Happy Holidays!

And from those of us at this blog, we wish you a peaceful and happy holiday and a New Year filled with positive events.

This blog will be on vacation from December 25th until January 2nd, 2012. See you next year!

Environment How pedal power is helping Uganda's mountain gorillas

In late 2009, the Great Apes Film Initiative was struggling in its efforts to bring conservation education to communities located on the edge of the Mgahinga national park, Uganda. It was a victim of its own success, all too often turning people away from screenings due to overcrowding, with some children having to walk more than 20 miles back to their homes without seeing a single image of the mountain gorillas that live unseen alongside them.

What was needed, founder and director Madeleine Westwood saw, was an affordable, sustainable and eco-friendly way of bringing film to even the smallest of villages. The solution? The Pedal-Powered Cinema Project.

Like similar initiatives popping up in cities across the UK, the technology is relatively basic, with the back wheel of a stationary bike fed into a generator, which then powers the projector and sound system. But, even by pedal-powered cinema standards, the screenings taking place across this part of east Africa are simple affairs, with just two children's mountain bikes hooked up to the system and a single guitar amp providing the sound. This means that the whole cinema can be set up and dismantled by a team of two in a matter of minutes. Moreover, it's lightweight enough to carry up to most hilltop villages, yet sufficiently robust to withstand the bumps and potholes of a typical road in rural Uganda. Its carbon footprint and running costs are minimal.

Pedal Powered Gorilla Cinema in Uganda

But it's not simply a matter of the bikes being cheaper or greener to run than a petrol generator. In fact, just as in London or New York, the success of the pedal-powered cinema is due in no small part to both its quirkiness and its ability to add an extra element of audience participation to a screening. In short: hook up a petrol-powered generator in a school in Kisoro district to screen a film on gorillas and most of the school's pupils will show up. But do the same using pedal power instead and their teachers, parents and grandparents as well as local officials will not only come along as well, but they'll even queue up for a turn on the bikes.

Since the project was launched less than 12 months ago, around 43,000 children, as well as several thousand adults, have been able to attend a screening. For many, this will have been the first time they have seen images of gorillas, despite the fact they live right alongside the national park set up to protect the great apes. According to Westwood, the screenings are not just popular, but they are effective too, not least in teaching people about the plight of the gorillas and their natural habitat, even if the mating scenes tend to be the most popular with both children and adults alike.

She adds:

"So many of the children and their teachers have never seen a film before and to add to this novelty we also have a bicycle that generated the power to show the film. Some teachers shake their heads and declare a miracle. However, when we explain the science behind the system, they learn how to teach the children about physics and it's also an ideal situation for them to talk about conservation and sustainable development, both for their own community and for Uganda as a whole."

This simple technology has the potential to transform conservation outreach, as well as public health, agricultural training and many other initiatives that use film as an educational tool, right across the developing world.


Source:
The Guardian,"How pedal power is helping Uganda's mountain gorillas", accessed December 21, 2011

Climate change threatens to make polar bears dangerous; action needed:scientist

They're etched onto coins, are part of Canada's national identity and lure tourists to the Arctic every year, but the majestic Canadian polar bear could pose a significant risk to northern communities if climate change continues to wreak havoc on its natural habitat.

"It's potentially quite serious in terms of human-bear interactions," says Ian Stirling, an Edmonton-based scientist with the Canadian Wildlife Service who has studied polar bears for 41 years.

"It's a big problem in northern communities, it already is. They're killing 30, 40, 50 problem bears a year in the Canadian Arctic because they're threatening human life or property."

The adjunct professor at the University of Alberta wants to drive home the point that action is needed to combat the climate change which has the potential to turn the typically mild-mannered mammals into a risk.

As Stirling details in his new book — Polar Bears: A Natural History of a Threatened Species — the biggest threat to the bears is an increasingly warming climate which is causing earlier and more wide-spread melting of northern sea ice.

The ice is crucial to the bears because it serves as a hunting platform to access their primary food sources — particularly ringed seal pups (below left). With the ice breaking up earlier over time, bears lose precious opportunities to gather food.

"If they can't eat, they're not going to survive," says Stirling.

In startling new research, scientists are now also suggesting bears are turning on their own young in some cases to satiate their hunger as climate change hampers their feeding patterns.

