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Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease

Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease

In 2020, Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus 2 (RHDV2), a virus that causes the notifiable foreign animal disease, Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease (RHD), was detected for the first time in wild hares and rabbits in the United States. In August 2022, RHDV2 was detected for the first time Pennsylvania in a domestic rabbit facility in Fayette County. RHD poses a threat to the Commonwealth's cottontail rabbit and snowshoe hare populations, and as such, the Pennsylvania Game Commission is taking proactive measures to mitigate that threat.

Beloved monarch butterflies now listed as endangered | AP News

Beloved monarch butterflies now listed as endangered | AP News

The monarch butterfly fluttered a step closer to extinction Thursday, as scientists put the iconic orange-and-black insect on the endangered list because of its fast dwindling numbers.

β€œIt’s just a devastating decline,” said Stuart Pimm, an ecologist at Duke University who was not involved in the new listing. β€œThis is one of the most recognizable butterflies in the world.”

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature added the migrating monarch butterfly for the first time to its β€œred list” of threatened species and categorized it as β€œendangered” β€” two steps from extinct.

The group estimates that the population of monarch butterflies in North America has declined between 22% and 72% over 10 years, depending on the measurement method.

β€œWhat we’re worried about is the rate of decline,” said Nick Haddad, a conservation biologist at Michigan State University. β€œIt’s very easy to imagine how very quickly this butterfly could become even more imperiled.”