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Animal News (Except Bigcats)
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Eye-Opening Animation Of Animals Singing “I Dreamed A Dream” That Shows How Humans Are Destroying Wildlife
https://www.demilked.com/dream-short-fil...ie-studio/
GPS-based tracking for GIBs soon
The state (Rajasthan) government has approved the decision to put radio satellite tags on Great Indian Bustards (GIB) (Critically Endangered), which fall under schedule-I of the Wildlife Act and are on the verge of extinction. The Wildlife Institute of India’s (WII) project aims to keep an eye on the GIB routes and flying areas, and watch over the possibility of these birds flying to Pakistan from Raj. On Saturday, the work of satellite tagging will begin at the Desert National Park on four godawans. Help of foreign experts is being sought. WII team led by WII Great Indian Bustard Conservation Project scientist Sudirtho Dutta will be reaching Jaisalmer on Friday. Along with this, the work of the egg hatchery centre has been started at Ramdeora in Jaisalmer district.
First mammal species recognized as extinct due to climate change
The humble Bramble Cay melomys has disappeared from its island in the Great Barrier Reef. Quote:Editor's note: This story was originally published June 14, 2016. It was updated February, 20, 2019, when the Australian government officially recognized the species as extinct. A small rodent that lived only on a single island off Australia is likely the world's first mammal to become a casualty of climate change, scientists reported in June 2016. The government of Australia has now officially recognized the Bramble Cay melomys (Melomys rubicola) as extinct. The animal seems to have disappeared from its home in the eastern Torres Strait of the Great Barrier Reef, scientists say. The animal was last seen by a fisherman in 2009, but failed attempts to trap any in late 2014 prompted scientists to say it is likely extinct. Also called the mosaic-tailed rat, the rodent is named after its home on Bramble Cay, a small island that is at most 10 feet above sea level. The rats were first seen by Europeans on the island in 1845, and there were several hundred there as of 1978. But since 1998, the part of the island that sits above high tide has shrunk from 9.8 acres to 6.2 acres. That means the island's vegetation has been shrinking, and the rodents have lost about 97 percent of their habitat. "The key factor responsible for the extirpation of this population was almost certainly ocean inundation of the low-lying cay, very likely on multiple occasions, during the last decade, causing dramatic habitat loss and perhaps also direct mortality of individuals," writes the team, led by Ian Gynther from Queensland’s Department of Environment and Heritage Protection. “For low-lying islands like Bramble Cay, the destructive effects of extreme water levels resulting from severe meteorological events are compounded by the impacts from anthropogenic climate change-driven sea-level rise,” the authors add. Around the world, sea level has risen by almost eight inches between 1901 and 2010, a rate unparalleled in the last 6,000 years. And around the Torres Strait, sea level has risen at almost twice the global average rate between 1993 and 2014. (Learn more about rising seas.) This small mammal is therefore only the first of many species that face significant risk due to a warming climate, the authors warn.  *This image is copyright of its original author India orders wind industry action over rare bird deaths Ministry tells power industry to help stop endangered bustards hitting turbines and frying on power lines Quote:India’s government has told the wind industry to act to help save the great Indian bustard (GIB- nominate species for National Bird of India after Blue Peafowl, alarmed by the number of the endangered birds that are colliding with turbines or frying on power lines. The country’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) said turbine collisions and electrocution on transmission lines are now “major causes of death” of great bustards in the key Indian wind power states of Rajasthan and Gujarat. The states are also the main homes for the remaining great Indian bustards, which number only about 200  worldwide according to conservation charity WWF India, which lists electrical infrastructure as among the key threats to the one-metre-tall, ostrich-like birds.MNRE said it will contact wind turbine and transmission operators in Rajasthan and Gujarat over mitigation measures such as retrofitting power lines with bird diverters and painting the tips of turbine blades orange. It named Suzlon, Greenko and Mytrah among the companies needing to take note of the bird-protection measures. Future developments will have to comply with measures set out under an “ambitious great Indian bustard species recovery programme launched in collaboration with the Wild Life Institute of India”. India is due for a wind power boom over the next four years as the government embarks on a massive tendering programme to meet a 60GW installed capacity target for 2022, roughly double what’s in place now.
