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Tracking Subtle Scent, a Dog Helps Save the Orca Whales

A dog named Tucker with a mysterious past as a stray on the streets of Seattle has become an unexpected star in the realm of canine-assisted scientific research. He is the world's only working dog, marine biologists say, able to find and track the scent of orca feces, in open ocean water — up to a mile away.

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Youth Robotics Club Helps Paralyzed Cat

Nine-month-old Flipper the kitten was born with a twisted spine that makes it impossible for him to stand up -- or walk about without dragging himself laboriously. But little Flipper's life was changed forever by cat-lovers from a high school robotics club in Colorado.

London Raises Bar on Greening the Games

A new Olympic Park arose in a once derelict and contaminated industrial area of east London turning neglected waterways into wildlife havens. Almost 500 acres of land (200 hectares) have been razed and redeveloped for the 2012 Olympic Games, and 45 of those have been given over to creating new wildlife habitats for kingfishers, bats, otters and snakes -- while much of the rest has been left as parkland.

EU Adopts Historic Policy to Protect Marine Fisheries

In an outcome hailed by environmentalists, European Union lawmakers voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to overhaul the region's troubled fisheries policy to end decades of overfishing. The European Parliament voted 502-to-137 to impose sustainable quotas by 2015 and end the wasteful practice of discarding unwanted fish at sea.

Steller Sea Lions Rebound Off Endangered List

A five year plan to shore up dwindling populations of eastern Steller sea lions, the threatened species that roams from Alaska to California has succeeded. NOAA Fisheries announced last week it will be delisting the animal as a threatened species, making it the first to achieve recovery since the North Pacific gray whale was taken off NOAA's endangered list in 1994.

Bear Saves Man in Mountain Lion Attack

A man says he is lucky to be alive after an attack by a mountain lion Monday morning while he was hiking in California. After a mountain lion pounced on him, a mother bear came from behind and jumped on the cat, tearing its grip from the man's backpack.

First Stranded Baby Beluga Whale to be Rescued in US, Nursed Back to Health by Slew of Experts

For the first time in history, a live, stranded beluga whale calf has been found in U.S. waters and rescued. But saving the baby, estimated to be only two or three days old when rescued, is requiring the efforts of marine mammal experts from far and wide. Marine mammal specialists have descended upon the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, to provide round-the-clock care, including feedings via stomach tube, while the baby learns how to suckle from a bottle.

Smithsonian Discovers Cute New Mammal Species

Described as a cross between a house cat and a teddy bear, scientists announced the identification of a new mammal species, the olinguito. In the raccoon family, Bassaricyon neblina is the first mammalian carnivore species to be added in the Americas in 35 years, scientists at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington said. The 2-pound olinguito (oh-lin-GHEE-toe), with its large eyes and woolly orange-brown fur, is native to the cloud forests of Colombia and Ecuador.

New York Beekeepers Quadruple

The number of beekeepers in New York City has quadrupled since the ban on keeping bees was lifted two years ago, figures show. Hives are now on skyscraper rooftops, in community gardens, and school backyards across the five boroughs. Locally produced food growers pushed hard for the ban to be overturned.

Bald Eagle Population Surges in Wisconsin

In 1973, the state's natural resources department was able to find just 108 breeding pairs in the state. Today, Wisconsin's population of bald eagles is soaring, and state officials said this week that eagles are occupying nests in nearly every county of the state.

Tourists Can Now Cycle Along Two Great Lakes on Expanded Trail

216 touring cyclists helped launch the expansion of Canada's Waterfront Trail that adds a second Great Lake, Lake Erie, to the now 1400 kilometer bike trail. By almost doubling the amount of Ontario's waterfront available to touring cyclists and with a big city like Windsor anchoring it on one end, the local officials hope the Trail will become a hotbed for tourism.

Restoring Lake Erie's Largest Wetland After 75 Years

Only around 5 percent of the wetlands in western Lake Erie remain from the days before pollution and dam construction. Now, a five-year process is underway to restore one of the lake's largest coastal wetlands, thanks to the Nature Conservancy.

Conservation Group Turns Christmas Trees Into Salmon Habitat

Before you kick your dying Christmas tree to the curb, consider this: Members of the conservation group Trout Unlimited would love to turn that tree into fish habitat. On three Saturdays in January, the Tualatin Valley chapter of Trout Unlimited will be collecting Christmas tree donations at two locations in the Portland metropolitan area. Later, they'll place the trees into a side channel of the Necanicum River near Seaside, where they will provide predator protection and food sources for baby coho salmon.