Wild Animal News

The Liberty Canyon animal overcrossing is making steady progress according to state officials. The crossing is expected to be complete in 2026. The cougar overcrossing is designed to create a safe passageway for the large cats and other wildlife.

The project is designed in two steps. Phase one should be complete in 2025 and phase 2 in 2026. When complete the overcrossing will feature natural vegetation and features to help entice a great variety of wildlife to use it. Mountain lions, bobcats (Lynx rufus) and Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) are expected to be major beneficiaries.

The cougar overcrossing project has been a public and private cooperative venture. It was started because people realized the plight of Santa Monica Mountain cougars. For about 20 years the National Park Service (NPS) has collared and studied the regional cats. More than 100 have been tagged and many were killed crossing the freeway. The most famous of the cougars, P-22 managed to cross the freeway twice. His fame led to the raising of awareness and funds for the project.

Officially known as the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing after a major donor the Liberty Canyon project is the largest of its kind in the world and is influencing conservation decisions nationally and internationally. The situation is urgent. Almost two dozen cougars (Puma concolor) and one black bear (Ursus americanus) have been killed in recent years. Most animals turn away when confronted by the 10-lane highway. The result has been genetic isolation for the animals. Santa Monica area mountain lions are showing signs of inbreeding as a result. Annenberg has donated $25 million of the $92 million price tag.

CalTrans, the state transportation agency has expedited efforts to save wildlife by mitigating the risks to animals by crossing roadways. No one knows the exact number of animals killed annually in collisions, but the number appears to be enormous. Crashes with deer are responsible for thousands of injuries and deaths. Animals are killed and many people are injured and some die. Property damage is also very great. The new cougar overcrossing is expected to lower the local toll.

Jaguars. AKA Panthera Onca, are the largest big cats in the Americas. They were once common from the southern United States deep into South America. Although they remain common in some areas their population is under threat in others. The successful results of a recent Mexican jaguar census shows conservation efforts are working. It also may accelerate efforts to reintroduce the cats to the United States. Jaguars were extirpated from the United States. A few are crossing the Mexican border and may recolonize Arizona.

According to Mongabay Mexican conservationists are very happy that the estimated jaguar population has jumped by about 800 individuals between the first two head counts ever taken.

Jaguars are among the many spotted cats in the nearly 40 member cat family. . They resemble leopards, but are not too closely related.

According to Britannica:

“Jaguars are also larger and more heavily built than leopards. The male jaguar, which is generally larger than the female, attains a length of 1.7–2.7 metres (5.6–9 feet), including the 0.6–0.9-metre (2–3-foot) tail, with a shoulder height of 0.7–0.8 metre (2.3–2.6 feet); it weighs from 100 to 160 kg (220 to 350 pounds). South American jaguars are larger than those of Central America. The jaguar is grouped along with lions and tigers with the big, or roaring, cats and is the only such cat in the Western Hemisphere. Its sound repertoire includes snarls, growls, and deep hoarse grunts.”

• Project Cheetah Marks New Success Milestone As Three New Cubs Are Born In India’s Kuno National Park
• Virus Outbreak Kills 72 Captive Tigers In Thailand; Wild Population And Humans So Far Unaffected
• Invasive Burmese Pythons Are Reshaping Florida -Not For The Better
• Female Gray Wolf Enters Los Angeles County; First In A Century; Harbinger Of A New Pack ?
• Do Jaguars Meow Like Housecats? New Research Says Yes, Sometimes

• Project Cheetah Marks New Success Milestone As Three New Cubs Are Born In India’s Kuno National Park
• Virus Outbreak Kills 72 Captive Tigers In Thailand; Wild Population And Humans So Far Unaffected
• Invasive Burmese Pythons Are Reshaping Florida -Not For The Better
• Female Gray Wolf Enters Los Angeles County; First In A Century; Harbinger Of A New Pack ?
• Do Jaguars Meow Like Housecats? New Research Says Yes, Sometimes

• Project Cheetah Marks New Success Milestone As Three New Cubs Are Born In India’s Kuno National Park
• Virus Outbreak Kills 72 Captive Tigers In Thailand; Wild Population And Humans So Far Unaffected
• Invasive Burmese Pythons Are Reshaping Florida -Not For The Better
• Female Gray Wolf Enters Los Angeles County; First In A Century; Harbinger Of A New Pack ?
• Do Jaguars Meow Like Housecats? New Research Says Yes, Sometimes

Meanwhile, a handful of male jaguars cross into Arizona. There are no females reported so the population is not established. Conservationists are seeking to start a breeding population. Females must be present to bring cubs into the region. A formal reintroduction effort is being urged.

