endangered species

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Judge OKs Lithium Mine in Backyard of Rare Wildflower

Nevada mine clears major hurdle despite conservationists' worries for Tiehm's buckwheat

(Newser) - A federal judge in Nevada has ruled against conservationists who wanted to stop a lithium-boron mine they said would harm an endangered wildflower. The ruling marks a major legal victory for the 11-square-mile Rhyolite Ridge Lithium/Boron Mine Project in Esmeralda County, located between Reno and Las Vegas, reports the AP...

New Zealand's Weird Flightless Parrot Is in Mood for Romance

A bumper berry harvest has the endangered kakapo feeling a little frisky

(Newser) - The world's only flightless parrot species was once thought to be doomed by design. The kakapo is too heavy, too slow and, frankly, too delicious to survive around predators, and takes a shamelessly relaxed approach to reproduction. But the AP reports that the nocturnal and reclusive New Zealand native...

Feds Pull Protections for Rare Prairie Chicken

Environmentalists say Trump administration may have doomed dancing bird

(Newser) - A ground-dwelling bird known for elaborate mating dances on the southern Great Plains will no longer be federally protected after the Trump administration agreed with arguments by three states and the beef and petroleum industries that the species was listed improperly. Thursday's delisting by the US Fish and Wildlife...

The World Should Be Watching China's River Conservation

Endangered species rebound, biomass doubles under Yangtze fishing ban

(Newser) - China's longest river, once a symbol of environmental decline, is starting to bounce back after the government did something drastic: it stopped most fishing. A 10-year fishing ban across the Yangtze, imposed in 2021 after decades of piecemeal restrictions, has led to a sharp increase in fish populations and...

Researchers 'in Shock' at Bird Spotted Off California Coast

Waved albatross is usually hanging out in the Galapagos, not the Golden State

(Newser) - Scientists on a research vessel off the Central California coast spotted a waved albatross, marking just the second recorded sighting of the bird north of Central America. The yellow-billed bird with black button eyes, which can have an 8-foot wingspan and spends much of its life flying over the ocean,...

A Rare Whale Is Having a Moment, but It May Not Suffice

North Atlantic right whale's population is inching up, but more young are needed to fend off extinction

(Newser) - One of the world's rarest whale species is having more babies this year than in some recent seasons, but experts say many more young are needed to help stave off the possibility of extinction. The North Atlantic right whale's population numbers an estimated 384 animals and is slowly...

'Disheartening' News for Mediterranean's Great Whites

Species there is inching closer to extinction, thanks to illegal North African shark trade

(Newser) - Great white sharks have become so scarce in the Mediterranean that researchers now warn the regional population is edging toward extinction, with illegal fishing playing a central role. A team led by Virginia Tech scientist Francesco Ferretti, working with UK-based charity Blue Marine Foundation, reports that at least 40 great...

Trump May Let SpaceX Expand Into Wildlife Refuge

Critics warn Texas land swap could harm endangered species and a Civil War battlefield

(Newser) - The Trump administration is weighing a land swap that would hand SpaceX a sizable chunk of protected Texas coastline in the name of expansion and innovation. According to internal documents reviewed by the New York Times , federal officials are considering transferring 775 acres from the Lower Rio Grande Valley National...

World's Rarest Ape Lives Near a Gold Mine. That's a Problem

Conservationists say expansion work puts critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan at risk

(Newser) - A little-known ape could be the collateral damage of a very well-known metal. In northern Sumatra's Batang Toru rainforest, new access roads are being laid toward the Tor Ulu Ala pit, a part of Indonesia's Martabe gold mine. Conservation group Mighty Earth says one road has already come...

Sardines Vanished, and 60K Penguins Starved to Death

Sardine numbers plummet off Africa, with a devastating ripple effect on continent's only penguin species

(Newser) - Efforts are intensifying to save Africa's only penguin species after a new study documented the starvation deaths of more than 60,000 birds due to a sharp drop in sardine numbers. Researchers found that more than 95% of the African penguins in two key breeding colonies on the Dassen...

