No. 1283, February 6, 2025

Settlement Spurs Deadline for Hippo Decision

Following a petition and lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity and allies, a court just approved a legal agreement requiring the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to decide whether hippos deserve Endangered Species Act protection in 2028. That’s a few years away, but it’s a legally binding deadline — great news for these fascinating, four-toed ungulates.

Wild hippos are in a precarious position due to habitat loss and degradation, drought, poaching, and the international trade of hippo parts — driven mostly by U.S. demand. Protection under the Act would help guard them against U.S.-fueled exploitation, which kills thousands of hippos every decade.

“I’m relieved these animals will finally get a decision on safeguards,” said the Center’s Tanya Sanerib. “Still, overall things are moving too slowly to protect imperiled wildlife.”

That includes another charming African species threatened by wildlife trade: giraffes. Take action to speed up their final protection.

Interior Order Undermines Wildlife Protections

New Interior Secretary Doug Burgum just ordered numerous actions to carry out President Trump’s executive order on energy — actions that would dramatically weaken protections for endangered species, public lands, and the climate.

Among many other things, his order calls for nixing three crucial Endangered Species Act rules: one on listing and habitat protection, one requiring federal agency consultation to avoid jeopardizing listed species, and one extending the same protections to species with “threatened” status as those with “endangered” status. The order would also revoke a rule protecting migratory birds from unintentional killing — like hawks and owls who get electrocuted by utility lines or pelicans and other seabirds hit by oil spills.

Of course this order is just a small part of Trump's anti-nature agenda — which the Center is already fighting in court.

Please help with a gift to our Future for the Wild Fund.

Move the Goalposts for Monarch Butterflies

Right now most of the world’s monarch butterflies are wintering in Mexican forests after their epic yearly migration south. Their numbers are devastatingly low.

Meanwhile U.S. football fans are gearing up to gobble guacamole on Super Bowl Sunday, the biggest day for U.S. avocado consumption. And the avocado industry is gobbling, too — scarfing up vast swaths of forest in Mexico, including prime monarch habitat — while stealing water and bringing land grabs, pollution, and violence to Indigenous and local communities.

The new Pro-Forest Avocado certification program could help end the destruction, but only if retailers commit to buying certified avocados.

Don’t sit on the sidelines — team up with almost 30,000 people who’ve already taken action.

Be a Hero for Hellbenders — Like Paisley

The political chaos of the past few weeks may be making you want to live like a hellbender: under a rock. But here at the Center we’re heartened for the long fight ahead by the voices of our supporters — including an 11th-grade North Carolinian named Paisley.

After reading a news article about hellbenders’ proposed federal protection, she contacted biologist Tierra Curry for help with a research paper. She shared her salamander essay with us, and we want to share it with you.

Every voice for the wild is important. Join Paisley and more than 15,000 other Center supporters in speaking up for hellbender protection before the comment deadline.

Wildfire, Animals, and the Urban Interface

Climate change isn’t the only force feeding larger and more destructive wildfires, as the Center’s Tiffany Yap discussed with a reporter at Sentient Media. And the same things that make those fires so deadly to people — including urban sprawl — can make them deadly for wildlife, too.

Some ecosystems and animals are fire adapted, but in the wildland-urban interface — where sensitive species like mountain lions and tidewater gobies live in highly fragmented habitats — we’re seeing fires go beyond the limits of wildlife’s resilience. In Southern California, said Tiffany, developing in already fire-prone chaparral areas increases ignition risk. “Fires are being caused by power lines, electrical equipment, arson, fireworks, car sparks — and so these chaparral areas are burning more regularly than they used to.”

Revelator: Trump vs. the Amazon

One of Trump’s first actions upon taking power was to freeze almost all foreign aid. As journalist Vinicius Pereira reports in The Revelator, that could threaten Brazil’s efforts to fight deforestation and poverty.

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That’s Wild: This Giant Isopod Has a Helmet Head

A new study just described a deep-sea crustacean that can grow up to a foot long and has 14 legs: Bathynomus vaderi. The species was named after Darth Vader due to its head shape, reminiscent of the archvillain’s iconic helmet.

But these “sea bugs” are increasingly eaten as a delicacy in Vietnam, and scientists are already worried about what overfishing could do to them. Like many creatures of the deep, they’re slow growing and produce only a few eggs at a time.

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Photo credits: Hippo by Bernard DuPont/Wikimedia Commons; great-horned owl by Nigel/Wikimedia Commons; monarch graphic courtesy Center for Biological Diversity; hellbender by Brian Gratwicke/Flickr; California mountain lion cub courtesy NPS; Brazil deforestation courtesy Oregon State University; Bathynomus vaderi illustration by Izzi Stein/Center for Biological Diversity.

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