Posts tagged "endangered"

With Earth Day coming up, we are featuring 15 of the most fascinating and, sadly, most endangered species on the planet. Read on to learn what's being done to ensure that they'll be around to inspire future generations.

Jaguar. Often mistaken for the leopard, an adult male jaguar can grow up to 250lbs. Even more surprising, this big cat's traditional range includes Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas. These days, however, most of the world's jaguar population resides in the rainforests of South America. The Northern Jaguar Project is currently reintroducing these awesome spotted cats on a preserve 125 miles south of the Arizona border.

American crocodile. The American crocodile is distinguishable from the more plentiful American alligator by its brown color and thinner snout which, even when closed, leaves the animal's lower teeth exposed. American crocodiles inhabit the brackish creeks and mangrove of Central America, Mexico, Cuba, Venezuela, and South Florida. While this croc was once under threat of extinction due to over-hunting, the American crocodile is now protected throughout most of its habitat.

If anyone deserves good news, it's the giant panda. Recently at the Wolong Panda Reserve in Sichuan province, China, a panda named Yo Yo gave birth to twin female cubs. The arrival of the cubs brings the total number of pandas born in China this year to 19, according to Good News Now (GNN).

For pandas, that's quite a baby boom. In fact, it breaks the previous record of 18 cubs born in 2006.

Giant pandas are critically endangered due to the fragmentation and destruction of their habitat in the forests of China, according to the World Wildlife Fund. A survey in 2004 counted just 1,600 pandas left in the wild, the WWF reports. Poaching and a low reproduction rate also hamper the bear's well being, the AP reports. In the wild, females only give birth once every two or three years. Among captive pandas, the arrival of new babies is even rarer.

But things are looking up for the fuzzy black-and-white bears. Today, more than 300 pandas live in captivity, providing an important buffer against extinction. Experts at the Wolong Panda Reserve told the AP that better research on panda nutrition, genetics and reproduction helped bring on the baby boom. They've also created a more natural habitat for the bears that live at the reserve.

Hope comes in many forms. In this case, it comes with eight adorable little paws and a whole bunch of stripes.

Two rare Sumatran tiger cubs made their television debut this morning on NBC's "Today." The pair was born May 25 at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, Wash. Including these new additions, there are just 74 Sumatran tigers in captivity in North America and only a few hundred exist in the wild.

The birth of these cubs is particularly remarkable because their mom and dad, Jaya and Bali, were pretty clueless when it came to continuing their critically endangered species: "Neither one could seem to understand what needed to be done," Andy Goldfarb, staff biologist at Port Defiance, told "Today." Eventually, though, the couple figured it out, and after much ado, it was confirmed that Jaya was pregnant.

The timing of the conception was fortuitous as Bali, the father, has since been diagnosed with cancer. He's showing improvement now that he's undergoing chemotherapy, says "Today," but his future, like that of his species, is uncertain.

These furry babies are facing tough odds, but you can give them a boost by helping the zoo choose the right names for the pair. All you have to do is cast your vote at the Point Defiance Zoo website!

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Could better marketing help save endangered species? That's the basic concept behind Painted Dog Conservation, a center established by Dr. Gregory Rasmussen to help save the canines formerly known as African wild dogs.

There are only a few thousand wild dogs left in Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and South Africa, while at the turn of the century, half a million of the animals lived in 39 countries throughout Africa. The wild dogs -- aka painted dogs -- which tend to be hated by local populations that blame them for killing livestock, are about the size of a German shepherd.

Why "painted dogs?" "Wild dogs" has become a pejorative, and so Rasmussen and his organization have worked to "rebrand" these animals. He calls them painted dogs because their distinctive coats make them look like they've just run through an artist's studio.

The Zimbabwe-based Painted Dog Conservation offers the animals a refuge from poachers, and rehabilitates injured dogs. Rasmussen founded the organization, originally called Painted Dog Research, in 1992, in response to the snares, shootings, and road kills that accounted for 95 percent of all wild-dog deaths. He gleaned that the local populations' attitudes toward the dogs were characterized by prejudice, ignorance, and hostility. PDC's uniquely holistic approach is Rasmussen's effort to save these animals from extinction.