After centuries of persecution Europeans are watching as European wolves rebound from near-extinction. According to IFLscience the resurgence is remarkable. Wolf populations are up a staggering 58 percent during the last 10 years. As European wolves rebound, the troubled nature of our relationship with them is exposed.

Although the resurgence has not been without opposition, it has been dramatic. The resurgence is notable in most of the region, but several countries stand out.

Italy has recorded dramatic increases in wolf population. But not without serious problems. Feral hogs have increased in numbers also. It has been hoped that wolves would eat them. But brazen wolves have caused problems of their own.

Recently, Italy was celebrating the return of wolves, thought now to number over 1,000. It was even hoped they could put a dent in the population of feral hogs. Hogs wander the streets of several Italian cities. It has been hoped urban Italian wolves would eat enough pork to make a difference and stay in the woods.

But wandering wolves began to stray into the city of Siena The mayor wrote to the Italian government asking to aid. She said wolves were eating pdets and livestock an threatening people as they wandered through the city.

The conflict illustrates the perils f conservation policy. Create conditions conducive to feral hogs and reap the problems associated with wandering pigs. Reduce persecution of wolves and reap the problems associated with urbanizing wolves.

So far most of the European region appears to be accepting of the return of wolves, but serious issues remain. But as European wolves rebound, the destruction they cause is also rebounding

French authorities estimate that that nation’s wolves kill and estimated 15,000 head of livestock annually. Today, there are an estimated 538 wolves in France. Having entered from the Italian region they have been steadily moving into other parts of the country. It is estimated their numbers are growing between 10 and 20 percent per year.

That growth rate is not without cost as the French authorities estimate the wolves kill 15,000 head of livestock annually. The French wolves kill sheep, cattle, goats and horses. That equates to 9 head per wolf annually. The number appears to be rising.

Wolves were exterminated in France prior to World War Two. They began returning as migrants from Italy around the year 2000. Wolves tend to disperse effectively as has been seen in the United States. Wolves were recently reintroduced to Colorado and quickly began dispersing. Depradation by wolves has resulted in wolf killing in a number of states where they are now found. Oregon and California have both seen cases of wof killing. At the moment European law tends to protect the canines but anti-wolf sentiment remains as poisoners have done their work in Italy.

Our primary focus here at Wild Animal News has been living wild animals but the prospect of resurrecting extinct wild animals has been hard to ignore. Today, once again, the spotlight is on the possibility of a Tasmanian Tiger return. That “tiger,” scientifically known as a thylacine, was Australia’s apex predator – and a marsupial. It probably went extinct in 1936. They are not part of any feline lineage. It is named after the striped pattern of its coat.

According to Daily Galaxy the triumphal return could be in as little as ten years. Despite the recent date of extinction the prospect of return seemed an incredible long shot. The first problem was the perceived lack of usable DNA critical to any revival. A series of discoveries in museums around the world seems to have solved that aspect of the problem. Second was the tiny size of its nearest living relative.

Colossal Biosciences claims to have sequenced the thylacine DNA. This due to the discovery of a century old specimen in prime condition.

According to the Daily Galaxy:

“A 108-year-old thylacine pup, preserved in alcohol at a museum in Melbourne, provided researchers with an exceptionally well-preserved genetic sample. This rare find allowed them to extract not only DNA but also RNA molecules, which revealed how the thylacine’s genes functioned.

“The thylacine samples used for our new reference genome are among the best-preserved ancient specimens my team has worked with,” said Beth Shapiro, Colossal’s chief science officer.

