Tag: wildlife

NBC Animal Documentary Claims “This is a Queer Planet”

A documentary set to be broadcast by NBC asserts that we live on a “queer planet,” in which homosexuality is widespread in the animal kingdom and there are more than two genders.

Yes, really.

The documentary, set to be aired on June 6, features one “expert” stating, “Everything you were taught as a kid is wrong.”

“Gay penguins, bisexual lions, sex changing clown fish,” the narration, voiced by gay actor Andrew Rannells, claims are all evidence that “this is a queer planet.”

The trailer then shows two women, one with blue hair, asserting that “Queerness has always existed” and that “It’s only in humans that we have such a stigma about it.”

Apparently, this “stigma” revolves around having it shoved in your face 24/7 on television, TV commercials, within the education system, and publicly shaming or even arresting and prosecuting anyone who doesn’t embrace it.

“The idea of just having two fixed sexes is clearly out of style,” the narration continues, with another short haired woman with tattoos claiming, “Mother nature is pretty open minded.”

Nature is apparently “full of queer surprises,” according to the documentary.

I’m not sure that aspiring to behave like animals is quite the win that LGBT activists think it is.

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The Eastern American Puma is Officially Declared Extinct

The US Fish and Wildlife Service has officially declared the eastern American puma (scientifically named puma concolor cougar) extinct, one of the mountain lion subspecies, after removing it from the federal list of endangered and threatened wildlife of extinction.

“We determined that the eastern puma has become extinct, based on the best scientific and commercial information available. This information does not show evidence of the existence of an existing breeding population or of individuals of the eastern puma subspecies, “the official said. “It is very unlikely that an eastern puma population will remain undetected since the last confirmed sighting in 1938. Therefore, under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 we eliminated this subspecies from the federal list of endangered fauna and in Danger of extinction”.

In 1973 the eastern puma of North America had been included in the list of endangered species, but in 2011 the US Fish and Wildlife Service opened an investigation into the status of this mountain lion. It was not until 2015 when experts concluded that there was no evidence that a living population of this feline remained, so that year the Federal Register published a request to exclude the animal from the list. Finally on January 23 the statement was issued where it was officially declared extinct.

Experts believe that the last population of eastern American cougars disappeared at the hands of hunters in the state of Maine in 1938. They were killed during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and used to roam the forests, mountains and pastures in all US states east of Mississippi river, from Quebec (Canada) to South Carolina and from Manitoba (Canada) to Illinois. Its main prey used to be the white-tailed deer, but they also hunted eastern moose, now also extinct. In the eighty years that have passed since the last confirmed sighting, there have been some who claim to have seen them. But scientists say that it has probably been specimens from zoos and private collections.

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‘Environmental Pollutant’ – How A Key Climate Agenda Tool Harms Endangered Species

As the Biden administration expands its offshore wind projects as part of its goal to reach a carbon-free energy system, whales and other marine life may become collateral damage, according to new research.

Two independent studies measuring ocean wind turbine construction noise found that the sound emitted by vessels mapping the seafloor was significantly louder than estimated, and that noise protection for whales and other sea creatures during wind turbine pile driving doesn’t work.

Intense noise causes hearing loss in whales, other marine mammals, turtles, and fish, compromising their ability to navigate, avoid danger, detect predators, and find prey, according to scientific studies.

Robert Rand, an acoustics consultant with 44 years of experience, took underwater readings of the sonar survey vessel Miss Emma McCall off the coast of New Jersey. He also recorded acoustic readings of pile driving for Vineyards Wind 1, an offshore wind farm project under construction 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard.

In his pile-driving report, published March 28, Mr. Rand found that even the most advanced sound-dampening technologies didn’t adequately control harmful noise. The pounding was just as loud as seismic air gun arrays used for oil and gas exploration, long known to cause injury, hearing loss, and behavioral changes in fish and marine mammals.

Furthermore, the noise made by the construction vessel itself, which is not monitored, was almost as loud as the pile driving. Mr. Rand found that the standard formula used by the National Marine Fisheries Service to calculate how noise, over a period of time, affects a mammal’s hearing, significantly underestimates the sound levels experienced by dolphins and whales.

“These are real data,” Mr. Rand, who testified at a Congressional field hearing on January 20, told The Epoch Times. “I measured it. This is not a computer model. This is not a political press release. These are data.”

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New York Suffers Record Rise in Potentially Deadly Disease Caused by Rat Urine

New York City has seen a record jump in the number of human leptospirosis, a disease caused by rat urine that can cause kidney damage, liver failure, and even death.

The city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene issued an advisory on April 12, warning that the number of human leptospirosis cases continues to trend upward.

The agency said that 24 cases were reported in New York City in 2023, the highest number in a single year on record.