"We are seeing a great deal more cannibalism and infanticide in the last 10 years more than we've seen in the last 25 or 30 all put together," says Stirling, who recently co-authored a paper documenting the issue in four cases.

While starving adult males have been known to prey on younger polar bears on occasion, what's new is the killing of small bears when the older predator is still fairly healthy.

While more study is needed, Stirling says the issue could be a case of young cubs being one of the few accessible sources of sustenance after the early break up of sea-ice.

Meanwhile, Canadian polar bears — which make up two-thirds of the global population — are being affected by climate change at such a fast rate that those living on the shores of lower Hudson Bay could disappear in just a few decades.

"The situation in Manitoba and Ontario is really pretty serious," says Stirling, who adds that sea ice is now breaking up three weeks earlier than it was 30 or 35 years ago, which leads to leaner bears and lower birth rates.

"Thirty, 40 years from now, there probably won't be many bears left in Hudson Bay."

From a wider perspective, Stirling argues that attention should be paid to the plight of the polar bears because the animals are a very real marker of effects of climate change.

"Polar bears are very representative of the kinds of things we're seeing in climate change," says the 70-year-old. "What they're also telling us is that we're not going to have the Arctic the way that we're familiar with it."

To preserve the species and the country they live in, Stirling urges the average Canuck to take any small steps they can to protect the environment and to pressure politicians to force a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

"The longer we hold off and don't do something about these things, the greater the negative effects and costs are going to be for our children and our grandchildren."

Stirling's words seem to strike a chord with those who hear him speak.
"We are on the verge of losing Canada's greatest heritage," said Robert Buchanan, CEO of Polar Bears International, which hosted a lecture by Stirling in Toronto.

"If Canada doesn't care about the Arctic and it's polar bears, why should the rest of the world care?"

Polar bears eat their own

Source:
Winnipeg Free Press,"Climate change threatens to make polar bears dangerous; action needed:scientist", accessed December 22, 2011
Mail Online, "Nature at its most savage: The shocking pictures that prove polar bears are cannibals - and will even eat bear cubs", accessed December 22, 2011

Disasters doom Texas oyster crop

In better days, the loading dock in this East Texas harbor city would be a bustle of activity: fishermen unloading sacks filled with fresh oysters, dealers paying by the sack for the bivalves, 18-wheelers hauling them to Florida, Virginia and other destinations.

On an afternoon last month, the dock was quiet. A handful of fishermen lingered by their boats, swapping rumors and lamenting the fate of their industry. (Left: all images in this article may be enlarged by clicking on them)

"We've never seen anything like this before," oysterman David DeLeon says. "It's never been this bad."

A monstrous bloom of toxic algae looming across the Texas coast has shut down oyster season. Fueled by Texas' ongoing drought, the algae — known as Karenia brevis— thrives in warm, salty water and has spread through the bays and islands along Texas' 350-mile coast, says Meridith Byrd, a marine biologist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The algae could cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea in humans and is harmful to fish but not fatal to people, she says.

State health officials took the rare step of closing the entire coast for oyster harvesting — all 17,586 acres of oyster beds — before the season opened Nov. 1. The state has shut down the entire coast before, most recently in 2000, according to state health officials. But the size of the current bloom coupled with the state's ongoing drought and lack of rain could make it one of the biggest and most destructive in history, Byrd says. The bloom so far has killed 4.5 million fish, she says.

"We're going to need a significant weather change," Byrd says. "So far, it's just not happening."

The $30 million Texas oyster industry, having already endured destruction from Hurricane Ike in 2008, fallout from last year's BP oil spill and the ongoing statewide drought, today faces one of its toughest challenges, says Sammy Ray, a shellfish toxicologist for Texas A&M University-Galveston who has studied oysters for more than 60 years.

Oysters live in a delicate balance of saltwater and freshwater. Too much freshwater kills off oysters by the bushel, while water with too much salt spawns diseases such as the current red tide, he says.

The "red tide" algae usually live deep offshore and are kept away from inland waters by freshwater river runoff and rainstorms, Ray says. With lack of freshwater because of the drought, the red tide has crept dangerously close to shore.

Even more lethal than the red tide is a parasite known as "dermo" that is spreading through Texas coastal waters with alarming speed, Ray says. The parasite is also spawned by the warm, salty water conditions caused by the drought. Though not harmful to humans, it's fatal to oysters, he says.

