Latest news with #wildlifeconservation
BBC News
12 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Rescued bears 'making good progress' ahead of enclosure move
Two bear brothers are making good progress after being resceued by a wildlife sanctuary, staff have and Balu were rescued from a cage near a restaurant in Azerbaijan and brought to the Isle of pair arrived at Wildheart Animal Sanctuary in Sandown on 4 June, after the site fundraised almost £218,000 to rehome the say the bears were looking "quite thin" when they arrived, but are now doing well. About two years ago, the brothers were relocated by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan from a restaurant, where they had been kept to attract customers, to a temporary Animal Sanctuary started fundraising to rehome the bears, having become aware of their situation in May 2024, and now a brand new playground beckons for the Bates, chief executive officer at Wildheart Animal Sanctuary, said: "Their diet hadn't been great where they were at. They provided them with what they could to be fair, but that wasn't a varied diet."So the bears were quite thin, by our standards. You could see their hips, you could see some of their spine." The bears are set to be released from their holding pen into a new 3,500 sq m (3,7673 sq ft) enclosure on they have settled, head of bear section Lucie Francis said the team would work on increasing their diet."We're working on a very seasonal diet, so it will fluctuate through the year with the natural season and the availability that they would have in the wild," she said."Come towards the end of the summer, we will be introducing things like fish and we will be increasing that quantity of food as well." You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Escaped Manx mongoose Gef recaptured at brewery 17 miles from home
A missing yellow mongoose has been caught at a brewery 17 miles from its home at a wildlife park on the Isle of small carnivorous mammal, nicknamed Gef in a nod to Manx folklore, disappeared last month from Curraghs Wildlife Park in Ballaugh and was found in the grounds of Heron & Brearley brewery on the Old Castletown Road in will now spend time in the sanctuary's quarantine facility, ahead of plans to find the nine-month-old mongoose a female mate at another said they were "very relieved" that Gef was "safe and looked well" after his adventure. The wildlife park's manager, Kathleen Graham, said Gef had burrowed out of the northern wildlife park "before TT began" in late MayWildlife officers "looked everywhere and there was no sight of him" at the enclosure, she were then "surprised" to receive a tip-off from a resident in Union Mills who had spotted a mongoose in their to southern Africa and sometimes nicknamed the red meerkat, mongooses can "cover distance and move very fast", Ms Graham said."Animals will escape, if they have the motivations to... I think he was highly motivated to go and find a female." Gef was next spotted in the National Sport Centre car park in Douglas, before being recaptured using traps at the brewery, the park manager said."You couldn't make it up," she joked."Some people have said 'keep him here', but we think he wants to go", Ms Graham said."In all honestly there's a lot of dangers out there and we'll find him a nice home and a nice female, so he will have a happy ending." Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
CTV News
3 days ago
- CTV News
Emaciated and orphaned Alberta bear cub released back into the wild
A cub taken in by the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation (left) was released into the wild the same day a new bear (right) was addmitted for care. (AIWC handout) Officials at an Alberta animal rescue organization say an emaciated black bear cub found wandering alone last year has been released back into the wild. The cub was spotted near the town of Barrhead on Dec. 9, 2024. Once taken to the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation (AIWC) in Madden, staff weighed him and discovered he was just 15 kilograms (33 pounds) – about the third of the size of a healthy cub his age. On Tuesday, the organization announced that after 176 days in its care, the bear was rehabilitated. Staff suspect the cub's mother had been killed and afterward, he was unable to gain the weight needed to undergo hibernation. Before his release, he gained more than 38 kilograms (84 pounds), eventually weighing in at 53 kilograms (117 pounds). AIWC bear cub A cub spotted near the town of Barrhead, Alta., on Dec. 9, 2024, was taken in by the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation. (AIWC) He was released back into the wild by Alberta Environment and Protected Areas on June 3. The animal rescue organization says the day the orphaned black bear was released, coincidentally, another young cub was admitted. 'This young cub, estimated to be just four months old, was found alone and malnourished near Whitecourt,' the organization said in an email. The bear will remain in the facility's care until her release in the fall.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
World's deadliest KITTENS named Thelma and Louise make their adorable debut at Utah zoo