In fact, 6 cases have been reported so far in 2024, twice as high as the average annual number of cases between 2001 and 2020.

While human leptospirosis infections can be caused by contaminated soil and water during natural disasters like floods and hurricanes, in New York they’re mostly caused by rat urine.

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by several species of bacteria. In New York, it’s mostly associated with the Norway rat.

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Prominent LGBT activist faces humiliating reality check over suggestion that various animals are ‘biologically trans’

Aprominent LGBT activist took to X Sunday with the bold claim that there are at least 18 species of “biologically trans” animals. Australian leftist Peter Tatchell may have grown accustomed to passing off many of his radical views in the current political climate, but this particular suggestion died on arrival.

Tatchell has been roundly ridiculed over his post, which was also slapped with multiple community notes.

A history of bad takes

Tatchell has long courted controversy with his extreme views on sexuality. In the late 1990s, he argued that the United Kingdom should reduce the age of consent to 14.

The Critic reported that Tatchell wrote a letter to the Guardian in 1997, noting, “Ros Coward thinks that it is ‘shocking’ that Gay Men’s Press has published a book, ‘Dare to Speak,’ which challenges the assumption that all sex involving children and adults is abusive. I think it is courageous.”

Tatchell went on to reference “societies where consenting inter-generational sex is considered normal, beneficial and enjoyable by old and young alike.”

Later in the letter, Tatchell reportedly noted, “Several of my friends gay and straight male and female had sex with adults from the ages of 9 to 14. None feel they were abused.”

The activist apparently concluded the letter writing, “Whilst it may be impossible to condone paedophilia, it is time society acknowledged the truth that not all sex involving children is unwanted, abusive and harmful.”

In recent years, Tatchell has called for schools to teach kids “the whole truth about every kind of sex and relationship – including sexual practices that some people find distasteful, such as anal intercourse and sadomasochism” and to deny parents the ability to opt their kids out of such lessons.

Tatchell has also made clear he is not a single-issue leftist, having championed abortion; derided conservative lawmakers; embraced the Russian Collusion hoax; recommended a pause on eating meat; pushed climate alarmism; accused the monarchy of racism; and celebrated porn consumption.

There was an attempt in 2021 to rehabilitate Tatchell’s image in the form of Christopher Amos’ film, “Hating Peter Tatchell,” which stars Ian McKellan and counts Elton John as one of its executive producers. He may soon need a new Netflix special.

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Fukushima Area Overrun by Radioactive Wild Boars

Japanese farmers living near the Fukushima nuclear power plant are struggling to overcome an unexpected outcome from the disaster: a surge in radioactive wild boars!

In the last five years, the population of contaminated creatures has been inadvertently left to flourish in the area near the power plant that the Japanese government deemed to be an ‘exclusion zone.’

As such, experts say that their numbers have grown from a mere 3,000 to a whopping 13,000 wild boars.

And, as their numbers swell, the boars have begun expanding beyond the exclusion zone and into nearby farms, leading to devastation as the insatiable animals feast on the food found there.

The cruel irony of the problem is that the boars would normally be a fantastic food source, but the radioactivity of the area has rendered them completely inedible and, thus, an enormous nuisance.

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Dam removal in CA to save salmon causes mass fish die-off as eco-activists pursue similar projects

Environmental groups are celebrating extensive efforts to remove dams across the United States, some of which produce carbon-free electricity. According to American Rivers, an anti-dam advocacy group, 65 dams were removed in 2022, and another 80 were removed in 2023.

Groups like American Rivers argue the dams are killing salmon and steelhead trout populations, encroaching on indigenous cultures, and harming water quality for people and wildlife.

Eyes wide open

The largest dam removal project in the history of the U.S. began on Northern California’s Klamath River last summer, with the removal of Copco No. 2, the first of four hydroelectric dams to be removed, also called “breaching” or “drawdowns.”

In January, the state began draining reservoirs behind the three remaining dams. The draining is not going well, especially for the fish the projects are supposed to be protecting.

Large amounts of salmon have been stranded on mud that is also trapping deer, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports. Officials are warning people not to try to walk through it, as it can be very dangerous. According to California Globe, a two mile sediment plume extends into the Pacific Ocean.

“We’ve been told we’re the experiment,” Siskiyou County Supervisor Ray Haupt told Just The News. “Eyes wide open. It’s coming to a neighborhood near you.”

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Mutant wolves exposed to Chernobyl disaster have evolved a new superpower, scientists discover

Mutant wolves roaming the wasteland of Chernobyl have developed a new superpower that could have life-saving implications for humans. 

A team of researchers found the animals in the Chernobyl Evacuation Zone (CEZ) have genetically altered immune systems that show a resilience to cancer.

