Newborn white tiger cubs make public debut
A litter of rare white tiger cubs have been unveiled at a zoo in northern Germany. Fewer than 250 white tigers exist worldwide, most of them in captivity
From:guardian.co.uk
Source: AP
Showing posts with label endangered species. Show all posts
Showing posts with label endangered species. Show all posts
Friday, August 6, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
First Baby Sea Turtles Rescued From Gulf Are Released
After 88 stressful days, the Gulf oil spill seems to be contained and there is good news to report about one group of animals that was threatened. With help from NASA, the first group of baby sea turtles that were part of the massive effort to save endangered wildlife from the dangerous oil-filled water was released into the Atlantic Ocean.
The Associated Press revealed that fifty-six young sea turtles were released on a beach at Canaveral National Seashore in Florida, on July 11. They were part of a group of sixty-seven eggs that were collected June 26 from a nest along the Florida Panhandle and delivered to a temperature-controlled warehouse at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for incubation.
NASA reported that twenty-two of the hatchlings were endangered Kemp’s ridley turtles while the others were loggerheads. The remaining eleven eggs from the group did not hatch.
NASA is currently caring for 1,100 eggs at the space center incubation site. This is part of an overall plan to rescue 70,000 eggs from sea turtle nests buried in the sand on beaches along Alabama and Florida before they can hatch and swim into the hazardous water.
Scientists were torn between the consequences of intervening to save the eggs or to leave them alone. They knew the stress of moving the eggs could kill some of the turtles, but if they didn’t help they realized many of hatchlings would die from the oil.
They chose to remove the eggs or run the risk of - “killing off an entire generation of an already imperiled species.”
A rescue mission of this size has never been done before so NASA scientists and the rescue teams of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Florida Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA were very happy to see the first group of hatchlings doing so well.
David Godfrey, executive director of the Florida-based Sea Turtle Conservancy told the AP, “The first successful release of hatchlings brings hope that more will survive. It definitely shows that we’re on the right track.”
The turtle eggs were originally sent to NASA in their nests and gently placed in Styrofoam boxes. They were then transported in specially equipped trucks. Once at NASA the eggs were monitored around the clock until their incubation was complete. They were transferred back to the beach in the Styrofoam boxes for an evening release.
I hope you will watch this interesting video filmed by NASAtelevision about the incubation process and historic release.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Gruesome Facial Tumor Disease Threatens Taz with Extinction
The disease referred to as “a contagious cancer”, Devil Facial Tumor Disease, is decimating the population of Tasmanian Devils, leading experts to predict the extinction of the species in as little as 20 years.
Tasmanian devils have now been put on the Tasmanian endangered species list due to the decimation of the population by up to 70% in recent years.
“The numbers have declined by at least 60 per cent statewide in the past 10 years and there’s a projected further decrease as significant, if not worse. The announcement doesn’t materially change what the program has been doing, but it emphasizes the importance of continuing the program and continuing to provide resources to the program. The endangered listing also increases awareness in the general public of how serious the problem is and the real threat of extinction.” Professor McCallum, Devil Facial Tumour Disease program senior scientist
The cause of the die-off is Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD), a disease detected 13 years ago, which is a fatal condition in Tasmanian devils, characterized by cancers around the mouth and head. The animals generally only live for about three months after contracting the disease.
The tumors are first seen in and around the mouth as small lesions, which develop into large tumors around the face and neck. The disease is extremely unusual, as it is only one of three recorded cancers which spreads like a contagious disease. The disease is passed between the animals through biting. It affects mainly adults, usually the males first, and infected devils may become emaciated if the tumors interfere with teeth and feeding.
Professor McCallum said that predicting the extinction of a species is difficult, but “if things go the way they are, we may see extinction in the next 20-40 years in the wild”.
A new test to identify animals with the disease before they display symptoms is hoped to be used in the next six months. Scientists could use the test to help quarantine ‘insurance’ populations and to remove infected devils before they spread the disease.
Last month, a devil being held in captivity at Trowunna Wildlife Park in northern Tasmania was found to be infected, leading to fears of the loss of captive ‘insurance’ populations. It was the second outbreak of DFTD in the park.
The Australian Government has committed $10 million over five years to the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program.
[Via The Mercury]Image: Menna Jones, published in PLoS under CC License
Monday, April 6, 2009
10 Species on the Brink of Extinction [Pics]
Many of the planet's most endangered animals are also the most remarkable. Here are a few of nature's superstars from Asia, the Americas, the Pacific and elsewhere that may soon be no more
read more | digg story
Friday, April 3, 2009
11 Extinct Animals That Have Been Photographed Alive
The current rate of extinction is 100 to 1000 times higher than the average, or background rate, making our current period the 6th major mass extinction in the planet’s history.Thus, what follows is a list of 11 extinct animals that were photographed while still alive.
read more | digg story
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Extremely Rare Bird Photographed for First Time - Then Eaten
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 of a documentary on the traditional methods of bird-trapping in northern Luzon. But neither the local crew nor the bird-trappers at the time of the filming understood how rare the bird was, so it was sold at a poultry market, then cooked and eaten.
The bird had already been consumed by the time its image was noticed in a viewing of the bird-trapping documentary by a member of the World Bird Club of the Phillipines. The WBCP reported the posthumous discovery of the extremely scarce bird. Mike Lu, the club’s president said: “We are ecstatic that this rarely seen species was photographed by accident. It may be the only photo of this poorly known bird. But I also feel sad that the locals do not value the biodiversity around them and that this bird was sold for only P10 and headed for the cooking pot”. P10 is about twenty American cents.
Desmond Allen was the WBCP member who was watching the appropriately named documentary “Bye-Bye Birdie” when he spotted the buttonquail in a still image among the credits. Mr. Allen is a life-long birder, with 50 years of experience. He maintains an extensive collection of bird calls on his ipod. The trapping documentary is viewable on YouTube via the producer’s blog.
The extremely rare quail is listed on the IUCN Red List of threatened species as ‘data deficient’, which means there is not enough data available to determine an animal’s conservation status.
Image Credit: Arnel Telesforo
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