Gujarat: Lone male great Indian bustard goes missing!
 *This image is copyright of its original author Great Indian Bustard At a time when the population of the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) had gone drastically down from 20 in 2017 to 15 in 2018, Gujarat forest officials are battling another emergency --the solitary male GIB in the state has gone missing. The absence of the male species could affect any effort at natural reproduction and conservation of the bird. Deputy conservator of forest of Kutch (West) BJ Asari admitted that the only male GIB has been missing from the GIB National Park at Naliya in Kutch. “Teams of the forest department have been rummaging through the national park spread over 258 sq km daily in search of the male GIB for the past four months now. We fear it may have migrated to some other place due to drought in the area,” said Asari. Asari admitted that the missing bird could affect GIB conservation efforts. He hoped that the bird may return during monsoon. GIB population decreases from 20 to 15 A recent International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List on Great Indian Bustard report had said that the population of the large bird had decreased from 20 to15. Member of the IUCN, India chapter, and GIB conservationist Devesh Gadhvi said, “If there is no male GIB in Gujarat, the possibility of long-term conservation becomes bleak.” The Redlist of IUCN 2018 continues to list the GIB as critically endangered. The report states that smaller populations, fewer than 15-20 birds, are present in Gujarat. The species’ total population was estimated at 300 in 2008 which has now dwindled to 50-249 mature individuals, stated the 2018 report. The IUCN report said the current levels of hunting may result in the extinction of even the largest western Indian population in Gujarat and Rajasthan in the next 15-20 years. “Due to ill-defined land distribution policies, encroachment is a major problem in many bustard areas, especially in and around the bustard sanctuaries of Kutch, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan,” the report stated.
Badgers, stoats and otters stage ‘incredible’ revival
Britain’s carnivore numbers are booming after clampdown on hunting and pollution  *This image is copyright of its original author Badger populations are estimated to have doubled since the 1980s. Photograph: Tim Hunt/Alamy They must survive government culls, gamekeepers, poisoning, persecution and increasingly busy roads but, in modern times at least, Britain’s carnivores have never had it so good: badger, otter, pine marten, polecat, stoat and weasel populations have “markedly improved” since the 1960s, according to a new study. The otter, polecat and pine marten have bounced back from the brink of extinction, and the country’s only carnivorous mammal now in danger of being wiped out is the wildcat, with the dwindling Scottish populations hit by hybridisation with domestic and feral cats. Britain’s carnivores have largely “done it for themselves” and recovered often unexpectedly quickly after a reduction in harmful human activities – hunting, trapping and the use of toxic chemicals – according to scientists from Exeter University, Vincent Wildlife Trust and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. But the scientists warn that, while carnivore populations have recovered over the course of a human lifetime, most are still at long-term historical lows, with much more scope for recovery in distribution and density. “Carnivores have recovered in a way that would have seemed incredibly unlikely in the 1970s, when extinction of some species looked like a real possibility,” said lead author Katie Sainsbury from the Environment and Sustainability Institute at Exeter University.  *This image is copyright of its original author Pine marten. Photograph: Nature Picture Library/Alamy “Most of these species have essentially recovered by themselves, once pressures from predator controls and pollutants were reduced, and it’s taken them a while. Yes, there are more of them now than in most people’s lifetimes, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t potential for populations to grow and spread further.” The reasons for each carnivore’s recovery are different. Otters were harmed by organochlorine pesticides washed into rivers but have returned to every English county since the pesticides were banned and hunting was outlawed in 1978. There are now an estimated 11,000. Polecat numbers have risen to 83,000 in the decades since a 1958 ban on gin traps, which were once used to control rabbits and also widely caught polecats. Polecat populations moved eastwards at about three miles a year between 1975 and 2015, finally returning to the south-east, Midlands and East Anglia. Badger populations are estimated to have doubled since the 1980s, assisted by a decline in persecution since their legal