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Unprecedented Footage Reveals Boat-Strike Impact on Endangered Basking Shark

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Tuesday, August 6, 2024

Researchers have recorded the first-ever video of a shark being struck by a boat. The shark showed altered behavior and never resumed normal feeding post-strike. The incident underscores the vulnerability of marine megafauna to boat strikes and highlights the importance of conservation measures, such as the establishment of Ireland’s first National Marine Park.An endangered basking shark was struck by a boat in Ireland, captured on video for the first time. This incident highlighted the risks these animals face from boats and the importance of ongoing research and marine conservation.Researchers have captured video of an endangered basking shark being struck by a boat off the coast of Ireland. The incident was recorded by an activity measurement device similar to a FitBit and a connected camera that the shark was tagged with mere hours before the boat strike. According to the researchers, this may be the first video of a shark, or any large marine animal, being struck by a boat.Taylor Chapple, a shark researcher at Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center and lead author of the study, says the data collected from these devices provided scientists a unique opportunity to learn more about the impact of vessel strikes on large marine animals, which is a rising concern around the globe. VIDEOImpact of Vessel Strikes on Marine Megafauna“This is the first ever direct observation of a ship strike on any marine megafauna that we’re aware of,” Chapple said. “The shark was struck while feeding on the surface of the water and it immediately swam to the seafloor into deeper, offshore waters, a stark contrast to its behavior prior to the strike.”“Our findings demonstrate the risk and impact of vessel strikes and the need for measures to reduce this risk.”Researchers do not know whether the shark, a female about 7 meters long, eventually recovered from the strike. The tag was designed to release itself from the animal at a pre-determined time. About seven hours after the strike, the tag was released and later retrieved by researchers. The data showed the shark never resumed feeding or other normal behavior while it was being monitored, Chapple said.The findings were just published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science.A 7-meter basking shark feeding near the surface after it was tagged by researchers. Big Fish Lab, Oregon State UniversityConservation Efforts and Basking Shark BehaviorBasking sharks are the second largest known fish, frequently reaching more than 8 meters in length. They are listed as globally endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and Ireland is one of the only known locations worldwide where basking sharks continue to aggregate in large numbers.They filter feed at the water’s surface, similar to some whales, which makes them more susceptible to boat strikes. But unlike the whales, basking sharks often sink when killed, making it hard to gauge mortality rates, said Chapple, assistant professor in the Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station and Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences in OSU’s College of Agricultural Sciences.Basking sharks in Ireland were protected under the country’s Wildlife Act in 2022. Earlier this year, the Irish government announced the establishment of the nation’s first National Marine Park, protecting 70,000 acres of land and sea on the coast of County Kerry where basking sharks frequent seasonally for feeding and potentially mating.Shortly after the park’s establishment, the researchers were conducting a previously planned study in the park boundaries to learn more about basking shark foraging behavior and how such behavior corresponds to environmental factors. As part of their research, they tagged the basking shark with a camera and activity monitor system while it was feeding.This image depicts the keel of a boat striking a basking shark. Credit: Big Fish Lab, Oregon State UniversityResearch and Recovery Following the IncidentAfter following the shark at a safe distance for a few hours, the researchers departed the area for the day. The tag was designed to record autonomously until its scheduled release, at which time the researchers located it and recovered the data.Data from the tag revealed that for several hours following the tagging and tracking, the shark spent most of its time on the surface, continuing its normal feeding behavior, with an occasional dive. Then the shark attempted to make a quick, evasive movement, which was followed by the keel of a boat cutting across its back, just behind its dorsal fin. The shark tumbled through the water and immediately increased the frequency of its tailbeat as it headed to the seafloor.Video from the camera showed visible damage to the shark’s skin, paint marks, and a red abrasion but no apparent bleeding or open wound. Vessel strikes are not always immediately lethal, but even non-lethal injuries can have short- and long-term consequences for the affected animal, the researchers noted.This image shows paint and an abrasion on the back of a basking shark that ha been struck by a boat. Credit: Big Fish Lab, Oregon State University“The fact that a shark we fitted our ‘Fitbit’ to was struck in this area within a few hours underlines just how vulnerable these animals are to boats and highlights the need for greater education in how to mitigate against such strikes,” said co-author Nicholas Payne, an assistant professor at Trinity College Dublin’s School of Natural Sciences. “Basking sharks filter feed at the surface, like some whales, and this behavior makes them similarly susceptible to strikes.”The incident highlights the need for additional research on the interactions between water users and basking sharks in the National Marine Park and other hotspots along the Irish coastline, said co-author Alexandra McInturf, a research associate in Chapple’s Big Fish Lab at OSU and co-coordinator of the Irish Basking Shark Group.“This research raises additional questions about whether and how often the sharks are actually occupying such habitats when they are not clearly visible at the surface,” McInturf said. “Given that Ireland is one of the only locations globally where basking sharks are still observed persistently, addressing such questions will be critical to informing not only our ecological understanding of the basking shark, but also the conservation of this globally endangered species.”Reference: “Behavioral response of megafauna to boat collision measured via animal-borne camera and IMU” by Taylor K. Chapple, David E. Cade, Jeremy Goldbogen, Nick Massett, Nicholas Payne and Alexandra G. McInturf, 28 June 2024, Frontiers in Marine Science.DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2024.1430961

