The brown and black bird was spotted by a member of the public as it strolled around Bamber Bridge, and was rescued by an RSPCA animal collection officer.

It was uninjured but considerably underweight, probably as a result of an inability to find enough food in the recent cold weather, the charity said.

Staff at Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre near Nantwich, Cheshire, fed the bittern up on a diet of sprats to a healthy weight and it is being released at RSPB Leighton Moss nature reserve in Silverdale, Carnforth, on Friday.

The RSPCA animal collection officer who rescued the bird, Sonia Hulme, said: "This was a very special rescue for me as bitterns are so incredibly rare.

"When I came to collect it I was stunned by how beautiful it was – I have never come close to such a rare species before and to be involved in its rescue and rehabilitation was a dream come true."

Dr Andrew Kelly, manager of Stapeley Grange said that for species like the bittern, every individual counted.

He said it was not clear if the bittern was one of the breeding birds from Leighton Moss or one of the species' foreign visitors, which come to Britain to overwinter and escape colder weather on the continent.

Robin Horner, site manager at RSPB Leighton Moss, said: "The bittern is certainly one of the UK's rarest birds, and its wonderful that this one has been found and looked after to allow it to be released back into the wild."

The bittern, which lives in reedbed habitat, was once widespread across the UK, but stopped nesting in the UK in the 19th century after drainage of wetlands.

Bitterns recolonised the UK in 1911, when they were found breeding again in the Norfolk Broads, but were pushed towards extinction again in this country in the 1990s.

The species had its best breeding season for 130 years last year, measured by the number of "booming" males, whose distinctive mating call is a low-pitched, far-carrying "boom".

Some 75 booming males were recorded, mostly in the bird's stronghold of East Anglia, but also a handful scattered across other counties including Lancashire, Somerset and Yorkshire.

source (and photos): http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildli ... -road.html

Sometime in February or March depending upon the temperature, the toads will awaken from their winter slumber. The Haagse Dierenbescherming (The Hague Animal Protection Society) each year is in need of volunteers to help these amphibians cross the city's streets so that they can safely reach the water to breed.

The group facilitating the annual paddentrek (toad migration) is looking for volunteers during a six-week period who can commit themselves to one evening in the week from sundown until about 23.00 hours to physically pick up the toads and set them down on the other side of the road.

Volunteers will be positioned at one of the seven toad migration locations: Laan van Poot, Machiel Vrijenhoeklaan, Dotterbloemlaan, Kwekerijweg, Kasteelvijver/Buurtweg (Wassenaar), Appelgaarde/Kastelenring (Leidschendam-Voorburg).

You can register via the website of the Haagse Dierenbescherming or by phoning tel: 070 – 392 4289.

More about toad migration
Each Spring, around the end of February, the paddentrek (toad migration) takes place in and around The Hague (and of course anywhere else where toads are living). After awakening from their winter sleep, the animals make their way to the water where they once lived as tadpoles (or polliwogs) years earlier. This water is the spot where they will mate and leave behind their string of eggs.

Once the temperatures start to warm the male toads first awaken and then the female toads. Given that the males are quite a bit smaller than the females, they warm up more quickly than the females. Although males usually wait for females at breeding sites, they will sometimes try to ambush them before they reach the water. Males clamber onto the backs of females and hold onto them tightly, the nuptial pads on their fingers providing extra grip.

Common toads spawn amongst waterweed. The female releases long strings of triple-stranded eggs, which the male on her back fertilises with sperm. About 600-4,000 eggs are laid. These strings become twisted and stretched around waterweed and vegetation so that the eggs settle into two strands. A few days later the adults leave the water. The tadpoles hatch within ten days and, despite being distasteful to most predators, the majority will not reach adulthood.

Environmental habitat
Did you know that a multitude of animals make their home in The Hague? Read more here about the natural habitats for animals, flora and fauna in the city's rivers, forests and dunes.

source (and photos): http://www.denhaag.com/default.asp?id=10277&ep=

A United Nations campaign to halt the slide towards extinction of one of human-kind’s closest relatives gained moment today with troupe of skaters in ape disguise taking to the rink at London’s Natural History Museum, highlighting the them ‘Gorillas on Thin Ice.’

