A team of four-legged researchers sniff out critical conservation data to help New Mexico's forests adapt to a changing climate.
No matter that Titanoboa the Great (Titanoboa cerrejonensis) is the biggest, baddest, greatest snake that ever lived. Titanoboa is extinct. The anaconda is alive and well in South America, even though a garter snake compared to the long-gone king of snakes. The issue at hand is the anaconda is not such a small fry compared to humans.
The modern anaconda can be longer than 20 feet and weigh over 200 pounds. Therein lies the problem in "human encounters anaconda". This snake is a formidable predator living in and near water for most of its life. Let's go below the surface of a Brazilian river and see for ourselves!
Anacondas: Tracking Elusive Giants in Brazil Legend has it these Amazonian giants drag off children and pets in the night.
Anaconda Swallows a Giant Capybara Whole Never-before-seen footage shot by Juka, an Amazon savannah guide from near Bonito, Brazil.
The eagles are "non-releasable" and/or in rehabilitation due to injuries to be released at a later date. Feathers dropped by the eagles are kept by the tribe for distribution to Iowa Tribe members for religious and cultural purposes.
The Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma - The Grey Snow Eagle House
The Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma developed an eagle rehabilitation program to protect injured eagles and increase community awareness of wildlife and Native American culture. The Bah Kho-je Xla Chi (Grey Snow Eagle House) was completed in January 2006 through funds provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS) and the Iowa Tribe. The Grey Snow Eagle House operates under two USFWS permits. The Religious-Use Permit allows the Tribe to house eagles that are non-releasable due to the nature or severity of the injuries. This permit also allows the tribe to gather naturally molted feathers and distribute them to tribal members for use in cultural ceremonies. The second permit allows the Tribe to rehabilitate eagles for their eventual release. The Iowa Tribe is the first tribe in the country to be permitted through the USFWS as Eagle Rehabilitators.
As of November 2011, the Grey Snow Eagle House houses 35 non-releasable eagles (7 Golden Eagles and 28 Bald Eagles) which are cared for by an Aviary Manager, 6 staff members and volunteers. The aviary manager is a USFWS certified eagle rehabilitator and an Iowa Tribal Elder. The Tribe has successfully rehabilitated eight Bald Eagles and released them back into the wild. To date, the Iowa Tribe has received +6700 visitors from around the world.
Victor Roubidoux discusses the importance of eagle aviaries and his involvement with the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma's Grey Snow Eagle House. Learn more: www.iowanation.org
Africanized honey bees, known colloquially as "killer bees," are some hybrid varieties of the Western honey bee species, (Apis mellifera), produced originally by cross-breeding of the African honey bee (A. m. scutellata), with various European honey bees such as the Italian bee (A. m. ligustica) and the Iberian bee (A. m. iberiensis). The hybrid bees are far more aggressive than any of the various European subspecies. Small swarms of Africanized bees are capable of taking over European honey bee hives by invading the hive and establishing their own queen after killing the European queen. (Wikipedia) Giant Killer Bee Nest Destroyed in Texas
Bee removal experts destroy a massive beehive that contained nearly half a million 'Africanized' killer bees from Brazil. The bees had been threatening a neighborhood in Richardson, Texas. Andrew Tanielian reports.
Antioquia Wren (Thryophilus sernai) Photo by: Carlos Esteban Lara Antioquia Wren (Thryophilus sernai) This is the first video of Thryophilus sernai taken by Juan D. Ramirez.
More information about this species is available in The Auk: Lara et al. 2012: A new species of wren (Troglodytidae) from the dry Cauca River Canyon, northwestern Colombia.
New Bird Discovered in Colombia, Imperiled by Hydroelectric Project (Monga Bay)
In a little-known dry forest in Colombia, scientists have discovered a new species of bird: the Antioquia wren (Thryophilus sernai). First seen in 2010, scientists photographed the new wren and recorded its vocalizations, from which they determined that the wren was brand new to science, according to a new paper in Auk.
