Positive Wildlife News 2021

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White-tailed eagles successfully returning to the English landscape

A further 12 white-tailed eagles have been released on the Isle of Wight in the next stage of one of England’s landmark conservation projects. Begun in 2019 the project, led by Forestry England and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, is closely monitoring these iconic birds as they successfully return to the English landscape.

The project, based on the Isle of Wight, released six birds in 2019 followed by a further seven last year. Evidence from similar reintroductions suggests that the rate of survival to breeding age is around 40%. Ten of the 13 birds previously released have survived and are doing well.

White-tailed eagles are Britain’s largest birds of prey with a wingspan of up to 2.5 meters and were once widespread across England until human persecution wiped them out. The reintroduction project is bringing them back after an absence of over 240 years by releasing up to 60 birds over five years. It aims to establish an initial population of six to eight pairs with breeding activity not expected to start until 2024 at the earliest.

White-tailed eagles successfully returning to the English landscape - Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation
 
Brazil’s Atlantic Forests are naturally regenerating much faster than expected

A cost-effective solution with impressive returns...

The Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact, a multi-stakeholder restoration movement in Brazil, is on track to naturally regenerate 1.5 million hectares of once deforested land — half-a-million more than was originally pledged by the coalition under the Bonn Challenge – by 2020.

If these forests survive until 2023 without being re-cut, the pact will be well positioned to meet its ultimate goal: to naturally regenerate 15 million hectares of the Atlantic Forest by 2050.

Brazil’s Atlantic Forests are naturally regenerating much faster than expected - Restoration for resilience
 
Bittern continues to prosper across England

Early indications are that it has been another excellent year for the rapidly increasing Eurasian Bittern across England, according to the RSPB.

The species has successfully bred in the West Midlands for the first time in more than a century, with five young fledging from two nests at the RSPB's Middleton Lakes reserve. Remarkably, a booming male bittern was only heard on the reserve for the first time as recently as March. The success is being partly attributed to the creation of a 6-ha reedbed on the reserve, which both nests were located in.

In Cheshire, Eurasian Bittern bred for the first time at Burton Mere Wetlands RSPB. The male was heard booming in the spring and feeding flights were regularly observed after that – a welcome result given that the reserve's reedbed is less than 15 years old.

Bittern continues to prosper across England - BirdGuides
 
Second family of wolverines found at Mount Rainier National Park

Mount Rainier National Park and Cascades Carnivore Project confirmed a second litter of wolverine offspring (called kits) have been born in the park.

According to park officials, this is only the third wolverine family documented in Washington’s South Cascades in a century and the second family documented in Mount Rainier National Park.

Second family of wolverines found at Mount Rainier National Park
 
Golden eagle numbers surge in southern Scotland

project to boost golden eagle numbers in southern Scotland has seen eight more chicks successfully moved to the area from the Highlands.

It brings the total number relocated since the scheme started to 12 - nearly doubling the local population.

The South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project brought in the first young birds to the Moffat Hills in 2018.

Project manager Cat Barlow said the latest arrivals were a big boost after delays due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"Covid-19 affected so many of our plans last year, so it is absolutely amazing now to see these eight youngsters settling into the south and soaring majestically above the Moffat Hills," she said.

https://www-bbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-58328833.amp
 
New birth of a mountain gorilla in DR Congo's Virunga park

DR Congo's famed Virunga National Park announced Friday the birth of a mountain gorilla in this tourist region threatened by armed groups.

The birth of a new baby male occurred on the morning of August 22," the park's communication officer Olivier Mukisya told AFP.

The discovery was made by "a team of eco-guards" during a routine monitoring visit to the home of the gorillas in the Kibumba area of North Kivu in the east of the country, Mukisya explained.

The national park said that the new baby belonged to the Baraka family of gorillas which was 'currently composed of about 18 individuals".

Nature reserve: New birth of a mountain gorilla in DR Congo's Virunga park
 
Australian State Announces Bold 'Zero Extinction' Plan to Protect Endangered Species

Koalas, rock wallabies and the Nightcap Oak, a rare tree, are some of the iconic species to be protected under an “historic” zero extinction plan in the Australian state of New South Wales.