“By analyzing the RNA, researchers could determine what the thylacine could taste, how it smelled, how it processed light, and even how its brain functioned. This level of detail goes beyond traditional genetic reconstruction, giving scientists an unprecedented view into the biology of an extinct predator.”

“With this new resource in hand, we will be able to determine what a thylacine could taste, what it could smell, what kind of vision it had, and even how its brain functioned,” explained Professor Andrew Pask from the University of Melbourne, a leading researcher on the project.”

The other major hurdle is creating a viable embryo that can be raised to birth. The nearest living relative to the thylacine is a fat-tailed dunnart (Dasyuridae), which is a rodent sized marsupial. Thylacines were roughly the size of medium German Shepherd.

Colossal is also trying to resurrect the woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) . That appears easier as the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is the mammoth’s closest living relative.

A Tasmanian tiger return may not be truly necessary. One remote possibility is that the thylacine is not extinct after all. Quite a few people believe they have seen living thylacines in remote parts of Tasmania. One scientist believes they survived long after 1936. Possibly into at least the 1980’s. But the likelihood of living wild thylacines is considered low.

The Thylacine Awareness Group of Australia (TAGOA) is actively seeking to prove the experts wrong. The Tasmanian tiger return may be as simple as taking a closer look around.

Readers are probably aware of the near extinction of the American Bison, aka buffalo. The shaggy beasts roamed much of the now United States in the tens of millions, estimates suggest. But a concentrated effort ending in the late 19th Century killed about 99.9 percent of the animals. One of the last wild herds lived in Yellowstone National Park. Just before 1900 the Yellowstone wild bison had been reduced to 23 in number.

According to reports the near miracle survival of that herd has resulted in a healthy, stable and genetically diverse mega herd of pure wild bison.

Although the bison were near extinction in most of the United States there were a few other pockets besides Yellowstone. Other bison had been partly domesticated and cross-bred with cattle. Today there are several hundred thousand bison, but a high proportion are not pure bred.

Because the Yellowstone bison ar pure bred their population is extremely important for future conservation efforts.

The Yellowstone herd is big enough that it is overcrowding the park. Limited hunting and transfers to other herds are among the tools used to keep the animals numbers in check.

Although there have been successes, bison face challenges even in Yellowstone. Harsh winters can be deadly. The importation of wolves into the park has reintroduced natural predation into their lives. All big game world wide faces the risk of illegal trophy hunting or poaching. Another threat is disease as bison ae susceptible to illnesses spread if they get too close to domestic cattle.

As many as 30,000 wild bison live in the United States today, about 6,000 in Yellowstone. The others are scattered into smaller herds shepherded by Native Americans and other agencies and conservators. Bison remains a popular specialty meat and more than 400,000 bison are held in private hands, many of them those of ranchers.

Efforts to ensure a woolly mammoth resurrection have been in the news. Various scientists world wide a seeking to “de-extinct” a number of long gone animals. Apparently the re-appearance of the woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) is one big step closer.

According to Newsweek the source of the excitement is the development of a tiny new creature – the woolly mouse.

De-extinction” is a tricky theoretical effort. There has to be sufficient usable DNA from the extinct creature. That DNA has to be able to be spliced into living creatures. Eventually a viable fetus has to be placed in a surrogate. Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) are the closet living relative to the extinct woolly mammoth.

An intermediate step is the woolly mouse, created by Colossal Biosciences. The mouse is being called “colossal” perhaps in the sense of jumbo shrimp. According to Newsweek:

“The team at genetics and biotech firm Colossal Biosciences have imbued rodents with thicker, woolly coats, golden fur and other cold-climate adaptations, all of which are key characteristics of the iconic woolly mammoth.

“The Colossal Woolly Mouse marks a watershed moment in our de-extinction mission,” said Colossal Biosciences co-founder and CEO Ben Lamm.

“This success brings us a step closer to our goal of bringing back the woolly mammoth.””

How?

“In particular, the team focused their attention on a suite of genes in which woolly mammoths exhibit fixed differences when compared with Asian elephants, their close cousins.