"It's the most I've ever seen of it and in areas I've never seen it in before," Ray says. "Nothing's going to stop it until we have a big flood."

The closures are devastating the industry.

Prestige Oysters Inc., of San Leon, Texas, usually has 10 trailer trucks a day hauling sacks of oysters from their docks, Vice President Lisa Halili says.

These days, it's down to four or five, with most of the oysters coming from Louisiana, she says.

The company lost oyster beds and equipment during Ike and saw its oyster shipments drop significantly when Louisiana's oyster grounds closed amid last year's oil spill in the Gulf, she says. But the long-term closure of Texas' coast could be the most serious blow to the industry, she says.

"Between hurricanes, oil spills and now the red tide, the oysters have been beaten up pretty bad," Halili says. "There's not going to be anything left alive out there."

In Port Lavaca, the impacts are felt throughout the coastal city — from fueling stations to equipment suppliers and the bars and restaurants that fishermen frequent, says Curtis Miller, owner of Miller Seafood Co., which processes and ships oysters. The business, started by his uncle 37 years ago, is down 80% since the closures, as are others across town, he says.

"People are really suffering," Miller says. "They don't know where their next meal is coming from."

At the Ed Melcher Hardware store on Main Street, the gloves, ropes, rubber boots and oyster hatchets that usually fly off the shelves this time of year gather dust in the front display.

The closures are costing the store $4,000 a month, owner J.C. Melcher says. During oyster season from November through April, oyster fishermen account for about one-fourth of store revenue, he says.

"It trickles everywhere — cafes, grocery stores. Everyone's hurting," Melcher says.

Fisherman Mauricio Blanco, 39, spent $8,000 on improvements to his boat in the off-season. Now he's scrambling to find a way to support his wife and five children. He has cut back expenses, including holiday shopping, until it looks like the grounds may reopen.

"It's going to be a miserable Christmas," Blanco says.

Source:
USA Today,"Disasters doom Texas oyster crop", by Rich Jarvis, accessed December 15, 2011

Hundreds of Threatened Species Not On Official U.S. List, Research Shows

Many of the animal species at risk of extinction in the United States have not made it onto the country's official Endangered Species Act (ESA) list, according to new research from the University of Adelaide. (Right: critically endangered Kittlitz's murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris) credit: US Fish & Wildlife Service)

National "red lists" are used by many countries to evaluate and protect locally threatened species. The ESA is one of the best known national lists and arguably the world's most effective biodiversity protection law.

A study -- now published in the latest issue of Conservation Letters -- has compared the ESA list of endangered species with the world's leading threatened species list, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.

The study has found that of the American species included on the IUCN Red List, 40% of birds, 50% of mammals, and 80-95% of other species such as amphibians, gastropods, crustaceans, and insects, were not recognized by the ESA as threatened.

This amounts to approximately 531 American species on the IUCN Red List that have not made the ESA protection list. These include bird species such as the critically endangered Kittlitz's murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris), the endangered ashy storm-petrel (Oceanodroma homochroa), and the vulnerable cerulean warbler (Dendroica cerulea). (Cerulean Warbler at left. Credit: Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative)

"The ESA has protected species since its establishment in 1973, and it may have prevented 227 extinctions. However, the implementation of the ESA by successive US governments has been problematic, including poor coverage of imperiled species, inadequate funding, and political intervention," says study leader Bert Harris, a native of Alabama who is undertaking his PhD with the University of Adelaide's Environment Institute and School of Earth & Environmental Sciences.

"Vague definitions of 'endangered' and 'threatened' and the existence of a 'warranted but precluded' category on the ESA list are also contributing to the gap in species classification," he says. Mr Harris says a detailed evaluation of the ESA's coverage of the IUCN Red List was "well overdue." (Right: endangered ashy storm-petrel.)

"The ESA is a powerful environmental law but its impact is limited. With many species being overlooked, this does not bode well for the ESA's ability to mitigate species decline before they become critically imperiled. The IUCN Red List is imperfect, but it is the leading global threatened species list. It involves collaboration of many scientists, and regular refinement of its categories and criteria," Mr Harris says.

The study was conducted in collaboration with the University of California, Santa Cruz, the National University of Singapore and the University of Göttingen, Germany.