These findings gave researchers hope that the results can be used to find cures for human cancer patients.

Since the powerplant explosion in 1986, humans were evacuated from Chernobyl and the surrounding areas to avoid the extreme levels of radiation. 

The absence of humans allowed wildlife to flourish and thrive in the CEZ, which contains 11.28 millirem of radiation – six times the allowed exposure amount for human workers.

Grizzly bears and bison stroll among the trees, lynx and fox slink through the long grass. 

Beavers, boar, elk, deer, raccoons and more than 200 species of bird call the area home. 

In 2014, Cara Love, an evolutionary biologist at Princeton University, set out with a team of researchers to understand how animals have been able to survive the cancer-causing radiation.

Love and her team took blood samples from the wolves and placed GPS collars with radiation dosimeters on them to get real-time measurements of where they were and their radiation exposure levels.

‘We get real-time measurements of where they are and how much [radiation] they are exposed to,’ said Love.

The researchers examined the genetic differences between the DNA of mutated wolves in the 1,000-square-mile radius of the CEZ and those outside it.

The results showed that, despite receiving potentially deadly daily radiation doses, the wolves appeared remarkably resilient against its effects. 

Analysis showed that a number of their genes which are linked to cancer had new  mutations to them, suggesting they had evolved to protect against the radiation.

It is hoped that the discovery could pave the way for experts to identify mutations in humans that reduce the risk of cancer.

The new research was presented last month at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology’s Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington. 

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Research Exposes Wind Projects Cause Approx. 70% of Animals to Become Displaced

Numerous issues have been identified with wind turbines installed on land as well as offshore – economic (see 1, 2, 3, 4), environmental (see 1, 2), health, and safety.  In regard to the environment, last month, a court in France ordered the dismantling of a wind farm because of its adverse impact on local birds.  More recently scientists concurred again that wind turbines have a negative effect on wildlife.

The transition to renewable energy is central to our efforts to build a low-carbon future. But it is not without its own environmental downsides, as highlighted by a new review showing that the majority of birds and mammals studied to date are displaced from their habitats by wind-power developments.

Wildlife and wind turbines are an uncomfortable mix. Rotating turbine blades can make short work of anything unlucky enough to collide with them, but direct mortality is only part of the story. Having reviewed the available evidence from around the world, biologists in Finland have found that 63 per cent of bird species, 72 per cent of bats and 67 per cent of terrestrial mammals are displaced from areas where turbines are installed.

Some of the most pronounced effects were found among owls, cranes and reindeer, which were displaced an average of 5km from wind-power developments.

Anne Tolvanen of the Natural Resources Institute Finland, a co-author of the study published in the journal Biological Conservation, says that more data on more species is required if the impacts of new wind farms on the most vulnerable species are to be minimised. “The problem is that the research always comes a bit too late,” she says.

Some of the most pronounced effects were found among owls, cranes and reindeer, which were displaced an average of 5km from wind-power developments.

According to Will Cresswell, professor of biology at the University of St Andrews, who was not involved in the work, the paper “shows the profound effects” of wind-power developments on natural habitats. But he suggests that such impacts can be mitigated. “In short, put turbines in the right place,” he says. “Agricultural land – already compromised in terms of biodiversity and with high disturbance – is ideal, producing both energy and food from the same loss of natural habitat more or less.

“But then the real issue with onshore turbines presents itself, at least in the UK: ‘not in my back yard,’” adds Cresswell. “This is of course another classic disturbance/avoidance effect, but at least humans, being rational, can see the logic of ‘better in my back yard, than in the national park or nature reserve.’”

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Federal Agency Says Offshore Wind Farm Will Likely “adversely affect” Whales and Other Marine Mammals

Opposition to offshore wind projects is increasing worldwide and not only because dead whales and other marine life keep washing up on beaches (see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8).  While some still don’t believe that whales and other marine life are being affected by offshore wind development, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently confirmed that they are – just not that badly.

The lone remaining offshore wind project in New Jersey with preliminary approval is likely to “adversely affect” whales and other marine mammals, but its construction, operation and eventual dismantling will not seriously harm or kill them, a federal scientific agency said.

In a biological opinion issued Monday night, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the Atlantic Shores project, to be built off the state’s southern coast, is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any species of endangered whales, sea turtles, or fish.

Nor is it anticipated to destroy or adversely modify any designated critical habitat, the agency said.

Jennifer Daniels, the company’s development director, called NOAA’s decision “the next step forward” for the project.

It’s “a testament to the five years and 40-plus environmental assessments completed to ensure we are delivering safe, reliable, renewable power in a way that prioritizes responsible ocean development,” Daniels wrote.

The ruling is nearly identical to one the agency issued in April for the now-canceled Ocean Wind I and II projects, which would have been built in the same general area.

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