The 12 Most Dramatic, Disturbing and Inspiring Wildlife Stories of 2010

There were thousands of wildlife stories in the news over the past year but some stand out as being particularly dramatic, sobering or even inspiring.

The great Gulf turtle rescue: in April we saw the beginning of the BP oil disaster in the Gulf.  By the time it was contained, more than 200 million gallons of oil had poured out and coated hundreds of square miles of water.  The toll on wildlife of all sizes was profound as evidenced from these National Wildlife Federation maps: http://bit.ly/gv159v  Certainly on of the most inspiring events around the Gulf was the relocation of thousands of see turtle hatchings from the sands of Gulf beaches to the sands of the Atlantic.  Read more:  http://ind.pn/aD82MP

The amazing Census of Marine Life: the Census was released in 2010.  It is a collaboration among 80 nations over 10 years.  Thousands of new species were discovered and cataloged.  Take a look at the  gallery of unbelievable and brilliant deep sea life: http://bit.ly/hkyJpj

The sad tale of little brown bats: a devastating bat plague called white nose syndrome still stymies animal researchers as millions of bats have succumbed to a fungal attack that restricts their ability breathe.  Bat caves in the East have been closed to visitors and there are signs the plague is moving to the West:  http://bit.ly/a5i1T9

Moving tigers from the brink of extinction: In the past few decades the number of wild tigers shrunk from 100,000 animals to some 3,000.  A recent international conference hosted in Russia came out with a plan to double their numbers.  http://bit.ly/gXOIZ5 Actor Leonardo DiCaprio personally made a $1 million gift to help jump-start the plan’s implementation.

The Loss of a U.S. wildlife hero: In 2010 we saw the untimely death of Sam Hamilton (54) the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  Sam was a respected 30-year professional dedicated to species protection. http://wapo.st/dEpzZ0

Discovery of 1,200 new Amazon species: Our colleagues at the World Wildlife Fund demonstrated to people everywhere how much there is to learn about our natural world when they released their report on the discovery of over one thousands new species in the Amazon over a decade of study: http://bit.ly/cWnBFH

Wolf protection debate in the Northern Rockies: The Department of the Interior and the States of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming have been in extensive discussions in a heated political setting over whether wolves in the northern Rockies merit endangered species protection:  http://bit.ly/iangkb

The continuing struggle against illegal wildlife trade: the battle continued in 2010 to cut down on wildlife poaching and trade in endangered animals.  There were increases in the number of apprehensions and arrests but, as the smugglers become more devious and the poachers become more aggressive, the overall signs are not good.  Wildlife smuggling seems to be on the rise and is an international black market rivaling illegal drug imports.   http://bit.ly/hauD9j

Polar Bears Polar stuck on shore:  This year polar bears in the arctic region were delayed several weeks from making their winter trip out onto the Arctic Sea ice for their annual seal hunting.  Warm weather caused to ice to be late forming and bears were stuck on land emaciated and suffering:  http://bit.ly/cCeHhB

Walrus mass exodus to land: a Alaskan exodus of 10,000 to 20,000 walruses to land was an unusual event that also reflects the loss of sea ice in the arctic.   This mass exodus was a new one on the Chukchi sea coast and wildlife experts see it as a sign of global climate change:  http://bit.ly/aTmljY

Japanese whale hunt in the Antarctic whale sanctuary: as summer begins in the southern hemisphere, Japanese whalers and environmentalists are converging again in Antarctic waters for another stand-off and possible battle over their strong differences concerning the legality of whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.  http://bit.ly/et6pzK

Mountain gorillas making a comeback: Ending on a more promising note, thirty years ago the mountain gorilla population was down to 250.  This year 782 were counted between two locations. http://aol.it/h7A1Ix
Donate NowDo you want to help conserve wildlife and wild places? NWF has just launched a new online portal called “Choose Your Cause.” Just click on the cause you care about most and enjoy inspiring stories from folks on the ground who are working tirelessly to protect the wildlife and wild places we all love.