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Photos: 10 animals facing extinction
Found only in a small area of southeastern Madagascar, the greater bamboo lemur eats not only bamboo shoots — despite the cyanide found in the plant. The most endangered lemur in Madagascar, less than 200 are believed to still exist. Found only in a small area of southeastern Madagascar, the greater bamboo lemur eats not only bamboo shoots — despite the cyanide foun... more
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One Quarter of World's Mammals Face Extinction
Habitat loss, hunting and other threats are driving our closest animal relatives to the brink.
The baiji dolphin is functionally extinct, orangutans are disappearing and even some species of bats—the most numerous of mammals—are dying out. A new survey of the world's 5,487 mammal species—from rodents to humans—reveals that one in four are facing imminent extinction.
"Mammal species that are just declining, not necessarily near extinction, that's 50 percent," says conservation biologist Jan Schipper of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which keeps the Red List of Threatened Species. "And 836 species—especially rodents and bats—we determined they are threatened but we don't know how threatened, because we don't know enough about them."
Schipper and more than 1,700 scientific colleagues spent the past five years surveying the state of the world's mammals. The results, published in Science to coincide with IUCN's conference on biodiversity this week, reveal that 1,139 mammals around the globe are threatened with extinction and the populations of 52 percent of all mammal species are declining.
South and Southeast Asia are home to the most threatened mammals, from monkeys to rare rats. And many mammals in the species-rich tropical Andes Mountains of South America, Africa's Cameroonian highlands and Albertine Rift as well as the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are also in trouble. Deforestation, along with hunting or gathering food are the prime causes of the rapid declines in land mammals, such as elephants in Asia; most endangered marine mammals, like the vaquita in Mexico's Gulf of California, are killed by fishing nets, ship strikes or pollution.
"Overall conservation status of mammals will likely deteriorate further unless appropriate conservation actions are put in place," the researchers warn in the report.
But the news isn't all grim: Some mammals, such as the black-footed ferret of western North America and the Hainan black-crested gibbon (found only on China's Hainan Island), have been able to rebound as the result of conservation efforts. "These are the kinds of success stories that we need to clasp onto and find out what worked," Schipper says. "Usually, it takes a lot of money."
But he cautions that any conservation success is likely temporary unless the root problems of, for example, deforestation are addressed. In the case of the Hainan gibbon, for instance, "there's not enough room for that species to go back to having a thousand individuals unless we stop deforestation and hunting," Schipper says.
There's also the clash between saving animals and curing other environmental ills such as global warming. Vast tracts of tropical rainforest have been replaced by palm oil plantations for food and biofuels, satellite imagery reveals.
But addressing climate change could also help lessen this extinction crisis as well; the loss of sea ice as a result of a warming world threatens to make life impossible for those mammals such as the polar bear and harp seal that rely on it to survive.
The "general trend is that many more mammal species are rapidly declining than we had suspected," Schipper says. "Fifty percent of species are declining and 5 percent of species are in an upward recovery—that's just not enough." Habitat loss, hunting and other threats are driving our closest animal relatives to the brink. ... more -
IUCN - IUCN Red List reveals world’s mammals in crisis
Barcelona, Spain, 6 October, 2008 (IUCN) – The most comprehensive assessment of the world’s mammals has confirmed an extinction crisis, with almost one in four at risk of disappearing forever, according to The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, revealed at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona.
The new study to assess the world’s mammals shows at least 1,141 of the 5,487 mammals on Earth are known to be threatened with extinction. At least 76 mammals have become extinct since 1500. But the results also show conservation can bring species back from the brink of extinction, with five percent of currently threatened mammals showing signs of recovery in the wild.
“Within our lifetime hundreds of species could be lost as a result of our own actions, a frightening sign of what is happening to the ecosystems where they live,” says Julia Marton-Lefèvre, IUCN Director General. “We must now set clear targets for the future to reverse this trend to ensure that our enduring legacy is not to wipe out many of our closest relatives.”
The real situation could be much worse as 836 mammals are listed as Data Deficient. With better information more species may well prove to be in danger of extinction.