protection in 1973 and protection of setts in 1992. Researchers also believe that milder winters caused by climate change are helping badgers survive the season in better shape and raise more cubs. Quote:Carnivore recovery would have seemed incredibly unlikely in the 1970s when extinction looked a real possibility The population trend for stoats and weasels is also believed to be rising but is less clear: ironically, the best data comes from gamekeepers who record numbers killed each year. “Most of these animals declined in the 19th century but they are coming back as a result of legal protection, conservation, removal of pollutants and restoration of habitats,” said Professor Robbie McDonald, head of Exeter’s Wildlife Science group. According to McDonald, reintroductions have also played a part. The Vincent Wildlife Trust has led a successful translocation of pine martens from Scotland to Wales, with 51 Scottish pine martens reinforcing Welsh populations between 2015 and 2017. Another reintroduction project is set to help this slow-breeding mustelid return to the Forest of Dean. There are estimated to be just 3,700 pine martens in Britain. Dr Jenny Macpherson of Vincent Wildlife Trust said: “People are key to carnivore recovery. By involving local communities from the outset, we have been able to secure the return of healthy numbers of pine martens to Wales. Translocations were needed because natural spread, something the trust has been monitoring in polecats over the past 25 years, will take much longer for the slower-breeding pine marten.” Future threats to continuing recoveries in carnivore populations include the over-use of rodenticide poisons and new diseases which hit prey. Stoats are very dependent on rabbits, which are declining because of a deadly new rabbit virus, rabbit haemorrhagic disease type 2. Recent data suggests shows a decline of 45% in the number of foxes seen in England from 1996 to 2016, which coincides with the falling rabbit population. With anglers increasingly vocal about rising otter populations and the potential for small carnivores to trouble gamekeepers, the researchers warn that much will depend on how people devise ways to prevent conflict and allow long-term co-existence as Britain’s carnivores expand their ranges and numbers.
Russia will free nearly 100 captive whales from "prison" after public outrage
After months of public outrage, Russian authorities ordered the release of nearly 100 beluga and orca whales held captive in Russia Thursday, The Associated Press reports. Environmental activists have been trying to get the whales released for months, garnering the attention of the public, celebrities and President Vladimir Putin. Last week, Putin ordered authorities to investigate the case and release the whales. The whales are being held in cages in the southeast part of Russia in Srednyaya Bay near the Sea of Japan port town of Nakhodka. Images of the "whale jail" first appeared last year, shocking the public. Originally, 90 beluga whales and 12 orca whales were believed to be held at the facility, but local prosecutors said that three belugas appear to have escaped. Additionally, environmentalists reported the disappearance of one orca early last month. The whales were discovered living in cruel conditions in anticipation of being sold to Chinese aquariums. Most of them have been held in captivity since summer 2018. "There are very small chain-link pens, 12 to 15 baby whales are put there and have to be on top of each other," activist Nina Zyryanova told the AP. "Although these animals are native to the Arctic, they must move, hundred kilometers a day, to stay warm."  *This image is copyright of its original author Captive orcas and belugas in Srednyaya Bay Yuri Smityuk According to a change.org petition to release the whales, this is the "largest number of sea creatures to ever be held in small temprary enclosures." The petition — which has received close to one million signatures — calls on the Russian government to release the whales into their natural habitat as soon as possible. "The belugas need to be transferred to responsible people that will feed them, rehabilitate them and release them into their natural habitat when they are ready," the petition states. The whales have also attracted celebrity attention. "Join me in speaking out against the inhumane capture of orcas and belugas in Russia," actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio tweeted Tuesday, along with a link to the petition. Pamela Anderson also spoke publicly about the situation, writing an open letter to Putin on the Pamela Anderson Foundation website Sunday. "As you know, people around the world have become increasingly concerned about marine biodiversity, and about the health and vitality of whales in particular," Anderson wrote. "News about the 'whale jail' near Nakhodka, the icy conditions, and the suffering of the orca and beluga whales is causing international concern." Anderson asked that Putin personally order the release of the whales back into the wild. The whales made headlines in November 2018 after drone footage of the facility went viral. Shortly after, regional authorities opened an investigation into the illegal capture of the animals. The animals are still being held in the small, crowded "whale jail" enclosures while authorities figure out how to safely release them. Russian officials have charged four companies, which appear to be affiliated, for violating fishing laws. The companies have previously faced fines for illegal capture and have a history of selling animals to amusement parks abroad.  *This image is copyright of its original author Captive beluga whales in Srednyaya Bay Yuri Smityuk The Border Guards Department suspects that the four companies captured the whales illegally, according to the AP. Border guards also confirmed activists' suspicions that the whales are being kept in inhumane conditions in a marine containment facility. While the whales are owned by four separate companies, company records and court filings indicate that they are affiliated. In an interview with Russian state TV in late 2018, a spokesperson for the facility denied allegations of poor treatment of the whales. The guards did not specify when the whales will be released from captivity. "We are doing everything we can," Ecology Minister Dmitry Kobylkin told Russian state news agency TASS, according to Reuters. "No one objects to releasing the orcas, but the most important thing is to release them properly." During a meeting held by the Ministry of Natural Resources Monday, representatives unanimously concluded the importance of minimizing further harm to animals during efforts to return them to their natural environment. It is illegal to capture whales except for "scientific" and educational purposes, following a worldwide ban on commercial whale hunting in 1982. However, these whales were believed to be captured for sale to Chinese amusement parks, where they can sell for as much as $6 million. The United States stopped catching wild orcas in the 1970s following negative publicity, so China heavily relies on Russian exports to support its popular aquariums.
Opium-Addicted Parrots Are Terrorizing Poppy Farms in India
 *This image is copyright of its original author Credit: Shutterstock Poppy farmers in the state of Madhya Pradesh in India have reportedly run into some trouble while cultivating this season's crops. In addition to inconsistent rainfall putting a damper on things, flocks of persistent parrots (Rose-ringed parakeet or Psittacula krameri) — presumed to be addicted to opium  — are rampaging through the poppy farms, sometimes making 40 visits a day to get their fix."One poppy flower gives around 20 to 25 grams of opium. But a large group of parrots feed on these plants around 30 to 40 times a day," one poppy cultivator in the Neemuch district of central India told Indian news site NDTV.com. "This affects the produce. These opium-addicted parrots are wreaking havoc." According to NDTV, bird raids have become a daily menace in the poppy fields, and farmers claim to be sustaining significant crop losses thanks to these poppy-seeking parrots. Some birds have been filmed tearing into unripe poppy pods (where opium-rich milk resides), while others use their beaks and claws to snip off the plants at their stalks and fly away with entire intact pods. The Daily Mail reported that some birds have even trained themselves not to squawk when descending on the fields, swooping in and out like silent ninjas. [9 Weird Ways You Can Test Positive for Drugs] District officials have ignored requests to help keep the feathered menace in check, the farmer told NDTV, leaving poppy purveyors to fend for themselves. Some cultivators have been forced to guard their fields day and night. Others have reportedly turned to sonic warfare, shouting at the birds through loudspeakers or detonating firecrackers in their vicinity. Unfortunately, the farmer said, these attempts have failed to mitigate crop losses. Poppy-thieving birds are not a new occurrence in India, which is one of the few places in the world where licensed opium cultivation is allowed, according to India Today magazine. Bird raids have been reported several years in a row in multiple poppy-cultivating districts, sometimes leaving the pilfering parrots visibly intoxicated. According to a 2018 article in DNA India, the opium-munching birds were observed crashing into tree branches and "lying in the fields in a daze," only to fly off again when the narcotic effects wore off. Originally published on Live Science. This is Crazy @Spalea  We humans not only contaminate minds of other humans in making them addict to drugs but also don't even leave these animals. Poor parrots, they are very sacred in our Hindu religion. 