They then narrowed down their list to 10 genes that play a role in hair properties (including color, length, texture and thickness) and lipid metabolism—and are compatible with mice.”

The painstaking work is typical of that needed to return animals from the grave. Worldwide, efforts are afoot to resurrect close copies of a number of creatures, including dodo birds and passenger pigeons. Among the more challenging projects is an effort to return to the Earth the recently extinct Tasmanian Tiger or Thylacine. Ironically, although that marsupial predator probably went extinct in the 1930’s resurrection challenges are greater than with mammoths. An abundance of deep frozen mammoths provides great amounts of usable DNA. Not so with the thylacine, as quality DNA sources are limited, although breakthroughs are occurring.

One caution. The resurrected creatures will be very close to the extinct model, but they will not be exact clones as a result of the genetic splicing and use of surrogates.

De-extinction has attracted interest in many corners. One is the American Central Intelligence Agency, or CIA. Although there is no direct proof the agency is thought to be interested in the technology involved. A funding source allegedly used by the agency has helped fund Colossal Biosciences efforts toward woolly mammoth resurrection.

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The bobcat (Lynx rufus) is a fierce, medium sized feline predator. The cats, which can weigh up to about 30 pounds, were once persecuted. An end to most persecution has allowed the cats to rebound in numbers with significant benefits. According to US News a rebounding bobcat population is good news for the environment and for humans too.

The benefit comes from the prodigious appetite and varied diet of the cats. Bobcats are found from southern Canada into northern Mexico. They now inhabit most of the United States with the definite exclusion of Alaska and Hawaii. It is thought they number over one million individuals. They eat everything from insects to (sometimes) deer. Their consumption of rodents and other small animals is key to both their role as environmental guardian and protectors of human health.

The reason is simple: Every rat and mouse and rabbit they eat removes a host for a number of serious transmissible diseases. It also disrupts the vector chain of fleas and ticks and parasites

As the website put it:

“Bobcats play a surprising role in reducing disease transmission. As “poor hosts” for many pathogens, including the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, they help disrupt the cycle of infection. Ticks that feed on bobcats are far less likely to carry Lyme-causing bacteria than ticks that feed on rodents like white-footed mice. This phenomenon, called the dilution effect, illustrates how predators like bobcats keep ecosystems balanced by limiting the number of disease-carrying hosts. When predator diversity is high, disease risks for humans and other animals decrease significantly.”

A rebounding bobcat population still faces serious risks. One is traffic. In California alone the death and damage toll from vehicle collisions with animals runs into the hundreds of millions of dollars a year. The toll is high enough that Caltrans has taken note. The state transportation agency is actively working to find ways to prevent such collisions. Another major problem is overuse of pesticides. The National Park Service (NPS) studies the 400 or so bobcats in the Santa Monica Mountains and finds that pesticides are a severe threat.

There are habitat niches and there are habitat niches. A hot. clammy cave system in Gabon not only houses huge numbers of bats and crickets but a recently studied population of dwarf bat-eating crocodiles that stew in the abundant guano and turn orange as a result.

According to Live Science there is reason to believe that the crocodiles in question are morphing into a species separate from their nearby forest-dwelling cousins.

Dwarf crocodiles are well known. According to Britannica:

“(Osteolaemus tetraspis), the world’s smallest living crocodile species, growing to a maximum length of 1.8 meters (5.9 feet) and a maximum weight of 45.4 kg (100 pounds). The species inhabits swamps and small freshwater streams in sub-Saharan western and central Africa, from Guinea east to the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and south to northern Angola. The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) lists the dwarf crocodile as a vulnerable species.””

The bat eating crocodiles in question live in the Abanda cave system in Gabon. That system has been studied since the early 2000s. It is a three level system with five main caves some of them more than 4 kilometers long. It is unknown how many dwarf crocodiles live there. How long they have lived there is also a question. It is speculated that mother crocodiles lay their eggs near the mouth of the caves. The hatchlings apparently quickly return to the cave and do not leave.

The area is quite remote and the researchers are advocating protections for the region and its orange cave dwellers.