An endangered basking shark was struck by a boat in Ireland, captured on video for the first time. This incident highlighted the risks these animals...

Basking Shark

Researchers have recorded the first-ever video of a shark being struck by a boat. The shark showed altered behavior and never resumed normal feeding post-strike. The incident underscores the vulnerability of marine megafauna to boat strikes and highlights the importance of conservation measures, such as the establishment of Ireland’s first National Marine Park.

An endangered basking shark was struck by a boat in Ireland, captured on video for the first time. This incident highlighted the risks these animals face from boats and the importance of ongoing research and marine conservation.

Researchers have captured video of an endangered basking shark being struck by a boat off the coast of Ireland. The incident was recorded by an activity measurement device similar to a FitBit and a connected camera that the shark was tagged with mere hours before the boat strike. According to the researchers, this may be the first video of a shark, or any large marine animal, being struck by a boat.

Taylor Chapple, a shark researcher at Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center and lead author of the study, says the data collected from these devices provided scientists a unique opportunity to learn more about the impact of vessel strikes on large marine animals, which is a rising concern around the globe.

Impact of Vessel Strikes on Marine Megafauna

“This is the first ever direct observation of a ship strike on any marine megafauna that we’re aware of,” Chapple said. “The shark was struck while feeding on the surface of the water and it immediately swam to the seafloor into deeper, offshore waters, a stark contrast to its behavior prior to the strike.”

“Our findings demonstrate the risk and impact of vessel strikes and the need for measures to reduce this risk.”

Researchers do not know whether the shark, a female about 7 meters long, eventually recovered from the strike. The tag was designed to release itself from the animal at a pre-determined time. About seven hours after the strike, the tag was released and later retrieved by researchers. The data showed the shark never resumed feeding or other normal behavior while it was being monitored, Chapple said.

The findings were just published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science.

Tagged Basking Shark Feeding

A 7-meter basking shark feeding near the surface after it was tagged by researchers. Big Fish Lab, Oregon State University

Conservation Efforts and Basking Shark Behavior

Basking sharks are the second largest known fish, frequently reaching more than 8 meters in length. They are listed as globally endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and Ireland is one of the only known locations worldwide where basking sharks continue to aggregate in large numbers.

They filter feed at the water’s surface, similar to some whales, which makes them more susceptible to boat strikes. But unlike the whales, basking sharks often sink when killed, making it hard to gauge mortality rates, said Chapple, assistant professor in the Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station and Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences in OSU’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

Basking sharks in Ireland were protected under the country’s Wildlife Act in 2022. Earlier this year, the Irish government announced the establishment of the nation’s first National Marine Park, protecting 70,000 acres of land and sea on the coast of County Kerry where basking sharks frequent seasonally for feeding and potentially mating.