Arizona Has a Spotty New Visitor
Arizona Has a
Spotty New Visitor
Dec 5, 2025 8:53 AM CST

Arizona Has a Spotty New Visitor

New jaguar points to progress in the endangered species' recovery

(Newser) - The spots gave it away. Just like a human fingerprint, the rosette pattern on each jaguar is unique so researchers knew they had a new animal on their hands after reviewing images captured by a remote camera in southern Arizona. The University of Arizona Wild Cat Research and Conservation Center...

Fire Scorches 1K Joshua Trees in 'Avoidable Tragedy'

Blaze burned for 8 days during shutdown

(Newser) - During the recent federal government shutdown, a fire in Joshua Tree National Park scorched more than a thousand of the park's iconic trees, raising concerns about their future as climate change and park staffing shortages take their toll. The 72-acre blaze, which started when a visitor set toilet paper...

Trump Moves to Roll Back Endangered Species Act

Blanket protections for threatened species would end under the proposal

(Newser) - The Trump administration on Wednesday unveiled a plan to scale back the Endangered Species Act with four proposed rule changes, including one that would make it harder to list species due to threats like climate change. The proposed rules , announced by the Interior Department, are part of a broader push...

A Few Problematic Wolves Emerge in California

Officials had to euthanize 4 wolves after 'unprecedented level' of livestock deaths

(Newser) - Gray wolves have died at the hands of California officials for the first time in more than a century. Wildlife officials in October euthanized members of one of the state's 10 wolf packs after a surge in livestock attacks—a move that highlights the ongoing tension between wolf recovery...

One of World's Rarest Whales Gets a Bit of Good News

The North Atlantic right whale population is growing

(Newser) - One of the rarest whales on the planet has continued an encouraging trend of population growth in the wake of new efforts to protect the giant animals, according to scientists who study them. The North Atlantic right whale now numbers an estimated 384 animals, up eight whales from the previous...

Back From the Brink: Green Turtles Leave the Endangered List

'A powerful example of what coordinated global conservation over decades can achieve'

(Newser) - It's a big victory for green sea turtles after decades of conservation work: They're no longer considered endangered, reports the BBC . The shift is noted in the updated "Red List" of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Once heavily hunted for their meat, eggs,...

Latest Victim of Avian Flu: An Endangered Whooping Crane

Wisconsin wildlife refuge confirms 'Ducky,' who was set to be released, has died of a strain of the flu

(Newser) - Ducky is dead. The International Crane Foundation announced Monday that Ducky, an endangered female whooping crane the foundation planned to release into the wilds of Wisconsin this fall, died on Thursday after becoming infected with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, a strain of avian flu. Foundation officials said in a news...

A Troubling Stat Marks World Rhino Day

South Africa sees progress but still loses a rhino daily to poachers

(Newser) - The Dinokeng Game Reserve in South Africa has a thriving rhino population, but their exact numbers and the details of the security operation that keeps them safe from poaching are closely guarded secrets. They are protocols that reserves with rhinos follow to safeguard against poachers who still kill on average...

In Big First, Koalas Are Getting an STD Vaccine

Australia has OK'd a vaccine for chlamydia for the marsupial creatures to fight infertility, death

(Newser) - A regulator has approved a world-first vaccine to protect koalas from chlamydia, which is causing infertility and death in the iconic native species listed as endangered in parts of Australia. The single-dose vaccine was developed by Queensland's University of the Sunshine Coast after more than a decade of research...

Scientists Now Testing Bird Flu Vaccine for Seals

Researchers move quickly in hope of shielding endangered monk seals

(Newser) - Hawaii's endangered monk seals could receive new protection from the bird flu if all goes well with a vaccine trial. Veterinarians in California have started a small-scale trial to test a bird flu vaccine on marine mammals, focusing first on six northern elephant seals at the Marine Mammal...

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