[lotuseclat79]

Whales injected with antibiotics
Article here.

-- Tom

[ekim68]

Desert pupfish in hot water
Only 42 left: Creature whose plight led to the Endangered Species Act is on the brink -- researchers don't know why

"The Devil's Hole pupfish is one of the rarest animals in the world. The seemingly endless effort to save it laid the foundation for the Endangered Species Act and shaped Western water policy a generation ago with a landmark Supreme Court ruling.

But after 20,000 years in the desert, the fish teeters on the edge of extinction. No more than 42 remain in Devil's Hole. "

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...NGA0Q2IAL1.DTL

[tempus_fugit]

It's really frightening to see that the animals we share existence with are slowly disappearing.

________________________
Jelai

McIntosh MX135 Audio/Video Control Center - Download the MX135 Audio/Video Control Center Catalog by McIntosh Laboratory, Inc.

[ekim68]

It is...It took 2 million years to create the infrastructure....

[poochee]

Whales head out again
After lolling in channel, pair move south toward bay
By Deb Kollars - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Monday, May 28, 2007

For the second Sunday in a row, the proverbial day of rest turned into a day of action for a pair of humpback whales stranded in the Deep Water Ship Channel.

The mother and calf, after spending an entire week milling around in the channel about four miles north of the Rio Vista Bridge, suddenly began swimming southward Sunday afternoon.

They turned and headed downstream about 2 p.m., swimming under the Rio Vista Bridge while it was down with traffic crossing, said Greg Hurner, senior adviser for the California Department of Fish and Game.

At 5:15 p.m., the two whales -- both injured and in deteriorating condition -- were swimming in the Sacramento River about eight miles south of the bridge. The whales took a brief northward turn about 5 p.m., but soon were heading downstream again.

"I can tell you, the mood in the rescue center and on the boats is ecstatic," Hurner said.

As sunset approached, some observers expressed confidence that the pair were finally bound for San Francisco Bay. I hope and pray! Please go home!

"We're very hopeful that they're heading back to the open ocean," said Trevor Spradlin, a marine mammal biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Department.

At 8:15 p.m., the whales were 17 nautical miles south of the Rio Vista Bridge and had moved past the power plant near Pittsburg, according to Bernadette Fees, a spokeswoman for the Department of Fish and Game. She said they continued to move toward the ocean.

For the past week, the whales have been swimming and spouting just north of the bridge. Worried rescuers spent the week trying to encourage the whales to begin swimming southward by using various underwater sounds and herding techniques -- to no avail, although a novel idea of spraying water at the humpbacks using high-pressure hoses Friday seemed to have helped in coaxing them to change direction.

By late Sunday afternoon, six boats were following the whales and more were being mobilized, Hurner said. Rescuers planned to station vessels at various slough and channel entrances -- if the whales continued southward -- to prevent the animals from veering from the river, and also to prevent boat traffic from entering the river when the whales were near. It is a 70-mile journey from the Rio Vista Bridge to the Golden Gate Bridge, Hurner said.

Three research vessels monitored the whales throughout Sunday morning, while two law enforcement boats enforced a 500-yard safety perimeter to protect the animals. Boat traffic was lighter than expected, and there were no problem boating incidents as of early Sunday afternoon.

Excerpts from: SacBee

[izme]

In today's Spokesman Review newspaper

Rebels threatened to kill all mountain gorillas in Congo's Virunga National Park if government forces retaliate for a rebel attack on a ranger station that killed three staff members. WildlifeDirect said that during the raids, 13 other wildlife workers were takin hostage by the militia workers, but they were released.

Despite the threat to the critically engangered primates, The Democratic Republic of the Congo government said it had dispatched two of it's elite ranger units to chase down the Mai Mai rebel group. Conservation groups have accused the Mai Mai of also slaughtering hundreds of hippos with automatic rifles along the shores of lake Edward.



Animals can fall vicitim to war as well....I hope the gorillas actually survive this, they are so endangered

amazing creatures indeed

[poochee]

That's awful!!

[izme]

Originally Posted by poochee

That's awful!!

To me it's beyond comprehension. Such beautiful and endangered species being endangered by a bunch of neannderthal idiots. The world must cry out in disgust over this.

Did anyone see Gorillas in the mist?

[izme]

Not to mention how sick and totally stupid it is to mow down hippos with automatic weapons in your own back yard so to speak

[LANMaster]

Fish ..... got a link?

[LANMaster]

Originally Posted by ekim68

Have you tried sounding out the words? I made them up...But, in a way it sounded like the speech of the antarctic speaking whales, and, I haven't learned antarctic, yet....

(So, I can't translate it yet..)

Oh.

[izme]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L21668441.htm

[LANMaster]

Idiots.

These Mai Mai bungholes need to be strung up.

They are terrorists.

[izme]

Originally Posted by LANMaster

Idiots.

These Mai Mai bungholes need to be strung up.

They are terrorists.

That's putting it rather mildly

[poochee]

Whales at last over the hump?
Pair steamed ahead until reaching another bridge.
By Jim Downing - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 10:35 am PDT Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Delta and Dawn, the wandering humpback whales, were spotted about a half mile east of the Carquinez Bridge late Tuesday morning, officials said.

They still have 26 nautical miles to get to the Golden Gate Bridge, and researchers say their main concern is that the pair may wander into the Napa or Petaluma rivers. They'll take precautions, they said, if it looks like the whales are approaching those waterways.

Coast Guard Petty Officer John Cilley said the whales appear to be in good spirits.

The whales left the Sacramento River near Rio Vista Sunday afternoon and spent much of Monday swimming near the Benicia-Martinez Bridge briege.

"They did make some progress again last evening," California Department of Fish and Game Spokeswoman Bernadette Fees said Tuesday morning.

Rescuers will keep their distance Tuesday she said, only attempting to get a flesh sample from the calf. She said antibiotics administered over the weekend appear to be taking effect and that the whales' wounds are healing.

Rescuers remained optimistic because the mother and calf reached brackish water and their health appears to be improving.

To reach the ocean, the whales now must navigate the busy waters of the Carquinez Strait, San Pablo Bay and San Francisco Bay. And researchers who have watched the whales for more than two weeks say they still can't tell what prompts the whales to start or stop, turn one way or the other.

"We are anticipating that there could be some wrong turns" ahead, Fees said.

Researchers hope the combination of a return to salt water and a dose of antibiotics administered Saturday are helping to return the whales to health, Fees said. The two are suffering from wounds apparently caused by a ship's propeller. Both also have skin lesions that may be caused by prolonged exposure to fresh water.

Over the past week, the whales at times appeared sluggish and sick. But Monday, Fees said, at least some of their energy seemed to have returned. Dawn, the calf, was seen diving and rolling in the water.

"The calf was certainly exhibiting typical calf behavior," Fees said.

The whales are now in water used heavily by both oceangoing ships and recreational boats. An escort of U.S. Coast Guard boats is maintaining a 500-yard perimeter around the whales during daylight hours.

Research vessels are monitoring the whales from within that safe zone.

McInnes said discussions are under way between rescue officials and the Coast Guard on the possibility of limiting ship traffic while the whales are in the channel.

McInnis also said a plan to attach tracking devices to the whales has been delayed by technical difficulties. Scientists want to attach satellite transmitters to the whales before they swim from San Francisco Bay into the ocean.

Such instruments would be attached to barbed hooks shot into the whales' hides and would allow scientists to follow the whales in the open sea.

The tags are expected to fall off after two to three months, but researchers could also identify the whales by unique markings on the undersides of their tail fins if they are encountered again.

Excerpts from: SacBee