BP Blocks Film Crews

Since I am glad that little by little the spill is making its way back into the news, I thought I would write about how it is Turtle Day, but then I saw this:

Really, BP? You are just going to pretend there isn't oil washing up on shore? Ignore the fact that so many turtles (many of which are endangered) haven't turned up dead?

I still hope you will click the happy link above about Turtle Day. I felt compelled to make sure as many people as possible watched this video.

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Wolves, Birds, and Other Animal News

It has been a busy week for animals so lets get to it.

• The gray wolf (Canis lupus) is not making it easy on hunters in Idaho. This year, the state of Idaho sanctioned a wolf hunt and issued 14,000 wolf hunting permits. This large number of permits is despite the fact that the population of the wolves is only estimated at less than 900. In the first 11 days of the hunt, only three wolves have been tagged (legal kills). Montana is due to start their wolf hunting season (population is only 500 there) this week. There are talks occurring as to whether or not the gray wolf should be on the endangered species list again.

• A missing bird was found flying at sea. This is not the booby I mentioned last time. This time it is the Fiji petrel. The bird is incredibly rare and only through a very thorough bird "hunt" were researchers finally able to see them. The only known specimen was an immature one from Gau, Fiji in1855. It wasn't until 1984 that the bird had a confirmed sighting again. You can read more about this elusive bird here.
  

• Honeybees are telling ants to "buzz off" quite effectively. For the first time on tape, a bee has been caught using its wings to blow away ants that are attacking them and their nests. The bees actually change their wing beat pattern to one far more powerful and aggressive to blow the ants away.

• A few new species have been found inside a crater in Papua New Guinea. Among them were various species of amphibians, plants, and one of the world's largest rats. Mount Bosavi crater was the subject of a recent expedition set up by the BBC. Most of these new species are believed to not exist anywhere else on Earth!
  

• This last snippet is a bit of local news. Recently, I wrote about turtle nesting in the VI. Well, as luck would have it, Brewers Bay (the location of my opening credits for many Potspoon! videos) has a turtle nest! Not just any turtle nest either. I have lost of luck spotting green turtles at this beach, but the nest is a leatherback nest! Leatherbacks are the fourth largest reptilian species behind three crocodilians. They are endangered worldwide. The picture above is said nest. I am so excited!
  

That's it for your animal news snippets.

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Green Turtle Friends

I need your help, blogosphere! In this picture, taken a few days ago by the hubs, there is a beautiful green turtle with some friends following him. I know the picture is a bit blue, but the fish were very yellow and my Peterson field guide
is in Florida. Do any of you know what this fish is?

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