endangered species

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South African Park Houses Grim Exhibit

Non-poached hides and other animal parts prepared for sale

(Newser) - South Africa's Kruger National Park provides a bizarre but legal service: a legitimate source of animal parts for the world's manufacturers of buffalo upholstery, zebra footrests, and giraffe-bone handgun grips. The park's employees harvest the remains of animals that die of natural causes and store them in stockpiles, taking orders...

'Extinction Crisis' Threatens 40% of Species

Watchdog group sees serious danger to one in four mammals

(Newser) - More than 16,000 species are in serious danger of extinction, including one in four mammals and one in three amphibians being monitored by a global conservation group. With 40% of 40,000 surveyed species facing the highest levels of threat, “We’re at code red,” a top...

Bad News Plagues Bears
Bad News Plagues Bears

Bad News Plagues Bears

As ice caps melt, trophy hunters take aim, polar bears belong on endangered list

(Newser) - It's bad enough when 40% of your habitat will disappear by mid-century, but add trophy hunters taking advantage of a loophole in US law, and it's not a good time to be a polar bear, the Independent on Sunday reports. The bears are not listed as endangered so 950 pelts...

Save the Whales—but Forget the Delta Smelt

Endangered Species Act hurts animals, industry

(Newser) - The Endangered Species Act , enacted in 1973 to protect the likes of the bald eagle and the California grizzly, is in desperate need of overhaul, the Economist argues. The act’s latest ravagement is the protection of the delta smelt, a three-inch fish a judge deemed important enough late last...

'Male' Panda Gives Birth to Twins
'Male' Panda Gives Birth to Twins

'Male' Panda Gives Birth to Twins

Jinzhu turns out to be a 'normal girl' after all

(Newser) - A giant panda once thought to be male gave birth to twin cubs this week in China. Jinzhu was believed to be male at birth, but the panda showed zero sexual interest after being shipped to Japan in 2000 to breed with a female. When scientists attempted artificial insemination, they...

Mexico Calls for Eco-Friendly Border Fence

Environment minister warns US against proceeding with plan

(Newser) - Citing environmental concerns, Mexico is calling on the US to revise its plan to expand border fences. The current layout threatens fragile ecosystems in the Sonora Desert area and could wipe out endangered species like the Mexican black bear, a new report shows. Mexico is ready to take the US...

Don't Think Pink: Factory Threatens Flamingo Species

Endangered lesser flamingos breed in only one lake in eastern Africa

(Newser) - An Indian company's plans to build a plant to harvest soda ash, or sodium carbonate, from Lake Natron in northern Tanzania could spell the end for the endangered lesser flamingo, the smallest of the six flamingo species. The lake is the only major breeding site, and half a million of...

Environment Agency Battles Its Own Threats

Steward of endangered species suffers government neglect

(Newser) - The bald eagle's exit from Endangered Species Act protection drew attention away from the watchdog agency that defends threatened species—and is in peril itself. The budget has been slashed, open jobs go unfilled, and the fate of hundreds of plant and animal species hangs in the balance. The LA ...

Eagle Flies Off 'Threatened' List
Eagle Flies Off 'Threatened' List

Eagle Flies Off 'Threatened' List

After 40 years, national symbol returns from brink of extinction

(Newser) - The national bird is no longer threatened with extinction, an achievement the Interior Department celebrated today by letting a bald eagle frolic in the skies above the Jefferson Memorial. Thanks in large part to conservation laws, the number of nesting pairs has grown more than 20-fold since 1963; the bird...

Russia Will Hunt Polar Bears to Save Them

Siberian officials hope legalizing hunting will end poaching

(Newser) - Russia is lifting a fifty-year old ban on hunting polar bears, expressly to save the endangered species from extinction. Poaching has been endemic in Siberia since the injunction, but it's increased since shrinking sea ice has forced bears to search for food on shore, making them easier to kill.

Endangered Species May Get Bush Brush-Off

Internal memo reveals plan to reduce protection

(Newser) - The Bush administration is quietly rewriting the rules on enforcing the Endangered Species Act, drafting changes that some environmentalists say will fatally weaken protections for threatened wildlife. A 117-page internal proposal obtained by Salon would limit which animals could be effectively protected, cut back on the size of habitats preserved,...

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