PLANET IN PERIL

CNW a CISION company Some populations of Lake Sturgeon (above), a large, very long-lived species affected by historical  overfishing, are now on the endangered list (COSEWIC). US Fish & Wildlife photo. Atlantic Walrus and Eastern Migratory Caribou are at risk of extinction. So concluded the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), which met recently in Whitehorse. The number of Canadian northern wildlife species considered to be at risk now stands at 62. Details here.

SumOfUs Greenpeace and Stand.Earth (formerly Forest Ethics) are getting sued for $300 million by Canada’s largest logging company  to make them shut up. Details here.

The Washington Post A rose-breasted grosbeak, one of the species-at-risk due to global warming. PinP photo. In 1962, Rachel Carson warned that pesticides, particularly DDT, would lead to springs without birdsong, as she wrote in her book “ Silent Spring .” Carson's forecast kick-started an environmental movement and was instrumental in the Environmental Protection Agency's decision to  ban the pesticides 10 years later, so her descriptions of deathly quiet did not come to pass. Story here.

UN News Centre Applauding the Chinese Government’s closure of many of its ivory factories and retail outlets, the United Nations environment wing has called on other countries and territories to follow China’s example and improve the survival prospects for elephants across the world. Story here.  An Asian elephant in a park in India. Photo credit - Wikipedia.

theguardian Three recent studies point to just how broad, bizarre, and potentially devastating climate change is to life on Earth. And we’ve only seen one degree Celsius of warming so far.  Story here. Some moose populations in Canada are doing well while others  are threatened by habitat loss & degradation.  PinP  photo.

Winnipeg Free Press On Wednesday, Carl Brown Jr. of South Carolina was found guilty of killing an animal that is protected under The Endangered Species and Ecosystems Act. Story here. Photo by Brocken Inaglory.

NATIONAL OBSERVER News this week that there are no more than 15 caribou left in a threatened herd near Val d’Or, Que. is giving new urgency to the fight to protect caribou in the neighbouring Broadback River valley.  Story here.                                               An Alaskan caribou. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

The Globe & Mail Federal and provincial governments are being urged to increase protection for the boreal forest and its imperilled woodland caribou herds from resource-company activity, as environment ministers prepare to meet in Ottawa this week to devise plans for greater conservation efforts. Story here.

UN News Centre The international pledge to eradicate a devastating livestock disease affecting mostly sheep and goats has taken on new urgency in the wake of a mass die-off of a rare Mongolian antelope, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization ( FAO ). Story here. Mongolian antelope.  Image from Wikipedia.

ScienceAdvances The endangered yellow-tailed woolly monkey ( Oreonax flavicauda ) Photo by  Platyrrhinus Nonhuman primates, our closest biological relatives, play important roles and offer unique insights into  many human societies .  Story here.

The Washington Post Your morning cup of joe, the must-have chair purchased at that trendy furniture store and the palm oil that’s key to a favourite family recipe, all have elements ripped from the habitat of a threatened or endangered animal somewhere in the world. Story here. Burrowing owl. PinP photo.

The Washington Post As the Arctic warms faster than any other place on the planet and sea ice declines, there is only one sure way to save polar bears from extinction, the government announced Monday: decisive action on climate change. Story here. Wikipedia photo.

Nation of Change More than 20,000 elephants were killed for their ivory last year, leaving only about 415,000 remaining. Story here.

CommonDreams Just 7,100 cheetahs remain around the world. Story here. U.S. Fish & Wildlife photo.

Bloomberg Kinder Morgan Inc. will have to address the fate of one more group before completing its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion: killer whales. Story here. A pod of killer whales off Vancouver Island. Photo by Winky.

New Scientist The habitat of one of the world’s rarest and most elusive big cats is shrinking fast, with the latest pressure coming from frankincense collectors. Story here.

Inside Climate News As climate change impacts habitats around the world, species are on the move, trying to adapt — and survive. Story here. Wild turkey. Photo by  MONGO

Orangutans are being shot, starved, and burned into extinction by ruthless palm oil plantation expansion. We’re demanding that PepsiCo stop fuelling the demand for  irresponsibly sourced palm oil, which is killing the orangutans.  Will you chip in CA$2? DONATE CA$2 NOW DONATE CA$5 NOW DONATE CA$10 NOW OTHER AMOUNT Dear Larry, Thousands of orangutans in Borneo are killed every year --  shot, starved, and burned to death as their rainforest home is destroyed.  Unless action is taken to protect them, they will likely be extinct in ten years. It's all because of a ruthless effort by the palm oil industry to deforest as much of the island as possible to make room for their destructive palm oil plantations. As their habitat burns, orangutans go hungry. Many starve, while others leave the forest in a desperate search for food and are then often shot by palm oil plantation workers. The only way that orangutans will be saved is if big food cor

World Wildlife Fund Global wildlife populations face a plunge of more than two-thirds during the 50-year period ending in 2020 as a result of human activities, according to WWF’s Living Planet Report 2016. Story here. Cape May warbler. PinP photo.