There are at least three types of bats for the bat eatng crocodiles. They include Egyptian fruit bats, Sundevall’s roundleaf bats and Giant roundleaf bats.

Meanwhile, in other crocodile news it has recently been established that crocodiles “surf.” For decades reports of crocodiles spotted far out to sea have been recorded. Research partly financed by the late naturalist Steve Irwin has finally borne fruit. Salt water crocodiles can and do ride currents and ocean waves for many miles out to sea.

In the early 1930’s South Africa’s Addo Elephant Park was founded to save the last 11 elephants in the region. That aspect of conservation has been a success as the park is now home to about 600 African elephants either (Loxodonta africana or L. cyclotis and many other species. But challenges remain as the park’s wetlands appear to be under threat.

Addo Elephant Park is the third largest of South Africa’s 20 national parks. It covers 633 square miles. In contrast, Yellowstone National Park in the United States covers more than 3,000 square miles.

Addo is densely populated with wildlife, including, leopards, lions and water buffalo. It is adjacent to a rich marine ecosystem with right whales, penguins and great white sharks. There are plans to combine the existing park with the marine element and a flora rich area close by.

But Ado’s wetlands are under threat.

According to the website the Conversation:

“The Addo Elephant National Park in South Africa was established 94 years ago to protect the last 11 elephants in the Eastern Cape region. Since then, the reserve has expanded to 155,000 hectares and today it’s home to lions, leopards, rhino, buffalo and more than 600 elephants. It also has 16 rivers and 437 wetlands. Freshwater scientists Nancy Job and Dirk Roux were part of a team who co-authored the South African National Parks and South African National Biodiversity Institute’s first ever inventory of the park’s rivers and wetlands. With an inventory in place, the park is better placed to conserve wetlands for South Africa and plan for the future“

Specific threats to the wetlands exist and are being assessed as the park moves into the future.

Elephants around the world are under threat. African elephants face both habitat loss and poaching.

Meanwhile their Asian cousins (Elephas Maximus) are another source of concern. They have been accidentally eating increasing amounts of plastic. This has conservationists worried.

As Asian elephants are the closest living relatives to the extinct wooly mammoth they are in the spotlight. It is hoped that a viable wooly mammoth fetus can be created. The fetus would be a creation of mammoth and elephant DNA. It would be brought to term in a surrogate elephant mother. They resulting calf would be very close genetically to a mammoth calf.

Addo

Venomous snakes might not be on everyone’s list of animals to rescue from extinction. But the United States Fish and Wildlife Service is willing to try. The agency has recognized the danger to the threatened eastern Massasauga rattlesnake and has finalized a recovery plan. The plan is in cooperation with stakeholders in the snakes’ habitat which stretches from the American Midwest into Ontario, Canada The Massasauga is Ontario’s sole venomous snake.

According to Britannica the threatened eastern massasauga rattlesnake is small but potent. It is about 18 to 30 inches long. The snake is secretive and unaggressive. It may inflict a painful and rarely fatal bite.

Britannica says the threatened eastern massasauga, Sistrurus catenatus, eats frogs, lizards and rodents. The snakes bear live young. Although their venom is potent the snakes have short fangs, limiting the amount of venom they can inject.

So how does the wildlife agency make plans to save a threatened snake:

“Conserving threatened eastern massasaugas means conserving the wetlands and adjacent uplands where they live. In addition to providing wildlife habitat, wetlands benefit people by storing floodwaters and filtering sediments and other pollutants from water eventually used for drinking and recreation.

“Many partners have already made progress in conserving the eastern massasauga and its habitat. Before the species was listed, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources recognized the need to manage some of its lands to conserve the snake. We worked with the DNR on a candidate conservation agreement with assurances that made it easier for the DNR to manage its lands now that the snake is listed. Through the agreement, Michigan DNR has enrolled more than 2.7 million acres of land that will be managed to benefit the snake, covering a large area of the species’ range in Michigan.”

The federal agency works with state, local and tribal organizations in efforts to conserve targeted wildlife.”

Meanwhile, Florida has the opposite problem as Burmese pythons continue to plague the state.