Decision on endangered listing for Pacific walrus coming soon, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says

ANCHORAGE — A spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the agency is waiting for a publication date from the Federal Register before announcing whether it will recommend listing the Pacific walrus as a threatened or endangered species because of global warming.

The agency is under a court-ordered deadline to decide on a listing petition filed three years ago by the Center for Biological Diversity. The group claims walruses are threatened by a loss of sea ice.

Agency spokesman Bruce Woods says decisions are announced a day before they are published in the Federal Register.

In three of the last four years, walruses have congregated by the thousands on Alaska's northwest shore as sea ice melted beyond shallow continental shelf waters where the animals dive for clams and other prey.

RELATED CONSERVATION NEWS:
• Center for Biological Diversity says it plans to sue over polar bears' critical habitat
• Alaska sues over planned fishing restrictions aimed at protecting sea lions  

-- Associated Press

Photo: Pacific walrus on Alaska's southwest coast. Credit: Associated Press

Conservationists, animal activists worry about effects of the Year of the Rabbit

BANGKOK — Many Asians believe the Year of the Rabbit means good luck for those born under that zodiac sign, but conservationists warn that the furry creatures themselves are being loved to death in Asia and some species are dying away altogether.

As the Lunar New Year approaches, rabbits are being snapped up from pet stores and farms but some are warning that the animals will be dumped once the novelty wears off and the cost and trouble of keeping them kicks in.

"It's believed that feeding rabbits in their zodiac will bring luck in love and everything else, so especially young people are looking for little, cute bunnies," says Piyalak Sariya, owner of the Bunny Delight rabbit farm in Thailand.

Predicting many will eventually be cast off in Buddhist temples and parks, she recommends buying rabbit dolls instead "because these fluffy animals need more care than dogs or cats."

"People think they are small and cute, [but] they are a lot of work. They just can't be stuffed into a cage," says Ashley Fruno, Asia representative for the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA.

Zimbabwe's rhinos are the targets of poachers with advanced technology

HARARE, Zimbabwe — Poachers are using aircraft to hunt and kill rhinoceros, Zimbabwe's wildlife chief said Tuesday, as demand in Asia for their horns' supposed medicinal benefits grows.

Seven endangered rhinos were killed in southern Zimbabwe from early December to Jan. 19, representing about one-third of all 22 rhinos poached throughout 2010, Parks and Wildlife director general Vitalis Chidenga said.

He said the poachers, including local recruits, were well-equipped with sophisticated weapons. Five of the rhinos were shot in one park in the southwestern Matabeleland province, he said.

Rhino horn is prized in Asia as a traditional cure for everything from colds to impotence and it is used to fashion ceremonial dagger handles in oil-rich countries in the Middle East.

Chidenga said the southern African nation has about 1,000 surviving rhinoceros, and that extra rangers and soldiers are being sent into their habitats to protect them.

Evidence from sites of the recent killings in Zimbabwe showed poachers were "well-organized and well-funded." Some "big money" syndicates even used light aircraft for poaching missions and reconnaissance.

Yellowstone bison are not staying home on the range

BILLINGS, Mont. — Wild bison allowed to migrate north of Yellowstone National Park for the first time in decades have strayed off their new grazing grounds three times since their arrival this week, park officials said Friday.

The 25 animals will be hazed back onto the Gallatin National Forest if they leave again, officials said, but it was uncertain what would happen if they continued to enter areas where they could encounter cattle.

Wildlife officials fear cows could be infected with a disease carried by the Yellowstone bison. Brucellosis can cause animals to prematurely abort their young.

For years, bison trying to leave Yellowstone to graze at lower elevations in Montana were captured and slaughtered to prevent the spread of brucellosis. The 25 bison on the Gallatin -- part of a pilot program that was years in the making -- tested negative for the disease.

Those animals are part of an initiative to expand areas outside the park where bison can roam.

Hundreds of bison attempt to leave the park during harsh winters. With snow piling deep this year, 63 of them that tried to leave the park in recent days have been captured at the park's northern boundary.

Scientists hold out hope that Galapagos tortoise Lonesome George will reproduce

Will Lonesome George ever become a dad?

Scientists are still hoping to mate the near century-old giant tortoise from the Galapagos -- even though efforts over the last two decades have failed.

The Galapagos National Park said in a statement Thursday that they are providing two new female partners for George, who is believed to be the last living member of the Geochelone abigdoni species.

George is estimated to be between 90 and 100 years old -- and could have at least 50 more years ahead of him. For the last 20 years, he has lived with two previous female partners, of the similar but different Geochelone becki species. The females laid eggs in 2008, 2009 and last year, but none resulted in viable offspring.

Scientists believe George may have a better chance of reproducing with his two new partners, of the Geochelone hoodensis species.

