Positive Wildlife News 2024

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Giant millipede lost to science for more than a century and 20 other species rediscovered in Madagascar during first-of-its-kind expedition

Small rainbow fish lost for 20 years and flowering ant-like beetles lost for 65 years are among those found.

An expedition to Makira, the largest and most intact forest in Madagascar, found 21 species that had been lost to science, including three iridescent and nearly translucent species of fish and a millipede that scientists realized after the expedition had not had a documented sighting in 126 years, though it has likely never been lost to local communities.

Giant millipede lost to science for more than a century and 20 other species rediscovered in Madagascar during first-of-its-kind expedition
 
Community conservation in Congo receives global recognition as a Key Biodiversity Area

In addition to protecting endangered mountain gorillas in Rwanda, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund has an increasingly successful and expanding program to protect critically endangered Grauer’s gorillas in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, in an area of important primary forest that had previously not received any formal protection. Grauer’s gorillas are considered the most at-risk of all the great apes, with a 60% decline in the last few decades.

Community conservation in Congo receives global recognition as a Key Biodiversity Area - Dian Fossey

 
Rare seabird chicks successfully reared

A pair of rare sea birds have successfully bred and raised chicks on the Hampshire coast.

Two roseate tern chicks hatched at Normandy Lagoon, part of the Lymington-Keyhaven Nature Reserve, in June.

The species is among the UK's most endangered seabirds.

Hampshire County Council said two chicks had successfully fledged before departing with their parents on their migration to Africa.

https://www-bbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce9z83e8kr0o.amp
 
Biden-Harris Administration affirms protection of 28 million acres of public lands in Alaska

Following an extensive public process, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland today finalized the decision to retain protections for 28 million acres of public lands across Alaska, which many Alaska Native Tribes, Native Corporations and Tribal entities have noted are vital to protecting important natural, cultural and subsistence resources.

Today’s action comes in response to the previous Administration’s unlawful decision in its final days to end the longstanding protections (known as withdrawals) without sufficient analysis of the potential impacts of such a decision on subsistence and other important resources, appropriate Tribal consultation, and without compliance with other legal requirements. This sweeping action would have opened millions of acres of public lands to extractive development

Biden-Harris Administration affirms protection of 28 million acres of public lands in Alaska | Bureau of Land Management
 
Long silenced, an African park roars back to life

Werner Myburgh couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

On his first trip through the savanna woodlands of Mozambique’s Zinave National Park, he saw almost no animals. “The elephants were gone, the giraffes, lions. Everything was gone,” said Myburgh, who leads the conservation nonprofit Peace Parks Foundation.

Like much of Mozambique, the park had been devastated by civil war. For 16 years, warring factions smothered the landscape, slaughtering animals for bushmeat.

“But something else was really bothering me,” he added. “It was a funny, eerie type of feeling. And then I realized — it was so silent. There were no bird calls or insects or other signs of life. It was like a graveyard.”

A decade after that initial 2014 visit, Myburgh was back in Zinave, sitting by the Save River as a pair of birds with orange beaks glided along the water. “African skimmers,” he said eagerly. “I’ve never seen them here before.”

A deep rumble came from the shore nearby — a pod of surfacing hippos. Vervet monkeys flitted in the trees, sparring for marula fruit. All around, the air was filled with the fluting trill of birds.

Long silenced, an African park roars back to life
 
Court Win Protects Endangered Whales and Sea Turtles From Oil Drilling

What happened: Gravely imperiled whales, sea turtles, and other marine species just got a reprieve from dangerous offshore oil and gas drilling. On Aug. 19 a district court judge struck down a flawed federal agency assessment that allowed harmful oil and gas drilling to kill and seriously injure threatened and endangered marine species in the Gulf of Mexico. Earthjustice had challenged the federal assessment under the Endangered Species Act.

Why it matters: The judge’s ruling affirms that the government cannot continue turning a blind eye to the widespread, persistent harm that offshore oil and gas development inflicts on wildlife.

“The Gulf is still healing from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, and protecting its biodiversity and communities should be paramount,” says Earthjustice attorney Chris Eaton.

https://earthjustice.org/brief/2024...HeG0_mcs6staLuSq_w_aem_FCDM6rUE3-BRTT-lNoqM2w
 
Secretary Haaland Announces Removal of Apache Trout, Arizona’s State Fish, from Endangered Species List Due to Collaborative Conservation Efforts

Recovery efforts funded by $5.1 million from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland today announced that after more than five decades of recovery efforts by federal, state and Tribal partners, and with $5.1 million from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the Apache trout is being removed from the federal list of endangered and threatened wildlife. The restoration of Arizona’s state fish marks the first sportfish and the first trout delisted due to recovery, a significant conservation success under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Secretary Haaland joined Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, White Mountain Apache Tribe Chairman Kasey Velesquez, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Deputy Director Siva Sundaresan, and conservation partners today at a celebration in Mesa, Arizona, to celebrate the restoration of the species.