Shortly after the park’s establishment, the researchers were conducting a previously planned study in the park boundaries to learn more about basking shark foraging behavior and how such behavior corresponds to environmental factors. As part of their research, they tagged the basking shark with a camera and activity monitor system while it was feeding.

Basking Shark Being Struck by Boat

This image depicts the keel of a boat striking a basking shark. Credit: Big Fish Lab, Oregon State University

Research and Recovery Following the Incident

After following the shark at a safe distance for a few hours, the researchers departed the area for the day. The tag was designed to record autonomously until its scheduled release, at which time the researchers located it and recovered the data.

Data from the tag revealed that for several hours following the tagging and tracking, the shark spent most of its time on the surface, continuing its normal feeding behavior, with an occasional dive. Then the shark attempted to make a quick, evasive movement, which was followed by the keel of a boat cutting across its back, just behind its dorsal fin. The shark tumbled through the water and immediately increased the frequency of its tailbeat as it headed to the seafloor.

Video from the camera showed visible damage to the shark’s skin, paint marks, and a red abrasion but no apparent bleeding or open wound. Vessel strikes are not always immediately lethal, but even non-lethal injuries can have short- and long-term consequences for the affected animal, the researchers noted.

Basking Shark After Being Hit by Boat

This image shows paint and an abrasion on the back of a basking shark that ha been struck by a boat. Credit: Big Fish Lab, Oregon State University

“The fact that a shark we fitted our ‘Fitbit’ to was struck in this area within a few hours underlines just how vulnerable these animals are to boats and highlights the need for greater education in how to mitigate against such strikes,” said co-author Nicholas Payne, an assistant professor at Trinity College Dublin’s School of Natural Sciences. “Basking sharks filter feed at the surface, like some whales, and this behavior makes them similarly susceptible to strikes.”

The incident highlights the need for additional research on the interactions between water users and basking sharks in the National Marine Park and other hotspots along the Irish coastline, said co-author Alexandra McInturf, a research associate in Chapple’s Big Fish Lab at OSU and co-coordinator of the Irish Basking Shark Group.

“This research raises additional questions about whether and how often the sharks are actually occupying such habitats when they are not clearly visible at the surface,” McInturf said. “Given that Ireland is one of the only locations globally where basking sharks are still observed persistently, addressing such questions will be critical to informing not only our ecological understanding of the basking shark, but also the conservation of this globally endangered species.”

Reference: “Behavioral response of megafauna to boat collision measured via animal-borne camera and IMU” by Taylor K. Chapple, David E. Cade, Jeremy Goldbogen, Nick Massett, Nicholas Payne and Alexandra G. McInturf, 28 June 2024, Frontiers in Marine Science.
DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2024.1430961

Read the full story here.
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Contributor: 'Save the whales' worked for decades, but now gray whales are starving

The once-booming population that passed California twice a year has cratered because of retreating sea ice. A new kind of intervention is needed.

