The number of bears roaming the Pyrenees remained stable at a minimum of 22 last year, thanks largely to the continued virility of Pyros, the undisputed daddy of the colony. At 24, Pyros is close to the average life expectancy for brown bears but he still had the energy to father three cubs by two different mothers during 2012, according to a report by French state conservation body, the ONCFS. Pyros was introduced into the mountains that straddle France and Spain in 1997 as part of efforts to sustain an indigenous population that had been hunted to the point of extinction.

South Africa and Vietnam have agreed to exchange the names of registered hunters in a bid to stop rhino poachers who obtain hunting permits under false pretences, a spokesman said Monday. Authorities are targeting these hunters who take advantage of laws allowing them to export the rhino horn as a hunting trophy to trade it illegally, mostly on the Asian black market. "As part of the cooperation between the two countries, Vietnam is going to provide us with a list of accredited trophy hunters," said Peter Mbelengwa, a South African government spokesman.

Millions of birds that stop at coastal wetlands during annual migrations could die as rising sea levels and land reclamation wipe out their feeding grounds, researchers warned Monday. The study into the migratory habits of shorebirds predicted that a loss of 23 to 40 percent of their main feeding areas could lead to a 70 percent decline in their population. Led by a team of scientists from Australia's government-backed National Environmental Research Programme, the study said some areas have already reported alarming population losses of 30-80 percent.

US scientists have devised tiny winged robots inspired by flies that could one day help pollinate crops or aid the search for survivors at collapse sites -- once they get off the leash, that is. The prototypes by researchers at Harvard University weigh 80 milligrams and have managed short controlled flights by flapping their mechanical wings while still tethered to a tiny power cable, the journal Science said this week. The coin-sized robots sport two thin wings that flap 120 times per second.