Biodiversity news from Michigan: beaver and deer

First, some serious news from the Detroit Free Press: Yes, beaver making a comeback along Detroit, Rouge rivers. Here's the video.


Here's the takeaway message:

The cleanup of Detroit and Michigan waterways, in general, in recent decades has heralded a comeback of several species severely diminished or killed off completely by pollution, hunting and other man-made activities. Some have returned and are making a strong stand. John Hartig, a manager with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, calls it “one of the most dramatic ecological recovery stories in North America.”

Among the species:

• Sturgeon
• Whitefish
• Walleye
• Bald eagles
• Osprey
• Peregrine falcons
• Beaver

Normally, I'd punctuate a report like this with Professor Farnsworth proclaiming the good news. Instead, I'm leaving my readers with this funny video from WOOD-TV: 'Dead' deer jumps out of trunk.


As the Free Press version of the story remarked, "the death of a deer in a motorist's trunk was greatly exaggerated."