For pandas, life in captivity is good, but conservationists want captive-born individuals to move into the wild. Image credit: Jeff Kubina /Flickr Captive breeding of pandas is a notoriously difficult process . When a birth does occur, it is a triumph for zoologists and the species—which, with fewer than 1,600 individuals left in the wild, is one of the world’s most critically endangered. When these

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China to Build Wilderness Survival School for Pandas

According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals , approximately five to seven million companion animals enter U.S. shelters each year. Of those, between three and four million are euthanized. Instead of purchasing a dog or cat from a breeder or pet store, consider recycling a pet by adopting a shelter animal! Visiting an overcrowded shelter can be incredibly overwhelming. So when you visit a shelter, how do you decide which pooch is right for you? First, before you adopt, you should assess your lifestyle. If you travel, do you have someone to watch the dog? If you love after-work happy hours and spontaneous weekend getaways, are you willing to build in contingencies for your pup? Once you’re ready to bring home that barking bundle of joy, here are five things to consider: Take Rover for a Test Drive Before making a visit to the animal shelter, borrow a friend’s pooch for a spin around the block. Spend an afternoon on a romp with Rover, meeting other dogs, and of course, scooping some poop. Better yet, invite a friendly pup for a sleepover. Run through the dog’s full routine from breakfast to bed to get a feel for having a dog around your house and as part of your routine. It’s Kinda Like Dating The cutest one may not be your best match. When you visit the shelter seeking your slobbery soul-mate, spend one-on-one time with the potential pup to determine if personalities mesh. Think Fitness All dogs need exercise, but the amount and intensity varies. If your Saturdays are spent outdoors, opt for an energetic breed like a Weimaraner or a Labrador. If your ideal weekend involves flipping between Lifetime and TLC, a toy breed is a better bet because their tiny bodies can’t handle much exercise. Check Your Bottom Line According to the ASPCA, it costs about $620 per year to care for a medium-sized dog. And that’s without any unforeseen emergencies. Ensure you have a little wiggle room in your budget to accommodate a pup’s needs. Do Your Homework A shelter provides an array of breeds, ages and personality types. It’s all about selecting the right animal for you. The key: Research! Attack this like you would a work assignment. Check references. Ask questions. Make sure you feel comfortable with the facility and the dogs. Images: jeffreyw

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Recycle a Pet: Adopt a Shelter Animal

Image: Wilfried Berns via Wikimedia Commons Since most endangered species these days get that way because of us humans, I’m not surprised that some of them want to kill us. OK, so maybe want to is anthropomorphic, but some of them certainly can kill humans. Even if you have some guilt over humanity’s influence on extinction rates you’ll still want to know what to do if you encounter one of these threatened animals, bent on revenge. Here are some tips on how to avoid your own personal extinction. … Read the full story on TreeHugger

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5 Endangered Species That Could Kill You, and How to Save Yourself

Image via BirdsEye A new iPhone app called BirdsEye could help researchers revolutionize how bird observation is done. The app allows birders instant access to eBird , the largest open-source database of bird sightings in Mexico and North America – a project by the National Audubon Society and Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Birders can find out exactly what they’re looking at, as well as see a map of confirmed sightings of rare or notable birds, all in a flash while out in the field. With eBird growing by leaps and bound… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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iPhone App Makes Spotting Birds Easy for Researchers…and Poachers

After much painstaking research, this monitor lizard was identified as a new species. Image credit: Ingo Langlotz Sometimes, a new species is discovered when it emerges , unsuspectingly, from the dense forest of some remote, secluded, “lost world”—an unexplored island of biodiversity in an unexplored corner of the world. More often, however, such findings come after months—if not years—of painstaking and meticulous research in the lab and

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New Species Discovered But Researchers Become Endangered

Credit: Endangered Species Coalition Yes, a kid under the age of 10 can probably draw a polar bear better than you. This Friday is Endangered Species Day, organized by the United States Congress . To bring attention to the occasion and the plight of threatened animals in their area, students from kindergarten through 12th grade all over the U.S. submitted their best sketches, paintings, collages, and other artwork. From California foxes and Alaska polar bears to east coast piping plovers and Arizona jagua… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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These Amazing Endangered Species Drawings Are by Kids (Slideshow)

Coral for the foundation of complex and diverse marine ecosystems. Here, a pink Christmas tree worm rests on the side of a boulder star coral. Image credit: laszlo-photo /Flickr When tiny coral larvae hatch, they have only a short time to find the host that will become their lifelong home. How these nearly-microscopic organisms accomplish such a feat—when an entire ocean of peril and danger stands in their way—has been a mystery. Now, new research sugge… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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To Get Home, Baby Corals Dance to Reef Music

Photos via G1 Biologists stationed in the Foja Mountains of Indonesia were fortunate enough to uncover a number of animals previously unknown to science, including one frog with an impressive schnoz. The frog’s nose, which has earned it the nickname Pinocchio, reportedly inflates while the creature sings. But unlike the other animals uncovered, the frog may have actually discovered the biologists. They noticed him sitting on a bag of rice at the team’s campsite…. Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Scientists Discover a Big-Nosed Frog in Indonesia

Image credit: Jeff Martone /Flickr Around the world, hunting and fishing is typically controlled through quotas—systems that place limits on the number of trophies each permit holder can take. The number of permits issued and quota for each permit are based on population surveys from the previous year. But, this system, according to new research, may jeopardize animal populations…. Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Time Limits on Hunting Protect Wildlife Where Quotas Fail

A jaguar in Brazil. Photo by Steve Winter/Panthera via The New York Times . Even the the most lovelorn humans likely wouldn’t go to these lengths to find a mate: Camera traps have shown that some jaguars swim across the 500- to 1,000-foot-wide Panama Canal in order to expand their breeding options. The discovery, in addition to being fascinating in its own right, showed that a lot of conservation efforts were going about it all wrong…. Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Costa Rica Builds ‘Underground Railroad’ for Jaguars