Biodiversity

"France said it plans to ban a pesticide made by Swiss agro-chemical group Syngenta that is widely used to treat rapeseed crops after scientists suggested it could pose danger to bees."

"A sharp decline in bee populations across the world in recent years, partly due to a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder, has prompted criticism of pesticide use, although research has yet to show clearly the causes of falling bee numbers.

"The remote Aleutian site known for two centuries as Rat Island, notorious as the first spot in Alaska despoiled by rats, has a new, more dignified name to celebrate its hard-won rodent-free status - but it may be harder for some to pronounce."

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"The population of endangered California condors (Gymnogyps californianus) hit an important milestone last month, reaching a high of 405 birds--quite an achievement for a species that was down to its last 22 individuals just 25 years ago."

"HELENA, Mont. -- A wildlife advocacy group is suing the U.S. Forest Service to seek the release of documents about how the agency plans to keep a disease that already has killed millions of bats in the U.S. and Canada from spreading to the Northern Rocky Mountains."

"SALMON, Idaho -- The U.S. government is seeking to close caves in national forests in the Northern Rockies to stem the spread of white-nose bat syndrome, a disease that has killed an estimated 5.5 million bats in 19 states and is spreading westward, officials said on Wednesday."

"LONDON -- Malaria-carrying mosquitoes in Africa and India are becoming resistant to insecticides, putting millions of lives at greater risk and threatening eradication efforts, health experts said on Tuesday."

"As climate change transforms their habitat, some animals are already on the move. But a new analysis from the University of Washington warns that many species won't be able to run fast enough to survive a warming world."

"The eastern diamondback rattlesnake, North America's largest venomous snake, may need its own antidote. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering adding the reptile to the Endangered Species List to restrict its hunting, killing and sale."

"'We are going to do our best to keep these beautiful animals on the planet with us,' said Dan Everson, Deputy Field Supervisor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service in Alabama.

The service on Wednesday approved further study on the declining numbers of the snake species.