Celebrating Forty Years of the Endangered Species Act: American Burying Beetle
Scientific Name: Nicrophorus americanus Year Listed on the Endangered Species List: 1989 Endangered Species Listing Status: Endangered Conservation Efforts and Partners: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began capturing American … Continue reading
Celebrating Forty Years of the Endangered Species Act: Bog Turtle
Scientific Name: Clemmys muhlenbergii Year Listed on the Endangered Species List: 1997 Endangered Species Listing Status: Threatened Conservation Efforts and Partners: In 1986, a program began in Tennessee that ultimately … Continue reading
Celebrating World Pangolin Day: Temnick’s Ground Pangolin (Cape Pangolin)
Scientific Name: Manis temminckii Year Listed on the Endangered Species List: 1976 Endangered Species Listing Status: Endangered Conservation Efforts and Partners: Cape pangolins are protected by legislation in a few … Continue reading
Celebrating Forty Years of the Endangered Species Act: Okaloosa Darter
Scientific Name: Etheostoma okaloosae Year Listed on the Endangered Species List: 1973 Endangered Species Listing Status: Threatened The Okaloosa darter was originally listed as endangered in 1973, with only 1,500 … Continue reading
Celebrating Forty Years of the Endangered Species Act: Karner Blue Butterfly
Scientific Name: Lycaeides melissa samuelis Year Listed on the Endangered Species List: 1992 Endangered Species Listing Status: Endangered Conservation Efforts and Partners: Beginning with twelve members in 2001, The Butterfly … Continue reading
Celebrating Forty Years of the Endangered Species Act: Ozark Hellbender
Scientific Name: Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi Year Listed on the Endangered Species List: 2011 Endangered Species Listing Status: Endangered Conservation Efforts and Partners: In 2011, the Saint Louis Zoo and the … Continue reading
Celebrating Forty Years of the Endangered Species Act: Bornean and Sumatran Orangutan
Scientific Name: (Pongo pygmaeus) and (Pongo abelii) While all orangutans were previously believed to be subspecies of the Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus), recent research supports the taxonomic classification of the … Continue reading
Celebrating Forty Years of the Endangered Species Act: Piping Plover
Scientific Name: (Charadrius melodus) Year Listed on the Endangered Species List: 1985 Endangered Species Listing Status: Endangered in the Great Lakes watershed. Threatened everywhere else. Conservation Efforts and Partners: In … Continue reading
Celebrating Forty Years of the Endangered Species Act: Desert Tortoise
Scientific Name: (Gopherus agassizii) Year Listed on the Endangered Species List: 1980 Endangered Species Listing Status: Threatened Conservation Efforts and Partners: In March 2009, the San Diego Zoo Institute for … Continue reading
What is the Endangered Species Act?
This year is the 40th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act. Congress passed the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1973. On December 28th of that year, President Richard Nixon signed … Continue reading
Sun Bear
Scientific Name: Helarctos malayanus Helarctos is Greek for “sun” and “bear”. Malayanus is Latin and refers to “located in Malaysia.” Where Sun Bears Live: Sun bears live in mainland Southeast … Continue reading
Evolutionary Bears: Giants and Cave Dwellers
The earliest bear was about the size of a fox terrier dog and is known as the “Dawn Bear” (Ursavus elemensis) and its remains were found in subtropical Europe. By … Continue reading
American Black Bear
Scientific Name: Ursus americanus. Ursus is Latin for “bear.” Americanus is Latin for “American.” Where American Black Bears Live: Black bears live in most of North America from Alaska, across … Continue reading
Sloth Bear
Scientific Name: Melursus ursinus Melursus means “dark (hair) honey bear.” Ursinus is Latin for “bear.” Where Sloth Bears Live: Throughout India, Sri Lanka, and further north into Bangladesh, Nepal, and … Continue reading
Bears in Entertainment
In 2002, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service seized six polar bears in Puerto Rico that were owned by the Suarez Brothers Circus, a circus based in Mexico. The … Continue reading
Polar Bear
Scientific Name: Ursus maritimus Ursus is from Latin ursinus “of or resembling a bear”. Maritimus is from Latin maritimus “of the sea or near the sea”. Where Polar Bears Live: … Continue reading
Brown Bear
Scientific Name: Ursus arctos Ursus is Latin for “bear”; arctos comes from Greek arktos, meaning bear. The double meaning here may suggest that brown bears are the archetypal bear. There … Continue reading
The International Trade in Bear Parts and Bear Bile
As you are reading this, there are an estimated 12,000-20,000 bears confined to tiny cages throughout Asia, primarily in China, Malaysia and Thailand. These bears are victim to the barbaric … Continue reading
Asiatic Black Bear
Scientific Name: Ursus thibetanus Ursus is from Latin ursinus “of or resembling a bear”. Thibetanus is Latin for “located in Tibet”. Where Asiatic Black Bears Live: Fossil remains of the … Continue reading
Giant Panda
Scientific Name: Ailuropoda melanoleuca “Ailuropoda” means black and white panda foot. “Melano” means black or darkness of hair. “Leuca” means white or colorless. Where Giant Pandas Live: Giant pandas prefer … Continue reading
How Twin Bear Cubs Influenced My Travel Plans
On December 12, 2012, the National Zoo posted on Facebook that their Andean bear, Billie Jean, was showing signs of labor. Thanks to web cams, many of us watched nervously … Continue reading
Andean Bear
Scientific Name: Tremarcto ornatus Tremarctos is a combination of Latin words that translate to “tremendous bear”. Ornatus is in reference to the ornate design on face and around the eyes like … Continue reading
Bear Evolution 101
I am beginning Bear Month at The Whisker Chronicles with a fairly technical blog in order to elaborate on how very long bears have existed. There are now only a … Continue reading
Day Twelve of Twelve Days of Arctic Animals: Moose
Scientific Name: Alces alces is the Eurasian moose. Alces americanus is the American moose.
