tagged w/ Endangered Species Videos & Endangered Species News
-
Sign Up and Claim Your Piece of Ocean
Seven tenths of Earth is covered by water and the oceans belong to all of us.
Every individual on Earth has a right to assume that the oceans are managed for the benefit of all those alive, their children and grandchildren - not on behalf of vested interests. If the biological diversity of the oceans is to be maintained or restored, large areas must be protected altogether from the commercial fishing industry and responsible fishing must prevail outside those areas.
Every person on the planet can claim 2 hectares of ocean - that's what you get if you divide the surface area of ocean by the number of people on Earth. If the biological diversity of the oceans is to be maintained or restored, large areas must be protected altogether from the commercial fishing industry and responsible fishing must prevail outside those areas.
Every person on the planet can claim 2 hectares of ocean - that's what you get if you divide the surface area of ocean by the number of people on Earth.
With some help from our friends at Google, we have created the map you can see here http://endoftheline.com/ocean/index.php?go=home.map
Anyone willing to pledge their support to the campaign can lay claim to their 2 hectares.Sign Up and Claim Your Piece of Ocean
Seven tenths of Earth is covered by water and... more
-
-
Fast isn’t always good. Species, for instance, are estimated to be heading towards EXTINCTION at a rate of about ONE EVERY 20 MINUTES. That’s a pace a THOUSAND TIMES FASTER than the norm during Earth’s history. That’s not just fast, that’s OUT OF CONTROL. And it’s definitely not good.
Our clock is based on the best science. It considers the two primary and interlinked causes of species extinction: HABITAT DESTRUCTION, which already affects 90% of threatened species, and CLIMATE CHANGE, which will become just as dangerous.
The easiest way to calculate extinction rates is to look to the past, but this significantly underestimates current patterns. Extinctions often occurred without being recorded, especially among less well-known species, and threats to species are now far more widespread and severe. This is why we use predicted extinction rates.
Predictions are always subject to uncertainty, due to use of different information, assumptions, and techniques. Our predicted extinction rates estimate the number of species that will face extinction between 2000 and 2050. We say “faced with extinction” because there is a delay between the onset of threats and the actual death of the last individual of a species, causing an “extinction debt.”
Some 5% to 50% of species are predicted to face extinction due to habitat destruction alone between 2000 and 2050.[3] Independent studies on climate change effects predict 15% to 37% of species may face extinction over the same period.[4] The midrange estimate for each scenario is about 25%. Overlap between the 25% of species imperiled by each of these factors is likely, which gives us a midrange predicted extinction rate of around 25% of species by 2050.
Given a conservative estimate of 4 million to 6 million species on Earth today,[5] and incorporating best- and worst-case extinction scenarios, we can estimate how many species will be faced with extinction between 2000 and 2050:
Midrange estimate: 25% of 5 million species = 1.3 million species, or roughly 1 every 20 minutes.
Low estimate: 15% of 4 million species = 0.6 million species, or roughly 1 every 44 minutes.
High estimate: 50% of 6 million species = 3 million species, or roughly 1 every 9 minutes.
Links -
Climate Change:
http://www.conservation.org/learn/climate/Pages/overview.aspx
http://www.conservation.org/LEARN/CLIMATE/Pages/overview.aspx
Species Survival/Extinction Rate: http://www.conservation.org/act/get_involved/Pages/stop-the-clock-methodology.aspx
How you can help: http://www.conservation.org/act/get_involved/Pages/default.aspxFast isn’t always good. Species, for instance, are estimated to be heading... more
-
-
PSA - The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund
-
-
Ridley helps find the nests of the sea turtles in Texas along Padre Island National Seashore–the longest barrier island in the world. It’s necessary to find the nests quickly so that they can be protected from coyotes or raccoons, or even the high tide. Sometimes human volunteers can’t find the nests after following turtle tracks, so it’s Ridley and his nose to the rescue!
http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/1556390,w-cairn-terrier-kemps-ridley-sea-turtle050309.article
Ridley was trained by his owners to find turtle nests. One of his owners, Donna Shaver, happens to be the Director for the National Seashore’s Sea Turtle Science and Recovery Division and saw the value in having a more powerful nose than a human’s on windy days, when it is harder to find sea turtle nests. So she and her husband began training Ridley three years ago as a puppy to recognize the scent of sea turtles, their eggs, and nests.
