CDP: Wildlife Clips: September 9, 2022
California says the beaver can be superhero in fighting climate change. According to the Los Angeles Times, “As California grapples with drought, a record heat wave and persistent wildfires, one state agency is turning to the beaver in its battle against climate change. The large rodents, according to researchers, are resourceful engineers capable of increasing water storage and creating natural firebreaks with their dams. On Tuesday, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife posted its first job listing for its new beaver restoration unit. The senior environmental scientist will help develop methods for “nature-based restoration solutions involving beavers” and artificial beaver dams.” [Los Angeles Times, 9/8/22 (=)]
US lobster put on ‘red list’ to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales. According to the Guardian, “Lobster nets and pots have become such a threat to the survival of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales that the crustaceans have been “red-listed” as seafood to avoid by a major fish sustainability guide. Fewer than 340 of these whales exist today, including only 80 breeding females. The population is estimated to have dwindled by 28% over the past decade. Seafood Watch, a sustainability guide for consumers and businesses issued by Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, has downgraded Atlantic lobster caught by pot and gillnet fisheries in the whales’ range to “avoid”, its lowest rating.” [The Guardian, 9/8/22 (=)]
Farewell, octopus; hello, lionfish: Lebanon’s warming seas change fishing. According to the Washington Post, “The first time the famous boutique seafood restaurant Jammal bought lionfish from the market, the fishmongers were intrigued. What were Mickey Jammal’s people doing buying this strange, undesirable newcomer to the coastal waters? Lionfish is not native to Lebanon, but as the Mediterranean’s waters warm, nonnative organisms are outcompeting native fish for limited resources and, in some cases, eviscerating the local marine population. Fishermen, restaurant owners, divers and scientists in Lebanon know there is no fighting this phenomenon. Climate change is here, they say, pointing to the invasion of species like lionfish and pufferfish, and the disappearance of local favorites like sea urchins and octopuses. All they can do is adapt to the changing marine reality, slowly introducing foreign fish to the local diet and finding uses for the nonedible ones.” [Washington Post, 9/8/22 (=)]
AP| Record 8 fledged chicks for Louisiana’s wild ‘whoopers’. According to AP, “A record eight whooping crane chicks have taken wing in Louisiana after hatching in the wild. It’s not just a record for fledglings of the world’s rarest crane in Louisiana, but for any flock of the endangered birds reintroduced to the wild, the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said Thursday. The previous record was set in 2018, when six wild-hatched birds fledged in the flock that was taught to migrate between Wisconsin and Florida by following ultralight aircraft, department biologist Sara Zimorski said in an email. That same year was Louisiana’s previous record wild fledgling year, at five. The mottled brown-and-white juveniles which survive to adulthood will be white with red caps and black mustaches and wingtips, and about 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall. Their wingspan can reach 7 feet (2.1 meters) across.” [AP, 9/8/22 (=)]
Bird flu forces egg farm to euthanize 3 million chickens. According to Politico, “An outbreak of bird flu that has led to the deaths of 43 million chickens and turkeys this year across the U.S. has been found at a giant egg-laying operation in Ohio, state and federal agriculture officials said Wednesday. The case confirmed over the weekend in Ohio's Defiance County has affected roughly 3 million chickens, according to the Department of Agriculture. The egg-laying farm has started euthanizing all of its flock, said Dennis Summers, the state's veterinarian.” [Politico, 9/8/22 (=)]
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