The Wildlife Blog
First Federal Prosecution in Florida for Striking & Killing Manatee with Boat
Boats speeding through manatee zone are a not uncommon occurrence. Unfortunately, it’s also a major threat to endangered manatees, as noted on my “The WildLife” radio show on December 6, 2010 when Craig Pittman, author of MANATEE INSANITY, talked about threats to these gangly creatures. These gentle giants of tropical waters have a number of things going against…
Read MoreFirst Elephant Underpass to Address Habitat Fragmentation
Wildlife all over the world is under increasing pressure from human development. The result is fragmentation of habitat that makes it harder for wildlife to survive. One solution is to encourage connectivity by protecting corridors or building them. Where roads and railways are a problem, highway wildlife crossings — as underpasses or overpasses — are…
Read MoreThe WildLife: Simple Things to Help Wildlife, Mark Fraser
Naturalist Mark Fraser discusses some of the simple things you can do to help wildlife–from less mowing to avoiding pesticides. Plus, he takes “The WildLife” host Laurel Neme on a “virtual tour” of New England forests to meet local wildlife. He reveals the special characteristics of fishers, coywolves, salamanders, songbirds and more so that you’ll gain a new appreciation…
Read MoreWildlife Forensics Helps Evaluate Death of Vietnam’s Last Javan Rhino
Wildlife forensic analysis proves the Vietnamese Javan rhino discovered last April in Cat Tien National Park was shot a few months before it died. The Javan rhino is extremely rare. There are just an estimated 60 left in the world and are found only in two small protected areas in Viet Nam and Indonesia.…
Read MoreOperation Flying Turtle: Two Indicted for Turtle Smuggling into the US
Two men from Osaka, Japan who were arrested earlier this month at LAX airport for smuggling live turtles into the United States, were just indicted by a grand jury in Los Angeles. The arrests were tied to an undercover investigation–code named Operation Flying Turtle–that began about a year ago. As part of that, in…
Read MoreBid for the Barn – bid on signed copy of Animal Investigators
This is why I love living in Vermont. We all enjoy eating local produce and were devastated after hearing of the tragedy that struck one of our favorite producers — Pete’s Greens. On Wednesday morning, Pete’s barn burned down to the ground. It was a complete loss. Localvores throughout the state wanted to do something…
Read MoreThe WildLife: Elephant Trauma & Psychology, Gay Bradshaw
Gay Bradshaw, author of Elephants on the Edge: What Animals Teach Us about Humanity, discusses the psychological health of abused and traumatized elephants and what can be done to help them. She tells “The WildLife” host Laurel Neme that elephants are traumatized by a number of events – including mass slaughter due to culling (which she compares to…
Read MoreFirst Rehabilitated Orangutan Releases Coming in May
To follow on to some of my recent stories on orangutans and the Nyaru Menteng rehabilitation center — good news! After a decade of teaching orphaned orangutans how to be wild, the center just received official permission so that they can now proceed with their release back into the wild. A big victory for…
Read MoreWildlife Inspectors on the Front Lines
FWS Wildlife Inspectors are the unsung heroes in the fight against wildlife trafficking. You can check out more about their work in my book Animal Investigators, or a piece I helped put together for Nightline, or a recent Washington Post article.
Read MoreNational Wildlife Health Center Investigates Mass Bird Deaths
Exams at the National Wildlife Health Center showed the mass die-offs in Arkansas were a result of impact trauma. No blunt force object but rather collisions. They found no evidence of poisonings or pesticides. Scientists are thinking the culprit was commercial-grade fireworks that went off. The Louisiana bird die-offs are still being investigated, but initial information…
Read MoreNew Year’s Resolutions to Make a Difference for Wildlife
What are your New Year’s resolutions for actions to help wild animals? I’m consistently struck by how powerful we, as consumers, can be — and consequently how important it is to educate ourselves about where the products we buy come from. For example, most of us don’t realize that 50% of the products on our…
Read More