The event is part of the launch of the UN Environment Programme's (UNEP) international Year of the Gorilla (YoG) in the United Kingdom, a project aimed at raising awareness and boosting protection of the great ape and its habitat by increasing the livelihoods and incomes of local people from managing their conservation. Many experts warn that without urgent action gorillas will become extinct in the wild within the next few decades.

“The world is currently going through a sixth wave of extinctions, so it not just gorillas that are skating on thin ice - you could put a whole menagerie out there today on the Natural History Museum rink from Iberian Lynx and Cuban crocodile to the La Palma Giant Lizard and the Rameshwaram Parachute Spider,” UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said.

“Thus in supporting the Year of the Gorilla countries, companies and citizens will not only be acting to save important high-profile species, but also a rich array of forest biodiversity upon which many people depend; biodiversity too that may hold the clue to breakthroughs in pharmaceuticals and improved crops to new kinds of smart materials and processes that will be urgently needed for a sustainable 21st century.”

Projects being drawn up by the UNEP Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (UNEP/CMS) – all in need of government and corporate support – aim at boosting the prospects for the Cross River Gorilla which is Africa's rarest ape.

“Gorillas play a crucial role in maintaining the tropical rainforests in Africa, which are one of the key pillars of a world climate in balance,” CMS Executive Secretary Robert Hepworth said. “The future of these forests depends on gorillas who plant the seeds for the next generation of trees. The Year of the Gorilla is a unique opportunity to secure government, corporate and civil support for the survival of our closest relatives.”

Numbering less than 300 remaining individuals, the Cross River Gorilla prowls an area of 12,000 square kilometres along the Nigerian-Cameroon border. While most of the forest sites fall within the boundaries of Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries or Forest Reserves, affording them some level of protection, community-based protection is being promoted in the remaining sites. Therefore, a community Wildlife Sanctuary is currently being establishment in Nigeria and a gorilla guardian network is being implemented in Cameroon.

A broad-based outreach program envisages the development of local radio programs, thematic conservation films and a trans-boundary education campaign targeted at local hunters. These media will target major conservation challenges such as river poisoning, over-hunting, lack of understanding of wildlife laws and bush burning.

source (and photos): http://ionglobaltrends.blogspot.com/200 ... n-ape.html

A count of elephant dung revealed a surprisingly large endangered elephant population—more than 600—in Malaysia's biggest national park, researchers said Thursday.

The number of endangered Asian elephants had always been a mystery as researchers tried to visually count every one of the frequently shifting crowd in the dense jungle.

But the new method of counting dung piles came up with an estimate of 631 animals living in Taman Negara National Park, the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society and Malaysia Department of Wildlife and National Parks said.

The survey showed Taman Negara to be "one of the great strongholds for Asian elephants in Southeast Asia," said Melvin Gumal, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's conservation programs in Malaysia.

The protected rain forest jungle, known simply as the "Green Heart" by Malaysians, spans about 4,343 square kilometers (1,676 square miles)—roughly the size of Utah's Great Salt Lake.

The space is crucial. Asian elephants are endangered due to habitat loss and poaching; between 30,000 and 50,000 may remain in 13 Asian countries, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society.

"The surveys reveal the importance of Taman Negara in protecting wildlife especially those species that need large home ranges," Abdul Rasid Samsudin, the director general of Malaysia's Department of Wildlife and National Parks, said in a statement.

Before the new count, researchers thought the Taman Negara elephant population was substantial, Gumal said. But the old counting method was a problem.

"It is hard to estimate the number of elephants by just looking at them because the rain forest is very lush. The elephants will find you faster than you see them," Gumal said.

Counting dung piles has become an internationally recognized technique and has been endorsed by U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, Gumal said.

The dung piles in Taman Negara were counted in 2006 and 2007.

source (and photos): http://www.mercurynews.com/nationworld/ ... ck_check=1

Butterflies, bats and some birds could become extinct in many parts of Britain if we have a third consecutive wet summer, experts warned yesterday.


The record wet summer of 2007 was followed by another deluge in 2008, devastating the peak of the breeding seasons for two years running. Among the species hit were butterflies including garden favourites such as small tortoiseshell and small blue, crickets and grasshoppers.