The two potential mates arrived on Santa Cruz island, where George lives, on Thursday from the archipelago's Spanish Island.

Your morning adorable: African wild dog puppies get a checkup at Illinois' Brookfield Zoo

The birth of a big litter of African wild dog puppies at Illinois' Brookfield Zoo late last year is great news for their endangered species. The litter, born to 6-year-old mother Kim and 4-year-old father Digger on Thanksgiving, contains a whopping 10 healthy puppies who were examined by a zoo veterinarian on Thursday.

The puppies, much like their domestic cousins, needed to be vaccinated against canine diseases -- the spread of distemper from domestic dogs is one cause for their steep population decline in the wild -- and have microchips implanted for identification purposes.

Brookfield is a participant in the Assn. of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan program to ensure the survival of African wild dogs. Kim and Digger's puppies are the third and largest African wild dog litter to be born at the zoo so far.

African wild dogs have an "it takes a village" approach to parenting: Not only do Kim and Digger care for the puppies, but Digger's brother Duke also plays a big role in their lives. In wild packs of African wild dogs, all adults pitch in to care for the young, regardless of their biological parentage.

See more photos and video of the puppies after the jump!

Kazakhstan extends ban on hunting endangered antelope

ALMATY, Kazakhstan — Authorities have extended a ban on hunting the endangered saiga antelope in hopes of boosting the animal's dwindling numbers.

A government decree published Tuesday says the ban will remain in effect through 2020.

Conservation experts say the saiga population has plummeted from around 1 million in the mid-1990s to about 80,000.

Despite a 2001 ban, the distinctive bulbous-nosed animal continues to be poached for its horns, used as a component in traditional Chinese medicines.

Around 12,000 saiga, which are found mainly in western Kazakhstan, died last year of a mysterious disease.

RELATED ENDANGERED SPECIES NEWS:
• Wildlife advocates object to proposed auction of tiger paste seized from traffickers in Vietnam
• Black rhinoceros who survived being shot by poachers is transported to South African zoo

-- Associated Press

Photo: Saiga drink from a lake outside Almaty, Kazakhstan, in an undated photo. Credit: Anatoly Ustinenko / AFP/Getty Images

Biologists note a decline in Yellowstone National Park's elk population

BILLINGS, Mont. — An acclaimed elk herd in Yellowstone National Park took a major hit last year, with biologists saying almost one in four of the animals were lost, mainly to predators and hunters.

As recently as 1994, the northern Yellowstone elk herd was the largest in North America with almost 20,000 animals that migrated between the park and parts of southern Montana.

But those numbers have plummeted sharply since wolves were reintroduced 15 years ago, adding to threats that already included mountain lions and grizzly bears.

Figures released Wednesday showed the Yellowstone herd down to a minimum of 4,635 elk. That's a 24% drop from last winter, and wildlife officials said the decline was unexpected because the herd in recent years showed signs of stabilizing.

"Either we counted them poorly this year, predator effects were stronger, the big snow event made us miss more elk or more elk were harvested," Park Service biologist Doug Smith said. "Usually the best answer in ecology is all of the above."

Center for Biological Diversity says it plans to sue federal government over polar bears' critical habitat

ANCHORAGE — An environmental group on Thursday gave formal notice that it intends to sue the federal government for what conservationists consider a failure to protect critical habitat for polar bears from harmful oil and gas development.

The Center for Biological Diversity sent the required notice to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

The Interior Department designated more than 187,000 square miles in and near the Beaufort and Chukchi seas as polar bear critical habitat, said the group's Alaska representative, attorney Rebecca Noblin.

But its agencies also have reaffirmed a Bush-era plan that authorized oil leasing in the newly designated polar bear critical habitat in the Chukchi Sea and are considering a proposal to allow Shell Oil to drill next summer in polar bear critical habitat in the Beaufort Sea.

"Unfortunately, Interior seems profoundly confused about whether to actually protect polar bear critical habitat or sacrifice it to oil companies," Noblin said.

Researchers say penguins are harmed by the tracking bands used to study them

Some scientists studying penguins may be inadvertently harming them with the metal bands they use to keep track of the tuxedo-clad seabirds, a new study says. The survival rate of king penguins with metal bands on their flippers was 44% lower than those without bands and banded birds produced far fewer chicks, according to new research published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

The theory is that the metal bands -- either aluminum or stainless steel -- increase drag on the penguins when they swim, making them work harder, the study's authors said.

Author Yvon Le Maho of the University of Strasbourg in France said the banded penguins looked haggard, appearing older than their actual age.

Consequently, studies that use banded penguins -- including ones about the effects of global warming on the seabirds -- may be inaccurate, mixing up other changes in penguin life with the effects from banding, said Le Maho and colleague Claire Saraux.

Le Maho said this is the first study showing a long-term harm from banding penguins.