Ridley’s biggest find to date was in 2007. Wind had blown away the tracks to a nest, and Ridley was called in for assistance. He found the nest within minutes and as a result 92 turtle hatchlings were saved.
Padre Island National Seashore has been the location of reintroduction efforts for the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle since 1978. In addition to being the smallest sea turtle species, the Kemp’s ridley is also considered the most rare. Its population was estimated to be around 1,000 in the 1980s. Hunting, pollution, habitat loss, and the nets of shrimp boats have all contributed to the turtle’s decline. Today, the population has grown, but still fewer than 5,000 nest each year.Ridley helps find the nests of the sea turtles in Texas along Padre Island National... more
-
-
Widespread deforestation in Madagascar is seriously endangering the African island's lemur population. The outlook for the tree-living primates isn't good and poor Madagascans chop down the rainforest. Less than 10% of the lemurs original habitat remains.Widespread deforestation in Madagascar is seriously endangering the African... more
-
-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXVBb87wnkQ
Armed bands are decimating rain-forest reserves in northeastern Madagascar, killing lemurs and intimidating conservation workers, despite widespread condemnation by international environmental groups.
Several local sources report large-scale logging of valuable hardwoods in Mananara-Nord Biosphere Reserve, Masoala National Park, and Makira.
"The terrestrial part of Mananara biosphere has been devastated," a Malagasy source told mongabay.com. "[Villagers] have been threatened with beheading if they continue to embarrass the bolabolists [illegal timber-cutters]. The message came from the timber barons of Antalaha.
Several hundreds of cutters are now in the Biosphere of Mananara carrying official forms with all necessary signatures."
The timber mafia is also threatening and intimidating park authorities. According to National Radio Maroantsetra a park ranger from ANGAP (Madagascar's protected areas agency) had both of his feet broken by representatives of timber barons of Mananara.
Loggers are reportedly hunting lemurs and birds for immediate consumption as well as for sale in commercial markets in towns. The news comes just hours after Conservation International released troubling pictures showing piles of lemurs killed for the restaurant trade in northeastern Madagascar.
*The critically endangered lemurs are being poached have an approximate 'value' of $0.50 each... FIFTY-CENTS FOR EACH LEMUR SLAUGHTERED. http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0820-lemurs.html
THESE SMALLL & DEFENCELESS CREATURES ARE BEING 'SMOKED' & SOLD AS A "LUXURY" IN RESTURANTS.
http://ecoworldly.com/2009/08/21/endangered-lemurs-slaughtered-smoked-and-sold-to-restaurants/#more-3720
Besides hunting, threats include logging, gold mining, slash-and-burn agriculture and uncontrolled fires.
According to a recent press release, Dr. Russ Mittermeier, president of CI, said, “What is happening to the biodiversity of Madagascar is truly appalling, and the slaughter for these delightful, gentle, and unique animals is simply unacceptable.
This brutal slaughter is not for subsistence, but rather to serve what is certainly a “luxury” market in restaurants of larger towns in the region.” Mittermeier went on to say that an entire population could be destroyed within weeks!
The killing of these amazing creatures threatens their very existence. The lemurs are on the IUCN Red List http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/8199/0
http://www.wildmadagascar.org/wildlife/lemurs.html
The problems are worsening. "New people are arriving every day," said a source. "There are no gendarme [police] in the area."
"Things are very bad inside the Masoala, around Maroantsetra and Mananara. The rosewood cutters are more numerous than ever, the logging area is spreading toward the South.
Sources say the situation has improved in Marojejy National Park, where logging first broke out during the turmoil following the March coup. Widespread reporting of problems in Marojejy apparently persuaded the government to send police to patrol the area.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXVBb87wnkQ
Armed bands are decimating rain-forest... more
-
-
Lemurs butchered in Madagascar - Endangered lemurs illegally killed by poachers in Madagascar to be sold to restaurants as a "luxury" product. These animals are the golden crowned sifaka, Propithecus tattersalli.
Conservation International is working with local NGO Fanamby to call for more support from the international community to protect Madagascar's endangered wildlife.