Source:
Science Daily,"Hundreds of Threatened Species Not On Official U.S. List, Research Shows", accessed December 15, 2011

Persistent drought in Romania threatens Danube's power

In Cernavoda, a small town in southeast Romania, social housing projects stretch all along the left bank of the Danube. The now dilapidated buildings sprang up in the 1970s and 1980s, after the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu decided to build the country's first nuclear power plant there.

In his ambition for power and prosperity, he also ordered a canal to be built from Cernavoda to Constantza, a port on the Black Sea, to shorten the trade route by 400km. The excavations were done by thousands of political prisoners, many of whom died.

Today, 21 years after the fall of communism, the threat to Cernavoda is not from dictatorship but the drought that has hit Romania since August. "Look at the water level," said Vasile Mogos, who lives in a council flat by the river. "I would never have imagined that the Danube could fall so low."

A lack of rain has triggered the worst drought in decades for this time of year, dropping river levels to record lows and sounding an alarm in parts of central and eastern Europe.

The Danube crosses Europe from west to east over 2,850km, from its source in Germany's Black Forest to the Black Sea in Romania. In its path Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania all exploit the waters of Europe's second-longest river after the Volga.

The first reactor in the Romanian nuclear power plant, which uses Canadian CANDU reactor technology(left) based on natural uranium and pressurized heavy water, came on stream in 1996. A second reactor was built in 2007, and three others are planned, since the Romanian government counts on nuclear power for energy self-sufficiency.

The two reactors in the Cernavoda plant generate 20% of those needs and were built on the banks of the Danube to use its waters for cooling.

Early this month, the Danube's flow rate in Turnu-Severin, a town in southwest Romania, home to the country's largest hydroelectric power plant, was 2,400 cubic metres per second, 63% of the usual average of 3,800 cubic meters per second. Hidroelectrica, the public corporation in charge of delivering the energy produced by the plant, is generating only 1,800MW instead of the usual 2,100 MW.

Power supplies are also running low in Serbia, drinking water shortages have hit Bosnia, and crop production is in jeopardy in Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary. The lack of water has also threatened some electricity supplies, as hydroelectric power plants, especially prominent in Bosnia and Serbia, have ceased to function. The Czech Republic is at its driest since records began in 1775. In Bosnia, drinking water restrictions have been introduced at night in Sarajevo and other cities.

"The Bosna river is so low, you can walk from one bank to another," said Emir Emric, a fisherman. "People catch fish with bare hands — and not only any fish — but 20-kilogram (44-pound) catfish."

In 2003 the drought in Romania was so severe that it led to the shutdown of one of the Cernavoda reactors. Cantemir Ciurea, director of the National Committee for Controlling Nuclear Activities, said: "We immediately put in place a new system that allowed the pumps to extract the cooling water from much lower levels."

The Romanian authorities have not, however, discounted the possible closure of a reactor if the drought persists.

The lack of rain is also worrying for hotel owners in the Danube delta (right), who have lost some 10,000 tourists this year, with 250 boats and craft stranded, waiting for the rains before they can sail again. Losses are now counted in millions of euros.

Sunken German World War II-era ships have surfaced on the Danube and unexploded bombs that fell during the 1940s emerged from the Sava river (a major tributary) in Serbia.

The waters of the mighty Danube are so low that dozens of cargo ships are simply stuck, stranded in ghostly fog or wedged into sand banks on what is normally one of eastern Europe's busiest transport routes. (At left)

The drought is also threatening the fragile ecosystem. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the race to expand agricultural land in the 20th century has already eliminated 80% of the Danube's wetlands. (lower right) In addition, a World Wildlife Fund report noted a sharp drop in bird populations along the lower stretch of the Danube because of the persistent drought.

"The wetlands along the riverbanks were able to absorb water in the event of flooding and free it in periods of drought," explained Andreas Beckmann, director of WWF's Danube-Carpathian program. "We are going to see more and more of these extreme situations. Our best response is to protect and strengthen our green infrastructure."


