The three new species, dubbed Callulina laphami, C. shengena, and C. stanleyi, were discovered by an international group of scientists, including Tanzanian scientists. Dwelling in forest habitat, Callulina frogs spend their days hidden away in trees or under the leaf litter; at dusk they climb into the trees where they spend the night before descending again to the ground.

The researchers recommend that each of the frogs be categorized by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List as Critically Endangered, given their incredibly small ranges: C. shengena has the largest habitat of the three at 13.5 square miles (35 square kilometers) and C. stanleyi the smallest at 3.7 square miles (9.7 square kilometers). The remaining habitats are threatened by forest clearing due to agriculture.

Crews did not find any dead Eastern hellbender salamanders, an endangered species that lives in Captina Creek, Shelton said. They found and relocated three hellbenders to uncontaminated parts of the creek.
But Lipps, who studies hellbenders, thinks the relocated salamanders won't survive.
"Hellbenders live under giant rocks. You don't find them in the middle of the stream," he said. "The only reason (the crews) found these hellbenders is because they were dying."
Murray Energy will pay cleanup costs and fines assessed for each animal that was killed, Shelton said.
....
This was the sixth large spill blamed on the company in the past decade.
In 2000, the company paid a $100,000 fine for a spill. In 2005, the company paid a $50,000 fine after slurry polluted 2,300 feet of the creek and killed thousands of fish. In 2008, a plume from a spill reached the Ohio River. The EPA is continuing to investigate that spill.
"This is like the drunk driver that keeps hitting kids in the crosswalk, yet the state keeps giving him his license back," said Jack Shaner of the Ohio Environmental Council, an advocacy group.

She was taken illegally from a New York stream and then resurfaced at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The poacher turned Helen in himself, but was uncooperative as to where he got her. The Ohio DNR determined her origin because Helen had been tagged by the New York Department Of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
....
Penny Danielewicz of the Buffalo Zoo said, "If you have a decreasing amount of amphibians in a stream or wetland, you should really pay attention to that because it's our water, too. What's affecting them ultimately may affect us as well."

Though the hellbender may not be the most beautiful creature around, it's unique nature and importance to the environment make it one worth fighting for.

Of the more than 25,000 eggs that were relocated, 14,676 successfully hatched and were released into the Atlantic Ocean, he said. That means more than half of them hatched — in fact, nearly six out of 10 made it into oil-free water.

"We do feel it was a success that we got that number of hatchlings into the sea," said Patricia Behnke, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "Of course, what happens to them after that, we don't know. But we never do."

"These guys are about two or three years old," said Dr. Jeff Schmid, Environmental Research Manager at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.

The turtles were rescued off the coast of Louisiana, cleaned up at a lab there, then rehabilitated at Seaworld. On Thursday, biologists brought them to Collier and released them near the 10,000 Islands.

"The most logical site is to release them where Kemp's are known to occur in the wild," said Dr. Schmid. "The resources are there, the food, and the habitat for them to survive and thrive."

This was the 6th release in Collier since the spill.

Scientists examining dead animals that were discovered along the Gulf Coast in the wake of the BP oil spill are observing strict laboratory protocols, knowing everything they touch could become evidence in what may prove to be the biggest environmental case in U.S. history.

Like detectives on a murder case, government scientists — and outside experts under contract to the government — are using CSI-style techniques to determine whether the oil is to blame for the wildlife deaths.

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether those responsible for the spill violated environmental laws that carry civil and sometimes criminal penalties, and the scientists are taking extraordinary steps to make sure their findings hold up in court.

"What we want to do is to make sure that the findings and the results we get aren't called into question in court based on chain of custody or other legal issues," said Dr. Michael Ziccardi, a veterinarian. "We're treating oiled wildlife response like a crime scene."

Justice Department spokeswoman Hannah August declined to comment on the investigation. Attorney General Eric Holder said in June that the government will prosecute violations of such laws as the Clean Water Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Endangered Species Act.

