To save spotted owls from extinction US officials may kill thousands of barred owls
In an effort to rescue the threatened spotted owl from potential extinction, U.S. wildlife officials are proposing a new plan to enlist trained shooters into the dense forests of the West Coast to kill around 450,000 barred owls that are crowding spotted owls out of their habitats. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced its plan on Wednesday, July 3, in an attempt to bring back the declining spotted owl populations in Oregon, Washington state and California.
Documents obtained by The Associated Press indicate that thousands of barred owls would be shot three decades after the owls from the eastern U.S. invaded the West Coast habitat of the northern spotted owl and California spotted owl.
Spotted owls are smaller than barred owls and have been incapable of competing because barred owls require less space and have more offspring than spotted owls.
Previous attempts to save spotted owls largely focused on preventing deforestation due to logging. However, with the migration of barred owls into the territory, a new challenge has presented itself in protecting the spotted owl species.
“Without actively managing barred owls, northern spotted owls will likely go extinct in all or the majority of their range, despite decades of collaborative conservation efforts,” Fish and Wildlife Service Oregon state supervisor Kessina Lee said
Proponents of the new plan said that it is necessary because barred owls “don’t belong” on the West Coast and estimate that the controlled shootings would eliminate less than 1% of the barred owl’s total population.
Opponents challenge the argument that barred owls don’t belong on the West Coast, pointing to their migration as a natural phenomenon.
Now, with the proposal out in the public, there will be a 30-day comment period before a final decision is made by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. If approved, the hunting by trained professional shooters would take place in the spring of 2025.
Social media video reveals China’s tallest waterfall isn’t all that natural
Touted as China’s “tallest uninterrupted waterfall,” the cascade may actually be a “water fail.” On Monday, June 3, controversy arose after a hiker posted a video from atop the tourist attraction at Yuntai Mountain Scenic Resort, which showed the waterfall being fed by man-made pipes. The Yuntai Mountain Waterfallclip has received millions of views on Chinese social media since the hiker posted it.
The park posted on the waterfall’s behalf in a statement on its website.
“I didn’t expect to meet everyone this way. As a seasonal scenery I can’t guarantee that I will be in my most beautiful form every time you come to see me,” the statement said. “I made a small enhancement… so I would look my best to meet my friends.”
While the water may not be naturally flowing, reaction on social media is.
“It’s not respecting the natural order, and not respecting tourists,” a user said on Weibo.
Others were more willing to go with the flow.
“I think it’s a good thing to do,” another Weibo user said. “Otherwise, people would be disappointed if they end up seeing nothing there.”
Some wondered why the hiker was “chasing waterfalls” in the first place.
“Yuntai park: Does this person not have better things to do,” a user wrote.
The park did not say when the pipes were installed or how often they are used to feed the falls. However, it did promise tourists who visit during the wetter months in the summer would see the waterfall in its “magnificence in a perfect and most natural manner.”
Planned solar farm threatens protected Joshua trees, other endangered species
Last year, California enacted its first law to protect a species threatened by climate change, placing Joshua trees under state safeguards. However, a planned solar farm in the Mojave Desert may lead to the destruction of thousands of these iconic trees, all in the name of combating the very issue that the previous legislation had aimed to shield this species from.
The proposed solar facility, spanning over 2,000 acres, will necessitate clearing habitat that Joshua trees call home. Once operational, this farm is expected to generate enough electricity to power approximately 200,000 homes.
However, local residents in the project’s surrounding rural community say they will not see any of the benefits from this clean energy, which is slated to be directed toward wealthier coastal areas instead. Meanwhile, these nearby towns face a poverty rate double the California average.
Beyond the Joshua trees in this area, which include specimens over a century old, conservationists warn that the project will also impact the endangered desert tortoise. Over 18,000 acres of this animal’s habitat in the Mojave have already been cleared for other solar projects.
The area targeted for this new development is said to be a crucial breeding ground for the tortoises, whose population has plummeted by 90% since 1970. With these tortoises having existed for around 15 million years, their potential extinction could come at the hands of expanding solar power projects.
Giant pandas from China returning to Smithsonian National Zoo
Pandas are returning to the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C., in 2024. The zoo celebrated the news Wednesday, May 29, in a video announcement featuring first lady Jill Biden.
