The Rate of Extinction: 3 Species per Hour About 6 waves of massive extinction are known in the history of the Earth. The last one wiped out the dinosaur world 65 million years ago and was probably due to a meteorite collision. But the recent one has no natural causes. It is man made and rampant, eliminating three animal or plant species every hour. Scientists and environmentalists issued reports about threats to creatures and plants including right whales, Iberian lynxes, wild potatoes and even wild peanuts. Experts gathered on May 22, at the International Day for Biological Diversity, a report on the threatened species from whales and Iberian lynxes to wild potatoes and wild peanuts. The threats to the wildlife diversity vary from habitat loss due to land clearance for farms or cities, poaching, pollution and rising human populations to global warming. determination at all levels - global, national and local," he said. UE's goal is to stop biodiversity loss by 2010, not just to slow down the process.
Amur leopard cub is born in Germany The birth of an Amur leopard cub at Germany's Leipzig Zoo is huge news for her species, which is critically endangered. The cub, a female who hasn't yet been named, was born at the zoo in late June. Amur leopards, native to eastern Russia, parts of China and the Korean Peninsula, have been driven nearly to extinction, primarily as a result of habitat loss and fragmentation. Today, it's estimated that fewer than 40 Amur leopards remain in the wild in Russia, and an even smaller number are thought to remain in China. See more photos of the Leipzig Zoo's cub after the jump. RELATED CUTE CUBS: Your morning adorable: Clouded leopard cubs make their debut at Paris zoo Your morning adorable: Lion cubs get a checkup at Israeli zoo -- Lindsay Barnett First, second and fourth photos: Sebastian Willnow / Associated Press Third photo: Hendrik Schmidt / European Pressphoto Agency
Saola Caught in Asia 16 September 2010Last updated at 14:59 By Katia Moskvitch Science reporter, BBC News There may only be a few dozen of Saola left in the wild An extremely rare animal known as the "Asian unicorn" - in spite of having two horns - has been caught by villagers in Laos. No biologist has ever reported seeing the rare Saola in the wild and there are none of them in captivity. The animal was discovered in the forests of South-East Asia as recently as 1992. There have only been a few photos of the Saola taken so far, by villagers and automatic camera traps. The Saola - Pseudoryx nghetinhensis - is believed to inhabit the Annamite Mountains of Laos and Vietnam, and that is where villagers from Laos' central province of Bolikhamxay caught the unfortunate adult male earlier this August. They brought the mammal back to the village. Unfortunate death Surprised by the odd-looking animal, the villagers took a few photos and notified the Lao authorities. New species Not much time
Iberian Lynx, Most Endangered Wild Cat (ENDANGERED SPECIES) Hope for the world’s most endangered wild cat, the Iberian lynx, has arrived! For the first time, scientists have successfully collected and preserved the feline’s embryos which may help save the species. The cat’s declining population is in critical condition with less than 200 accounted for a decade ago. Scientists hope that by preserving the embryos, they may be able to use surrogate mothers from closely related species to boost the Iberian lynx population. Read more about the Iberian lynx and this scientific triumph. — Global Animal The Iberian lynx is the world’s most endangered wild cat. Live Science, Megan Gannon It seems counterintuitive that castration could help save a species facing extinction. Conservationists are hoping the fertilized eggs could be implanted into a surrogate mother of a closely related species, possibly a Eurasian lynx female. More Live Science:
Shocking Study Finds Lions are Nearly Extinct in West Africa Physically and emotionally demanding. That’s how Philipp Henschel, Lion Program Survey Coordinator for the big-cat conservation organization Panthera, describes the six years he and other researchers spent combing the wilds of 17 nations looking for the elusive and rarely studied West African lion. The results of their quest were disheartening to say the least. West African lions—historically referred to as the subspecies Panthera leo senegalensis, although that taxonomic designation is not currently in use—are smaller than and genetically distinct from their southern and eastern African relatives, which are also in decline and currently number about 35,000 big cats. Although shocking, the news of the lions’ near extinction should probably not come as a surprise given the context of the region. Devastating Realization The human encounters also illustrated some of the dangers the lions face (the cats are often killed as pests). But their work was not completely in vain. The Counts