Recently, while sailing with friends on San Francisco Bay, I enjoyed the sight of harbor porpoises, cormorants, pelicans, seals and sea lions — and then the spouting plume and glistening back of a gray whale that gave me pause. Too many have been seen inside the bay recently.California’s gray whales have been considered an environmental success story since the passage of the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act and 1986’s global ban on commercial whaling. They’re also a major tourist attraction during their annual 12,000-mile round-trip migration between the Arctic and their breeding lagoons in Baja California. In late winter and early spring — when they head back north and are closest to the shoreline, with the moms protecting the calves — they can be viewed not only from whale-watching boats but also from promontories along the California coast including Point Loma in San Diego, Point Lobos in Monterey and Bodega Head and Shelter Cove in Northern California.In 1972, there were some 10,000 gray whales in the population on the eastern side of the Pacific. Generations of whaling all but eliminated the western population — leaving only about 150 alive today off of East Asia and Russia. Over the four decades following passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the eastern whale numbers grew steadily to 27,000 by 2016, a hopeful story of protection leading to restoration. Then, unexpectedly over the last nine years, the eastern gray whale population has crashed, plummeting by more than half to 12,950, according to a recent report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the lowest numbers since the 1970s.Today’s changing ocean and Arctic ice conditions linked to fossil-fuel-fired climate change are putting this species again at risk of extinction.While there has been some historical variation in their population, gray whales — magnificent animals that can grow up to 50 feet long and weigh as much as 80,000 pounds — are now regularly starving to death as their main food sources disappear. This includes tiny shrimp-like amphipods in the whales’ summer feeding grounds in the Arctic. It’s there that the baleen filter feeders spend the summer gorging on tiny crustaceans from the muddy bottom of the Bering, Chuckchi and Beaufort seas, creating shallow pits or potholes in the process. But, with retreating sea ice, there is less under-ice algae to feed the amphipods that in turn feed the whales. Malnourished and starving whales are also producing fewer offspring.As a result of more whales washing up dead, NOAA declared an “unusual mortality event” in California in 2019. Between 2019 and 2025, at least 1,235 gray whales were stranded dead along the West Coast. That’s eight times greater than any previous 10-year average.While there seemed to be some recovery in 2024, 2025 brought back the high casualty rates. The hungry whales now come into crowded estuaries like San Francisco Bay to feed, making them vulnerable to ship traffic. Nine in the bay were killed by ship strikes last year while another 12 appear to have died of starvation.Michael Stocker, executive director of the acoustics group Ocean Conservation Research, has been leading whale-viewing trips to the gray whales’ breeding ground at San Ignacio Lagoon in Baja California since 2006. “When we started going, there would be 400 adult whales in the lagoon, including 100 moms and their babies,” he told me. “This year we saw about 100 adult whales, only five of which were in momma-baby pairs.” Where once the predators would not have dared to hunt, he said that more recently, “orcas came into the lagoon and ate a couple of the babies because there were not enough adult whales to fend them off.”Southern California’s Gray Whale Census & Behavior Project reported record-low calf counts last year.The loss of Arctic sea ice and refusal of the world’s nations recently gathered at the COP30 Climate Summit in Brazil to meet previous commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions suggest that the prospects for gray whales and other wildlife in our warming seas, including key food species for humans such as salmon, cod and herring, look grim.California shut down the nation’s last whaling station in 1971. And yet now whales that were once hunted for their oil are falling victim to the effects of the petroleum or “rock oil” that replaced their melted blubber as a source of light and lubrication. That’s because the burning of oil, coal and gas are now overheating our blue planet. While humans have gone from hunting to admiring whales as sentient beings in recent decades, our own intelligence comes into question when we fail to meet commitments to a clean carbon-free energy future. That could be the gray whales’ last best hope, if there is any.David Helvarg is the executive director of Blue Frontier, an ocean policy group, and co-host of “Rising Tide: The Ocean Podcast.” He is the author of the forthcoming “Forest of the Sea: The Remarkable Life and Imperiled Future of Kelp.”

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Pills that communicate from the stomach could improve medication adherence

MIT engineers designed capsules with biodegradable radio frequency antennas that can reveal when the pill has been swallowed.

