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carly:
I'm always happy and scared when I read about species that were thought to have gone extinct being sighted again.  Why?  Because I'm afraid someone will hunt them.   I'm encouraged they are working on a way to protect them, hopefully this one stays safe, as well as any others - which there must be some since he had to come from somewhere until a concrete plan is made.

The Peregrine Chick:
This is just so cool


Lost species of fanged 'mouse deer' spotted for first time in 30 years
Jonathan Forani  /  CTV News  /   11 Nov 2019



A lost species known as the “mouse deer’” has been spotted for the first time since 1990.

The “shy and solitary” silver-backed chevrotain, which is the size of a rabbit and has two tiny fangs, was last recorded more than 25 years ago. It was since thought to have been lost by snare poaching in Vietnam.

The discovery, published Monday in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, was made by a team of researchers who set up a series of “camera traps” for five months in a southern region of Vietnam where locals said they may have spotted the deer-like creature with grey fur. The colour distinguishes it from “more common lesser” mouse deer, according to researchers.

It is the first mammal rediscovered as part of a Global Wildlife Conservation project to find lost species.

"For so long, this species has seemingly only existed as part of our imagination," said An Nguyen, associate conservation scientist for GWC and expedition team leader, in a statement. “Discovering that it is, indeed, still out there, is the first step in ensuring we don't lose it again, and we're moving quickly now to figure out how best to protect it."

Scientists know little about the species, which was first described in 1910 after four of them were discovered in southern Vietnam. A fifth was collected in central Vietnam in 1990 before mouse deer were thought to be lost.

“The rediscovery of the silver-backed chevrotain provides a big hope for the conservation of biodiversity, especially threatened species, in Vietnam,” said Hoang Minh Duc, head of the Southern Institute of Ecology's Department of Zoology, in a statement.  This also encourages us, together with relevant and international partners, to devote time and effort to further investigate and conserve Vietnam's biodiversity heritage.”

The mouse deer are neither mouse or deer, but the smallest of small hoofed mammals known as “ungulates.” Scientists are now setting up a wide survey of the area to determine how stable and populous the silver-backed chevrotains are in Vietnam.

"It is an amazing feat to go from complete lack of knowledge of the wildlife of the Greater Annamites 25 years ago to now having this question mark of the silver-backed chevrotain resolved," said Barney Long, GWC senior director of species conservation, in a statement.

The team of researchers have also released accompanying illustrations by artist Eric Losh depicting the discovery.

source:  https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/lost-species-of-fanged-mouse-deer-spotted-for-first-time-in-30-years-1.4680185?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+New+Content+(Feed)&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

The Peregrine Chick:
Foundations fund urgent wolf transfer to Isle Royale
Up to six wolves, in danger of starvation, could be moved this weekend

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - ​National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation (The Foundation) announced today that, with the support of the International Wolf Center, an urgent final effort is underway to move four to six wolves to Isle Royale National Park over the next four days.

Earlier this year, two wolves from Michipicoten Island (located in northern Lake Superior) were moved to Isle Royale. Four to six wolves still remain on the island and are at risk since their only available winter prey on the island, caribou, are gone. Officials had hoped to move all of the wolves off Michipicoten earlier, but poor weather, government shutdowns and a lack of funding delayed that effort.

The Foundation and the International Wolf Center agree that this wolf relocation project needs a strong start to have a more immediate impact on the current burgeoning moose population on Isle Royale, where an estimate of more than 1,600 moose are threatening the ecosystem.

"On Michipicoten, nature's lessons can be cruel and starvation is one of them,” said Sona Mehring, the chair of the Foundation. “For the remaining wolves on Michipicoten, that will be their fate unless we help move them to Isle Royale National Park, where their hunting skills and genetics can add value to establishing a new population of wolves on Isle Royale.”

“We’re especially proud of the fact that the International Wolf Center is helping to save the lives of a small pack of wolves on Michipicoten Island,” said the Center’s Executive Director Rob Schultz. “Since all of the caribou have been removed from Michipicoten, there’s nothing left for the wolves there to eat this winter and there is a real threat of starvation.”

It is estimated that the four-day effort, which will begin either Friday (March 22) or Saturday (March 23), will cost $100,000. The Foundation raised $30,000. The International Wolf Center raised an additional $45,000. The organizations have started a GoFundMe page to raise the final $25,000. That page can be found at ​bit.ly/isleroyalewolves​.