"[It took] good ears and, good eyes, both in the correct moment and place," lead author Carlos Esteban Lara with the National University of Colombia told mongabay.com about the discovery. After the initial sighting, Lara and colleagues "started a two-year study of data on natural history, distribution, vocalizations, morphology, and genetic variation."
Found along the Cauca River in Colombia's Ituango municipality, the bird is distinct both in its coloring and song.
However, even as the species is first discovered, it may soon be gone. An increase in mining, tourism infrastructure, and deforestation for agriculture in the region has resulted in widespread habitat loss. Moreover, none of region's dry forest is currently protected. Lara dubs these "critical problems" for the future of the Antioquia wren, but adds that the Pescadero-Ituango hydroelectric project could be the fatal blow.
"This dam will flood the remnant tracts of dry forest in the northern end of the new species' range," says Lara, noting that this is the species' "best forest."
If completed the Pescadero-Ituango will be Colombia's largest dam with an installed capacity of 2,400 megawatts.
Ituango's dry forests are also home to the military macaw (Ara militaris) and the recurve-billed bushbird (Clytoctantes alixii), both of which are threatened (Vulnerable and Endangered respectively) according to the IUCN Red List.
Tropical dry forests are ecosystems that not only receive significantly less moisture than rainforests, but also have evolved to survive annual dry seasons with trees often dropping leaves during drought. Lara says that while tropical rainforests garner the bulk of attention worldwide, tropical dry forests are actually more endangered in Colombia.
"[Dry forest] has only five percent of its originally extension, and there has been growing pressure [to convert remaining forest to] agricultural fields," he says, adding that while rainforests are threatened in Colombia they cover a much wider area than dry forest "which is only known isolated in a few localities of Colombia."
Lara urges more research in Colombia's dry forests as he believes other new species may be hiding in the vanishing ecosystem.
Dry forest and canyons along the Cauca River in Colombia. The forest in this photo will soon be submerged by the Pescadero-Ituango dam. Photo by: Carlos Esteban Lara.
Antioquia Wren (Thryophilus sernai) Photo by: Carlos Esteban Lara
Nineteen-day-old Rungwe the African elephant looks like he's still getting used to his over-sized legs, ears, and trunk as he stumbles round his enclosure at the Beauval wildlife park in central France. Baby Elephant in France Wows Visitors to Zoo 19 day-old Rungwe is proving a popular new addition to the Beauval wildlife park in France. Report by Louise Hulland.
Rungwe, the first African elephant born in France by artificial insemination, pokes its trunk out from its enclosure at the Beauval Zoo in Saint-Aignan, Loir-et-Cher, Central France.
Sea Turtles of the World The Survival of the Sea Turtle Watch the miraculous journey of infant sea turtles as these tiny animals run the gauntlet of predators and harsh conditions. Then, in numbers, see how human behavior has made their tough lives even more challenging.
Lesson by Scott Gass, animation by Veronica Wallenberg and Johan Sonestedt
Gulf of Mexico: Kemp's Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys kempii)
Meerkat or Suricate (Suricata suricatta) MEERKATS 3D Follow Klinky and her clan as they take on the challenges of living in the unforgiving Kalahari Desert. This tale of strength, survival, family and FUN will delight audiences of all ages!
Meerkat or Suricate (Suricata suricatta)
Meerkat or Suricate (Suricata suricatta)Status: Least ConcernRange: Angola; Botswana; Namibia; South Africa ▲ ▲ ▲
King Penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus), Fortuna Bay, South Georgia Island Terra Sacra Time Lapses - Sacred Earth Around the World An around-the-world time lapse journey celebrating our Sacred Earth. Six years in the making... seven continents... 24 countries. Photographed & Edited by Sean F. White http://www.seanwhite.net. Original score by Roy Milner http://www.roymilner.com.
Sean F. White My life as a filmmaker has been a journey which has blessed me with the privilege of seeing some of the most surreal and timeless places on the planet. These images of our Sacred Earth set to music are my way of sharing some of the magic I’ve experienced along the way...
Terra Sacra Time Lapses is a short film featuring remote landscapes and ancient monuments from around the globe. These images were photographed between 2006-2012 on personal travels and assignments for Art Wolfe’s Travels to the Edge and Parallax Film Productions.
Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) Woodpeckers vs. The World!
Acorn woodpeckers must deal with birds of prey, greedy ground squirrels, and a hectic gathering schedule to protect their treasured acorn hoard.
Visitors come to witness the "miracle" of the return of the swallows
The Return of the Swallows The American Cliff Swallow is a migratory bird that spends its winters in Argentina and makes the 6,000-mile (10,000 km) trek north to the American Southwest in springtime. According to legend, the birds, who have visited the San Juan Capistrano area every summer for centuries, first took refuge at the Mission when an irate innkeeper began destroying their mud nests. The Mission's location near two rivers made it an ideal location for the swallows to nest, as there was a constant supply of the insects on which they feed, and the young birds are well-protected inside the ruins of the old stone church.
Bringing Back the Swallows Thirty years ago, the Cliff Swallows stopped migrating to the Mission at San Juan Capistrano, Calif., after it underwent renovations. But now biologists are trying to lure the swallows home by playing the birds’ courtship song just beneath the mission’s bell tower. NBC’s Miguel Almaguer reports.
We may not recognize it, but virtually every decision we make comes with a price to our planet—a small, but not insignificant, withdrawal of the earth’s resources. Added together, these withdrawals represent our environmental footprint.
WWF’s 2012 Living Planet Report highlights the cumulative pressure we are putting on the planet and the resulting decline in the health of our forests, rivers and oceans.
We are living as if we have the resources of an extra planet at our disposal. We’re using 50 percent more resources than the Earth can provide, and unless we change course that number will grow very fast—by 2030, even two planets will not be enough.
The Living Planet Report finds:
• Biodiversity continues to be lost: Populations of species continue to decline, with tropical and freshwater species experiencing the biggest declines.
• The U.S. has the fifth largest ecological footprint in terms of the amount of resources each person annually consumes. We rank only behind Qatar, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, and Denmark in the global rankings of the Ecological Footprint.
• Resource scarcity is already being experienced across the globe, as 2.7 billion people around the world already are forced to cope with water scarcity during at least one month a year.
Imagine what the world’s leading ocean scientists, policy experts, private sector actors, and activists could accomplish if they united as a single force for ocean health. We’re about to find out.
During the World Bank’s spring meetings, I had the honor of speaking with 120 of the leading thinkers and activists on oceans. It was a first gathering of organizations involved in the creation of the new Global Partnership for Oceans, announced earlier this year by President Bob Zoellick, and they came with enthusiasm and ideas.
Everyone in the room was united in their determination to restore the health and productivity of oceans through more collaboration and providing more resources for more results on an unprecedented scale. I saw a very strong alignment of interests – between the scientific community and civil society organizations, between the private sector and fishing communities, between bilateral donors and implementation agencies including the UN agencies who deal with oceans and other international bodies.
There was a feeling of urgency as the room discussed how to step up action to end decades of free-for-all exploitation, which, along with pollution, climate change, and the dramatic degradation of coastal and marine habitats have put oceans and the economies they sustain on the brink of collapse.
We all recognize that by working together, we will be able to pool resources more efficiently, avoid redundancies in research, data collection, and projects, and globally amplify the call for better oceans management.
Rachel Kyte; Vice President, Sustainable Development, World Bank Global Partnership for Oceans Oceans are under stress. The Global Partnership for Oceans is a growing alliance of governments, international organizations, civil society groups, and private sector interests that will mobilize knowledge and financial resources to address threats to ocean health, resilience and productivity. Additional footage provided by Guy Harvey, The Nature Conservancy, and Conservation International. For more information, please visit http://www.globalpartnershipforoceans.org
Global Partnership for Oceans
The Global Partnership for Oceans is a growing alliance of governments, international organizations, civil society groups, and private sector interests committed to addressing the threats to the health, productivity and resilience of the world’s oceans. It aims to tackle widely documented problems of overfishing, pollution, and habitat loss. Together these problems are contributing to the depletion of a natural resource bank that provides nutrition, livelihoods and vital ecosystem services.
