Tag archives for endangered species
The Return of Grand Cayman’s Blue Iguana: From Near-Extinction to Endangered
Posted by Nicole Glass on May 22, 2013 
In 2002, between 10-25 blue iguanas remained in the wild. Today, there are 750. By incubating eggs in his home office and gathering plants to feed the baby blues, Fred Burton and his team have brought back a species that was nearly extinct. While these 5-foot-long majestic creatures are still a rare sight, they are…
Posted by While traveling with Cheetah Conservation Botswana, I had the rare experience to meet the Nai Nai San Bushmen of the Central Kalahari. The name Nai Nai translates directly as “people of the bush” thus they consider themselves to be the true bushmen. This small family group is one of many who travel through the area…
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The London Zoo recently put out a call to collectors that doubled as the animal version of a personals ad. The zoo was looking for females of the Mangarahara cichlid, a species of fish so rare that none are thought to exist in the wild, and one that is in critical danger of going extinct…
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Go behind the lens and above the ground with photographer Dave Showalter as he reveals the hidden meanings behind aerial images he made on LightHawk flights.
Worsening Rhino war Strains Countries’ Relations
Posted by Leon Marshall of Environmental Journalist, News Watch South African Contributor on April 30, 2013 
The growing incursion of rhino poachers from Mozambique into South Africa’s flagship Kruger National Park is beginning to strain relations between the two countries. South African security operatives trying to stem the relentless killing of the enigmatic animals speak of it as a “border war”. They are getting increasingly fed-up with Mozambique’s security agencies for not doing more to clamp down on the poachers and the rhino-horn smugglers on their side of the boundary.
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The northern map turtle (Graptemys geographica) is a relatively large aquatic turtle that is native to North America. It is named for the lines on its shell, which resemble the contour lines on a map. Map turtles show extreme sexual size dimorphism, which means the genders grow to different sizes. Northern male map turtles…
Posted by Wildlife conservationist Paula Kahumbu writes that Kenya stands at the crossroads of turning things around for elephants. The authorities need to recognize that poaching and ivory trafficking are serious crimes and immediately elevate penalties for wildlife crimes.
In a fitting setting for America’s national bird, a pair of bald eagles is raising two chicks high on a tree in Washington, D.C. And it’s all been monitored live by a webcam provided by the National Geographic Society. This is an opportunity to not only observe these iconic birds in the wild, but also to learn more about them and their recovery in the Chesapeake Bay region.
Things are changing for a motley crew of pint-sized slowpokes on a previously undisturbed island ten miles off the coast of Panama. But scientists are utilizing an “environmental air force” to slow the tide.
Not Your Ordinary Home for Birds
Posted by Jay Wexler of Boston University School of Law on April 11, 2013 
Federal law makes it illegal for anyone to possess any part of a bald or golden eagle. Many Native Americans, however, use eagle feathers in their religious rituals. The Fish and Wildlife Service has granted permits to a small number of tribes, allowing them to run their own eagle aviaries. These aviaries, like the one run by the Iowa Tribe outside Oklahoma City, not only take care of many injured birds, but also provide feathers for those tribal members who need them.
Posted by His name means “Hawk” in his language. Yet even with the acuity of vision the moniker suggests, Karapiru could not have foreseen thetragedy that befell his people, the Awá tribe of northeastern Brazil. He could never have imagined the day that he would flee for his life far into the rainforest, a shotgun pellet burning…
On the Brink of Extinction: A Closer Look at Endangered Species
Posted by Jordan Carlton Schaul of University of Alaska on April 5, 2013 Many naturalists and certainly most birding aficionados are well aware that the last passenger pigeon died in 1914 while in residence at the Cincinnati Zoo. And I regretfully acknowledge that the last wild passenger pigeon was shot in 1900 in my home state of Ohio. The Zoo’s passenger pigeon known as “Martha” was only presumed…
This month 36 Philippine freshwater crocodiles were introduced into the wild on Siargao Island, in an effort to bolster the population of this endangered reptile. The Philippine freshwater crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis), also called the Mindoro crocodile, is found only in the Philippines. The Philippine crocodile shares the island chain with the much more common Indo-Pacific crocodile or saltwater…
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Delegates at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species 16th Conference of Parties held in Bangkok in March rejected a proposal to ban international trade in polar bears and their parts. The decision caused a stir because polar bears face a precarious future. While some non-governmental organizations were deeply disappointed by the failure to uplist polar bears from Appendix II to Appendix I, which would have banned all international trade in the species and their parts, Steven Amstrup—a renowned polar bear scientist—believes that limitations on trade don’t address the real challenge facing the iconic animals.
