Tag: Fish and Wildlife Service

Meet Elizabeth Ann, the First Cloned Black-Footed Ferret

Her birth represents the first cloning of an endangered species native to North America, and may bring needed genetic diversity to the species. From a report: Last year, Ben Novak drove across the country to spend New Year’s Eve with a black-footed ferret. Elizabeth Ann had just turned 21 days old — surely a milestone for any ferret but a particularly…

Grizzlies Are Coming Back. But Can We Make Room For Them?

As grizzly bears expand their range in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming into places where they haven’t been seen in a century or more, they’re increasingly encountering humans. From a report: Things intensified last summer as trails and campgrounds across the region flooded with inexperienced tourists seeking refuge in the outdoors during the coronavirus pandemic. Grizzly attacks spiked. Bear managers were inundated…

Monarch butterflies are in trouble: Here’s how to help in your own yard

The 2020 annual count of monarch butterflies in the western United States found shockingly few, confirming fears that the insect is on the brink of extinction. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/monarch-butterflies-of-western-us-nearing-extinction-what-you-can-do…

Western Bumblebee Population Drops Up To 93% Over the Last 20 Years

The western bumblebee is one of around 30 bumblebee species in the western U.S. and Canada. Now a federal review “unveils an alarming trend for the western bumblebee population, which has seen its numbers dwindle by as much as 93% in the last two decades,” reports the Associated Press: The find by the U.S. Geological Survey will help inform a species…

Sheriff Warns Angry Locals To Vacate Houses Before SpaceX’s ‘Starhopper’ Test

An anonymous reader quotes Business Insider: A small community of people at the southern tip of Texas just received what some of its residents are calling a “shocking” and “concerning” warning about SpaceX’s upcoming launch attempt of a Mars rocket ship prototype. Residents told Business Insider a county sheriff went door-to-door on Saturday night to hand-deliver printed notices to the community,…