Positive Wildlife News 2022

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Fish and Wildlife Service to release nine endangered red wolves near Outer Banks

“We are committed, more than ever before … to identify ways to encourage and facilitate a coexistence between people and red wolves,” said the USFWS’s assistant regional director in the South Atlantic-Gulf and Mississippi Basin Regions.
  • The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is preparing to release nine endangered red wolves to a conservation area west of the Outer Banks in North Carolina.
  • The red wolf, endemic to the United States and considered the most endangered wolf in the world, once called the entire Southeastern U.S. home before habitat destruction and overhunting nearly killed off the species.
  • The nine red wolves consist of a family and two additional breeding pairs that conservationists hope will help rebound the population of the species in the wild.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is preparing to release nine endangered red wolves to a conservation area west of the Outer Banks in North Carolina.

https://thehill-com.cdn.ampproject....fish-and-wildlife-service-to-release-nine?amp
 
Queensland government buys out grazier to secure 'The Lakes' for a massive new national park

After two years of negotiations, an area in North Queensland double the size of Mulgumpin (Moreton Island) is set to become a national park.

Key points:
  • Queensland taxpayers now own 35,300ha of "unique ecosystems" west of Townsville
  • The multi-million-dollar acquisition will become a national park
  • The land is on the Gudjala First Nations peoples' traditional country
Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon today said the state government has purchased a record 35,300 hectare parcel of land.

"The Lakes" is about 100km north of Hughenden, near Townsville.

The final price paid to the landowner is commercial-in-confidence, Ms Scanlon said, but $1.829 million of the multi-million dollar purchase was footed by US charitable company The Wyss Foundation.

https://amp-abc-net-au.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.abc.net.au/article/100807350
 
During a snow leopard survey in Bek-Tosot Conservancy in the Pamir Mountains of southern Kyrgyzstan the droppings of a dhole were discovered.

This is the first time in thirty years a dhole has been recorded in any of the Central Asian countries (Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) they formerly inhabited.

It is still unknown whether this is a relic population that may have survived in the remote, uninhabited Tajik National Park in northern Tajikistan, which is only a few kilometres south of Bek-Tosot, or whether this is an animal that has dispersed from the nearest known populations, which are in China.

Researchers spot dholes in Kyrgyzstan after 3 decades
 
Gabon Provides Blueprint for Protecting Oceans, Protecting 26 Percent of its EEZ in a Network of 20 Marine Protected Areas

Gabon's network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) provides a blueprint that could be used in many other countries, experts say.

Since announcing a new MPA network in 2014, Gabon has created 20 protected areas – increasing protection of Gabonese waters from less than 1% to 26%.

The new paper – by Gabonese policymakers and NGOs and researchers from the University of Exeter – highlights the lessons from this work and its relevance elsewhere.

"A combination of factors made this MPA network possible, but a crucial first step was the creation by President Ali Bongo Ondimba of a government-led initiative called 'Gabon Bleu' in 2013," said Dr Kristian Metcalfe, of the Centre for Ecology and Conservation at Exeter's Penryn Campus in Cornwall.

Gabon Provides Blueprint for Protecting Oceans, Protecting 26 Percent of its EEZ in a Network of 20 Marine Protected Areas

 
How recent jaguar sightings give experts hope for species recovery on both sides of the Arizona-Mexico border

Deer, javelinas and a black bear filled the screen as Ganesh Marin scrolled through hundreds of photos taken by one of the trail cameras used for his borderlands wildlife study.

His flicking finger paused on one.

“I saw something spotted and I knew,” said Marin, a doctoral student at the University of Arizona, who has been studying borderlands wildlife for over a decade. “I would like to say I started to shout and jump, but no. It was a deep joy to know I am right here in jaguar country.”

Sightings give experts hope for jaguar recovery along the border
 
US backs rare flower habitat amid Nevada lithium mine fight

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed designating critical habitat for a Nevada wildflower it plans to list as endangered amid a conflict over a mine to produce lithium batteries for electric vehicles critical to the Biden administration’s plans to combat climate change.

US backs rare flower habitat amid Nevada lithium mine fight
 
Hope-area environmentalists applaud Silverdaisy watershed agreement

Environmental advocates in Hope are thrilled with news that the Silverdaisy watershed will be free from mining activity.

