U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says polar bears are threatened, not endangered

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration says polar bears are merely threatened rather than in imminent danger of extinction.

The argument continues a George W. Bush-era interpretation of the state of polar bears, which are at risk because of global warming.

In court papers filed Wednesday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the animal isn't endangered under federal law.

The agency reaffirmed a 2008 decision by the Bush administration, which said the bears were threatened because of the rapid disappearance of Arctic sea ice. The decision stopped short of declaring the bears endangered, a move that would increase protections and make oil and gas exploration more difficult.

Kassie Siegel, a lawyer for an environmental group, called the decision "a lump of coal for the polar bear."

RELATED POLAR BEAR NEWS:

• Alaska officials say state will sue federal goverment over polar bear critical habitat designation

• What's been done to help polar bears since they were listed as threatened? Not much

-- Matthew Daly, Associated Press

Photos: Polar bear cubs with their mother at the St-Felicien wildlife zoo in Quebec, Canada, on June 2. Credit: Mathieu Belanger / Reuters

Alaska officials say the state will sue federal goverment over polar bear critical habitat designation

ANCHORAGE — Alaska officials filed notice Tuesday that the state would sue the federal government over a decision to designate a swath of the Arctic as critical habitat for polar bears faced with the effects of climate change.

Republican Gov. Sean Parnell contends that the critical habitat designation, which covers 187,000 square miles and was announced by the Obama administration last month, will delay jobs and increase costs -- or even kill -- resource development projects that are important to Alaska.

"Once again, we are faced with federal overreach that threatens our collective prosperity," he said. "We don't intend to let this stand."

The added protection in the Arctic for polar bears does not in itself block economic activity or other development, but requires federal officials to consider whether a proposed action would adversely affect the polar bear's habitat and interfere with population recovery.

The Interior Department said the designation would help polar bears stave off extinction as they face the melting of Arctic sea ice. The animals are listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Orphaned Yellowstone grizzlies make debut at Montana Zoo

They will never escape their savage backstory, but three young bears whose mother led them on a rampage through a Montana campground embarked on a new career Friday: fuzzy zoo attractions.

As a posse of preschoolers pressed close as the glass would allow, the three grizzlies -- now Dolly, Loulou and Koda -- nosed around their new two-acre spread at ZooMontana.

Wildlife officials euthanized the bears' mother in July, after the bruin family was trapped in the wake of a rare late-night attack outside Yellowstone National Park. A Michigan man was killed and two people were injured.

The young -- now almost two years old -- were with the marauding sow bear, but their precise role remains unknown. Investigators concluded the mother was leading her young to food.

Now, after five months in quarantine, the bears are taking their first forays this week around their enclave in Billings. The zoo is about 125 miles from the site of the attacks, a streamside campground near Cooke City.

Your morning adorable: Vienna zoo's giant panda cub gets a name

The giant panda born at Vienna's Schoenbrunn Zoo in August reached a milestone -- his 100th day -- and received his name in a ceremony held at the zoo on Monday.

His name, chosen by the panda-loving public in an online poll, is Fu Hu, which means "Happy Tiger" in Mandarin. Fu Hu's older brother, who was sent to a panda breeding center in China's Sichuan Province last year, is named Fu Long -- "Happy Dragon."

Fu Hu's parents, mother Yang Yang and father Long Hui, arrived in Vienna in 2003 through a loan program with China. They're scheduled to return to their home country in a few years when that loan expires. Fu Hu will also move to China one day, since the conditions of his parents' loan require any offspring they produce in a foreign zoo to be sent to China when they're old enough.

See more photos of Fu Hu after the jump!

Celebrity polar bear Knut celebrates his 4th birthday with a party at Berlin Zoo

BERLIN — Knut, Germany's favorite polar bear, has celebrated his 4th birthday with a lavish party at his zoo attended by about 250 people.

Fish and meat were served in the polar bear's snow-covered outdoor enclosure at the Berlin Zoo on Sunday, followed by a birthday cake shaped like the number 4.

As Knut gobbled up his cake, the spectators sang "Happy Birthday,"the German news agency DAPD reported.

The visitors also were given the rare opportunity to feed Knut, and he seemed to enjoy the bread, fruit and fish they brought for him.

Knut has been a star in Germany since he was hand-raised by zookeepers after his mother rejected him at birth.

RELATED KNUT STORIES:
• Knut, beloved polar bear, has a run-in with a fan
• Zoo custody dispute over Knut the polar bear ends; he'll remain in Berlin

-- Associated Press

Photo: Knut enjoys his birthday cake in his enclosure at the Berlin Zoo on Dec. 5. Credit: Soeren Stache / European Pressphoto Agency

Wyoming wildlife official says he supports grizzly bear hunting in the state

POWELL, Wyo. — A Wyoming wildlife manager says he supports hunting grizzly bears now that the population in the Yellowstone National Park area has reached the highest level in decades.

