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☆ Charles Rivers recommends against PETA's proposal for transparency on lab monkeys
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 31 (Reuters) - The board of Charles River Laboratories (CRL.N) has unanimously recommended against a shareholder proposal requiring transparency on its import practices of lab monkeys, according to a regulatory filing by the U.S. contract research organization firm. PETA's proposal also demands information on whether the monkeys are caught in the wild or bred in captivity. Charles River shareholders will vote on PETA and other proposals from the board at the company's annual meeting on May 9. According to government estimates, 95% of the 92,430 monkeys brought into the U.S. between 2019 and 2021 were long-tailed macaques. While Charles River's board recommended against PETA's proposal, it said the company will include information on how its "imports are purpose-bred in accordance with applicable laws" in its 2024 annual report, the filing on Thursday showed.

☆ Fears for orangutans, dolphins as Indonesia presses on with new capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Stefanno Sulaiman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

She is one of 127 orangutans that the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF) is caring for in the Samboja district, East Kalimantan. The Nusantara Capital City Authority said mangroves would be replanted in other areas and guidelines have been made for workers encountering an animal. "It's a very high concern of how we'll try to have harmony between people, nature and culture...because that's the soul of the city," Nusantara chief Bambang Susantono said. "We hope that with the capital city being here, we can pave the way for animals to live side by side (with humans)," said BOSF manager Aldrianto Priadjati. "At least provide an area for orangutans so they can live a better life."

☆ New images offer rare glimpse of the DMZ between North and South Korea where wild animals find peace and flourish
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

New images were released showing a "wildlife sanctuary" in Korea's demilitarized zone (DMZ). The project marks 70 years since the Korean armistice agreement split the nation between North and South. Photographs show many rare flowers and endangered animals living in the area. "After the Korean War, the DMZ had minimal human interference for over 70 years, and the damaged nature recovered on its own," the site said. The DMZ is home to plants and animals "completely unique to Korea" — 38% of which are endangered, Google said on the project site.

☆ Google Offers Rare Look at Restricted Areas Near Korean Peninsula’s DMZ
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Jiyoung Sohn | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

SEOUL—For nearly 70 years, the demilitarized zone that divides the Korean Peninsula has stayed off limits to nearly all human habitation. Now anyone can take a virtual walk through restricted areas that border the DMZ, catching rare glimpses of former battle sites, as well as natural landscapes, fauna and endangered wildlife that has flourished in the decades since the Korean War hostilities ended with an armistice in July 1953.

☆ Cruz Foam makes styrofoam alternative from shrimp shells and food waste
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Meanwhile, companies that ship or sell fragile goods, food or medical supplies that need to stay cold during shipping still need materials with the lightweight, insulating qualities and manufacturability of styrofoam. That's where startup Cruz Foam comes in. Cruz Foam is made from naturally occurring materials including chitin (pronounced like "kite-in") along with starches and fibers diverted from agricultural waste streams. Chitin is a polymer contained in the shells of shrimp and other crustaceans, as well as insect exoskeletons. Besides that, styrofoam products are usually treated with flame retardants and can absorb other pollutants from water around them, increasing the threat to any wildlife that eats or lives amid the discarded styrofoam.

☆ New museum in Mexico spotlights endangered axolotl salamander
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Alberto Fajardo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/6] An axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) swims in an aquarium at the new Axolotl Museum and Amphibians Conservation Centre, which is to promote the protection and study of this endangered species, at Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City, Mexico, January 25, 2023. REUTERS/Henry RomeroMEXICO CITY, Jan 26 (Reuters) - A new museum and conservation center dedicated to Mexico's critically endangered axolotl salamander is highlighting the amphibian's remarkable story that has captured the attention of scientists and the public alike. With an impressive ability to heal itself, the axolotl (pronounced ah-sho-LO-tul) salamanders were showcased in the exhibit, which opened on Saturday, at Mexico City's Chapultepec Zoo. For decades, researchers have marveled at how the axolotl can regenerate amputated limbs and damaged body tissue, even its heart and brain. While the axolotl native to Mexico City's southern Xochimilco district is especially well-known, Gual points to 16 other kinds of axolotls that also call Mexico home, each one "like a wetlands ambassador."

