Positive Wildlife News 2023

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The successful reintroduction of Griffon Vultures in the Vrachanski Balkan Nature Park, Bulgaria

The Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus) was once widespread throughout Bulgaria, but poison-related incidents led to the extinction of the species in certain areas. To restore the breeding population of the species, between 2010-2020, 61 rehabilitated and captive-bred Griffon Vultures from Spain, France and several European zoos were released from an acclimatisation aviary in the Vrachanski Balkan Nature Park in north-western Bulgaria. With the first breeding success in the wild in 2015, the population is growing since then. A recently published study analyses the results of this successful ten-year reintroduction project.

The successful reintroduction of Griffon Vultures in the Vrachanski Balkan Nature Park, Bulgaria - Vulture Conservation Foundation
 
‘Now we can breathe a little’: How Gaza is bringing its wetlands back to life

A €46 million project is trying to rehabilitate Palestine's Wadi Gaza, raising hopes that what was destroyed can be restored.

Muzaraq “Abu Salman” Arash remembers a time when fish swam in Gaza’s wetlands and thousands of migrating birds soared above him every spring and autumn.

From wasteland to wetlands: Nature’s comeback in the Gaza Strip
 
Return of endangered twaite shad to spawning grounds celebrated

The return of an endangered fish to its spawning grounds on the River Severn will be celebrated at an underwater viewing gallery.

The Canal and River Trust's Unlocking the Severn project has seen four fish passes created to help twaite shad migrate upstream.

It also saw the creation of an the underwater gallery in Worcester.

Numbers of twaite shad in the Seven declined from the 19th Century as weirs were built on the river.

https://www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampprojec...ws/uk-england-hereford-worcester-65428622.amp
 
Camera trap images of rare gorillas with infants bring hope in Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Camera traps in the Tayna Nature Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo have recorded two mother-infant pairs of eastern lowland gorillas, confirming the presence of healthy family groups in one of their last strongholds.
  • This subspecies is critically endangered, with only 6,800 individuals left in the world, and is threatened by hunting, deforestation and mining activities
  • Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education (GRACE) operates the world’s only sanctuary for rescued eastern lowland gorillas, and employs local communities in a key role in monitoring efforts in Tayna.
  • Newly captured images from camera traps in the Tayna Nature Reserve in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have recorded two mother-infant pairs of critically endangered eastern lowland gorillas. These images confirm the presence of healthy family groups of this great ape in Tayna, considered one of the gorillas’ last strongholds.

    The eastern lowland gorilla, also known as Grauer’s gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri), is one of the world’s most endangered primates, with no more than 6,800 individuals left in the world.

    “For a critically endangered population where every individual counts, these mother-infant pairs provide hope for the future of gorillas in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo,” said Katie Fawcett, program director of Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education (GRACE). GRACE operates the world’s only sanctuary for rescued eastern lowland gorillas.
Camera trap images of rare gorillas with infants bring hope in DRC
 
Endangered fish species benefiting from Yangtze River protection efforts

Thanks to a series of protection measures, the Dabry's sturgeon, an endangered species under China's first-class national protection, can again now be spotted in the Yangtze River.

The Dabry's sturgeon is also known as the Yangtze sturgeon, named after its habitat, the upper Yangtze River. It had lost its natural ability to reproduce since 2000 due to overfishing and water pollution, among other factors. The International Union for Conservation of Nature declared the species extinct in the wild in July last year.

Endangered fish species benefiting from Yangtze River protection efforts
 
Hawaiian communities restore Indigenous conservation, from mountains to sea
  • In Hawai’i, an Indigenous stewardship and conservation system known as ahupua’a is slowly being revived on a mountain-to-sea scale in partnership with U.S. government agencies.
  • Three Indigenous communities that have successfully reintroduced the ahupua’a system are seeing some conservation successes, such as a 310% increase in the biomass of surgeonfish and an increase in the Bluespine unicornfish (Naso unicornis) population.
  • The inclusion of Indigenous Hawaiian conservation, social and spiritual values, like Aloha kekahi i kekahi, have been key to building these conservation areas and forming better working relations with the government.
Across Hawai’i’s sprawling islands of towering tree ferns in the wet mountains to the night-blooming maiapilo flower on the coasts, down to the vibrant lionfish in the seas, an Indigenous stewardship and conservation system, known as ahupua’a, is being revived. The traditional system divides the islands into long wedges running from the mountaintops down into the ocean and are the subject of a new report written by leaders from three communities that have successfully restored the Indigenous practice.

