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PHOTOGRAPH BY KEVIN FRAYER, GETTY IMAGES
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Controversy over tiger breeding report: For years, thousands of tigers for years have been held at tiger “farms” in Asia, where they’re bred and used at tourism sites and in illegal trade. But now, a draft document, funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and shared with National Geographic, appears to legitimize tiger farming—an unacceptable practice under international rules. Gabriel Fava, at the Born Free Foundation, says that the contents of the document are “grossly unfit” and “have inherent biases.” (Above, tourists watch tigers at the Hellongjiang Siberian Tiger Park in Harbin, China, in 2017.)
Tiger King update: Joe Exotic, currently serving 22 years in prison for murder-for-hire and wildlife violations, will be resentenced. An appeals court yesterday upheld the Tiger King’s conviction but said he wasn’t sentenced properly (hat tip: Natasha Daly).
Football-size goldfish: Not wanting to keep a goldfish, but not wanting to harm it either, a pet owner releases into it a lake or a river. That’s where trouble begins. The discarded pets swell, uproot plants, and stir up sediment that affects water quality, the Washington Post reports. “Please don’t release your pet goldfish into ponds and lakes!” a Minnesota city wrote in a Twitter post that has been shared thousands of times.
Happy birthday: One of the last two northern white rhinos on Earth celebrated her 32nd birthday this week. Photographer Ami Vitale tweeted an image of Najin, with her daughter, Fatu, at the Ol Pejeta wildlife sanctuary in Kenya. In 2019, scientists created three embryos from the female rhinos and a dead male northern rhino. The embryos have been stored in liquid nitrogen for implantation in a southern white rhino surrogate in the future.
Working with animals: In his new meditative film, Pig, actor Nicolas Cage plays a truffle hunter searching for the person who stole his beloved pet. In an interview with GQ, he talks about communing with his pet crow and what it’s like to share the spotlight with Brandy the pig.
Wolves gaining, losing foothold: Gray wolf pups have been spotted in Michigan, a hopeful sign that the population is growing. Researchers say two litters were probably born in the area of Isle Royale National Park within the last year, the Associated Press reports. Meanwhile, hunters have killed a third of Wisconsin’s wolves since they lost Endangered Species Act protections in January, Nat Geo reports.
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