Endangered Species Act
cwilcox | November 12, 2009Weighing in at around 10 lbs with a wingspan of up to 8 feet, the brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is an impressive bird. Sure, it's the smallest of the pelican species, but it hardly lacks in size. Along the shores of Florida and the Gulf Coast, these birds are common. They swarm docks and piers wherever fish are being caught and cleaned, and their acrobatic fishing techniques often catch the eyes of tourists and locals alike.
But it wasn't always so easy to see these large birds in action. DDT use decimated the pelican population to such low numbers that in 1970, it was placed under…
grrlscientist | February 2, 2009tags: Masked Bobwhite, Colinus virginianus ridgwayi, Joel Sartore, National Geographic, image of the day
Masked Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus ridgwayi)
700 (Nearly extinct in the wild, some 700 captive).
Image: Joel Sartore/National Geographic [larger view].
Joel Sartore has shared some of his work on this blog before, so I am thrilled to tell you that National Geographic also appreciates his exemplary work. You can view more endangered animals of the United States that were photographed by the talented Joel Sartore here at National Geographic online. All images appear here by permission…
grrlscientist | February 1, 2009tags: Red-Cockaded Woodpecker, Picoides borealis, Joel Sartore, National Geographic, image of the day
Red-Cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis)
Estimated 12,210 breeding birds.
Image: Joel Sartore/National Geographic [larger view].
Joel Sartore has shared some of his work on this blog before, so I am thrilled to tell you that National Geographic also appreciates his exemplary work. You can view more endangered animals of the United States that were photographed by the talented Joel Sartore here at National Geographic online. All images appear here by permission of National Geographic…
grrlscientist | January 31, 2009tags: Hawaiian Goose, Nene, Branta sandvicensis, Joel Sartore, National Geographic, image of the day
Hawaiian Goose or Nene (Branta sandvicensis)
2,100 (Estimated 2,000 wild and 100 captive).
Image: Joel Sartore/National Geographic [larger view].
Joel Sartore has shared some of his work on this blog before, so I am thrilled to tell you that National Geographic also appreciates his exemplary work. You can view more endangered animals of the United States that were photographed by the talented Joel Sartore here at National Geographic online. All images appear here by permission of National…
grrlscientist | January 30, 2009tags: St. Andrew Beach Mouse, Peromyscus polionotus peninsularis, Joel Sartore, National Geographic, image of the day
St. Andrew Beach Mouse (Peromyscus polionotus peninsularis)
6,000 (Estimates range from 3,500 to 6,000).
Image: Joel Sartore/National Geographic [larger view].
Joel Sartore has shared some of his work on this blog before, so I am thrilled to tell you that National Geographic also appreciates his exemplary work. You can view more endangered animals of the United States that were photographed by the talented Joel Sartore here at National Geographic online. All images appear…
grrlscientist | January 29, 2009tags: Loggerhead Sea Turtle, Caretta caretta, Joel Sartore, National Geographic, image of the day
Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta)
90,000 remaining.
Image: Joel Sartore/National Geographic [larger view].
The photographer writes:
Biologists tally nests, not individuals. Some 47,000 to 90,000 nests were counted each year on the Atlantic Coast over the past decade.
Joel Sartore has shared some of his work on this blog before, so I am thrilled to tell you that National Geographic also appreciates his exemplary work. You can view more endangered animals of the United States that were…
grrlscientist | January 28, 2009tags: Mexican Gray Wolf, Canis lupus baileyi, Joel Sartore, National Geographic, image of the day
Mexican Gray Wolf (Canis lupus baileyi)
320 (60 wild, 260 captive).
Image: Joel Sartore/National Geographic [larger view].
The photographer writes;
Still on shaky ground, the Mexican gray wolf, an endangered subspecies, is slowly increasing in number in Arizona and New Mexico thanks to captive breeding.
Joel Sartore has shared some of his work on this blog before, so I am thrilled to tell you that National Geographic also appreciates his exemplary work. You can view more endangered animals…
grrlscientist | January 26, 2009tags: Alabama Beach Mouse, Peromyscus polionotus ammobates, Joel Sartore, National Geographic, image of the day
Alabama Beach Mouse (Peromyscus polionotus ammobates)
Image: Joel Sartore/National Geographic [larger view].
The photographer writes;
The Alabama beach mouse ekes out a living on a 14-mile stretch of the state's Fort Morgan Peninsula, where its dune habitat is fragmented by construction and lit up at night. Habitat saved under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) prevented these nocturnal mice from going the way of the dodo.