"As we discussed this project, we found many people who supported seeing the forests of Isle Royale remaining healthy,” Mehring said. “We are close to realizing the goal of providing
   
 another capture opportunity to move these iconic wolves to an island that needs them in its ecosystem.”

Science has long showed that wolves play an important role in nature. This translocation shows how wolves can be used to naturally manage ungulate populations.

“Since the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park, we’ve seen first-hand the positive impact wolves have on ecosystems,” Schultz said. “A thriving wolf population in Isle Royale’s ecosystem will make a similar impact. If left unchecked, moose would over-consume the island’s vegetation. Apex predators, like wolves, are important components of any healthy, natural ecosystems.

“This shows just one more way we put our donor’s support to hard work to advance wolf populations around the world. We’re honored to team up with National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation to make a difference together.”

National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation​ is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preservation of the natural resources and unique cultural heritage of Lake Superior’s five U.S. National Parks. National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation funds research, restoration, education, and resource protection projects for Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Grand Portage National Monument, Isle Royale National Park, Keweenaw National Historical Park, and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation has a proven record of funding projects both large and small providing more that $1.5 million in funding across all five parks.

The International Wolf Center​, founded in 1985, is known worldwide as the premier source for wolf information and education. The mission of the Center is to advance the survival of wolf populations by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands and the human role in their future. The Center educates through its website, its ambassador wolves, museum exhibits, educational outreach programs, International Wolf magazine, and a beautiful interpretive center in Ely, Minnesota.

The Peregrine Chick:
And the fattest bear in Alaska is ... this rotund mother bear
CBC/Thomson Reuters  |  Oct 10, 2018


<A shaggy, brown and possibly pregnant mother bear known as 409 Beadnose, crowned on Tuesday as Fattest Bear of 2018, is seen on the bank of the Brooks River in Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska, on Sept. 30, 2018. (NPS Photo/A. Ramos)>

In an Alaska clash of tubby titans that has become a social media sensation, a shaggy, brown and possibly pregnant mother known as 409 Beadnose was crowned on Tuesday as Fattest Bear of 2018.​​  Beadnose nosed out a larger Alaska brown bear, a male called 747, and likened to a jumbo jet in online votes collected by staff at Katmai National Park and Preserve during a wildly popular event called Fat Bear Week. Male bears are bigger, but Beadnose was deemed to be more rotund.  Her radiant rolls were deemed by the voting public to be this year's most fabulous flab, the park said on its Facebook page.  "Our chubby champ has a few more weeks to chow down on lingering salmon carcasses before she heads up the mountains to dig herself a den and savour her victory." 

Katmai, which hugs the mountainous Gulf of Alaska coast, is known for its massive, salmon-chomping ursine residents.

GORGING IN PREPARATION FOR WINTER

October, the month before bears go into their dens to hibernate, is when the animals work the hardest to build the body fat they need to survive winter. And October is a perfect time for nature lovers to watch Katmai's livestream video as the park's brown bears do their pre-hibernation gorging.  Fat Bear Week may be fun and games for human spectators, but it is serious business for bears, said Andrew LaValle, a Katmai ranger who is in charge of most of the park's social media postings.


<Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. (Shutterstock/Gilles Baechler)>

"This might be entertaining, especially with these beautiful, majestic animals, but this is a life-or-death struggle," he said.  The bears have to eat a year's worth of food in a few months but really start to chow down in June when sockeye salmon begin swimming upstream through the park to spawn. Bears can lose a third of their body weight while hibernating, LaValle said.

Fat Bear Week got its start in 2014 as a one-day educational event called Fat Bear Tuesday, LaValle said. It became a week-long event the next year.  Throughout the past week, park staffers have posted photos of individual bears and gathered input from viewers who selected ​favourites in a bracketed, tournament-style competition. This year's competition started with 12 bears before reaching ​Tuesday's Beadnose-747 faceoff.

Luckily for Katmai bears, their home holds a river teeming with fish from the world's largest natural salmon runs. The Brooks River is a spawning site for salmon based in southwestern ​Alaska's Bristol Bay.

source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/fattest-alaska-bear-409-beadnose-1.4857813

Jazzerkins:
Poor little squirrel.  What horrible teeth.  I hope the trim helps and the teeth now grow properly.  If not, this wonderful person is ready to help out again.

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