“The reality is that the number of threatened mammals could be as high as 36 percent,” says Jan Schipper, of Conservation International and lead author in a forthcoming article in Science. “This indicates that conservation action backed by research is a clear priority for the future, not only to improve the data so that we can evaluate threats to these poorly known species, but to investigate means to recover threatened species and populations.”
The results show 188 mammals are in the highest threat category of Critically Endangered, including the Iberian Lynx (Lynx pardinus), which has a population of just 84-143 adults and has continued to decline due to a shortage of its primary prey, the European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Barcelona, Spain, 6 October, 2008 (IUCN) – The most comprehensive assessment of the world’s mammals has confirmed an extinction crisis... more -
Researchers document world's mammals in crisis
From the report: From majestic African elephants to tiny and often unappreciated rodents, mammals on Earth are in a state of crisis. One in four mammal species on Earth is being pushed to extinction, according to the Global Mammal Assessment, the most comprehensive assessment of the world's mammals.
Writing in the October 10 issue of Science, ("The Status of the World's Land and Marine Mammals: Diversity, Threat, and Knowledge") and unveiling a "Red List" of endangered mammal species (at the International Union for Conservation of Nature World Conservation Congress in Barcelona, Spain), the researchers who worked on the exhaustive study say that from 25 percent to 36 percent of species may be in danger of extinction.
"It is frightening that after millions and millions of years of evolution that have given rise to the biodiversity of mammals we are perched on a crisis where 25 percent of species are threatened with being lost forever," said Andrew Smith, an Arizona State University professor who played a key role in the mammalian assessment. Smith and his research assistant, Charlotte Johnson, are two of the 103 authors of the Science paper.
The Global Mammal Assessment was conducted by more than 1,800 scientists from more than 130 countries working under the auspices of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It was made possible by the volunteer help of IUCN Species Survival Commission's specialist groups and collaborations between top institutions and universities, including Arizona State University, Texas A&M University, University of Virginia, Conservation International, Sapienza Università di Roma and the Zoological Society of London.
The mammal assessment is the first comprehensive look at the health of terrestrial and marine mammals across the globe. It is a companion assessment to similar documentation of the world's amphibians, released four years ago by IUCN.
"Mammals are important because they play key roles in ecosystems and provide important benefits to humans," Smith explained. "If you lose a mammal, you often are in danger of losing many other species."
The assessment shows that at least 1,141 of the 5,487 mammals on Earth are known to be threatened with extinction. At least 76 mammals have become extinct since 1500. The real situation could be much worse as 836 mammals are listed as "data deficient."
The culprits driving this precarious position include habitat loss and over exploitation for terrestrial mammals, and pollution, global warming and over exploitation for marine mammals, Smith said.
Follow link for full article. From the report: From majestic African elephants to tiny and often unappreciated rodents, mammals on Earth are in a state of crisis. O... more -
1 in 4 mammals at risk of extinction, scientists say - CNN.com
"We estimate that one in four species is threatened with extinction and that the population of one in two is declining," the researchers said in a report to be published Friday in the journal Science. The findings were being released Monday at the IUCN meeting in Barcelona, Spain.
"I think the bottom line is, what kind of a world do you want to leave for your children," Andrew Smith, a professor in the Arizona State University School of Life Sciences, said in a telephone interview.
"How impoverished we would be if we lost 25 percent of the world's mammals," said Smith, one of more than 100 co-authors of the report. "We estimate that one in four species is threatened with extinction and that the population of one in two is declining," the... more -
UN envoy says Congo fighting could escalate
* http://gorilla.wildlifedirect.org/:
Secretary-General’s Special Representative Alan Doss has asked for additional peacekeepers beyond the nearly 19,000 uniformed personnel already there to prevent the vast country from slipping back into “horrendous” conflict.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The top U.N. envoy to Congo warned Friday that renewed fighting in eastern Congo has heightened ethnic tensions and could lead to the renewal of a wider conflict in central Africa.
Alan Doss urged all militias in the country's hilly eastern border area — the scene of the worst fighting and a humanitarian crisis in Congo — to support a U.N. disengagement plan to bring peace to the conflict-wracked region.
He expressed dismay at reports this week that a key rebel leader, Laurent Nkunda, who initially said he would discuss the plan, was now reported to be backtracking and "walking out of any effort to move the peace process forward."
