No. 1180, Feb. 16, 2023

Lawsuit Launched to Protect Hippos

This Wednesday, on World Hippo Day, the Center for Biological Diversity and allies warned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service we’ll sue over its lack of response to our petition to protect Africa’s hippopotamuses under the Endangered Species Act.

Hippos need help. Despite population declines, between 2009 and 2018 the United States was the top hippo-part importer — bringing in 9,000 teeth, 5,700 skin pieces, and 1,700 carvings. Federal protection would ban that commercial trade and provide awareness and funding to curb other hippo threats, like habitat loss and degradation, drought, and poaching.

“Most people don’t know the U.S. market fuels hippo loss through demand for their ivory, skins or trophies for home decor,” said Tanya Sanerib, legal director at the Center’s International program. “U.S. protection could really help ensure they’re around for future generations to enjoy.”

Wood Storks: A New Endangered Species Act Success

Thanks to the Endangered Species Act, today there are more than 11,000 nesting pairs of wood storks across the southeastern United States. Before winning protection in 1984, they’d declined by more than 75% because of development that destroyed the wetlands where they lived.

In recognition of their comeback, this week the Fish and Wildlife Service announced a plan to declare these 3-foot-tall wading birds officially recovered.

“There’s no better way to celebrate the Endangered Species Act’s 50th anniversary than with the recovery of these magnificent birds,” said Center’s Stephanie Kurose.

We’re celebrating all year long. Check out actions you can take to defend this landmark law and use it to help imperiled species.

Leopards One Step Closer to Better Protection

In response to a petition and lawsuit by the Center and allies, the Fish and Wildlife Service has finally agreed to a deadline for deciding on increased Endangered Species Act protection for African leopards.

The leopards are likely declining due to habitat loss and fragmentation, wildlife trade, poorly managed trophy hunting, and more. Better protection would boost funding to help wild populations and make it harder to bring leopard trophies into the United States, the top importer.

Help us fight for leopards with a gift to our Saving Life on Earth Fund.

Interview With the Wolf: Talking to Amaroq Weiss

Biologist, lawyer and now Center staffer Amaroq Weiss — whose first name refers to a solitary, mythic wolf — is dedicating her life to returning wolves to the wild in the U.S. West.

As she says in a new interview, caring for wolves is caring for all creatures, from black-footed ferrets to sea otters to American burying beetles. Read about Amaroq’s journey from entomologist to public defender of indigent clients to passionate wolf advocate — along with the sagas of the individual wolves she’s watching.

Take Action for World Pangolin Day

Pangolins are unique, armored and adorable. Their sticky tongues can be as long as their whole bodies. And they’re the only mammals with scales, which help ward off predators. Sadly those scales are a hot commodity in the international wildlife trade, so we’re fighting to halt trade abroad and protect pangolins under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

This Saturday is #WorldPangolinDay. Celebrate now by taking action to protect these charismatic cuties — and countless other species — from wildlife trade.

When ‘Superbloom’ Selfies Go Wrong

Botanist Naomi Fraga — who won the Center’s 2021 E.O. Wilson award for her inspiring work to help save Tiehm’s buckwheat — has a new op-ed in the Los Angeles Times.

Southern California’s springtime “superblooms” are wondrous to behold, she writes, but flower tourism can inflict real damage on the countryside. Can we admire the beauty of these glamorous floral vistas without trampling them into oblivion, as happened in the so-called poppy apocalypse of 2019?

We can, says Fraga, and it’s not even that hard: Stay on the trails, don’t traipse into the fields themselves, and don’t pick the flowers. That way they'll be back next year.

Protection Punted for Joshua Trees — Again

The Center and local allies have been fighting to get western Joshua trees — those disappearing desert icons threatened by climate change — protected under California’s Endangered Species Act. And while a proposed bill would bring needed help, last week the state once again voted to delay a decision on permanently protecting the trees.

We’re pleased that legislation to protect the species has been proposed, but western Joshua trees also need to be listed as threatened. Luckily, thanks to our work, they have interim safeguards.

Revelator: Weather Whiplash and Climate Change

What killed thousands of migratory birds in 2020? New research points to the climate emergency and weather whiplash — the rapid change between extreme conditions. Researchers warn that more migratory species will face this threat in a quickly warming world.

Can we help species adapt to the evolving threat of compound climate extremes?

Learn more in The Revelator, and if you haven’t yet, sign up for the free e-newsletter bringing you each week’s best environmental articles and essays.

That’s Wild: Beating the Heat, Echidna Style

It may be winter in the northern hemisphere, but Australian wildlife are in the heat of summer. And with average temperatures climbing across the globe, researchers have been looking closer at how species survive extreme heat.

Echidnas are particularly good at it — and a new report shows one reason why.

Until now it’s been a mystery how these prehistoric egg-laying mammals survive summer temperatures topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The report’s authors filmed them with a heat-vision camera, revealing that echidnas blow mucus bubbles from their noses to draw heat from their sinuses and cool their blood. 

Who knew snot could save lives?

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Photo credits: Hippo by Brett Hartl/Center for Biological Diversity; wood storks courtesy USFWS; leopard by Tierra Curry/Center for Biological Diversity; Amaroq Weiss with husky courtesy Weiss; pangolins (clockwise from top left) by Darren Bradley, Brett Hartl, and David Brossard; wildflower superbloom by Rob Bertholf/Flickr; Joshua tree by Jessie Eastman/Wikimedia; song sparrow by Alyenaa Buckles/Flickr; short-beaked echidna by Nuytsia@Tas/Flickr.

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