Very Rare Shepherd’s Beaked Whales Sighted, First Video Ever!
he Australian Antarctic Division team was tracking blue whales off the coast of Victoria state last month when they spotted the reclusive mammals, which are so rarely seen that no population estimates of the species exist. Voyage leader Michael Double said the black and cream-coloured mammals with prominent dolphin-like beaks had been spotted in the wild only a handful of times through history.
According to the Australian environment department, there have only been two previous confirmed sightings - a lone individual in New Zealand and a group of three in Western Australia. They have never been filmed live before.
"These animals are practically entirely known from stranded dead whales, and there haven't been many of them," Double told AFP, calling the footage "unique". "They are an offshore animal, occupying deep water, and when they surface it is only for a very short period of time."
Double said what was remarkable about the sighting was that the whale was previously thought to be a solitary creature, yet was in a pod of 10 to 12. "To find them in a pod is very exciting and will change the guide books. Our two whale experts will now carefully study the footage to work out the whale sizes and so on and prepare a scientific paper."
The Shepherd's beaked whale, also known as the Tasman beaked whale, was discovered in 1937 but little is known about them.
Rare Whales Spotted in Bass Strait Scientists hope the sighting of a pod of rare Shepherd's beaked whales will lead to new research into the species.
Source: Physorg.com and AFP
Shepherd’s Beaked Whale (Tasmacetus shepherdi) Status: Data Deficient Shepherd's beaked whales are primarily known from a few dozen strandings, all south of 30°S, around New Zealand, southern Australia, southern South America, the Juan Fernandez Islands, and Tristan de Cunha (Mead 1989).
Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) Image credit: Joel Sartore / National Geographic
Joel Sartore and The Biodiversity Project: For many of Earth’s creatures, time is running out
Photographer Joel Sartore describes his Biodiversity Project: "For many of Earth’s creatures, time is running out. Half of the world’s plant and animal species will soon be threatened with extinction. The goal of the Biodiversity Project is simple: to show what’s at stake, and to get people to care, while there’s still time to save them. More than 1,800 species have been photographed to date, with more to come." Further, he states, "It's folly to think that we can doom everything to extinction, and we'll be just fine," he said. "When we're saving biodiversity, we're saving ourselves."
New View of Endangered Species A new project by National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore is illustrating why all creatures have a right to exist. NBC’s Anne Thompson reports.
Endangered Animals Say 'Cheese' for Nature Photographer For most portrait photographers, odds that their subjects will defecate in front of them, rip their backdrops or charge at the camera tend to be low. But that's just a day's work for Joel Sartore, a freelance photographer who often works for National Geographic. He has been working his way through zoos and rescue organizations across the country as part of a personal mission to photograph all of the roughly 6,000 captive species in the United States before they disappear.
Coquerel’s Sifaka (Propithecus coquereli) Image credit: Joel Sartore / National Geographic
Lead is an extremely toxic element that we’ve sensibly removed from water pipes, gasoline, paint and other sources dangerous to people. Yet toxic lead is still entering the food chain through widespread use of lead hunting ammunition and fishing tackle, poisoning wildlife and even threatening human health. At least 75 wild bird species in the United States are poisoned by spent lead ammunition, including bald eagles, golden eagles, ravens and endangered California condors. Thousands of cranes, ducks, swans, loons, geese and other waterfowl ingest spent lead shot or lead fishing sinkers lost in lakes and rivers each year, often with deadly consequences.
That’s why the Center for Biological Diversity’s Get the Lead Out campaign in March 2012 organized more than 150 groups to petition the Environmental Protection Agency to take toxic lead out of hunting ammunition. Our coalition calling for a transition to nontoxic bullets and shot included groups from 38 states representing conservationists, birders, hunters, scientists, veterinarians, American Indians and public employees. In April 2012, the EPA denied our request — but we won't let the agency abdicate its responsibility to protect the environment from toxic substances.
California Condor Rehabilitated from Lead Poisoning This is California condor #22 getting rehabilitated at liberty wildlife from lead poisoning. Here he is spreading out his wings to get sun. He is massive!!!