The bears, named Qing Bao and Bao Li, are both two-years-old and set to arrive by the end of 2024 through a partnership with the China Wildlife Conservation Association.
Bao Li has family roots in Washington. He is the son of Bao Bao, a female giant panda who was born at the zoo in 2013. He’s also the grandson of Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, the panda couple that left the zoo in November 2023.
At the time, Smithsonian staff called the departure a “hiatus,” but Chinese officials had yet to clarify the future of the program. The return of the beloved bears marks a new chapter of decades of “panda diplomacy.”
More pandas are set to arrive in other parts of the country as well. In April, it was announced China would send giant pandas to San Francisco’s zoo for the first time ever. In February, the San Diego Zoo announced it would welcome two panda residents.
Blue catfish are destroying wildlife in the Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. On the surface it can appear to be a pristine haven for locals and tourists who want to enjoy nature. However, beneath the scenic waters lies an environmental nightmare: blue catfish. It’s an invasive species that can grow larger than 80 pounds.
Ed Jones (right) posing with his son, a friend, and a charter guide while holding the Maryland state record blue catfish in 2012. Credit: Ed Jones.
According to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), there were an estimated 100 million catfish in the bay in 2011. Although there are no recent estimates, the DNR knows the population has grown.
“Supposed to be zero, supposed to be zero blue catfish in the Chesapeake Bay Basin,” Joseph Love, a member of the DNR Invasive Species Matrix Team, said.
These catfish are eating everything that make the Chesapeake Bay what it is: blue crabs and the eggs of striped bass.
“The Chesapeake Bay is changing and part of that’s owed to invasive species,” Love said in an interview with Straight Arrow News.
The environmental nightmare is a dream for both commercial and recreational fishermen. Because catfish are invasive and the Department of Natural Resources wants the population reduced, there are no limits. So people can catch as many blue catfish as they want, whenever they want.
Captain Marcus Wilson pulls the Rock-N-Robin out of its slip for a day of fishing with clients.
Captain Marcus Wilson, who runs the Rock-N-Robin, used to have a lucrative trophy striped bass season where customers would flock to catch striped bass at least three feet long. However, the DNR canceled the trophy season this year as an emergency regulation to protect the bass’ spawning population.
“Due to regulations and the way things have shaken out, it’s, you know, they’ve taken that away from us,” Captain Wilson said. “So we’ve had to find something else to supplement that loss of business. So the blue catfish and charters for them have been great, and in the springtime, it’s an excellent fishery.”
Catfish are also fun for recreational fishermen like Agathon Soler who fishes for them from a kayak in the Patuxent River.
Agathon Soler fishing in the Patuxent River.
“It’s a win-win situation,” Soler said. “They taste good, they’re fun to catch and it helps the environment.”
Blue catfish were introduced in Virginia rivers from the Mississippi River Basin in the 1970s. They were brought there to give anglers a trophy fish and the government didn’t think they’d spread. The government was wrong. Catfish were discovered in the Potomac River in the 1980s, and are now found all the way up to the Susquehanna.
“Because blue catfish are so abundant and because they get so large and consume a lot of food, the department is very concerned that they’re impacting these aquatic resources of traditional value to the state,” Love said. “And for that reason, the department has been really pushing hard to try and encourage people to eat them because really, it’s the best mechanism we have right now for controlling biomass.”
To build up the public’s appetite, DNR, fishermen, restaurants and grocery stores need to convince people that blue catfish are good eating. To help, Captain Marcus gives clients recipes and cooking tips.
“I like to personally cut them up in small nuggets and deep fry,” Wilson said. “I think it’s hard to beat that. But the fish is such a mild, flaky fish, it’s actually, it’s very versatile. You can do anything you want with it really. You can blacken it, you can grill it, you could make crab imperial and put that on top of it, bake it and it’s really good any kind of way.”
It’s rare that a department tasked with protecting the environment encourages anglers to catch as many fish as they possibly can. But in the case of the blue catfish, catching them helps everyone: fishermen, the environment and hungry customers who love seafood.
“I just encourage people to try something different,” Wilson said. “Try a new fishery, come with us, you know, it’s a nice way to spend a nice spring day out fishing. There’s nothing else to target that time of year in the spring and they’ll bite all summer long.”
