Wildlife Weekly Wrap-up

October 7, 2016

Your weekly roundup of wildlife news from across the country

Seven Bee Species Protected under the ESA
For the first time in the history of the Endangered Species Act, bees have been added to the list of endangered species. Last Friday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service protected seven species of bees under the Act, citing threats like habitat destruction and invasive species. All seven species are types of “yellow-faced” bees native to Hawaii, and play an important role in pollinating native Hawaiian plants.

Learn more about the latest additions to the endangered species list >

Success at CITES CoP17!
This week wrapped up the 17th Conference of the Parties to CITES, an international gathering that makes decisions to protect species from the demands of global wildlife trade. Our international team was deeply involved in a number of proposals this year, and we are thrilled to say that many were successful!

Find out which species gained greater protection at this year’s CITES meeting >

23rd Florida Panther Killed on Roads
Florida wildlife officials recovered the remains of a young male Florida panther earlier this week. The animal appears to be the victim of a vehicle collision, and is the 23rd such victim so far in 2016. With the population of endangered Florida panthers slowly growing, road fatalities continue to pose a major threat to the big cats’ recovery. Last year saw the previous record broken with an alarming 30 Florida panthers killed.

Learn more about the threats Florida panthers face and what we can do to help >

Red Wolf, Red Herring
Last week brought the extremely welcome news that our legal team successfully won a preliminary injunction against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, preventing them from removing endangered Red Wolves from the wild unless the animals post an imminent threat. The legal victory limits some of the proposed plans the agency recently released, such as rounding up any wolves outside a specific area and bringing them into captivity. But the fact that the agency proposed such an idea in the first place is alarming – and that’s not all they have in mind for Red Wolves.

Hear from our Southeast Program Director about FWS’s plans for Red Wolves, and what they would mean for this endangered species >

One Frog Species Vanishes….
Biologists sadly report that the last known Rabbs’ fringe-limbed tree frog has died, spelling extinction for his species. The frog, affectionately known as “Toughie,” was one of many creatures featured in photographer Joel Sartore’s Photo Ark, a project intended to bring awareness to the extinction crisis that threatens so many species.

See the photo and learn more about Toughie and his species >

…But Another Makes a Comeback
In happier news, California wildlife officials report that the endangered Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog seems to be making a comeback in Yosemite National Park. Once common across the Sierra Nevada mountain range, disease and invasive species drove the frogs to the brink of extinction. Now, with decades of conservation efforts, a recent study shows the population of the frogs in Yosemite is seven times larger than it was 20 years ago. Even more promising, part of this recovery is due to the fact that the species appears to have developed a resistance to the chytrid fungus that is decimating amphibian species everywhere.

Find out more about the rebound of this species and what it could mean for other amphibians >

The Mountain Empire: A Sanctuary Under Threat
This little-known region of southern Arizona boasts some of the richest biodiversity in the U.S., containing habitats at all elevations, and a truly stunning array of wildlife species, many of which are imperiled. Unfortunately, the region is also rich in something else: metals. Mining operations – old, new, and planned – threaten the incredible habitats of the Mountain Empire and the species that call it home.