Center for Biological Diversity
[link removed]
Endangered Earth
No. 1262, September 12, 2024

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5 of 7 California Wolf Families Have New Pups
It’s official: California’s new wolf packs are thriving. The state’s wildlife department reports that out of the seven known families in the state, no fewer than five had pups [[link removed]] this year — 30 of them — bringing the total count of California wolves to 65.
The Center for Biological Diversity and friends worked for years to make the Golden State a safe harbor for wolves, winning them California protection in the nick of time in 2014 — only one year before the Shasta pack was confirmed in the state. It was the first wolf family to live there since the last California wolf was shot in 1924.
“Seeing wolves return to the places they once called home and have these adorable pups is so inspiring,” said Amaroq Weiss, our senior wolf advocate. “It’s a testament to the visionary power and strong enforcement of the federal and state endangered species acts.”
Help the Center advocate to restore and recover wolves across the lower 48 with a gift to our Saving Life on Earth Fund . [link removed]
Upper body of a Black Creek crayfish and a round hickorynut mussel in the river floor [[link removed]]
Rare Crayfish, Mussels to Get Protection
Thanks to a landmark Center petition to protect hundreds of imperiled Southeast freshwater species, this week the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to list a crayfish and two mussels under the Endangered Species Act.
Northeastern Florida is home to the Black Creek crayfish [[link removed]] , a freshwater crustacean in the lobster family native to one spot in the lower St. Johns River watershed — such a tiny area that a single catastrophic event could be devastating.
And in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, dams and other threats are pushing two more mussels [[link removed]] toward extinction: one called the Alabama hickorynut and one so recently discovered it doesn’t have a name yet. Nearly 70% of U.S. freshwater mussels are at risk of extinction, but only 30% are protected under the Act — so we’re working to change that, bringing love to the unloved.
Jaguar resting on the floor with a lush background [[link removed]]
Center Op-Ed: Call the Big Cats Home
In 1964, writes the Center’s Michael Robinson [[link removed]] in the Arizona Daily Star , the last U.S.-born wild jaguar was killed by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service trapper — and the great cats were gone from the landscape. Unlike gray wolves, jaguars weren’t reintroduced into the U.S. Southwest by the Service after the advent of the Endangered Species Act.
Over the next six decades, a few males trickled in from Mexico. The first were all killed, before hunters began photographing them instead of shooting them. In 1997 the Center got jaguars put back on the endangered list. Now we and our allies are advocating for an ambitious, visionary plan: their reintroduction to excellent habitat in the sprawling Gila National Forest, where they could once again help balance ecosystems and thrive.
Jaguars evolved in North America before they spread southward. Help us welcome them back by voicing your support. [[link removed]]
Jean Su speaking at a climate rally with people holding signs behind her [[link removed]]
Jean Su Makes the Grist 50 List
We’re delighted — but not surprised — that Grist.org has honored Center attorney Jean Su, director of our Energy Justice program [[link removed]] , as a climate leader on its 2024 #Grist50 list [[link removed]] .
Jean’s team fights to advance energy justice and end fossil fuels, revolutionizing the world to be powered entirely by renewable, wildlife-friendly, resilient, equitable energy.
Jean is working to ban power shutoffs and fight corporate utility obstruction of distributed clean energy; she helped win an executive order to manufacture heat pumps for disenfranchised people and is urging the feds to better respond to the climate emergency. Her program just petitioned FEMA to recognize extreme heat and wildfire smoke as major disasters.
Thanks for all you do, Jean. We’re lucky to have you.
Bat resting on a tree trunk [[link removed]]
Biodiversity Connects and Protects, Bat Study Shows
Wild animals make people’s lives possible through ecosystem services. Bats, for example, eat 40% of their weight in insects every night — billions of dollars’ worth of pest control.
Over the past decade, with white-nose syndrome decimating New England bat populations, more insects have devoured more crops — leading to 30% more insecticide use, particularly harmful to pregnant people and infants. Now a mic-drop study [[link removed]] finds that infant mortality increased by 8% in counties with bat die-offs, which are using more insecticides.
“There are countless ways human wellbeing is tied to biodiversity,” said Center Senior Scientist Tierra Curry. “Watching wildlife makes us happier, being in nature relieves stress, and trying to make up for lost ecosystem services — well, it turns out that can kill us.”
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The Revelator : Ocean Conservation
The problems facing oceans sometimes feel overwhelming. But like surfers we can look for the perfect wave — and ride it to protect these vital ecosystems.
Learn how in The Revelator . [[link removed]] And if you don’t already, subscribe to the free weekly Revelator e-newsletter [[link removed]] for more wildlife and conservation news.
Lifelike illustration of open-mouthed anglerfish, with play button [Lifelike illustration of open-mouthed anglerfish, with play button]
That’s Wild: The Deep Commitment of Anglerfish Sex
When some kinds of deep-sea anglerfish mate, it’s a union so profound they literally become one. A tiny male attaches himself to a massive female and stays there for the rest of his life, eventually subsumed into her body — losing even his head, over time, and leaving only testes behind to make sperm.
A new study suggests that the interplay of the two kinds of parasitism involved — obligate and sexual — may be what allowed these snaggletooth, luminous fish to move into the dark depths 35-50 million years ago.
Read about the study and see rare footage of an ugly-beautiful anglerfish. [[link removed]]
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Center for Biological Diversity
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