West and Central African elephant populations have declined by 50% in the last 40 years despite protection (TreeHugger)

• Of the 23 populations studied, an alarming number had fewer than 200 individuals—the benchmark for a sustainable elephant community.
• Scientists only studied protected elephants, which does not bode well for the ones that are not.

For more than an hour, Kennedy airport closed a runway for turtles looking for a nesting ground on Wednesday (New York Times)

• The turtles were removed from the runway and relocated where they would continue their westward search for sandy nests.
• “This may be a major international airport, a gateway to New York City and the United States, but any facility that is built on water, sometimes your neighbors come in a hard-shell variety.”

Brazilians protest the new forest law that increases available rainforest for legal logging (Greenpeace)

• Musicians organized a parade of protest against the approval for a New Forest Code that would legalize more destruction.
• A public survey reveals 79% of participants are against the new forest law.

Rainforest birds are making a comeback in partially logged areas in the Amazon. (Earth Times) 

• All is not lost in partially deforested areas, and developing second growth forests around forest fragments is becoming increasingly important to conservation.

Dead and barely living penguins covered in oil continue to wash ashore in South America leaving people questioning the cause (TreeHugger)

• Hundreds of oil covered and starving penguins wash up on Brazilian shores every year.
• The suspected culprits are illegal fleets of oil ships that are unregulated and unpunished.