Positive Wildlife News 2022

8,200ha near Charleville added to Queensland protected areas, great lifestyle

More than 8,200 hectares of former sheep station in Queensland’s south west will become a protected area, the Palaszczuk Government has announced.

Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon said in an agreement struck between the Palaszczuk Government and Paniri Ventures, the addition of Ardgour Station Nature Refuge, 120km south of Charleville would protect important wetlands and ecosystems that form part of the Wyandra-Cunnamulla Claypans Aggregation.

Nature refuges are a class of private protected area under the state’s Nature Conservation Act and are administered by a legally binding conservation agreement between the landholder and government.

8,200ha near Charleville added to Queensland protected areas, great lifestyle

 

Wildlife board approves new tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh

The 2,339 square kilometres new tiger reserve, to be called Durgavati Tiger Reserve, will spread across Narisinghpur, Damoh and Sagar districts. A green corridor linking PTR with Durgavati will be developed for the natural movement of the tiger to the new reserve, officials added.

https://www-hindustantimes-com.cdn....ve-in-madhya-pradesh-101665770685559-amp.html

 

Extremely rare predator released to thrive by feasting on Colorado's prairie dogs

Extremely rare predator released to thrive by feasting on Colorado's prairie dogs | OutThere Colorado

 

Near-extinct Siberian Tiger Tracks Found in China, Suggests Successful Recovery Efforts

Wildlife conservation efforts in China appear to be yielding favorable results because of the recent discovery of nearly extinct Siberian tiger footprints in Heilongjiang province, where the big cats once roamed. Experts estimated the global population of Siberian tigers to be 400-500 in 2015, dropping to 50 in China in subsequent years.

Near-extinct Siberian Tiger Tracks Found in China, Suggests Successful Recovery Efforts : Science : Tech Times

 

A 'conservation success story': first Great Midwest Crane Fest to celebrate recovery of sandhill cranes

Conservationists hope to raise awareness, inspire people to commit to conservation

Sandhill cranes are fairly easy to spot today, but they nearly vanished less than a century ago.

It's their remarkable story of recovery that has inspired conservationists to plan the first Great Midwest Crane Fest, set for Nov. 10-12 in Baraboo.

"This festival is to bring together our local community and celebrate, what we feel, is one of the great conservation stories of the Midwest," said Richard Beilfuss, CEO and president of the International Crane Foundation, or ICF. It's an event two years in the making — postponed due to pandemic restrictions — backed by decades-worth of efforts honoring conservation efforts by ICF and The Aldo Leopold Foundation.

Cranes are among the oldest living bird species in the world, soaring through the skies for millions of years.

A 'conservation success story': first Great Midwest Crane Fest to celebrate recovery of sandhill cranes

 

New elephant reserve, India’s 33rd, to come up in Uttar Pradesh

The Centre has approved setting up Terai Elephant Reserve (TER) at Dudhwa-Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh. The new Reserve, spread over 3,049 square kilometer area, will be India's 33rd Elephant Reserve - a management entity that includes protected areas, forest areas and corridors for conservation of wild elephants.

https://m-timesofindia-com.cdn.ampp...in-uttar-pradesh/amp_articleshow/95040781.cms

 

This Is The Newest U.S. National Park Monument — Here’s Where It’s Located

Camp Hale, a World War II training site set among the rolling landscape of Colorado, has been designated as the newest national monument by President Joe Biden.

The 50,000 acres of Camp Hale and the neighboring Tenmile Range are now under federal protection from drilling, mining, and other development. It is the first new monument designated during Biden’s presidency.

“When you think about the natural beauty of Colorado and the history of our nation, you find it here,” said Biden, according to the Huffington Post. “Soaring peaks and steep canyons. Black bears, bald eagles, moose, mountain lions, waterfalls, pristine rivers, alpine lakes, the scent of wildflowers at the right time of the year, and the stunning backdrop of ski slopes and iconic trails. These treasured lands tell the story of America.”

https://www-travelawaits-com.cdn.am...-hale-national-monument-colorado-new-nps/?amp

 