Researchers said last month that more than 600 grizzlies roam the Yellowstone area of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.

That's more than three times the number in 1975, when hunting was outlawed and the species was placed on the endangered list.

Mark Bruscino, supervisor of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department bear management program, tells the Powell Tribune that he favors hunting to manage the grizzly population.

Bruscino says he and his department support the bear recovery program, but the best habitat areas are now full and bears are moving into marginal areas.

RELATED BEAR NEWS:
Biologists worry that new law permitting guns in national parks could mean trouble for grizzly bears
Grizzly bear in maulings near Yellowstone was in poor condition, had parasites

-- Associated Press

Photo: A grizzly moves through brush in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Credit: James Peaco / Associated Press

Poaching of bear gallbladders used in traditional medicine increases

Bear gallbladders are now all the rage? Bears don't have enough problems? What with global warming, pollution, hunters, lack of delicious prey, etc., now they have to worry about people stealing their gallbladders?

The Humane Society of the United States says that a bear gallbladder can cost more than $3,000 in Asia, where some people use the organ for medicinal purposes.  "Bear gallbladders and bile are used in traditional medicine to treat a variety of illnesses including fever, liver disease, convulsions, diabetes, and heart disease," HSUS' website states.  "Clinical research analyzing the medicinal properties of bear gallbladders indicates that they may be effective for treating a number of ills. However, other natural substances already accepted in traditional medicine, as well as synthetic substances, can be substituted."

But the problem doesn't just affect Asian bears -- and their valuable gallbladders. Here in the U.S. a young bear with a missing gallbladder was found in Virginia's Prince William Park earlier this month.

Your morning adorable: Giant panda holds a stuffed animal, looks darn cute doing it

Few things can match a giant panda in the field of cuteness -- OK, maybe squirmy puppies, koala joeys, fennec foxes and knobby-kneed moose calves come close -- but the panda above seems really determined to send his adorableness into the stratosphere.

How else can one explain the fact that he is not only holding a stuffed animal, but also sticking his tongue out just slightly while doing so?

We can only consider this a challenge to other cute animals, a dare to work harder and be more relentlessly adorable.

Either that, or it's a promotion for the 2010 Asian Games -- and he's holding the mascot -- which kicked off Friday in Guangzhou, China. Athletes from 45 Asian countries and territories are competing in the  event, which concludes Nov. 27.

See another photo after the jump!

At work or play?

Working dogs, with their keen sense of smell, have long helped authorities sniff out narcotics in airports, bombs in war zones, fugitives and lost humans, both dead and alive. Now their noses are being put to use in the wild -- helping wildlife biologists find cryptic animals, hidden animal scat and rare plants that so easily elude human detection.

Read more about it in a story in Saturday's Los Angeles Times, which follows one detection dog that shows puny-nosed humans how to sniff out grizzly bear scat in western Montana.

It's a rare dog that makes the cut in this line of work. Trainers look for those with intense focus and high play drive. Theirs is the kind of temperament that can drive casual pet owners nuts, but will power these pooches to race up and down mountains and across vast landscapes in search of their target -- all so they can get their ball or other reward.

Most come from the working dog breeds -- the shepherds herders, etc. But from the dog's perspective, are they working or playing? The line blurs.

RELATED DOG NEWS:
Italian school teaches dogs to become lifeguards
PTSD not just for humans anymore? German shepherd that served in Iraq suffered trauma

-- Kenneth R. Weiss

Photo: Pepin, a Belgian Malinois, loves to play tug with Megan Parker, director of Working Dogs for Conservation. He got his reward for following his nose to locate grizzly bear scat in Montana's Blackfoot Valley. Credit: Kenneth R. Weiss/Los Angeles Times

China issues new suggested practices for zoos following allegations of widespread animal cruelty

BEIJING — China has urged zoos to stop serving wild animal products and holding wildlife performances in an attempt to improve the treatment of tigers, bears and other animals amid concerns over widespread abuse in zoos and wildlife parks.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development posted the suggestions on its website Tuesday and said inspections would be carried out to see if zoos were complying.

Animal welfare groups have documented widespread abuse in Chinese zoos and wildlife parks, including animal neglect, beatings, and the illegal sale of wine or soup made from the bones of endangered tigers.

The Hong Kong-based animal welfare group Animals Asia Foundation released a report in August that said bears in Chinese zoos were regularly whipped and beaten with sticks, while elephants were prodded with metal hooks, and tigers and lions were defanged and declawed, causing them chronic pain.

Earlier this year, 11 rare Siberian tigers died at a wildlife park in China's frigid northeast and zookeepers there said they didn't have enough funding to feed or take care of them properly. Rights groups said the zoo might have been selling the tiger skins and bones on the black market.