Not everything from iran is doom and gloom
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/03/wildlife-rangers-masjed-mountains-iran/
Even the bustard bird is killed across Pakistan border, simply for being 'Indian'
The Great Indian Bustard bird, critically endangered, is also murdered by Pakistanis, simply for being 'Indian'. Now, what is in a name, you may ask. Well, the Great Indian Bustard could do with an advertisement in the Gazette to change its name to Godawan Bustard — as it is known locally. The Great Indian Bustard is a charismatic species — it is endemic to the Indian subcontinent. To be more precise, it is found only in the Thar Desert in India, besides a very small population (of around a dozen birds — and not one breeding male amongst them) in Kutch, Gujarat. The numbers are virtually extinct in the Deccan plateau where they once roamed in large numbers in a happier time. According to the IUCN Red List (the world's most comprehensive inventory of the conservation status of species), the Great Indian Bustard is Critically Endangered. We are not surprised, considering the population (a total of about 100 birds — give or take a few) is on the verge of extinction.  *This image is copyright of its original author Great Indian Bustard: Hunted by Pakistanis for being "Indian". (Photo: Reuters) Besides the obvious factors of habitat degradation, high-tension power lines and threats from predators, poaching is a huge reason for the abysmal numbers. In India, this state bird of Rajasthan is listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act — it is accorded the same level of protection against poaching as the Royal Bengal Tiger or the Gir Lion. Therefore, poaching is out of the question. However, the bird flies across the border to Pakistan — considering it falls as a part of its habitat, and its intellect not being sharp enough to perceive the human-made borders. Once across the border, it is punished for this folly — and for its name. The IUCN Red List’s report for 2017 raised the alarm over the about rampant poaching of the bustards in Pakistan, stating that, “Current levels of hunting may result in the extinction of even the largest western Indian population in the next 15-20 years.” Their analysis revealed that the GIB individuals from Naliya in Kutch cross over into Pakistan. The IUCN Red List noted that “high-intensity poaching still continues in Pakistan (which is probably shared with western Rajasthan and Kachchh populations), where 49 birds were hunted of 63 that were sighted over a period of four years.” Neighbours across the borders kill the poor bustard — not so much for its meat and for sport, but for bearing “Indian” as a part of its name. This human pettiness is perhaps a bottomless pit. The Great Indian Bustard is paying the price. Also read: Why India needs to adopt ecological patriotism But, fellow people from Pakistan simply don’t care, they have poached and hunted almost 49 out of 63 birds that were in Pakistan over a period of 4 years. And, As an Indian, the reason that I will list below will enrage you more. The reason they killed so many of these innocent birds: Quote:They have ‘INDIAN’ in their name. Yes! That’s the illogical reason behind it. Ain’t that sad, they are just getting killed for the reason they don’t even know. But again, what can you expect. Now, Just look at this beautiful animal: *This image is copyright of its original author Markhor. A species of wild goat that is found in parts Jammu and Kashmir. A majestic animal. It’s the ‘National Animal of Pakistan’. Their habitat is near LOC, thus they are also seen in parts of India. But that doesn’t mean people from India kill it at sight because it is the national animal of the neighbouring country. In fact, In India, Markhor is conserved and protected as per ‘Wildlife Protection Act’. On top of that, it is listed in ‘Schedule I’ of the protection act. That means India has given it the same level of importance as that of a Tiger ‘The National Animal of India’. *This image is copyright of its original author This is the difference between the two countries… India works with ethics and integrity, while Pakistan works out of hate. And that’s what makes India a better country. Don't subject the Great Indian Bustard to politics of hate Before pointing fingers at Pakistan, we need to reflect upon our own lack of political will to save the Great Indian Bustard from extinction. Once widespread across India’s grasslands and dry rural landscapes, the ostrich-like Great Indian Bustard (GIB) has disappeared from across 95% of its former range. The Thar Desert is the last — even if precarious — stronghold of this species. About 70 birds are to be found here. The bustard has been