The Center for Biological Diversity sued the California Department of Fish and Wildlife today over the commercial Dungeness crab fishery’s skyrocketing entanglements of imperiled whales and sea turtles.
If you thought San Francisco’s fauna was limited to seagulls, pigeons and the sea lions at Pier 39, you’re mistaken. Surrounded by rich ocean waters and blessed with several large, tree-filled parks, San Francisco houses a number of unique, surprising and—OK—sometimes annoying predators and prey.
In response to a petition from the Center for Biological Diversity, the California Fish and Game Commission today designated the Cascades frog as a candidate for protection under the state’s Endangered Species Act.
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2017/cascades-frog-10-11-2017.php
The kangaroo rat is a small nocturnal seed-eater, weighing in at five ounces soaking wet, which hardly ever happens since it lives in the desert. One of its many predators is the sidewinder rattlesnake, a two-foot long viper weighing in at a little over seven ounces.
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/10/12/science/rats-escape-rattlesnakes.html
UCLA researchers use genetics to find out whether the rarely seen Southern California snake is an endangered species.
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/the-search-for-the-southern-californian-rubber-boa
In the field, researchers find ways to repair bits and pieces of a disrupted world. My own path began 30 years ago at Mono Lake.
https://psmag.com/environment/outdoorsy-scientists-will-save-us
Antivenom is the standard treatment for snakebites, Nielsen said. "This is not to replace antivenom," he said.
But if this therapy can keep the poisonous parts of the venom inactive, it could lessen the damage to a victim's body, Nielsen said.
The proposed entrance fee increase could price out minority and low-income Americans, experts warn.
When a wildfire swept through Arizona, all but 35 rare red squirrels disappeared. After California’s fires and Hurricanes Harvey, Maria and Irma, so did other near-extinct animals.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/25/climate/fires-hurricanes-endangered-animals.html
Just the mere sight of a daddy longlegs or garter snake can prompt shrieking and shoe-throwing, even though not everyone has had bad experiences with creepy-crawlers. Are we naturally predisposed to hate tiny critters that scurry and slither? A new study suggests so, according to a video from National Geographic.
http://mentalfloss.com/article/510176/we-may-be-hardwired-fear-snakes-and-spiders
