endangered species

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Thailand Seizes $2M in Elephant Tusks

Smuggled ivory found in boxes marked computer printers

(Newser) - Thai authorities repeated a warning for tourists not to buy ivory products of any kind in the country after finding a massive haul of tusks at Bangkok's airport Saturday. Officials, acting on a tipoff from authorities in Qatar, uncovered 296 African elephant tusks worth an estimated $2 million in boxes...

Commission Mulls Lifting Whaling Ban

Whales have been saved, IWC policymakers argue

(Newser) - Whale populations have rebounded so strongly since the 1986 global ban on commercial whaling that the International Whaling Commission is considering loosening it. The IWC is mulling a compromise proposal that would condone whaling by ban-defying nations Norway, Iceland, and Japan in return for a reduction in the number of...

Asian Nations Torpedo Shark Protection

Endangered species conference labeled 'a disaster for conservation'

(Newser) - Conservationists were left fuming yesterday after a UN conference on endangered species failed to win protection for a single marine species. Asian nations, led by Japan, defeated efforts to restrict trade in coral, sharks, and bluefin tuna. The one species to be given protected status, the porbeagle shark, had its...

Biggest Threat to Endangered Species: the Internet

Online trading fuels demand for protected species

(Newser) - The Internet has become one of the biggest threats to at-risk species, allowing hunters to offload everything from polar bear pelts to extremely rare Iranian salamanders with ease, conservationists told the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in Qatar. Thousands of endangered species are regularly traded online through message...

UN Rejects Polar Bear Trade Ban

Canada: Aboriginal communities depend on bear hunt

(Newser) - A US-backed proposal to ban the international trade of polar bear skins, teeth, and claws was defeated today at a UN wildlife meeting over concerns it would hurt indigenous economies and arguments that the practice doesn't pose a significant threat to the animals. The Americans argued that the sale of...

Sharks Need Protection —From People

Eight species could get protection

(Newser) - Sharks are fearsome predators, but they are no match for fishermen. Caught and eaten in soup or used in skin-care products and nutritional supplements, sharks are in danger of extinction. They may get help at this week's Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. One proposal would protect eight species,...

11 Tigers Starve to Death in China Zoo

Cash-strapped owner fed them occasional chicken

(Newser) - At least 11 Siberian tigers have starved to death in a Chinese zoo run by an owner strapped for cash. The tigers require 20 pounds of meat a day, but zoo operators only provided the big cats with a chicken carcass every couple of days. Two of the tigers, apparently...

Uproar Over Whale Sushi Just Ridiculous

Outrage at foreign preferences just 'gastronomic nationalism'

(Newser) - Sure, the owners of a Los Angeles-area sushi restaurant broke the law if they indeed served whale meat, but those in a tizzy had “better wipe that morsel of moral superiority from your chin,” Japhy Grant writes . At the root, it’s a culture disconnect: Eating whale is...

Feds Charge Calif. Whale Sushi Joint

The Hump accused of selling endangered species product

(Newser) - Federal prosecutors filed charges today against the owner of a California restaurant and its sushi chef that marine mammal activists say served illegal whale meat. Typhoon Restaurant Inc., which owns The Hump restaurant in Santa Monica, and Kiyoshiro Yamamoto were charged with illegally selling an endangered species product, a misdemeanor.

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,...

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