battered by habitat loss due to roads, highways, mining, canals, agriculture, mismanagement of its habitat and ‘greening’ projects that transform its arid grassland habitat to wooded areas, rendering it hostile for the GIB. An increasing and fatal threat is the dense network of overhead power lines from renewable and conventional energy power projects. These criss-crossing high-tension power lines have become a death trap for the birds that fly low to the ground and have a limited field of vision. The GIB is endemic to the Indian sub-continent, and the birds, like all wild creatures fly free over international borders, in this case into Pakistan’s Cholistan desert. The birds are hunted in Pakistan — in fact, a conservationist in Pakistan writes that of the 63 birds sighted in four years (2001–4), 49 were poached, though there are no reliable records to authenticate this information. What may have also been killed is the Houbara Bustard, a tad smaller in size, and with a slightly higher population. It’s still terrible and must be condemned, but it may be worth noting that there is no ‘Indian’ in its name. And despite the headline, there is nothing, no data, no quotes, no information in the article to indicate that the bird is being killed because it has ‘Indian’ in its name. This assumption is not substantiated, and all it seems to be doing, as I see it, is hate mongering and fanning outrage, encashing on the tensions, currently at a high, between two countries. But why target a bird, which has no nationality? Birds are symbols of peace, not hate. The country must be taken to task for this at appropriate forums, nothing justifies the killing of an endangered wild creature. And hunting is an issue in India as well — though at a much lesser scale. In December 2012, a GIB was gunned down by hunters in broad daylight, just a few yards from the Sudasari enclosure, within the Desert National Park in Rajasthan. The fact is that we have failed to keep the Great Indian Bustard safe in India. It is not just the gun that kills, there are a million ways to down a bird. Transmission wires are fatal to the bird. Between 2007-2017, at least 10 GIBs were killed by collision with the transmission line. This is where the bodies were recovered, other deaths go unreported. The only male of the doomed GIB population in Kutch, Gujarat has been missing for the past four months. Lost, presumed dead. With just about 150 birds remaining in the wild, each death inches the bird closer to extinction. In such low populations, even one unnatural death can cause extinction in three generations. Despite knowing the bird was slipping into extinction, and knowing solutions that need to be implemented to save the species, India has failed to protect the GIB and secure its last remaining habitats. It rendered its grassland habitat, crucial to the survival of the GIB, as ‘wastelands’, and these are being destroyed relentlessly. The last fragmented patches that remain are criss-crossed by transmission lines. The Wildlife Institute of India estimates that 18 GIBs are likely killed by collision with these every year in the Thar Desert. We have known of the GIB's plight for the past 60 years, if not longer. The first meeting of the Indian Board of Wildlife in 1952 records grave concern over the rapidly dwindling numbers of the GIB and asked for urgent intervention to save the species. The international community has been urging the Indian government to respond to the GIB’s alarming situation. But, except for a surge of activity in the 1970s, we have stood by and watched this bird slip further into the precipice. Recently, a collaborative public awareness campaign launched in December 2018 by Sanctuary Nature Foundation, The Corbett Foundation and Conservation India has brought together over 10,000 Indian citizens concerned for the bustard. They are demanding that the Ministry of Power place the most threatening sections of powerlines in the GIB habitat safely underground, but their call has gone unacknowledged by the Ministry. It will be a shame if, or more likely when, the Great Indian Bustard becomes extinct under our watch. Before we point fingers at Pakistan, we need to reflect upon our own lack of political will to save the species from extinction. I say this as a citizen of India, one whose loyalties lie not only to the country, but to Nature, which knows no boundaries, and which is our collective heritage. No country owns wildlife, yet it ‘belongs’ to all of us, it is our collective responsibility and the natural heritage of all citizens of planet earth. The need of the hour is better coordination between both countries, and forests officials and conservationists on both sides of the border have suggested this.
