PLANET IN PERIL

World Wildlife Fund                    Burrowing owl.                                   Great Blue Herron. Bobolink. (PinP photos.) The fate of wildlife in Canada is in our hands. WWF -Canada’s Living Planet Report Canada shows that wildlife is on a troubling decline. It’s time to come together and turn things around. Story here.

PNAS Red elderberry and sockeye salmon make up a large portion of a Kodiak bear's diet; usually, the bears treat themselves to spawning salmon before the elderberry season begins. Recently, warmer springs have shifted the elderberry fruiting time to an earlier period, which coincides with the salmon spawn. Researchers observed how warmer springs affected the bears' diets, and found that bears left the streams to forage on berries on adjacent hillsides, disrupting an ecological link that typically fertilizes terrestrial ecosystems and generates high mortality rates for salmon. These findings contribute to the ongoing exploration of the effects of climate change on specific predator-prey relationships and ecosystems as a whole.

Environmental Research Letters Reindeer photo by  Arild Vågen Reindeer may be best known for pulling Santa’s sleigh, but a new study suggests they may have a part to play in slowing down climate change too. Story here.

EurekAlert Strategies include moving less, and favouring safer areas when near roads. Story here. Elk in Jasper Nat'l. Park, Canada.  PinP photo.

inside climate news Ticks that flourish as temperatures rise are decimating the once-thriving population. Some experts think reducing moose numbers is the best way to save them. Story here. A moose in Riding Mountain National Park, Canada. PinP photo.

Care 2 petition For years, the wolf known as “White Lady” delighted visitors who were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of her when they visited Yellowstone National Park . Story here.

The Guardian Manu national park in Peru threatened by roads, oil/gas operations, narco trade, gold-mining, logging and ‘human safaris’ Story here. In North America, there are also species in decline,  like this Bobolink on the Canadian prairies.  PinP photo. 

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

environment360 A flood of migrants from the Middle East and Africa has prompted governments in the Balkans to erect hundreds of miles of border fences. Scientists say the expanding network of barriers poses a serious threat to wildlife, especially wide-ranging animals such as bears and wolves. Story here.

the guardian Huge flock of migratory birds landed on acidic waters of an open pit mine where employees attempted to scare them off. Story here.

the guardian EU president abandons plan to overhaul flagship birds and habitats directives following a huge public campaign. 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

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.

CBCnews Conservation officers charged eight hunters with alleged moose poaching, a provincial news release said Thursday. Story here. PinP photo.

CBC News Cherry-faced Meadowhawk..... Sympetrum internum.... female Copyright © 2016 PinP (Not one of the "new winged beasts." Just an attractive dragonfly found in Manitoba. 😊) A Winnipeg biologist has had not one, but two chance encounters with winged insect critters this summer that aren't supposed to be in Manitoba. Story here.

by Larry Powell Some of the wildlife and terrain we saw and photographed in and near the park. Enjoy! A lone member of the park's herd of prairie bison. A shy (and rare) burrowing owl. Ringneck pheasant Black-tailed prairie dogs "Seventy-Mile Butte" A sweep of rare, wild prairie, preserved for posterity in the park. (All photos by PinP.) Please also visit: "Wild Critters of the Grasslands, a Picture Story."

The beginning of the "70-Mile Butte" trail. by Larry Powell Row & I are visiting a special place right now. It's Grasslands National Park in SW Saskatchewan. I can swear the animals, birds and even plants are saying "thank you" for not huntinig or spraying us, or plowing us down! Enjoy the photos.  Yours in Nature. Larry

CJ Radio PinP photo. The Rural Municipality of Pipestone, Manitoba has passed a resolution and created a petition to have the Provincial Government create designated hunting zones for Metis status hunters in the province. Story here.

Humane Society International Canada PinP photo Animal protection and conservation groups encourage responsible approach to wildlife management. More here.