Hawaiian communities restore Indigenous conservation, from mountains to sea
 
Three new wildlife conservation reserves in Rajasthan

On Earth Day 2023, Rajasthan’s Forest Department announced three new conservation reserves that will protect the rare and endangered wildlife of Rajasthan. These three new wildlife conservation reserves are Sorsan in Baran, Khichan in Jodhpur, and Hamirgarh in Bhilwara.

Three new wildlife conservation reserves in Rajasthan
 
'Pristine' coral reef discovered within Ecuador's Galapagos Marine Reserve

The newly-discovered coral reef was found 1,310-1,970 feet under the Pacific Ocean along Ecuador's Galapagos Islands on top of a previously unmapped seamount in the central part of the archipelago. The reef has more than 50% living coral and is supporting ample amounts of marine life, scientists said.

https://www-foxweather-com.cdn.ampp...reef-discovered-ecuador-galapagos-islands.amp
 
Field of fresh cow pats welcomes first dung beetles to be rewilded in France

Sixty of the keystone species released near Bordeaux to feast on waste from wild cattle and help restore a vital habitat on the Atlantic coast.

In a forest clearing filled with cowpats, French history is being made: the country’s first translocation of dung beetles in a nature reserve near Bordeaux.

With the same pomp and ceremony afforded to the release of an Iberian lynx or a European bison, about 60 “ball rolling” insects were brought to the marshy forests of Étang de Cousseau in south-west France on Wednesday to restore a vital ecosystem function on the Atlantic coast.

The dung beetles (scarabaeus laticollis) will feast on the waste produced by dozens of wild cattle that roam the dunes, moors and marshes of the rewilding project, recycling nutrients into the soil.

https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.amp...irst-dung-beetle-reintroduction-rewilding-aoe
 
'A big milestone': 100th burrowing owl returns to prairies as part of Wilder Institute conservation effort

The 100th burrowing owl took its first steps back onto the Canadian prairies after spending the winter at the Wilder Institute.

With burrowing owls distributed in less than one-third of their historical range in Canada, conservation efforts are “urgently needed for this small grassland owl,” according to a statement issued by the institute Tuesday.

“One-hundred marks a big milestone for our team,” said Graham Dixon-McCallum, conservation research population ecologist at the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo. “Left in the wild, without intervention, we estimate only six of these 100 owls would have returned to nest in Alberta over the past seven years, and many would not have survived their first winter.”

In the wild, the youngest owlets only have a two to three per cent chance of surviving to leave the nest and returning to Canada after migration, according to information shared in the Wilder Institute’s statement. Since 2016, the Wilder Institute has brought last-to-hatch owlets under its care to help give them a chance to survive.

'A big milestone': 100th burrowing owl returns to prairies as part of Wilder Institute conservation effort | Calgary Herald
 
Hundreds of endangered White's seahorses released into the wild at Port Stephens

Scientists have released more than 300 baby seahorses into waters north of Newcastle in a bid to save Australia's only seahorse species on the endangered list.

Key points:
  • An expert says flooding in NSW has had a dramatic impact on seahorses
  • A DPI scientist says today's release is the "best one we've ever done"
  • The animals are expected to start breeding in October
White's seahorse used to be a common sight in Sydney Harbour and the waters of Port Stephens, but in recent years the numbers have declined dramatically.

Diver and Department of Primary Industries (DPI) scientist David Harasti has witnessed this decline.

"Twenty years ago I could go diving here and I'd find 20 to 30 seahorses a dive," he said.

"But if I go there now I'd be lucky to find one or two."

https://amp-abc-net-au.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.abc.net.au/article/102326028
 
Conservation efforts bear fruit as survey finds record gharials in Bihar's Gandak river

The Gandak river became the second successful breeding site for gharials in India after the Chambal sanctuary

Conservation efforts by the Bihar government in the Gandak river have started showing results with 217 gharials being sighted in a recent survey, up from 30 in 2014, officials said on Sunday.

