Why Snow Leopards Need Help NOTE: This is a guest post from Brad Rutherford. He has been the executive director of the Snow Leopard Trust since 2000 and recently returned from a visit to the Snow Leopard Enterprises project in Mongolia. This blog post is in response to the comments left by the public following his September 22nd post. Thank you to everyone who posted a comment in response to my blog post on September 22nd. The photo we included by Jason Brown is one of my personal favorites, and I certainly do feel blessed to be able to work on behalf of such a gorgeous animal. Everyone posed great questions about snow leopards in general, and I want to take a moment to talk about why this cat is so important and provide some information on the snow leopards themselves. Snow Leopards (Panthera uncia) are found in the mountains of 12 countries in Central Asia; Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. One last bit of exciting news.
Tiger Poachers Get Stiff Sentences Two men received substantial prison sentences after being convicting of poaching in Thailand earlier this year. One convicted tiger poacher, a Vietnamese citizen, received four years in prison; the other, a Thai national, received five—the most severe punishment for wildlife poaching ever given in Thailand. The men had been convicted in Thai court on February 19. They were arrested last July, after officials said they were fleeing patrols in a protected area. Police said their belongings contained illegal animal parts as well as snares, firearms, and other equipment commonly used by poachers. Park rangers surround the two convicted poachers (pointing) with the initial seize of wildlife parts, weapons, and other equipment. But the critical piece of evidence was a cell phone containing photos of the two men posing by a dead tiger. A cell phone image of one of the poachers posing with the dead tiger that led to their conviction. More About Tigers from Nat Geo News Watch:
Braconnage : les tigres désormais chassés avec des insecticides en Thaïlande Les braconniers thaïlandais chassent désormais les tigres avec des appâts empoisonnés aux insecticides. Ceux-ci sont radicaux pour les tigres qui ne survivent pas à cette ingestion de toxiques. Alors que le braconnage des tigres avait déjà don de décimer la population, les chasseurs ont semble-t-il opter pour une nouvelle technique encore plus redoutable pour les félins : les insecticides. Ces derniers mois, des appâts empoisonnés par ces produits sont de plus en plus fréquemment retrouvés par les gardes forestiers qui patrouillent dans la réserve de Huai Kha Khaeng considérée comme le "sanctuaire" des tigres en Thaïlande. Et la méthode semble aussi simple qu'infaillible pour tuer les tigres d’Asie : l’animal est attiré par des appâts, de la viande ou du poisson, contaminés par des insecticides. En ingérant ces toxiques, l’animal meurt. Progressivement, ces crimes en bande organisée commencent à choquer l'opinion publique thaïlandaise. Une population qui se raréfie dangereusement
1 million to ban the lion trade -- Big win in court!! 593,075 have signed. Help us get to 1,500,000 Update: 31 October 2013 Amazing win! Update: 7 February 2013 The South African airport authority (ACSA) refused to put our ads back up and, since their censorship violates our free speech rights under the South African constitution, we've taken them to court! Hundreds of South African lions are being slaughtered to make bogus sex potions for men. A global ban on tiger bone sales has traders hunting a new prize -- the majestic lions. If we can show President Zuma that this brutal trade is hurting South Africa's image as a tourist destination, he could ban the trade in lion bones. Saving Mongolia's Snow Leopards NOTE: This is a guest post from Brad Rutherford, the Executive Director of the Snow Leopard Trust since 2000. He recently returned from a visit to the Snow Leopard Enterprises project in Mongolia. For generations snow leopards have been seen as an enemy by herders across the mountains of Mongolia. If a herder lost a sheep or a goat to a snow leopard, it caused an economic catastrophe for the family that reinforced a cycle of conflict between humans and this endangered big cat. However, this all started to change in 1998 when two researchers sat down with herders and really tried to understand the challenges facing these rural families who share the land with snow leopards. But the idea really took off. Each fall, Snow Leopard Trust staff place an order for thousands of products to be made by the herders. I took a trip to the West of Mongolia this month to personally see how the program is working, and it was a truly incredible experience. Photo credit: Jason Brown
Cheetahs on the Edge Anticipation ripples through the crowd. Fingers tighten around binoculars. Camera lenses snap into focus. No fewer than 11 canopied safari buses, bright with tourists and bristling with long lenses, huddle near a solitary acacia tree in Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park. Suddenly one of the guides shouts, as the gazelles break and run and Etta launches into an explosive sprint. Cheetahs have come to occupy a curious place in the human imagination. All this pop culture presence might create the impression that cheetahs are as secure in nature as they are in the popular imagination. Even within Africa’s great game parks, cheetahs are under heavy pressure. If cheetahs seem a breed apart, it’s because they are. Everything about a cheetah is designed for speed—pure, raw, explosive speed. Such superhuman abilities lent cheetahs an otherworldly aura in ancient times. Cheetahs remain highly fashionable in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, where a cub can fetch upwards of $10,000.