Utah 's Hogle Zoo has welcomed two deadly but adorable kittens named Thelma and Louise to their small animal family. Thelma and Louise are a pair of ten-month-old black-footed cat sisters - one of the deadliest species in the world. Despite their small size and similar appearance to a house cat, these felines are natural predators with a 60 percent success rate when hunting, which is significantly higher than the 20 percent success rate typically achieved by most big cats. The sisters arrived at the Salt Lake City zoo from Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Texas as part of the Black-Footed Cat Consortium's effort to conserve the species. Black-footed cats are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), indicating that their population is in decline. Thelma and Louise are being housed in Hogle's Small Animal Building, where they are often found 'napping, pouncing, exploring and engaging in enrichment activities,' according to the zoo. Adorable footage shared by the zoo shows Thelma and Louise playing in their habitat, pouncing on each other and viciously attacking their scratching post and paper scraps. 'Thelma is bold and playful, while Louise is a little more reserved—cautiously curious and content to observe before leaping into the action,' the zoo said. 'Together, they roll, chase, and tumble through their space.' Black-footed cats resemble tabby cats but derive their name from having black or dark brown soles or pads on their paws. Despite their miniature stature, black-footed cats can spring up to five feet in the air and cover a distance of six-and-a-half feet. These felines are native to Africa and are primarily found in the arid eastern regions of Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa. They are the smallest species of wild cat found on the continent. In the Afrikaans language, they are called 'ant-hill tigers.' Thelma and Louise's arrival marked the return of black-footed cats to Hogle Zoo after their beloved Gaia was transferred to a Texas zoo in November. Gaia first came to Hogle in December 2023 and made headlines for her adorable appearance on the zoo's social media. She was often seen posing on a log in her enclosure, showcasing her distinctive black stripes and tiny toes. In one cute video posted to Instagram, Gaia was seen hunting around her enclosure for some carefully hidden kitty treats as part of her birthday celebrations. She was transferred to Cameron Park Zoo in Texas based on a breeding recommendation by the Black-Footed Cat Consortium. Despite her departure, Hogle Zoo pledged their commitment to 'caring for this deadly and fascinating species is far from over.' 'Hogle Zoo has actively and successfully participated in the Black-footed Cat Consortium, welcoming many kittens and educating the community about these charismatic but deadly cats,' the zoo said.
CTV News
3 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
‘Not based on science': documents show internal government scramble to expand Alberta cougar hunt
Alberta Fish and Wildlife Enforcement shared this photo on their Facebook page on Saturday, March 4, 2018. A controversial decision last year to substantially increase the number of cougars that can be hunted in Alberta was not based on science, according to government documents obtained by The Narwhal. Instead, expanded cougar hunting was 'based on direction from [the] minister last year and input from stakeholders,' according to an internal email between senior staff at the Ministry of Forestry and Parks. Those stakeholders were limited to members of the Alberta Professional Outfitters Society and the Alberta Tree Hounds Association. Internal emails obtained by The Narwhal through four freedom of information requests show senior staff within the ministry said 'social interests, economic effects and departmental mandates' took precedence over 'inventory and monitoring' data for a last-minute increase in cougar hunting quotas. 'Inventory and monitoring information was not the primary element used to inform the process to trigger [the cougar quota] adjustment,' a senior staffer wrote in an email to colleagues. That directly contradicts heated denials by Forestry and Parks Minister Todd Loewen, who lashed out at his Opposition critic in the legislature earlier this year when she suggested he was not taking science and data into account. 'When it comes to wildlife in this province, I would rather manage wildlife with common sense,' he said in response to accusation of political interference from NDP MLA Sarah Elmeligi. 'I'd rather use biology than the ideology that they use.' The internal emails reveal a scramble to change the quotas with little clarity on the process. 'The normal process would be for [the Ministry of Environment and Protected Areas] to undertake an updated assessment of a wildlife species population,' then share that information with the Ministry of Forestry and Parks, one senior staff wrote. No new assessment of Alberta's cougar population has been done since 2019. 'I do not believe that we have agreed on a formal process, as of yet, to inform management changes,' the staffer wrote. 'I look forward to the formalization of process,' another staffer wrote in response. 'Me too……….' was the one-line reply. They were reacting to a change that appeared suddenly just five days before the end of the 2023-24 cougar hunting season. Staff were also directed to open new areas where hounds could be used to hunt cougars. 'This is a 97.6 per cent increase in area where cougars can be hunted with hounds,' a briefing note obtained by The Narwhal says. The report made it clear that the change was not because any data had shown an increase in the cougar population. 'Cougar density in these new areas is unknown but thought to be low.' Then, in late 2024, new quotas were set for the 2024-25 season, based on the last-minute increases in March. Those changes represented an almost 40 per cent increase in the total number of cougars that could be hunted across the province as compared to the start of the previous season. At the same time, the province also quietly opened hunting in some protected areas, including Cypress Hills Provincial Park. The changes also allowed outfitters to expand into new areas — specifically around Canmore, Alta. — with separate and specific licences for guided hunting trips. The move increased the number of cougars that could be killed in those areas, over and above the official quota. The government referred to that change as the 'Alberta Professional Outfitters Society extension.' 