Toledo Zoo to Release Endangered Butterflies

Tomorrow, July 8, 2010, at 11am, the Toledo Zoo will be releasing endangered Karner blue butterflies in Spencer Township, Ohio. The release is in conjunction with Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Toledo Zoo was the first to breed Karner blues for reintroduction to the wild and have since released over 5,000 of the species into Ohio locations. In the past, the Toledo Zoo has also released hundred of purplish copper butterflies, which are endangered in the state. The breeding techniques utilized in rearing Karner blue and purplish copper butterflies are being used to one day help release other, even more endangered butterflies into the wild.

The Karner blue butterfly is the official state butterfly of New Hampshire, although they are spotted occasionally in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, and New York. They are dependent upon a type of blue-purple flower called the wild lupine, as it is the only source of food for the larvae. While it takes between 30 and 60 days for the butterfly to emerge, from egg through pupation, as an adult, the butterfly typically only lives about four days. Interestingly, the Karner blue butterfly shares a distinct relationship with several ant species. The ants will tend the butterfly larvae (and occasionally eat some of them), and the larvae will emerge as an adult faster, and will have gained more weight.

The Karner blue butterfly is currently considered to be an endangered species. It has been eliminated from five of the states where it used to dwell. Use of herbicides that kill the needed lupine plant, increased deer populations, and mowing or plowing important plants are all leading to the destruction of the Karner blue habitat. Because of their beauty, this species has also been victim to collection by uninformed butterfly enthusiasts. Continued efforts such as the Toronto Zoo's in breeding and releasing butterfly populations is one of the main ways conservationists hope to improve their numbers. Protecting their habitat and increasing awareness about the vulnerability of the species and the importance of the lupine plant are also hoped to increase the population of this blue beauty.

via Zoo and Aquarium Visitor

Critically Endangered Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles Rehabbed and Released

Three Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles were released by the National Aquarium on June 19, 2010 after receiving six months of extensive rehabilitation. One of the turtles, later named Marshall, had been found cold-stunned in Massachusetts on December 1, 2009. It is an unfortunate, but common occurrence for turtles who have travelled too far north. After two weeks of slow warming and veterinary services, Marshall was relocated to the National Aquarium, in Baltimore, to receive further treatment. He underwent rehabilitation for pneumonia, a bacterial infection, and many scrapes and cuts. Now that he has been released, fans can still follow the adventures of Marshall, via a transmitter attached to his back, beaming the aquarium information about his current whereabouts.

The Kemp's Ridley is the smallest of the sea turtle species, weighing around 100 pounds when full-grown. They are considered to be critically endangered, the world's most endangered sea turtle, with only 1000 nesting females calculated to exist. The Kemp's Ridley Turtle is the only type of sea turtle to lay its eggs in the daylight hours, when hundreds of females bound up Mexican beaches. Shrimp trawls are the main threat to the turtles, so Turtle Excluder Devices are being put in the nets to keep them from harm's way. Their nesting beaches have been protected as sanctuaries for decades, and conservationists now use the areas as release grounds for hundreds of captive-born hatchlings.

via The National Aquarium

Released Regent Honeyeaters Doing Well

44 captive-bred Regent Honeyeaters were released mid-May by an Australian National Park. At least 36 of them have been spotted in the wild and appear to be blending in with their wildborn counterparts. Birds Australia has put together a National Regent Honeyeater Recovery group, hoping to boost the populations of these beautiful creatures. Most of the released birds have remained within park boundaries, but some have sought greater freedom. Monitoring their behavior and tracking the individual honeyeaters will continue through mid-July.

The Regent Honeyeater has been considered endangered since 1994. It is found exclusively in south-east Australia, but had once been found throughout southern Australia when the population was larger. Honeyeaters differ from the American hummingbird in many ways besides the obvious size. Honeyeaters do not have the ability to hover as hummingbirds do, but instead perch themselves on flowers or nearby branches. They do eat some small insects and fruits, but subsist primarily off of nectar. The Regent Honeyeater is thought to be the only bird who mimics the calls of other, closely-related bird species.

It is currently estimated that 1500 Regent Honeyeaters remain. Development of their habitats and destruction of flowering plants are considered the main threats to these birds. Conservation efforts include breeding more Regent Honeyeaters in captivity, replanting habitat trees and the flowers from which they eat. It is hoped that certain portions of land may be protected to rehabilitate the area the honeyeaters call home.

via BirdLife

Black Rhinos Released Into Wild

Five black rhinos were moved to Tanzania in the first step to introduce the creatures to the wild. They have so far lived protected in a South African conservancy. After spending time in enclosures, acclimating to their new environment, the rhinos will be slowly introduced to their new wild worlds.

The critically endangered black rhinoceros differs from its not threatened white rhinoceros counterpart in only a few ways. Most notably, black rhinos feature a "hooked" lip, compared to the white rhino's squared lip. They are actually able to use these prehensile lips to grasp twigs and grass when eating. The black rhino is also smaller than the white rhino and has a proportionally smaller skull and ears.

Because of poaching and habitat destruction, black rhino populations dwindled from an estimated 70,000 in the last 1900s, to scarcely over 2,000 in the new millennium. Their horns are what have made them targets to hunters. The horns are used in traditional medicine to supposedly treat an array of illnesses. It is hoped that the introduction of these implanted rhinoceroses will help restore the population that poachers had almost eradicated.

via World Zoo Today

National Aquarium Releases Rescued Harbor Seal

The National Aquarium, located in Baltimore, Maryland, released a rescued harbor seal back into the ocean May 13, 2010. The seal, named Hastings, had been in disrepair when he was picked up by the aquarium's Marine Animal Rescue Program in January. He had cuts on his fins, a slight case of pneumonia, was underweight, and severely dehydrated. Five months at the aquarium did Hastings well, enjoying his send-off into the waters of Maryland's Ocean City, even with a transmitter strapped to his back. The transmitter will inform aquarium staff about his feeding and migration patterns and hopefully will show that he has made a full recovery.

Harbor seals are not endangered animals, with a global population of around half a million. The illegalization of seal hunting across most of the world has raised the population to a healthy number. Harbor seals subsist off of numerous species of fish, with a crab, shrimp, or squid added in sporatically. They are able to stay underwater for up to ten minutes and can reach depths of 1500 feet or more.

via The Baltimore Sun