The New South Wales government Tuesday outlined a strategy to safeguard the survival of endangered plants and animals in the state’s vast network of national parks, to address what Environment Minister Matt Kean said is the worst mammal extinction rate in the world.

Australian State Announces Bold 'Zero Extinction' Plan to Protect Endangered Species | Voice of America - English

 
Rhinos increase in Kenya

Following a national wildlife census carried out between May and July 2021, the Kenyan Wildlife Service has released a new report showing that the country’s total rhino population has increased from 1,258 rhinos at the end of 2017 to 1,739 rhinos by mid-2021.

Specifically, Southern white rhinos increased from 510 to 840, and Eastern black rhinos (the only black rhino subspecies found in Kenya) increased from 745 to 897. The world’s only remaining Northern white rhinos also live in the country, and their number has decreased from three to two, following the death of Sudan in 2018.

Rhinos Increase In Kenya | News | Save the Rhino International
 
UngulateNerd92 said:
China makes headway in rejuvenating population of Chinese alligators

The National Forestry and Grassland Administration of China announced Friday that the population of the Chinese alligator has effectively increased after years of protection boosted by artificial breeding.

The Chinese alligator, also known as the Yangtze Alligator, is classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). Chinese alligators were once widely distributed in the Yangtze and Yellow River basins, but have been on the brink of extinction due to the impact of climate change and human activities.

A survey in 2003 showed that the number was less than 100. Since then, China has included Chinese alligators among 15 wild animals and plants for conservation and established the country's largest Chinese alligator national nature reserve in eastern Anhui Province. It has successfully implemented habitat restoration, and at present, the majority of wild Chinese alligators in the country are in the reserve.

China makes headway in rejuvenating population of Chinese alligators
Click to expand...
They confirm wild population has doubled and Some 1,000 captivebred alligators released. In the breeding farm 15,000 individuals. In all estimated 20,000 alligators.

Did they release elsewhere?
 
Biden Administration to Protect Alaska’s Bristol Bay from Mining

The Biden administration today announced that it plans to restore protections for Alaska’s Bristol Bay. The Environmental Protection Agency filed a motion in the U.S. District Court for Alaska to reverse a Trump-era decision that had stripped environmental protections for the bay.

“This is fantastic news for Bristol Bay,” said Nicole Whittington-Evans, director of Defenders of Wildlife’s Alaska Program. “For decades now, we feared that Pebble Mine would poison the bay, destroy the world’s largest remaining wild sockeye salmon fishery, and spoil critical habitat and pose other threats to critically endangered Cook Inlet belugas.”

With the filing, EPA responded to a 2019 lawsuit from Defenders of Wildlife and 11 other groups for the agency’s failure to protect Alaska fisheries, wildlife, jobs, communities and ways of life from Pebble Mine. EPA now said it plans to invoke its powers under the Clean Water Act to ensure the region’s waters are not filled in or contaminated by material from the proposed open-pit mining site.

Biden Administration to Protect Alaska’s Bristol Bay from Mining
 
These popular tuna species are no longer endangered, surprising scientists

Atlantic bluefin tuna school in the Mediterranean Sea off Sardinia, Italy. The species has seen an incredible recovery from overfishing.

Two bluefin species, a yellowfin, and an albacore are no longer critically endangered or have moved off the leading international list of endangered species entirely.

The unexpectedly fast recovery speaks to the success of efforts over the past decade to end overfishing.

These popular tuna species are no longer endangered, surprising scientists
 
Some Conservation Wins on Threatened Species Day

Today – September 7 - is Threatened Species Day – a day to acknowledge plants and animals at risk of extinction. There’s plenty of challenging news hitting our screens at the moment, so I wanted to use the occasion to celebrate some of the wins over the last year from the conservation frontlines. It’s important to remember that we can make a difference, as these wins will be the building blocks of resolve that we need for the road that lies ahead.

Some Conservation Wins on Threatened Species Day
Some Conservation Wins on Threatened Species Day
 
Alabama’s Slenderclaw Crayfish Gains Endangered Species Act Protection With 78 River Miles of Critical Habitat

Following more than a decade of advocacy by the Center for Biological Diversity and allies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today protected the slenderclaw crayfish as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The tiny crayfish survives only in two creeks on Sand Mountain, near Lake Guntersville in DeKalb and Marshall counties.

