Climate change challenges the Endangered Species Act and 'toy' deer : NPR
The Key deer is losing the only place it lives, raising uncomfortable questions for the people tasked with keeping endangered species alive.
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The Key deer is losing the only place it lives, raising uncomfortable questions for the people tasked with keeping endangered species alive.
The Key deer is losing the only place it lives, raising uncomfortable questions for the people tasked with keeping endangered species alive.
Some people keep dogs in their backyards. In the Florida Keys, some residents have deer the size of a golden retriever in their yards. As sea levels rise and salt water climbs higher on the islands, it's shrinking habitat for this deer — which already has an estimated population of at most 1,000. Today, host Regina G. Barber hears from reporters Nate Rott and Ryan Kellman about the Key deer, and how rising sea levels are forcing wildlife managers to ask big questions about the future of the subspecies.
"When Hurricane Irma ravaged south Florida in September 2017 it inundated homes, knocked out electricity for millions and killed more than 30 people. The devastation was not confined to humans, however."
As rising seas threaten their island habitat, Key deer are battered by tropical storms and changing political winds