Endangered gray wolves hit forest TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - A family of four Mexican gray wolves was released Monday into the Apache National Forest, the first freed this year in ongoing efforts to restore the endangered species to its natural habitat. The animals, native to Arizona, New Mexico and northern Mexico, had been held for two months in an acclimation pen in the forest. Two other adults have been free since December, but the program got off to a rocky start in 1998 when ultimately five of 11 animals released were shot to death. Plans call for another 11 wolves to be put into the wild this spring during the breeding season, including a pair that in mid-April will be carried by pack mules in specially built crates into the roadless Blue Range Primitive Area in eastern Arizona. See full story <http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2558821322-7d3> Greenpeace angry about whale deaths MEXICO CITY (AP) - The Mexican government has failed to adequately investigate the deaths of dozens of whales and hundreds of sea lions on Mexico's coasts, an environmental group claimed Monday. Greenpeace said the number of dead whales, sea lions and other creatures along Mexican shores is "the highest in the world" and said Mexico's environmental authorities have opposed a thorough investigation. A government official denied the claims, saying investigations are ongoing and there isn't yet enough scientific evidence to determine the cause of the deaths. Greenpeace said 29 whales have been found dead this year along the coasts of Sinaloa, Sonora and Baja California Sur states, while 200 sea lions died in the Gulf of California. See full story <http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2558819912-65e> Indians buying back their heritage MONROE, Conn. (AP) - Newly moneyed Indian tribes, reveling in the riches from casinos and other ventures, are bidding top dollar for artifacts from the American past - leaving poorer tribes at a disadvantage in buying back their heritage. Wealthy tribes are increasingly investing in impressive new museums, "from the Mashantucket Pequots in Connecticut to the Seminoles in Florida to the Makahs in Washington State," says Ginger Ridgway, curator of a museum for Cahuilla Indians in Palm Springs, Calif. They need artifacts to display in those museums, and some can now pay almost any price. The Mashantucket Pequots, for example, opened a $193 million museum in August and have been buying up baskets and other artifacts native to New England. See full story <http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2558817462-3d0>
