Positive Wildlife News 2021

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Rare New Zealand black-fronted tern seen in Australia for first time
  • A black-fronted tern has been seen in Australia for the first time, sending a ripple of excitment through the birdwatching groups
  • The tern is endangered and endemic to New Zealand
  • It was spotted in the NSW Hunter region by a keen birdwatcher
Birdwatchers are still marvelling at the unexpected sighting of a black-fronted tern, which was seen in late June in Newcastle, in the New South Wales Hunter region.

The NSW Woodland Bird Program manager at Birdlife Australia, Mick Roderick, said it was an incredible discovery because the tern was endemic to New Zealand.

https://amp-abc-net-au.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.abc.net.au/article/100256224
 
UngulateNerd92 said:
Florida’s Remarkable New Wildlife Corridor from the Panhandle to the Keys

This week, Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, who is known nationally for his unstinting impersonation of the state’s most famous new resident, signed into law a remarkable piece of environmental legislation that could become a model for the rest of the country. The project will establish the Florida Wildlife Corridor, a blueprint for the state to connect all of its large national and state parks with tracts of open land. The corridor, once complete, would create an unbroken swath of preserved land from the Alabama state line all the way to the Florida Keys, nearly eight hundred miles away. It would insure that a population of wildlife—whether it be black bears or panthers or gopher tortoises—would not be cut off from other groups of its species, which is one of the main drivers of extinction.

https://www-newyorker-com.cdn.amppr...e-corridor-from-the-panhandle-to-the-keys/amp
Click to expand...

Here is a relevant video on this project.

 
UngulateNerd92 said:
.

Here is another relevant article.

Almost extinct Saiga antelopes remerge in Kazakhstan following conservation efforts

Marking good news for environmentalists and conservationists, a rare type of antelope which was on the brink of extinction has reemerged in Kazakhstan.

Marking a good news for environmentalists, a rare type of antelope which was on the brink of extinction has reemerged in Kazakhstan. The population of Saiga has more than doubled since 2019 pushing its numbers from 334,000 to 842,000 just within two years. Since 2002, the medium-sized hoofed mammal has been categorized as 'critically endangered' in the IUCN list.

Almost extinct Saiga antelopes remerge in Kazakhstan following conservation efforts
Click to expand...

Here is another relevant article.

Saigas Bounce Back

Kazakhstan’s population of the critically endangered antelope now nearing a million

The results of the most recent saiga antelope aerial survey, released by the Government of Kazakhstan last month have shown a boom in the population – with an estimated 842,000 saiga now present in Kazakhstan, up from 334,400 in 2019. Conservationists believe that the increase in saiga numbers is potentially related to several factors including a good food supply and continuing successes in combatting poaching.

Saigas Bounce Back
 
Golden Paintbrush Is Latest Endangered Species Act Success Story

Populations of Beautiful Prairie Flower Have Recovered in Western Washington, Oregon

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed today to remove a flowering plant called the golden paintbrush, in the Pacific Northwest, from the endangered species list due to its recovery.

Historically found from southwestern British Columbia to the Willamette Valley in Oregon, the golden paintbrush is a short-lived perennial herb with bright yellow flowers and covered in soft, sticky hairs. The plant, which can grow up to a foot high, was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1997, with only 10 known populations in Washington and British Columbia.

Golden Paintbrush Is Latest Endangered Species Act Success Story
 
Environmental group finds endangered native bats in Wairarapa

An environmental group has stumbled across previously unknown endangered native bat populations in Wairarapa.

Sustainable Wairarapa member Jim O'Malley detailed the unusual find.

With government funding, the group acquired 10 recording devices, which could be used to find bird songs as well as detect echoes from bats.

The devices are plastic tubes with microphones and can be placed in remote locations to record the sounds of passing creatures.

Environmental group finds endangered native bats in Wairarapa - NZ Herald
 
Oregon lawmakers approve ambitious carbon-reduction goals for state energy grid

House Bill 2021 is the session’s biggest environmental bill. It passes as Oregon braces for record temperatures.

