Animals

FILE - A gray seal swims in Casco Bay, off Portland, Maine, in this Sept. 15, 2020 file photo. Seal die-offs from the bird flu have been detected everywhere from New England to Chile. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, files)

Bird flu is decimating seal colonies. Scientists don’t know how to stop it

Avian influenza is killing tens of thousands of seals and sea lions in different corners of the world, disrupting ecosystems and flummoxing scientists who don’t see a clear way to slow the devastating virus.

In this photo provided by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, an alligator was caught by an angler in Norris Lake in Union County, Tenn., on Monday, March 18, 2024. TWRA communications coordinator Matthew Cameron said the origin of the alligator was unclear, but it appeared that the alligator had been illegally held in captivity and possibly released into the lake. (Rick Roberts/Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency via AP)

A Tennessee fisherman reeled in a big one. It turned out to be an alligator

Tony Cavallaro shows photos of his alligator, Albert, on March 19, 2024, in Hamburg, N.Y. Albert was seized by the Department of Environmental Conservation in mid-March 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Thompson)

A New York man’s pet alligator was seized after 30 years. Now, he wants Albert back

FILE - Winston, a French bulldog, competes in the non-sporting group competition during the 147th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Monday, May 8, 2023, in New York. Frenchies remained the United States' most commonly registered purebred dogs last year, according to American Kennel Club rankings released Wednesday, March 20, 2024. After French bulldogs, the most common breeds registered were Labs, golden retrievers, German shepherds, poodles and others. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

French bulldogs remain the most popular US breed in new rankings. Many fans aren’t happy

This image provided by the US Attorney for the District of Montana from a court document shows golden eagle feet that law enforcement officers recovered from the vehicle of a Washington state man charged with federal wildlife trafficking violations. The defendant is scheduled to plead guilty on March 20, 2024 in Missoula, Mont. in what prosecutors say was an illegal scheme to shoot eagles and sell their parts on the black market. (Courtesy of the US Attorney for the District of Montana via AP)

Man pleads guilty in eagle ‘killing spree’ on reservation to sell feathers on black market

Elephants receive heavy duty pedicure as part of medical care at zoo in German city of Cologne

Elephants at a zoo in the western German city of Cologne had their toenails shortened as part of their regular medical care ahead of the park’s annual elephant day. (AP video/Daniel Niemann) (Mar 21, 2024)

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FILE - Horseshoe crabs sit at Reeds Beach in Cape May Court House, N.J., June 13, 2023. Wildlife protection advocates are hailing a decision by the Massachusetts Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission to approve protections for horseshoe crabs during spawning, when the crabs are most vulnerable. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Massachusetts moves to protect horseshoe crabs during spawning

Wildlife protection advocates are welcoming a decision by the Massachusetts Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission to approve protections for horseshoe crabs during spawning, which is when the creatures are at their most vulnerable The move comes as interstate regulators are limiting the harvest of th

This Dec. 2023 photo provided by Zoo Miami shows a baby giraffe, named “Saba,” at Zoo Miami in Miami. Officials say the baby giraffe has died of a broken neck after being discovered by the zoo's staff on Saturday, March 16, 2024. (Ron Magill/Zoo Miami via AP)

Baby giraffe dies of a broken neck at Zoo Miami

Officials say a baby giraffe has died of a broken neck at Zoo Miami. The giraffe, born in December, was found by the zoo’s staff Saturday morning.

Harrison, a French bulldog, is seen in the surgery prep area at the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center, Friday, March 8, 2024, in New York. Harrision is a familiar sight having previously been cared for by the hospital's surgery, neurology, internal medicine and dental teams. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

From Frenchies to rescue cats, New York’s trauma center for animals takes the most complex cases

The Schwarzman Animal Medical Center in New York City is one of a handful of veterinary hospitals across the country that is equipped to handle the most complicated cases.

This undated handout photo shows a mouse feeding on the head of a wandering albatross chick on Marion Island, South Africa. Mice that were brought by mistake to a remote island near Antarctica 200 years ago are breeding out of control because of climate change, eating seabirds and causing major harm in a special nature reserve with “unique biodiversity.” Now conservationists are planning a mass extermination using helicopters and hundreds of tons of rodent poison. (Stefan and Janine Schoombie via AP)

A warming island’s mice are breeding out of control and eating seabirds. An extermination is planned

Mice that were accidentally introduced to a remote island near Antarctica 200 years ago are breeding out of control because of climate change.