Nkunda launched a low-level rebellion several years ago claiming Congo's transition to democracy had excluded the country's minority Tutsi ethnic group, which is being targeted by ethnic Hutus from Congo as well as Rwanda.
The U.N. estimates there are about 20,000 militia fighters in the east, belonging to a number of different groups.
Among them are members of an extremist ethnic Hutu militia accused of orchestrating the 1994 genocide of 500,000 ethnic Tutsis in Rwanda. The group and others are accused of razing villages, terrorizing the local population and perpetrating rapes.
Doss told reporters after briefing the U.N. Security Council he was deeply concerned about renewed fighting that began at the end of August in eastern Congo, especially in North Kivu, and has continued intermittently since then.
"We believe we need to go ahead as quickly as possible with the disengagement plan to reduce the risk of those hostilities spreading and spilling over," Doss said. "Ethnic tensions have risen in North Kivu and that is very dangerous — no doubt about it."
He warned that "tensions are rising and we do not want to see the Congo plunged back in to the conflict which spilled over and involved neighbors. That conflict lasted for many years with horrendous consequences."
Back-to-back wars in Congo spilled into half a dozen neighboring countries and destroyed much of Congo itself by 2002.
Doss said the 17,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo, whose main role is protecting civilians caught in fighting, is trying to bring the situation under control through a proposed comprehensive disengagement plan.
He said a "modest" increase in the force is sought to help implement the disengagement plan, which includes a cease-fire, separation of forces, demobilization, disarmament and the reintegration of militia fighters.
"The disengagement plan was presented to the government and it has accepted it," Doss said, "and it was presented to some of the armed groups. They have accepted it."
The U.N., is looking for support for the plan from the Security Council, countries that contribute troops to the force, and all militias, he said. * http://gorilla.wildlifedirect.org/: ... more -
Uganda’s new family of mountain gorillas
KAMPALA: A new family of mountain gorillas, one of the world’s most endangered species, is ready for interaction with tourists, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) said on Friday.
“There is a new group of 13 members that has been habituated,” UWA spokeswoman Lillian Nsubuga said.
Wildlife experts began habituating the family, headed by a silverback named Nduhura, in October 2006 when one of the already habituated families in Uganda showed signs of moving into the bordering Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Nduhura’s family completed its two-year habituation process, designed to gradually allow them to become used to a limited human presence, the day the other group crossed the border. “The timing was really perfect,” Nsubuga said.
The endangered primates draw foreign visitors to Uganda’s Impenetrable Forest at a cost of $500 per visit and are a cornerstone of Uganda’s renascent tourism industry.
There are around 350 mountain gorillas currently living in Uganda, half of the world’s population. The remaining half is found in the Virunga park which straddles the DRC and Rwanda.
“The population in Uganda is stable and can even increase,” Nsubuga added.—AFP KAMPALA: A new family of mountain gorillas, one of the world’s most endangered species, is ready for interaction with tourists, the Ug... more -
World's most endangered turtles fail to produce offspring
SUZHOU, China — She's around 80 years old. He's 100. Breathless scientists watched as the world's most endangered turtles successfully mated.
But the attempt to breed the species' last known female with the last known male in China has failed because the eggs didn't hatch, disappointed conservationists said Saturday.
The elderly pair can try again next year, part of a delicate attempt to keep the species alive.
Just four known Yangtze giant soft-shell turtles are left and three are male.
The only female was found in a Chinese zoo just last year after a long and desperate search. She was quickly protected with a surveillance camera, a guard and bulletproof glass, and given the nickname "China Girl."
A successful batch of baby turtles would be a welcome environmental win for China. The country's efforts to save its pandas are famous, but scientists have said about 40 percent of China's mammal species are endangered. Pollution and hunting almost erased the Yangtze turtles.
Conservationists were thrilled this spring when the female and male finally were introduced, nudged each other curiously and slowly got down to business. Artificial insemination was deemed too risky.
Details & more on this story: http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Oct04/0,4670,ASEndange... SUZHOU, China — She's around 80 years old. He's 100. Breathless scientists watched as the world's most endangered turt... more -
Wildlife Group Expands Reach of Anti-Palin Wolf Ad
The program began under her predecessor, Gov. Frank Murkowski, and continues with her support. Private citizens are permitted to shoot wolves from the air or conduct land-and-shoot hunting of wolves in five rural areas of the state. More than 700 wolves have been killed since the program began almost five years ago, state officials say.