☆ ‘Wildheart’ Review: Saga of a Scots Pine on PBS
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( John Anderson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Making a single tree the star of a wildlife special wouldn’t seem like the path to electrifying programming, but “Wildheart”—titled after the 500-year-old Scots pine at the center of this “Nature” presentation—is not just enchanting in its approach to the flora, fauna and history of the Scottish Highlands, but a novel way to get into the subject, even if the process does take anthropomorphism to new heights. The tree in question, treated as a character in its own drama by narrator Thoren Ferguson , has been a mute witness to history since Mary Queen of Scots was a child; in a fanciful bit of dramatic recreation, the tiny royal tosses a pine cone, which takes root in the country where she was crowned at nine months of age, betrothed to the son of Henry VIII of England and, after treaties fell apart and tension mounted, secreted away in what the Romans had dubbed the Caledonian forest. By 1549, when the pine had attained a height of about two feet, Mary was already in France, temporarily safe from dynastic battles and French-English-Scottish politics.

☆ It’s Not Every Day That You Run Into a Coyote
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Joe Queenan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Recently, while walking my son’s dog in a wooded area near his home in southern Colorado, I turned around to see a large animal staring at us. Collarless, too big to be a household pet, it had an expression on its face that I didn’t like. Neither did the dog. Because there are lots of pushy bears and territorial mountain lions around there, and because I had read that Colorado recently reintroduced certain endangered species to the state, and because I have always been much stronger on flora than fauna, I initially concluded that the animal was a wolf.

☆ Hiking has become a nationwide New Year's Day tradition
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Just 380 people participated in the initial First Day Hike in 1992 at the nearly 7,000-acre Blue Hills Reservation just south of Boston. On Sunday, tens of thousands of people are expected to take part in First Day Hikes at hundreds of parks in all 50 states. The late Patrick Flynn, the former supervisor at Blue Hills, came up with the original plan. In 2012, First Day Hikes went nationwide when the National Association of State Park Directors endorsed the idea. Elijah Bristow State Park near Eugene is even offering a first day horseback ride.

☆ In 'Wildcat', Amazon fauna helps heal emotional wounds of war
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Rollo Ross | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Their triumphs and travails are at the heart of "Wildcat", a documentary filmed deep in the rainforest that premieres on Amazon's Prime Video on Friday. Then they get a call from a friend that an ocelot kitten was found by loggers and little Keanu helps Turner out of his grief. The documentary came about after Zwicker shot videos documenting Khan's upbringing, hoping it would help other conservationists return cats to the wild. Directors Trevor Frost and Melissa Lesh came on board to document the lives of Turner, Zwicker and their animals after receiving Keanu. With proceeds from the reported $20 million Amazon Studios paid for the documentary, Zwicker is building up her conservation program Hoja Nueva, while Turner has set up his own charity, Emerald Arch.

☆ Colombia's oil theft soars, leaving trail of environmental harm
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Oliver Griffin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

Reuters accompanied a police unit tasked with tackling oil theft in September to two sites near Tumaco, a Pacific port in southwest Colombia that is the terminal for the country's Transandino oil pipeline. The animals, the trees - everything is totally burned," said Colonel Johan Pena, commander of the police unit charged with tackling oil theft in Narino, a province bordering Ecuador that is known for cocaine production. Reuters approached more than a dozen environmental groups, rights advocates, government agencies and international organizations who either said they had no detailed information on the extent of the environmental damage in Colombia from oil theft or did not respond to questions. Oil spills on land smother soil pore spaces, restricting microorganisms' access to oxygen, said Martha Daza, a professor at Cali-based university Universidad del Valle's school of engineering of natural resources and the environment. Regional health authorities in Narino did not immediately respond to questions about the health impact of oil spills.

☆ How AI Is helping to reduce landfill waste
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Ibm With Insider Studios | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

But circular economy models can provide smart examples and accessible starting points for how we can work toward avoiding a trashy future, so to speak. For an example of a perfect circular economy, look to nature. Waste management companies, in particular, have an opportunity to minimize landfill waste using artificial intelligence and automation technologies. Evaluating the potential of AI for waste sortingHera personnel analyze waste manually. "The experience with IBM Garage has allowed us to activate a particularly innovative solution in the field of waste collection, selection, and recovery," Zappoli said.

In 2019, Cambodia supplied 8,571 of the 33,818 research monkeys imported to the U.S., or 25%. In 2021, the number of monkeys from Cambodia more than doubled to 18,870, making up nearly 60% of the 31,844 research monkeys brought to America. Earlier this year, long-tailed macaques and pig-tailed macaques were listed as endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The decades long effort by animal rights groups to derail the monkey trade has made some impact. The incident shined a rare spotlight on the monkey trade, which largely goes on outside the view of the public.

