Animals & Pets News

WASHINGTON - Put at risk by global warming, the polar bear is getting a life line: The government has declared it a threatened species in need of increased protection. But another round of legal battles surrounding the majestic animal may be just beginning.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US government has listed polar bears as a threatened species owing to a drastic reduction in Arctic sea ice, but insisted the step did not mark a policy shift to attack global warming.

WASHINGTON - The Interior Department declared the polar bear a threatened species Wednesday because of the loss of Arctic sea ice but also cautioned the decision should not be viewed as a path to address global warming.

TOKYO (AFP) - Greenpeace on Thursday accused Japanese whalers of stealing meat from the country's annual research hunt in the Antarctic and selling it on the black market.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Polar bears were listed on Wednesday as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act because their sea ice habitat is melting away.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US government Wednesday listed polar bears as a threatened species, warning that melting of Arctic sea ice was menacing their habitat.

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Officials at the Calgary Zoo remained baffled on Tuesday as they tried to puzzle out just why 34 of their stingrays suddenly died.

CHENGDU, China - All the pandas at the world's most famous panda preserve were reported safe late Tuesday, more than a day after China's worst earthquake in three decades closed off the remote, mountainous area.

BEIJING (AFP) - More than 80 giant pandas at China's most famous panda park, the Wolong centre, were safe and well following a huge earthquake that struck the area, state press said Tuesday.

HONG KONG (AFP) - As China scrambled to cope Tuesday with the death and devastation from a massive earthquake that hit the country's southwest, the government made an important announcement - Pandas in the quake zone are safe

PUXICO, Mo. - Snakes wouldn't be at the top of most people's favorite critter list. They're feared and misunderstood and often, killed. That's a shame, said Jason Lewis, a wildlife biologist at Mingo National Wildlife Refuge near Puxico. The refuge is a major migration and wintering area for migratory waterfowl.

SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian swimmer survived a great white shark attack by poking the creature in the eyes as it dragged him through the water after badly savaging his left leg.

SRINAGAR (Reuters) - A rare species of red deer found only in Indian Kashmir is on the verge of extinction, with only 160 animals in existence, a preliminary census by India's wildlife authorities showed on Monday.

BILLINGS, Mont. - A federal judge in Montana has rejected a request by the government to delay a lawsuit seeking to place the gray wolf back on the endangered species list, saying he's "unwilling to risk more deaths."

MANILA (AFP) - Philippines President Gloria Arroyo has rejected an appeal by animal rights activists to convert to a vegetarian diet to help fight rising food prices, her spokesman said Thursday.

TOKYO (AFP) - Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith held talks Thursday on resolving a dispute with Japan over whaling, but he said Canberra was still considering taking the row to international courts.

PARIS (AFP) - Arguably the oddest beast in Nature's menagerie, the platypus looks as it if were assembled from spare parts left over after the animal kingdom was otherwise complete.

WASHINGTON - The Humane Society of the United States released video footage Wednesday of sick and injured livestock the group says were mistreated at auction sites and stockyards where cattle are sold for slaughter.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Humane Society of the United States on Wednesday released new video taken at animal auctions in four states that showed sick and injured cows lying on the ground, and called on the U.S. government to prevent further cases of animal abuse at similar facilities.

TOKYO (AFP) - Animal rights activists on Wednesday urged Japan to reject visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao's offer of two pandas, saying the crowd-pleasing animals would be miserable in a zoo.

HELENA, Mont. - Three states are defending their ability to sustain a gray wolf population in the Northern Rockies, asking to be heard in a federal lawsuit that seeks to return the wolves to the endangered species list.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Fourteen tiger cubs have been spotted in Ranthambore National Park, a rare piece of good news in the country's fight to protect its dwindling population of big cats from poachers and habitat destruction.

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith embarked on a three-city Asian tour on Monday, saying he expected to voice Canberra's opposition to whaling during talks with Japan.

TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's prime minister said Thursday he has asked to borrow some giant pandas from China after Ling Ling, one of the best-loved animals at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo, died of old age this week.

PARIS (AFP) - A team of scientists believe they can provide the key to an enduring wildlife mystery: how do birds navigate?

WELLINGTON (AFP) - The largest squid ever caught began to reveal its secrets Wednesday, including beach ball-sized eyes that scientists said were the biggest known in the animal kingdom.

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - South Africa's 13-year moratorium on elephant culling was set to be lifted on Thursday to combat a surge in population numbers, despite an outcry from animal rights activists.

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A colossal squid caught from deep Antarctic waters was defrosted on Wednesday by New Zealand scientists keen to discover more about the little-known giant predator.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Scientists discovered legless lizard, a dwarf woodpecker and another 12 suspected new species in Brazil's fast-disappearing Cerrado grasslands, an environmental group said Tuesday.