Joel Sartore has shared some of his work on this blog…
grrlscientist | January 25, 2009tags: California Condor, Gymnogyps californianus, Joel Sartore, National Geographic, image of the day
California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus)
336 (156 wild, 180 captive).
Image: Joel Sartore/National Geographic [larger view].
The photographer writes;
They survived the Ice Age, but condors barely held out against Homo sapiens. Many of these scavengers were shot or poisoned by fragments of lead left behind by hunters. In 1985 just nine wild birds remained. Captive breeding and reduced use of lead ammunition have brought the species back.
Joel Sartore has shared some of his work on this…
grrlscientist | January 24, 2009tags: Ocelot, Leopardus pardalis, Joel Sartore, National Geographic, image of the day
Ocelot, Leopardus pardalis.
195 animals remaining (Estimated U.S. population is fewer than 100 wild, 95 captive).
Image: Joel Sartore/National Geographic [larger view].
The photographer writes;
Wild ocelots are gone from all U.S. states except Texas, driven out by human development. The elusive cats still roam the wilds of Central and South America, but there's little reliable data on their true numbers.
Joel Sartore has shared some of his work on this blog before, so I am thrilled to tell you that…
grrlscientist | January 23, 2009tags: Gopher Tortoise, Gopherus polyphemus, Joel Sartore, National Geographic, image of the day
Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus).
Image: Joel Sartore/National Geographic [larger view].
The photographer writes;
Gopher tortoises in the southeastern U.S. often end up as roadkill. Invasive fire ants and armadillos also prey on their eggs and young, while urban expansion, land conversion for pine plantations, and fire mismanagement degrade tortoise habitat, pushing these reptiles closer to the edge.
Joel Sartore has shared some of his work on this blog before, so I am thrilled to tell you…
grrlscientist | January 22, 2009tags: Palos Verdes Blue Butterfly, Glaucopsyche lygdamus palosverdesensis, Joel Sartore, National Geographic, image of the day
Palos Verdes Blue Butterfly (Glaucopsyche lygdamus palosverdesensis)
4,300 (Estimated 300 wild and 4,000 captive).
Image: Joel Sartore/National Geographic. [larger view].
Wikipedia writes;
The Palos Verdes Blue butterfly is a small endangered butterfly native to the Palos Verdes Peninsula in southwest Los Angeles County, California. As its distribution has been proven to be limited to one single site it has one of the best claims to being the world's rarest…
grrlscientist | January 21, 2009tags: Dusky Seaside Sparrow, Ammodramus maritimus nigrescens, Joel Sartore, National Geographic, image of the day
The world in a jar: Is this the sort of world we wish to leave to our children?
Dusky Seaside Sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus nigrescens).
Extinct.
Image: Joel Sartore/National Geographic [larger view].
The photographer writes;
Slipping into extinction almost unnoticed, the Dusky Seaside Sparrow, Ammodramus maritimus nigrescens -- found mainly on Florida's Merritt Island -- declined from roughly 3,000 pairs to none as its salt marsh habitat was sprayed with DDT and taken over for…
cwilcox | November 20, 2008Like every leader on their way out the door, Bush hopes to make a few more last-minute changes before we get our much-needed new president. One of his maleficent plans is to gut the Endangered Species Act despite active, loud protesting from the environmental community.
As if his general lack of care (adding only 10 species a year to the act - even daddy Bush added close to 60 a year), trimmings and changes in 2004 weren't enough, Bush has put the Endangered Species in his sights yet again. His plans - to remove the clause that requires projects to receive scientific review of environmental…
grrlscientist | October 26, 2008tags: po'ouli, Melamprosops phaeosoma, endangered species, endangered species act, conservation, extinction, birds, island species, Hawai'i, book review
For scientists, naturalists and birders, islands are the most amazing places on earth because their evolutionary legacy has provided them with their own fascinating flora and fauna that are found nowhere else in the world. But because humans also like to live on islands, along with their pets and crop plants, islands are a conservation nightmare, and certainly, the Hawai'ian islands are no exception. In Alvin Powell's book, The Race to Save…
sporte | August 12, 2008write your Senators and Representatives about saving the Endangered Species Act.
But, first read what Mike Dunford has to say. Mike describes the changes that the Bush administration has proposed in great detail and consequences for wild animals. Greg Laden has posted on this, too.