Worshipers of Mother Gaia around the country are up in arms this week over a most egregious affront to the stability of the planet by the Trump administration.
As a part of the process by which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officially lists species as endangered or not, its scientific review found that American walruses are not in imminent danger.
Citing the fact that their population appears to be doing just fine despite the apparent ‘loss of lots of ice’, walruses got bumped.
That decision earned the ire of the loons at the Center for Biological Diversity who called it a ‘truly dark day for America’s imperiled wildlife.”
It’s such an unforgivable decision that CBD has mounted a legal challenge citing the fact that walruses and 24 other species — including the eastern boreal toad — are facing imminent extinction.
Someone hand us a tissue. Ahem, ok back to business.
Here’s more from PJ Media…
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regularly considers adding animals that are considered to be especially vulnerable to extinction to the endangered species list, and many ecologists are upset that 25 American creatures, particularly the Pacific walrus, didn’t make the cut this year.
According to the USFWS, giving these animals the additional protections of being an endangered species “is not warranted at this time.” The USFWS explained its decision regarding the stability of the walrus population in a press release:
While walruses use sea ice for a variety of activities, including breeding, birthing, resting, and avoiding predators, they have shown an ability to adapt to sea ice loss that was not foreseen when the Service last assessed the species in 2011. Our decision not to list the Pacific walrus under the Endangered Species Act at this time is based on a rigorous evaluation of the best available science, which indicates the population appears stable, and the species has demonstrated an ability to adapt to changing conditions. If future circumstances warrant or new information comes to light, we can and will re-evaluate the Pacific walrus for ESA protection.
There are actually two subspecies of walrus. The Atlantic walrus is found throughout the shorelines of Greenland and northeastern Canada, and the Pacific walrus resides in the icy waters along Alaska and Russia. Walruses can weigh up to 1.5 tons, are protected from the frigid cold of the Arctic region with a thick layer of blubber, and survive on a diverse carnivorous diet of clams, shrimp, crabs, sea cucumbers, and other marine invertebrates. A walrus uses its famous ivory tusks as ice hooks to pull itself out of the water, and as defensive tools against the mammoth marine mammal’s only two natural predators: polar bears and killer whales.