"Very little research had been done on these lizards since the 1960s, but one paper from that time period mentioned that researchers found multiple lizards underneath single logs in the winter," Davis recalled. "So I went out into the desert to look for these fabled groups underneath Joshua tree logs, and I didn't have to find many before I started to see a pattern - the groups often contained one adult female, one adult male, and babies of several different ages."

Genetic analyses of these reptiles revealed the young lizards stayed with their mother, father and siblings for up to three years after birth. (The lizards have a life span of up to 8 to 10 years.) Some groups stuck together under the same fallen log year after year, forming what the researchers termed dynasties.

"This is remarkable, given the fact that in most species of lizards, individuals actively avoid each other," Davis said.

One by one, the 10 baby saltwater crocodiles poked their noses through their eggshells and started hatching.

Walkowich and Reptile Curator Kevin Torregrosa helped them by peeling away some of the eggshell.

Torregrosa helps the hatchlings out of the shells because, "the eggs in the wild would naturally deteriorate because of the soil they're incubated in. We try to recreate that here, but we can't really do it. So because of that the eggs can be a little harder."

Walkowich laughed as one of the tiny crocs sat in her hand with its toothy mouth open. "He looks just like his father," Walkowich chuckled, "with his mouth wide open!"

HRNZ chief executive Edward Rennell took the report seriously – only nine months ago New South Wales harness authorities uncovered evidence that snake venom was in use in Australia.
Several trainers, including renowned thoroughbred trainer Patrick Biancone, have also been disqualified or suspended for using cobra venom in North America. Biancone's vet Rodney J Stewart, who admitted buying cobra venom from a Florida supplier, was banned for five years.
Last August the Sunday Star-Times also revealed Carl Forrester, now running a Morrinsville stable for Foxton-based Peter Scaife, was still wanted by United States police for his role in a conspiracy to dope horses with cobra venom and the blood-doping agent EPO.

The use of a highly toxic substance in order to win a horse race may seem paradoxical, but the chemical structure of cobra venom makes it an effective painkiller when administered under the skin in very small quantities. By deadening the nerves that lead from the source of pain to the brain, cobra venom can allow a horse to ignore physical problems and run through them, officials say. It is believed to be effective only when administered within four hours of a race.

“If there was ever a deserving Rubber Dodo Award recipient, it is Tony Hayward,” said Kierán Suckling, the Center’s executive director. “While famously whining that he ‘wanted his life back,’ Hayward showed no remorse for the thousands of rare and endangered animals BP killed in its spill.”
....
“History will remember Hayward as the man at the helm of BP when it unleashed the worst environmental disaster in American history,” said Suckling.
“Hayward not only pushed BP into causing the spill by creating a corporate culture of risk-taking and cutting corners, he failed to take responsibility after the spill and make all of BP’s resources available to contain it.”

In 1598, Dutch sailors landing on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius discovered a flightless, three-foot-tall, extraordinarily friendly bird. Its original scientific name was Didus ineptus. (Contemporary scientists use the less defamatory Raphus cucullatus.) To the rest of the world, it’s the dodo — the most famous extinct species on Earth. It evolved over millions of years with no natural predators and eventually lost the ability to fly, becoming a land-based consumer of fruits, nuts and berries. Having never known predators, it showed no fear of humans or the menagerie of animals accompanying them to Mauritius.
Its trusting nature led to its rapid extinction. By 1681, the dodo was extinct, having been hunted and outcompeted by humans, dogs, cats, rats, macaques and pigs. Humans logged its forest cover and pigs uprooted and ate much of the understory vegetation.

A grandfather rode to the rescue of a Mesa school when he shot and killed a diamondback rattlesnake on school grounds Tuesday.

[....]

Normally, a shovel would be the weapon of choice, but the diamondback had scurried into the bushes.

Not wanting the snake to endanger the kids again, Rich Drappo said he grabbed his .22-caliber pistol out of his pickup truck and made quick work of the unwelcome serpent.

“You gotta do what you gotta do,” Drappo said.

Taking advantage of a show-and-tell opportunity, he called the kids out of their classrooms to show them the headless harasser.