Report: Only Ten Vaquita Left
 *This image is copyright of its original author Images courtesy of Sea Shepherd Scientists announced last week that only 10 vaquita porpoises likely remain in the world and that the animal’s extinction is virtually assured without bold and immediate action. The vaquita, the world’s smallest and most endangered cetacean, is found only in Mexico’s northern Gulf of California. The release of the new vaquita estimate came two days after reports of the first possible vaquita mortality of 2019 by Sea Shepherd. Sea Shepherd has been present in the Upper Gulf of California since 2015. In that time, the organization's crews have documented the entanglement of 36 marine mammals trapped in illegal gillnets. Nine were cetaceans, and only one was able to be saved – a juvenile humpback whale in early 2016. Although Sea Shepherd has found several dead vaquitas, confirmed by scientists to have been killed from entanglement, this is the first time one has potentially been discovered still trapped in a gillnet. “One of Earth’s most incredible creatures is about to be wiped off the planet forever,” said Sarah Uhlemann, international program director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Yet Mexico has only made paper promises to protect these porpoises from deadly nets, without enforcement on the water. Time is running out for President Lopez Obrador to stop all gillnet fishing and save the vaquita.” The vaquita faces a single threat: entanglement in illegal gillnets set for shrimp and various fish species, including endangered totoaba. Totoaba swim bladders are illegally exported by organized criminal syndicates from Mexico to China, where they are highly valued for their perceived medicinal properties. Despite efforts in Mexico to curb gillnet fishing of shrimp and other fish and efforts in China to reduce demand for totoaba, the vaquita’s population dropped 50 percent in 2018, leaving an estimate of around 10 remaining vaquita, with no more than 22 and perhaps as few as six. “There is only the tiniest sliver of hope remaining for the vaquita,” said Kate O’Connell, marine wildlife consultant with the Animal Welfare Institute. “Mexico must act decisively to ensure that all gillnet fishing is brought to an end throughout the Upper Gulf. If the vaquita is not immediately protected from this deadly fishing gear, it will go extinct on President Lopez Obrador’s watch.” In 2017, in the face of international pressure, Mexico banned the use of most gillnets within the vaquita’s range, but enforcement has been lacking. For example, during the 2018 illegal totoaba fishing season, nearly 400 active totoaba gillnets were documented in a small portion of the vaquita’s range, and gillnets continue to be found within the vaquita refuge. Recent violence against conservationists in the region has limited critically important net removal efforts, says the Animal Welfare Institute. Despite the marine mammal’s alarming decline, CIRVA emphasized that the vaquita is not extinct and that recovery remains possible. They are still producing offspring, and the remaining animals are healthy, showing no signs of disease or malnutrition. In 2018, a U.S. court temporarily banned the import of seafood caught with gillnets in vaquita habitat. This year, parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the World Heritage Convention are considering additional conservation measures for the vaquita and totoaba.  *This image is copyright of its original author
After antelopes, the Great Indian Bustard's survival is threatened by dogs
ALSO READ Centre announces mascot for COP-13 on conservation of migratory species Centre launches logo, mascot for COP-13 on migratory species to be held in 2020 'Rajasthan to set up two captive breeding centres for Great Indian Bustards' Four rhinos die after Chad conservation effort Cheetahs from Namibia to be kept at Nauradehi sanctuary, NTCA tells SC After antelopes, dogs have emerged as a major threat to the endangered Great Indian Bustard, inspite of conservation and breeding projects underway in the state to stop the bird, one of the heaviest flying birds, from being extinct. According to wildlife enthusiasts, the bird is falling prey to stray dogs in desert areas of Jaisalmer, where the number of the canines has seen a spurt. "These dogs have emerged as a major threat to conservation efforts. They kill the birds and even destroy their eggs," said Radheshyam Pemani, a wildlife enthusiast from Pokhran. He said dogs routinely attack the birds in evening, when they come out to feed. The weight of the bird which can be up to 15kg proves fatal for it when dogs attack. If the bird is alert, it takes a flight away from dogs but a delay weakens its chances of survival. Until 1980s, up to 2000 Great Indian Bustards could be found in western India, reports say. But due to rampant poaching and dwindling grasslands, their population declined rapidly. In 2011, the International Union for Conservation of Nature categorised the bird as "critically endangered". A petition is being heard in the Rajasthan High Court for the safety and conservation of the endangered bustard, with a focus on identification and elimination of the threats to its life. High-tension