Last year, Palin's office announced the state would offer cash to kill wolves. Incentives included offering volunteer pilots and aerial gunner teams $150 for turning in the forelegs of freshly killed wolves.
The state said the legs could help biologists determine a wolf's age, while the money helped hunters and aerial teams pay for gas and expenses. A Superior Court judge later blocked the payments after conservation groups argued the money amounted to an illegal bounty.
Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, which has endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president, is a nonprofit 501(c)4 corporation that can operate outside the strict limits governing political action committees. It can raise money in unlimited amounts from individual donors and can run ads that refer to political candidates as long as they don't specifically advocate their election or defeat.
The ad has received widespread notice on the Internet and has been an effective fundraising tool for Defenders of Wildlife. The group says it raised $600,000 in the six hours after it was released in mid-September and says it now has raised $1 million.
The group is aiming the ad at suburban women and moderate independent voters.
The ad follows closely on the heels of a McCain commercial that depicted Obama researchers and investigators combing through Palin's background as a pack of wolves.
Hunter or hunted, it all depends on the ad.
On the Net:
Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund: http://www.defendersactionfund.org/ The program began under her predecessor, Gov. Frank Murkowski, and continues with her support. Private citizens are permitted to shoot... more -
Who sanctioned the rape of a sanctuary?
On-the-spot report from Kumudini Hettiarachchi in Uda Walawe, Pix by M.A.Pushpa Kumara
Absolute stillness, the stillness of the jungle, accentuated only by the call of birds from the lotus-studded wewa. Suddenly a humming and whining begin, shattering the stillness. A bulldozer is at work………up and down, leaving a large swathe of land cleared of everything.
What is left is only a trail of destruction – giant trees such as weera and myla on their sides, the scrub jungle no more and the tall grasses cleared. Some of the trees and shrubs have been set ablaze, with patches of areas still smouldering.
This is the fate, since Monday, of part of the Dahaiyagala sanctuary and animal corridor, covering about 2,685 ha, on the northern border of the Uda Walawe National Park, in clear violation of the large green boards of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWLC). See pic of board.
For, this is where the elephants including four majestic tuskers (one being ‘Walawe Raja’) the sloth bear, the leopard and the sambhur roam. ‘Walawe Raja’, the tallest of the tuskers in the area graces the posters of the DWLC and has also been portrayed in a BBC documentary titled, ‘The Last Tusker’.
“People have been brazenly clearing the sanctuary in violation of the law,” lamented a wildlife official, pointing out that the culprits want to put up a barrier, blocking the animal corridor on the boundary of the Uda Walawe National Park.
The Dahaiyagala corridor links the National Park with Bogahapattiya described by conservationists as the “last remaining savannah (talawa) and intermediate zone forest to remain intact in the southern part of Sri Lanka”.
For, this is where the elephants including four majestic tuskers (one being ‘Walawe Raja’) the sloth bear, the leopard and the sambhur roam. ‘Walawe Raja’, the tallest of the tuskers in the area graces the posters of the DWLC and has also been portrayed in a BBC documentary titled, ‘The Last Tusker’. “People have been brazenly clearing the sanctuary in violation of the law,” lamented a wildlife official, pointing out that the culprits want to put up a barrier, blocking the animal corridor on the boundary of the Uda Walawe National Park.
The Dahaiyagala corridor links the National Park with Bogahapattiya described by conservationists as the “last remaining savannah (talawa) and intermediate zone forest to remain intact in the southern part of Sri Lanka”.
The blocking of the Dahaiyagala opening into the National Park (see map) will prevent the elephants, the sloth bear, the leopard and the sambhur whose home range is Bogahapattiya, from accessing the National Park. Dahaiyagala also has many wewas including Pokunutenne which has water throughout the year, which the animals use. The smaller ones which are seasonal dry up during the drought
The other tanks which do not run dry are Uda Walawe and Mau-ara which are within the National Park itself.