In this photo provided by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, DEC officers secure an 11-foot (3.4-meter) alligator for transport after it was seized from a home where it was being kept illegally in Hamburg, N.Y., on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. The home's owner had built an addition and installed an in-ground swimming pool for the 30-year-old alligator, which has blindness in both eyes and spinal complications, among other health issues. (New York DEC via AP)

Authorities seize ailing alligator kept illegally in New York home’s swimming pool

State environmental offiicals say an 11-foot alligator was seized from an upstate New York home where it was being kept illegally.

FILE - The first operating South Fork Wind farm turbine, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023, 35 miles east of Montauk Point, N.Y. The federal government said Friday, March 15, 2024, it’s moving forward with developing a large area of ocean off New England for offshore wind.(AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File)

Feds pick New England’s offshore wind development area, drawing cheers and questions alike

The federal government on Friday designated an area of ocean off New England for the development of offshore wind in a move that generated cheers from environmental groups but questions from fishermen.

FILE - A musher leaves downtown during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race on Saturday, March 2, 2024, in Anchorage, Alaska. This year the deaths of three dogs during the race — and five more during training — have refocused attention on the sport’s darker side and raised questions about the ethics of asking animals to pull a heavy sled for hundreds of miles in subzero temperatures. (Marc Lester/Anchorage Daily News via AP, File)

Dog deaths revive calls for end to Iditarod, the endurance race with deep roots in Alaska tradition

For the past five years, Alaska’s annual Iditarod sled dog race has gone off mostly free of controversy, as teams of dogs and their masters braved the elements in the 1,000-mile test of endurance across the frozen wilderness.

This undated handout photo provided by the Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, shows a sheep nicknamed Montana Mountain King that was part of unlawful scheme to create large, hybrid species of wild sheep for sale to hunting preserves in Texas. A Montana man pleaded guilty on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, to federal wildlife trafficking charges in the case. (Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks via AP)

Montana man used animal tissue and testicles to breed ‘giant’ sheep for sale to hunting preserves

Federal prosecutors say a Montana rancher illegally used tissue and testicles from wild sheep that were killed by hunters in central Asia and the U.S. to breed “giant” sheep hybrids for sale to private hunting preserves in Texas.

New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick addresses the media discussing Carnival safety measures and preparations during a news conference at Gallier Hall in New Orleans on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024. Kirkpatrick says conditions at the department's aging headquarters are so deplorable that officers work amid heavy mold, cockroaches and even rats munching on contraband in the evidence locker. Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick told city council members the infestation is so bad that "the rats eating our marijuana, they're all high.” (Brett Duke/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

Rats are high on marijuana evidence at an infested police building, New Orleans chief says

The New Orleans police chief says conditions at the department’s aging headquarters are so deplorable that rats have munched on marijuana contraband in the evidence locker.

Dallas Seavey celebrates his win in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, Tuesday, March 12, 2024, in Nome, Alaska. (Anne Raup/Anchorage Daily News via AP)

Seavey now has the most Iditarod wins, but Alaska’s historic race is marred by 3 sled dog deaths

Alaska’s annual Iditarod dog sled race has ended with a victory for the ages: One of the biggest names in the sport came from behind after a moose attack to win the grueling, dayslong contest for an unprecedented sixth time.

Dallas Seavey celebrates his win in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, Tuesday, March 12, 2024, in Nome, Alaska. (Anne Raup/Anchorage Daily News via AP)

Dallas Seavey wins 6th Iditarod championship, most ever in the world’s most famous sled dog race

Dallas Seavey has made Iditarod history. Seavey won the world’s most famous sled dog race on Tuesday. That’s a record-breaking sixth championship for the Alaska musher.

FILE - Wild horses stand in a group along a hiking trail in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Oct. 21, 2023, near Medora, N.D. Legislation recently passed by Congress aims to keep wild horses in North Dakota's Theodore Roosevelt National Park, offering welcome support for advocates of the beloved creatures who fear their removal from the rugged landscape would otherwise be imminent. (AP Photo/Jack Dura, File)

Wild horses facing removal in a North Dakota national park just got another strong ally: Congress

Advocates for some 200 wild horses roaming North Dakota’s Theodore Roosevelt National Park are hoping a signal of support from Congress will prevent the removal of the beloved animals.

