Conservation News ~ July 22 2019

• Germany’s wolves are on the rise thanks to a surprising ally – the military:https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/02/germany-s-wolves-are-rise-thanks-surprising-ally-military
• Zero improvements from 100,000 Red List assessments:https://news.mongabay.com/2019/07/from-over-100000-species-assessments-in-iucn-update-zero-improvements/
• NASA’s idea for making food from thin air just became a reality – it could feed billions:https://bigthink.com/technology-innovation/protein-from-air
•  New species of tiny sharks squirts glowing clouds from pockets:https://www.al.com/news/2019/07/new-species-found-in-gulf-pocket-sized-shark-squirts-glowing-clouds.html
• Endangered sea turtles are laying eggs at record pace along Georgia Coast:https://www.good.is/articles/endangered-sea-turtles-laying-eggs
• Endangered Orangutan born at Louisiana Zoo:https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2019/07/19/new-orleans-louisiana-audubon-zoo-has-birth-endangered-orangutan/1777041001/
• World’s most invasive mosquito nearly eradicated from two islands in China:https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02160-z
• Thousands of universities join wave of climate emergency declarations:https://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news-analysis/3078705/thousands-of-universities-across-six-continents-declare-climate-emergency
• Lake discovered 11,000ft high in the Alps:https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/climate-change-french-alps-lake-snow-melting-global-warming-mount-blanc-a9006916.html
• UO team says Oregon fossil came from a bear-sized meat-eater:https://around.uoregon.edu/content/uo-team-says-oregon-fossil-came-bear-sized-meat-eater
• Dozens of dead whales found beached in Iceland:https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49048652
• June 2019 was the hottest on record:https://www.noaa.gov/news/june-2019-was-hottest-on-record-for-globe
• Congo government opens National Park to oil exploration:https://news.mongabay.com/2019/07/congolese-government-opens-nouabale-ndoki-national-park-to-oil-exploration/
• Adorable new species of flying squirrel discovered in China:https://gizmodo.com/adorable-new-species-of-flying-squirrel-discovered-in-c-1836502598
• New species of tree discovered in Tanzania mountains:https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/07/190716103356.htm
• Plan to restart oil drilling in Carrizo Plain National Monument halted:https://www.kcbx.org/post/plan-restart-oil-drilling-carrizo-plain-national-monument-halted
• New US Bill earmarks $1.4 billion for endangered species:https://www.livekindly.com/bill-billion-endangered-species/
• Top US DOI official violated Federal ethics rules:https://psmag.com/environment/a-top-doi-official-allegedly-violated-federal-ethics-rules-new-foia-documents-shed-light-on-his-apparent-misdeeds
• Orcas eat great white sharks:https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/07/killer-whales-orcas-eat-great-white-sharks/
• US Virgin Islands bans coral-damaging sunscreens:https://news.mongabay.com/2019/07/u-s-virgin-islands-bans-coral-damaging-sunscreens/
• New species of dinosaur discovered at Big Bend National Park: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/07/190715075425.htm
• Farm Bureau recommends taking Gray Wolf off the Endangered Species list:https://www.fb.org/news/farm-bureau-recovered-gray-wolf-should-be-taken-off-endangered-species-list
• SA man whipped and beaten while filming animal abuse on Greek island:https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2019-07-16-sa-man-whipped-and-beaten-while-filming-animal-abuse-on-greek-island/
• Retired teacher found seahorses off Long Beach and created a secret world for them:https://www.latimes.com/science/la-sci-col1-seahorse-pacific-california-20190709-htmlstory.html
• Mac Stone and Carlton Ward Jr. reveal Ghost Orchid pollination: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/07/ghost-orchids-florida-surprising-pollinators-moths/
• Colombia registers first drop in deforestation since 2016 peace deal:https://news.mongabay.com/2019/07/colombia-registers-first-drop-in-deforestation-since-2016-farc-peace-deal/
• Sturgeon population makes comeback after near extinction:https://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2019/0710/Sturgeon-population-makes-comeback-after-near-extinction
• 1,000th California Condor chick in a decades-long program has hatched:https://www.sltrib.com/news/2019/07/09/th-california-condor/
• New species of duck-billed dinosaurs identified:https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/science/new-species-of-duck-billed-dinosaurs-identified/article28436786.ece
• Jakarta residents sue government over world’s filthiest air quality:https://news.mongabay.com/2019/07/jakarta-residents-sue-government-over-worlds-filthiest-air-quality/
• Sharks attacking sea lions off SoCal coast in greater frequency:https://news.yahoo.com/sharks-attacking-sea-lions-off-224734440.html