A survey was conducted along the 284-km stretch of the Gandak river, between the Gandak barrage and Rewa ghat, from February 21 to February 28. During the survey, 217 gharials of all sizes were sighted, Chief Wildlife Warden PK Gupta told PTI.

"It is a matter of great satisfaction that our gharial conservation project, launched in association with Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), is now bearing results," he said.

https://www-thehindu-com.cdn.amppro...-bihars-gandak-river/article66826192.ece/amp/
 
Foulshaw Ospreys lay first eggs of the year at nature reserve

TWO Ospreys will soon be nurturing their first chicks of the season, as the live feed of their nest shows two eggs waiting to hatch.

The return of female Blue 35 and male White YW often heralds spring to people across south Cumbria. Each year they return from Africa to their nest at Foulshaw Moss Nature Reserve.

A live feed set up by Cumbria Wildlife Trust shows viewers how the ospreys go about their daily lives each season.

There was some concern this year that Blue 35 would not return, as her mate White YW brought unknown female ospreys to the nest and she was not seen for days after he arrived, however soon his mate took her rightful place.

Ospreys lay first eggs of the year - why this pair are a conservation success story
 
Nearly 2,000 Acres of Critical Habitat Protected for Endangered Miami Tiger Beetle

Florida Beetle Threatened by Development, Sea-Level Rise.

Following a legal victory for the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today designated 1,869 acres of lifesaving critical habitat for the endangered Miami tiger beetle in Miami-Dade County. The beetle currently survives in only two isolated populations, separated by urban development.

“I’m so glad the Miami tiger beetle finally received these long-awaited and desperately needed habitat protections,” said Ragan Whitlock, a Florida-based attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “But development continues to threaten the beetle’s last remaining populations. Federal wildlife officials need to do everything in their power to protect the places where these tiny, yet ferocious beetle live if they’re going to win their fight against extinction.”

In its federal notice, the Service emphasized that the Miami tiger beetle will need to have additional populations if it is going to recover and emphasized the importance of the beetle’s last remaining habitat in the Richmond Pine Rocklands, noting that it contains biological features the beetle needs to survive.

Nearly 2,000 Acres of Critical Habitat Protected for Endangered Miami Tiger Beetle
 
Bigger than Bali: Western Australia's newest national park on the desert’s edge

Western Australia has a new national park where science and Indigenous knowledge are combining to save endangered species.

The Matuwa Kurrara Kurrara National Park is a 160-kilometre drive on a gravel road east from Wiluna where the traditional owners the Martu people and the state government have been restoring the degraded pastoral land for almost two decades.

Matuwa Kurrara Kurrara National Park is bigger than Bali: WA’s newest national park on the desert’s edge
 
Galapagos Islands welcome Little Vermilion Flycatcher chicks amid conservation plan

Ecuador's Galapagos Islands have welcomed 12 new chicks of the Little Vermilion Flycatcher bird species, the national park said on Thursday, a record boost since conservation to protect the bird, which is endemic to the islands, began.

The population of Little Vermilion Flycatchers - also known as Darwin's Flycatcher or "witch bird" in Spanish - had dropped dramatically in recent years on Santa Cruz Island, leaving just 15 adult pairs, according to conservation organizations.

The species (Pyrocephalus nanus) is listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Galapagos Islands welcome Little Vermilion Flycatcher chicks amid conservation plan
 
Threatened Quebec caribou herd expecting up to 12 calves this year

A caribou herd in Charlevoix, Que., could be heading toward a baby boom this year, providing a rare bit of good news for the province's decimated population.

Caroline Hins, a biologist with the province's Wildlife Department, confirmed all 12 of the herd's breeding-age females are believed to be pregnant, after tests that showed high progesterone levels.

"It's very good news," she said in an interview Friday.

https://beta-ctvnews-ca.cdn.ampproj...a/local/montreal/2023/4/29/1_6376783.amp.html
 
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