magnifique lionceau India acts to save Asiatic lion by moving it – but hard work has only just begun | Kavitha Rao | Environment Male and female Asiatic lions drink water in Gir Forest National Park, the threatened species' current habitat. Photograph: Nisarg Lakhmani/Corbis Wildlife is under threat in most of India, but there's one state that's clinging to its fauna, if rather too tightly. The state of Gujarat – whose Gir forest shelters the world's only Asiatic lion population – has lost a bitter battle over an ambitious translocation project. For over 18 years, conservationists have been attempting to move a pride of Gir lions to the Kuno sanctuary in the state of Madhya Pradesh. But the Gujarat government stubbornly refused to let the lions go. Finally, on 15 April, after eight years of litigation, the Supreme Court of India cleared the translocation of the lions, though it said an emphatic no to the cheetahs. The Gujarat government, and Chief Minister Narendra Modi, have been arguing for years that the Gir lions are the "pride of the state".
Vehicles blamed for 17 Florida panther deaths Posted: Monday, December 17, 2012 11:01 am | Updated: 11:30 am, Mon Dec 17, 2012. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - State wildlife officials say vehicle strikes are responsible for most of the 25 Florida panther deaths this year. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials say 17 panthers were killed by vehicles. The Florida panther once roamed across the Southeast. Environmentalists blame the panther deaths on shrinking habitat. The Naples-based Conservancy of Southwest Florida says the death toll is likely to increase unless steps are taken to keep development in check. The Center for Biological Diversity says the federal government has twice rejected its proposals to establish a second panther population in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge on the Georgia-Florida border.
magnifique lion Please help us to save the life of Leopard cats (Joho) in Miaoli, Taiwan Mrs. Alison Waldron, United Kingdom Apr 29, 12:26 They are part of your world as you know it today, when they're gone you will not get them back send a green star Name not displayed, United Kingdom Apr 29, 12:25 Mr. Apr 29, 12:23 Develope on Brown Sites,not Green send a green star Ms. Apr 29, 12:24 I do hate every lovely creature on Earth is in danger. send a green star Mrs. Apr 29, 12:22 This beautifulls animals are our Planet Brothers!! send a green star Mrs. It is time to take action. send a green star Ms. Apr 29, 12:21 Please consider the leopard cats survival before the planned development drives them to extinction. send a green star Name not displayed, Costa Rica Apr 29, 12:19 Ms. We CANNOTcause species to extinct! send a green star Mrs. angela Oye, United Kingdom these animals have a right to live in their own habitat and should be protected. send a green star Name not displayed, Italy Apr 29, 12:18 Ms. Please consider these beautiful creatures. send a green star
Le lynx de retour en Hongrie Après une disparition de plus d'un siècle, les lynx sont de retour en Hongrie dans les parties boisés et montagneuses du parc naturel d'Aggtelek dans le nord du pays, a annoncé jeudi l'ONG World Wildlife Fund WWF à Budapest. Un jeune mâle de 2 ou 3 ans a été photographié par les gardes-forestiers du parc national d'Aggtelek, situé à 250 km au nord-est de Budapest, indique WWF sur son site officiel. Selon l'ONG de protection de l'environnement, la population est encore très restreinte, comportant au maximum une douzaine de carnivores. "L'apparition du lynx dans les parties hongroises du bassin des Carpates est liée au fait que l'interdiction de leur chasse en Slovaquie a rendu les prédateurs plus courageux, et ils ont élargi leur domaine de chasse jusqu'en Hongrie", explique l'ONG qui a régulièrement pris des photos des animaux depuis le mois de septembre, grâce à un système de caméras cachés, fonctionnant de jour comme de nuit. Un cadeau idéal pour Noël, selon WWF.
magnifique lion Pour les lions : Stop à la chasse aux trophées ! Le lion disparait d’Afrique à vitesse grand V avec une chute de 90% de sa population au cours des quatre dernières décennies. Son habitat naturel est toujours plus détruit et fragmenté. Et les chasseurs de trophées continuent de tuer les animaux par milliers. Mobilisons-nous pour une meilleure protection du lion et de son habitat. Lettre Aux présidents de l’Afrique du Sud, de la Tanzanie, du Zimbabwe et de la Zambie L’Afrique a perdu 90% de ses lions en seulement quatre décennies. Afficher la lettre de pétition Les lions étaient 10 fois plus nombreux en Afrique il y a 40 ans : 200.000 lions autrefois contre à peine plus de 20.000 aujourd’hui, soit une chute de 90% de leur population. Le lion est menacé à cause de l’incessante destruction et fragmentation de son habitat naturel. Tuer un mâle dominant est particulièrement dévastateur puisque son successeur tuera ses lionceaux. L’Afrique du Sud, la Tanzanie, le Zimbabwe et la Zambie doivent faire plus pour la conservation des lions. Contexte