AFP - China and Russia have agreed to set up the first cross-border protection zone for Siberian tigers, as they try to boost efforts to save the endangered species, state media reported Monday.

AP - Twenty-two Komodo dragons have hatched at the Los Angeles Zoo this month, giving a modest boost to the world's endangered population.

AP - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin fired darts from a crossbow at a gray whale off Russia's Far Eastern coast on Wednesday in the latest in a series of man-versus-nature stunts designed to cultivate the image of a macho leader.

AFP - A new species of bacteria found in the Gulf of Mexico degrades oil faster at deeper and colder depths than expected, scientists said Tuesday in a study that could explain how the BP oil spill has mostly disappeared.

AFP - Thirteen endangered sea turtles born and bred in Japan were released off Singapore waters Tuesday as part of efforts to conserve the species.

AP - A giant panda has given birth to a healthy cub in Austria — the second in just three years.

AFP - Police and wildlife experts have launched a search for two baby alligators that escaped from a zoo in southern France, an official said on Tuesday.

AP - A declawed, defanged bear is chained to a stake as hunting dogs bark and snap, trying to force the bear to stand on its hind legs. The training exercise called bear baying is intended to make the bears easier to shoot in the wild and it's only allowed in South Carolina.

 AP - Scientists returning from a 30-day research expedition to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands found what they believe are 10 new species of coral.