wires in the desert region have also been cited as another threat to the GIB. Two days ago during the hearing of a case on the matter, the counsel representing the Wildlife Institute of India, Sanjeet Purohit, said that out of the total fatalities, 15 per cent are caused by high-tension lines, while about 8 per cent fatalities are caused by "other reasons". "Though, efforts have been initiated in the form of mapping of the high-tension lines and wind mills in the proximity with the habitation of the GIB through satellite imagery, but threats like stray dogs has not been taken under consideration either by WII or the forest department," said Pemani. According to him, officials are aware of the threat to the bustard from dogs, but there was a lack of seriousness to protect it. Wildlife lovers believe that this requires a hand-eye coordination between the administration and the forest department with a view to check the growing number of canines. Instead of dropping canines in rural areas from cities, the civic bodies should start a fool-proof castration drive to control the population of dogs. I hate man made things like dogs 
 (03-19-2019, 02:36 PM)Sanju Wrote: After antelopes, the Great Indian Bustard's survival is threatened by dogs Dogs are technically wolves that were bred to be loyal to humans (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3894170/), so a dog can be expected to do what a wolf would do, that is kill other creatures for food. The big culprit here is the human, and a good news is that our population, despite growing (primarily because of what is happening in Africa, even though Asia has a much larger population, its population is not growing as fast as Africa's: http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/#region) is expected to stop increasing and decrease in the future: http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/ "Population in the world is currently (2018-2019) growing at a rate of around [b]1.07% [/b]per year (down from 1.09% in 2018, 1.12% in 2017 and 1.14% in 2016). The current average population increase is estimated at [b]82 million people per year[/b]. Annual growth rate reached its peak in the late 1960s, when it was at around 2%. The rate of increase has nearly halved since then, and will continue to decline in the coming years." Reconstructed head of an ancient dog that's over 4,000 years old from the Orkney islands of Scotland: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/re...ncient-dog  *This image is copyright of its original author Grey wolf: https://www.123rf.com/photo_81434338_clo...light.html  *This image is copyright of its original author
Anyways, I came here to post more good news from Jabal Hafeet in the UAE Emirate of Abu Dhabi. After the Arabian caracal in February, a Blanford's fox (Vulpes cana) was found here in March, after a gap of 17 years: https://twitter.com/EADTweets/status/111...61/video/1
 *This image is copyright of its original author
(04-17-2019, 02:59 PM)BorneanTiger Wrote:(03-19-2019, 02:36 PM)Sanju Wrote: After antelopes, the Great Indian Bustard's survival is threatened by dogs Cattle are technically Bos too, that doesn't mean they should be allowed to graze freely in jungles. goat are capra, sheep are ovies, cats are felis and pigs are sus. These are domesticated animals having wild ancestors of same genus and even same species living in native range. Humans are homonids once lived with animals in jungles and other natural environment and like the same we are not free to destroy and exploit natural resources coz situations changed and animals are evolving according to humans ("artificial" selection pressure and domestication) and humans are evolving for themselves, earth surface is altering by human activities and nature will restore balance by wiping out humans to attain natural equilibrium, that time will soon come though for mass extinction. These are the days people are hesitating to reintroduce wild animals like tigers "sub"species (which are confirmed to be same on mainland) by saying they are different subspecies (Caspian from Siberian reintroduction). Species is the basic unit of taxonomy, who cares for subspecies to reintroduce? but still people are there, negotiating that by differentiating them as diff spps which is nothing to do. Domesticated dogs are allowed to be feral and predatory in jungles ... Those prey is for other carnivores which are a part of biodiversity and their population is plummeting and dog population is invasive on natural environment like humans. You are right herbivore population should be controlled with natural force for sustainable eco systems. For that Indian wolf (lupus Pallipes/indica; indica) is there, tiger, lion, striped hyena, dhole, leopard, black bear are there. No need of pets for that. These wild carnivores should be reintroduced in the forests and savannas where they are extinct due to humans which used to control herbivore populations not dogs. Dogs are from Europe lupus species or Pleistocene grey wolf not Indian wolf indica species which is antique to modern wolf species. Man and his animals should stay clear from "at least" the last remaining dots of ecosystems on globe. |
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