The Animal Beat: Today's roundup of wildlife news, features and links from around the world and closer to home.
TIGER: New research shows that increasing genetic diversity among the 3,000 or so tigers left on the planet, though interbreeding and other methods, may be the key to their survival as a species. (Stanford University via Futurity.org)
SEA TURTLES: One of the Earth's oldest species struggles to survive. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
MERCURY IN FISH: U.S. Geological Survey and National Park Service researchers studying mercury levels of fish in 21 western national parks, including Crater Lake, Mount Rainier, Olympic and North Cascades, found mercury levels in fish that exceeded health thresholds, even in pristine areas of the parks. (U.S. Geological Survey)
GEARHART ELK: The coastal burg will let a large elk herd stay, despite the trouble they cause. (KGW)
BIRD DEATHS: Those operating large-scale Southern California solar projects could soon be asked to do intensive monitoring to better estimate the number of birds dying at the plants, in some cases literally going up in smoke. (The Deseret Sun)
TED TALK: Listen as Emanuel De Merode, director of Virunga National Park, discusses the struggle to save one of the world's great national parks, home to mountain gorillas.
-- Katy Muldoon