📰 EwA News Digest: Loon Chicks, Cyanide, and Animal Culture

[mlmcglathery]

Hello all! Mike here, back with another News Digest. We've got a bunch of cool articles this time around, so let's get right into it.

If you've been in the field with us long enough at EwA, you've surely heard us discuss the difference between an alien species and an invasive species. That distinction largely lies in whether a species is perceived to be causing harm to the ecosystem or community at large. In Ecology for the Masses, Sam Perrin dives into some of the finer points of this discussion.

Next, we move into a decidedly darker corner of the pest management world: "cyanide bombs", which federal Wildlife Services (not USFWS) uses to kill predators like coyotes and foxes. The Guardian details their dangers to wildlife and people alike, and the effort to stop their use nationwide.

Bringing things closer to home and on a more positive note, a loon chick has hatched in Southeast Massachusetts for the first time in over a century! A program began in 2015 to relocate loon chicks from New York and Maine to suitable habitat in Southeast MA.

In another win for conservationists, a federal circuit court upheld the protected status of Yellowstone-area grizzly bears after the Trump administration's attempt to strip it in 2017. The court's decision puts a stop to planned trophy hunts in Montana and Idaho.

Our last article for this week includes a podcast, too. On Mongabay's podcast, ecologist Carl Safina and whale researcher Hal Whitehead discuss culture and social learning in animals, and how humans aren't as unique as some might think in this area. It's a fascinating listen!

I'll leave you with this short video of an eagle that was spotted swimming in Wolfeboro, NH last year. It's definitely mastered the breaststroke a little better than me.

And that's that for this edition of the digest! Until next time,

Mike