Shark fins do not have any taste of their own. Yet the status associated in Chinese society with earing shark fin soup is causing consumption to rise as the Chinese economy expands. Conservationists call it the single largest threat to sharks worldwide.

"The Ruby Mountains, a major Great Basin range, appears to harbor only half as many small animals as were found there in the 1920s, according to a new study by Utah Museum of Natural History researchers."

"Every gum tree contains a koala, or so most Australians assume. But complacency could be killing off the emblematic native animal, according to scientists, who want it listed as an endangered species."

"Concerned about the threat of a catastrophic outbreak of a herpes virus among wild horse herds in the West, national animal advocates on Thursday called on the federal government to keep potentially infected domestic horses away from mustangs and burros on public lands."

"The states of Oregon and Washington agreed on Wednesday to suspend euthanizing sea lions caught feasting on endangered Columbia River salmon until September while the courts consider a lawsuit challenging such killings."

"White nose syndrome, a devastating disease that has killed more than one million bats in the Northeast, has been found in Maine, the last New England state to discover it, wildlife officials said on Tuesday."

"Since the first plea for help came over a Keys radio station, hundreds of volunteers have worked around the clock to save pilot whales that mysteriously stranded themselves in shallow waters."