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. For the past half hour a mother cheetah named Etta has been sitting in the shade with her four young cubs, eyeing a herd of Thomson’s gazelles that drifted into view on a nearby rise.
Big Cats Facts. Lion Decline Map - Big Cats Initiative - 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: Le léopard des neiges sous la menace du changement climatique. Une étude du WWF montre que le changement climatique menace directement le léopard des neiges au Népal. Si la croissance des émissions de gaz à effet de serre se maintient, 30% de son habitat naturel dans l'Himalaya pourraient être affectés par la remontée de la limite des arbres. Avez-vous déjà partagé cet article?
Partager sur Facebook Partager sur Twitter Le léopard ou panthère des neiges est un symbole. Au Népal, la population atteindrait seulement 500 félins. "Nous savons que les léopards des neiges s'aventurent rarement dans les aires boisées, et qu'il y a une limite d'altitude qu'ils ne franchissent pas. Une coopération transfrontalière indispensable. BBC Nature - Rare cat filmed up close in Borneo. 10 December 2012Last updated at 07:44 By Matt Walker Editor, BBC Nature A Sunda clouded leopard is filmed up close (copyright Jyrki Hokkanen) One of the world's most rare and elusive cats, the Sunda clouded leopard of Malaysia, has been filmed up close.
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. Le lynx perdu de vue dans le massif des Vosges.
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. In 2011, nine of 24 panther deaths were attributed to vehicle strikes. 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.