AP - Thai veterinarians announced Thursday that an artificially inseminated elephant has given birth to a bouncing baby boy — a first in Asia that could be a crucial step in conserving the endangered species.

AFP - Only about 47 critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphins may be left in Philippine waters, the World Wildlife Fund said Thursday.

AP - Immigrants brought prosperity to New Bedford. They manned its lucrative whaling fleet, ran its textile mills and provided the muscle for the fishing boats that leave here daily for the Atlantic.

Reuters - An animal research center in northern China has appealed to the world for help to fashion an artificial leg for a panda that lost a limb -- along with its sex life -- in a fight, local media reported on Thursday.

Reuters - Cambodia's rare Mekong dolphin is making a tentative comeback from the edge of extinction after net fishing was banned in its main habitat, Cambodian and World Wildlife Fund officials said on Wednesday.

AP - Environmental activists, hunters and oil industry representatives spoke at a public hearing Monday night on whether the U.S. government should list polar bears as a threatened species.