big catscougareartherel jefeenvironmenteric sandersonfelidsjaguarmammalsmammals of south americamichael robinsonnorth american jaguarsharon wilcoxspecies reintroductionthe us fish and wildlife servicetigerwildlife conservation society
A group of conservation scientists say it’s time for the return of an American classic: the jaguar. They argue that jaguars can and should be safely reintroduced to the U.S., not only to help ensure their continued survival but also to address the injustice that led to their local demise more than 50 years ago.
Jaguars, or
Panthera onca, are only the living big cats native to the Americas (cougars, another native wild cat, are actually more closely related to domestic cats than tigers and other big cats). Once, the jaguar’s domain reached far across South and Central America and extended up to the mountainous forests of modern-day central Arizona and New Mexico. But human hunting, some of which was sanctioned by the U.S. government, obliterated
Ship speed limit sought to protect endangered whales in Gulf of Mexico
By Janet McConnaughey
Kimberly Kuizon reports
NEW ORLEANS, La. - A speed limit for ships in part of the Gulf of Mexico south of the Florida Panhandle is needed to protect the few remaining endangered whales there, environmental groups said Tuesday.
The groups asked the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service to set a 10-knot (11.5 mph, 18.5 kph) speed limit in an area covering about 11,500 square miles (30,000 square kilometers) off Florida and Alabama.
Shipping interests did not immediately answer requests for comment on the petition, which also asks NOAA Fisheries to make all shipping detour around the whales’ core habitat at night.
Ship speed limit sought off Florida coast to protect endangered whales in Gulf orlandosentinel.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from orlandosentinel.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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An iguana in Miami, Florida. (Photo: Joe Raedle, Getty Images)
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Florida is banning the practice of keeping invasive reptiles like iguanas and tegus as pets, but those who already own one of these scaly guys need not worry too much. The pets can be grandfathered in if you get them tagged with a microchip. This may sound like a mishmash of Alex Jones conspiracy theories, but it’s the real deal in an attempt to get invasive species under control. State officials are trying to make it easy to do so, too.
Environmental advocates are cheering a decision by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Wednesday to block the use of aldicarb on 100,000 acres of the state’s struggling citrus crop.
A systemic insecticide that s also a potent neurotoxin, it had been banned for citrus use for a decade.
Then earlier this year, the EPA approved bringing it back, a move that came as an alarming surprise to environmental advocates, who’d believed it was safely off the table.
Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried said in a news release that aldicarb poses an unacceptable risk to human, animal, and environmental health in Florida.