Biodiversity

"As numbers of North Atlantic right whales keep declining because of entanglements with fishing gear and fatal ship strikes, conservationists are using acoustic technology and waging an escalating legal battle to push for more aggressive action to protect the world’s rarest cetacean."

"The United States’ coral reefs are in fair condition, according to a recent reef condition status report, but vulnerable to decline. Scientists estimate that along the coast of Florida, where degradation is most severe, perhaps as little as 2% of original coral cover remains."

"Argentine tegus are breeding in multiple states after escape or release from captivity; biologists are concerned since they're voracious omnivores."

"Down to its final weeks, the Trump administration is working to push through dozens of environmental rollbacks that could weaken century-old protections for migratory birds, expand Arctic drilling and hamstring future regulation of public health threats."

"Are the wolves of Yellowstone National Park the first line of defense against a terrible disease that preys on herds of wildlife?" "Some scientists say that the predators are essential to curbing the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease because they pick off weak deer."

"More than 15,000 mink in the United States have died of the coronavirus since August, and authorities are keeping about a dozen farms under quarantine while they investigate the cases, state agriculture officials said."

"After four years of President Donald Trump’s famously pet-free tenure, Joe Biden winning the 2020 presidential election means that the patter of furred feet will likely be heard inside the White House once more."

"A recent announcement that the nonprofit that owns nine-tenths of Santa Catalina Island plans to boost eco-tourism by adding bison to existing herds has recharged a debate over the environmental impacts of the shaggy, imported beasts."