Lawsuit Filed to Save Giraffes

The Center for Biological Diversity and allies this morning sued the Trump administration for failing to consider protecting Africa's rapidly shrinking giraffe population under the Endangered Species Act.

Fewer than 100,000 giraffes remain in the wild, a 40-percent drop over the past three decades. Giraffes are being killed by habitat loss, civil unrest, illegal and trophy hunting, and international trade.

Today's suit challenges the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's refusal to act on a 2017 petition seeking protection.

"Giraffes capture our imaginations from childhood on, but people don't realize how few are left in the wild," said the Center's Tanya Sanerib. "Instead of throwing these unique animals a lifeline under the Endangered Species Act, Trump officials are twiddling their thumbs."

Read more and consider donating to our Endangered Species Act Protection Fund to save these incredible animals.

Center Launches Suits to Save Three Rare Salamanders

We went to court twice this week to protect three sensitive salamander species.

We sued the Fish and Wildlife Service for ignoring a 2012 petition to protect California's Shasta salamanders. And we filed a notice of intent to sue the Service for missing its deadline by more than four years to set aside critical habitat for Georgetown salamanders and Salado salamanders in Texas.

The Service's long delays on Endangered Species Act decisions are a persistent, deadly problem. More than 40 species have gone extinct waiting for protection decisions. Lawsuits like these put necessary public pressure on the Service to do its job and save species. Thank you for your support of this lifesaving work.

Our Message to World Leaders on Climate Action

Global leaders are in Poland for COP24, the latest international climate talks — and the Center's Climate Law Institute is there too.

This week we held a panel on the global movement to phase out oil, gas and coal production. We're part of Reclaim Power, a grassroots campaign demanding that governments make a fast, just transition to clean energy.

Before the talks we released an analysis of COP24's meat-heavy menu, which could emit an extra 4,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases. To curb climate change we must start cutting down the meat in our diets now, along with quickly, drastically reducing fossil fuel use.

Get details on our panel and our analysis of COP24's menu.

Trump Trumped in Attempt to Halt Vaquita Safeguards

The Trump administration just failed in its third attempt to undo a court-imposed seafood-import ban that helps protect the world's rarest porpoise.

Litigation by the Center and allies forced the United States to ban the import of Mexican seafood caught by gillnets in the Upper Gulf of California. Gillnets are deadly for vaquitas, small porpoises that live there — and likely only 15 vaquitas remain.

"This victory helps U.S. consumers fight the vaquita's extinction before it's too late," said the Center's Sarah Uhlemann.

Get more from Fronteras.

Trump OKs Harmful Airgun Blasts in Atlantic

To open the Atlantic Ocean up to drilling, the Trump administration just revoked a ban on underwater airgun blasts for oil exploration.

This seismic blasting poses widespread, unacceptable risks to marine life. It can cause long-lasting harm to fish and mammals, including severely endangered North Atlantic right whales. At least 20 right whales have died since April 2017 — leaving only 411 individuals on Earth.

"It's so sad to see whales and dolphins attacked for oil we shouldn't drill anyway," said the Center's Kristen Monsell. "We need to protect the Atlantic, not let industry destroy it."

Read more at ThinkProgress.

Wild & Weird: Spider Milk?

Milk. It's what's for dinner if you're an infant mammal — bat, whale or human. In fact, lactating is considered a distinctly mammalian attribute.

But researchers, led by conservation biologist Rui-Chang Quan of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, just published a study that complicates things. It's all about a spider in Southeast Asia that suckles her babies on a liquid solution of sugars, fats and proteins from her body.

Has this arachnid got milk?

Find out at National Geographic.