Wildlife

"More manatees have already died in 2021 than any other year in state history, as biologists point to seagrass loss in the Indian River Lagoon as a catalyst for starvation and malnutrition."

"As many as one-third of Wisconsin’s gray wolves likely died at the hands of humans in the months after the federal government announced it was ending legal protections, according to a study released Monday."

"They’re arriving in swarms so dense it can appear the earth is moving. They’re covering roads and fields, pelting ATV riders, and steadily devouring grains and grass to the bedevilment of farmers and ranchers. A massive population of grasshoppers is proliferating in the sweltering American west, where a deep drought has made for ideal conditions for grasshopper eggs to hatch and survive into adulthood."

"Beekeepers this year in the United States reported the second highest annual loss of managed honey bee colonies since records began in 2006, according to results of a nationwide survey released Wednesday."

"Yellowstone National Park visitors hoping to see its world-renowned geysers, wolves and bears can expect warmer temperatures and less snow as climate change alters the park’s environment, according to a report by U.S. and university researchers released Wednesday."

"Hundreds of birds have suffered swollen eyes and strange symptoms from a deadly ailment — and no one knows for sure what it is."

"An attempt to save the Tasmanian devil by shipping an “insurance population” to a tiny Australian island has come at a “catastrophic” cost to the birdlife there, including the complete elimination of little penguins, according to BirdLife Tasmania."

"Tens of thousands of African elephants are under threat from plans for a massive new oilfield in one of the continent’s last great wildernesses, experts have warned."

"Despite federal protections, wild horses across the West are ending up in slaughterhouses under a new Bureau of Land Management adoption program, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado."

"The U.N.'s approaching COP26 climate talks have been in the limelight, but COP15 - the biodiversity conference planned for China in October - will be equally critical. Here's why"