Pythons decimate Florida’s wildlife, is eating them the answer?
Pythons are wreaking havoc on local wildlife in Florida, becoming one of the most challenging invasive species management issues worldwide, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. With estimates suggesting over 100,000 of these serpents slithering through southern Florida, since 1997, they have efficiently eradicated a number of animals from the Everglades and reduced the populations of others by upwards of 98%.
However, a study conducted by an international team of researchers in Southeast Asia could hold an unconventional solution: turning the invasive python population into a sustainable food source. According to the team’s findings, commercial python farming could address significant environmental challenges associated with traditional livestock farming.
The study, which spanned a year, revealed that raising pythons requires fewer resources compared to conventional livestock farming methods. Unlike chickens, pigs and cattle, which contribute to approximately 15% of the planet’s annual greenhouse gas emissions primarily through the production of feed, pythons are more efficient in converting food into weight gain.
While birds and mammals burn about 90% of the energy from the food they eat to simply maintain a constant body temperature, this is not the case for cold-blooded reptiles like pythons.
Pythons also exhibit remarkable resilience to food scarcity, capable of surviving over four months without sustenance and not dropping much weight. These traits make them an attractive candidate for sustainable meat production, potentially reducing the environmental footprint associated with livestock farming.
While snake meat is already a dietary staple in certain parts of Asia and even considered a delicacy in some, it remains a novelty for many American consumers. However, proponents argue that embracing alternative protein sources like python meat could contribute to addressing pressing environmental issues.
Botswana threatens to send 20K elephants to Germany
No other country in the world has more elephants than Botswana, and now the African nation is threatening to send 20,000 of the animals to Germany. This stems from a recent potential policy change proposed by the German government that would place stricter limits on trophy hunting imports due to poaching concerns.
Just a decade ago, over a third of Botswana’s population was living in poverty. However, the country experienced an economic turnaround in the subsequent years and is now listed as an upper-middle-income nation, with the experts suggesting it could reach high-income by 2036.
This transformation has occurred thanks in part to the millions of dollars that the more impoverished, rural regions of Botswana receive every year from trophy hunters.
Botswana had previously implemented a ban on this practice in 2014, but reversed that decision back in 2019 amid overpopulation concerns. The country is now home to more than 130,000 elephants, but experts say it can only ecologically support about 25,000 to 50,000.
Government officials in Botswana assert trophy hunting is bringing in much needed revenue while keeping the elephant populations that roam across 40% of the country in check. According to the nation’s president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, should Germany move ahead with tougher bans on trophy hunting, it could result in increased poverty and locals being left to deal with more elephants than they can handle.
“It is very easy to sit in Berlin and have an opinion about our affairs in Botswana. We are paying the price for preserving these animals for the world,” said Masisi, adding that the German people should try to “live together with the animals, in the way you are trying to tell us to.”
This would not be the first time Botswana has tried to offload some of its elephants to other nations, previously offering 8,000 to Angola and 500 to Mozambique. With Masisi declaring he “won’t take no for answer” in regards to his latest offer of 20,000 of the elephants to Germany, it still remains to be seen if any will actually make their way to Europe.
President Biden and former President Trump win in Michigan as a group of Democratic voters use the primary to send a message. And wildfires in the Texas Panhandle result in the shutdown of a nuclear weapons facility. These stories and more highlight The Morning Rundown for Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024.
Biden dominated the Democratic primary, capturing 81 percent of the votes. However, a notable 13 percent of Democratic voters opted for the “uncommitted” choice, signaling dissent primarily over the president’s approach to the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. The “Listen to Michigan” movement, advocating for a cease-fire in the war, has highlighted this dissent. Michigan’s significant Arab-American community, the largest in the United States, played a pivotal role in this protest vote.
On the Republican side, Trump continued his winning streak in the early state primaries, claiming 68 percent of Michigan’s GOP votes. Nikki Haley, the former U.N. ambassador, finished in second place with 26 percent of the vote. Despite not securing a primary win thus far, Haley has announced her intention to stay in the race at least through the upcoming Super Tuesday.
Michigan’s Republican Party allocated only 16 of its 55 delegates based on Tuesday’s primary results. The remaining delegates will be determined at a GOP convention set for Saturday, adding another layer of anticipation to the state’s political landscape.
