Tell Royal Caribbean: Slow Down to Save Whales

Last month a Royal Caribbean mega-cruise ship arrived at port in Seward, Alaska, with a pregnant fin whale draped dead across its bow. Investigation by NOAA Fisheries revealed that the otherwise healthy whale had sustained blunt force trauma to her jaw, spine, and ribs, consistent with a ship strike. Fin whales are an endangered species.

Analysis by the Center for Biological Diversity showed the cruise ship was likely traveling at speeds high enough to greatly increase the risk of a fatal strike. To keep whales safe, ships should travel no faster than 10 knots in key habitat or when whales are nearby.

This tragic, avoidable incident should be a wake-up call to the cruise industry, which must take immediate steps to stop its ships from hitting more whales.

Tell Royal Caribbean to slow its ships down so no more of these gentle giants are injured or killed.

Suit Seeks Truth on Trump and Glyphosate

Among the 14 Trump executive orders using a law called the Defense Production Act as a pretext for rushing major policy changes through, a February order speeding up domestic production of the pesticide glyphosate is unique: It grants immunity to chemical companies if they take otherwise illegal action in complying with the order.

Glyphosate is driving the decline of monarch butterflies and has been linked to cancer and liver disease in people. So the Center just sued the Agriculture Department seeking records that reveal who advocated for — and potentially ghostwrote — the order.

“The chatbot slop making up most of this executive order shows that virtually anything can reach the president’s desk,” said Brett Hartl, our government affairs director. “The people have a right to know who pushed for it behind the scenes.”

Rare Pine Snakes Released in Louisiana

Louisiana pine snakes are beautiful, black-and-yellow snakes — harmless to people — who spend most of their time underground, burrowing into the holes of animals like pocket gophers. They depend on the same decimated longleaf pine forests as indigo snakes and red-cockaded woodpeckers.

In 2025 the Center's work supported reintroduction of these rare snakes to more sites and their protection under Louisiana law. And back in 2022, a suit from us prompted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to propose more than 200,000 acres of critical habitat.

Meanwhile the New Orleans Audubon Zoo has released 14 captive-bred snakes into the Kisatchie National Forest as part of the effort to conserve them.

Check out a video of them striking out into the wild.

Film Series: When Brave People Take On Fossil Fuels

What happens when ordinary people battle billion-dollar polluters?

This summer and fall the Center, Fossil Free Media, Third Act, the Sierra Club, and other partners are hosting free, monthly online screenings of VS. GOLIATH, a four-part documentary series about the fight between everyday Americans and the fossil fuel companies polluting their communities.

The first episode of the series, “Cancer Alley,” livestreams Tuesday, July 7. It follows Sharon Lavigne, 70, who’s lived in St. James, Louisiana, all her life — watching it turn from the lush and productive farmland of her youth into one of the most polluted places in the United States. When another huge petrochemical plant is announced for St. James, God tells Sharon to fight back.

Learn more about this screening — followed by a panel featuring its activists — and RSVP now.

And keep an eye on your inbox for details on the rest of the series, coming soon.

New Podcast Episode: Walling Off the Wild

Southern Arizona's San Rafael Valley is one of the last remaining places where jaguars from northern Mexico can travel into their native range in the United States. But that pathway is closing. The Trump administration is blasting through mountains and across grasslands to build a new border wall through this remote and wild landscape that jaguars depend on.

In the newest episode of our Sounds Wild podcast, cohost Vanessa Barchfield travels with the Center’s Southwest Conservation Advocate Russ McSpadden to document the destruction and discuss what it means for the dream of restoring a breeding population of jaguars to their rightful home in southern Arizona.

Listen to the latest episode on our website or find it on Apple or Spotify.

Revelator: Hoofing It

Ungulates like mule deer and caribou depend on migration for their survival. But moving around in an increasingly human-altered landscape has become progressively harder.

In this new Revelator article, journalist Melissa Gaskill looks at what scientists are learning about these species’ migrations and what we need to do to protect them.

If you haven’t yet, subscribe to The Revelator’s free weekly newsletter for more wildlife and conservation news.

That's Wild: Fish Who Dive Into Manta Ray Bums

Remora fish are famous for cleaning the larger oceangoing critters they attach themselves onto with the suction-cup organs on their heads — including sharks, dolphins, and rays — but new research shows they may sometimes take it a smidge too far.

When they choose to enter the cloacas of whale sharks and manta rays (holes that enable both reproduction and excretion), there are indications the host animals may be discomfited or even hurt. Scientists believe remoras may dart into the openings when startled (for example, by human divers).

“That remora jumps straight into the manta ray’s cloaca opening,” said marine biologist Emily Yeager, describing such an incident. “That manta ray then shudders pretty violently before continuing on its way.”

Watch a video of cloacal diving.

Have a friend who'd like this email?

Follow Us

Center for Biological Diversity | Saving Life on Earth

Donate now to support the Center's work.

Photo credits: Fin whale by Aqqa Rosing-Asvid/Wikimedia Commons; monarch butterfly by Brett Billings/USFWS; Louisiana pinesnake courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region; VS. GOLIATH film image used with permission; jaguar by MauMirror/Wikimedia Commons; mule deer by Tanner Warder/Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit; manta ray's rear end by Bryant Turffs/Marine Megafauna Foundation (CC BY 4.0).

View our privacy policy.

Center for Biological Diversity
P.O. Box 710
Tucson, AZ 85702
United States