In an advance that could help ensure people are taking their medication on schedule, MIT engineers have designed a pill that can report when it has been swallowed.The new reporting system, which can be incorporated into existing pill capsules, contains a biodegradable radio frequency antenna. After it sends out the signal that the pill has been consumed, most components break down in the stomach while a tiny RF chip passes out of the body through the digestive tract.This type of system could be useful for monitoring transplant patients who need to take immunosuppressive drugs, or people with infections such as HIV or TB, who need treatment for an extended period of time, the researchers say.“The goal is to make sure that this helps people receive the therapy they need to help maximize their health,” says Giovanni Traverso, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, a gastroenterologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and an associate member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.Traverso is the senior author of the new study, which appears today in Nature Communications. Mehmet Girayhan Say, an MIT research scientist, and Sean You, a former MIT postdoc, are the lead authors of the paper.A pill that communicatesPatients’ failure to take their medicine as prescribed is a major challenge that contributes to hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths and billions of dollars in health care costs annually.To make it easier for people to take their medication, Traverso’s lab has worked on delivery capsules that can remain in the digestive tract for days or weeks, releasing doses at predetermined times. However, this approach may not be compatible with all drugs.“We’ve developed systems that can stay in the body for a long time, and we know that those systems can improve adherence, but we also recognize that for certain medications, we can’t change the pill,” Traverso says. “The question becomes: What else can we do to help the person and help their health care providers ensure that they’re receiving the medication?”In their new study, the researchers focused on a strategy that would allow doctors to more closely monitor whether patients are taking their medication. Using radio frequency — a type of signal that can be easily detected from outside the body and is safe for humans — they designed a capsule that can communicate after the patient has swallowed it.There have been previous efforts to develop RF-based signaling devices for medication capsules, but those were all made from components that don’t break down easily in the body and would need to travel through the digestive system.To minimize the potential risk of any blockage of the GI tract, the MIT team decided to create an RF-based system that would be bioresorbable, meaning that it can be broken down and absorbed by the body. The antenna that sends out the RF signal is made from zinc, and it is embedded into a cellulose particle.“We chose these materials recognizing their very favorable safety profiles and also environmental compatibility,” Traverso says.The zinc-cellulose antenna is rolled up and placed inside a capsule along with the drug to be delivered. The outer layer of the capsule is made from gelatin coated with a layer of cellulose and either molybdenum or tungsten, which blocks any RF signal from being emitted.Once the capsule is swallowed, the coating breaks down, releasing the drug along with the RF antenna. The antenna can then pick up an RF signal sent from an external receiver and, working with a small RF chip, sends back a signal to confirm that the capsule was swallowed. This communication happens within 10 minutes of the pill being swallowed.The RF chip, which is about 400 by 400 micrometers, is an off-the-shelf chip that is not biodegradable and would need to be excreted through the digestive tract. All of the other components would break down in the stomach within a week.“The components are designed to break down over days using materials with well-established safety profiles, such as zinc and cellulose, which are already widely used in medicine,” Say says. “Our goal is to avoid long-term accumulation while enabling reliable confirmation that a pill was taken, and longer-term safety will continue to be evaluated as the technology moves toward clinical use.”Promoting adherenceTests in an animal model showed that the RF signal was successfully transmitted from inside the stomach and could be read by an external receiver at a distance up to 2 feet away. If developed for use in humans, the researchers envision designing a wearable device that could receive the signal and then transmit it to the patient’s health care team.The researchers now plan to do further preclinical studies and hope to soon test the system in humans. One patient population that could benefit greatly from this type of monitoring is people who have recently had organ transplants and need to take immunosuppressant drugs to make sure their body doesn’t reject the new organ.“We want to prioritize medications that, when non-adherence is present, could have a really detrimental effect for the individual,” Traverso says.Other populations that could benefit include people who have recently had a stent inserted and need to take medication to help prevent blockage of the stent, people with chronic infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, and people with neuropsychiatric disorders whose conditions may impair their ability to take their medication.The research was funded by Novo Nordisk, MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Division of Gastroenterology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), which notes that the views and conclusions contained in this article are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the United States Government.

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Costa Rica Rescues Orphaned Manatee Calf in Tortuguero

A young female manatee washed up alone on a beach in Tortuguero National Park early on January 5, sparking a coordinated effort by local authorities to save the animal. The calf, identified as a Caribbean manatee, appeared separated from its mother, with no immediate signs of her in the area. Park rangers received the first […] The post Costa Rica Rescues Orphaned Manatee Calf in Tortuguero appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

