An Ocean-Going Deer (or Two)

Beach-goers in coastal Delaware were perplexed when a deer came onto the beach and jumped in and out of the water. (Photo is of a different deer found (and rescued) 1 mile off shore.)

Wildlife experts have seen it before.

The Baltimore Sun reports:

"That's the message from authorities at Delaware's beaches after a white-tail was seen frolicking in the surf at Rehoboth Beach on Memorial Day weekend.Paul Faircloth, park superintendent at Cape Henlopen State Park, says deer are actually good swimmers, although they rarely venture into salt water. Joe Rogerson, the deer biologist with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, notes that deer have hollow hair, making them buoyant in the water." See full article.

Blue Whales Singing to The Big Apple!

A few months ago, scientists, monitoring ocean sounds 13 miles off New York City, heard blue whales -- the largest animal in the world and were more than surprised.

Science Daily.com reports:

"For the very first time in New York coastal waters, the voices of singing blue whales have been positively identified. Acoustic experts at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Bioacoustics Research Program (BRP) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) confirmed that the voice of a singing blue whale was tracked about 70 miles off of Long Island and New York City on Jan. 10-11, 2009, as the whale swam slowly from east to west. At the same time, a second blue whale was heard singing offshore in the far distance.

During 2008-2009, ten of Cornell’s acoustic recorders were deployed about 13 miles from the New York Harbor entrance and off the shores of Fire Island to study the acoustic environment of New York waters and examine whether noises, including shipping traffic, are affecting the whales

Sturgeon Return to Detroit River

Pollution, dams and other obstructions have laegely wiped out lake sturgeon spawning in many areas.

The Toledo Blade reports:

"Spawning by lake sturgeon in Canadian waters of the Detroit River has been confirmed for the first time in 30 years, boosting hopes for continued recovery of this rare, ancient species in the river and adjoining waters of western Lake Erie.

The spawning is occurring on a reef built last fall at the head of Fighting Island, across from Wyandotte, Mich., under an American-Canadian partnership." See full article.

Bangladesh Dolphins "Back From the Dead"

Some 6,000 freshwater dolphins, thought to be gone, have been found again. (photo from Treehugger.com)

One World South Asia reports:

"The discovery of the Irrawaddy dolphins in Bangladesh that were once considered dead has raised concerns over the huge gaps in local research. Conservationists say the Bay of Bengal, a hotspot for this endangered species from declining freshwater flows and fishing nets requires a definite survey and protection network.

Nearly 6,000 Irrawaddy dolphins were discovered in freshwater regions of Bangladesh's Sundarbans mangrove forest and the nearby waters of the Bay of Bengal, the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has said in a report." See full article.

Rare Heermann's Gull Mugged by Tourist?

An endangered Heermann's gull was allegedly attacked and beaten by a man from Kansas visiting Laguna Beach after he claimed it took ice cream from his wife.

The OC Register reports:

"Laguna Beach police reported that Djuric and his wife were eating ice cream on Main Beach when one bird hit his wife's head and tried to grab the ice cream. Djuric, who had been defecated on, began waving a stick and hitting the birds, Laguna Beach police Sgt. Jeff Calvert said.
However, a Fish and Wildlife Service review of the witness statements showed that the ice cream fell on its own and when the birds came to eat it, Djuric hit the birds with a stick, Ed Newcomer with the Fish and Wildlife said. The birds were not attacking and Djuric's actions were not in self-defense, he said. The Heermann's gull, which had a broken wing, was taken to the Wetland and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach, where it was euthanized." See full article.

Blue Whales on the Move Again Off BC

The largest and one of the most rare animals on earth is reoccupying some of its former territories.

LiveScience.com reports:

"Blue whales, the world's largest animals, are on the move. These marine mammals migrated from California waters to areas off Canada and Alaska for the first time since commercial whaling ended in 1965, researchers announced recently.The researchers identified 15 blue whales that have appeared off the coast of British Columbia and the Gulf of Alaska since 1997. Four of these whales were recognized as ones that were also sighted off California shores (in Santa Barbara Channel and at Bodega Bay, north of San Francisco), suggesting that the whales are returning to an old migration pattern between the coasts. See full article.

Rare Daytime Florida Panther Film

There are only about 100 panthers in Florida and to see one in the daytime is very rare indeed.