The provincial government announced Jan. 19 that Imperial Metals Corp. is relinquishing all mining and related rights in the nearly 58-square-kilometre area known as the Skagit River Donut Hole.

Hope-area environmentalists applaud Silverdaisy watershed agreement | Hope Standard
 
Where big cats roam once more: How one family's rewilding project returned lions and cheetahs to a corner of South Africa's Great Karoo

In the Great Karoo, a vast semi-arid expanse in South Africa, lions and cheetahs once roamed. But then came farms and fences and guns. By the 1840s lions were gone; then by the 1870s, cheetahs too.
Much of what is now the Samara Private Game Reserve, in the Eastern Cape, became home to livestock. That was until 1997, when nature was once again allowed to take its course over thousands of acres of land. Now, after 25 years of carefully managed rewilding, both cheetahs and lions have not only returned to this part of South Africa -- they're thriving.

Samara Private Game Reserve: How one family's rewilding project returned big cats to the Great Karoo
 
See the California Channel Islands’ stunning ecological recovery

The conservation success story is an example of what decades of work can accomplish.

In the early 2000s, wildlife ecologist Peter Sharpe climbed into a bald eagle's nest on the edge of a cliff. He was completely focused on the task at hand: placing identification tags on a juvenile eagle’s legs and wings. He wore a hard hat, like a construction worker; a previous eagle-tagging mission had sent him to the hospital after the dive-bombing parents sank their talons into his scalp.

Sharpe’s efforts were part of a larger initiative to reintroduce native wildlife in Channel Islands National Park, off the coast of Southern California, and restore the islands’ ecosystems. The bald eagle population collapsed in the 1950s after the powerful insecticide DDT, manufactured and dumped in the ocean by Montrose Chemical Corp., thinned and weakened the birds’ eggshells, causing the keystone species to go locally extinct.

See the Channel Islands’ stunning ecological recovery
 
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Belize Extends Protection For Sharks

Their hands were starting to ache as they gripped onto the soaking wet rope that held the heavy metal frame precariously over a vibrant reef system. “Slowly,” a voice called out to the research team as they hauled up the baited remote underwater video system (BRUVS) closer to the surface of the ocean. Only minutes ago it had been sitting on the seafloor, recording the species of marine fauna in the area that are attracted to the bait attached to the extended arm in front of two video cameras. As the BRUV broke through surface, scientists scrambled to grab it before it banged against the side of their boat and carefully placed it on the vessel’s floor.

https://www-forbes-com.cdn.ampproje.../06/belize-extends-protection-for-sharks/amp/
 
Judge Restores Federal Protections for Gray Wolves

"Today’s ruling is a significant victory for gray wolves and for all those who value nature and the public’s role in protecting these amazing creatures. Restoring federal protections means that these vitally important animals will receive the necessary support to recover and thrive in the years ahead.”

- Jamie Rapaport Clark, CEO and President at Defenders of Wildlife

Senior U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey White ruled today that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) prematurely removed federal Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in most of the Lower 48 states last year. The decision will restore protections for thousands of wolves.

Judge Restores Federal Protections for Gray Wolves
 
“Cause for celebration”: Court halts habitat destruction in Zambia’s Kasanka in win co-funded by Action Fund supporters

The last surviving elephant population in the Upper Congo system, the largest mammal migration on Earth – all of that and more is safer today, thanks in part to Action Fund supporters. Your donations have helped to give something of incalculable value to Zambia’s Kasanka National Park: a court order enforcing an immediate, temporary stop to recent forest clearance around the park, and precious time for our partner Kasanka Trust to mount a legal battle to defend this biodiversity gem of southern Africa.