A young female manatee washed up alone on a beach in Tortuguero National Park early on January 5, sparking a coordinated effort by local authorities to save the animal. The calf, identified as a Caribbean manatee, appeared separated from its mother, with no immediate signs of her in the area. Park rangers received the first alert around 8 a.m. from visitors who spotted the stranded calf. Staff from the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) quickly arrived on site. They secured the animal to prevent further harm and began searching nearby waters and canals for the mother. Despite hours of monitoring, officials found no evidence of her presence. “The calf showed no visible injuries but needed prompt attention due to its age and vulnerability,” said a SINAC official involved in the operation. Without a parent nearby, the young manatee faced risks from dehydration and predators in the open beach environment. As the day progressed, the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) joined the response. They decided to relocate the calf for specialized care. In a first for such rescues in the region, teams arranged an aerial transport to move the animal safely to a rehabilitation facility. This step aimed to give the manatee the best chance at survival while experts assess its health. Once at the center, the calf received immediate feeding and medical checks. During one session, it dozed off mid-meal, a sign that it felt secure in the hands of caretakers. Biologists now monitor the animal closely, hoping to release it back into the wild if conditions allow. Manatees, known locally as manatíes, inhabit the coastal waters and rivers of Costa Rica’s Caribbean side. They often face threats from boat strikes, habitat loss, and pollution. Tortuguero, with its network of canals and protected areas, serves as a key habitat for the species. Recent laws have strengthened protections, naming the manatee a national marine symbol to raise awareness. This incident highlights the ongoing challenges for wildlife in the area. Local communities and tourists play a key role in reporting sightings, which can lead to timely interventions. Authorities encourage anyone spotting distressed animals to contact SINAC without delay. The rescue team expressed gratitude to those who reported the stranding. Their quick action likely saved the calf’s life. As investigations continue, officials will determine if environmental factors contributed to the separation. For now, the young manatee rests under professional care, a small win for conservation efforts in Limón. The post Costa Rica Rescues Orphaned Manatee Calf in Tortuguero appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

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New Records Reveal the Mess RFK Jr. Left When He Dumped a Dead Bear in Central Park

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he left a bear cub's corpse in Central Park in 2014 to "be fun." Records newly obtained by WIRED show what he left New York civil servants to clean up.

This story contains graphic imagery.On August 4, 2024, when now-US health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was still a presidential candidate, he posted a video on X in which he admitted to dumping a dead bear cub near an old bicycle in Central Park 10 years prior, in a mystifying attempt to make the young bear’s premature death look like a cyclist’s hit and run.WIRED's Guide to How the Universe WorksYour weekly roundup of the best stories on health care, the climate crisis, new scientific discoveries, and more. At the time, Kennedy said he was trying to get ahead of a story The New Yorker was about to publish that mentioned the incident. But in coming clean, Kennedy solved a decade-old New York City mystery: How and why had a young black bear—a wild animal native to the state, but not to modern-era Manhattan—been found dead under a bush near West 69th Street in Central Park?WIRED has obtained documents that shed new light on the incident from the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation via a public records request. The documents—which include previously unseen photos of the bear cub—resurface questions about the bizarre choices Kennedy says he made, which left city employees dealing with the aftermath and lamenting the cub’s short life and grim fate.A representative for Kennedy did not respond for comment. The New York Police Department (NYPD) and the Parks Department referred WIRED to the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC). NYDEC spokesperson Jeff Wernick tells WIRED that its investigation into the death of the bear cub was closed in late 2014 “due to a lack of sufficient evidence” to determine if state law was violated. They added that New York’s environmental conservation law forbids “illegal possession of a bear without a tag or permit and illegal disposal of a bear,” and that “the statute of limitations for these offenses is one year.”The first of a number of emails between local officials coordinating the handling of the baby bear’s remains was sent at 10:16 a.m. on October 6, 2014. Bonnie McGuire, then-deputy director at Urban Park Rangers (UPR), told two colleagues that UPR sergeant Eric Handy had recently called her about a “dead black bear” found in Central Park.“NYPD told him they will treat it like a crime scene so he can’t get too close,” McGuire wrote. “I’ve asked him to take pictures and send them over and to keep us posted.”“Poor little guy!” McGuire wrote in a separate email later that morning.According to emails obtained by WIRED, Handy updated several colleagues throughout the day, noting that the NYDEC had arrived on scene, and that the agency was planning to coordinate with the NYPD to transfer the body to the Bronx Zoo, where it would be inspected by the NYPD’s animal cruelty unit and the ASPCA. (This didn’t end up happening, as the NYDEC took the bear to a state lab near Albany.)Imagery of the bear has been public before—local news footage from October 2014 appears to show it from a distance. However, the documents WIRED obtained show previously unpublished images that investigators took of the bear on the scene, which Handy sent as attachments in emails to McGuire. The bear is seen laying on its side in an unnatural position. Its head protrudes from under a bush and rests next to a small patch of grass. Bits of flesh are visible through the bear’s black fur, which was covered in a few brown leaves.Courtesy of NYC Parks