Secretary Haaland Announces Removal of Apache Trout, Arizona’s State Fish, from Endangered Species List Due to Collaborative Conservation Efforts | U.S. Department of the Interior
 
More acres added to Crow’s Nest Preserve in Virginia

Another 200-plus acres have been preserved as part of the growing footprint of a natural area near the bustling I-95 corridor of Northern Virginia.

First dedicated in 2008, the Crow’s Nest Natural Area Preserve in Stafford County, VA, now encompasses more than 3,300 acres of land that juts between two tributaries to the Potomac River. The landscape is defined by “ecologically significant” upland forests and forested wetlands, with deep ravines and forests of various ages.

More acres added to Crow’s Nest Preserve in Virginia
 
Judge in Brazil orders slaughterhouses to pay for Amazon reforestation

A judge in the Brazilian state of Rondonia has found two beef slaughterhouses guilty of buying cattle from a protected area of former rainforest in the Amazon and ordered them, along with three cattle ranchers, to pay a total of $764,000 for causing environmental damage, according to the decision issued Wednesday. Cattle raising drives Amazon deforestation. The companies Distriboi and Frigon and the ranchers may appeal.

It is the first decision in several dozen lawsuits seeking millions of dollars in environmental damages from the slaughterhouses for allegedly trading in cattle raised illegally in a protected area known as Jaci-Parana, which was rainforest but is now mostly converted to pasture.

Four slaughterhouses are among the many parties charged, including JBS SA, which bills itself as the world’s largest protein producer. The court has not decided on the cases involving JBS.

Judge in Brazil orders slaughterhouses to pay for Amazon reforestation
 
Possums transported from Kangaroo Island to Central Australia to re-establish brushtail population

A group of brushtail possums has been relocated from Kangaroo Island to Central Australia in a bid to re-establish a population in the region.

The species, which is common in capital cities and along much of the Australian coastline, often gets a bad reputation as a pest with a knack for nesting in roofs and digging up vegetable gardens.

But experts say there is a different story in the Red Centre, where the brushtail possum is thought to have recently become extinct.

https://amp-abc-net-au.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.abc.net.au/article/104196948
 
Press release: Przewalski’s horses return to central Kazakhstan after nearly 200-year absence

On Thursday the 6th of June, seven Przewalski’s horses (known as Kertagy or Kerkulan in Kazakh), the world’s last remaining genetically wild species of horse, arrived from Europe to their native homeland in Kazakhstan as part of a wider initiative to restore fully functioning steppe grassland ecosystems.

The animals, called Ypsilonk, Zeta II, Zorro, Tessa, Sary, Wespe, and Umbra, travelled in two convoys, carried by a Czech Air Force aircraft from Prague Zoo in the Czech Republic and Berlin Zoo in Germany. The first convoy arrived in Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on June 4th, and the second arrived on June 6th. This reintroduction aims to enhance the local wildlife, benefiting pollinators, small mammals, and ground-nesting birds through their grazing activities.

The horses had been a key species in the Kazakh steppe before being eradicated by human activities in the mid-19th Century. This, and the future planned transportation of a further ~30 horses, aims to establish a self-sustaining population in the region. In addition to Asiatic wild ass (otherwise known as Kulan) and Saiga antelopes, the Przewalski’s horses will complete the trio of native large herbivores of the steppe ecosystem. This marks a historic return and a milestone in years of conservation work focused on building Kazakhstan’s network of protected areas and ranger capacity to ensure this reintroduction is a success.

The animals were transported from Arkalyk to acclimatization enclosures at the Alibi reintroduction center in Central Kazakhstan, operated by project partner the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity (ACBK). Veterinarians are closely monitoring the animals to ensure full health after a long journey. The relocation was made possible by a strong conservation coalition, including the Kazakh Government’s Committee for Forestry and Wildlife, the Association for the Conservation of the Biodiversity of Kazakhstan, Frankfurt Zoological Society, Prague Zoo, Nuremberg Zoo, Tierpark Berlin, and Hortobagy National Park.

Press release: Przewalski’s horses return to central Kazakhstan after nearly 200-year absence - Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative
 
Numbers of rare sticky plant treble in Ochil Hills

Numbers of one of Scotland’s rarest plants have more than trebled on a hill in central Scotland following restoration work.

Sticky catchfly is a nationally rare species with fewer than 18 populations scattered across Britain.

Around 10,000 flowering stems of the plant were counted by volunteers during a three-day survey on Dumyat in the Ochil Hills - an increase from 3,000 in 2013.

