by TreeHugger
Rare Flower Bounces Back From Presumed Extinction
11:26 pm in conservation, endangered species, tennessee, Travel & Nature by TreeHugger
Photo: John Delano
The delicately hued petals and striking brown florets of Tennessee's purple coneflower once seemed fated to live on only in description, or as a ghostly sketch yellowing on the page of some dusty botanical volume, yet today it's thriving. For over half a century after it was first discovered, the flower was believed to have died out entirely, never to be seen again dotting the cedar glades of central Tennessee. But now, after years on the endangered species list, the purple coneflower has made a remarkable ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
Photos: Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
Late last month, when officer Shelley Hammonds of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency received word of an animal in distress, it might have sounded like a routine rescue operation. Witnesses described seeing an adult black bear plodding around with its head stuck inside a large, plastic food container -- an unwelcome accessory likely acquired while the bear foraged in a nearby dump -- so Shelley was dispatched to free it. But catching a bear with its head in a jar soon proved to be no easy task. ...
Small enough to hide from the durned Revenoors? Image credit:Flickr, 
