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Endangered Species

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Feds: Chinese Citizen Who Financed $2.25M Exotic Turtle-Smuggling Operation Extradited To NJ Feds: Chinese Citizen Who Financed $2.25M Exotic Turtle-Smuggling Operation Extradited To NJ
Feds: Chinese Citizen Who Financed $2.25M Exotic Turtle-Smuggling Operation Extradited To NJ A Chinese citizen who bankrolled the smuggling of $2.25 million worth of rare, protected turtles out of the United States was extradited from Malaysia to face federal charges in New Jersey, authorities said. Kang Juntao, 24, of Hangzhou City, China, financed a nationwide ring of criminals who smuggled at least 1,500 protected turtles out of the U.S., many of whom were bound with duct tape and stuffed into socks, Justice Department officials said Thursday. “Wildlife trafficking is a serious crime that impacts imperiled species at home and abroad,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Aure…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
NOAA: Endangered Whale Struck By 2 Vessels Off Jersey Shore NOAA: Endangered Whale Struck By 2 Vessels Off Jersey Shore
NOAA: Endangered Whale Struck By 2 Vessels Off Jersey Shore The right whale calf found floating off the Jersey Shore last week had evidence of at least two separate vessel collisions, federal authorities said. The carcass of the North Atlantic right whale, a critically endangered species, was spotted on Thursday by an aerial survey team from the Center for Coastal studies off the coast of Elberon (part of Long Branch), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a statement. On Monday, NOAA released preliminary results on a necropsy, finding that the whale had several propeller wounds across his head and chest, and a likely rudd…

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by Jon Craig
News
Body Of Critically Endangered Whale Found Floating Off Jersey Shore Coast Body Of Critically Endangered Whale Found Floating Off Jersey Shore Coast
Body Of Critically Endangered Whale Found Floating Off Jersey Shore Coast The body of a critically endangered whale species was found floating off the Jersey Shore Thursday, federal authorities said. The carcass of the North Atlantic right whale was spotted by an aerial survey team from the Center for Coastal studies off the coast of Elberon (part of Long Branch), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a statement. The Marine Mammal Stranding Center (MMSC), Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, and NOAA are working with area resources in the area to secure a necropsy location, officials said. Members of the stranding network are making …

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by Cecilia Levine
Lifestyle
Turtle Back Zoo Welcomes Endangered Leopard Cub Nadya Turtle Back Zoo Welcomes Endangered Leopard Cub Nadya
Turtle Back Zoo Welcomes Endangered Leopard Cub Nadya No, this isn't "Tiger King," -- it's better. The Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange welcome a female Amur leopard cub Nadya on Friday, March 13, to mom Annika and dad Valeri. Her name means "filled with hope" in Russian. "Nadya’s birth has great importance since her species is classified as critically endangered," according to the zoo, noting that there are estimated to be about 84 Amur leopards in their native habitat. Mom Annika had been under baby watch for months, the zoo said. Cameras in her den monitored the cub closely after birth.  "When Annika did not nurse the newborn…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
NJ Pet Salesman Gets Home Confinement For Importing Black Scorpions, Giant Millipedes NJ Pet Salesman Gets Home Confinement For Importing Black Scorpions, Giant Millipedes
NJ Pet Salesman Gets Home Confinement For Importing Black Scorpions, Giant Millipedes A group of live scorpions and other endangered species who escaped from an international parcel on its way from Tanzania to the U.S. first brought attention to a Central Jersey pet salesman who was ordered to never do it again. He didn’t listen, though. He even posted photos from his collection while seeking buyers on Facebook – featuring, among others, the immense and popular black scorpion, which glows green or blue under ultraviolet light. A federal judge in Trenton this week sentenced Wlodzimie Lapkiewicz, 30, to six months home confinement and four years’ probation for illegally smuggl…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
New Jersey Officials Investigating If Workers Intentionally Sprayed Baby Falcons Off Skyscraper New Jersey Officials Investigating If Workers Intentionally Sprayed Baby Falcons Off Skyscraper
New Jersey Officials Investigating If Workers Intentionally Sprayed Baby Falcons Off Skyscraper A video showing Jersey City window washers spraying a nest of endangered falcons has prompted an investigation. Animal-lovers are livid over the footage that on Sunday morning captured a pair of workers climbing up to the roof of a Hudson Street skyscraper and spraying the birds that have been nesting there for nearly two years. Three sister falcons were on the ledge at the time of the incident and can be heard calling and dive-bombing in an attempt to keep the workers away from the others, who were estimated to be between  5 and 6 weeks-old, the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ said. A…

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by Cecilia Levine