Washington, DC – A set of shocking new pictures show a massive upsurge in the illegal hunting of lemurs in Madagascar that threatens the survival of many species, and the international community must act immediately to stop the pillage of the island – Conservation International (CI) said today.
Madagascar’s unique biodiversity is being wiped-out on a shocking scale by criminal gangs who are taking advantage of a break-down in law and order after the recent coup. After numerous reports of illegal logging and export of hardwoods, the latest scandal is the sale of lemurs (see attached pictures) as bushmeat to restaurant owners who have been ordering the killing of the animals – 15 people have been arrested on the island for this offense.
After the island’s coup earlier this year many international bodies including the World Bank and the US government suspended conservation and development work in Madagascar, providing only “life-saving” aid. This withdrawal of international support has weakened environmental governance in the country and has created the perfect conditions for criminals to profit from the situation. Since March 2009, there have been a set of environmental catastrophes in one of the world’s most important countries for biodiversity conservation ranging from the illegal felling of trees in national parks for export to Asia, collection of animals for the pet trade, and now the hunting of lemurs for bushmeat, the first evidence we have had of this since the coup.
CI president Dr Russ Mittermeier, one of the world’s leading authorities on lemurs, said: “What is happening to the biodiversity of Madagascar is truly appalling, and the slaughter for these delightful, gentle, and unique animals is simply unacceptable. And it is not for subsistence, but rather to serve what is certainly a “luxury” market in restaurants of larger towns in the region. More than anything else, these poachers are killing the goose that laid the golden egg, wiping out the very animals that people most want to see, and undercutting the country and especially local communities by robbing them of future ecotourism revenue.
He added: “In the last week Madagascar has taken important steps towards resolving its political crisis and move towards the restoration of democracy. It is counterproductive of the international donor community to continue denying conservation and development funding because this only encourages poor governance of the country’s natural resources. The world community must act now to support the dedicated local wildlife authorities who are battling to prevent this globally important resource from being destroyed.”
The protection of Madagascar’s ecosystems and endangered wildlife is important for more than just its scientific value. The island’s 20 million inhabitants are hugely reliant on ecotourism – an industry that has collapsed since the coup, but can be quickly reinvigorated when the situation is resolved. The forests of Madagascar are also important in the battle against climate change and several demonstration projects run by CI on the island have shown how protection of standing forest and reforestation of degraded areas can bring significant benefits to local communities as well as reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
Dr Mittermeier concluded: “This is what happens when the global community attempts to punish a nation’s leaders by cutting virtually all aid. We need to rethink the global response to political upheavals in the future, and not to place the greatest burden on those most in need.”Lemurs butchered in Madagascar - Endangered lemurs illegally killed by poachers in... more
-
-
Shocking pictures of slaughtered lemurs killed for bush meat have been released by Conservation International.Shocking pictures of slaughtered lemurs killed for bush meat have been released by... more
-
-
-
Fuel companies are accelerating the destruction of rainforest by secretly adding palm oil to diesel that is sold to millions of British motorists.
Twelve oil companies supplied a total of 123 million litres of palm oil to filling stations in the year to April, according to official figures obtained by The Times.
Only 15 per cent of the palm oil came from plantations that met any kind of environmental standard. Much of the rest came from land previously occupied by rainforest.
Vast tracts of rainforest are destroyed each year by companies seeking to take advantage of the world’s growing appetite for plant-based alternatives to fossil fuel.
...
In theory, greenhouse gas emissions from burning biofuel are lower than those from fossil fuel because crops absorb carbon dioxide as they grow.
But clearing rainforest to create biofuel plantations releases vast quantities of carbon stored in trees and soil. It takes up to 840 years for a palm oil plantation to soak up the carbon emitted when rainforest is burnt to plant the crop.
Deforestation, mainly in the tropics, accounts for almost 20 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
The expansion of the palm oil industry in Indonesia has turned the country into the third-largest CO2 emitter, after China and the US. Indonesia has the fastest rate of deforestation, losing an area the size of Wales every year. The expansion of plantations has pushed the orang-utan to the brink of extinction in Sumatra.
Last year British motorists used 27 million litres of palm oil from Indonesia and 64 million litres from Malaysia, according to the Renewable Fuels Agency, the government-funded watchdog that monitors biofuel supplies. Fuel companies also supplied 32 million litres of palm oil from “unknown” countries.
