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A Pacific footballfish: That’s the name of the weird, deep-sea creature that washed up on a California beach. Normally found 3,000 feet below the surface, the 18-inch wide-mouthed fish is a cousin to the anglerfish, known for the light bulb-like antennae that lure prey into its jagged jaws. Authorities don’t know how the fish ended up on the shore of Crystal Cove State Park, the Los Angeles Times reports.
A forever home for circus elephants: Under fire from animal rights groups, U.S. circuses have phased out using elephants in their shows. A herd of the Asian elephants has been moved safely to a new Florida forest habitat, where they will be joined by as many as 20 others, Nat Geo’s Dina Fine Maron tells us. The 2,500-acre reserve, with 11 waterholes, lets the animals choose among wetlands, grasslands, and woodlands, Oliver Whang reported last fall.
A royal botch? A prince of the tiny nation of Liechtenstein has been accused of illegally killing Europe’s largest bear. The prince had permission during a Romanian trophy hunt to kill a menacing female bear, not Arthur, as the giant 17-year-old brown bear was named, the Washington Post reports.
Oil vs. wildlife: Lions, giraffes, and endangered savanna elephants depend on a fragile, 7,000-square-mile desert wetland in northwestern Botswana. Upstream, an oil company is disposing of wastewater without permits and ignoring local concerns about the impact of exploration and drilling, our Wildlife Watch unit reports. Drilling for the first test well began in January. Follow this project through Wildlife Watch, the investigative reporting project between National Geographic Society and National Geographic Partners focusing on wildlife crime and exploitation.
Wandering big cats: Three leopards escaped from an eastern China zoo, which kept quiet about the getaway until the news got out. Two of the big cats have been recaptured, and a team with 90 live chickens as bait are looking for the third, the New York Times reports. Meanwhile, in Houston, a man free on bond from a murder charge was returned to custody after neighbors found a pet tiger wandering around a Houston neighborhood. The tiger was not immediately found, the Associated Press reports.
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