As Kasanka Trust was pleased to report (see here to read their press release in full), earlier this year the Zambian High Court in Lusaka ordered two firms (Lake Agro Industries and Gulf Adventures Limited) to halt with immediate effect all destruction of forests, cultivation of land and any other development activities in and around the Kasanka National Park and Kafinda Game Management Area (GMA).

https://www-worldlandtrust-org.cdn....r-celebration-zambia-kasanka-action-fund/amp/
 
UngulateNerd92 said:
Cuba Names East Los Colorados Archipelago a New Protected Area
  • Cuba’s newest protected area covers 291 square miles (728 square kilometers) of vibrant mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and climate-resilient corals - plus spawning sites for several economically important species of groupers and mutton, cubera, and gray snappers
  • WCS congratulates Cuba on its leadership in reaching a total of 28.5 percent of protection of its marine continental shelf coverage
  • The new MPA spells hope for critically endangered hawksbill sea turtles, protects important corridor for threatened migratory birds
  • This move is the latest success in Cuba’s nationwide effort to increase protection of the country’s coasts and waters, and gets them one step closer to meeting global targets
Cuba has just declared Este del Archipiélago de Los Colorados (“East of Los Colorados Archipelago”), a new marine protected area. This new MPA covers about half of one of the four major archipelagos surrounding the country, and hosts exceptional marine life including Antillean manatees, American crocodiles, and critically endangered Hawksbill sea turtles.

Cuba Names East Los Colorados Archipelago a New Protected Area (English and Spanish)
Click to expand...

Cuba boosts marine protected coverage with new area spanning reefs to mangroves
  • Cuba recently declared that it had established a new marine protected area off the country’s northwestern coast known as the Este del Archipiélago de Los Colorados.
  • The new MPA spans 728 square kilometers (281 square miles), and will provide protection for a number of species, like hawksbill turtles, Antillean manatees, and reef fish like snappers and groupers.
  • The MPA was established with the support of the fishing community since the protected area should help replenish fish stocks.
Hawksbill turtles, Antillean manatees, and groupers — these are just a few inhabitants of a newly designated marine protected area (MPA) in Cuba.

This week, Cuba publicly announced that it had established the new MPA off its northwest coast in an area known as Este del Archipiélago de Los Colorados, which translates into English as “East of Los Colorados Archipelago.” Spanning 728 square kilometers (281 square miles), the MPA will provide protection for mangrove forests, seagrass beds and coral reefs, and helps boost the nation’s overall marine protected coverage to 28.5% of its marine continental shelf.

Natalia Rossi, the Cuba country director for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), an organization that helped implement the MPA, said the new site is noteworthy since this part of the Cuban coastline previously lacked protection. Moreover, the region is an important spawning site for coral reefs and fish like groupers and snappers.

“[Research] shows that a lot of fish that spawn there provide the larvae for other populations in the region, including the southern United States,” Rossi told Mongabay. “There is a lot of connectivity also for migratory species, including North American shorebirds.”

The region hosts a range of other marine species, like critically endangered hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata), loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) and American crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus).

https://news-mongabay-com.cdn.amppr...ith-new-area-spanning-reefs-to-mangroves/amp/
 
The stunning recovery of a heavily polluted river in the heart of the Blue Mountains World Heritage area

For more than 40 years, an underground coal mine discharged poorly treated wastewater directly into the Wollangambe River, which flows through the heart of the Blue Mountains World Heritage area.

Much of this spectacular wild river was chronically polluted, with dangerously high levels of zinc and nickel. Few animals were able to survive there.

My colleagues and I had been calling for tougher regulations to clean-up the wastewater flow since 2014, after we first sampled the river for our research. Finally, with the Blue Mountains community rallying behind us, the New South Wales Environment Protection Agency (EPA) enforced stronger regulations in 2020.

Our latest research paper documents the Wollangambe River’s recovery since. Already we’ve seen a massive improvement to the water quality, with wildlife returning to formerly polluted sites in stunning numbers.

In fact, the long fight for the restoration of this globally significant river is the focus of a new documentary, Mining the Blue Mountains, released this week (and online in coming days).

The stunning recovery of a heavily polluted river in the heart of the Blue Mountains World Heritage area
 
UngulateNerd92 said:
The stunning recovery of a heavily polluted river in the heart of the Blue Mountains World Heritage area

For more than 40 years, an underground coal mine discharged poorly treated wastewater directly into the Wollangambe River, which flows through the heart of the Blue Mountains World Heritage area.

Much of this spectacular wild river was chronically polluted, with dangerously high levels of zinc and nickel. Few animals were able to survive there.