Several leading fuel industry figures sit on the agency’s board, including a director of the oil company BP and a senior executive from the coalmining group Anglo American. The agency said that the directors had not been involved in the decision to withhold the names of the companies.
Ian Duff, a forest campaigner for Greenpeace, said: “It cannot be right that the watchdog on biofuels has oil company directors on its board. The agency is preventing the public from discovering which of these companies are selling us palm oil, one of the cheapest and most environmentally damaging biofuels.”
Several major oil companies are exploiting a loophole in the agency’s reporting system to avoid declaring what type of land has been used to grow their biofuel. They are obliged to submit a sustainability report but in the section on the previous use of the land are allowed to say “unknown”.
When calculating the greenhouse gas savings from biofuel the agency ignores the previous use of the land.Fuel companies are accelerating the destruction of rainforest by secretly adding palm... more
-
-
-
RWANDA, Africa - A forest fire has destroyed nearly 10 hectares of prime forest inside the famed Parc de Volcanoes, home to the mountain gorillas found along the border triangle of Rwanda, Uganda, and the DR Congo.
Local authorities are said to have successfully mobilized most of the local residents, many of whom are direct beneficiaries of tourism to the area, who set out to combat the fire on the ground. This assisted the efforts by the fire brigade and security services greatly and underscored the conservation mindset of communities living near the park.
At one point, the fire threatened to cross over to the Ugandan side of the border transcending national park but was eventually contained in Rwanda but not the Ugandan side of the border.
According to reports from the ground, no gorillas were affected directly by the fire although other wildlife and birdlife has been displaced from the affected area, while a number of beehives were also said to have been destroyed.RWANDA, Africa - A forest fire has destroyed nearly 10 hectares of prime forest inside... more
-
-
Explore | Africa
WINNER MAUI FILM FESTIVAL 2009
On a trip to Rwanda, Explore had the opportunity to visit four families of wild mountain gorillas, a species with only 720 remaining members. Their guide is Craig Sholley, who has been intimately involved in the preservation of African wildlife for more than 30 years. The team's thrilling interaction with these peaceful creatures - who share 98.6% of their genetic makeup with humans - is a startling reminder of their own humanity.Explore | Africa
WINNER MAUI FILM FESTIVAL 2009
On a trip to Rwanda, Explore had... more
-
-
News that the Obama Administration has more time to look over a 2008 Salmon conservation plan for over 1 dozen endangered species in the Columbia and Snake Rivers has upset conservation and fishing organizations. Though the plan has been required under the Endangered Species Act for the past 20 years, no Administration has employed science to a court's satisfaction -- every plan has been rejected. The Obama Administration has repeatedly stated that it will let science guide its natural resource and endangered species management planning. Over 100 fisheries scientists have signed a letter to the Administration asking them to step back from and revise the latest proposed plan, developed by the Bush Administration [http://www.wildsalmon.org/images/stories/sos/PDFs/Press_Releases/Scientist_Letter_8.11.09.pdf]. Yet signals indicate that Secretary of Commerce, Gary Locke, will override his own scientific staff in order to protect wealthy and powerful interests in the Northwest.
“We’re skeptical about their path,” says Nicole Cordan of the Save Our Wild Salmon coalition. “Unfortunately, nothing that we’ve heard or seen to date indicates that we’re likely to see anything more than the same general Bush administration salmon plan 30 days from now.”
The New York Times responded today with yet another editorial on the topic:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/12/opinion/12wed2.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1250050515-ozeyliD992G9ddUpC/JPVQ
as has the LA TImes:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-salmon12-2009aug12,0,3449261.story
This will be a major test of the Administration's commitment to environmental protection and the primacy of science and fact in its policy-making... stay tuned.News that the Obama Administration has more time to look over a 2008 Salmon... more
-
-
For the second time in less than a year, Palin’s administration has sought legal action against an endangered species in favor of the oil industryFor the second time in less than a year, Palin’s administration has sought legal... more
-
-
If you need proof that something is drastically wrong with our sea fish populations you need look no further than the British sea fish angling records.If you need proof that something is drastically wrong with our sea fish populations... more
-
-
WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO
It may not to late to save more than 90,000 Namibian seals from cruel clubbing.
