Positive Wildlife News 2021

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A record number of young saker falcons was born in Slovakia this year, 121 of them

Jozef Chavko, chairman of the organization of Predator Protection in Slovakia, informed about it. For comparison, he said that in year 1980, 15 to 20 chicks hatched.

The saker falcon nested only in the Malé Karpaty mountains. Due to new intensive forestry activities, the conditions there have changed. The foothills where sousliks lived, which are food for falcons, were also plowed.

The predators gradually disappeared from the Malé Karpaty and ornithologists noticed that they were sitting on electric poles. "That's why we tried to put a nesting box there and the first pair accepted it. We found out that this was the way to help him," Chavko said.

Ornithologists thus began cooperation with Slovak power grid company. They cooperate not only in mounting boxes on poles, but also in installing deflection elements on power lines. In Slovakia, more than 400 boxes have been built on poles designed for nesting falcons, because this predator cannot build a nest on its own. According to Chavko, also kestrels, merlins and exceptionally the eagle owl, also nest in the huts. First boxes were wooden, now aluminum is used.

Na Slovensku sa narodil rekordný počet mláďat sokola rároha - SME
 
A social activist from Ladakh shares the story of Markha Valley’s incredible transformation into a place where humans and wildlife coexist in peace; where one might just spot a snow leopard from a rooftop!

I had a fascination with wolves when I was a kid. When I would hear about wolf sightings near my village Sumda Chun – in the Markha region of Ladakh – I would pester my father to take me close to one so that I could get a good look at it. My father would laugh at me affectionately and say that I’d run away out of fear if a wolf really decided to show up.

My wish to see a wolf up close remained unfulfilled. In those times, wild animals would shy away from humans and rarely come close to our village.

In the last couple of years, things have changed, and how! We can now spot wild animals from the rooftops of our houses. They fearlessly come near us. Markha Valley now attracts many tourists and wildlife conservationists who brave the cold winter winds for wildlife sightings, especially of the world’s most elusive big cat – the snow leopard. They visit the Hemis National Park in Markha Valley between the months of December and March each year and take back stories and memories of snow leopard sightings.

How a Remote Ladakhi Valley Transformed from Hunting to Conserving Wildlife
 
Wildcats return to Netherlands after centuries’ absence

Rewilding of forests and ‘saturated’ habitats in Germany and Belgium behind growing population

They disappeared centuries ago, but wildcats have returned to the forests of the southern Netherlands, local conservationists have said.

The wildcat, which has longer legs and a flatter head than its domestic cousin, disappeared from modern-day Dutch territories in the middle ages as a result of hunting and forest clearance. The return of the animal, with its distinctive round-tipped and black-ringed tail, is a sign of the rewilding of forests in the southern Dutch region of Limburg, according to Hettie Meertens, a biologist who works for the ARK conservation group.

https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.amp...return-to-netherlands-after-centuries-absence
 
Ospreys return from extinction in England and Wales

The project has helped the birds to breed - more than a century after they went extinct in England and Wales.

A project set up in 1996 to reintroduce ospreys to England has marked its 200th chick.

The breeding programme at Rutland Water nature reserve was started by the Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust in 1996 - more than a century and a half after ospreys became extinct in England and Wales.

It has led to the spread of breeding pairs in both countries and in July the 200th chick - a female - was born.

https://news-sky-com.cdn.ampproject...ing-programme-celebrates-200th-chick-12373094
 
NOAA Expands Endangered Southern Resident Orca Critical Habitat by more than 600 Percent

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has finalized a rule that expands southern resident orca critical habitat by approximately 16,000 square miles.

“Now that the federal government has recognized the entire range of this species, it’s important to remove the four dams on the lower Snake River and restore spawning runs of more than a million chinook salmon,” said Kathleen Gobush, Northwest director for Defenders of Wildlife. “Chinook salmon are the southern resident’s orca’s main food. There are few other actions the federal government can take that would as profoundly impact the survival of southern resident orcas than restoring the Snake River.”

NOAA Expands Endangered Southern Resident Orca Critical Habitat by more than 600 Percent
 
One Small Bird Provides Glimmer Of Hope For Saving A Species

A remarkable recent discovery is providing a morale boast and hope to the dozens of experts working to save the endangered Kiwikiu (Maui Parrotbill, or Pseudonestor xanthophrys) from extinction. One bird, released into the Nakula Natural Area Reserve (NAR) on the leeward slopes of Haleakalā, was found alive and well, after being thought dead for 605 days.

One Small Bird Provides Glimmer of Hope for Saving a Species
 
NCC protects 83 hectares of forest and wetland in Frontenac Arch

Thanks to the generous support of public and private donors, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has protected a vital swath of forest and wetland approximately 40 kilometres north of Kingston. It prevents it from being lost to other uses and ensures that species like the endangered cerulean warbler bird can continue to find refuge in the canopy of the dense forests in the area.

NCC program director for Eastern Ontario Rob McRae calls the 83-hectare (205-acre) property on Devil Lake “a missing piece” in the jigsaw puzzle of protected land that stretches from Frontenac Provincial Park in the west, to lands managed by NCC and Queen’s University in the east.

NCC protects 83 hectares of forest and wetland in Frontenac Arch
 
Following successful gorilla rejuvenation, Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park is expanding

FOR THE SECOND time in three years, Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park is slated for expansion to serve its growing mountain gorilla population. The announcement signals hopeful news for the endangered species, which was once projected to be extinct by the millennium.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, there are currently around 1,000 mountain gorillas, a subspecies of the eastern gorilla, left on the planet. They’re concentrated in the highlands bordering Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. More than half of the world’s population inhabits the Virunga Mountains, where Volcanoes National Park is located in northwestern Rwanda, alongside Virunga National Park in Uganda and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in the DRC. The rest are found in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

https://matadornetwork-com.cdn.ampp...rwanda-volcanoes-national-park-expanding/?amp
 
Peru’s Newest Conservation Area Protects Rare and Endemic Species

Andes Amazon Fund is excited to announce the creation of the Codo del Pozuzo Regional Conservation Area on July 22 in Huánuco, Peru. The area protects 25,831 acres (10,453 hectares) of cloud forests and humid montane forests spanning an altitudinal range of 4,500 – 8,000 feet above sea level and conserving a rich array of flora and fauna. The new protected area also conserves the source of water for surrounding communities in the province of Puerto Inca.

