Suing to Save Marine Mammals From Overseas Fisheries

The Center for Biological Diversity and allies filed suit against the federal government to stop U.S. imports from eight foreign nations whose fisheries entangle and kill too many marine mammals.

U.S. law requires a ban on seafood imports from countries that fail to apply marine mammal “bycatch” measures that meet U.S. standards. So we're challenging imports from Argentina, Ecuador, India, Norway, Taiwan, Tunisia, the United Kingdom, and Vanuatu.

“As the world’s largest seafood importer, the United States can save the lives of countless whales and dolphins getting caught in fishing gear around the world — but only if it enforces the law,” said the Center’s International Director Sarah Uhlemann.

Be part of our fight for marine mammals with a gift to the Future for the Wild Fund. Do it now and your donation will be doubled.

Good News (and Some Bad) for California Wolves

According to a new state report, California’s wolf population grew by 10% in 2025, while the number of successful breeding pairs declined.

At the end of last year the known population of California wolves was 55 (compared to 50 in 2024). The state reported nine packs — up from seven in 2024 — and multiple lone wolves dispersing. But there were only three breeding pairs who raised at least two pups (down from five in 2024).

So far this year, things are looking up: In April state wildlife officials confirmed three new wolf packs in 2026, bringing the current total to 12 packs.

Watch a video of California wolf pups on Facebook and Instagram.

Help Could Be Coming for Petrels, Newts

In an era of unprecedented federal hostility to wildlife, we saw positive steps this month for two endangered species: black-capped petrels and Crater Lake newts.

The Center reached a legal agreement for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to decide by March 2030 on protecting habitat for the petrels. Also called diablotins or “little devils” for their eerie night calls, these far-traveling seabirds forage from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic. They’re threatened by oil activity and deforestation in the Caribbean.

We also reached an agreement requiring the agency to decide by this October whether critically imperiled Crater Lake newts warrant Endangered Species Act protection. A subspecies of rough-skinned newt, these adorable amphibians are adapted to being at the top of the lake’s aquatic food chain and don’t have defense mechanisms against exotic crayfishes. They’re also threatened by warming waters.

Belugas, a National Park, and a Mine in Alaska

The Center’s Cooper Freeman was interviewed on last week’s National Parks Traveler podcast about the unique beluga whales of Cook Inlet. Cooper told host Lynn Riddick about the belugas' history and the gold mine in Lake Clark National Park that’s being rushed through and could threaten their survival — hurting local brown bears and seabirds along the way.

Listen to the interview (it starts at 2:11).

Lawsuit Seeks Habitat Protection for Rare Mussels

The Center has sued the Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to protect habitat for Texas hornshells, endangered freshwater mussels in Texas and New Mexico. These hornshells like to anchor themselves in tucked-away underwater nooks where currents are slow. The biggest threats to their survival are habitat degradation and loss.

After we petitioned in 2004, the Service finally protected the species in 2018. But it still hasn’t finalized critical habitat — in violation of the Endangered Species Act.

“Texas hornshells are living water filters who help keep Southwest rivers clean and healthy,” said Center attorney Graham Rex. “Without protection for the places they live, they could soon vanish.”

Revelator: How Environmental Cartoons Are Born

Twice a month cartoonist Tom Toro (of New Yorker fame) contributes environmental cartoons to The Revelator’s weekly newsletter, covering topics from climate change to pollution to the extinction crisis.

These cartoons have been so popular that Toro just shared a behind-the-scenes look at how he makes them. Read more and watch videos at The Revelator.

Or you can watch (and share) one on Instagram.

And if you don't already subscribe to The Revelator’s free weekly newsletter, do it now to make sure you never miss an exclusive cartoon.

That's Wild: Dunking Lynxes

It’s highly unusual for carnivores to do much with their food other than eat it. Yet a new study has recorded Iberian lynxes — endangered wildcats from Spain — dunking their prey in water.

All the lynxes were female (and all the prey were rabbits), meaning they may have been mostly mother lynxes softening or hydrating food for their young. Although lynxes tend to be solitary, those in the study lived in territories that overlapped with other lynxes’. So it’s possible they passed around their dunkin’ habits among them.

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Photo credits: Bottlenose dolphin by Caroline Legg/Flickr; Lassen pack wolves courtesy California Department of Fish and Wildlife; Calf Creek Falls by Taylor McKinnon/Center for Biological Diversity; black-capped petrel by Alan Schmierer/USFWS, Crater Lake newt courtesy NPS; beluga whale calf by Paul Wade/NOAA; Texas hornshells by Joel Husk/USFWS; cartoon by Tom Toro; lynx prey-soaking by Rafael Finat (CC BY 4.0).

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