NBC-2.com reports:

"Volunteers at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary caught a rare sight on video. The volunteers saw a Florida panther strolling on the sanctuary boardwalk and one of the volunteers recorded it on video. The volunteers said the panther walked on the boardwalk for almost half a mile before jumping off and disappearing. Fish and Wildlife biologists say it’s extremely rare to see an endangered Florida panther, and especially during the daylight and to catch it on video." See the video

Does a Mocking Bird Have a Grudge Against You?

It might .. if you have ever posed a threat. A new study finds the birds remember human faces and will act agreesively toward those who may have bothered it in the past. Photo by BadJoby

Javno.com and the Guardian report:

"Mockingbirds can remember people who threatened them before and can attack them if they spot them, scientists proved in a study, Guardian writes.

The urban bird population ignored most passers-by, but were excited when they recognised people who previously approached their nest and started circling over their heads. The unusual behaviour of mockingbirds is considered to prove that wild animals recognise individuals of other species in their natural habitat." See full article.

Tasmanian Devil Has its Own Devil to Face

Australia's marsupials have fascinated zoologists for centuries. The Tasmainian Devil is among the most unusual. Now it is endangered.

The Fresno Bee reports:

"The Tasmanian devil, a snarling fox-sized marsupial made notorious by its Looney Tunes cartoon namesake Taz, was listed in Australia as an endangered species Friday because of a contagious cancer that has wiped out most of the wild population.

The upgrade from "vulnerable" under Australian environmental law entitles the world's largest marsupial carnivore to greater protection in the island state of Tasmania, Environment Minister Peter Garrett said in a statement. Devils do not exist in the wild outside Tasmania, although mainland zoos are breeding captive populations as a strategy against total extinction." See full article.

The Debate Over The Four-Second Ivory Billed Film

The exuberance ornithologists felt when they thought they had found an Ivory Billed Woodpecker in Arkansas a couple of years ago has been replaced by frustration at not being able to verify the sighting. A film of the bird they believe is an Ivory Bill has been challenged by skeptics. Take a look yourself and you be the judge.

National Public Radio reports:

"the evidence is a four-second video taken in 2004 from a canoe in Arkansas' Cache River National Wildlife Refuge. It shows a perched bird partly behind a tree trunk. The bird then takes off and flies away from the camera.

It has become the Zapruder film of the birding world (Zapruder being the man whose home movie of the Kennedy assassination kept analysts busy for decades). Scientists at Cornell University say the pattern of white on the bird's wings is unique to an ivory-billed woodpecker. Skeptics say it's just a pileated woodpecker, which is a lovely bird, but as common as rice at a wedding." See film for yourself.

"Missing Link" Found -- Earliest Primate

A fossil of the earleist primate relative ever found was unearthed and displayed to the media recently. Some think of it as another missing link in the long story of human development.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

"Researchers ... unveiled the fossil of a 47 million-year-old creature that offered clues about what some of our earliest ancestors might have looked like. The animal was the size of a cat, had a long tail, and died at nine or 10 months old. Several of its features can be commonly seen in modern-day primates, including baby teeth and an opposable big toe. Instead of claws, "she's got fingertips with nails like we do," said Jorn Hurum of the Natural History Museum in Oslo, who led the research.

The fossil was displayed to the media and a small number of invited guests at New York's American Museum of Natural History in an event hyped to an unusual degree for a scientific unveiling. Visitors to the museum will be able to see a replica cast of the fossil.
It is a rare and valuable discovery because it is a nearly intact skeleton." See full article.

Top Ten Newly Discovered Species for 2009

An Institute at Arizona State University focuses on the importance of discovering new species and draws public attention to this through an annaul "top ten" list. The list this year includes the world's longest insect and tinest (pea-sized) seahorse.

ASU Institute for Species Exploration reports:

"Millions of species remain unknown or unidentifiable, inaccessible to science and society. Charting the species of the world and their unique attributes are essential parts of understanding the history of life. Reliable taxonomic information is necessary for managing sustainable ecosystems, attaining conservation goals, and detecting introductions of pests, vectors and invasive species.

Traditional taxonomic tools and methods have theoretical rigor and rich intellectual content, but are not keeping pace with this growing need for knowledge. How can we increase the pace at which species exploration progresses while maintaining the scientific rigor of traditional taxonomy"? See top list.

