This YouTube video was produced by Defenders Of Wildlife.
Our top wildlife news stories from June 2024!
Transcript:
A plague that threatens an endangered species. The giant impact of experimental rockets on birds. And good news for Colorado wolves. I’m Jay Petrequin and this is your Wildlife News for June 2024.
Beginning with the state of black-footed ferrets in Badlands National Park, Buffalo Gap National Grassland, and the greater Conata-Basin ecosystem. An outbreak of the sylvatic plague is affecting more than 160 endangered black-footed ferrets, as well as prairie dog colonies, which are the ferrets’ primary food source. In 2009, a similar outbreak wiped out over 87% of the black-footed ferret population. Defenders and our partners are working hard to vaccinate as many ferrets as possible to keep the critically endangered population intact.
Moving over to Texas, where the most recent Space X launch caused direct damage to shorebird nests. The impacts, as documented by Coastal Bend and Bay Estuaries program, are alarming, with threat of wildfire, a growing debris field of projectiles and damage to shorebird nests, according to the report. With the increase of launch activity, the degradation of unique habitats and wildlife will also be on the rise, all of which reinforces the fact that Space X’s environmental assessment is beyond inadequate.
Thankfully, however, there is good news coming from Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced this week that two reintroduced gray wolves have successfully reproduced with a confirmed sighting of their first wolf pup. Because the two have bred, they are officially considered a pack and have been named the Copper Creek pack. Even better, more pups may be present as a wolf litter typically consists of 4 to 6 pups. This is a great win for reintroduction efforts, and we hope to see more wolf pups roaming Colorado in the near future.
Head to Defenders.org/newsroom for more wildlife news and please help us defend wildlife by subscribing and sharing this video. Thanks, and see you next time.
Defenders of Wildlife works on the ground, in the courts, and on Capitol Hill to protect and restore imperiled wildlife and habitats across North America. Together, we can ensure a future for the wildlife and wild places we all love.
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