PhoenixSerenityApr 15, 2023

A new & growing #threat is facing America’s #LargestBird - the #California #condor - a #famed #species that has been slowly #recovering from the #BrinkOfExtinction .
A #HighlyContagious strain of #AvianInfluenza has killed at least 18 of the massive #birds around the #GrandCanyon in #Arizona over the past month. And now California #biologists are scrambling to address what could be a #catastrophic #setback if condors in #BigSur & other parts of the state become infected.

https://www.montereyherald.com/2023/04/14/california-condors-killed-by-avian-flu-for-first-time-increasing-risk-to-famed-species

California condors killed by avian flu for first time, increasing risk to famed species

Deaths of 18 birds in Grand Canyon area have biologists in California worried about a wider spread.

Monterey Herald
PhoenixSerenityApr 11, 2023

Things haven’t looked good for the #vaquita for decades, but the last few years have brought the species to the #BrinkOfExtinction . #Endemic & #exclusive to the upper #GulfOfCalifornia - the pint-size #porpoise has become an unfortunate bycatch of fishing operations in the area, primarily the illegal catching of #totoaba . 
Listed as #Vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature
#IUCN #RedList of #ThreatenedSpecies
https://www.courthousenews.com/corruption-impunity-in-mexico-wiping-out-worlds-smallest-porpoise

#Nature #EcoCrisis #Wildlife

Corruption, impunity in Mexico wiping out world’s smallest porpoise

As few as eight vaquita marinas could be left in the Gulf of California, and the fervor for what has come to be known as the “cocaine of the sea” could wipe them out completely if drastic measures are not taken.