Not far from the hustle and bustle of Wall Street, four fluffy Peregrine falcon chicks have been officially welcomed into the city. The babies were born less than a month ago at 55 Water Street, where their parents, Rocky and Jubilee, have lived for more than 10 years, reports the New York Daily News.

The healthy brood is one of 15 active falcon nests throughout NYC and an estimated 70 across the state. These numbers are small, but still good news when you consider that in the 1960s the species nearly went extinct due to pesticide residue in its prey. Because of this, Peregrine falcons remain endangered, and are carefully monitored. The N.Y. Daily News took this photo of the chicks when they were briefly borrowed from their mom to get identification bands attached.

These little birds do look fragile and adorable but it won't be long before they're cruising at 40 to 55 miles per hour, and reaching speeds of 200 miles per hour during a mid-air dive attack. In wilder settings, they set up nests on cliffs, but something about their fierce beauty makes them fit right in on the ledges of NYC buildings, don't you think?

To get the full scoop on these chicks go to the N.Y. Daily News story here. If you want to meet other members of New York's urban jungle, check out some of the crazy critters in this NY Daily News gallery!

by Cat Lincoln
After nearly two years of dire predictions about the imminent extinction of honey bees, it appears that whatever was causing the mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) may be easing up.

According to a Journal of Apicultural Research survey of beekeepers, reported in the New York Times, beekeeping operations are reporting fewer lost colonies that do not have dead bees in or around the hive. An "empty" hive is the primary indicator of CCD.

Last winter the rate of colonies lost to CCD was 26%, down from 38% and 36%, respectively, during the previous two seasons. Even more heartening, only 36% reported colonies with symptoms of CCD, down from a high of 60% three winters ago.

Dogs and cats make great pets. Endangered primates, bears and wild cats? Not so much.

Police in Malaysia arrested a 25-year-old woman after discovering a slow loris, a leopard cat and a baby honey bear in her high-rise condo, the Associated Press reported. Now she's in hot water thanks to the trio of exotic animals.

Slow lorises are wide-eyed, woolly primates related to lemurs. Leopard cats aren't true leopards, but small, spotted wild felines. Honey bears, also known as sun bears, are the smallest members of the bear family at about 4 feet tall, according to Wikipedia. All three species are native to the tropical forests of southeast Asia, and slow lorises and honey bears are both listed as "threatened" on the endangered species list.

That's bad news for the arrested woman, who claimed her male cousin was responsible for the animals. In Malaysia, keeping endangered wildlife without a permit can result in fines and up to two years in jail, the AP reported. Investigators believe the animals were bought from indigenous tribes in southern Malaysia and were being kept in the condo as pets. Both the woman and her cousin could be charged.

According to the Associated Press, leopard cats and slow lorises can bring in 500 ringgit (about $147) each on the black market, while a baby honey bear could sell for ten times that amount. Fortunately for this trio of unlikely roommates, wildlife officials plan to release them back into the wild or turn them over to a zoo.

Researchers in China recently made an exciting (and adorable) discovery when they found a brown giant-panda cub.

Giant pandas are found only in China and already among the most endangered species on the planet. But brown giant pandas, which have brown fur instead of the normal black, are far more rare. This is only the fifth brown giant panda ever recorded, reports PeoplePets.

The panda cub, which is just two months old and has yet to open its eyes or walk, was found in the Foping Giant Panda Reserve in Shaanxi Province, which, according to China Daily, is the same place the first giant brown panda was discovered back in 1985.

This new cub's mother is black and white, like most giant pandas. And the first giant brown panda, Dandan, gave birth to three black and white pandas (all of whom died at a young age, sadly). Experts still don't understand why some pandas are born with the more unusual brown markings. Maybe this fuzzy new addition will help shed more light on the subject!

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