Latest Predators Stories

U.S. researchers say endangered orcas, or killer whales, living in Puget Sound are among the most contaminated marine mammals in the world. The report, published in published in the journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, says the orcas are exposed to PCBs, flame retardants and other persistent organic pollution concentrations in Chinook salmon, the Seattle Times report Thursday. The southern resident population of orcas eat large numbers of Chinook salmon that come from areas with...

Police in Nassau County, N.Y., said they have arrested a man who allegedly grabbed a shark out of a fish tank in a pet shop and hid it in his jacket. Investigators said Elbert Starks, 30, entered the Total Aquarium store in Lynbrook Dec. 12 and grabbed the $350 nurse shark out of its tank with his bare hands, Newsday reported Thursday. He left the store with the shark concealed in his jacket, police said. Starks is also alleged to have stolen a cashier's wallet Jan. 2 at Pet Barn in Franklin...

Scientists are analyzing killer whale scat and breath samples in the hopes of solving the mystery of Puget Sound's dwindling orca population.There were seven resident killer whales that frequently pass the waters of Washington that went missing this year and are presumed dead."We're losing animals and we don't exactly understand why," said Brad Hanson, a wildlife biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service.Researchers of the University of...

A fisherman seeking out marine life off the coast of Volusia County, Fla., said he caught a 663-pound hammerhead shark. The commercial fisherman said the shark, which measured more than 13 feet in length, was reeled in Wednesday, WESH-TV, Orlando, Fla., reported Thursday. Experts said hammerhead sharks can grow to reach lengths of more than 20 feet.

The rising demand for shark fin soup in Asia is spurring illegal fishing and contributing to a plunge in stocks, according to a report on Monday.The Australian government and the wildlife trade-monitoring network Traffic, published the study urging governments to crack down on illegal catches. Registered legal shark exports totaled $310 million worldwide in 2005, up from $237 million in 2002."As the world's demand for sharks continues to grow, shark populations are plummeting," the...

A life of garbage, early pregnancies and violent deaths plague big city bearsBlack bears that live around urban areas weigh more, get pregnant at a younger age, and are more likely to die violent deaths, according to a study by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).The study, published in the Fall 2008 issue of the journal Human-Wildlife Conflicts, tracked 12 bears over a 10-year period living in urban areas around Lake Tahoe, Nevada and compared them to 10 "wildland" bears that...

In an attempt to help conservation of marine animals and aid in climate change monitoring, scientists using DNA have catalogued and described 100 new species of sharks and rays in Australian waters.More than 90 of the newly named species were identified by scientists in a 1994 book "Sharks and Rays of Australia" but remained scientifically undescribed.One rare species of carpet shark catalogued was found in the belly of another shark.A revised 2009 edition of the book by Australia's...

Conservationists agree that major changes to rules on shark finning are needed to preserve the health of the world's shark populations.Confusing regulations and poor enforcement mean rule breaking is common, according to campaign group Oceana.Actor and activist Ted Danson said proper management could rescue the species in decline.Over half of ocean-going sharks, and about a third of European species, are threatened with extinction.Danson said the basic problem is it's a fishery that's not...

By Bill Bleyer, Newsday, Melville, N.Y. Jul. 31--Swimmers were ordered out of the water for almost two hours at Jones Beach yesterday after a state park police officer saw a shark's fin. It was the second time in less than two weeks that Jones Beach bathers were instructed to leave the water after a reported shark sighting. About 20,000 people were at the park, said George Gorman Jr., deputy regional director for Long Island state parks. A park police officer in a patrol boat about 500...

A live shark has been stolen from a shed, police said yesterday. The marble shark - one half of the only breeding pair in the UK - was taken from a garden in Farnborough, Hampshire, over the weekend. The 2ft long female mottled brown shark was kept in an aquarium in a brick shed in the garden and was taken on July 26. Owner Peter Newman (68) discovered the door of the shed open and all the lights on inside. He then realised the shark was missing. (c) 2008 Belfast Telegraph. Provided by...