My colleagues and I had been calling for tougher regulations to clean-up the wastewater flow since 2014, after we first sampled the river for our research. Finally, with the Blue Mountains community rallying behind us, the New South Wales Environment Protection Agency (EPA) enforced stronger regulations in 2020.

Our latest research paper documents the Wollangambe River’s recovery since. Already we’ve seen a massive improvement to the water quality, with wildlife returning to formerly polluted sites in stunning numbers.

In fact, the long fight for the restoration of this globally significant river is the focus of a new documentary, Mining the Blue Mountains, released this week (and online in coming days).

The stunning recovery of a heavily polluted river in the heart of the Blue Mountains World Heritage area
Click to expand...
Great news about river restoration!

Now not reading anything about the mining company being made to pay for 40 years of environmental pollution and wilful neglect. Why does society and citizens need to pay for big mining interests, why is there no principle of the polluter pays the damages past and present. Mining is after deforestation one of the worst environmental destructive economic activities around globally.
 
Freshwater dolphin comeback in Nepal

After 10 years, dolphins were sighted last week in the Narayani River where they were thought to be extinct

It is the best possible New Year 2022 present. A local nature guide in Nepal, Tek Mahato took several photos of a Ganges river dolphin in the Narayani River, the first time there has been photographic evidence of a dolphin in the river in years.

One of the country’s four largest rivers, the Narayani crosses the border into India as Gandaki, and used to be part of the species’ traditional range, which has dwindled considerably in recent decades.

Freshwater dolphin comeback in Nepal
 
A Remarkable Manatee Sighting Stirs Hope

I have worked at Defenders of Wildlife to conserve and recover Florida manatees for nearly two decades. And after a lot of devastating news recently about this vulnerable species, I was thrilled to see a healthy-looking manatee while I was on a walk in my neighborhood. I enjoy seeing manatees, sea turtles, dolphins, birds and other wildlife at every opportunity near my home in St. Petersburg on a manmade island in Tampa Bay that is accessible by several bridges. I make an effort to walk four to five times a week along the shoreline and across some of the bridges where I often see wildlife.

I recently saw a manatee near a bridge less than a 10-minute walk from where I live. I was absorbed in my thoughts when I heard a manatee let out a big exhale. When I stopped to look, there it was—and I could actually hear it happily munching on the floating vegetation. It was about 10 feet from the seawall, so I stopped and took a few
photographs.

A Remarkable Manatee Sighting Stirs Hope
 
Australia’s rainforest species gain ground through landscape linkages
  • Corridors of planted rainforest trees — landscape linkages — are a straightforward, but costly, on-ground action that can repair past damage and bolster ecosystem resilience in Australia’s Wet Tropics region.
  • In the Atherton Tablelands wildlife corridors, now in their third decade, the diversity of naturally regenerating plant species has increased, with trees, vines, rattans, shrubs, palms, ferns and orchids colonizing the planted sites.
  • The corridors are providing connectivity and additional habitat for a range of rainforest wildlife, including some threatened by climate change.
  • To thoroughly measure the biodiversity outcomes of the linkages, monitoring would need to be more regular, and target a broader range of taxa.
The tooth-billed bowerbird gave itself away with a not-quite-right call. Suspicious, I’d panned my binoculars toward the sound and there he was, the mimic, high in the canopy of a rainforest tree. It was a satisfying sight.

Like many of Australia’s wet tropics-endemic species, tooth-billed bowerbird populations have declined rapidly in recent years, their climate change-induced retreat to higher elevations acknowledged in Birdlife Australia’s new Action Plan for Australian birds.

It was not just seeing this charismatic bird that was so satisfying, however, but where it appeared. It wasn’t found in a survey in a large expanse of World Heritage-listed rainforest. Or even in remnant forest surrounding the Atherton Tablelands’ famous Crater Lakes.

It was in a 25-year-old rainforest restoration site in Donaghy’s Corridor, a 1-kilometer (0.6-mile) linkage of planted habitat.

The tooth-billed bowerbird shows that the linkage is working, at least for some species.

https://news-mongabay-com.cdn.amppr...s-gain-ground-through-landscape-linkages/amp/
 
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