Source:
The Guardian,"Persistent drought in Romania threatens Danube's power",by Mirel Bran, accessed December 13, 2011
SFGate.com, "Unusual drought triggers alarm across Balkans," accessed December 13, 2011

From the Inbox - You made a world of Difference to the Environment in 2011

		Watch this inspiring 90-second video of all the victories you made possible over the past year. Then please consider making a year-end, tax-deductible gift so that NRDC can go right on defending wildlife and wild places in 2012. Dear Supporter and Friend, Your support of NRDC made a world of difference to endangered wildlife and wild places in 2011. I hope you’ll watch this short video of all the important victories you made possible over the past 12 months. This inspiring footage is narrated by NRDC Member and Academy Award nominee David Strathairn. David enumerates campaign after campaign where your online actions and your generous support made the critical difference … ... You helped us prevail in court over trophy hunters, who wanted to strip the polar bear of its federal protection. ... You helped us save almost 10 million acres of the Alaskan Rainforest from logging and road building. ... And together, we helped persuade President Obama to put a hold on the destructive Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, which threatens our forests, our climate and our health. There were big wins as well for beluga whales, Yellowstone’s buffalo, the Boreal forest and many more -- all made possible thanks to your strong support. And right now, you can plant the seeds for next year’s victories by making a special, year-end gift to NRDC. You see, even as this year winds down, our fight for nature is not slowing down at all. We’ll continue working -- even through the holidays -- to protect wildlife and wild places that are now under attack: We’re mobilizing continent-wide opposition to the Northern Gateway tar sands pipeline that would endanger some of the world’s last Spirit Bears and their rainforest home along the rugged coast of British Columbia. We’re waging several courtroom battles to stop Shell from drilling next summer in Alaska’s Polar Bear Seas. We’re fighting to stop Anglo American and other foreign companies that want to build one of the world’s biggest open-pit mines in the heart of Alaska’s Bristol Bay wilderness. That’s why, after you watch this impressive video wrap-up of the past year’s victories, I hope you’ll feel moved to make a tax-deductible gift today so that NRDC can go right on defending wildlife and wild places in 2012. Make no mistake: It’s because of you that NRDC is so highly regarded -- by friend and foe alike -- as America’s most effective advocate for the environment. It is your online activism and financial support that stand behind every single victory we won in 2011. And that is why I look forward to having you fighting alongside us again in 2012. Sincerely, Frances Beinecke President Natural Resources Defense Council

From the Inbox: A Better Future for our Children

Dear Conservationist,

When I take my 3-year-old son outside, I get to see nature through his eyes — and it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. To a child, everything is new and exciting — even the things that you or I might take for granted.

Still, I can't help but think: Will my son grow up in a healthy world? Will he be able to depend on nature for clean air, healthy food and a stable climate — the same way that I do?

Around the world, we lose more and more of our ecosystems — every day. This is a crisis. It is clear that we must do more in the year ahead. That's why I'm writing today to ask you to make a generous gift to Conservation International this holiday season.

This December, for every dollar you give to CI online, the Pritzker Foundation will give two more — tripling your impact, and helping us raise the $500,000 we need to continue our fight for nature, all around the world. With the help of our most steadfast supporters — people like you — we can, and will, provide our children the future they deserve.

If you're like me, you were raised to respect nature. My grandparents had an abiding love for the land. During summers, I'd enjoy juicy tomatoes and succulent squash from their vegetable garden. During autumn, I'd shake trees to pry apples loose from their boughs — but only, my grandfather insisted, as many as I needed.

Looking back, it is so clear how much my grandparents cared about leaving me a good world. Now, I too feel an urgent responsibility to protect nature — not just for my own son, but for the sons and daughters of billions around the world.

Because I am lucky enough to work every day with CI supporters, I know you are just as passionate as me.

Here's one of my favorite quotes, attributed to Nelson Henderson:

"The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit."

I hope you will continue to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit — with a holiday donation to Conservation International.

Thank you so much for your steadfast support,

Sincerely,

Tracy LaMondue
Vice President, Major Gifts

Three-quarters of UK butterfly species in decline

Nearly three-quarters of butterfly species which breed in the UK have seen their numbers decline over a decade, according to the largest survey ever of the colorful insects. The data published on Wednesday by Butterfly Conservation also shows more than half have seen their distribution decrease. The survey data shows that 59 species of butterflies that breed regularly in the UK have declined in both abundance (72% of species) and distribution (54%) over a ten year period calculated from survey results between 1995 and 2009

Richard Fox, lead author of the study by Butterfly Conservation and the Center for Ecology and Hydrology, said their results were "significant, worrying and depressing" because it included not just rare species but some of the most common household names like small tortoiseshell (right), the small heath and the wall.