At 190 minutes, the running time of “Avatar: The Way of Water” is longer. Jake and Neytiri have had numerous children and adopted Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), the daughter of a human scientist’s avatar body. Rather than invaders exploring the land they’ve invaded, the second “Avatar” film is about the encounter of two different indigenous societies. But the human colonizers —preparing to strip-mine Pandora for its minerals and its biological resources (including space whale essence) — are the aliens. Rather than invaders exploring the land they’ve invaded, the second “Avatar” film is about the encounter between two different indigenous societies.

☆ Pelicans rest up in Mexico City as clean water push bears fruit
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Carlos Carrillo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MEXICO CITY, Dec 16 (Reuters) - On the northern flank of the bustling hubbub of Mexico City, white American pelicans paddle on the waters of a lake after traveling thousands of miles from the United States and Canada to escape the bite of a northern winter. Part of migratory flocks that come to Mexico every year to feed and rest, the pelicans began stopping at the lake at Bosque San Juan de Aragon after the city and scientists a decade ago began creating nearby wetlands to revive the local environment. [1/7] A flock of white American pelicans rest during their winter migration from the United States and Canada, at the Bosque de San Juan de Aragon in Mexico City, Mexico December 14, 2022. REUTERS/Raquel Cunha 1 2 3 4 5Growing out of a initiative between the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the Mexico City government to clean up local water supply by creating a wetland in 2010, the cleaned up water refuge was designed to attract wild life. To visitors, it is a reminder that Mexico City has more to offer than building sites and traffic jams.

☆ ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Review: A Second Plunge Into Pandora
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Kyle Smith | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

With “Avatar: The Way of Water,” Mr. Cameron reaffirms himself as the blockbuster director of his generation—still the king of the world. To distinguish it from the first film, some might call the second entry in the proposed five-movie series “W.O.W.” And “Wow” is as handy a one-word review as any. With its gorgeous sea beasts, luminescent underwater fauna and pellucid diving excursions, “Way of Water” is unquestionably a great-looking movie. Mr. Cameron, the director of the first two “Terminator” films, “True Lies,” “Aliens” and “Titanic,” seems to have lost interest in character, and even the story is a bit of an afterthought. “Way of Water” is an excursion in paradise.

☆ ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ rekindles the wonder in a way that demands to be seen
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —“Avatar” took a very basic story and adorned it with eye-popping spectacle, in a way that made the film a must-see commodity, and a record-breaking hit in the process. Thirteen years later, braving much different theatrical tides, director James Cameron has done it again with “Avatar: The Way of Water,” a state-of-the-art exercise that rekindles that sense of wonder and demands to be seen by anyone with lingering interest in watching movies in theaters. The children, in particular, must grapple with the personalities and pettiness associated with becoming the new kids on the reef. Ultimately, though, “The Way of Water” melts away any skepticism that it might be too late or too long in its return to Pandora. “Avatar: The Way of Water” premieres December 16 in US theaters.

☆ A lost ecosystem revealed in Greenland by oldest environmental DNA
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

A long time agoAn artist's illustration reconstructs Greenland's unique ecosystem as it existed 2 million years ago. Beth ZaikenScientists in Denmark have found the world’s oldest DNA sequences in sediment from the ice age. The core, taken from northern Greenland, revealed that the polar region was once abundant with plant and animal life 2 million years ago. Mastodons, reindeer, geese, lemmings and hares lived in an ecosystem that was a mix of temperate and Arctic flora and fauna. The fossil includes the head, neck and body together — a rare discovery for the marine reptiles, which didn’t preserve well in one piece.

☆ Companies Face Prospect of New Biodiversity Rules From U.N.’s COP15 Summit
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Dieter Holger | Joshua Kirby | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

Participants at a United Nations biodiversity summit under way in Montreal hope to hash out an agreement to help protect nature by pushing countries and businesses to minimize their environmental impact. Unlike the 2015 deal, the proposed biodiversity framework targets companies as well as nations. Biodiversity reporting would add to the challenge, particularly as the metrics are more varied and complex than carbon-emissions data. Biodiversity reporting has been done in different forms for many years. For instance, mining companies often enlist experts to produce an environmental impact report for governments before they start a project.

☆ Flatheaded dinosaur lived on island of dwarfed creatures
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —A previously unknown dinosaur with a remarkably flat head lived around 70 million years ago on an island home to dwarfed prehistoric creatures. Discovered in what’s now western Romania, the Transylvanosaurus platycephalus (flatheaded reptile from Transylvania) was 2 meters (6 feet) long — a relatively small size for a dinosaur, according to a new study. The dinosaur’s bones were able to survive for tens of millions of years because the sediments of an ancient riverbed protected them. Ten dinosaur species have already been identified during excavations in the region, with the first dinosaur discovered in 1900. “Almost every terrestrial animal on this island was pretty small,” Augustin said via email.