Namibian govt officials say the annual seal hunt is on with over 90,000 seals expected to be clubbed to death.
African seals have been a UN listed endangered species since 1977, with 23 former island colonies extinct. The government has even confirmed that 44% - 62% of pups do not make it their first year.
In a recent Seal Alert-SA press release Hugo explained the front and back door negotiations in play. http://sealalertsa.wordpress.com/
The Seal 'business' in Namibia is dead. World economic slump, bans in the US and EU, poor demand for luxury fur fashion goods, no fur buyers, surplus of unsold seal skins, a declining seal population - and a sealing industry that wants to sell-out for $14 million. Something the Namibian govt must now come to terms with, and now look at alternative economic solutions.
Clubbing cruelly these seal pups is senseless and idiotic, as Namibia's last fur buyer, still has 20 000 skins from the 23 000 he bought in 2008, and cannot even sell these, and has placed no orders for 2009.
Whilst Seal Alert-SA bangs on the back-door to end the cull and continues its efforts to publicly raise $14 million US dollars to buyout the industry, it has now asked the World Society for Protection of Animals (WSPA) and the Humane Society International (HSI) to politely knock on the front-door of the Namibian Govt, and make it an offer nobody can refuse.
Namibia has started clubbing and stabbing 80 000 baby seals on Sunday, July 1, 2007. It is now the 2nd week into Namibia's baby seal cull. In an effort to halt the cull of 80 000 baby seals (right now), please tell everyone you know about this.
Baby Cape fur seals in Namibia desperately appeal for your help and protection - right Now ! Distribute this movie clip freely worldwide. Boycott Namibian Tourism and anything Namibian, until this stops.WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO
It may not to late to save more than 90,000 Namibian seals... more
-
-
There are hundreds of organisations in the UK devoted to the conservation of the land and its animals. Unbelievably there is only one well known organisation entirely dedicated to protecting our marine environment, the Marine Conservation Society.There are hundreds of organisations in the UK devoted to the conservation of the land... more
-
-
"Earthrace" is joining the fight for the whales.
JAPAN has asked Australia to prevent the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin leaving port to harass its whalers in the Antarctic next summer, but the plea may have little effect.
The anti-whaling activists plan to upgrade their fleet from an ageing, former North Atlantic fisheries patrol boat to include another ship - something out of the future. The global speedboat Earthrace would head south under Sea Shepherd colours next summer, the group's leader Paul Watson said.
"It looks like a spaceship. It can do 40 knots and dive under waves completely. We'll be using it to intercept and block harpoons."
In 61 days last year Earthrace circled the globe fuelled by biodiesel. The New Zealand owner/skipper, Pete Bethune, said he decided to become involved because "this is happening in my backyard and it really pisses me off. I'm going to make a stand."
He said he was adding half a tonne of Kevlar to the vessel to toughen it against the ice. It had the endurance to go half way round the world on a tank of fuel.
"They won't get away from me," he said.
Earthrace's role was unveiled as the International Whaling Commission heard that Sea Shepherd's protests endangered the lives of whalers in the Southern Ocean last summer when the Steve Irwin was involved in two collisions.
"These are highly dangerous, and it can only be described as a miracle that there has been no death or large-scale accident to date," said a Japanese delegation member, Jun Yamashita.
"We cannot tolerate such audacity," Mr Yamashita told the commission. "We ask for
all appropriate measures, including a ban on the ship from leaving port, so that we can prevent these acts from being repeated."
Mr Watson, who is not permitted inside the meeting, said the Steve Irwin was soon to leave Brisbane for Hobart after a $500,000 refit. Its buckled hull plates had been repaired, and it was fitted with a powerful water cannon on the bow to match the whalers'.
He dubbed next summer's campaign Operation Waltzing Matilda and has adopted a symbol with a kangaroo wearing a pirate's eye patch.
An official from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, David Dutton, told the 71-nation meeting in Madeira that the Rudd Government was "deeply concerned" about clashes in the Southern Ocean..."Earthrace" is joining the fight for the whales.
JAPAN has asked... more
-
-
The EU has been subsidising the denudation of our oceans to the tune of €4.4 billion over a 12 year period.The EU has been subsidising the denudation of our oceans to the tune of €4.4... more
-