Australian mammals on brink of extinction calamity 10 February 2015Last updated at 07:58 ET By Helen Briggs Environment Correspondent The endangered northern quoll, a mammal species native to Australia Australia has lost one in ten of its native mammals species over the last 200 years in what conservationists describe as an "extinction calamity". No other nation has had such a high rate of loss of land mammals over this time period, according to scientists at Charles Darwin University, Australia. The decline is mainly due to predation by the feral cat and the red fox, which were introduced from Europe, they say. Large scale fires to manage land are also having an impact. As an affluent nation with a small population, Australia's wildlife should be relatively secure from threats such as habitat loss. But a new survey of Australia's native mammals, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests the scale of the problem is more serious than anticipated. Shy species
Wildlife is absolutely thriving at Chernobyl disaster site It's hard to find a bright side to the world's worst-ever nuclear disaster, but wildlife may beg to differ. After the 1986 fire and explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant released radioactive particles into the atmosphere, everyone left, never to return. But now researchers studying animal populations have made a seriously counterintuitive discovery: The Chernobyl site looks less like a disaster zone and "more like a nature preserve," rife with elk, roe deer, red deer, wild boar, foxes, wolves, and others. "It's very likely that wildlife numbers at Chernobyl are much higher than they were before the accident," says Jim Smith of the University of Portsmouth in the UK. "This doesn't mean radiation is good for wildlife, just that the effects of human habitation, including hunting, farming, and forestry, are a lot worse." Human beings are worse for wildlife than nuclear disaster. © Tatyana Deryabina © Valeriy Yurko
Animals Rule Chernobyl 30 Years After Nuclear Disaster Marina Shkvyria watches for animal tracks as she walks toward an abandoned village in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, the area sealed to the public after a nuclear power plant exploded here 30 years ago, on April 26, 1986. Spotting one, she crouches and runs her finger over the toes of a wolf print in the loose sand. It may seem strange that Chernobyl, an area known for the deadliest nuclear accident in history, could become a refuge for all kinds of animals—from moose, deer, beaver, and owls to more exotic species like brown bear, lynx, and wolves—but that is exactly what Shkvyria and some other scientists think has happened. Shkvyria is a wolf expert at the Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences, and one of a handful of scientists following the fate of Chernobyl’s wildlife. In a new study released Monday, Beasley says that the population of large mammals on the Belarus side has increased since the disaster. We also saw the handiwork of beavers—everywhere.
First U.S. Bumblebee Officially Listed as Endangered It’s official: For the first time in the United States, a bumblebee species has been declared endangered. The rusty patched bumblebee (Bombus affinis), once a common sight, is “now balancing precariously on the brink of extinction,” according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Once thriving in 28 states and the District of Columbia, but over the past two decades, the bee’s population has plummeted nearly 90 percent. Advocates for the rusty patched bumblebee’s listing are abuzz with relief, but it may be the first skirmish in a grueling conflict over the fate of the Endangered Species Act under the Trump administration. On January 11, the U.S. The delay had been the subject of a tense legal battle: On February 14, the Natural Resources Defense Council filed suit against the U.S. “The Trump administration reversed course and listed the rusty patched bumblebee as an endangered species just in the nick of time. Busy as a Bee First of Many Fights? Some observers are wary of this language.
Cats are going extinct: 12 most endangered feline species Today, May 17th, is Endangered Species Day. We are celebrating it by bringing attention to the diverse and beautiful felid species around the world that are in danger of becoming extinct. The following species are either currently listed as endangered or vulnerable. We hope that by learning about these amazing relatives of our well-loved domestic cats, readers will be encouraged to act to protect these species. First up is the well-known snow leopard. But there are many lesser-known feline species, some that you may never have even heard of before.