Peru's Newest Conservation Area Protects Rare and Endemic Species | Andes Amazon Fund
 
Key Habitat Connectivity Secured forever in Wyoming

Thanks to a Wyoming family that successfully worked with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, 634 acres of important elk habitat are now permanently protected in the southeast part of the state.

“This voluntary conservation agreement is a credit to Al and Barb Johnson for their dedication to wildlife and conservation,” said Kyle Weaver, RMEF president and CEO. “We appreciate and salute them for their efforts.”

The Terry Creek property lies within the Upper Laramie River Watershed and links a peninsula of the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest to U.S. Forest Service lands in the Snowy Mountains to the west. It also falls within the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s Upper Laramie River and Little Laramie River Crucial Habitat Priority and Sheep Mountain Mule Deer Initiative Areas.

Key Habitat Connectivity Secured Forever in Wyoming | Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
 
1,000 Radiated Tortoises Return to the Wild

Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) today announced the release of 1,000 Radiated Tortoises (Astrochelys radiata) into their native forest habitat in southern Madagascar. The release is part of a pilot project that is expected to inform a strategy for the eventual release of more than 26,000 confiscated tortoises. This release represents a return to the wild for tortoises seized from illegal traffickers, years of strategic planning, and embodies the rewilding of an iconic and endangered species through community engagement and partnership.

1,000 Radiated Tortoises Return to the Wild - Turtle Survival Alliance
 
An Extraordinary Partnership Saves Two Million Acres of the Bolivian Amazon from Fires and Deforestation

Fundación Natura Bolivia, the indigenous people of the Bajo Paragua forest, and Selfless by Hyram have joined forces to hold the line on deforestation in the Amazon, announcing the creation of the 2.05-million-acre Bajo Paragua San Ignacio and Concepcion Municipal Protected Areas. With support from the partnership, the communities will manage the new protected areas which are also home to spider monkeys, jaguars and at least 1,273 vertebrate species. Conservation of the forest permanently locks up 337,162,504 metric tons of carbon dioxide which would otherwise contribute to climate change.

An Extraordinary Partnership Saves Two Million Acres of the Bolivian Amazon from Fires and Deforestation - Rainforest Trust Saves Rainforestforestation/
 
Senate Bipartisan Infrastructure Package Provides Critical Funding to Reduce Wildlife-Vehicle Collisions

Marking an important step to safeguard both people and wildlife, the Senate bipartisan infrastructure package passed today includes $350 million to construct wildlife road crossings. These structures allow animals to pass safely over or under roadways, avoiding traffic, as well as new policy provisions and expanded eligibility for wildlife infrastructure. The provisions in this legislation will help safeguard biodiversity while stimulating the U.S. economy, mitigating climate impacts, and reducing highway fatalities.

Senate Bipartisan Infrastructure Package Provides Critical Funding to Reduce Wildlife-Vehicle Collisions — Wildlands Network
 
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Partners Seek to Protect, Open Access to 15,573 acres of Oregon Elk Habitat

In partnership with Hancock Natural Resources Group and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is actively working to conserve 15,573 acres of wildlife habitat in northeast Oregon.

“Wildlife officials targeted the importance of conserving this landscape, the Gateway to the Wallowa Mountains, dating back to the 1960s. And now we are knocking on the door of a great conservation victory for elk, other wildlife and public access,” said Kyle Weaver, RMEF president and CEO. “We greatly appreciate our partners at Hancock and ODFW as well as the support from many others in making landscape-scale land conservation possible.”

RMEF, Partners Seek to Protect, Open Access to 15,573 Acres of Oregon Elk Habitat | Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
 
Protected species to benefit from industry first licence deal

Network Rail is the first organisation in the country to sign a ground-breaking agreement designed to enable works whilst improving the natural habitat of the great crested newt.

Usually found in ponds, woodland or underground, the protected species of newt can sometimes be impacted by essential improvement, safety or maintenance work on the railway.

Now, in an industry first, Network Rail has been granted a new licence from Natural England which will ensure that any newt habitat impacted by teams working on the Midland Main Line Upgrade is compensated for by new habitat creation.

Protected species to benefit from industry first licence deal
 
Hunted to the brink of extinction, the return of North Pacific Right whales to B.C. waters brings hope

The Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Haida Gwaii once teemed with some of the biggest whales on Earth. Blue whales and fin whales, sei, sperm and humpback whales once fed in these biologically rich waters. Whalers hunted each species in turn, until there were not enough animals left to sustain a commercial harvest. Then the industry moved on to its next target.

None was so thoroughly exploited as the North Pacific right whale, a slow-swimming giant deemed to be commercially extinct before Herman Melville wrote Moby Dick. British Columbia’s whaling industry was already dying by the time the last right whale within its reach was hunted 70 years ago.

But recent sightings of the North Pacific right whale off B.C.’s coast offer hope that one of the rarest of all large whale species may, finally, be starting to recover. The whales likely numbered in the tens of thousands before they were hunted for their oil and baleen, the flexible plates used to filter food from the sea which were in demand for making corsets and buggy whips.

Hunted to the brink of extinction, the return of North Pacific Right whales to B.C. waters brings hope
 
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