Oregon’s power grid will largely eliminate carbon emissions by 2040 under a bill that got final approval by state lawmakers on Saturday, setting one of the nation’s most ambitious goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector.

https://www-opb-org.cdn.ampproject....ction-goals-state-energy-grid/?outputType=amp
 
Saudi Arabia ‘working to safeguard the future of world’s coral reefs’
  • The Kingdom possesses some of the healthiest coral reefs in the Red Sea
  • The platform will promote the next generation of science and technology needed to secure a future for reefs in combatting climate change and other pressures
Saudi Arabia possesses some of the healthiest coral reefs in the Red Sea, and is committed to preserving and restoring them, the Kingdom’s Deputy Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Dr. Osama Faqeeha, said.

Next
 
New funding for 12 high-impact projects to help tackle the climate crisis

The Wildlife Trusts unveil new nature recovery projects – restoring peatlands, saltmarsh, kelp forests, chalk grassland, wetlands and woods – to store carbon

Today, a raft of new projects designed to help the UK tackle the climate and nature emergency is announced by The Wildlife Trusts. They focus on employing nature-based solutions to increase carbon storage while restoring habitats on land and at sea.

The 12 schemes include:

  • a pioneering collaboration to improve huge tracts of fragmented wetlands across four neighbouring counties in England and Wales – paving the way for the reintroduction of beavers.
  • restoring precious peatland habitats across Cumbria, Durham, Yorkshire, Northumberland, and Somerset
  • expanding saltmarsh restoration along the Essex coast
The projects, which will help the UK achieve its ambition of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050, are able to move forward thanks to almost £2 million in funding raised by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

New funding for 12 high-impact projects to help tackle the climate crisis | The Wildlife Trusts
 
New Bison and Swift Fox Births Mark Crucial Milestone in Habitat Restoration

It’s baby season out on the Great Plains and new life is everywhere! Especially exciting for Defenders of Wildlife and our conservation partners is the birth of two vital species. For the first time in more than 50 years, there’s a new litter of swift foxes roaming the lands on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Montana. And, for the first time in a century, three new bison calves were born in the Heartland Nature Preserve on the Southern Plains Land Trust in Colorado—with more potentially on the way.

New Bison and Swift Fox Births Mark Crucial Milestone in Habitat Restoration
 
In the Colombian Andes, a forest corridor staves off species extinction

  • Recognized as one of the world’s most biodiverse regions, the tropical Andes host more than 10% of the planet’s biodiversity — roughly two million species of plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms — of which only 10% have been identified.
  • This precious ecosystem is in peril because, in the past few decades, 75% of natural habitat has been lost largely to agricultural expansion.
  • La Mesenia-Paramillo Nature Reserve in the Colombian Andes is attempting to stave off the threat by restoring 3,500 hectares (8,650 acres) of degraded land and connecting about 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) of intact forest with the main Andean chain as a habitat corridor.
In 2006, the world’s leading hummingbird photographer, Luis Mazariegos, visited La Mesenia, an isolated village in Colombia’s western Andes. He had no idea that besides taking a picture of the recently rediscovered glittering starfrontlet (Coeligena orina), he would find a place that hosts overwhelming biodiversity. The forests here, spanning altitudes from 1,700 to 3,170 meters (5,600 to 10,400 feet), are permanently covered in clouds due to high humidity and are home to 374 known species of birds, 183 mammals, more than 600 plants and 5,000 insects, and other invertebrates.

However, the northern tropical Andes have lost almost 75% of their natural habitat largely to agricultural expansion and are starting to witness the additional damaging impacts of climate change. Cloud forest species such as ocelots and tanagers are moving upslope to maintain a favorable climate, but the degraded and fragmented landscape has blocked their way. In Peru, 55 bird species were found to have moved an average of 49 m (161 ft) upslope over the course of 41 years.

https://news-mongabay-com.cdn.amppr...t-corridor-staves-off-species-extinction/amp/
 
Assam: Manas National Park adds 16 Bengal tigers in just one year

Tiger conservation at the Manas National Park has achieved great success in 2020-21. The Project Tiger programme has witnessed an increase in tiger population. In just one year, the park added 16 tigers. At present, according to a survey, the total number of tigers in the park stands at 46. The survey was conducted using camera traps inside Manas National Park. The survey revealed that there are 16 male adults, 19 female adults, 3 elderly and 7 cubs inside the national park.

