Biodiversity

"Argentine tegus are breeding in multiple states after escape or release from captivity; biologists are concerned since they're voracious omnivores."

"Down to its final weeks, the Trump administration is working to push through dozens of environmental rollbacks that could weaken century-old protections for migratory birds, expand Arctic drilling and hamstring future regulation of public health threats."

"Are the wolves of Yellowstone National Park the first line of defense against a terrible disease that preys on herds of wildlife?" "Some scientists say that the predators are essential to curbing the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease because they pick off weak deer."

"More than 15,000 mink in the United States have died of the coronavirus since August, and authorities are keeping about a dozen farms under quarantine while they investigate the cases, state agriculture officials said."

"After four years of President Donald Trump’s famously pet-free tenure, Joe Biden winning the 2020 presidential election means that the patter of furred feet will likely be heard inside the White House once more."

"A recent announcement that the nonprofit that owns nine-tenths of Santa Catalina Island plans to boost eco-tourism by adding bison to existing herds has recharged a debate over the environmental impacts of the shaggy, imported beasts."

"In Colorado, a historic ballot measure to force the state to reintroduce gray wolves has passed by the slimmest of margins."

"The world’s largest mink producer, Denmark, says it plans to cull more than 15 million of the animals, due to fears that a Covid-19 mutation moving from mink to humans could jeopardise future vaccines."

"Whale carcasses — known as "whale falls" — become an energy-rich habitat, drawing a wide variety of organisms from across the deep sea to feast. Whale falls become ecosystems unto themselves."