Posts tagged "conservation"

If a layperson like you or me were to see a bear in the wild, the majority of us would respond a little like this: be amazed at its beauty, start to freak out a little at its size and get the heck out of Dodge (especially if it was a cub, because mama bears are known for protecting their young). But that's not how Dr. Jon Beckmann sees it. His day job is actually tracking bears. And he gets all up in their business for a good reason -- research.

As part of an ongoing 13-year study on bear behavior in Nevada by The Wildlife Conservation Society (WLS), Beckmann, along with other field scientists, recently helped microchip three bear cubs who were in a den with their safely sedated mother. The chips, which will stay in the bears for the rest of their lives, will enable scientists to monitor cub survival and track them as they grow older, Beckmann says.

The cold weather sure makes us reluctant to leave the house, but the Bronx Zoo's Magellanic penguins, Danny and Hugo, saw New York City's recent snowfall as the perfect excuse to burn off some energy!

Magellanic penguins are native to Southern Chile, Argentina and the Falkland Islands, where mated, monogamous couples live within large groups. However, commercial fishing and habitat pollution has put these creatures in danger.

The Wildlife Conservation Society is working hard to protect breeding sites and manage penguin populations in Coastal Patagonia. If you're looking for a way to help out the penguins, consider signing up for the third annual Run for the Wild 5k run/walk (waddlers are welcome!), taking place Apr. 30 at the zoo.

If we had to draw a picture of "cute," it would look like the clouded leopard cubs above. The precious pair, born Valentine's Day at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, have both been identified as male and, earlier in the month, already weighed 4 pounds 7 ounces, and 4 pounds 9 ounces, and could "chuff," which is a puffing sound understood as a sign of recognition.

Clouded leopards are one of the least understood Asian cat species according to the Smithsonian National Zoological park, and conservation and breeding programs like the one at the Smithsonian might be their only chance at survival. Between poaching and loss of habitat, these cats don't have much of a home left in the wild.

You can see the cubs in action on the clouded leopard cub cam.

The animals currently live in a facility in Virginia that was built in 1911, but the Smithsonian thinks these animals deserve a more modern home. New digs don't come cheap, however, and the zoo is seeking donations to help offset the $2 million cost. If you'd like to learn more about these cuddly cubs or see how you can help, be sure to check out the zoo's clouded leopards page.

Fast and faster: Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who holds world records for the 100-meter and the 200-meter, is frequently described as the fastest man on Earth. The cheetah, which can sprint 70 miles per hour, is hands-down the fastest land animal on the planet. So it was a match made in speed-demon heaven when the aptly-named Bolt adopted a cheetah cub, Yahoo News reported.

Unlike Bai Ling, however, Bolt won't be welcoming the speedy feline into his home. The star athlete is sponsoring the 3-month-old cheetah, named Lightning Bolt, in an effort to support wildlife conservation in Kenya, according to Yahoo News.

Lightning Bolt and his two cheetah siblings were abandoned by their mother in a Kenyan game park, and are now being cared for by an animal orphanage in Nairobi, the nation's capital. Bolt paid the Kenya Wildlife Service $13,700 to adopt the cub, and he's agreed to pay $3,000 a year for the feline's care, reports Yahoo News. The money will also be used to protect Kenya's charismatic endangered species.

As a three-time Olympic gold medalist, Bolt has given his fans plenty of reasons to cheer. As far as we're concerned, his adoption of Lightning Bolt is worthy of one great big standing ovation.