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U.S. Military Ends Practice of Shooting Live Animals to Train Medics to Treat Battlefield Wounds

The 2026 National Defense Authorization Act bans the use of live animals in live fire training exercises and prohibits "painful" research on domestic cats and dogs

U.S. Military Ends Practice of Shooting Live Animals to Train Medics to Treat Battlefield Wounds The 2026 National Defense Authorization Act bans the use of live animals in live fire training exercises and prohibits “painful” research on domestic cats and dogs Sarah Kuta - Daily Correspondent January 5, 2026 12:00 p.m. The U.S. military will no longer shoot live goats and pigs to help combat medics learn to treat battlefield injuries. Pexels The United States military is no longer shooting live animals as part of its trauma training exercises for combat medics. The 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, which was enacted on December 18, bans the use of live animals—including dogs, cats, nonhuman primates and marine mammals—in any live fire trauma training conducted by the Department of Defense. It directs military leaders to instead use advanced simulators, mannequins, cadavers or actors. According to the Associated Press’ Ben Finley, the bill ends the military’s practice of shooting live goats and pigs to help combat medics learn to treat battlefield injuries. However, the military is allowed to continue other practices involving animals, including stabbing, burning and testing weapons on them. In those scenarios, the animals are supposed to be anesthetized, per the AP. “With today’s advanced simulation technology, we can prepare our medics for the battlefield while reducing harm to animals,” says Florida Representative Vern Buchanan, who advocated for the change, in a statement shared with the AP. He described the military’s practices as “outdated and inhumane” and called the move a “major step forward in reducing unnecessary suffering.” Quick fact: What is the National Defense Authorization Act? The National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, is a law passed each year that authorizes the Department of Defense’s appropriated funds, greenlights the Department of Energy’s nuclear weapons programs and sets defense policies and restrictions, among other activities, for the upcoming fiscal year. Organizations have opposed the military’s use of live animals in trauma training, too, including the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. PETA, a nonprofit animal advocacy group, described the legislation as a “major victory for animals” that will “save countless animals from heinous cruelty” in a statement. The legislation also prohibits “painful research” on domestic cats and dogs, though exceptions can be made under certain circumstances, such as interests of national security. “Painful” research includes any training, experiments or tests that fall into specific pain categories outlined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For example, military cats and dogs can no longer be exposed to extreme environmental conditions or noxious stimuli they cannot escape, nor can they be forced to exercise to the point of distress or exhaustion. The bill comes amid a broader push to end the use of live animals in federal tests, studies and training, reports Linda F. Hersey for Stars and Stripes. After temporarily suspending live tissue training with animals in 2017, the U.S. Coast Guard made the ban permanent in 2018. In 2024, U.S. lawmakers directed the Department of Veterans Affairs to end its experiments on cats, dogs and primates. And in May 2025, the U.S. Navy announced it would no longer conduct research testing on cats and dogs. As the Washington Post’s Ernesto Londoño reported in 2013, the U.S. military has used animals for medical training since at least the Vietnam War. However, the practice largely went unnoticed until 1983, when the U.S. Army planned to anesthetize dogs, hang them from nylon mesh slings and shoot them at an indoor firing range in Maryland. When activists and lawmakers learned of the proposal, they decried the practice and convinced then-Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger to ban the shooting of dogs. However, in 1984, the AP reported the U.S. military would continue shooting live goats and pigs for wound treatment training, with a military medical study group arguing “there is no substitute for the live animals as a study object for hands-on training.” In the modern era, it’s not clear how often and to what extent the military uses animals, per the AP. And despite the Department of Defense’s past efforts to minimize the use of animals for trauma training, a 2022 report from the Government Accountability Office, the watchdog agency charged with providing fact-based, nonpartisan information to Congress, determined that the agency was “unable to fully demonstrate the extent to which it has made progress.” The Defense Health Agency, the U.S. government entity responsible for the military’s medical training, says in a statement shared with the AP that it “remains committed to replacement of animal models without compromising the quality of medical training,” including the use of “realistic training scenarios to ensure medical providers are well-prepared to care for the combat-wounded.” Animal activists say technology has come a long way in recent decades so, beyond the animal welfare concerns, the military simply no longer needs to use live animals for training. Instead, military medics can simulate treating battlefield injuries using “cut suits,” or realistic suits with skin, blood and organs that are worn by a live person to mimic traumatic injuries. However, not everyone agrees. Michael Bailey, an Army combat medic who served two tours in Iraq, told the Washington Post in 2013 that his training with a sedated goat was invaluable. “You don’t get that [sense of urgency] from a mannequin,” he told the publication. “You don’t get that feeling of this mannequin is going to die. When you’re talking about keeping someone alive when physics and the enemy have done their best to do the opposite, it’s the kind of training that you want to have in your back pocket.” Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.