Sperm Whale in the Gulf of Mexico

The toothed sperm whale -- the legendary creature of Moby Dick -- is commonly seen in the deep, cold waters of the North Atlantic but a sighting in the warm and shallow waters of Florida is rare.

The Charlotte Sun reports:

"A local charter boat captain and his crew were heading out on Boca Grande Pass after fishing for bait early Saturday when they got the surprise of their lives:

A whale, estimated at 40 feet to 50 feet, rolled and blew saltwater spray within 30 feet of the boat just 3 miles west of Boca Grande Pass.

'It's very rare,' said Capt. John Wood, who runs a charter boat business, Offshore Express, out of Marine Dynamics in Englewood. 'I've never seen one here in 15 years of doing this. We saw an awesome sight.' Wood shot video of the 7 a.m. sighting while the whale swam close to the surface in 20 feet to 25 feet of water. Also in the area early Saturday was Capt. Joe LeClair, who works out of Boca Grande. LeClair has seen six different whale species in Massachusetts, but never a sperm whale up close or in Gasparilla Island area waters." See full article.

Rare Greater Sandplover Causes Nationwide "Bird Rush."

Most people would not think that a little brown bird (LBB) on a Florida beach would cause people to come from as far as California and line up just for a peek.

The Orlando Sentinal reports:

"Rarely has a single beach bird caused such a stir. But bird-lovers are flocking to Jacksonville for a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see this one.A Greater Sandplover, a bird that normally inhabits the sandy steppes of Asia, has been sighted at a Jacksonville park, making what birders say is only its second confirmed appearance in the Western Hemisphere. Bird-watchers from throughout Florida and the country have rushed to Huguenot Memorial Park, hoping to get a rare glimpse of a bird that apparently flew across an ocean and a continent." See full story.

North Carolina Mountain Home to Flying Squirrels

Flying squirrels are one of the most interesting mammals in North America. I some areas they are become more numerous.

GoBlueRidge.net reports:

Surveys were conducted at Grandfather Mountain to count the number of Northern flying squirrels, a North Carolina endangered species.

The Mountain teamed up with representatives from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission to locate and record sightings of the nocturnal animal.

Eighty-eight squirrel boxes were checked along Grandfather's Daniel Boone Scout Trail, Profile Trail and in-park trails. A total of 26 squirrels were found in the boxes."It's an incredible number," said Grandfather Mountain Naturalist Jesse Pope. "It was by far the most squirrels I've ever seen while checking the boxes." See full article.

Sea Otters Back in Oregon After 103-Year Absence

The appearance of a species in a an unexpected place can be a joy to some and a worry to others.

RegisterGuard.com reports:

The confirmed sighting of a sea otter in Depoe Bay last month generated wild excitement. The species, after all, was thought to have been extinct in Oregon for a century — even by wildlife experts.

But the creature seen lolling in the surf as he munched on a crab wasn’t actually the first confirmed sighting in 103 years. It was just the first one about which the media went and blabbed all over tarnation.

The people who knew about previous otter sightings had kept their mouths shut.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife biologist Roy Lowe knew sea otters had resurfaced in Oregon from time to time, despite the failed attempt to reintroduce a thriving population here in the 1970s. He just preferred that the fact be kept as quiet as possible. See full article.

Recovering Eagle Populations Feeding on Rare Great Cormorants

When conservationists succeed in helping a species recover from near extinction there is reason for celebration. In this case, however, another rare species may be taking an unexpected brunt.

USA Today reports:

Bald eagles, bouncing back after years of decline, are swaggering forth with an appetite for great cormorant chicks that threatens to wipe out that bird population in the United States.

The eagles, perhaps finding less fish to eat, are flying to Maine's remote rocky islands where they've been raiding the only known nesting colonies of great cormorants in the U.S. Snatching waddling chicks from the ground and driving adults from their nests, the eagles are causing the numbers of the glossy black birds to decline from more than 250 pairs to 80 pairs since 1992. See full article.

Pelican Summers in Kentucky Lake

Every now an again us bird watchers are treated to a visit by a species that is beyond of the norm for a certain location.

The Courier Journal Reports:

"Tom and Carol Stroud of Louisville reported spotting a brown pelican at Lake Cumberland last week.

State wildlife officials were skeptical, but Carol Stroud produced a photograph that removed all doubt.

'When I heard about it, I assumed it was a white pelican,' said John Brunjes, who works with the migratory bird program for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. "We get several reports of white pelicans each year."

