WaterNotes

If you’re a regular WaterNotes reader, you’ve been seeing a lot here lately about the ethics of keeping wildlife in zoos and aquariums. I’ve certainly tried to be polite while voicing my opinions, and I think my stance on it is clear:  I fall squarely within the “these animals are ambassadors for their species and [...]

The Wildlife Conservation Society publishes its book State of the Wild on a regular basis with essays and articles covering issues in wildlife conservation.  In the current edition, an article “Rarest of the Rare”, highlights ten species thought to be among the most critically endangered of them all. What surprises me about this list?  Several [...]

Gnarly stuff to share this morning: killer whales going after pseudorca whales off the coast of New Zealand. A good friend of mine is currently visiting family down under, and apparently she was able to see much of this action in person!  (Lisa, if you’re reading this, I’m terribly jealous!) It’s not easy to tell [...]

Well, it’s official: three months into 2010 and we’re already experiencing our worst year of manatee mortality on record. I know that seems like an extremist statement, but the situation is pretty severe.  FWC’s latest press release updated the totals for mortality, seeing jumps in the three categories I last highlighted: cold stress, unrecovered, and [...]

SeaWorld released a great short video on their recent rescue of a juvenile female calf from a culvert near Satellite Beach, FL last week. The subadult was rescued for cold stress.  You can see some of the white shading, almost chalk-like, across the skin of her flipper that occurs during cold stress. What I really [...]

Duluth, Topeka, and Sarasota are all vying to be the first to host Google Fiber. Each city’s mayor has taken to somewhat dramatic demonstrations to prove their city is the best choice; in fact Sarasota’s mayor dove the shark aquarium at Mote Marine Laboratory to show his commitment. I happen to love the video clip [...]

The internets are abuzz today with the recent sighting of a king penguin with nearly all-black coloration. Seems this fully fledged adult didn’t get the memo about his species’ usual attire including a large white apron front of feathers.  However, he’s not the only unusually colored marine animal out there at the moment.  In the [...]