Endangered tortoise found burned to death

AP
An endangered tortoise has been found burned to death in a fire grate at Black Rock campground in the Yucca Valley area.
Joe Zarki, information officer for Joshua Tree National Park, says rangers are seeking information from anyone who knows anything related to the dead desert tortoise found Aug. 4. He estimates the tortoise was 45 [...]

Seabirds caught in fishing nets face extinction

SABCNEWS.COM
Thousands of seabirds perish each year along South Africa’s vast coastline. Most of the deaths can be attributed to being caught in fishing nets, lines and hooks. The Albatross and Petrel species now face extinction but moves are afoot to remedy the situation.
Seabirds play an intrinsic role in marine ecosystems and global concern over dwindling [...]

Australian frogs are facing extinction

JESSICA LAWRENCE – NEWS.COM.AU
AUSTRALIAN frogs are facing the biggest wildlife extinction threat since the disappearance of dinosaurs, with 14 of the most endangered species in Queensland.
The warning comes from amphibian expert Natalie Hill, of Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, and University of Queensland frog expert Professor Gordon Grigg.
Ms Hill said Queensland frogs in most danger were stream-dwellers [...]

Disease outbreak on Midway kills endangered ducks

ASSOCIATED PRESS – HAWAII NEWS
HONOLULU (AP) _ The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says 134 endangered Laysan ducks have been killed by an outbreak of avian botulism on Midway Atoll.
Botulism is an acute paralytic disease caused by a toxin produced by a widespread bacterium.
It’s different from a botulism type that normally occurs in humans. It’s [...]

Climate change hastens extinction in Madagascar’s reptiles and amphibians

KRISTIN PHILLIPS
New research from the American Museum of Natural History provides the first detailed study showing that global warming forces species to move up tropical mountains as their habitats shift upward. Christopher Raxworthy, Associate Curator in the Department of Herpetology, predicts that at least three species of amphibians and reptiles found in Madagascar’s mountainous north [...]

NOAA Confirms Caribbean Monk Seal Extinct

(USA) NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION
After a five year review, NOAA’s Fisheries Service has determined that the Caribbean monk seal, which has not been seen for more than 50 years, has gone extinct—the first type of seal to go extinct from human causes.
Monk seals became easy targets for hunters while resting, [...]

Indonesia finds huge haul of endangered pangolins

REUTERS -ABC NEWS
Indonesian police have found 14 tonnes of frozen pangolins in the largest ever seizure of the endangered animals, the Wildlife Conservation Society and TRAFFIC said in a statement on Tuesday (local time).
Indonesian Police Commissioner Didid Widjanardi said 14 people were arrested after a raid in Sumatra, where the animals were found stored in [...]

Brown Tree Snake Could Mean Guam Will Lose More than Its Birds

PRESS RELEASE
In the last 60 years, brown tree snakes have become the embodiment of the bad things that can happen when invasive species are introduced in places where they have few predators. Unchecked for many years, the snakes caused the extinction of nearly every native bird species on the Pacific island of Guam.
A variety of [...]

Brazil launches international fund to preserve Amazon

AFP
Brazil on Friday created an international fund to fight deforestation of the Amazon and is accepting contributions to help preserve the world’s largest rainforest.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed a decree here creating the Amazon Fund, designed to receive up to 21 billion dollars in contributions over the next 13 years.
Donations will be [...]

‘Roos ‘on the brink of extinction’

NEWS.COM.AU
FOUR wildlife groups are calling for a moratorium on the killing of kangaroos, claiming they are on the brink of extinction in three states.
The Australian Society for Kangaroos, the Wildlife Protection Association of Australia, the Kangaroo Protection Coalition and Kangaroo Defenders are calling for a moratorium on the commercial and non-commercial slaughter of the iconic [...]