Jerdon's courser (Rhinoptilus bitorquatus) is one of those animals that many cryptozoologists tend to use as a `poster boy`. It was discovered in 1848, but not seen again until 1986, giving hope to those folk who believe that `extinction` is a much misused term.It has not been seen for some years, but now two specimens "have been seen in the Cudaapah District of Andhra Pradesh, the first confirmed sighting for several years.
The birds were seen in the heart of the Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary; and in a second piece of good news, the sanctuary has just been extended by a further 1,200 hectares, in compensation for the construction of a canal, which at one point threatened to destroy the Critically Endangered bird’s last stronghold."
Thanks to Fleur Fulcher for having sent that titbit of news along, and giving me another reason to smile this morning.
http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2009/09/jerdons_courser.html
Early this morning, the Center for Biological Diversity sued the Arizona Game and Fish Department to prevent it from capturing or killing any more endangered jaguars. The suit seeks to prevent another tragedy like the killing this spring of Macho B, the last known American jaguar. Arizona Game and Fish illegally set up mountain lion snares in the canyon Macho B was known to use without seeking a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Macho B was subsequently snared, almost certainly on purpose, and later killed. In a callous response, Game and Fish not only claimed the lion-trapping study had a valid permit, it said it also has a permit to purposefully capture and collar jaguars. It does not. 
Last week Brightstar Energy listened to the detailed opposition of the Center for Biological Diversity's lawyers and scientists -- and thousands of supporters like you who sent emails -- and withdrew its plans for a controversial solar-energy project that would have taken up some 5,000 acres of pristine, ecologically critical California lands on their way toward national monument status. 
Though nothing is final till it's final, it appears that Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has lost her attempt to attach a rider to the EPA budget bill prohibiting the agency from using the Clean Air Act to rein in greenhouse gas pollution from coal-fired power plants and other industrial facilities. Buried under an avalanche of protests -- including thousands of letters from Center for Biological Diversity members and supporters -- the Senate has agreed not to allow the Murkowski amendment.
Responding to calls from the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has drafted a plan to address the deadly bat disease white-nose syndrome. Over the past three winters, the mysterious syndrome has killed about 1.5 million bats in the eastern United States, spreading from New York to Tennessee with devastating speed. Earlier this month, the Center wrote to the Fish and Wildlife Service requesting faster, more coordinated action on the crisis; we've also contacted the Department of the Interior and Congress -- with not a little help from our supporters. The final plan should provide specific guidance for state wildlife agencies on how to respond to white-nose syndrome, as well as measures to help the recovery of stricken bat species.
This month, California's Kern County Planning Commission gave its blessing to Tejon Mountain Village, a sprawling city planned for the state's beautiful and biodiverse Tejon Ranch. The proposed 26,417-acre project would build 3,450 homes and up to 160,000 square feet of commercial development smack in the middle of federally protected habitat for the endangered California condor. Some environmental groups have agreed to allow the destructive project in exchange for leaving other parts of the ranch undeveloped. But the Center for Biological Diversity is standing up for the condor and the irreplaceable Tejon lands it calls home. We've challenged the ranch's request for a permit to build the city without adequate environmental review, and we won the disclosure of documents on the condor's fate on the ranch, which the ranch was keeping secret. Eight of the country's most prominent condor experts agree that a sprawling development won't fly in condor habitat.
This Monday the Center for Biological Diversity and allies submitted a letter countering a proposed rule that would encourage clearcutting as good for the climate -- instead of the very obvious opposite. One provision of the rule, up for adoption by the California Air Resources Board later this month, appears intended to let forest clearcutting qualify as a greenhouse gas reduction method and earn carbon credits. Of course, a forest clearcut is about as beneficial to the climate as a new coal-fired power plant, considering the ample greenhouse gases emitted in the clearcutting process -- plus the fact that clearcutting removes precious CO
This Tuesday during Climate Week -- the precursor to the United Nations' upcoming climate summit in Copenhagen -- President Barack Obama said he's willing to work to help the UN secure a strong international climate change pact. Obama called for world leaders to draft a response to global warming by the end of the year, citing his own administration's attempts to address the crisis, including House passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act. The Center for Biological Diversity congratulates Obama on promising to "boldly, swiftly" help the world confront climate change. But we'll have to do a lot better than the inadequate House-passed bill -- we must get to work now, both nationally and internationally, to reduce our atmospheric 
Last June marked the tragic passing of Luke Cole, one of the most influential figures in the environmental justice community. Founder and director of the Center for Race, Poverty, and the Environment, Cole was also a board member for the Center for Biological Diversity's Climate Law Institute. His work was among the first to highlight global warming as an environmental justice issue of massive proportions. 
According to a sobering recent study, rattlesnake-killing contests have dangerously reduced populations of eastern diamondback rattlesnakes in the Southeast. "Rattlesnake roundups" are contests in which hunters bring in as many snakes as they can catch in a year to be milked for venom, butchered, and sold for meat and skin. The study, by Dr. Bruce Means, analyzed the number and size of snakes turned in at the roundups and found that both the total number of snakes and the size of each snake turned in have declined in the past 50 years. Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes, once a common species, are now being pushed toward extinction by hunting, habitat loss, and road mortality.
In an interview in today's 
