Jenna: Whale, whale, whale. We sure are happy to be back with more animal news.
AJ: Way to start us off on-topic. Whales are one of my favorite kinds of sea animals, so I was glad to see some positive news surrounding humpback whales. In many ways, the recent reduced traffic on the ocean has been very beneficial to the environment. The reduction in noise pollution causes decreased stress for whales according to this article from The Guardian. The highlighted study brings ocean noise pollution to light.
Jenna: Speaking of light, I’ve been enjoying the extended daylight hours in our hemisphere by spending more time in my garden. Knowing your local wildlife can help you feel connected and a part of your surrounding environment. I know I love watching the vibrantly colored blue jays in my backyard. This piece by The Guardian highlights people’s experiences while animal watching from a safe distance in their local area. I was surprised to see a picture of a local baboon that one reader submitted; I sure would be surprised to see one standing at my window!
AJ: Local heroes are providing extra inspiration these days, and these Texas firefighters are excellent examples. Highlighted in an article from NBC, a frightened puppy was trapped 7 feet down a drain and took firefighters an hour to rescue. The pictures show a young pet owner very happy to have their puppy rescued.
AJ: Cheers to an animal advocacy victory in Colorado; a ban on wildlife hunting contests starts June 30th, as featured in this article by World Animal News. This ban will protect coyotes, foxes, prairie dogs and many more furry friends. Many wildlife hunting contests are unethical private events where hunters can compete for cash prizes. This ban in Colorado will hopefully spark the end of these contests worldwide, so we can maintain the environment and conserve species around us.
Jenna: Let’s stick with the conservation theme to round out this week’s news review. VegNews reported on an Australian tour company that is using their newly found free time, due to their COVID closure, to replant coral and conserve the Great Barrier Reef. The tour operators are working with researchers to do “coral clipping,” where pieces of broken coral are reattached to promote regrowth.
AJ: See any stories you think we should highlight in Creature Feature? Send them to hello@fanimal.co, so we can feature them! We’ll see you next week.
This week’s animal news:
House Votes to Remove Country-of-Origin Labels on Meat Sold in U.S. from Wall Street Journal
Breaking! Colorado Approves A Ban On Wildlife Killing Contests Saving The Lives Of Bobcats, Coyotes, & Other Fur-Bearing Species from World Animal News
Conserv Congo Rescues Orphaned Baby Bonobo After Hunter Finds Her Alone In The Jungle from World Animal News
66M-year-old ‘crazy beast’ discovered in Madagascar: An ‘animal for which we don’t have any real parallels’ from Fox News
California animal rescue farm hosts puppies for companionship: See the adorable video from Fox News
Firefighters document dramatic rescue of puppy trapped in drain in Texas from NBC
Tokyo aquarium asks public to FaceTime shy eels under lockdown from NBC
Wildlife through the window: what readers have spotted during lockdown from The Guardian
Silence is golden for whales as lockdown reduces ocean noise from The Guardian
Woman Working From Home Teaches Her Dogs The New Ground Rules from The Dodo
Wolf seen in northern France for first time in a century, after being hunted to extinction from Independent
‘Hummingbird’ spy creature films millions of monarchs taking flight from Mongabay
No tourism income, but this Philippine community still guards its environment from Mongabay
No One’s Paying Me To Cry: Burnout And Animal Advocacy from Faunalytics
Female Warriors Fight Poaching In New James Cameron Movie from LiveKindly
Australian Tourism Company Plants Coral Reefs During COVID-19 Downtime from VegNews
Photo credit to Francesco Ungaro from Unsplash
Creature Feature 