"In a new package of policies criticized even by some hunters, the Alaska Board of Game on Tuesday opened the door to aerial gunning of bears by state wildlife officials. It also debated a measure that would allow more widespread snaring of bears — including grizzlies, which are officially considered threatened across most of the U.S."

"The devastating drought in Texas is raising worries that the parched conditions could harm the only self-sustaining flock of whooping cranes left in the wild.

The lack of rain has made estuaries and marshlands too salty for blue crabs to thrive and destroyed a usually plentiful supply of wolfberries, two foods that the cranes usually devour during their annual migration to the Texas Gulf Coast. The high-protein diet is supposed to sustain North America's tallest bird through the winter and prepare it for the nesting season in Canada.

"BILLINGS, Mont. -- White-tailed deer populations in parts of eastern Montana and elsewhere in the Northern Plains could take years to recover from a devastating disease that killed thousands of the animals in recent months, wildlife officials and hunting outfitters said."

"HILDEN, Nova Scotia -- Helene Van Doninck is tired of treating eagles for lead poisoning."

"The gray wolf in Minnesota could go from protected to hunted - perhaps as soon as next fall - after it is removed from the endangered species list in January. "

"As of this week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has declared three 'unusual mortality events' (UME)—unexplained death clusters—for multiple species of marine mammals on four US coastlines: the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, the Bering Sea, and the Chukchi Sea."

"The Institute of Medicine report stops short of asking the federal government to retire all the animals, saying future unseen threats to human health may require their use."

"SEATTLE -- For years, the federal agencies that helped the U.S. wolf population recover under the Endangered Species Act have also quietly killed hundreds of wolves that threaten livestock or prized game. They've even taken to the skies - and are considering doing so again."

"HELENA, Mont. -- Montana wildlife regulators suspect more and more people are faking disabilities to take advantage of privileges granted to disabled hunters, so they want to remove one of those perks in hopes of curbing abuse."

"The pounding on my door jolts me awake. 'Get up!' a voice booms. 'They caught a jaguar!'

It's 2 a.m. I stumble into my clothes, grab my gear and slip into the full-moon-lit night. Within minutes, I'm in a boat with three biologists blasting up the wide Cuiabá River in southwestern Brazil's vast Pantanal wetlands, the boatman pushing the 115-horsepower engine full throttle. We disembark, climb into a pickup truck and bump through scrubby pastureland.

"Coyotes howling into the night are as much a part of Calabasas as the aspiring screenwriters, retired moguls and stay-at-home mothers who crowd the coffee shops in the city's well-manicured mall."

"PRESIDIO, Texas (AP) — Unofficially, the state of Texas celebrates donkeys and their historical and cultural significance in shaping the American West. Officially? The policy on wild burros out here is shoot to kill."

"SAN DIEGO -- In the first case to apply the slavery amendment of the U.S. Constitution to non-human creatures, animal rights and marine mammal advocates today asked a federal court to declare that five orcas are being held as slaves by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment."

"LINCOLN, Neb. -- The closing of the country’s last meat processing plant that slaughtered horses for human consumption was hailed as a victory for equine welfare. But five years later just as many American horses are destined for dinner plates to satisfy the still robust appetites for their meat in Europe and Asia."

"SALT LAKE CITY -- Nighttime deer poachers beware – that shadowy creature on the side of the road may just be remote-controlled."