Wildlife

Seaweed Invasion

Mexico dispatched resources from three branches of government to fight a record plague of sargassum seaweed that has been piling up on stretches of Caribbean resort beaches.

The influx has spread across the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico to as far north as Florida since 2011.

While scientists have yet to pinpoint the exact cause, they agree that the phenomenon is not entirely natural.

Floating mats can harm marine life such as the sea turtles that struggle to surface beneath the weight of the invading plants.

Mexico is looking at ways to collect the seaweed before it reaches the shore, then transport it to facilities that dry and compress it for potential commercial use.

Flamingo Rescue

About 2,000 infant flamingos have been rescued in South Africa after a drought forced the parents to abandon their chicks.

The protracted dry spell combined with water mismanagement by local authorities has all but dried up a reservoir that has been one of southern Africa’s largest flamingo breeding sites.

Some conservation experts question why nature was not allowed to take its course. But Leslie Ernst of the South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds told reporters: “I think we all feel very motherly toward (the flamingos).” Additionally, the crisis was partly human-caused.

The group is working to find enough room for the rescued chicks to run and exercise their legs before eventually being released back into the wild.