The manatee, just weeks old, was rescued from the waters of Daytona Beach, Florida and transported to SeaWorld by the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission.

In the wild, all three species of manatee are considered threatened by the IUCN Redlist. The Florida manatee subspecies is considered endangered.  Threats include habitat destruction, red tide, and boating accidents.

SeaWorld animal care specialist Jeff Braso bottle-feeds a baby manatee, Tuesday, July 27, at SeaWorld’s Rescue & Rehabilitation Center in Orlando, Fla. The park’s animal staff has been providing 24-hour care for the animal since she was orphaned by her mother in Daytona Beach, Fla. on July 24, 2010. (Photo by SeaWorld Orlando)

For more photos, visit the LA Times.

All species of slender loris are native to Sri Lanka and southern India. Deforestation has led to a decline in all populations and prompted a study of the nocturnal animals.

It was during this study the photograph of the male Horton Plains slender loris was taken.

For more, visit CNN.com

An editor at Merriam-Webster discusses the proper plural of octopus.

For more and an amazing video, visit the BBC.

Amur tigers (or Siberian tigers) are the largest cats in the world. They reside in a small region in the southeast region Russia and are also located in small numbers in China and North Korea. There are only around 400 Amur tigers left in the wild, and they are considered endangered by IUCN’s Red List. One cause of their dwindling population is loss of habitat due to deforestation. In addition, Amur tigers are poached, or illegally hunted, for their fur and for body parts that are used for traditional medicines.

Learn more about the new tiger cubs at the Denver Zoo website.

Learn more about Amur tigers by reading Animal Fact Guide’s article: Siberian Tiger.

From the press release:

Ujung Kulon holds the only viable population of the critically endangered species; no more than 48 Javan rhinos remain on the planet, and at least 44 of those are found in Ujung Kulon.  Fewer than four animals of unknown sex and age may remain in an isolated population in Cat Tien National Park in Vietnam, where the carcass of a poached Javan rhino was found last month.

“Javan rhinos persist in Ujung Kulon because they are carefully monitored and guarded by Rhino Protection Units, elite anti-poaching teams that patrol the park every day.  While the loss of this rhino was tragic, it appears to have died from natural causes rather than poaching,” said Dr. Susie Ellis, executive director of the International Rhino Foundation.

Ellis went on to say, “Rhino experts agree that expanding the usable habitat in Ujung Kulon is an important first step. The next priority will be to establish a second viable population of Javan rhino at a suitable site elsewhere in Indonesia as an ‘insurance’ population. This will be essential if we are to safeguard it from natural and human-caused disasters and to ultimately prevent its extinction.”

If you would like to help Javan rhinoceroses, visit www.rhinos-irf.org.

Skeleton of a male Javan rhino found last week on a densely forested trail in Indonesia's Ujung Kulon National Park. Forensic evidence suggests he died in March of natural causes.

The skeleton of the rhino laid out, with the horn still intact.

A tawny frogmouth chick, hatched April 11, 2010 at SeaWorld Orlando, reaches for a bite to eat.

This tawny frogmouth chick, shown being fed by its mother,  is the 24th chick bred by SeaWorld aviculturists over the past 10 years.  In the past,  tawny frogmouth breeding programs were largely unsuccessful, and populations in North American zoos dwindled.  But SeaWorld worked with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) to improve captive breeding methods, and the program has helped strengthen population numbers.  The little guy pictured above is the first chick in the program to be raised by its parents, instead of hand-reared by aviculturists.

Tawny frogmouths inhabit the savannas and open woodlands of Australia. When threatened, they rely on camouflage for protection.

Archie the rhino escaped from his pen at Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.

Archie, a 41-year-old, 4000 pound rhinoceros at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens in Florida, managed to escape from his enclosure.  Zoo workers were not able to lure Archie back to his pen with food — a tactic that worked years ago when he attempted escape once before.

Although out of his enclosure, the rhino was never near any of the zoo visitors because he was still fenced out of public areas.  After sedating Archie, 20 zoo workers were able to lead him down a service road into his pen.

Zoo employees believe he was able to escape because the door to his enclosure was not secured properly.

For more info, see: CBS4.com.

A sea turtle surfaces in the Gulf Coast oil spill (Venice, Louisiana).
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nwfblogs/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

An accident last week has resulted in hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil being leaked into the ocean each day. The result will be devastating to the ecosystem of the Gulf Coast. Millions of plants and animals will be affected in the water and along the coast line.

Many people want to help, but it may not be the best idea to travel to the coast and start cleaning off animals. Proper training is required to know how to safely deal with the oil.

The Mother Nature Network has a good list of ways to help, including volunteering to rehabilitate affected animals and reporting areas where the oil can be seen from shore. To read their complete list and find the agencies to contact, please visit their website.