New reintroduction project for lynx in German Saxony: RELynx Sachsen

The “RELynx Sachsen” project started in September 2022. Its goal is the translocation and release of up to 20 Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx carpathicus) to establish a stepping stone in the Ore and Elbe Sandstone Mountains as a measure to protect the Central European lynx population. The release site is primarily in the state forest of the forest district of Eibenstock (probably the forest districts of Neustadt and Bärenfels) planned for the period 2024 to 2026 and it will use wild caught animals from Romania, Slovakia and Switzerland. Depending on availablity, orphan lynxes from Switzerland and captive offspring from remote enclosures can be considered. The subsequent evaluation phase starting in 2027 will ensure sustainability of the project.

https://luchs-sachsen.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/DigitalFlyer_RELynx-Sachsen_final.pdf

 

More plains-wanderers released in Riverina despite critically endangered birds dead, missing from last trial

Fifteen critically endangered plains-wanderers have been released in south-west New South Wales, despite some birds from the last flock released being killed or going missing.

Key:

• Fifteen critically endangered plains-wanderers have been released in south-west NSW
• Four birds died and three went missing during the last Riverina trial
• New satellite technology is being used to track the bird

It is estimated there are fewer than 1,000 left in the wild because of predation and climate change.

In March, 10 zoo-bred plains-wanderers were released into native grassland near Hay as part of a conservation effort to save the birds from extinction.

It followed extensive fox baiting and shooting of cats in the area.

David Parker, a senior threatened species officer from the State Department of Planning and Environment, said of those 10, four died, three dropped their trackers and had not yet been found, and only three were monitored to the end of the 12-week trial.

https://amp-abc-net-au.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.abc.net.au/article/101456994

 

How Belize Cut Its Debt by Fighting Global Warming

Developing nations are reducing their debt by pledging to protect their resources in financial deals that could give them a bigger role in the fight against climate change.

https://www-nytimes-com.cdn.ampproj...ricas/belize-coral-reef-preservation.amp.html

 

Phillip Island: Penguin population increases in number

Phillip Island - also known as Penguin Island - off the south coast of Australia, is celebrating a record-breaking number of penguins.

Experts from the Phillip Island Nature Parks recently counted 5,440 little penguins crossing Penguin Parade beach in under one hour.

That's up from the previous record, set in May this year, of 5,219 - the highest number recorded since counts began in 1968.

https://www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/63416628.amp

 

Egypt Decides to Allocate Port Fouad as Nature Reserve for Flamingos, Migratory Birds

Waters El-Bahri, an environmental researcher for birds and a natural life, said that the city of Port Fouad was allocated as a natural reserve for the "flamingo" by the Egyptian government, in addition to being the second route for migratory birds.

https://see.news/egypt-birds-port-fuad

 

Santa Elena Provincial Protected Area will Safeguard Water Sources and Wildlife in Coastal Ecuador

Andes Amazon Fund celebrates the creation of the Santa Elena Provincial Protected Area, located in the coastal forests of southwestern Ecuador.

The Provincial Council of Santa Elena unanimously approved the declaration of the Provincial System of Conservation and Sustainable Use Areas (SPACUS is the Spanish acronym) of Santa Elena on August 31st, 2022. The declaration officially approved the first conservation block, protecting 79,350 acres (32,112 ha). The eventual goal is to conserve 277,870 acres (112,450 hectares). The SPACUS conserves both dry and humid forests that are home to a high diversity of plants and animals, and safeguards the principal source of water for the entire province. “It is very important for us to have these Areas of Conservation and Sustainable Use since Santa Elena does not have its own water reserves. The only water source is the forest,” said Bertha Carpio, Director of Environmental Management of the Province of Santa Elena.

Santa Elena Provincial Protected Area will Safeguard Water Sources and Wildlife in Coastal Ecuador - Andes Amazon Fund

 

Fish eggs return to Bangladesh’s Halda River following conservation efforts

• The Halda River, considered the world’s only natural gene bank for several pure Indian carp species, as well as home to dozens of endangered Ganges River dolphins, has made a comeback after fish eggs all but disappeared from the river several years ago.

• Historical records say around 4,000 kilograms (8,818 pounds) of fish eggs could be found in the river in 1941, but that number nearly hit zero in 2016 due to overexploitation and industrial pollution.

• Since 2018, the Bangladesh government has made robust conservation efforts, including steps to declare the river an Ecologically Critical Area and fish heritage site.