“The slenderclaw is an exceptionally pretty little crayfish that needs a big helping hand from humans, so it’s great news that it finally has Endangered Species Act safeguards,” said Tierra Curry, a senior scientist at the Center. “Protecting crawdads from extinction might not sound like a priority to some, but by working to save the special animals that live in creeks, we ultimately protect rivers and our own necks.”

Alabama’s Slenderclaw Crayfish Gains Endangered Species Act Protection With 78 River Miles of Critical Habitat
 
China's Hainan gibbon protection success for biodiversity conservation

The conservation of Hainan gibbons in China is a success for biodiversity preservation worldwide, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced on Sunday during the ongoing 7th World Conservation Congress (WCC).

Hainan gibbon, the most endangered of all gibbons and the world's rarest primate, is endemic to the southern Chinese island of Hainan. Its population has increased from as few as seven to nine in the 1980s to 35 today, according to a report released at the WCC held both online and in-person in Marseille, France.

The report, titled "The Hainan Gibbon Case Study: Effectively Saving a Critically Endangered Species" and written by 15 experts from 11 organizations worldwide, was released at a press conference simultaneously held in Marseille and Haikou, capital of Hainan.

The success of this case was achieved "thanks to efficient protection by the Chinese central to local governments and a combined effort by Chinese and international scientists and conservation communities to understand the behavioral ecology of these gibbons," Susan Cheyne, a specialist on small apes with the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC), told the press via video link.

China's Hainan gibbon protection success for biodiversity conservation
 
Coromandel kiwi conservation groups receive over $1 million to extend protection area

Six Coromandel kiwi care groups have received more than $1 million to increase the rate of kiwi recovery and expand their area of protection by 10,000 hectares over the next fours years.

The $1,041,320 injection was one of 11 Jobs for Nature projects funded by national charity, Kiwis for kiwi.

While brown kiwi populations as a whole are steadily declining by about 2-3 per cent each year, the rarest kiwi in Coromandel is on the rise.

Coromandel kiwi conservation groups receive over $1 million to extend protection area
 
Platypuses are being reintroduced to the Royal National Park for the first time in 50 years

The native species will return to the area where it once thrived

The curious sight of a duck-billed, semi-aquatic monotreme was once a common occurrence in the rivers of the Royal National Park on the traditional lands of the Dharawal. Sadly, platypuses have not been spotted in the area since the 1970s, but this is about to change. Keep an eye out for these web-footed friends on your future hikes – an initial group of 10 platypuses (a mixture of males and females) will be released into the National Park in the first half of 2022.

Platypuses are being reintroduced to the Royal National Park for the first time in 50 years
 
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation helps protect South Dakota elk habitat.

The wildlife values of nearly 1,000 acres in South Dakota elk country are now protected thanks to a conservation-minded family.

“We appreciate and commend the Jarding family for contacting us and entering into a voluntary conservation agreement for the benefit of their land, elk and other wildlife,” said Kyle Weaver, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation president and CEO. “This action serves to cement the Jarding’s strong conservation ethic and vision they already maintain.”

RMEF Helps Protect South Dakota Elk Habitat | Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
 
Ratty comes home: water voles thrive again on Hertfordshire riverbank

Having suffered a 90% drop in population, they still face extinction in Britain – but a new initiative offers a glimmer of hope

A hundred and fifty water voles were last week settling into new homes on the riverbanks of Hertfordshire. The animals had been released from pens the previous week as part of a campaign to halt the devastating drop in Arvicola amphibius number across the British Isles over the past 50 years.

Once widespread in the UK, water voles – whose most known incarnation is Ratty in Wind in the Willows – have suffered a 90% drop in population since the 1970s. Feral mink, which kill young voles in their nests, in combination with major changes in land use, have resulted in the widespread eradication of a species that was once a ubiquitous presence along the banks of Britain’s rivers.

https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.amp...voles-thrive-again-on-hertfordshire-riverbank
 
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