Indonesian officials arrest Jakarta man on suspicion of sale of exotic wildlife parts over the Internet

JAKARTA, Indonesia — An Indonesian man has been arrested on suspicion of using the Internet to sell hundreds of illegal wildlife parts -- including ivory, tiger skins and the teeth of the world's smallest bears.

The parts were allegedly destined for domestic and international markets, and several other suspects were being pursued, said Darori, director general of the Forestry Ministry, on Thursday.

The suspect was arrested in his art shop during a Feb. 9 raid carried out by police and forestry officials in the capital, Jakarta, he said, adding that the U.S.-based Wildlife Conservation Society helped tip off authorities.

They found 26 items at the scene and hundreds more waiting to be shipped by courier service, including teeth from sun bears, native to Southeast Asia.

"This is just the first case," said Darori. "If you are trying to sell wildlife online, beware. We will catch you and you will be prosecuted."

Montana's governor encourages ranchers to kill wolves

BILLINGS, Mont. — Defying federal authority over gray wolves, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer on Wednesday encouraged ranchers to kill wolves that prey on their livestock -- even in areas where that is not currently allowed -- and said the state would start shooting packs that hurt elk herds.

Schweitzer told the Associated Press he no longer would wait for federal officials to resolve the tangle of lawsuits over wolves, which has kept the animals on the endangered species list for a decade since recovery goals were first met.

"We will take action in Montana on our own," he said. "We've had it with Washington, D.C., with Congress just yipping about it, with [the Department of the] Interior just vacillating about it."

State wildlife agents and ranchers already kill wolves regularly across much of the Northern Rockies, where 1,700 of the animals roam parts of five states. Rules against killing wolves have been relaxed significantly by federal officials over the past decade but hunting remains prohibited.

Livestock owners in southern Montana and Idaho have authority to defend their property by shooting wolves that attack their cattle, sheep or other domestic animals. And federal agents regularly kill problem wolves, with more than 1,000 shot over the past decade.

Montana governor blocks shipment of Yellowstone bison to slaughter

BILLINGS, Mont. — Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer on Tuesday signed an executive order blocking the shipment of hundreds of Yellowstone National Park bison to slaughter.

The Democratic governor told the Associated Press that he was worried the shipments could spread the disease brucellosis, now largely confined to Yellowstone's wildlife, to Montana livestock.

Park officials had planned to slaughter potentially hundreds of bison testing positive for exposure to the disease, which causes pregnant animals to prematurely abort their young.

The shipments initially had state backing. And Montana has participated in past slaughters, including one three years ago in which more than 1,400 bison passed through Montana to slaughter.

But Schweitzer said he wants to send a message to federal officials that a new approach is needed to control a bison population that spills out of the park and into Montana every few years.

In the interim, he suggested the park bring in loads of hay to feed 525 bison captured so far this winter after they migrated out of the snow-packed park to lower elevations in search of food.

Less than a year after his reprieve, Vermont legislators reconsider their stance on Pete the Moose

MONTPELIER, Vt. — Pete the Moose's pardon may be short-lived after all, now that state lawmakers are being urged to reconsider it. Or he may just have to find a new home.

The 700-pound moose became a cause celebre last year after Vermont wildlife officials said he may have to be euthanized to avoid the spread of disease from a northern Vermont game preserve where he lives.

In an eleventh-hour compromise by the Vermont Legislature, Big Rack Ridge owner Doug Nelson was allowed in May to keep the deer, moose and elk on his fenced-in 700-acre captive-hunting facility by a measure that designed them a "special purpose herd" and gave him ownership of the animals.

The turnabout came after the moose's plight inspired a "Save Pete the Moose" website, a Facebook page with thousands of fans, some 10,000 YouTube views and a Statehouse rally.

Now, lawmakers are poised to repeal the earlier measure, under pressure from hunters and wildlife officials who say giving Nelson ownership was a dangerous precedent that violates the idea that wild animals are part of a public trust and can't be owned by an individual.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service delays protections for Pacific walrus

Pacific walruses need additional protection from the threat of climate warming but cannot be added to the threatened or endangered list because other species are a higher priority, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Tuesday.

Walrus will be added to the "warranted but precluded" list, said agency spokesman Bruce Woods, a designation under the Endangered Species Act that allows delays in listing if the agency is making progress listing other species and does not have resources to make a decision on others.

"The threats to the walrus are very real, as evidenced by this 'warranted' finding," said Geoff Haskett, the service's Alaska region director, in a statement. "But its greater population numbers and ability to adapt to land-based haul-outs make its immediate situation less dire than those facing other species such as the polar bear."

He said cooperation with Alaska Native groups, the state and other partners could lessen the long-term effect of climate change for the walrus and help it avoid an endangered listing.

The decision was condemned by the Center for Biological Diversity, which in 2008 petitioned to list walruses as threatened or endangered, citing threats to walruses' sea ice habitat. Center spokeswoman Shaye Wolf said the warranted but precluded designation is a black hole for imperiled species. Some have been so designated for more than 20 years.

Federal agency proposes voluntary guidelines for wind power developers to avoid bird deaths

The Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing voluntary guidelines for onshore wind energy developers to avoid bird deaths and other harm to wildlife as part of the Obama administration's big push for renewable and clean energy.

Bird advocates who had lobbied for mandatory standards warned that the new guidelines would do nothing to stem bird deaths as wind power builds up across the country.

"We have a responsibility to ensure that solar, wind and geothermal projects are built in the right way and in the right places so they protect our natural and cultural resources and balance the needs of our wildlife," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a statement Tuesday. President Obama has called for the nation to get 80% of its electricity from clean energy sources by 2035, and renewable sources are expected to play a key role in that effort.

The department is seeking public comment for its proposed guidelines, which are slated to be released later Tuesday, ahead of a two-day renewable energy conference in Washington. The agency is also proposing new voluntary guidance aimed at preventing deaths of bald and golden eagles.

Officials halt plan to slaughter brucellosis-afflicted Yellowstone bison after activists file court challenge

BILLINGS, Mont. — Federal officials halted plans Friday to ship bison to slaughter from Yellowstone National Park after saying they first had to review a court challenge filed by wildlife advocates.

Almost 400 of the animals were being held in corrals inside the park for testing to see whether they have been exposed to the disease brucellosis.

Officials had planned to begin this week sending to slaughter those bison that test positive.

But environmental and American Indian groups are seeking a restraining order from a federal judge in Helena to block the shipments. No shipments are expected while the legal challenge is reviewed by the Park Service, Yellowstone spokesman Al Nash said.

Brucellosis can cause wildlife and livestock to prematurely abort their young. About half the park's bison carry the disease, although no bison-to-cattle transmissions have been recorded.

"Our plan at the moment is to continue testing and sorting these animals. We'll see what next week brings," Nash said.

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

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.

Scientists track rare western Pacific gray whale's migratory path to the Gulf of Alaska

ANCHORAGE -- A highly endangered whale that spends summers in Russian waters has crossed from the Bering Sea into the Gulf of Alaska.

American and Russian researchers have tracked the 13-year-old male western Pacific gray whale, dubbed "Flex," from Russia across the Bering Sea, through the Aleutian Islands into the Gulf of Alaska about 400 miles south of the Alaskan fishing community of Cordova.

Bruce Mate, head of Oregon State University's Marine Mammal Institute, called the whale's location "pretty darn amazing." No one has documented winter habits of western gray whales, he said. Others of the species may spend winters elsewhere, but a route over deep water in the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska is "something of a paradigm shift" given that eastern gray whales are considered near-shore animals.

"Flex is writing a new chapter for western gray whales, but there may be several chapters to be written yet," he said.