Biden hosts Congressional leaders to discuss government shutdown, Ukraine
Following a meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House on Tuesday, congressional leaders expressed optimism about averting a looming government shutdown.
The gathering included House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Vice President Kamala Harris.
After the meeting, Schumer spoke to reporters, emphasizing the productive nature of the discussions. “Productive meeting on the government shutdown. We are making good progress. The speaker said unequivocally he wants to avoid a government shutdown. We made it clear that that means not letting any of the government appropriations bills lapse,” Schumer stated.
In addition to strategies for preventing the shutdown by Friday’s deadline, the leaders also delved into the stalled additional aid to Ukraine. Schumer described these talks as “intense,” noting that leaders from both parties urged Speaker Johnson to pass the Senate’s bipartisan funding bill for Ukraine.
Johnson told reporters that the House is actively exploring all options for the bill but emphasized that securing the nation’s border is the top priority.
U.S. announces $53 million in additional aid for Gaza
The United States has announced an additional $53 million in humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza and the West Bank amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The bulk of the aid will support food assistance, addressing the critical situation in Gaza where two million people are at “imminent risk” of famine, according to the US Agency for International Development.
Concerns have been raised by US officials over the reduced number of trucks entering Gaza. Last week, only 85 trucks a day made it through the Rafah crossing, a significant decrease from the 500 trucks per day before the conflict began.
White House officials stated that this new aid package increases the total U.S. assistance to Gaza during the conflict to $180 million.
Wildfires sweeping through the Texas Panhandle have prompted evacuations and power outages for thousands, impacting residences and prompting a temporary shutdown of a nuclear weapons facility. Officials announced this morning that the facility would reopen as usual.
The fires, fueled by strong winds, have caused damage to an unspecified number of homes. Governor Greg Abbott has issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties in response to the crisis.
The Texas A&M Forest Service reported responding to 13 wildfires on Monday, noting that Tuesday’s conditions were prime for increased wildfire activity.
Since Monday, over 40 houses in Fritch, a city spanning Hutchinson and Moore counties, have sustained damage, according to city officials. Evacuations have been ordered for parts of the city.
Authorities are currently investigating the cause of the wildfires.
Starbucks and Workers United Union agree on ‘path forward’
The coffee chain and the union have committed to initiating discussions on a “foundational framework” that guarantees a fair organizing process for workers. Both parties describe this agreement as a “constructive path forward.”
“As a sign of good faith, Starbucks has agreed to provide partners represented by Workers United with the May 2022 benefits, including credit card tipping,” the company stated.
Starbucks is aiming to conclude contract negotiations by the end of the year.
Apple cancels plans for self-driving electric car
Apple is putting plans for a self-driving electric car, moving Project Titan in the rear-view mirror.
As Bloomberg first reported, Apple is discontinuing its secretive, decade-long initiative aimed at competing with Tesla, known as Project Titan. Employees from the company’s Special Projects Group will be reassigned to other departments, including the Artificial Intelligence division.
According to Bloomberg, Apple’s Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams and Kevin Lynch, a vice president overseeing the project, have notified employees about the discontinuation of the project. The report also mentions potential layoffs, although the exact number of employees affected remains unclear.
Despite reportedly investing billions of dollars in research to develop the car, Apple never officially confirmed its existence. The company has yet to comment on these recent reports.
Return of panda diplomacy: China to lend San Diego Zoo two giant pandas
Just months after some of the few remaining pandas in U.S. zoos were sent back to China with tensions between the two nations mounting, panda diplomacy is returning. The China Wildlife Conservation Association signed an agreement to send two giant pandas, a male and a female, to the San Diego Zoo.
The announcement came months after a family of pandas who had lived at the Smithsonian National Zoo since 1972 was sent back to China, and as the last remaining family of pandas living in the U.S. at the Atlanta Zoo is set to return to China next year. According to San Diego Zoo officials, if all goes to plan, the zoo could welcome the new pandas as soon as the end of summer 2024. In return, the Associated Press reports, zoos typically pay the China Wildlife Conservation Association $1 million per year.
“We’re very excited and hopeful,” Vice President of Wildlife Conservation Science at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Megan Owen told the AP. “They’ve expressed a tremendous amount of enthusiasm to re-initiate panda cooperation starting with the San Diego Zoo.”
