endangered species

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Chinese Duo Get 10 Years for Stoning Snow Leopard

Big Cat was attacking their sheep

(Newser) - A pair of Chinese herdsmen who trapped and stoned to death a rare snow leopard for attacking their sheep have been sentenced to up to ten years in prison. Wildlife officials estimate that only 4,000 snow leopards exist. They live in the rocky mountains in central and southern Asia....

US Backs Bluefin Tuna Ban
 US Backs Bluefin Tuna Ban 
Mar 3, 2010 2:43 PM CST

US Backs Bluefin Tuna Ban

Obama administration stands with conservationists

(Newser) - The Obama administration will endorse a full ban on the international trade of Atlantic bluefin tuna, the strictest protection yet for the endangered sushi fish. Monaco proposed such a ban late last year, but the administration hesitated to endorse it, sparking criticism from marine scientists. Now, with less than two...

Rare Rhino Is Pregnant
 Rare Rhino Is Pregnant 
Feb 20, 2010 2:56 PM CST

Rare Rhino Is Pregnant

Ratu due to give birth to fourth Sumatran rhino born in captivity

(Newser) - Animal activists fighting to save the threatened Sumatran rhino have reason to celebrate: a female named Ratu is pregnant and due to give birth in Indonesia next year to only the fourth such rhino born in captivity. Sumatran rhinos are the rarest of five existing rhino species, reports CNN , and...

Great Whites Now Rarer Than Tigers

New study finds sharks much closer to extinction

(Newser) - Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...it probably is. Great White sharks are now even more endangered than tigers, according to a new study. Researchers who tagged and tracked the sharks determined that their numbers have fallen below those of the 3,500...

Half of All Primates Endangered
 Half of All Primates Endangered 
Feb 18, 2010 1:21 AM CST

Half of All Primates Endangered

Deforestation, hunting threaten man's closest kin

(Newser) - Nearly half of all primate species on the planet are in danger of extinction, warns a shocking report by a world conservation organization. Destruction of tropical forests, illegal wildlife trade and commercial bush meat hunting are the key threats to man's closest relatives, according to the International Union for Conservation...

YouTube Fish Video May Lead to Charges

Crowd cheers as man pulls endangered fish to shore

(Newser) - A man may face charges for failing to help a black sea bass at Newport Beach, Calif. On Jan. 3, the fisherman accidentally caught the bass, which is a protected species. As boaters motored it ashore, he swam out, loosened the line and pulled the fish out of the water...

Sex-Crazed Parrot Now NZ 'Spokesbird'
 Sex-Crazed 
 Parrot Now 
 NZ 'Spokesbird' 
NEW & IMPROVED PUBLIC OFFICIAL
Feb 2, 2010 4:31 AM CST

Sex-Crazed Parrot Now NZ 'Spokesbird'

Kakapo that molested BBC presenter gets government job

(Newser) - New Zealand's prime minister has given a government job to the country's most famous—and probably most sexually adventurous—parrot. Sirocco, one of a rare species of flightless parrots called "kakapo," has been appointed as the country's "spokesbird for conservation." Sirocco became famous last year when...

Cancer Clue May Save Tasmanian Devils

Scientists find the origins of fast-spreading disease

(Newser) - Hope for Tasmanian devils: Scientists think they've found the origin of a contagious cancer threatening to wipe them out. An international research team picked apart the cancer's genes and discovered that it apparently first arose in cells that protect the animals' nerves. The surprise finding, reported in today's edition of...

Panda Moms Worn Out By Baby Boom

Chinese institute boasts just four births this year

(Newser) - The breeding program at China's Chengdu panda institute has produced just four pandas this year. Researchers say the panda mothers are mostly too exhausted to conceive more babies after last year's record 18 births, the Times of London reports. This year's births included twins Wen Li and Ya L, born...

'Extinct' Species That Are Still Kicking

Scientists find a plethora of animals presumed dead

(Newser) - Some 17,291 species are on the brink of extinction, but every so often a creature appears that scientists had already given up on. Above, a bunch of critters that, to quote Monty Python, think they might go for a walk.

Team Counts on Birds to Sing Their Population

Recordings + math equations = accurate numbers

(Newser) - The intensity of birdsong can be used to accurately calculate bird populations, scientists have discovered. Researchers are using recordings from microphones placed in woods to count birds using mathematical equations. The method is expected to revolutionize the monitoring of other species. Counting animals is extremely time consuming, and many species,...

Siberian Tigers Vanishing
 Siberian Tigers Vanishing 
Nov 26, 2009 5:03 AM CST

Siberian Tigers Vanishing

Population may be down to mere hundreds

(Newser) - The last remaining wild population of Siberian tigers is rapidly declining, researchers warn. A study of a portion of the tiger's range found just 56 tigers when the average of the last decade had been 95. Researchers blame the decline on poaching and habitat loss, and believe only a few...

The Tuna on Your Plate May Be Endangered

(Newser) - You might suspect a sushi restaurant that doesn’t specify what sort of tuna you’re eating of trying to pawn off an inferior species. Not so. Researchers using novel DNA barcoding technology found that though nearly a third of tuna sold in 31 US restaurants was the prized—and...

Koalas Face Extinction by Climate, Chlamydia?

Changing world strips diet-staple eucalyptus of nutrients

(Newser) - Australia's koalas face extinction as their population has been decimated by climate change and the loss of trees due to development and wildfires. Six years ago, they were thought to number more than 100,000; today, their count is as low as 43,000. Threats to their diet of eucalyptus...

Humpback Whales May Lose Endangered Tag

Some 60K animals believed to be alive today

(Newser) - In attempt to determine whether the humpback whales still need to be saved, the government is reviewing the marine mammals' place on the endangered species list for the first time in a decade. The results look promising: “They appear to be coming back pretty strongly in most of the...

Feds Pitch Polar Bear Habitat

Critics complain move doesn't address main threats

(Newser) - The federal government has proposed designating 200,000 square miles of land, sea, and ice in northern Alaska as a critical habitat for polar bears. The move is "one step in the right direction to help this species stave off extinction," said an Interior Department official. He acknowledged,...

Elephants on Verge of Extinction

Illegal hunting could kill off African population in 15 years

(Newser) - Within 15 years, African elephants could be extinct as a consequence of rampant ivory poaching, conservation experts say. Africa's elephant population numbers just 600,000, and that number appears to be dwindling by about 38,000 a year. That’s faster than the birth rate. One animal welfare group is...

Mountain Gorillas Take Fight to Survive Online

Ugandan animals' advocates embrace social networking

(Newser) - Not only can your online buddies be any age and in any location, they don't even have to be your species. Tech-savvy advocates of the endangered mountain gorilla are about to launch an umbrella site, friendagorilla.org, that will feature videos, social networking, and blogs—by park rangers, not gorillas....

Thieves Kill Sumatran Tiger, Swipe Pricey Fur, Bones

Sales of endangered species persist despite tough laws

(Newser) - Thieves at an Indonesian zoo slaughtered an endangered tiger and swiped most of its body in a caper officials believe was motivated by greed, the AP reports. “It was sadistic,” said the director of the zoo, where staffers found the remains of the female tiger yesterday. “The...

Army Seeks New Home for Desert Tortoises

(Newser) - The Army plans to evict more than 1,000 endangered desert tortoises to expand a tank training ground in the Mojave Desert, the Los Angeles Times reports. Conservationists warn that the last effort to shift the tortoises proved disastrous: Many were wiped out by predators, and others traveled up...

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