The stories doing the rounds in Uda Walawe are that a few politicians in the area, along with some officials, have unlawfully taken the lead in efforts to shut the animal access point through Dahaiyagala into the National Park.
for the rest of this story, please follow link: http://www.sundaytimes.lk/080928/Plus/sundaytimesplus_0... On-the-spot report from Kumudini Hettiarachchi in Uda Walawe, Pix by M.A.Pushpa Kumara ... more -
Bushmeat trade "most significant" threat to Africa's wildlife says ...
Maverick conservationist, Richard Leakey, writes that "commercial bushmeat hunting has become the most significant immediate threat to the future of wildlife in Africa and around the world" in an article on Wildlife Direct. Founded by Leakey, Wildlife Direct is a nonprofit allowing researchers and wildlife organizations in Africa and Asia to connect directly with supporters through blogs.
A paper recently released by the Centre of International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biodiversity (CDB) argued that legalizing bushmeat trade is the only way to ensure species survival and provide protein needs to impoverished people. Leakey disagrees: "legalizing this multi-billion trade will not help the wildlife. It will instead exterminate what remains, species that we are working so hard to preserve." Leakey has spent two decades working to conserve wildlife in his native Kenya.
"CIFOR argues that since up to 80 percent of the rural households in central and western Africa already depend on bushmeat for their daily protein requirements, a blanket ban on the trade would endanger both humans and wildlife " Leakey writes. "They call for regulated but legal uptake of wildlife protein. Maybe, but just how can this be done? There are no mechanisms to regulate this even with the best legislation."
Leakey says that CIFOR and CDB's idea of legalizing the bushmeat trade "shows remarkable naïveté and totally fails to understand the realities on the ground. A hungry population is never going to practice conservation of food, especially where it can be had free from the forest."
Comparing legalizing the bushmeat trade to legalizing drugs, Leakey writes that there are other ways in which to provide poor communities with protein. "Why don't people encourage the rearing of chickens, fish or cane rats to alleviate their protein deficiency? This will bring development and a better and healthier existence."
According to Leakey a number of species that have experienced local extinctions or drastic declines due to the bushmeat trade in Africa, including elephants, chimpanzees, gorillas, pangolins, bush pigs, duikers, and monitor lizards. Numerous primate species are especially susceptible. The bushmeat trade is also a threat to many species in Asia.
Richard Leakey, son of famed anthropologist Louis Leakey, is known for his bold conservation views and his long career in politics, anthropology, and conservation in Kenya. Maverick conservationist, Richard Leakey, writes that "commercial bushmeat hunting has become the most significant immediate thre... more -
New manatee species discovered!
NEW SPECIES OF LIVING MANATEE!
'A New Species, the Dwarf Manatee, Amazon Association for the Preservation of Nature'
Discovered in AAPN Manus-Amazonas, Brazil.
Shallow clear-water adapted dwarf manatee is already on the edge of extinction due to rainforest deforestation, hunting...
THERE ARE NO LAWS TO PROTECT THIS CRITICALLY ENDANGERED DWARF MANATEE.
http://www.care2.com/news/member/785844898/889616
http://www.marcvanroosmalen.org/dwarfmanatee.htm
CRITICALLY ENDANGERED! NEW SPECIES OF LIVING MANATEE! 'A New Species, the Dwarf Manatee, Amazon Association for the Preservation of Nature' ... more -
Extinct tortoise to be brought back to life
An extinct Galapagos tortoise species could walk again, scientists believe.
Researchers report finding relatives of Geochelone elephantopus alive and well. By cross-breeding these living tortoise, scientists might be able to re-create the extinct species - though it could take a century. "We might need three or four generations to do this," Gisella Caccone from Yale University in New Haven, US, stated. "But in theory it could be done, and I think it's pretty exciting to bring back from the dead a genome that we thought was gone."
The distribution of related tortoises between the islands was one of the pieces of evidence Charles Darwin used in formulating his theory of evolution. But of 15 known Galapagos species, four have since gone extinct - elephantopus less than two decades after Darwin visited the island. An extinct Galapagos tortoise species could walk again, scientists believe. ... more -
Rare Bats Appear on Central Florida River
Kississimmee River, Florida — Groups of rare and endangered bonneted bats have appeared along the Kissimmee River, far from its known range.