California condors Sisquoc and Shatash welcomed a baby chick this week, in full view of the world watching them via webcam. “With just over 400 California condors in existence, this endangered species is still an uncommon sight, making this hatching all the more significant,” San Diego Zoo Safari Park said in a news statement about…
In the aftermath of the largest elephant poaching episode thus far in 2013, Central African governments met to coordinate and adopt an emergency plan to combat the killings. But is it too little, too late? WARNING: This post contains graphic images of slain elephants and an aborted calf.
Today, delegates to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Bangkok agreed to list the African manatee (Trichechus senegalensis) on Appendix I on an interim basis, boosting its protections. A final decision on the species’ status is expected by the time the conference wraps up on March 14, according to Humane Society…
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I just returned from an incredible trip scuba diving with great hammerhead sharks. This was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life. While underwater I was amazed by these awesome predators. I was able to capture a series of photos (both during day and night) of these mysterious creatures. As you look…
Battle for the Elephants (Ep. 4): Massive Ivory Stockpile
Posted by J.J. Kelley of National Geographic Television in A Voice for Elephants on February 27, 2013 “And you can smell it; it’s almost like dried blood. There is the smell of death in here. All of these are confiscated trophies.” Reports investigative journalist, Aidan Hartley. We’ve just been given exclusive access to an astonishingly vast warehouse of government owned ivory in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
For our series finale, Aidan meets with Khamis Kagasheki, minister of natural resources in Tanzania, which stores the world’s largest stockpile of elephant tusks in the world — 90 metric tons. Kagasheki agrees to allow us to take the first-ever footage of the vast warehouse that stores thousands of tusks, valued at $50 million.
Battle for the Elephants (Ep. 3): The China Ivory Market
Posted by J.J. Kelley of National Geographic Television in A Voice for Elephants on February 25, 2013 According to Bryan Christy, these two sales gave cover to ivory smugglers in China, and the underground market exploded. According to CITES, 25,000 elephants were killed in Africa last year, though other observers say it could be many more. In Tanzania alone, poachers kill 30 elephants a day. The International Fund for Animal Welfare estimates that 84 percent of the ivory sold in China is illegal.
Since the opening up of the Chinese market and the growth of its economy, ivory, once a precious material available only to the ruling elite, has become increasingly available to the growing Chinese middle class.
A luxury goods store in Beijing allowed our cameras into their showroom where Christy explains how those auctions complicate what’s for sale legally and what’s not.
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The population size and geographical range of the cheetah have declined dramatically during the past 50 years . During a survey of warthogs in Northern Kenya, National Geographic grantees, Yvonne de Jong and Tom Butynski, came eye to eye with this large charismatic cat in the Chalbi Desert, 65 km north of their known current range.
Posted by “We gotta do better, it’s time to begin. You know all the answers must come from within…. Come on and take a free ride….” From where I write, on the coast of California, I can look out and see dolphins swim gracefully through forests of ocean kelp. But I know that on the other…
Save the Saiga: Poachers Responsible for a Dwindling Population
Posted by Nicole Glass on February 22, 2013 
The grasslands of Russia and Kazakhstan are host to an animal that has roamed the earth since the Ice Age, but may soon become extinct: the saiga, a hump-nosed antelope whose population has declined by more than 95 percent since the early 1990s. The critically endangered saiga, which stands just about two feet tall, is in…
Every Tusk Costs a Life; Stop the Trading and the Buying
Posted by Joyce Poole and Petter Granli of ElephantVoices in A Voice for Elephants on February 20, 2013 
The conservation charity ElephantVoices has launched a campaign on two powerful pieces of graphic art by New York artist, Asher Jay. The artworks, with the slogans, “Every Tusk Costs a Life; Don’t Buy Ivory” and “Every Tusk Costs a Life; Stop the Trade” target potential buyers and decision-makers, and are also specifically directed toward a Chinese audience. China is believed to be the largest market for illegal ivory, a trade which is causing the poaching of more than 2,000 wild elephants per month.
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Why would members of remote tribal communities, heads of state, Nobel Laureates, local activists, scientists, artists, and people like you plan to travel to Salamanca Spain? The l0th World Wilderness Congress will convene there on October 4 involving a great diversity of people, professions and activists who understand the importance of wild nature to…