Animals
Activism
Energy

Suggested Viewing

We Are Nature

We made this short film under lockdown conditions throughout the pandemic of Covid-19. The film argues that policies are not enough to prevent a future outbreak. We need a paradigm shift in how we view nature and the rest of life on this planet. The film was made remotely via zoom, a fact made clear in the style of the film. Our speakers appear on screens, which we filmed from inside our homes. Each speaker offers a different perspective on the origins of the pandemic in the ways we see and value nature. If humans can’t escape their connection to the natural world, it’s time for a better one. The health of us and the planet depends on it.

Health
Nature
Animals

Kaziranga

Nestled in India’s northeastern Assam district, Kaziranga National Park contains the world’s highest density of the endangered Asian one horned rhino. Long plagued by civil unrest, this park is also ground zero for poaching and illegal trade of rhhorn. The film focuses on the efforts of journalist Uttam Saikia, who begins to serve as a mediator between the park and local poachers.

Animals
Conservation
Extinction

Earthfile - Elephant Protection

How many elephants are there across Nigeria? Some Nigerian conservationists estimate that there are only 300, others believe the number is less than that. In recent years there have been many reports of hunters killing elephants across the country. A combination of climate change (which has reduced amounts of fresh water the elephants need), poaching, human-elephant conflict and deforestation is a major challenge. ‘Elephant Protection’ is a 30minute documentary featured on ‘Earthfile’- Channels Television’s environment and Development Programme. It focuses on the current problem climate change has caused for the elephants, in terms of habitat loss and the cause of the human-elephant conflicts in Nigeria. It also looks at the efforts of conservationists (trained professionals and those without formal education) in the protection of the elephant population. It talks about their successes and failure, and how humans can live in harmony with the elephants. For this story, Omo Forest, Ogun state, Southwest Nigeria and Yankari games reserve in Bauchi state in Nigeria's NorthEast were visited.

Animals
Conservation
Documentary

Flying With Monarchs

Flying With Monarchs is a short dance film celebrating the beauty of Monarch butterfly migration.

Dance
Music
Animals

Gopher Games: The Fight to Save the Heart of Florida

As developers slowly squeeze every ounce of profit they can out of the Florida landscape, animals like the gopher tortoise and more than 365 creatures that rely on them are being driven to extinction. Developers have infiltrated every level of government in Florida including the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, an organization supposedly dedicated to protecting Florida's wildlife and wild places. Protections for the tortoise and other species is slowly being chipped away. But there's still hope that we can save this species, and ultimately, ourselves. This film was created on a budget of only $5,000 and using 100% volunteer work, and is a story from told from the collective hearts of thousands of people who care about gopher tortoises and supported the film throughout the production process.

Conservation
Animals
Government

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