| GOOD NEWS!! |
Here is a little good news before you enter the other pages.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has delayed voting on a proposal to down-list the status of the Florida manatee from endangered to threatened until November of 2004. If you would like to read more about this
click here.
A group of whales have been found that are thought to be related to an extinct group.
Whales found in Antarctic waters appear to be related to a kind of southern right whales previously though to be extinct. New Zealand officials said January 16 1998.
Conservation Minister Nick Smith announced the discovery of southern right whales in the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary off the remote Auckland Islands, 200 miles south of New Zealand.
Analysis of DNA taken from the animals indicated they could be remnants of a once numerous New Zealand population of southern rights, which can exceed 60 feet in lenght and weight up to 110 tons. Scientists put the size of the previously unknown group at roughtly 150 or more, including calves.
By the end of 97, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service(USFWS) hopes to protect 18 million acres of fish and wildlife habitat on private lands.
Of their 20 largest protection plans, six involve reptiles or amphibians. The species and areas in volved in these six plans are the
Desert Tortoise(Clark County, Nevada and Southern Cal)
Blunt-nosed Leopard Lizard(Kern County,Bakersfield and ARCO Western Energy, Cal)
Southern Arroyo Toad(Orange County, Cal)
Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard(Coachella Valley, Riverside Countym Cal)
Nesting Sea Turtles-did not specify which sea turtle (Volusia County, Florida)
Australia's saltwater crocodiles have been increasing in numbers to the point that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reclassifying them from the "endangered" to the "threatened" status. This is atleast a small step in the direction that all of the endangered species need to be headed..and I'm glad to hear it when something is taken off the endangered list.
But on a sad note I have seen people once an animal does get taken off the endangered list they want to be able to start killing it again. As in the case of the American wolf. Cattle ranchers want the right to shoot wolfs back now that they are not endangered. Will some of us never learn?
Well I'm sure anyone here visiting my page is not like that.
Also good news for us and the poison arrow frog. Poison arrow frogs from Ecuador have been hunted a long time by native indians who use the frogs' venom for tipping their darts.
In addition. scientists have been interested in the venom since 1975, when they discovered it contained a poweful painkiller called epibatidine. This substance is 200 times more potent than morphine and works differently; scientists hope it is less addictive than morphine.
A chemist recently discovered a way of synthesizing the substance in the laboratory, which will hopefully lessen the demand for these frogs.
Hats off to Tibor Pesci, a Hungarian reptile enthusiast, who in 1996, provided a home for some turtles that where confiscated by Hungarian officials at the Tompa border. the homeless turtles were actually endangered Hermann's tortoises, which are native to the Balkans. The fact the Tibor offered to house the turtles is not that unusual. But the fact thet there were 1010 of them is!! And hopefully with the good home that they now have there will be more. Hopefully care for them will not be a problem. He estimates they will need about 1,100 pounds of food each day. To date there is no word as to whether or not other homes were found for some of these reptiles or if he is collecting funds for this kindness. Also I don't know if he can handle it on his own or will need the help of others. But atleast he is tring and that is more than alot of people these days!!! If you know how thing have been since 96 let me know and I will add the new information
As timber wolves thrive in state, moves to reclassify status begin
U.S. expected to start process to take species off endangered list
By Meg Jones
of the Journal Sentinel staff
Last Updated: June 10, 2000
Only 15 years ago, there were barely enough timber wolves in Wisconsin to field a football team.
But now the state's timber wolf population is so hearty that the wolf is likely to be removed next year from the state's threatened species list. New figures released by the state Department of Natural Resources put Wisconsin's wolf population at between 239 and 249, not including those on Indian reservations.
A year ago, there were about 200 wolves in Wisconsin, and in 1985 there were just 15. The key number is 250. That's when a DNR plan kicks in that allows more aggressive trapping as well as killing of wolves that prey on livestock or pets. If the wolf population hits 250 next year, it's likely the question of taking wolves off the state's threatened species list would be voted on at the 2002 spring Conservation Congress hearings, said DNR mammalian ecologist Adrian Wydeven.
Wisconsin's timber wolf also is on the federal endangered species list. However, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is expected to begin action within the next few weeks to reclassify wolves from endangered to threatened status, which could take about a year, said Ron Spry, a Fish and Wildlife Service biologist.
Federal reclassification is needed before the state can have more flexibility in controlling nuisance wolves, said Wydeven. If that happens, wolves that prey on livestock could be killed by DNR employees.
The wolf population is booming thanks to a number of factors, including three consecutive mild winters that have resulted in a large deer population and consequently more animals for wolves to feed on. Healthy wolf populations in Michigan and Minnesota are probably boosting the number of animals in Wisconsin, because some wolves like to roam.
Wydeven cited the unusual travel pattern of a female wolf outfitted with a satellite collar who crossed into Wisconsin from Minnesota. Researchers could keep a better eye on her than if she had been wearing a radio collar - the most common collars used on wolves - which requires planes flying overhead to pick up signals.
That wolf ambled over the border near Grantsburg last year on March 30, and by April 10 she was between Merrill and Wausau. Ten days later, she was in eastern Shawano County and by May she was roaming an area between Portage and Stevens Point. Then she started moving to western Wisconsin and by June 1 she was just outside the small Town of Ettrick. The wolf then headed north to Eau Claire on June 2 and 3, and eventually went back to Minnesota on June 20, heading back across the border near Grantsburg. "In less than three months' time, she covered parts of 27 counties," said Wydeven. "The satellite collars are new technology, so we don't know if this animal is an anomaly or whether there are more wolves out there who are doing this."
In Wisconsin, 33 wolves are outfitted with collars. Only one has a satellite collar; there are no plans to use more of those tracking devices, Wydeven said. The cost is much higher - $2,000 - compared with $300 for radio collars, and they last only 1 1/2 years, half as long as the other collars.
At the current population growth rate, there could be 350 wolves in Wisconsin within two years, Wydeven said. A DNR proposal last year to consider a wolf hunt once the population reached 350 was scuttled after environmentalists protested.
Plans for a wolf hunt could be revived, but first federal officials would have to take the animal off either its endangered or threatened species list, and the state Legislature would have to approve it after public hearings.
Hopefully hunting them will not be allowed becuase returning to hunting them probably will put them right back into being endangered, considering it was hunting that put them there.
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