"Many of the species I grew up with -- wild boars, leopards -- are hardly ever seen now. These animals are in their last days.
"Illegal logging has damaged the forest so much there is no food for the animals. Unless we act now, they'll be gone forever in a few years."
Sitesh, 62, nurses injured wild animals brought to him by villagers back to health and also appears regularly on television shows campaigning for better public attitudes towards wild animals.
If possible, he releases the animals back into the jungle, while others he keeps in his small zoo -- including two hand-raised Himalayan black bears after the mother was killed, a 5.5 metre (18 foot) python and a rare albino fishing cat.
Even Sitesh's family home is filled with animals, the more "difficult cases" which need 24-hour care. Two jungle cat cubs, a baby python and a badly-injured Slow Loris (a primate species) are currently in residence.
"So far, I've freed more than 1,000 animals and that's not counting 2,000 birds," he said, displaying photographs of many former patients.

The Venomous Snake Response Team uses facts and understanding to help people overcome their fear and loathing. This cuts both ways — sympathizing with peoples' fears while helping them see the world from a snake's-eye point of view.

New Jersey has 22 species of snakes. Of these, only two are venomous: the timber rattlesnake and northern copperhead. Snakes are a vital link in the food chain; they help control insect and rodent populations and, in turn, provide food for raccoons, bears, coyotes, hawks and owls.

Snake populations have long been on the decline in New Jersey due to factors like road traffic, destruction of habitat, pollution, human persecution and snake collectors, to name but a few. As development encroaches on snake habitat, people find themselves living on top of the pathways snakes have used for centuries to travel between dens and foraging areas. Some new developments have been built right on denning sites!

Despite wildlife laws prohibiting killing, collecting or harassing native snakes, fear drives many people to kill them. Non-venomous species like northern water snakes are often mistaken for venomous varieties, increasing the fear factor.

A South African athlete discovered the unwelcome guest in their room and the South African High Commissioner Harris Mbulelo has admitted he is now worried about the Games.

"We have very grave concerns," Mbulelo told the Press Trust of India news agency.

"If snakes are found we can't ask our teams to stay there."

JOHN TAYLOR: And an unexpected hazard has emerged for India's organisers. Indian media is reporting that the South African team found a snake in one of its rooms in the athletes' village. And the Times of India newspaper carried a front page photo today of a man removing a one metre long Cobra from the Tennis Stadium.

STEVE MONEGHETTI: You don't want to see one. We come from the country got the most venomous snakes in the world so if any country is prepared it's probably us. Maybe we've planted a couple, I'm not sure, what sort were they? Did you get the identification of them?

REPORTER: Cobra.

STEVE MONEGHETTI: Cobras. Right, okay. Maybe, maybe, yeah well, its only a Cobra. What are we worried about?

MARK COLVIN: Well maybe just bring in some Mongeese.

Speaking at the event, Constituent Assembly chairman Subas Chandra Nemwang, chief guest of the event, lauded and paid tribute to the contribution of the Conservation Heroes who lost who lost their lives in the tragic helicopter accident on 23 September 2006 at Ghunsa, Kangchenjunga.

While reflecting on the status of conservation in Nepal, he reiterated his stance that his reflection was in no way questioning the efforts of conservationists in Nepal but rather a request to them to investigate carefully the means to improve such conservation efforts in the future, be it for the tiger, dolphin or gharial, and their habitats.

"Forests are the most important habitats for species such as the tiger, rhino and elephant; it is interesting to note that cases of forest degradation and encroachment have been highest during recent times when Nepal has been facing a volatile political climate," he added.

Of the 10 pythons tracked, none survived the winter, all succumbing to one of the most brutal winters on record in South Carolina.

"Our results suggest that Burmese pythons from the population currently established in Florida are capable of withstanding conditions substantially cooler that those typically experienced in southern Florida, but may not be able to survive severe winters in regions as temperate as central South Carolina," the researchers reported.
[....]

Half of the snakes perished on Dec. 11, when temperatures dipped to around 25 degrees. Of those initial deaths, none of the snakes had sought cover or refuge in the artificial dens. Three more snakes died between Dec. 17 and Jan. 4, each having failed to seek cover during subfreezing temperatures. The last two snakes were found in underground cover in mid January during an extreme cold spell.