The Future Forrest Company (FFC) took over management of the Dumyat site in 2021 and has since embarked on a native woodland and nature restoration programme.

https://www-bbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc.com/news/articles/c19k80rz9gko.amp
 
'Amazing' flock of nearly 80 white storks seen in Cornwall for first time since Middle Ages

A flock of nearly 80 white storks has been seen in Cornwall for the first time since the Middle Ages.

The last breeding pair to be recorded in Britain was in 1416, nesting on a cathedral in Edinburgh.

The birds are thought to have migrated to the Lizard Peninsula from West Sussex, where they were reintroduced in 2016.

Before that, white storks were extinct in the UK, following destruction of their natural wetland habitat, the fens, in the East of England.

John Rance, a volunteer at the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, said: "Bird migration blows my mind, frankly. It's one of nature's wonders that we are only just beginning to understand.

"People will be familiar with swallows returning every year. It's just amazing and 80 wild storks is quite a sight."

https://www.itv.com/news/westcountr...-storks-seen-for-first-time-since-middle-ages
 
Brazil’s President Lula da Silva signs new pied tamarin reserve into law

On 6 June 2024, President Lula da Silva of Brazil signed a new 15,000 hectare reserve into law. This reserve will protect part of the remaining population of the pied tamarin, and is a huge achievement for Brazilian conservationists working with this critically endangered species.

https://tamarintrust.org/news/brazi...ilva-signs-new-pied-tamarin-reserve-into-law/
 
SNC-funded project in upper Trinity River watershed protects critical state biodiversity

Preservation of 10,600 acres within the upper Trinity River watershed in northern California will help protect some of the most biodiverse land on the planet.

Funding and implementing land-conservation projects in California are vital to the long-term protection of precious natural resources, such as timber and water. Projects like Pacific Forest Trust’s recent acquisition of nearly 11,000 acres in the upper Trinity River watershed will not only conserve lush forestlands in the headwaters of the Central Valley Project, but also protect some of the most biodiverse land on the planet.

“This project will improve fire resilience, restore and protect critical water resources, improve and protect habitat for a multitude of plant and wildlife species, and improve overall habitat connectivity in a region of global ecological significance,” said Ryan Henson, senior policy director of CalWild.

Upper Trinity Watershed Habitat Protection | Sierra Nevada Conservancy
 
NTBC secures protection of two Kootenay areas

A leading land conservation charity this week announced the protection of two crucial conservation areas in the Kootenays.

A leading land conservation charity this week announced the protection of two crucial conservation areas in the Kootenays.


The Nature Trust of British Columbia (NTBC) secured the new conservation areas: at Bummers Flats - MapleCross Benchlands and Wycliffe Prairie, which is part of the Wycliffe Conservation Complex.



The NTBC said in a release that with the help of the government of Canada and donations from the public, it raised almost $4 million to protect 874 acres (354 hectares) of habitat in the region. 


This will held provide critical movement corridors for wildlife, including grizzly bears and elk, the NTBC said.


“We are deeply grateful for the support of our many partners and donors in helping to conserve these ecologically significant areas," said Chris Bosman, Kootenay Conservation Land Manager, The Nature Trust of BC.

NTBC secures protection of two Kootenay areas - Cranbrook Daily Townsman
 
280 acres of oak savanna south of Eugene is now protected forever

McKenzie River Trust has acquired more than 280 acres south of Eugene, to be protected in perpetuity.

The South Fork Spencer Creek conservation area sits between Willamette Street and Fox Hollow, south of Spencer Butte.

Sam Hillmann is McKenzie River Trust’s land protection manager. He said the property has mixed forests and river, or riparian, habitat, but is primarily oak savanna, which is the native, and threatened, habitat. “The oak savanna and oak woodland habitat is also the densest habitat of biological life in the state of Oregon,” he noted.

Hillmann said in addition to a resident black bear, the area is a wildlife corridor, and contains a variety of plant and animal species, including acorn and pileated woodpeckers, red legged frogs, and coastal cutthroat trout.

280 acres of oak savanna south of Eugene is now protected forever
 
Giant spiders the size of rats make comeback in UK after nearing extinction, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) says

The giant "fen raft" species were near extinction but conservationists say they are back on the rise.

Giant spiders that can grow to the size of rats and live off fish are making a comeback in the UK, according to the RSPB.

For centuries the fen raft spider lurked in the UK's wetlands but, after the industrial revolution led to many of its habitats being drained, the species almost went extinct in the 20th Century.

Now, after years of conversation work by the RSPB and Chester Zoo, the species is now back to thriving in the UK - which may not be welcomed by everyone.

After hitting a low of just three areas where they were known to exist in 2010 but there is now an estimated 10,000 breeding females across the UK.

https://www.itv.com/news/2024-08-20...-make-comeback-in-uk-after-nearing-extinction
 
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