• After Hurricane Maria, lizards developed a grip that’s 10 times stronger:https://www.newscientist.com/article/2205933-lizards-grip-became-ten-times-stronger-after-hurricane-maria/
• Minnesota zoo to release 400 endangered Dakota skipper butterflies:https://www.twincities.com/2019/07/06/minnesota-zoo-to-release-400-endangered-dakota-skippers-butterflies/
• White House deleting mentions of Climate Change from US Geological Society:https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/07/trump-officials-deleting-mentions-climate-change-us-geological-survey-press-releases
• Chevron spills 800k gallons of oil and water in Kern County canyon:https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-california-oil-spill-20190712-story.html
• Scientists in Switzerland discover new dinosaur species:https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/12/europe/new-dinosaur-species-switzerland-scn-trnd/index.html
• Masai giraffes declared endangered:https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/07/masai-giraffes-subspecies-declared-endangered/
• Holland covers hundreds of bus stops with plants as gift to honeybees:https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/bus-stop-plants-green-roof-bees-holland-utrecht-a8997581.html
• New species of lizard found in stomach of Cretaceous microraptor:https://phys.org/news/2019-07-species-lizard-stomach-cretaceous-microraptor.html
• New species of purple reef-dwelling fish named after Wakanda:https://www.earth.com/news/new-species-fish-wakanda/
• Air quality at national parks may be as bad as the US largest cities:http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/air-quality-at-national-parks-might-be-as-bad-as-the-us-largest-cities/civil-government
• Dentist accused of killing 1000s of protected jaguars in Brazil:https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/dentist-accused-of-killing-1000s-of-protected-jaguars-in-brazil-1.4500564
• Six new wolf pups born in Mount Hood area of Western Oregon:https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2019/07/11/wolves-mount-hood-western-oregon-white-river-pack-video/1706564001/
• California passes vital legislation  to protect Desert Water:https://www.npca.org/articles/2223-california-passes-vital-legislation-to-protect-desert-water-parks-wildlife
• Science division of White House office left empty as last staffers depart:https://www.cbsnews.com/news/science-division-of-white-house-office-now-empty-as-last-staffers-depart/
• Gray wolves spotted in Colorado counties:https://denver.cbslocal.com/2019/07/09/gray-wolf-colorado/
• New butterfly species with pink back wings discovered in Guanacaste:https://thecostaricanews.com/new-butterfly-species-with-pink-back-wings-discovered-in-guanacaste/
• Vaquita habitat now listed as World Heritage in Danger:https://news.mongabay.com/2019/07/vaquita-habitat-now-listed-as-world-heritage-in-danger/
• Thousands of wild animals seized in smuggling crackdown:https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jul/10/thousdands-wild-animals-seized-smuggling-crackdown-interpol
• Glacial melting in Antarctica may become irreversible:https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/09/glacial-melting-in-antarctica-may-become-irreversible
• Next round of goats to be airlifted into Cascades:https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/next-round-of-goats-to-be-airlifted-into-cascades/962604437
• IKEA buys 17,000 acres of forestland in South Carolina:https://www.postandcourier.com/business/real_estate/ikea-parent-firm-buys-acres-of-forestland-north-of-charleston/article_9580ea22-a1aa-11e9-bf1f-e7be71bab967.html
• DC got a month’s worth of rain in one hour:https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/09/us/dc-rain-weather-wxc-trnd/index.html
• Endangered sea lions devastated by New Zealand’s squid industry:https://www.forbes.com/sites/allenelizabeth/2019/07/07/endangered-sea-lions-devastated-by-new-zealands-squid-industry/
• A massive seaweed bloom now stretches across the Atlantic Ocean:https://e360.yale.edu/digest/a-massive-seaweed-bloom-now-stretches-across-the-atlantic-ocean
• Researchers discover a new species of pipewort from the Western Ghats:https://researchmatters.in/news/researchers-discover-new-species-pipewort-western-ghats-name-it-after-karnataka%E2%80%99s-coast
• Seagull covered in curry tricks rescuers into thinking it’s exotic species:http://www.mygc.com.au/seagull-covered-in-curry-tricks-rescuers-into-thinking-its-an-exotic-species/
• US may dump 1.5 tons of rat poison on Farallon Islands to halt invasive rodents:https://www.foxnews.com/science/farallon-islands-rat-poison-house-mice
• Japan auctions commercial whale meat as ban lifted:https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/world/japan-auctions-commercial-whale-meat-as-ban-lifted/ar-AADRvFq
• Half-tonne birds may have roamed Europe at same time as humans:https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jun/27/half-tonne-birds-roamed-europe-humans
• Healing crystals loved by celebrities are mined by kids and fund terrorism:https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9341508/healing-crystals-celebs-kids-war-terrorism/