In this photo provided by Chip Michalove, LeeBeth, a white shark, is tagged on Dec. 8, 2023, off Hilton Head Island, S.C. Scientists say the animal has been tracked further into the Gulf of Mexico than any white shark they've ever tagged before. (Chip Michalove via AP)

How a wandering white shark’s epic journey could provide clues for protecting them

A 14-foot-long white shark might not be something swimmers want to see at the beach. But scientists say one of the big carnivores has been tracked further into the Gulf of Mexico than any white shark they’ve ever tagged before.

FILE - Volunteers help raise the Iditarod finishers banner at the burled arch finish line in Nome, Alaska, March 16, 2015. Two dogs from separate teams have died while competing in the 2024 Iditarod, and the first deaths during the race across Alaska since 2019 has prompted the call to end the race from an animal rights group. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)

2 dogs die during 1,000-mile Iditarod, prompting call from PETA to end the race across Alaska

Two dogs have died during Alaska’s annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, marking the first time a dog has died during the race in five years and prompting renewed calls from an animal rights group to end the 1,000-mile race.

This photo provided by City of Venice Florida shows a whale on Sunday, March 10, 2024, off Venice, Fla. Authorities were working to assist a beached sperm whale that is stranded on a sandbar off Florida's Gulf Coast on Sunday morning. (City of Venice Florida via AP)

Sperm whale dies after beaching along Florida’s Gulf Coast

Florida wildlife officials say a sperm whale that became famous after beaching itself on a sandbar has died.

A pelican follows program officer Ganesh Koirala as he arrives at the animal kitchen at Nepal’s Central Zoo in Lalitpur, Nepal, Feb. 21, 2024. At the stroke of 10 every morning, the pelican arrives at the entrance of the animal kitchen, waiting patiently for Koirala to arrive. The pelican knows that with Koirala will come his breakfast - a one kilogram 2.2 pound) fish. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

A 41-year-old pelican and other animals wait for their food at Nepal’s only zoo

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — At the stroke of 10 every morning at the only zoo in Nepal, a 41-year-old pelican arrives at the entrance of the animal kitchen, waiting patiently for program officer Ganesh Koirala to arrive.

A gorilla family is observed by people visiting the Fort Worth Zoo in Fort Worth, Texas, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. Researchers will be standing by to observe how animals’ routines at the zoo are disrupted when skies dim on April 8. They previously detected other strange animal behaviors in 2017 at a South Carolina zoo that was in the path of total darkness. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

How do animals react during a total solar eclipse? Scientists plan to find out in April

Researchers and citizen scientists will observe how animals’ routines at several zoos are disrupted during the April 8 total solar eclipse.

Whitehall Police Officer Matthew Perez trains his dog Rico at a park Wednesday, March 6, 2024, in Whitehall, Ohio. Two Ohio lawmakers are looking to ease the looming financial burden faced by law enforcement agencies in the state who will have to replace marijuana-sniffing dogs after voters last year approved a plan to legalize recreational marijuana use. (AP Photo/Patrick Orsagos)

Nothing to sniff at: Bill would help pay to retire Ohio drug-detecting K9s under legal cannabis

Two Ohio lawmakers are sponsoring a bill that seeks to ease the financial burden on law enforcement agencies that will have to replace their marijuana-sniffing dogs.

In this Jan. 25, 2024 image provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Aiden Caruso, a Mexican wolf technician with the agency, carries a sedated wolf during an annual survey of the endangered species near Beaverhead, N.M. The wolves are released after undergoing health checks by wildlife managers. (Aislinn Maestas/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via AP)

Mexican gray wolves boost their numbers, but a lack of genetic diversity remains a threat

The wild population of Mexican gray wolves in the southwestern U.S. is still growing. Federal wildlife officials announced the results of an annual survey Tuesday, saying there are at least 257 wolves roaming parts of Arizona and New Mexico.

This photo by Orla O'Brien shows a gray whale south of Nantucket, Mass., on March 1, 2024. Scientists have confirmed the presence of a whale off New England that went extinct in the Atlantic Ocean two centuries ago. They say it's an exciting discovery, but one that illustrates the impact of climate change on sea life. (Orla O'Brien/New England Aquarium via AP)

What is a whale native to the North Pacific doing off New England? Climate change could be the key

Scientists have confirmed the presence of a whale off New England that went extinct in the Atlantic Ocean two centuries ago.