"Butterflies are the 'canaries in the coalmine' for our environment and this new assessment shows they are in a poor state in 21st-century Britain," said Fox. "Despite grand promises by politicians, rare and common species of butterfly continue to decline in our countryside and towns as a result of farming, forestry and building practices that are hostile to our native wildlife."

He added: "It's also depressing: we have just gone through a decade which has had the highest levels of public awareness about wildlife and conservation and effort and public money gone into the landscape for wildlife: in that context it's pretty bad news."

The data shows that the worst hit species - such as the high brown fritillary, a woodland species that has already seen precipitous declines in previous decades - fell by 69% in the past ten years. The duke of burgundy populations have declined by 46%. Both species have seen their distributions reduced. Even the smallest declines saw species drop 8% in number, such as the widespread meadow brown and orange-tip.

The common garden species the small tortoiseshell has also seen major declines in numbers of almost two thirds (64%) in the past decade.

Meanwhile, the peacock (right), comma, speckled wood and ringlet butterflies have continued to spread north rapidly in response to climate change, Butterfly Conservation said.

The survey did show, however, dramatic recoveries in a few rare species, including the large blue – reintroduced in the 1980s after becoming extinct in this country – which is now expanding its population and range, and the heath fritillary, which has been brought back from the brink of extinction.

The reason for the disparity was likely to be that recovery programs for individual butterfly species were intense and very focused, sometimes on as few as two locations, whereas most general environmental improvements schemes were much broader and less targeted. In particular, the entry level scheme funded by EU farming subsidies was too open to farmers to decide what improvements to make, without necessarily good evidence they were the most beneficial changes, said Fox.

Butterfly Numbers still falling in the UK

Although results of the latest survey cannot be directly compared with historic records, "there is no sign there has been declines of these kind of magnitudes before the 1950s – it really ties in with agricultural intensification," said Fox. (At right: comma butterfly)

The research, which analyzed the distribution and numbers of 59 species of butterflies which regularly breed in the UK, found some species, such as the high brown fritillary and the duke of burgundy butterflies (lower left), have seen declines which have put them at risk of becoming extinct in the UK. A 10-year population trend was calculated from data collected by thousands of members of the public between 1995 and 2009.

Butterflies are considered a key way to track the fabric of biodiversity which supports life on Earth. Records of how widely different butterfly species are dispersed go back to the 1600s – making them probably the longest running indicator of the variety of life on the planet.

The butterfly survey follows reports last week that a 40-year record of 19 different UK species of farmland birds – another key indicator of biodiversity – reached a record low last year and overall numbers have fallen by more than half in those four decades.

The declines follow drastic cuts in spending by the environment department, Defra, and the prospect that regulations to protect wildlife are to be reviewed and watered-down after the Chancellor, George Osborne, suggested that "gold-plating" of such protections was holding back economic development in his autumn statement.

Dr Martin Warren, Butterfly Conservation's chief executive, said: "We now have firm evidence that targeted effort can reverse the decline of threatened butterflies, so it is especially sad that these hard-fought gains have been put in jeopardy due to government cutbacks in funding. Wildlife recovery needs more not less funding if we are to halt the loss of biodiversity and create a healthy environment for us all to live in."

To download the data from the study, click here.

Source:
The Guardian,"Three-quarters of UK butterfly species in decline", by Juliette Jowit, accessed December 10, 2011
The Guardian, "UK butterfly species' populations over a decade", accessed December 10, 2011
Butterfly Conservation, "The A to Z of Butterflies", accessed December 10, 2011

Dozens of beluga whales trapped among Bering Sea ice floes

Russian agencies are scrambling to save 100 beluga whales – an endangered species – trapped among large chunks of polar ice floating in the frigid Bering Sea. Russia's nature protection watchdog believes the whales might perish. Authorities say the ice is 10cm-15cm thick and is preventing the whales from reaching the open sea where they can swim freely.

Russia's ministry of natural resources and ecology said on Thursday that it has asked the transportation ministry for help and that an inter-departmental group is working on how to save the whales.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature listed the beluga whale as an endangered species in 2008.


Source:
The Guardian,"Dozens of beluga whales trapped among Bering Sea ice floes", accessed December 15, 2011