Animals

Baby Tiger Carcass Discovered in Taxi Headed for Hanoi

July 20, 2009

In yet another shocking example of the large-scale illegal wildlife trade throughout Asia, the frozen carcass of a baby tiger was found in the trunk of a taxi cab on its way to a buyer in Hanoi. It was reported that two men were arrested for attempting to transport the baby tiger carcass – along with the bones of at least two tigers – and that the “case showed the possibility of larger-scale tiger trafficking in the country.” The baby…

Performance-Based Conservation Program Helping Hawksbill Turtles in Nicaragua

July 20, 2009

Paso Pacífico, a non-profit organization focusing on the Pacific slope of Central America, is helping endangered Hawksbill Turtles in Nicaragua with a compensation-based conservation program based on incentive payments for local people. The financial rewards to locals in exchange for protecting endangered sea turtle nests are making a difference: Rangers have reported that egg poaching is on the decline. And Paso Pacífico plans are to make this program sustainable. As one of the most critically endangered marine sea turtles, little…

24 Tigers Killed in Panna Tiger Reserve – None Left

July 17, 2009

One of India’s main tiger parks, Panna Tiger Reserve, has admitted that it has no tigers left. Just three years ago the park had at least 24 tigers, but park officials have been either unable or unwilling to protect the animals from poaching. Even more discouraging, Panna is now the second tiger reserve in India where numbers have dwindled to zero.

Fish Species Rebounds After Years of Decline – Scientists Puzzled

July 13, 2009

In these days of ever-diminishing fish stocks and major threats to marine ecosystems, good news is hard to come by. But over the past few years, one fish species in particular–the Atlantic Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus)–has made a dramatic comeback, surpassing even peak levels from pre-decline years. A July 1, 2009 feature article in The Scientist–‘The Great Haddock Revival’ (by Kirsten Weir)–details the remarkable rebound of this once decimated, commercial fish stock. While scientists are still debating the cause(s) of this,…

Jaguar Swims Panama Canal, Then Takes Own Picture

May 11, 2009

A jaguar recently swam onto an island located in the Panama Canal. It then triggered a hidden camera that took its picture. This is the first time a jaguar has been photographed in the 86 year history of 3,707 acre Barro Colorado Island– one of the most well-researched tropical ecosystems in the world. The hidden camera had been set up as part of an annual effort to inventory mammals that live on Barro Colorado Island. According to the researchers who…

Giant Spiders Could Be a Result of Global Warming

May 7, 2009

Scientists studying northeastern Greenland’s hairy, meat-eating wolf spiders have discovered every arachnophobe’s worst nightmare. It appears that as the Earth has been warming and summers have been getting longer, the 8-legged hunters have been steadily growing larger and more numerous. And it’s likely that other creepy-crawly species around the world could be growing larger too.

Giant Sea Turtle Gives World 1st Complete Set of Migration Data

May 1, 2009

Over the past 2 weeks a number of organizations including National Geographic, Conservation International, and several famous rock bands helped facilitate the “Great Turtle Race”: a fun effort to scientifically track the migration of 11 endangered leatherback sea turtles on their journey from Canada to the Caribbean. In addition to building awareness of the need for turtle conservation, one of the turtles provided the world with the 1st complete set of migration data ever recorded for a sea turtle. Seen…

Last Known Female Yangtze Soft-Shell Turtle Set to Mate

April 22, 2009

The Yangtze Soft-Shell Turtle, or Swinhoe’s Turtle, is the rarest animal in the world. The survival of the species hangs entirely on the tender shell of its only known living female, which is set to mate this May. Scientists are hoping that Spring fever is still in the air for the 80-year-old turtle and her 100-year-old male companion, who together make up the last two captive specimens on the planet. The geriatric couple was united last year in an attempt…

70 Bears to Be Killed in Slovenia

April 12, 2009

The Slovenian Environment Ministry has approved a wild bear kill of 70 animals. The country has between 430 and 480 bears according to one estimate. Some environmentalists put the number slightly lower. In 2008 the Environment Ministry approved a kill of 75, and in 2007 it was 100. In 2006 it was also 100. That will make 345 wild bears killed in the last four years. The number of cubs born each year is estimated at 60-90. (Brown bears in Slovenia are…

10 Animals on the Brink of Extinction

April 7, 2009

1. Iberian Lynx The Iberian (Spanish), Lynx lives in very small areas of central and southern Spain (Andalucia). It used to live throughout Spain and Portugal but its numbers have been drastically reduced to the point where it is now one of the most endangered wild cats in the world. In the early 1950s a virus named Myxomatosis was illegally introduced by a French scientist to wild rabbits on his estate to protect his vegetable patch. Tragically the virus spread rapidly, and killed about…

11 Extinct Animals Have Been Photographed Alive

April 2, 2009

Here are rare images of 11 different extinct animals that have been photographed alive.

New Bird Evolves Faster than Any Other

March 21, 2009

A bird recently discovered in the Solomon Islands is a member of the White Eyes (Zosteropidae) family that evolves more rapidly than any other bird. The newly discovered species has been named Vanikoro White Eye. It was found on the tiny island of Ranongga, and is thought to only live there.

Extremely Rare Bird Photographed for First Time – Then Eaten

February 26, 2009

A species of bird so rare it was thought perhaps to be extinct was captured on video and still images in the Phillipines province of Nueva Vizcaya… right before it was cooked and eaten. The Worcester’s buttonquail (Turnix worcesteri) lives only in the Phillipines, but had not been seen in many years, and was previously only known through illustration based on dead specimens collected centuries ago. One wild live buttonquail was inadvertently filmed in a mountainous area during the making…

New Deng Deng National Park Created in Cameroon, Hundreds of Gorillas Saved

February 23, 2009

With help from the Wildlife Conservation Society, a population of 600 lowland gorillas will find protection within the borders of a new National Park in Cameroon. The designated area, to be called Deng Deng National Park, is approximately 224 square miles in size, which is roughly the size of Chicago’s city limits. Deng Deng is the second National Park created by the Cameroonian government in the last three months, and is the latest in swift actions taken to help protect…