US Fish and Wildlife Service

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California's Island Foxes Make Amazing Comeback

They're now off endangered species list

(Newser) - The little island foxes of California are back, maybe for good. Three fox subspecies found only on the state's Channel Islands have made a big comeback since they were placed on the endangered species list in 2004 and have just been removed. No mammal on the list has made...

North America Only Has One Wolf Species Left
North America Only Has
One Wolf Species Left
NEW STUDY

North America Only Has One Wolf Species Left

It's the gray wolf; all others are hybrids: study

(Newser) - The US government recognizes three wolf species in North America: the red wolf, eastern wolf, and gray wolf. Two, it turns out, aren't true wolf at all. In a new genetic study , scientists at UCLA say the gray wolf is the last wolf species on the continent and all...

M&Ms Might Save This Endangered Ferret

Vaccine-laced candies to protect its food source

(Newser) - The US Fish and Wildlife Service plans to save endangered ferrets with a "glorified gumball machine" that shoots M&Ms. Beginning in September, government scientists say they'll use a drone armed with a device that shoots candies in three directions in an effort to stop a plague in...

No More Cecils: African Lions Now on Endangered Species List

And US hunters will need special permit to bring back 'trophies'

(Newser) - Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer caused an uproar when he killed Cecil the lion —and he may have expedited the latest Obama administration mandate. The US Fish and Wildlife Service is set to announce Monday that as of Jan. 22, lions in Africa will be protected under the Endangered Species...

Zimbabwe Wants Palmer Extradited for Killing Lion

But certain circumstances need to be met for Walter Palmer's extradition

(Newser) - Walter Palmer, the Minnesota dentist who has incited the ire of people around the world for killing Cecil the lion , may soon be making a return trip to Africa if Zimbabwe has its say. The Zimbabwean environment minister said today that the country is seeking Palmer's extradition "so...

Jane Goodall May Have Just Ended Experiments on Chimps

US rules give more protection to those in captivity

(Newser) - The US is alone in conducting medical experiments on chimps, but a move yesterday by federal officials may end the practice, reports the Washington Post . The US Fish and Wildlife Service declared that all chimps are now endangered. Previously it made a distinction between those in the wild, which have...

Utah Hunter Kills Famed 'Grand Canyon' Gray Wolf

Hunter said he thought endangered gray wolf was a coyote

(Newser) - Hundred of miles from its Wyoming home, "914F" wandered to the rocky North Rim of the Grand Canyon last fall—the first gray wolf spotted there in 70 years, the Arizona Republic notes—before heading into Utah, likely searching for food or a mate. But in December, the wolf'...

Government Spending Millions to Save This Butterfly

Monarch population has dropped by 970M in just 2 decades

(Newser) - Just two decades ago, there were about a billion monarch butterflies ; today, there are only some 30 million of the creatures that Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota calls "the most iconic butterfly in North America." The trouble starts when the butterflies are caterpillars whose only food is milkweed,...

Manatee 'Flash Mob' Closes Down Fla. Springs

Three Sisters Springs flooded with more than 300 manatees from high tides, cold

(Newser) - When the mercury drops and the tides rise, manatees often infiltrate Three Sisters Springs in Florida's Crystal River Wildlife Refuge to rest up and get warm—and there was such an influx this week that the US Fish and Wildlife Service closed the springs down to swimmers, snorkelers, and...

Anti-Wildfire Project Tabled Over Rare Frogs

Forest Service project may hurt endangered species

(Newser) - US officials are balancing forest-fire risk against the need to preserve an endangered species near Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevadas, the Tahoe Daily Tribune reports. Per a stipulation signed by a judge last week, the US Forest Service will delay its tree-thinning project there until it consults with the...

US to Destroy 25 Years of Seized Ivory

Obama administration's move meant as warning

(Newser) - US officials have seized six tons of ivory over the past quarter-century, and this month, they plan to destroy it. The destruction in Denver—by rock-crusher—will be the first of its kind in this country, with the White House hoping to underscore that it won't tolerate poaching, Time ...

US Pushes to Restrict Polar Bear Hunts

It will ask for an international ban on the sale of parts

(Newser) - Polar bears apparently have more to worry about than sea ice. The US thinks too many are being hunted in Canada and will push for an international ban on the trade of polar bear pelts, claws, teeth, and other body parts, reports the Los Angeles Times . If the US convinces...

Calif. Man Claims Bear Saved Him From Mountain Lion
Calif. Man Claims Bear Saved Him From Mountain Lion
bear-faced liar?

Calif. Man Claims Bear Saved Him From Mountain Lion

Hiker's tale sounds tall to state officials

(Newser) - A California man's claim that a mother bear saved him from an attacking mountain lion has attracted the attention of the world's media—but state officials are more than a little skeptical, reports the Paradise Post . Robert Biggs, 69, says he was hiking to do some gold-panning north...

Government Gives Tribe OK to Kill 2 Bald Eagles

Northern Arapaho Tribe in Wyoming will do so for religious purposes

(Newser) - The US Fish and Wildlife Service has taken the unusual step of issuing a permit allowing an American Indian tribe to kill two bald eagles for religious purposes. The agency's decision comes after the Northern Arapaho Tribe in Wyoming filed a federal lawsuit last year contending the refusal to...

Feds to Wind Farmer: Go Ahead, Kill Eagles

Project to receive first-of-its-kind 'eagle take' permit

(Newser) - A wind power development in Oregon should be allowed to kill a few golden eagles as long as it contributes to conservation efforts, the federal government says. Authorities have recommended granting a first-of-its-kind "take" permit to the wind farm, giving it permission to kill up to three golden eagles...

Calif. Judge Steps Up Protection for 40 Species

Feds not doing enough for wildlife in national forests, judge rules

(Newser) - Endangered birds, fish, frogs, butterflies, and even a species of sea lion are set to benefit from a judge's ruling that federal authorities need to do more to protect some 40 species in southern California's national forests. The judge ordered three federal agencies to "take all necessary...

Eastern Cougar Is Extinct
 Eastern Cougar Is Extinct 

Eastern Cougar Is Extinct

Federal agency makes it official

(Newser) - The eastern cougar is coming off the endangered species list, but for the worst possible reason: It's extinct. The big cat, also called the eastern puma, has likely been gone since the 1930s, but the official confirmation came today from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. It used to roam...

Polar Bears Won't Get 'Endangered' Label

Environmentalists angry that they're merely 'threatened'

(Newser) - Not everybody's heaping praise on the Obama administration this week: Environmentalists are fuming that the Fish and Wildlife Service decided not to ramp up protection of polar bears by changing their status from "threatened" to "endangered." In response to a court deadline, the agency said yesterday that...

Exxon Admits Killing Birds, Will Pay $600K

Company fined $600K over deaths of protected birds

(Newser) - Exxon has pleaded guilty in federal court and agreed to pay $600,000 in fines over the deaths of dozens of birds at its drilling and production facilities, the Los Angeles Times reports. The 85 birds, including owls, waterfowl, and hawks, died after being exposed to hydrocarbons at Exxon's natural...

Feds Showing More Love for Uglier Endangered Species

(Newser) - When you’re an endangered species jockeying for federal funding, good looks are historically a plus. That may be changing, the Washington Post reports. In the past, researchers note, “there has been a very heavy bias toward ‘charismatic megafauna’—relatively large, well-known birds and mammals.” But...

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