India's vultures are vanishing. Populations of three species on the sub-continent have plummeted since the 1980s from 50 million to less than 60,000. Their disappearance could lead to widespread increase in human diseases.
posted by binturong on Jul 5, 2011 - 24 comments

William Temple Hornaday was an early--and probably a founding--member of the American conservation movement, and was also director of the National Zoological Park. He wrote a tremendously bitter and accurate report for the U.S. National Museum in 1894 on the extermination of the American bison, an absolute head-shaker, detailing the history of the bison in North America and its destruction at the hands of sportsmen, hunters, mindless dolts and many others who massacred tens of millions of the animal ("murdered" is the word Hornaday uses constantly). To put the whole issue in perspective, Hornaday issued a famous map showing the shrinkage of the North American bison herd, setting out the enormity of the issue instantly on one piece of paper, a summary of hundreds of pages of bad stories and big numbers.
posted by Trurl on Jun 15, 2011 - 18 comments

If you have a gopher problem that rivals caddyshack, and you like to blow shit up, the rodenator is probably the tool you need. Check out the videos to see the cutting edge technology that rivals a 12 year old bully with too many firecrackers. I'd feign PETA-style shock and horror but it's almost comical how this tool does its job.
posted by mathowie on Mar 1, 2004 - 35 comments