Experts said they recently heard the bat's deep, distinctive echolocation calls on a bat detector, which translates sonographs into a sound that bat experts can hear.
“This bat is definitely distinctive,” said Cyndi Marks, executive director of the Florida Bat Conservancy, a nonprofit organization.
The bats are considered the rarest in the region. Marks' group, under contract with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, identified the bats while gathering data about bat species in southwest Florida.
She heard the rare bonneted bats while surveying for bats earlier this year on South Florida Water Management District lands that are part of the Kissimmee River restoration.
The state lists the bats as an endangered species. They are proposed for listing as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
They haven't been federally listed because they were previously believed to be a subspecies of bats found in Cuba. But a 2004 study found bonneted bats in Florida are a separate, distinct species, Florida Today reported.
From the 1950s to 1970s, the bat was always thought to be only around the Miami area, mostly in Coral Gables.
Then in 1979, one was found near Punta Gorda, in a tree cut down to build Interstate 75. In 2000, Marks and her husband recorded one in the Ten Thousand Islands. The recent discovery documented the bats well north of Lake Okeechobee, on the Kissimmee River Public Use Area and Kissimmee Island Cattle Co. properties. The find of Florida bonneted bats (Eumops floridanus) in the Kissimmee region is a major discovery, according to the Florida Bat Conservancy, because the nearest previously known location is more than 50 miles southwest.
The Florida bonneted bat is distinguished by its large size: from 4.9 to 6.5 inches long, with a wingspan of almost 20 inches. Unusually large broad ears slant forward over the eyes, like a bonnet. Kississimmee River, Florida — Groups of rare and endangered bonneted bats have appeared along the Kissimmee River, far from its known ... more -
MASSACRE OF GIANTS
HELP SAVE THE ELEPHANT - STOP THE BLOODY IVORY TRADE
Elephants. Condemned by CITES. Annihilated by poachers. Hacked to pieces for their ivory.
I write this with a heavy heart. A death knell has sounded for elephants. I was there as the bell tolled, but can scarcely believe it’s true.
Elephants – most intelligent, most sensitive of creatures – have been condemned to a bloody death. Other even more ominous sounds have quickly followed… The deafening crack of an automatic weapon; the mechanical drone of a chain-saw; the rhythmic chopping of an axe. The sickening sound of terrified elephants being brutally killed, then butchered for their tusks.
Unbelievably, ivory is big business once again. A savage new bloodbath is underway by ruthless poachers. The international ivory trade is supposed to be illegal. But China has been given the green light to purchase ‘stockpiled’ ivory. Make no mistake what this means. Poachers have been given the green light to slaughter more elephants
During a recent meeting in Geneva, the CITES¹ Standing Committee, including the UK, voted to allow China to buy ivory from four southern African nations - South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe. China can now bid for 108 tonnes of stockpiled tusks.
It is just disastrous. China is the centre of the world’s illegal ivory trade. For example, 790kg of illegal ivory was seized in China earlier this year. Also, just one day after the Standing Committee’s ruling, three Chinese nationals were arrested in Kenya attempting to smuggle ivory. Carved ivory is a thriving business in China and hugely lucrative.
Japan had already been approved by CITES as a licensed buyer in 2006. Now China and Japan will bid against each other for this ‘legal’ ivory. I predict the price of the ivory will go sky-high, stimulating the already massive black market in illegal ivory. So more elephants will die. The incentive to kill elephants and smuggle ivory will be heightened still further.
This new decision is like pouring petrol on an open fire. It is naïve and deadly. Already more than 20,000 elephants are estimated to be illegally killed and dismembered every year by poachers. That’s 55 every day. That’s two every hour.
There were around one million elephants in 1979. Now that number has fallen to 475,000. Small, vulnerable elephant populations in West and Central African countries are most at risk. Large parts of Africa are running red with elephants’ blood.
