Boa species are vulnerable to “mad snake disease,” a viral infection that can cause snakes to tie themselves into knots they can’t escape. (Credit: Tod Baker/Wikimedia)

Mysterious “Mad Snake Disease” Decoded, Linked to Ebola in Humans
(Medical Daily)
A mysterious ‘mad snake disease’ that induces bizarre “drunken” behavior in pythons and boa constrictors and gets them to tie themselves into knots may be caused by an entirely new class of virus microbiologists have recently identified. The virus, which was previously thought to not infect snakes at all, appears to cause the “inclusion body disease,” which causes snakes like boa constrictors and pythons to first regurgitate food and then display neurological problems like “stargazing.” MORE

Wildlife Officials Propose Study of Montana Lion Population
(Missoulian)
State wildlife officials want to take a closer look at mountain lion populations in the southern reaches of Montana’s Bitterroot Valley. If their proposed study is funded, they hope its results will provide some key information that will help in managing carnivore and ungulate populations across the state. Members of the Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association anted upward of $10,500 to help the department pay for a density study of the elusive big cats. MORE

Idaho and Montana Wildlife Agencies Have Budget Woes Because of Fewer Out-of-State Hunters
(The Associated Press via The Republic)
Fewer out-of-state hunters are traveling to Idaho and Montana in search of deer and elk, costing fish and game agencies millions of dollars in fees. The Spokesman-Review reported that weather, wolves, politics and the economy are depressing the number of out-of-state hunters who would normally be flocking to the two states. Nonresidents pay up to 15 times more than residents for the privilege to hunt big game. MORE

Net-ban Rules Challenged in Court – Again
(Tallahassee Democrat)
For nearly two decades, commercial fishermen and the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission have been wrangling over the 1994 state constitutional amendment limiting net fishing in Florida coastal waters. The argument moves back into the courtroom when a two-day bench trial before Circuit Judge Jackie Fulford begins in Leon County. This time, there will be fish. MORE

Parks Canada Worried After Two More Bears Killed on Park Roads
(The Canmore Leader)
Two more black bears were killed on the road over the weekend near Canmore, Alberta, bringing the total deaths at area national parks this summer to 16 — twice as many as the yearly average. A bear was killed on Saturday in Banff on Highway 93 North, just south of the Silverhorn overflow campground, and on Sunday, a bear was killed in Yoho near the Spiral Tunnels. MORE

Can the National Park Service Afford to React to Climate Change?
(Outside)
Last year, as part of his Call to Action plan to revise and improve the way our national parks are managed, National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis asked a committee of scientists and advisers to the NPS to revisit and rewrite a 1963 report called “Wildlife Management in the National Parks.”  Though the 1963 report was groundbreaking as a contribution to wildlife management practices, it was written well before the park system had to address and adopt to climate change. MORE

Canada’s Newest National Treasure: Naats’ihch’oh National Park Reserve
(Indian Country Today Media Network)
A new national park announced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on August 22 not only includes aboriginal stewardship as a cornerstone but also guarantees the preservation of a major river’s headwaters, said the parties involved in the creation of the Naats’ihch’oh National Park Reserve. Canada’s 44th national park is on land that is dear to aboriginals “not only for its majestic beauty but also for its special sacred power,” said Frank Andrew, grand chief of the Sahtu Den. MORE

Focusing on Habitat in Wildlife Management
(The Hawk Eye)
There’s a new approach to wildlife management that’s growing in popularity among wildlife organizations. This new approach somewhat breaks with the trend of simply establishing habitat on whatever land is available.  That old method created pockets of wildlife habitat spread in a random pattern across large landscapes, usually with no connectivity. Sure, those pockets of habitat usually benefited wildlife in that little area, but sometimes not. MORE

A New Way to Track the World’s Whales
(Live Science)
From snake skins and tiger tracks to bear hairs and panda poop, land animals leave behind lots of clues for researchers to monitor endangered populations. Following whales, fish and other marine animals in the world’s vast oceans is a much more difficult task. But researchers in Denmark say they’ve devised a new method to track the world’s ocean-dwellers using DNA tests on seawater samples. The findings are detailed in two studies published Aug. 29 in the journal PLoS ONE. MORE

Researchers Study Montana Wildlife Crossings for Use on Chinese Roads
(The Missoulian)
Western Montana motorists worry about hitting deer on the road. Yun Wang worries about elephants. The Chinese researcher has spent the past month in Montana, looking at wildlife crossing projects like the under- and overpasses along U.S. Highway 93 between Evaro and Polson. Where we build such structures to help elk and grizzly bears, Wang has Amur tigers and Tibetan antelope to protect from one of the fastest-growing road networks on the planet. MORE

Zimbabwe Conservationists: Wildlife Threatened
(The Associated Press via The Boston Globe)
Tens of thousands of wild animals face annihilation in a wave of land takeovers in southeastern Zimbabwe by politicians of President Robert Mugabe’s party, a consortium of wildlife ranchers charged. The Save Valley Conservancy said thousands of people’s livelihoods also are threatened in the 1,000 square mile (2,600 square kilometer) nature preserve and surrounding districts after hunting permits and land leases were granted to 25 leaders of the ZANU-PF party under a black empowerment program. MORE

Hippo Dies in South Africa Rescue Operation
(The Associated Press via The Boston Globe)
A hippo who wandered into a swimming pool at a South African game lodge died before a rescue team could pull him out with a crane, a cruel blow to many across this country who hoped the animal would be saved. In a country still reeling from last week’s mine violence leaving dozens of strikers dead, the plight of the hippopotamus called Solly captivated South African media with live TV broadcasts from the game lodge and newspaper headlines like ‘‘It’s all systems go for the rescue of Solly the hippo.’’  MORE