Extinctions In 2009: Sorrow and Hope

The message about species conservation has been around since at least the mid-1970s, but it appears that we still are not learning from our mistakes. The year 2009 is a case in point. Several endangered species became much more endangered due to the actions of humans, including tigers, polar bears, elephants and rhinos. As we [...]

Recovery Alert: Alaskan Sea Otters Get Critical Habitat

While it is not quite a recovery, the road to recovery has been paved for Alaskan Sea Otters. This vulnerable species has been granted 5,855 square miles of near the shore waters along the Aleutian Islands, Alaskan Peninsula and the Bering Sea. Currently, less than 40,000 of the otters remain, which is over 60,000 less [...]

Recovery Alert…kind of: Wolf Hunt Continues

No sooner had the wolves of the northern Rockies in the United States been delisted from the endangered species list, a federal judge has ruled that wolf hunts can be allowed. Wolves have rebounded in the past few decades, enough to bring their numbers up to 1,600 after almost being extinct. As a result, they [...]

Recovery Alert: Blue Butterfly Makes Big Comeback

A piece of good news from the BBC came in a report about a rare butterfly that has made a big comeback in the United Kingdom. Roughly a quarter century ago, the Large Blue butterfly was nearly extinct due to various practices that reduced its habitat, as well as the hunting of the butterfly by [...]

Recovery Alert: Bowhead Whale Bouncing Back

Back in the 1500s, the Bowhead Whale was first hunted by Europeans whaling. By the 1930s, the Bowhead was near extinction, which was troubling to the Inuit culture that had a special relationship with the only whale to stay in Canadian waters year-round. Thanks to conservation efforts, the Bowhead is making a big comeback with [...]

Recovery Alert: Michigan Wolves off Endangered Species List

The Gray Wolf is recovering in Michigan, so much so that it has been removed from the endangered species list as the numbers rise for this majestic animal. Since the 1980s, the species has steadily climbed back after nearly going extinct. Last year its total was 520, but estimates this year put the Gray Wolf [...]