Assam: Manas National Park adds 16 Bengal Tigers in just one year » News Live TV » Assam
 
Vulture thought extinct from Israel for 30 years spotted twice in a month

Israel Nature and Parks Authority hopes sightings of subspecies of ecologically important lappet-faced vulture signal its return

Last month, the chief scientist of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority witnessed the appearance in Israel of a species recorded as extinct, for the second time in his career.

The first time was in 2011 when the Hula painted frog, endemic to the Hula marshes of northern Israel, was rediscovered. It was thought to be extinct in the wild as a result of habitat destruction during the 1950s.

https://www-timesofisrael-com.cdn.a...el-for-30-years-spotted-twice-in-a-month/amp/
 
China is setting up its first marine national parks

China’s national park system started on land, but marine national parks are following close behind – despite facing extra challenges

The Changdao archipelago marks the threshold between the Bohai and Yellow seas. It is already home to nine national protected areas, including marine parks, geoparks and reserves for birds and marine mammals.

China is setting up its first marine national parks
 
Bokeyorda Nature Reserve
to Be Built in West Kazakhstan

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev confirmed a decision to create the Bokeyorda and Ashiozek nature reserves with a total area of 657,000 hectares after a meeting with the Kazakh Minister of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources Magzum Mirzagaliev, reports the Akorda press service. The reserves are expected to facilitate the migration of a part of the Ural saiga population to the Zhaiyk river’s left bank.

Bokeyorda Nature Reserve to Be Built In West Kazakhstan - The Astana Times
 
Endangered wallaby population bounces back after ferals fenced out

UNSW scientists have used a new conservation strategy to give the bridled nailtail wallaby a head start in life

A population of bridled nailtail wallabies in Queensland has been brought back from the brink of extinction after conservation scientists led by UNSW Sydney successfully trialled an intervention technique never before used on land-based mammals.

Endangered wallaby population bounces back after ferals fenced out
 
New Regional Conservation Area Protects the Largest Extension of Páramo in Cajamarca and over 250 Species of Birds

The Páramos y Bosques Montanos de Jaén y Tabaconas Regional Conservation Area, established on May 5 in the department of Cajamarca, Peru protects 77,930 acres of páramo, a unique, high altitude Andean ecosystem important for the provision of water. It is located in the Chamaya and Chinchipe River basins, with an altitude ranging from 4,900 to 12,000 feet above sea level.

New Regional Conservation Area Protects the Largest Extension of Páramo in Cajamarca and over 250 Species of Birds | Andes Amazon Fund
 
Montana nature reserve purchases 800-acre property

Eight-hundred acres (324 hectares) of historic property along Cow Creek in the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument has been purchased by the American Prairie Reserve, the group announced on Thursday.

“I hope it will be of good use to the American Prairie Reserve,” said Lorraine Mcgough. “It is a place near and dear to my heart.”

Redirecting
 
Massive marine parks declared in Australia’s Indian Ocean Territories

Massive marine parks have been declared in Australia’s Indian Ocean Territories but experts warn the devil will be in the detail of how much of the park is zoned for strong conservation protections from fishing, development and petroleum development.

The federal government will establish two new marine parks covering 740,000 square kilometres, double the size of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, in the remote tropical waters around Cocos (Keeling) Island 2,800 kilometres west of Broome, as well as around Christmas Island.

https://amp-smh-com-au.cdn.ampproje...indian-ocean-territories-20210512-p57rac.html
 
Mozambique Mints a New National Park — and Surveys Its Riches

In the wake of wars, natural disasters and insurgencies, Mozambique is experiencing an environmental renaissance. One of the results is a new and stunningly beautiful national park.

When you stand in the Chimanimani Mountains, it’s difficult to reconcile their present serenity with their beleaguered past. From the valleys below, enormous walls of gray stone rise above dense deciduous forests. Hidden among various crevices are ancient rock paintings, made in the late Stone Age by the San people, also known as Bushmen; they depict dancing men and women, and hunting parties chasing after elephants. There’s even a painting of a crocodile so enormous that it may forever deter you from the riverbank.

https://www-nytimes-com.cdn.ampproj...5/03/travel/mozambique-national-park.amp.html
 
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