This photo provided by the National Park Services shows a dead right whale calf off of Georgia. The calf was the first of the year for the rare species, and federal authorities say it was killed by a collision with a ship. The calf had first been seen with injuries two months ago. (National Park Services via AP)

First baby right whale of season dies from injuries caused by ship collision

The first confirmed baby right whale of the year has been found dead from a collision with a ship, a devastating blow for the vanishing species.

FILE - Dallas Seavey talks to officials after finishing the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, March 15, 2016, in Nome, Alaska. The veteran musher had to kill a moose after it injured his dog shortly after the start of the 2024 Iditarod, race officials said Monday, March 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)

5-time Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey kills and guts a moose that got entangled with his dog team

A veteran musher had to kill a moose after it injured his dog shortly after the start of this year’s Iditarod.

2 police horses on the lam cause traffic jam on I-90 in Cleveland area

Drivers on an Ohio interstate came upon an unusual traffic hazard over the weekend — a pair of horses trotting against traffic.

In this remote camera image released by Friends of Big Bear Valley, are a pair of bald eagles standing over eggs in a nest atop a tree overlooking Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains in southern Calif., Thursday Feb. 29, 2024. Three bald eagle chicks could emerge this week from eggs laid in the nest. A nest camera set up by Friends of Big Bear Valley monitors the eagles and draws lots of views from eagle enthusiasts. (Friends of Big Bear Valley via AP)

Hatch watch is underway at a California bald eagle nest monitored by a popular online camera feed

Hatch watch is underway in Southern California mountains. Three bald eagle chicks could emerge this week from eggs laid in a nest monitored by nature lovers via a popular online camera feed.

A Detroit couple is charged in the death of a man who was mauled by their 3 dogs

A Detroit couple is charged with having a dangerous animal causing death after authorities say their three dogs fatally mauled a 35-year-old man.

FILE - Light is reflected on part of the Aral Sea outside Muynak, Uzbekistan, June 25, 2023. Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA believe if they can inject ice high up in the air, water vapor, water in its gas form, in the upper atmosphere would get a bit drier and that could cool Earth. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)

Scientists create new idea on how to hack a warming planet: drying the upper atmosphere

Government scientists have cooked up a new concept for how to potentially cool an overheating Earth: Fiddle with the upper atmosphere to make it a bit drier.

FILE - Skeletons of a human and a monkey await installation at the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History in Tel Aviv, Israel on Monday, Feb 19, 2018. Around 20 or 25 million years ago, when apes diverged from monkeys, our branch of the tree of life shed its tail. In a paper published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, researchers identify at least one of the key genetic tweaks that led to this change. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty, File)

Our ancient animal ancestors had tails. Why don’t we?

Scientists have identified a gene mutation that may explain why we don’t have tails. Our very ancient animal ancestors had tails.

This recent image provided by the Brookfield Zoo shows a male grey seal pup and his mother at the Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield, Ill. Zoo officials say a grey seal found stranded and blind more than a decade ago on an island in Maine has given birth at the Chicago-area zoo and is now “a very attentive mother" to her newborn. (Jim Schulz/Brookfield Zoo via AP)

Blind seal gives birth and nurtures the pup at an Illinois zoo

Zoo officials say a grey seal found stranded and blind more than a decade ago on an island in Maine has given birth at a Chicago-area zoo and is now “a very attentive mother” to her newborn.

FILE - Suhail, a male Panda sent by China to Qatar as a gift for the World Cup, eats bamboo in his shelter at the Panda House Garden in Al Khor, near Doha, Qatar, on Oct. 19, 2022. In the U.S., panda enthusiasts can still see giant pandas at the zoo in Atlanta. Around the world, zoos in Berlin, Qatar and Mexico City are among those that have been given pandas by China, the only place where the animal is native. (AP Photo/Lujain Jo, File)

Atlanta is the only place in US to see pandas for now. But dozens of spots abroad have them

Only four pandas remain in the United States. But many zoos around the globe still have the iconic black-and-white bears on loan from China.

A whale, confirmed dead by field investigation, floats in Osaka Bay in Sakai city, western Japan, on Feb. 19, 2024. The whale as long as a train car that died after straying into a port in Osaka last month is set to be buried until it naturally becomes a skeletal specimen for a local museum. (Kyodo News via AP)

A stray whale’s death in a Japanese bay raises questions about the cause and the cost of disposal

A whale as long as a train car that died after straying into a Japanese bay is set to be buried until it naturally becomes a skeletal specimen for a local museum.