Day Eleven of Twelve Days of Arctic Animals: Walrus
Scientific Name: Odobenus rosmarus Odobenus rosmarus is Latin for “tooth-walking sea-horse”. Walruses use their tusks to haul out onto pack ice and it looks like they are walking on their … Continue reading
Day Ten of Twelve Days of Arctic Animals: Arctic Fox
Scientific Name: Vulpes lagopus Vulpes is from the Latin vulpinus which means “of or pertaining to a fox”.
Day Nine of Twelve Days of Arctic Animals: Beluga Whale
Scientific Name: Delphinapterus leucas The word beluga comes from the Russian word “bielo” meaning white. Beluga whales are actually born dark gray and are not white for up to eight … Continue reading
Day Eight of Twelve Days of Arctic Animals: Wolverine
Scientific Name: Gulo gulo “Gulo” is Latin for glutton and French for gullet or throat.
Day Seven of Twelve Days of Arctic Animals: Polar Bear
Scientific Name: Ursus maritimus Ursus is from Latin ursinus “of or resembling a bear”. Maritimus is from Latin maritimus “of the sea or near the sea”.
Day Six of Twelve Days of Arctic Animals: Narwhal
Scientific Name: Monodon monoceros Scientifically named by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, Monodon monoceros means “one tooth, one horn”.
The Sacred Place Where Life Begins (Written for The Ecotone Exchange)
In the developed world, we are accustomed to grocery stores, drive-through windows and internet access providing instant gratification and an abundance of resources at our beck and call. Modern conveniences are fantastic … Continue reading
Day Five of Twelve Days of Arctic Animals: Dall Sheep
Scientific Name: Ovis dalli Dall sheep were scientifically named in 1884, “Ovis” is from the Latin word ovinus, meaning sheep. Dalli is derived from the name of scientist William Healey … Continue reading
Day Four of Twelve Days of Arctic Animals: Arctic Hare
Scientific Name: Lepus arcticus Where Arctic Hare Live: Arctic hare live in mountainous tundra, rocky plateaus and treeless coasts along the northernmost regions of Greenland, the Arctic Islands, Newfoundland and Labrador.
Day Three of Twelve Days of Arctic Animals: Arctic Tern
Scientific Name: Sterna paradisaea Where Arctic Terns Live: The Arctic Tern has a circumpolar range, spending breeding season in the Arctic and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North
Day Two of Twelve Days of Arctic Animals: Muskoxen
Scientific Name: Ovibos moschatus. The prefix “ovi” is Latin for sheep, “bos” is latin for ox. “Moschatus” is New Latin for musky and refers to the preorbital glands that
Another Perspective on Sea World, Orcas and Captive Animals (Written for The Ecotone Exchange)
By Maymie Higgins The movie Blackfish is set to be released on DVD on Tuesday, November 12. As much debate as the CNN airings and film festival
Day One of Twelve Days of Arctic Animals: Snowy Owl
Scientific Name: Nyctea scandiaca or Bubo scandiacus “Nyctea” is Greek for nocturnal (most owls are nocturnal but snowy owls are not), “scandiaca” is Latin and an ancient name for the
November is Manatee Awareness Month (Written for The Ecotone Exchange)
$53 Billion of Organic Pest Control is not Spooky (Written for the Ecotone Exchange)
My street is a typical rural North Carolina subdivision with ecological features that influenced my home purchase. The narrow road
Home on the Range, Where Antelope Still Play (Written for The Ecotone Exchange)
North Carolina Aquariums: Partnering with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and the Local Community to Save Sea Turtles (Written for The Ecotone Exchange)
The moonlight reflected off the North Carolina shoreline, illuminating the way as she used her strongly developed forelimbs to drag herself several yards towards the dunes, just as her mother … Continue reading
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