Pause for a moment. Consider what this means. Elephants… immense, sentient, gentle creatures, who display awareness and understanding, with intricate social lives and complex culture passed through generations. Reduced to massive, bloody corpses for people’s greed. HELP SAVE THE ELEPHANT - STOP THE BLOODY IVORY TRADE ... more -
Ivory Report: Born Free Foundation
This July 2008, at a CITE'S Standing Committee meeting, China was approved to buy
"legal ivory" from Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Japan has
already been approved, with the one-off sales likely later this year. The
approval was opposed by many countries, most notably the African Elephant
Coalition, a group of 19 elephant Range States. But their concerns were ignored
by those countries which voted in favour of China, which included the UK.
Lifting the strict ban on the sale of ivory and permitting legal imports is likely to
facilitate laundering of illegal ivory and will therefore increase elephant
poaching. Yet poaching has already reached crisis point, particularly in West and
Central Africa. More than 20,000 African elephants are estimated to be killed
every year. But there may be as few as 7,500 elephants remaining throughout
West Africa and just 475,000 across the continent.
Now that China and Japan have been approved to purchase stockpiled ivory,
the situation can only get worse. It is a death sentence for elephants.
Unscrupulous criminal networks are taking advantage of the legal trade to
launder illegal ivory into the poorly regulated markets. Urgent funds are
needed to protect the remaining elephant populations.
Shelley Waterland,
International Trade Specialist, Born Free Foundation
Stop the bloody ivory tradeElephant poaching and the illegal trade in ivory is a multi-million pound business
often run by highly organised criminal networks. Every dead elephant can yield
10kg of ivory, worth possibly thousands of pounds. It is usually the most
vulnerable elephant populations that are targeted for this poaching, particularly
in West and Central Africa. For some elephant populations there is still time, but
we have reached crisis point in many countries and funds are urgently needed
to equip rangers and train enforcement officers.
In 2004 there were thought to be around 4,000 elephants in Zakouma National
Park in Tchad, in Central Africa. Today they number less than 1,000. Similarly the
Central African Republic is estimated to be losing around 500 elephants a year
from poaching. If elephant poaching in West and Central Africa is not brought
under control very quickly, there will no longer be any elephants left to protect.
Wildlife rangers are risking their lives every day to protect elephants from
armed poachers. Can you help them? The rangers urgently need better
equipment and training.
http://www.bornfree.org.uk/give/autumn-appeal/ivory-rep...
http://www.bornfree.org.uk/give/autumn-appeal/
Will Travers, Chief Executive, Born Free Foundation This July 2008, at a CITE'S Standing Committee meeting, China was approved to buy ... more -
Pregnant Elephant Slaughtered
Stop the Slaughter!
Taita Ranch, Southern Kenya
Close to Tsavo East & Tsavo West National Parks
The elephant was female, aged about 27. She was 20 months pregnant. On 14th June 2008 poachers shot her with poisoned metal arrows and followed her as she stumbled miles through the African bush. After two days of agony she dropped. She tried to give birth to her calf before she died.
Wildlife rangers from the neighbouring Rukinga Wildlife Sanctuary ambushed the poachers when they had just killed the female. They were in the process of butchering her and hacking off her face to remove her tusks. It is suspected these would have been smuggled to China. Two of the poachers were arrested and taken to Voi police station but two got away. Kenya Wildlife Service followed up the case and the two men were each sentenced to six years in prison.
“Just one dead elephant and her dead calf. Just one story. Sickening, grotesque, etched on your mind. The atrocious reality. Every day 55 elephants are killed and chopped apart by poachers. We can’t let this continue. Help us stop this. We want to help Rukinga Sanctuary’s brave rangers and support anti-poaching patrols across Africa.”
Will Travers,
Chief Executive, Born Free Foundation
Caution: Disturbing Images
http://www.bornfree.org.uk/give/autumn-appeal/ivory-rep...
Born Free Foundation Stop the Slaughter! Taita Ranch, Southern Kenya Close to Tsavo East & Tsavo West National Parks ... more -
Polar bears 'could become extinct' because of melting ice
Polar bears and other rare species are in danger of dying out, scientists fear, as latest figures show the Artic sea ice is at record lows.
Scientists from the World Wildlife Fund, who are recording the ice cover over the North Pole, said less ice is predicted in the Arctic this year than in any other.
Experts say this not only means a loss of habitat to species like polar bears and loss of livelihood for indigenous peoples but could speed up global warming as water absorbs heat rather than reflecting the sun's rays back into space.