Brown pelicans, however, are extremely rare in Kentucky. The juvenile bird documented by the Strouds is only the state's fifth confirmed sighting of a brown pelican, according to Burnjes." See full article.

Backyard Harp Seal

Imagine the surpise when some folks in New Hampshire found a Harp Seal in the backyard.

The Newbury Port Daily News reported in February 2009:

A young Canadian harp seal was moved from an Atlantic Avenue backyard after it wandered up from the beach.

Tony LaCasse, a spokesman for the New England Aquarium, which was called to the scene to help relocate the animal, said the seal came out of the water and made its way about 200 yards across the sand dunes to get in the backyard. Since seals don't move well on land, that's a pretty hard feat, he said.

Marine biologists used the experience to educate the public about harp seals and how they differ from the more commonly spotted harbor seal. They also took it as a opportunity to share how the public should react when seeing a seal on land. See full article.

Rare Arizona Jaguar

We know that the Jaguar is a rare species in any environment or location but the very rare wild U.S. specimans have just suffered a setback after being monitored.

Reuters reports:

An extremely rare U.S. jaguar recently fitted with a satellite tracking collar was recaptured and euthanized on Monday after veterinarians found it was suffering from a terminal disease, wildlife officials said.Officials with the U.S. and Arizona wildlife services said the male cat, which was first caught on Feb. 20 in a rugged area southwest of Tucson, was found to be suffering from untreatable kidney failure."It is a sad, but appropriate course of action to euthanize this animal given the hopelessly terminal nature of his condition," Steve Spangle, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Arizona field supervisor, said in a news release.

The animal, known as "Macho B," was thought to be 15 to 16 years old. Kidney failure is a common ailment in older cats, the news release said.Jaguars roam over a vast area ranging from northern Argentina in the south to the rugged borderland wildernesses of Arizona and New Mexico, where they were thought to have vanished until two confirmed sightings in 1996. See full article.

New Bouncing Fish called "Pyschedilica"

A new species of fish has been indentified in Indonesian waters. Genetic testing verifies it.

Science Daily Reports:

"Psychedelica" seems the perfect name for a species of fish that is a wild swirl of tan and peach zebra stripes and behaves in ways contrary to its brethren. So says University of Washington's Ted Pietsch, who is the first to describe the new species in the scientific literature and thus the one to select the name.

Psychedelica is perhaps even more apt given the cockamamie way the fish swim, some with so little control they look intoxicated and should be cited for DUI.

Members of Histiophryne psychedelica, or H. psychedelica, don't so much swim as hop. Each time they strike the seafloor they use their fins to push off and they expel water from tiny gill openings on their sides to jettison themselves forward. With tails curled tightly to one side –which surely limits their ability to steer – they look like inflated rubber balls bouncing hither and thither." See full article.

What About a Pink Dolphin?

There are many jokes about pink elephants and even though the calf in Botswana is the real deal, who ever heard of a pink dolphin?

Finding Dulcinea.com reports:

A pink bottlenose dolphin again surfaced in Louisiana’s Lake Calcasieu, an estuary north of the Gulf of Mexico. The dolphin, which gets its color from albinism, was seen by charter boat captain Erik Rue, who originally spotted and photographed it in June 2007.

Albinism is a rare condition seen in just 14 bottlenose dolphins since the first was spotted in 1962, according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. It affects many species, including humans and 20 species of dolphins, whales and porpoises.“Very little is known about albino dolphins due to their extreme rarity.

What is known about albinism comes from humans,” explains the NOAA. “Albinism is a genetic predisposition, expressed as a lack of melanin pigments within the body. … This genetic trait is characterized by white or light skin and hair, the appearance of pink or red eye coloring and often-impaired vision.”The pink dolphin has attracted tourists to Lake Calcasieu, but conservationists warn that sightseers should be careful around it. See full article.

Baby Pink Elephant Seen

Sometimes wildlife spotters have spots in front of their eyes -- and other times they may be seeing visions of pink elephants.

BBC reports:

A pink baby elephant has been caught on camera in Botswana.

A wildlife cameraman took pictures of the calf when he spotted it among a herd of about 80 elephants in the Okavango Delta.

Experts believe it is probably an albino, which is an extremely rare phenomenon in African elephants. They are unsure of its chances of long-term survival - the blazing African sunlight may cause blindness and skin problems for the calf. See full article.