Latest news with #endangered
CTV News
5 hours ago
- General
- CTV News
Slow and steady progress in decade-long project to save B.C.'s only native turtle
Menita Prasad, director of animal care at Greater Vancouver Zoo, poses with a western painted turtle in an undated handout photo. (Michael Jacobsen) Menita Prasad knows that turtles don't rate the same kind of attention from the public as a 'cute, fluffy mammal.' The director of animal care at Greater Vancouver Zoo says that's one reason why British Columbia's endangered western painted turtles deserve special care. The zoo is part of a decade-long project to revive the fortunes of the province's only native freshwater turtle. 'How can you not love a turtle?' said Prasad, describing the western painted turtle's 'beautiful, bright-red plastron,' the underside of its shell. The zoo in Langley, B.C., is halfway through the project to collect western painted turtle eggs in the wild and hatch them, to increase their chances of survival when they are released. Prasad said it's been a bumper year for the zoo, releasing more than 550 of the turtles, more than double the annual average. But there's a long way to go to save the species. The 10-year project began in 2019, although Prasad said the zoo had been releasing turtles before that and had freed around 3,000 of them over the past decade. She said she'd rather not reveal the exact release sites. 'Believe it or not, people will take these animals to eat them,' said Prasad. The turtle is listed as an endangered species by the federal government and red-listed in B.C., meaning they face the highest risk of extinction in the province. In addition to predators, both human and natural, the turtles face competition from invasive red-eared sliders, a turtle species that is larger, breeds more prolifically, and is popular in the pet trade. 'When people don't want (red-eared sliders) as pets, they have released them into our lakes and ponds that contain western painted turtles,' said Prasad, 'Unfortunately, because the red-eared sliders are a bit more prolific, they are essentially outcompeting western painted turtles.' The recovery operation is a joint program with the Coastal Painted Turtle Project and the B.C. government. The juvenile turtles are released when they weigh about 50 grams, about the same weight as two double-A batteries. That's big enough to make them hard to eat for invasive predators, including largemouth bass and bullfrogs — when they hatch, the turtles are only about the size of a toonie, Prasad said. She said the project aims to give the turtles 'that little extra boost in life to get over the tough times when they would normally be preyed upon.' Biologist Aimee Mitchell, a project manager for the Coastal Painted Turtle Project, has been working with the zoo. A report authored by Mitchell says the project aims to recover 10 populations of the turtle and has 'consistently met its objectives.' But it says the work needs to be ongoing. 'Due to the long-lived nature of western painted turtles and their slow reproductive rate it will take further efforts to ensure self-sustaining, healthy populations with the viability to persist into the future,' the report says. Prasad said people need to be mindful of the turtles and their nesting sites on freshwater beaches. She said the turtles have a range of personalities, and some seem reluctant to leave when they are released. 'You put them in the water, or you put them on the shore, and they linger around for a little bit. It's not a quick dash to run and hide,' she said. 'They really look around and check out their area, go for a bit of a swim, and then come back to you, and just to see like, 'Oh, what are you doing? Is it OK for me to go out this way?' And then off they go.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 17, 2025. Nono Shen, The Canadian Press
CBS News
14 hours ago
- CBS News
Bloomington police concerned for welfare of 16-year-old girl who ran away from home
Police in Bloomington are asking for the public's assistance in locating an endangered 16-year-old girl they say ran away from home. The Bloomington Police Department says Lily Flippin, who also goes by the name Phoenyx, left her Bloomington residence on Monday. Police are concerned for her welfare. Flippin is described as 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 170 pounds. She was last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black leggings and black slides. Police say Flippin has connections in Phoenix, Arizona, and Valley City, North Dakota. Anyone who has seen Flippin or knows her whereabouts is asked to contact the Bloomington Police Department at 952-563-4900 or call 911.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ex-NFL QB Jay Cutler sparks outrage during South Africa hunting trip
Ex-NFL star Jay Cutler sparked outrage after posting photos on Instagram of an endangered animal that he'd killed. The photos show a smiling Cutler crouching over a dead giant sable antelope — a massive hoofed mammal known for its large, curved horns. 'Kicked off the Africa hunt with a beauty. Sable down,' the first post reads. Another post included a video montage of the hunt and Cutler shooting the animal. Cutler uploaded more pictures of a seemingly dead antelope on Monday with the caption 'Another great day.' While some commenters congratulated Cutler, and noted the meat from the animals tends to be donated to locals, the trophy hunting got some criticism too. 'Wow, Jay you killed a wild animal in a place it's rarely hunted and it had zero idea you were a threat,' one Instagram user commented on the first post. 'Super impressive.' 'I went to Africa on a safari and saw the most incredible wildlife and never once thought about murdering them,' another wrote. The giant sable antelope, which is considered critically endangered and nearly extinct, was considered 'rare and impressive animal' in its native Angola, according to the Carnegie Museum of Natural history. 'Never numerous, today the Giant Sable is critically endangered, threatened by habitat loss, civil war, and poachers. Active conservation efforts continue, but population estimates indicate there are less than a hundred mature individuals,' the museum's website reads. However, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources' Red List, which tracks species, classifies the giant sable antelope as 'stable' overall. While Cutler's hunting appears perfectly legal, he's run into trouble in the past. He was arrested for DUI and gun possession in Tennessee last October. Cutler, 42, played 12 seasons in the NFL with the Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
