With the Florida Python Challenge on the horizon, officials are warning residents to be extra cautious when it comes to eating python meat. The novelty pie known as “Everglades Pizza,” which also contains alligator meat and frog legs, has become an attraction at a number of Florida locations, but diners should be wary of exactly where the python is coming from. Burmese pythons in the Everglades contain some of the highest levels of mercury found in a living creature.
“For so... Read More
Costa Rica banned sport hunting in a unanimous vote in Congress on Friday, making the country the first in the Americas to outlaw the practice. The new law punishes violators with up to four months in prison or $3,000 in fines. "We're not just hoping to save the animals but we're hoping to save the country's economy, because if we destroy the wildlife there, tourists are not going to come anymore," said activist Diego Marin. Costa Rica is one of the world's most biodiverse countries, with a qu... Read More
The fish at grocery stores and restaurants in New York City is often mislabeled, according to a new study. The conservation group Oceana conducted DNA analysis of around 150 samples of fresh seafood from 81 different suppliers and found that 39 percent were mislabeled.
While there are laws protecting consumers from mislabeling, it's often difficult to detect. “There are a lot of flummoxed people out there who are trying to buy fish carefully and trying to shop their conscience,” s... Read More
In a leaked proposal, the federal government is considering several radical means to reducing stress on the overtaxed Colorado River, which supplies seven states with water. Among desalination projects and reuse engineering, the report also proposes building a pipeline from the Missouri River to the Colorado River basin, some 600 miles away. The Missouri River basin population isn't likely to be thrilled, but the fact that the pipeline made the final draft of the report shows how desperate the... Read More
Photographer: Courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
In a 4-1 vote on Monday, Montana's Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission voted to close wolf harvesting in the northwest corner outside Yellowstone National Park. The decision came after the eighth collared Yellowstone wolf was shot and killed by a hunter last week. The commission indicated that the closures were a temporary measure to try to protect wolves that were important for research purposes. “It seems to be kind of a compromise,” Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission chairman B... Read More
