Bush administration wants to empower the navy to use its harmful Low Frequency Active Sonar submarine detection system in spite of the fact that dead whales have been found after every test conducted so far and the Passive Listening  System is comparably effective.  LFAS emits a blast of 240 db, equivalent to standing within 20 feet of a Saturn rocket launch.  At a one mile range, the shock causes marine mammals' blood to boil and cause embolisms.  At 100 miles distant, the noise damages tissues in mammal and fish air sacs and hemorrhaging inside the brain.  The navy wants to deploy the system in 80% of the world's oceans which will disrupt existing ecosystems, feeding and breeding.  California, Maine and Virginia have banned the use of this system in the parts of the ocean within their jurisdiction,  If your state is on the coast, you can ask the governor and legislators to follow suit.  You can write to the Chief of Naval Operations, 2000 Navy Pentagon,
Dept. of the Navy'Washington, DC 20350-2000 asking why they don't use Passive Listening System instead.  HR1160, which would ban the use of LFAS, is stuck in the Armed Services Committee.  You can write to your Congressperson (DC20015) and  Senators (DC20010) enlisting their support for this bill as well as to President Bush (DC20500).

Deer and elk are being slaughtered in Colorado and Wisconsin to combat Chronic Wasting Disease . (See CivAb p3),a relative of bovine spongeiform encephalopathy.  Wildlife officials claim there is no evidence of transmission to humans, but several suspicious cases  may make hunters leery of eating their kills and even dressing them out for consumption.  How this will affect the sale of hunting licenses and venison donation plans is still unknown.  It could possibly result in large numbers of the excessive deer population created for hunters being killed at taxpayer expense to prevent the spread of the disease.

Poaching of the 650 (total pop.) of mountain gorillas has resumed in Rwanda for the first time since 1985.  The Economist, May 18.  These are the gorillas the late Dian Fossey brought to worldwide attention before she was hacked to death in 1985. Two females were killed last week in order to seize their infants who can bring $125,000 on the black market. The animals have a much greater financial value for Rwanda from eco-tourism.  One of the orphan infants was left behind, presumably because one of the male silverbacks intervened.
     Elsewhere in Africa, lowland gorillas are killed and eaten, but so far this has not happened to the mountain gorillas with the exception of one occasion when "starving Rwandan rebels killed two animals and roasted them to eat the meat". A young militiaman was so horrified by this that he surrendered to the Rwandan army. "'When I saw them eat that old man, I thought what's to stop them from eating me too,' he confided in a whisper."

Lowland gorilla populations have declined as much as 90% in Congo according to BBC News June 11.  Mining coltan for use in manufacturing cell phones has brought workers and bushmeat hunters into the area.  Only 3000 gorillas are thought to survive.

Elephant poaching also on the rise.  The Economist, May 18, reports the incidence of 10 dead elephants and five dead poachers in Kenya, possibly a forerunner of more slaughter to come in response to increasing demand, higher prices, and expectations that the ban on killing elephants, in effect since 1989, may be lifted in response to demands from Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe where elephant populations are recovering faster.  Kenya appreciates the value of elephants for its tourist industry and wants ban to stay in effect to discourage poaching.  Even with the ban in effect, Kenya Wildlife Service reported 57 elephants killed for their ivory last year and 18 just in April.  The actual corpse count may represent only 15% of illegaly killed  animals.  Also lost were six black rhinos.  The matter will be decided when Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meets in November.  The ivory is used for carving knick knacks for the tourist trade.  Rhino horns are used for ceremonial dagger handles and male potency pills.

Parks  Canada has been encouraging wolves to invade human territory in order to displace elk.  Elk have become so comfortable in the cities of Jasper and Banff in Alberta, Canada  that they are occasionally dangerous to tourists and locals.  Females with young have knocked people over and trampled them, for instance.  The problem has been alleviated at Jasper  by readjusting fencing designed to keep wolves, cougars and bears out so that they  have access to a wooded corridor
through the town.  Jasper Park Lodge spent $600,000 to open a similar corridor through its golf course.  Elk now feel less secure in town and avoid contact with humans as well as these natural predators.. 

Winter is elks' worst enemy, not wolves.  A study of elk in Yellowstone National Park confirms previous studies at Glacier and Denali National Parks that elk populations are affected more by winter weather  conditions than by wolf predation.

Judge rules in wolves' favor in the Sawtooths.  Federal Judge Lynn Winmill has barred federal agents from killing and moving wolves in response to complaints of livestock ranchers who have summer grazing permits in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area..  Complaints backed by political pressure have caused 19 endangered wolves to be killed there this year.

DNA testing shows flesh from endangered sei, humpback and fin whales being sold in Japanese markets according to a Reuters report, May 17.  So much for claims that this meat comes only from Japan's thinly disguised scientific whaling research program.  No surprise. This has happened before.  The good news is that the Japanese are buying less whale meat perhaps out of concern for  the mercury contamination in marine mammals being publicized by Japanese anti-whaling groups..

Futo dolphin slayers become dolphin boosters.  Japanese fishermen in the village of Futo, condemned for their slaughter of 70 dolphins in 1999, have about faced and will carry ecotourists to observe dolphins in September. Captain Izumi Ishii, deeply affected by the cries of dolphins as they were being rounded up and killed, has changed his opinion of dolphins and, from a practical standpoint, has come to realize that the commerce in watching is more valuable than that of killing.

Frog deformities linked to agricultural runoff by National Academy of Science research, which indicted EPA-approved agricultural pesticides atrazine and malathion for making tadpoles vulnerable to a parasite that affects their hind limb development.   Amphibians with "missing or extra hind limbs have been found in at least 43 states and five Canadian provinces."

Federal agencies are responding to concerns for the effect of snowmobiles and jetskis on wildlife in National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges and other public lands.  According to a Montana State University study, snowmobiles can stress wolves and elk making them more susceptible to disease.  The exhaust fumes from these vehicles -to say nothing of the noise-are bad for human recreation seekers.  In addition, they pollute the water and the soil.

California sea otter population continues to decline.  The animals' immunity is affected by pollution making them ore susceptible to disease.  In addition, four have been found shot  within the last year and a half.

Man-made sounds are drowning out fin whales' courtship songs.  The songs which used to penetrate 100 miles of ocean now only carry 10 to 15 miles because of competing sonar and other low frequency noises.

Transfer of baby orca generates hope for others of her kind.  The successful transfer of ailing orphan orca named Springer from Puget Sound to her pod's summer waters off British Columbia makes feasible the release of captive orcas imprisoned in swimming pools.  Keiko of Free Willie fame, transferred from a sub-standard Mexican pool, continues to make progress associating with fellow orcas off his native Iceland.  His progress has disappointingly slow in view of  the millions of dollars invested in this pilot project to release captive orcas , but valuable information  continues to accumulate, and his relations with wild orcas continue to get closer
Monkey troop reclaims orphan from police station.  A baby langur whose mother was shot while raiding an orchard in India refused to let go of his dead mother.  Mother and child were taken to the police station until arrangements could made for the youngster.  Human arrangements turned out to be unnecessary  because about 30 members of his tribe swarmed around the police station and contrived to get inside and carry him off with full approval of the police and citizens at large.  The man who shot  the mother was arrested for shooting an endangered species.  He was contrite and claimed shooting was an accident.  The mother was honored with a funeral procession consisting of "hundreds" of local people.  One policeman commented:  "What we saw was absolutely touching. It was as if the monkeys had made up their minds to take charge

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