Note: lead bullets and poisoning make the endangered california condor population reliant on humans. Please dont leave hunting carcasses around as the lead bullets inside contaminant the meat and hurt scavenging wildlife. You can also use copper bullets!
Now, the National Rifle Association and its well-heeled gun lobby are arguing that removing toxic materials from the sporting marketplace is "extreme" and somehow anti-hunting and fishing, introducing legislation that would gut the Toxic Substances Control Act and prevent the EPA from regulating toxic lead ammunition. We’re countering the NRA’s move with a campaign to get people across the country to write to their congresspeople asking them to oppose the misguided, anti-wildlife Sportsmen's Heritage Act of 2012. Please sign our letter now, and share it with everyone you know.
Animals that scavenge on carcasses shot and contaminated with lead bullet fragments, or wading birds that ingest spent lead-shot pellets or lost fishing weights mistaking them for food or grit, can die a painful death from lead poisoning, while others suffer for years from its debilitating effects. In the United States, an estimated 3,000 tons of lead are shot into the environment by hunting every year, another 80,000 tons are released at shooting ranges, and 4,000 tons are lost in ponds and streams as fishing lures and sinkers — while as many as 20 million birds and other animals die each year from subsequent lead poisoning.
The iconic California condor, one of the world’s most endangered species, was so near extinction in the mid-1980s that the last nine wild birds were captured for an expensive captive-breeding program. By the mid-1990s, the captive population was healthy enough to begin the bird’s reintroduction to the wild, and condor recovery has come a long way since, with 205 birds in the wild in 2011. But this majestic species is far from safe: Every year, new captive-reared condors are released only to find themselves dining on lead. Condors are poisoned — often fatally — when they scavenge on remains of game animals shot with lead ammunition. Scientific studies provide overwhelming evidence that lead poisoning in condors comes from ammunition fragments in carcasses and gut piles hunters leave behind in the condor range. Since 1992, at least 30 reintroduced condors in California and Arizona are known or suspected to have died from lead poisoning, and many more must periodically receive emergency, life-saving treatment. Experts agree that as long as lead ammunition contaminates the condor’s food, recovery of the species is unlikely. In May 2012, the Center and other conservation groups filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Forest Service for its failure to protect endangered California condors in Arizona’s Kaibab National Forest from toxic lead ammunition left behind from hunting activities.
Lead ammunition also poses health risks to people. Lead bullets explode and fragment into minute particles in shot game and can spread throughout meat that humans eat. Studies using radiographs show that numerous, imperceptible, dust-sized particles of lead can infect meat up to a foot and a half away from the bullet wound, causing a greater health risk to humans who consume lead-shot game than previously thought. State health agencies have had to recall venison donated to feed the hungry because of lead contamination from lead bullet fragments. Nearly 10 million hunters, their families and low-income beneficiaries of venison donations may be at risk.
USDA Updates Plant Hardiness Zone Map, Minimum Winter Temperatures Rise
The 2012 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map continues to report some areas of the United States in warmer zones. This would affect the long-term viability of plant and tree species in specific zones, especially near the zone boundaries. Over time this would also impact the habitat, breeding, and migration areas of birds, insects, and other wildlife.
Plant Hardiness Zone Maps Below is a comparison of the 1990 and 2012 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Maps, illustrating the warmer zones moving northwards in some areas of the United States.
The interactive USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2012 to determine your zone can be viewed here.
Elephant Poaching Increasing in Africa, Nearly 300 Elephants Slain in Cameroon
The African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) is classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, with a probable stable to increasing population trend. Preliminary genetic evidence suggests that there may be at least two species of African elephants, namely the Savanna Elephant (Loxodonta africana) and the Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). A third species, the West African Elephant, has also been postulated. The estimated population is unknown and estimates vary widely as do populations in various countries.
Elephant Poaching on the Rise in Africa CNN's Brooke Baldwin talks to Rob Atkinson, CEO of The Elephant Sanctuary, about elephant poaching in Africa.