At a meeting in San Francisco in November 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Biden reportedly talked about panda diplomacy, which has long been a part of U.S.-China relations. While those relations have been rocky, President Xi said at the meeting that China would again begin to lend the U.S. pandas to strengthen relations between our “two peoples.”
Scientists hopeful AI may lead to decoding the language of nature
Chirps, howls, clicks, whistles and the pulsed calls of whales — even the screech of a bat may sound like nothing more than noise to many people. However, for scientists studying the communication of different species, those noises are a complex language, more diverse than previously thought. Now, by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence combined with recording devices, researchers believe they’re beginning to uncover the hidden language of nature.
Scientific American reported that scientists are using AI to make breakthrough discoveries ranging from the intricate language of bats to the underwater frequencies of whales.
According to scientists at the World Economic Forum (WEF), the method of decoding the languages involves a dataset of bioacoustics, which record the sounds of individual organisms, and ecoacoustics, which record the sounds of entire ecosystems.
The system, known as BEANS (Benchmark of Animal Sounds), uses 10 datasets of different animal communications then creates a criterion for what’s known as “machine learning classification and detection performance.”
The AI system is likened to Google Translate by a scientist involved in the study. The AI is then used to decipher what animals are “saying” to each other through the recorded sounds.
Scientists said that AI is creating an understanding of non-human species on a deeper level than ever before. According to Scientific American, honeybees communicate through vibrations in their wings and the positions of their bodies, so even the angle of the sunlight projecting onto them can send a message to the colony.
Scientists also discovered that bat mothers “speak” differently to their babies than they do to their adult counterparts. This elicits a “babble-like” response from their young, in the process teaching them the language of their species.
The BBC shadowed the scientists studying the communication methods of a bat colony in Tel Aviv, Israel. The scientists used audio, video and AI to analyze the noises of the bats.
“We are teaching the computer to define between the different sounds and recognize what each sound means when we hear it,” said Adi Rachum, a researcher with Tel Aviv University.
Vice News reported that researchers have also discovered previously unknown elements of whale vocalizations using AI. Scientists found that sperm whales use sounds similar to vowels in human language to communicate.
Researchers created an AI system that was trained to imitate sperm whale noises and “embed information into these vocalizations.” The AI predicted elements of the whale vocalizations already believed to be important, like clicks, but also isolated acoustic sounds.
To test the AI prediction, researchers took nearly 4,000 sperm whale acoustics known as codas which the mammal uses to “speak,” and used them as data. The AI system’s prediction held true; scientists found the codas held a nearly identical use in whale communication as vowels do in human language.
“If our findings are correct, it means that the communication of sperm whales is much more complex than previously thought,” the authors from the University of California, Berkeley concluded.
At the WEF in 2023, scientific efforts regarding AI and animal language were on display. The nonprofit Earth Species Project, whose sole purpose is to decipher the language of different species using AI and recordings, marked the moment as monumental.
“We are on the cusp of applying the advances we are seeing in the development of AI for human language to animal communication,” said Katie Zacarian, the CEO and co-founder of Earth Species Project. “With this process, we anticipate that we are moving rapidly toward a world in which two-way communication with another species is likely.”
The Earth Species Project works with 40 biologists and institutions worldwide. The organization uses AI to translate animal communication into language humans can understand.
“We believe that an understanding of non-human languages will transform our relationship with the rest of nature,” the nonprofit says on its website. “Along the way, we are building solutions that are supporting real conservation impact today.”
Researchers said that uncovering how other species speak in the animal kingdom will lead to conservation efforts, like preserving and restoring rainforests. Scientists theorize that listening to ecosystems and individual animals may help them determine the health of the natural environment.
During the WEF, scientists said that AI analysis of species communication has also been used to create “marine animal protection zones.”
Off the West Coast, studies of marine communication recordings, as well as shipping route data, helped develop “mobile marine protected areas.”
According to Stanford University, mobile marine protected areas are ocean sanctuaries with boundaries that may shift in space and time to protect wildlife. Natural events, like Gulf Stream, can impact a sanctuary’s movement. When the natural features of the ocean move, the protections move with them. GPS allows fishers find out instantly whether or not they’re in a protected area, even if the boundaries have shifted.
