Gastrointestinal Diseases from Animals

Panamanian golden frogs were once reasonably common but have disappeared from their entire range, largely due to the deadly amphibian fungal disease known as chytridiomycosis. They now exist only in conservation breeding programs. Panamanian golden frog ( Atelopus zeteki ) These small, fluorescent-yellow harlequin toads bred along cold, fast-moving forest streams. As the deafening sounds of the waterfalls drowned out their mating calls, Panamanian golden frogs evolved a unique semaphore-like means of communication — a limb-waving behavior — to attract the attention of potential mates. Their vibrant colors, however, don't seduce potential mates but instead warn predators of their tremendous toxicity. Panamanian golden frog by Brian Gratwicke (CC BY 2.0) The species lived in the Central Cordilleran rainforests and cloud forests of western-central Panama. Panamanian golden frogs are critically endangered, with a drastic population decline of more th...

A new recovery plan will help the long-term recovery of Nova Scotia's endangered mainland moose population. A team including wildlife biologists, habitat specialists and veterinary experts from government and academia was appointed in 2019 to create a plan based on the best available scientific knowledge and expertise. It developed a recovery plan to address threats, protect and enhance habitat, improve connectivity and ensure regular monitoring and assessment of population health. "Moose are an important part of our province's natural and cultural identity. We now have an evidence-based recovery plan, which sets priorities and timelines for further action to help save this important species," said Natural Resources and Renewables Minister Tory Rushton. "I thank the recovery planning team for its work and commit to working with our partners to implement the plan, with some actions already started." The Department of Natural Resources and...

Kenneth Kieser  |  Going Outdoors I need few excuses for returning to the plains of South Dakota. Throw in a duck hunt and there are few better times, especially when a bison steak is promised after the hunt.   Our guides had spent the previous day traveling on miles of gravel roads while studying a book of map grids. Page after page showed thousands of acres in reservation lands that were legal for our hunt, some laying between privately owned fields of row crops.   The addition of GPS made this search easier and binoculars were necessary to determine if ducks and geese were using these waterways.   "Ducks, hundreds of them on the lower end of this long slough," Mark Brendemuehl, territory manager for Avery Outdoors said while pointing to a map. "The entire upper end is covered in waterfowl. That's our hunt for tomorrow."  That night I finally drifted off to sleep when my phone...

T he cows in Farmer John's pasture lead an idyllic life. They roam through tree-shaded meadows, tearing up mouthfuls of clover while nursing their calves in tranquility. Tawny brown, compact and muscular, they are Limousins, a breed known for the quality of its meat and much sought-after by the high-end restaurants and butchers in the nearby food mecca of Maastricht, in the southernmost province of the Netherlands. In a year or two, meat from these dozen cows could end up on the plates of Maastricht's better-known restaurants, but the cows themselves are not headed for the slaughterhouse. Instead, every few months, a veterinarian equipped with little more than a topical anesthetic and a scalpel will remove a peppercorn-size sample of muscle from their flanks, stitch up the tiny incision and send the cows back to their pasture. ...

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Leatherback turtle nest numbers in south Florida double previous record    The Guardian Leatherback turtles lay record nests in South Florida    South Florida Sun Sentinel Florida County Sees Record Year for Endangered Leatherback Sea Turtle Nests    southernliving.com Some Florida beaches see record year for sea turtle nests    Wink News Record Number of Endangered Turtles Nest in Florida County    EcoWatch View Full Coverage on Google News

The Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge added about 1,500 acres of former ranchland to its boundary in January. The refuge purchased the Jolly Jack Ranch, east of refuge headquarters, for $3 million, said Mike Rule, Turnbull's biologist. The former ranchland once contained several wetlands that were drained for agricultural reasons, Rule said. The wetlands will be restored and may serve as prime habitat for Spalding's catchfly, a threatened plant that's native to the Eastern Washington scablands. "If this Jolly Jack piece doesn't already have catchfly on it, we could plant it on it," Rule said. A restored watershed will also mean more water will flow into the refuge. "It has several wetlands that were ditched and drained," Rule said. "Those wetlands actually drain and flow onto the refuge." The acquisition is part of a comprehensive conservation plan adopted for Turnbull in 2007 which established a stewardship area of 12,000 acre...

Portland, OR's Migration Brewing has announced a new partnership with the Oregon Wildlife Foundation (OWF). The collaborative effort, beginning this month, will feature a hand-crafted specialty red lager in celebration of the organization's newly designed Oregon state license plate. In December, the partners will celebrate an official release of the beer, which will be available on draft at all Migration pub locations, as well as six-pack cans that feature a specially designed image hailing directly from the new license plates. Migration will donate a portion of the proceeds from all food and drink sales during the release party to OWF.    More from a press release: "It's exciting to collaborate with Migration Brewing, and to see our commitment to Oregon's natural landscape take shape within such a fun partnership," said Jess Bynum, Digital Communication Coordinator at Oregon Wildlife Foundation. "Celebrating the release of ou...