OnlyFans model gets very light sentence for selling jaguar cub to man she met online
An OnlyFans model who posed provocatively with wild animals has avoided jail after selling a jaguar cub to a drug dealer she met online - forcing the endangered cat into a series of shady sales, neglect, and abandonment. Trisha Denise Meyer, 43, of Houston, was sentenced Monday to six months' probation after pleading guilty to selling the cub, then named Amador, for $26,000 and illegally shipping it from Texas to California in 2021. She faced up to eight years in prison and a $700,000 fine, but prosecutors accepted a plea deal in which she copped to just one count and was ordered to pay $30,000 in restitution. The jaguar was bought by Abdul 'Mannie' Rahman, a marijuana dealer in Murrieta, California, who renamed it Hades and kept it in his five-bedroom home before reselling it to another man living with a pregnant partner. Concerned about having a jaguar around a newborn, the second buyer eventually dumped the cub - malnourished, covered in feces, and missing clumps of fur - at a wildlife sanctuary near San Diego. Now renamed Eddie, the cub lives safely at Lions Tigers & Bears sanctuary in Alpine, California. In one 2021 video, Meyer posted a clip Amador licking at the air while lying on her lap. 'thankful to be his momma #catmom,' she wrote. She even posed with the cub between her exposed breasts on OnlyFans. Rahman, who attended one of Meyer's $1,000-an-hour hotel meetups in Austin, told the Los Angeles Times: 'All I knew was the jaguar was cute, and I had the money, and I wanted it.' 'When I'm getting offered to buy a wild animal, and it's so cute when you see it, when it's small, who the f*** is gonna say no? No one will.' After Rahman posted photos of the cub online, Meyer allegedly texted him: 'If I got word of it here. That means others are seeing that & will snitch and they will be trying to track him down.' Eventually, social media clips of the cub caught the attention of sanctuary founder Bobbi Brink. 'All we knew at that point was that there was a jaguar in Riverside,' said California Fish and Wildlife warden Austin Smith. Federal law prohibits transporting endangered species across state lines - and California bans jaguar ownership outright. Brink said when the cub was dropped off in a dog crate. 'He was shaking and urinating in fear.' The staff named him Eddie after the construction worker who found him. Experts confirmed the jaguar's identity using influencer videos. 'It's pretty horrific to see that and to know that that happens,' said Mathias Tobler of the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. 'People treating him like a little pet cat and passing him around for entertainment.' Lead investigator Ed Newcomer of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service added: 'They are not animal lovers.' 'They are either in it for the money or they're in it for the obsession of collecting and owning and having and controlling.' Newcomer eventually traced the seller to Meyer. 'Instantly he said, 'That's Trish Meyer. We have been after her for years. She is notorious,' he recalled. A federal grand jury indicted Meyer in October 2022. She turned herself in after more than a month on the run. Rahman was also charged and sentenced in July 2023 to a year of probation and ordered to pay $30,000 in restitution. Meyer, who dubbed herself the 'Texas Zookeeper,' was no stranger to law enforcement. In 2016, she was arrested in Nevada with three tigers roaming the backyard. She was charged with child endangerment after a game warden saw her 14-year-old daughter petting tiger cubs, but the charge was later dropped. 'My child was never in danger, none of my four children have ever been in danger,' Meyer told a reporter after pleading guilty to a related theft charge involving a Savannah kitten. 'Nobody's been hurt by our animals.' She called her kids 'young zookeepers,' and said teachers referred to her as the 'tiger mom.' Despite a ban on selling exotic animals, Meyer continued. In one case, she was accused of selling a diseased kitten that died of emaciation. In another, she allegedly sold a wild Geoffroy's cat disguised as a Bengal, which attacked the buyer. Despite her past, Meyer remains active on Instagram under the name @mimisexoticworld, where she now posts photos with a white tiger, lemur, and exotic birds. Her bio reads: 'I no longer sell animals.' Eddie, now weighing 118 pounds, lives in an enclosure with grass, climbing platforms, and a pool - next to a retired movie bear and a lion once used in entertainment. 'It's their forever home,' said sanctuary keeper John Schorman. 'It's a privilege watching all the animals thrive.'
CBS News
3 days ago
- CBS News
Moorhead police searching for endangered boy, 13, last seen a month ago
Police in northwestern Minnesota are seeking the public's help in finding an endangered 13-year-old boy who went missing last month. The Moorhead Police Department says Russell Pavon Benitez has not been seen since June 13. Benitez is described as being 6 feet tall and weighing 165 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. Police say he was last known to be wearing a black shirt and black shorts. Anyone with information on Benitez's whereabouts should contact the Moorhead Police Department at 701-451-7660. © 2025 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
