A new study published in the Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences has shown that bluestreak cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) recognize themselves in photographs (Kohda et al., 2023).
Researchers from the Technion Institute of Technology in Israel recently put the notion that fish only have a three-second memory span to the test.
The oceans are teeming with unique and awe-inspiring creatures. However, harmful and unsustainable fishing operations pose a serious threat to the ocean’s biodiversity.
Despite strong public opposition, and no documented demand, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) appears to be drawing closer to approving the first food product from a genetically engineered (GE) animal.
Florida’s Everglades region has a rather big problem: Burmese pythons, one of the world’s largest snakes, are having a devastating effect on the ecosystem. As this non-native species—released into the wild accidentally or intentionally by pet owners—thrives and multiplies, it has proven nearly impossible for wildlife officials to rein in the population.
The critically endangered California condor remains a highly publicized symbol of wildlife conservation. From a global population of just 27 captive adults in 1987, ex situ breeding produced a sufficient number of individuals to commence reintroduction of young birds into the skies of southern California in 1992.
Florida’s black bears get a one year reprieve from hunting after the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted 4-3 to suspend hunts while it gathered more information about bear populations in the state. Last year’s hunt, the first in 21 years, resulted in the death of some 300 bears in two days.
In 2015, Florida’s black bears suffered an estimated 20 percent population decline amidst the first state-authorized hunt since 1994. In 2016, the controversial hunt was put on hold for a year.
More Florida manatees have died this year than in any previous year since records began. The cause is primarily starvation due to loss of seagrass beds, according to state officials.
Three Sisters Springs is an important 1.5 acre manatee wintering area within the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge on Florida’s Gulf coast, about 50 miles north of Tampa. The Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) is an endangered subspecies of the West Indian manatee.
Outbreaks of algae may once again be taking a heavy toll on the West Indian manatee population in Florida’s Indian River Lagoon. Since May, nine manatee carcasses have been found, all bearing signs of gastric trauma related to the spread of algae in the polluted lagoon.
On March 23, National Puppy Day, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed “Ponce’s Law” to increase penalties for animal abusers.
Since April, over 140 wild horses have died from influenza exacerbated by a bacterial infection at a Colorado holding facility in Cañon City in what is thought to be the largest disease outbreak in the Bureau of Land Management’s fraught history o
As a resource for food and medicine, wildlife has long been a commodity in commerce. Humans hunt, trap and fish for animals to sell as food and medicine.
More and more consumers are seeking to avoid products from “factory farms”—where animals are kept in abysmal conditions. Such consumers often look for animal-raising claims on packaging labels that purport to indicate higher-welfare conditions.
Wenonah Hauter’s Foodopoly weaves nearly every aspect of the food system—from retail and fast food to the indentured nature of farming contracts—into a unique and highly accessible analysis of not just America’s food systems, but how they fit into what is now a global corporate food web.
The conclusion of a study almost always means euthanasia (from the Greek for “easy death”) for animals in research. As with all phases of research, there are moral, regulatory, and scientific imperatives to use the least painful and stressful method possible. These imperatives have led to much debate, including a recent symposium sponsored by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) that focused on improving animal euthanasia methods, due to growing realization that one of the most commonly used methods is inhumane, causing both pain and distress.
The occasion was the official presentation to the Library of Congress of A Dangerous Life, a graphic novel written and illustrated by Sheila Hamanaka and published by AWI and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) that addresses the global ivory trade and the heavy toll it takes on elephants and those on the ground dedicated to their protection.