Wildlife In The News

A new genetic study on leprosy bacteria reports that armadillos may be a source of infection in the Southern United States. The collaboration between scientists at the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) National Hansen’s Disease Program (NHDP) in Baton Rouge, La., the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne and Institute Pasteur in Europe, and the [...]

Several skunks have been captured in Greenwood recently and two have been confirmed with rabies by the Arkansas Department of Health.  If you see a skunk out during daylight hours and having trouble walking or otherwise acting strange, it could be a rabid skunk so keep people and pets away. Contact the Greenwood Police Department [...]

Mammoth Spring National Fish Hatchery, in Mammoth Spring, Arkansas, will soon be home to one of the most energy efficient buildings ever built by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A ground-breaking ceremony will take place at the future site of the Aquatic Conservation and Education Center on March 23, 2011.  The event begins at [...]

OZARK – Despite a battery of tests conducted by the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, the exact cause of the Arkansas River fish kill that took place on Dec. 29, 2010, still eludes biologists at the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. A resident of Roseville first reported the fish kill near the Roseville boat [...]

BEEBE – Last night, ringing in the New Year took on a whole different meaning for the citizens of Beebe. Beginning at around 11:30 p.m., enforcement officers with Arkansas Game and Fish Commission began getting reports of dead black birds falling from the sky in the city limits of Beebe. Officers estimated that over 1,000 [...]

LITTLE ROCK – Does your bathouse have bats? The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is looking for volunteers that have bathouses currently containing bats that would be willing to participate in a population monitoring project. Volunteers will be asked to count the bats as they fly in the evening during summer, according to AGFC nongame [...]

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has completed a report recommending closing human access to caves and mines where bats with white-nose syndrome are hibernating in an area more than 250 miles from other WNS-affected caves and mines.  The report also recommends limiting human access to unaffected caves and mines.  These recommendations presume that WNS [...]

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced the launch of an extensive public service radio campaign urging Americans to connect with nature and visit a National Wildlife Refuge. “Americans can take pride in the tremendous beauty and diversity of refuge lands dedicated to the protection of wildlife habitat,” Salazar said. “By visiting these places [...]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced the availability of coal mining guidelines developed to conserve and protect the endangered Indiana bat.  The bat’s habitat stretches from the eastern United States through the Midwest, including 13 states with coal mining operations.”These guidelines provide coal mining companies a set of consistent and [...]

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is launching a new online video game aimed to encourage kids to go outside and learn about the environment. Designed for children ages 8 to 11 years old, Neighborhood Explorers is accessed through the Service’s Let’s Go Outside! website at http://www.fws.gov/letsgooutside/. The journey through the game begins when you [...]