Dr Martin Sommerkorn, senior climate change advisor at WWF International's Arctic Programme, said: "We are expecting confirmation of 2008 being either the lowest or the second-lowest year in terms of summer ice coverage.
READ FULL ARTICLE:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/... Polar bears and other rare species are in danger of dying out, scientists fear, as latest figures show the Artic sea ice is at record ... more -
Four Manatees Killed by Boat Propeller
Four endangered manatees have washed up dead within a few miles of the downtown Savannah riverfront in the past week, leading wildlife officials to speculate they may have been killed by a single large ship.
Clay George, a wildlife biologist with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, said Tuesday three of the manatee carcasses pulled from the Savannah River suffered deep propeller wounds. One had been sliced in half.
Examination of the fourth manatee Tuesday, the day after it was found beneath the Talmadge Bridge that spans the river from Savannah into South Carolina, revealed no lacerations. But the carcass had several broken bones that could have been caused by a ship, George said.
The manatees were discovered upstream from the bustling Port of Savannah, which cargo ships reach by navigating about 20 miles of the Savannah River from the Atlantic Ocean. Judging by the size of the cuts, the manatees appear to have been hit by a vessel the size of a tugboat or larger, George said.
"Container ships or some other large vessel would be an obvious place to start," George said. "We're not trying to blame anyone. Most likely it was an accident. I'd be very surprised if anyone on the vessel even knew what happened."
Though most frequently found in Florida, manatees migrate north to Georgia's shoreline waters and rivers each year from April to October.
A 2007 report by the U.S. Geological Survey identified boat collisions as the top long-term threat to manatees, which weigh up to 2,000 pounds and can be 10 feet long. In Florida, watercraft strikes killed 73 manatees in 2007 and have caused 60 deaths through July 31 this year, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
It's unusual for multiple manatees to turn up dead in the same place at roughly the same time, said Charles Underwood, a spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Jacksonville, Fla. But it can happen, he said, when manatees are trying to mate and may be distracted from approaching vessels.
Underwood said the agency has no recorded case in which a single boat or ship was proven to have killed multiple manatees at once.
Visitors strolling the downtown riverfront, a tourist hotspot packed with bars and souvenir shops, spotted the first two manatee carcasses in the river Friday. A boater spotted another later that day near Elba Island a few miles downriver.
George said the manatees could have been part of a mating herd, in which up to a dozen males pursue a single female. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service photographed five manatees together in the river last week, he said.
Georgia Ports Authority spokesman Robert Morris said traffic to and from the port wasn't any heavier than normal last week with ships arriving and departing ahead of the storm. He called the manatee deaths "a tragic event."
"We want to work closely with the DNR to learn more about what caused the deaths of these four manatees and determine ways to alert river traffic in the future when manatees are sighted," Morris said.
Pleasure boats and Coast Guard cutters also frequent the Savannah River, and there's no precise evidence to indicate any particular type of large vessel.
PLEASE NOTE! Propeller Guard Can Help Reduce Manatee Injuries!
Boat Propeller Guards DO NOT elliminate injuries/death. However, they can help reduce manatee & other sea life (as well as humans) when used in conjunction with other precautions. Boat Propeller Guards are only effective when speedzone laws are obeyed.
http://myfwc.com/manatee/prop/
http://myfwc.com/manatee/prop/propguide.htm
Manatee FAQ Links:
http://www.savethemanatee.org/faqprotection.htm
http://www.floridaconservation.org/psm/prop/prop.htm
http://www.myfwc.com/manatee/
http://www.endangeredspecieshandbook.org/aquatic_noise.... Four endangered manatees have washed up dead within a few miles of the downtown Savannah riverfront in the past week, leading wildlife... more -
Mountain Gorilla Expedition | Morris Animal Foundation
Morris Animal Foundation (MAF) withalong with the Mountain Gorillas Veterinary Project (MVGP) .
Up close & personal with the highly endangered mountain gorilla made famous by the late Dian Fossey. There are less than 700 of these incredible, gentle giants.
This video is a web exclusive. Morris Animal Foundation (MAF) withalong with the Mountain Gorillas Veterinary Project (MVGP) . ... more
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