Better late than never. Even though the January deadline passed with no decision on declaring the polar bear threatened under the Endangered Species Act, it’s now official.
This declaration means good things for the polar bear, but it’s sad the bears are under threat from global warming. Polar bears have been declared a threatened species due to decreasing sea ice caused by climate change. And some people still think global warming isn’t real . . . .
Learn more:
Polar bear now listed as threatened species
US lists polar bear as threatened
Hug This Animal: Polar Bear
Is there an endangered animal you would like to …read more

There’s an animal called zoo memberships?
Yes, several. And memberships help support them all. Zoos catch a lot of flack from some groups, but good zoos are helping to preserve endangered species through Species Survival Plans within zoos. Some zoos also perform important research and do field work as well.
Plus, there are many reasons spring is a good season to buy a zoo membership:
• Enjoy the outdoors and get exercise while the weather is moderate.
• See the zoo babies!
• Gaze upon the butterflies. (Many zoos have butterfly exhibits open only during the spring months.)
• Have somewhere close by …read more

The sawfish may not be cuddly, but it needs your hugs in a big way.
All seven species of the sawfish have been declared either endangered or critically endangered by the IUCN Red List. And the smalltooth sawfish was the first sea fish added to the Endangered Species List in the US. The smalltooth sawfish can only be found in the US off of Florida’s coast.
Worldwide, all sawfish are in trouble.
Sawfish are highly modified rays that evolved from sharks over the course of millions of years. They have tooth-lined snouts (also known as rostrums or saws) used for finding and killing …read more

I recently found myself staring at a carousel animal. I’m not sure why I picked this animal. There were tigers, lions, zebras and plenty more exotic animals featured at the carousel. A kid also picked this animal, a cat. I thought it was strange that such a domestic animal was featured in this exotic ride, but then I refocused and realized this was a fishing cat. It had a giant fish in its mouth.
I’ve observed ocelots at the zoo. They’re sleek and small, like a house cat, but it’s the fishing cat that reminds me most of my own cat. …read more

The leatherback turtle, a species that’s more than a hundred million years old, is facing extinction.
Leatherback turtles are listed as critically endangered by the IUCN Red List. Fewer than 2,300 adult females remain in the Pacific region, making the Pacific leatherback the most endangered of marine turtles. Leatherback turtles live as far south as Africa and as far north as Alaska. The global population estimate is around 40,000.
Why are leatherback turtles in trouble?
• Egg stealing (heavy demand in Latin America)
• Death by fishing nets (bycatch)
• Pollution (Plastic bags kill turtles who mistake them for jellyfish. Chemicals from plastics are also …read more

My dream job is to work with Koko the gorilla, but since I don’t live in the same area or know sign language, I’m going to write about Koko’s friends in the rain forest instead.
The subspecies of gorilla you’ve most likely encountered in a zoo is the western lowland gorilla. It belongs to the western gorilla species, which has several subspecies. The other main species of gorilla is the eastern gorilla, and the mountain gorilla is a subspecies of this group.
Since Dian Fossey studied mountain gorillas for many years, they are probably the best understood of all gorillas. The gorillas …read more

We originally hugged the polar bear in February, but it’s been a bit neglected. (Please check out that post if you missed it.)
The US Fish & Wildlife Service was supposed to make a decision on declaring the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, but they missed their deadline of January 9. Actually, they missed their deadline twice. The second deadline was February 8.
What’s going on? Some people think they delayed so that an oil and gas lease auction could be held in key polar bear habitat on Alaska’s Chukchi Sea on February 6. I hope that’s not …read more

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) describes the pika as a small flower-gathering relative of the rabbit. That’s really one of the sweetest descriptions I’ve ever heard. These plant eaters are also described as shy creatures that whistle to each other.
I’ve never actually seen a pika. And that’s no wonder since I don’t live where they live: rocky, alpine areas of the western US and southwestern Canada. They also live in Europe and Asia. Many people don’t know what pikas are, but most of us have heard of Pokemon. Do you see a resemblance?
According to recent research by US Geological Survey …read more

The Scimitar-Horned Oryx (or just Scimitar Oryx) is considered extinct in the wild by the IUCN Red List, but there have been unsubstantiated reports of them in Niger and Chad. These animals once lived in the deserts of Egypt, Senegal and Chad. They are one of three species of oryx.
So, can you still hug this animal?
Yes! Zoos and wildlife centers have been breeding the Scimitar Oryx so that it can be reintroduced in the wild. The first stage of reintroductions of the oryx occurred in February 2007 in Tunisia, located in northern Africa.
Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s Conservation and Research Center …read more

I held off on posting about the bonobo for a few weeks so it would not look like I’m petting my favorite animal too much, but alas, I can’t hold off another week.
No, it’s not a chimpanzee. It’s a bonobo!
Although bonobos have been called pygmy chimpanzees, their behavior is very different from chimps. They are more peaceful and are led by the females, instead of males. Bonobos really like, uh, making love for the sake of making love. That’s really unique in the animal kingdom. They also use this peaceful activity for conflict resolution. They’ve even been called …read more