☆ 'Disenchanted' review: Amy Adams turns the page on a princess' storybook ending on Disney+
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Review Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —“Disenchanted” asks the existential question, “What comes after ‘Happily Ever After?,’” which is, naturally, a sequel … only (because it’s 15 years later) for streaming. Amy Adams nimbly steps back into the role of an animated princess trying to adapt to the live-action world, in an epilogue to “Enchanted” that has moments of magic without completely delivering on the premise. As recounted in storybook fashion, Adams’ Princess Giselle settled down with her unexpected prince, single dad Robert (Patrick Dempsey), and had a baby with him. If there appeared to be room to creatively advance the mythology, “Disenchanted” merely chooses to recycle it. “Disenchanted” premieres November 18 on Disney+.

☆ The Day the Sun Rose Twice: A Tour of Atomic New Mexico
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Nina Burleigh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

About an hour southeast of the Trinity Site, I reached Three Rivers Petroglyph site, the largest rock art site in the Southwest. Around 600 years ago, the Jornada Mogollon people etched 21,000 images of flora and fauna, people and crypto-beasts into the basaltic rubble along the foothills of the Sacramento. Alamogordo is 15 minutes east of the White Sands National Park, 275 square miles of gypsum dunes that form one of the world’s most breathtaking natural wonders. The park is open to camping and hiking for a $25 fee. After a breakfast of Hatch green chile eggs (a word to the wise: pack the Pepcid), I drove an hour west on U.S. 70 to the White Sands Missile Range Museum, just inside the gate to White Sands Missile Range.

Organizations: White, cumulus, Trinity, White Sands, Missile, Museum Locations: Alamogordo, New Mexico, Sacramento, Rivers, Mexico, U.S

☆ Ukraine shares video of Russian helicopter getting blasted out of the sky, the latest in a string of takedowns
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ukrainian forces have reported taking out multiple Russian helicopters in recent weeks. A Ukrainian official on Wednesday shared a video he said shows a strike on a Russian helicopter. Ukraine has reported taking out multiple Russian helicopters in recent weeks. "This represents over 25% of the Russian Air Force's in-service fleet of 90 KA-52s and nearly half of Russia's total helicopter losses in Ukraine," the update said. On Monday, Ukrainian forces sabotaged an airbase deep inside Russia, close to the Latvian border, planting explosives inside the military helicopters, CNN reported.

☆ Hurricane Lisa strikes coast near top Belize port
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Jose Sanchez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BELIZE CITY, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Hurricane Lisa bore down on Belize on Wednesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported in a bulletin, predicting it will later move across the jungles of northern Guatemala and southeastern Mexico. Weather models show Lisa's heavy rainfall and powerful winds will likely target tourist destinations in Belize, Guatemala and Mexico's Caribbean-facing Yucatan Peninsula, dotted by beach resorts, pristine coral reefs and Mayan ruins. The eye of Lisa, now at Category 1 strength, is currently located about 5 miles (8 km) south of Belize City, the tiny Caribbean country's commercial hub, as it churns westward. Palm trees buckled as winds picked up in the Caribbean port city, as residents reported water and power outages plus some flooding. The Belize government's emergency services announced on Wednesday afternoon a state of emergency including a curfew across two districts covering large swathes of its Caribbean coast through Thursday.

☆ Hurricane Lisa edges close to Belize barrier reef, major port
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 2 (Reuters) - Hurricane Lisa will strike coastal Belize Wednesday afternoon, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) predicted, edging very close to the country's barrier reef before it moves across northern Guatemala and southeastern Mexico. Weather models show Lisa's heavy rains and dangerous winds likely targeting some top tourist destinations in Belize, Guatemala and Mexico's Caribbean-facing Yucatan Peninsula, dotted by beach resorts, pristine coral reefs and Mayan ruins. The Category 1 hurricane was about 35 miles (60 km) east-southeast of Belize City, a major port, packing maximum sustained winds of 80 miles per hour (130 km per hour), the Miami-based NHC said in a bulletin. Belize's national emergency organization said borders would close at 2 p.m. (2000 GMT), with ports and airports shuttering. President Alejandro Giammattei of neighboring Guatemala told a news conference food rations were being sent to vulnerable areas.

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