• In 2020, about 424 kgs (935 lbs) of fish eggs were found in the river; however, yields have since fallen after an unexpected tropical cyclone, Amphan, triggered salinity intrusion and there was low rainfall during the monsoons.

• The Halda River — the world’s only gene bank for pure Indian carp fishes such as ruhi (Labeo rohita), catla (Labeo catla), Mrigal (Cirrhinus cirrhosus) and Kalibaush (Labeo calbasu) — has resumed hosting fish eggs in recent years, after fish eggs had all but disappeared from the river in 2016.
  
  At its height in 1941, around 4,000 kgs (8,818 lbs) of fish eggs could be found in the river, according to the Halda River Research Laboratory at the Zoology Department of the University of Chittagong. The river is also home to around 147 Ganges River dolphins, which have been categorized as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
  
  In 2020, 424 kg (935 lbs) of fish eggs were produced in the river, although production fell in the last two years due to salinity intrusion as a result of an unexpected tropical cyclone named Amphan.
  
  Since 2018, comprehensive conservation efforts to rein in overfishing, industrial pollution and other pollutants such as tobacco farming, spearheaded by the government and civil society, have allowed fish to once again breed in the Halda’s waters.

https://news-mongabay-com.cdn.amppr...lda-river-following-conservation-efforts/amp/

 

Big Hole Valley Habitat Conserved in Montana

Approximately 3,600 acres of pristine wildlife and riparian habitat in Montana’s popular Big Hole region will remain that way thanks to a conservation collaboration by a longtime traditional landowner, the Bureau of Land Management and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

Big Hole Valley Habitat Conserved in Montana | Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

 

To save salmon, U.S. approves largest dam removal in history

A U.S. agency seeking to restore habitat for endangered fish gave final approval on Thursday to decommission four dams straddling the California-Oregon border, the largest dam removal undertaking in U.S. history.

Dam removal is expected to improve the health of the Klamath River, the route that Chinook salmon and endangered coho salmon take from the Pacific Ocean to their upstream spawning grounds, and from where the young fish return to the sea.

To save salmon, U.S. approves largest dam removal in history

 

Turtle release boosts conservation in Peruvian Amazon

In the middle of one of the main squares in Iquitos, a port city in the Peruvian Amazon, hundreds of taricaya turtle eggs are about to hatch and start the journey to their natural habitat.

During the 18th century, chroniclers described with awe how large the populations of these turtles in the Amazonian rivers were. By the 20th century, however, they had nearly become extinct due to their exploitation and human consumption.

In an effort to protect them, the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve in the last few years has launched conservation projects that are now being replicated in other parts of the Amazon basin.

Turtle release boosts conservation in Peruvian Amazon - La Prensa Latina Media

 

Elk thriving in Alberta despite increases in predators and hunting success

Study confirms current elk harvest is sustainable and highlights benefits of using hunting data for wildlife management.

But a new study shows that hasn’t happened with elk in Alberta over the past 26 years, despite an increase in the number of wolves, grizzly bears and cougars that prey on them.

“Elk hunters notoriously blame wolves or other large carnivores whenever they don’t get their elk. But the fact is, they are getting their elk — the hunter success has actually been increasing,” says Mark Boyce, a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences.

Elk thriving in Alberta despite increases in predators and hunting success | Folio

 

Here is another relevant article.

Colville Tribe releases 10 lynx into Kettle Range in ongoing recovery effort

Since October, 10 Canada lynx have been released into the Kettle Range as part of a five-year tribal effort to reintroduce the felines into Washington State.

On Nov. 4, tribal biologists captured an adult male in Canada and released him into the Kettle Mountains the following day. With that release, the tribe has completed its 2022 lynx capture work, said Rose Piccinini senior wildlife biologist and project lead for the Colville Confederated Tribes. Since the project started in 2021, tribal officials have released 17 lynx.

Colville Tribe releases 10 lynx into Kettle Range in ongoing recovery effort

 

Tiny Tennessee fish protected, but US has yet to say where

It was a crisp fall day when biologist Bernie Kuhajda drove to a nondescript trickle of water running through a Middle Tennessee cow pasture to try to keep a small, brightly colored fish from becoming extinct.

The trickle — little more than a few big mud puddles — was one of the last bodies of water left with a population of Barrens topminnows, and it was drying up.

Tiny Tennessee fish protected, but US has yet to say where