'Several' outfitters with that association, along with the Alberta Tree Hounds Association, are the only stakeholders mentioned as being consulted about the changes. But even within that limited group, there was pushback on the government's plans. In the documents, the Alberta Tree Hounds Association expressed concerns the new quotas were 'not based on science or the [cougar] management plans at hand,' and were made at the last minute. The heavily redacted documents do not provide clarity on what the group's specific concerns were or if any changes came from its objections. The association's president, Jason Martyn, did not respond to an interview request. Forestry and Parks Minister Todd Loewen has faced accusations of conflict of interest over hunting Minister Loewen has been travelling through the U.S. and Europe to promote hunting in Alberta and sell expanded special licences for hunting a range of animals. Earlier this year, he lashed out at Elmeligi in the legislature for suggesting his ties to the hunting industry constituted a conflict of interest. The Opposition critic was forced to apologize for suggesting the minister was engaging in corruption. Loewen previously ran Todd Loewen Outfitting Ltd., which changed its name to Red Willow Outfitters. Registry documents show it is now run by family members, including his wife, Teena Loewen. Todd Loewen's November 2024 public conflict of interest disclosure did not specify a financial interest in the business, saying only the company was 'in a management arrangement approved by the Ethics Commissioner of Alberta.' A month later, following reporting by The Narwhal highlighting the company ownership, it was updated to list Red Willow as an asset of his wife. Loewen's office did not respond to an interview request or a set of emailed questions, but he has repeatedly pointed to a review by the provincial ethics commissioner clearing him of any conflicts. A transcript from a June 2024 meeting of a committee reviewing the Conflicts of Interest Act shows the minister wanted clarity around what constitutes a conflict and that he engaged with the ethics commissioner on his specific portfolio and interests. It also shows the situation was complex and that Loewen was initially barred from making some unspecified decisions and said he had to 'try three times' to remove those restrictions. Cougar hunt changes were made after consulting with hunting groups, not conservationists The documents obtained by The Narwhal make it clear the ministry was actively seeking input from hunting groups. 'The minister asked that you hold an online meeting of some houndsmen [he] is aware of (as soon as possible),' a senior staffer wrote to another in November 2024. 'Please reach out to those folks and set up a meeting within a week's time (or whatever is convenient for those guys during hunting season).' The push to consult with hunting organizations contrasts with how another stakeholder whose emails to the government appeared in the documents says they were treated. The Narwhal showed the documents to John Marriott, a wildlife photographer and advocate against cougar hunting. He said his emails were included in the correspondence with his name redacted. 'I didn't get any responses from anybody,' he said. Marriott says the documents make it clear the government was not following the science, or its own cougar management plan. 'These make it very clear that the quota increases for cougar harvest were not from the cougar biologists and the biologists that normally would be making this decision; this was a directive from above,' he said. Ruiping Luo, a conservation specialist with the Alberta Wilderness Association who also reviewed the documents, echoed Marriott. 'They didn't have any new scientific reasoning for changing the quotas and that is something that we suspected: that these quotas were not based on science and there were other factors, like economics, interfering,' she said. 'The other thing — that I think was, again, expected — was there didn't seem to be a ton of consultation, or even consideration of consultation for other groups, for naturalists and recreation users and for Indigenous groups too. This does affect their Treaty Rights to hunt and trap.' 'Who cares about the science?': ecologists concerned about government's wildlife approach The increase in cougar quotas is just one of many changes to hunting regulations introduced by the current government. It has opened hunting of 'problem' grizzly bears after a 20-year ban. It has also lifted quotas on trapping wolverines — citing the need to collect data on how many wolverines are left — and other species. Marco Festa-Bianchet, a retired professor of animal ecology at the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec, said the decision to increase quotas on cougars without a good idea of the population numbers is troublesome. 'To me, as a scientist, what's really bad about it is just, well, let's just ignore years and years of research and wildlife biology and just say, 'Potentially cougars are bad, let's shoot some more,'' he said. More broadly, Festa-Bianchet said the government is making decisions on what appears to be a whim. 'It's just the whole approach,' he said. 'It's the same with mountain goats and grizzly bears: just, like, who cares about the science?' This story is available for use by Canadian Press clients through an agreement with The Narwhal. It was originally published in The Narwhal, a non-profit online magazine that publishes in-depth journalism about the natural world in Canada. Sign up for weekly updates at
