Wildlife

"A coalition of state wildlife regulators today announced that the population of lesser prairie chickens in the wild has fallen by more than 13 percent since the last annual aerial survey -- a troubling outcome the Obama administration predicted earlier this year."

"Ten years after a federal agent crashed a pow-wow of a Texas tribe and seized their ceremonial eagle feathers, the tribe has won a settlement that lets members keep the feathers – and get court costs paid, too."

"When beavers build dams, they create reservoirs that store water and replenish groundwater supplies."

"After years of intense — and often controversial — restoration efforts, biologists are finally reporting some good news for the beleaguered California condor: More chicks are surviving in the wild, and the birds are becoming increasingly independent and expanding their range."

"All chimpanzees will be designated as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service announced Friday."

Humans have been influencing landscapes and ecosystems on a global scale for far longer than people usually think, archeologists said in a newly published study.

"'More than one quarter of the world’s elephant population has been killed in a decade,' according to the International Police, INTERPOL, and the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, in a new report that emphasizes the financial machinations behind environmental crimes such as poaching."

"A federal judge in Washington, D.C. has halted programs to reduce the number of cormorants in the Great Lakes region. The federal government and tribes in Michigan kill the birds to protect yellow perch, walleye and other fish. But the judge said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service overstepped its bounds when it authorized killing cormorants in more than 20 states."

"One of the most popular herbicides in U.S. agriculture can be dangerous to animals and fish and leaves behind worrisome residue levels, the Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday in a draft report that sparked outrage among farmers."

Despite the good reasons for animal exhibits in zoos, it may be time for a fresh look at zoos.