endangered species

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Baby Dolphin Dies After Humans Take Selfies With It

Beachgoers passed endangered creatures around to capture them with their phones

(Newser) - What may have seemed like a fun, harmless photo op turned into premature death for a baby dolphin in Argentina, per Gizmodo . Buenos Aires beachgoers were spotted last week along the shores of Santa Teresita plucking a couple of baby Franciscan dolphins—a species labeled as "vulnerable to extinction"...

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...

Shocking Number of Cacti Face Extinction

Study finds that 31% of cactus species are endangered

(Newser) - About a third of the world's cactus species are threatened with extinction, the International Union for Conservation of Nature warns in a new report. The study evaluated 1,478 species and determined that 31% are endangered due to factors such as the conversion of wilderness areas to farming and...

More Than Half of Amazon Tree Species Are Threatened

Study marks percentage of endangered trees for first time

(Newser) - More than half of the Amazon's 15,000 tree species may be facing extinction if governments can't curb deforestation, a new study says. Researchers reached this conclusion by comparing ground-level data on trees—about their leaves, branches, diameters, and so on—to projected deforestation across the vast South...

Old Chemical Weapons Site Now Home to Rare Ferrets

Black-footed ferrets released at Colorado refuge

(Newser) - Rare black-footed ferrets chattered angrily before dashing out of pet carriers and ducking into burrows Monday at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge—a milestone for the highly endangered animals and for the former toxic waste site on the industrial edge of Denver. The US Fish and Wildlife Service...

How National Zoo Is Keeping Its Panda Twins Alive

Officials cautiously optimistic about cubs' future, still waiting to exhale

(Newser) - Panda mama Mei Xiang gave birth to a rare healthy cub , then a surprise twin , on Saturday evening, leaving officials at the Smithsonian's National Zoo giddy—perhaps even moreso because the twins are off to a good start thanks to new techniques in panda care. Their sex won't...

Rare Tiger Euthanized in Houston

The Malayan tiger Pandu was 16

(Newser) - Houston Zoo workers and patrons woke to a world without Pandu today. The 16-year-old Malayan tiger was "humanely euthanized" yesterday due to failing health, said the zoo in a statement . Nicknamed "Professor," the tiger was described as an "extremely vocal cat" who enjoyed a higher quality...

Turtle Species on Brink as Artificial Insemination Fails

100-year-old would-be mom has more eggs on the way

(Newser) - Nearly eight dozen Infertile eggs disappointed researchers at the Turtle Survival Alliance this week—and could have serious consequences for an entire species. A female Yangtze giant softshell turtle at China’s Suzhou Zoo laid 89 eggs after being artificially inseminated , but none of them were viable, reports Scientific American...

Tiny Blue Butterfly Flutters Back From Brink

Karner blue population now 'robust' in some areas, near-extinct in others

(Newser) - More than 20 years of habitat restoration and breeding programs have helped the endangered Karner blue butterfly make a comeback in the pine barrens of upstate New York where it was discovered by Russian author Vladimir Nabokov decades ago. "This project has been unbelievably rewarding," said Neil Gifford,...

Australia Wants to Kill 2M Cats

The feral version, and only to save many other endangered species

(Newser) - Australia is trying to save the mountain pygmy-possum, the brush-tailed rabbit-rat, and nearly 40 other mammal and bird species, but to do so, it wants to exterminate about 2 million cats—the feral variety. Feral cats are in the Aussie government's sights under its "Threatened Species Strategy,"...

Mass Extinction Underway, Will Kill Off Humans: Report

Current extinction rate is shocking, scientists say

(Newser) - Feeling upbeat? Enough of that: Planet Earth is undergoing a sixth mass extinction that will likely annihilate the human race unless we can curb the trend, scientists say. According to a new paper , the current rate of species extinction outpaces the natural rate far more than anyone knew, NBC News...

Sexed-Up 'Bachelor' Birds Could Save Their Species

Single male hihi birds can cut down inbreeding, ensure genetic diversity

(Newser) - Is the male hihi bird native to the Jersey Shore? Because, like The Situation and Pauly D, the single male birds in this endangered species (they're actually only found in New Zealand) are decidedly boorish, creeping for already taken ladies to mate with. But this actually might save the...

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...

Turkey Baster May Save Rare Turtle From the Brink

Scientists hope artificial insemination works for endangered Yangtze turtle

(Newser) - Scientists racing to save the Yangtze giant softshell turtle from extinction may have just taken a big step toward their goal. Just four of the freshwater turtles are known to exist—and only one of them, discovered in 2007, is female. After years of failed breeding with her 100-year-old male...

Mass Antelope Die-off Baffles Scientists

Saiga antelope numbers halved in the space of weeks

(Newser) - After many thousands of years roaming much of central Asia, the saiga antelope has had a terrible couple of decades—and a devastating few weeks. A mysterious illness that causes severe diarrhea and breathing difficulties has wiped out what could be up to half of the remaining population of the...

World's Smallest Dolphin Could Vanish in 15 Years

Researchers call new study a 'loud wake-up call'

(Newser) - The world's smallest dolphin, found only off the coast of New Zealand, could disappear within 15 years unless efforts are taken to bring the critically endangered animal back from the brink of extinction. In what they deem a "loud wake-up call," researchers at German conservation group NABU...

After Paying $350K, Texan Kills Black Rhino

It was 'an emotional thing,' Corey Knowlton says

(Newser) - The "kill a rhino" stage of the Dallas Safari Club's " kill a rhino to save the rhinos " plan is now complete. Corey Knowlton, the Texas hunter who bid $350,000 for a permit to bag a black rhino in Namibia, killed one on Monday. He was...

Meet the Loneliest Guy in the World

Watched by armed guards, Sudan is the last male northern white rhino

(Newser) - If you think your Friday nights are boring, we present you with Sudan, the last male northern white rhino and one of only five of their kind left on planet Earth. At age 42 or 43, he's getting on in years (he's estimated to have about 10 years...

Feds: Most Humpbacks No Longer Endangered

NOAA wants to split species into 14 groups

(Newser) - NOAA says it's a whale of a success story: Most of the world's humpback whale populations, including all those that enter US waters, are no longer endangered, according to the agency. NOAA, which says 45 years of protection have helped whale populations rebound, wants to reclassify the...

Roar! World's Rarest Cat Makes a Comeback

Amur leopard has doubled its numbers, but there are still only about 65-69

(Newser) - It's what the WWF is hailing as an "amazing tale of recovery," but the numbers involved are still pretty small: The Amur leopard, dubbed the rarest cat on planet Earth, has doubled its numbers over the past seven years, but as Phys.org reports, there are now...

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