Birds whose numbers have been hit include familiar garden visitors such as blue and great tits and greenfinches.

National Trust Nature Conservation Advisor Matthew Oates said: “If we get three wet summers on the trot we will get local extinctions of some species.

“We are already seeing this at the parish level and it could perhaps get to the county level.

“Three consecutive bad summers will exacerbate this trend. We seem to be going through a time of great change. We are getting more frequent extreme adverse weather which is what climate change modelling predicts.

“Our wildlife and our countryside need a good summer in 2009.”

His findings were backed by the British Trust for Ornithology which said that blue tit numbers have hit a new low in its Garden BirdWatch scheme in which thousands of volunteers record bird sightings in their garden.

It said: “The Garden BirdWatch rates for blue tits for the last three years are the lowest we have seen since the project started.”

Among the losers from the wet summers identified by the National Trust are butterflies such as grizzled, small and large skippers, green hairstreak, adonis blue and clouded yellow.

Bees, which are already suffering from various viruses which have slashed their numbers, and wasps have also been hit.

source (and photos): http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/773 ... iny-summer

Australia's iconic koala will become extinct in some areas of the country if the federal government does not take urgent action, conservationists have warned.


A group of Australian scientists will meet with government officials in Canberra on Friday in a bid to hammer out a national koala conservation strategy to keep key populations of the animals from dying out.

Less than 100,000 koalas are left in the country, compared to millions before they were heavily hunted for fur in the 1920s, said Deborah Tabart from the Australian Koala Foundation.

"The population of koalas in southeast Queensland has decreased from 10,000 to less than 4,000 in a decade," Tabart said.

The population in the southeast Queensland area known as the Koala Coast has fallen by at least 26 percent to 4,611 animals since a 1996-1999 survey as development encroached on their natural habitats, she said.

"We know that there are even less now, in the order of 3,800," Tabart said.

Kat Miller of the World Wildlife Fund also warned that koalas could be on their way to extinction along with several other Australian species.

"There are more than 1,700 federally-listed threatened populations of animals in Australia. There is an extinction crisis in Australia. The koala may well be the next one to go downhill."

The Australian Koala Foundation is urging Environment Minister Peter Garrett to declare the southeast Queensland koala population as critically endangered under law in a bid to protect their habitats from further developments.

"This is the most important thing Minister Garrett and his department can do right now to show he is serious about saving the koala," said Tabart.

"These declines just cannot continue if we still want to see our beautiful icon here."

Climate change has also played in the decline as it altered the nutritional make-up of their staple food, gumtree leaves, Tabart said.

Post mortems of around 700 koalas in southeast Queensland have found that most were "wasted" when they died.

"The impact of climate change on the nutritional value of eucalyptus leaves has been proven to affect koalas," she said.

Garrett has said he had charged Australia's Threatened Species Scientific Committee with assessing the risk to the koala but warned that he needed to await the committee's report before he could act.

"This is a clear indication of how seriously the Australian government is considering reports from the Australian Koala Foundation and others on diminishing koala numbers in some regions," the minister said.

source (and photos): http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081211/sc ... 1211084825

Changchun, China – The discovery of Amur tiger tracks in Changbaishan in north-eastern China has given conservationists hope for a species that is rarely seen in that area.

A walker in the region spotted the tracks and recorded them on his mobile phone. A century ago such a sight would have been fairly common, with hundreds of Amur tigers,on the prowl. It is thought that now only about 20 remain in the area.

“Tiger tracks found in this area show that the tigers are moving deeper into China from the Sino-Russian border,” said Fan Zhiyong, director of WWF-China’s Species Programme. “Therefore, it is of critical importance that tiger conservation occurs in the whole Changbaishan area.”

There are just over 500 Amur tigers in the wild and it is listed as critically endangered on IUCN’s red list of endangered species. The main threats to Amur tigers in north-eastern China are habitat degradation, poaching, fragmentation of tiger habitats and a small prey population to feed from.

WWF and its partners have been focusing their efforts to save the Amur tiger on a number of fronts: helping ungulate populations such as wild boar and roe deer – which are the tiger’s main prey – to recover by helping communities find alternative livelihood options; stopping poaching by helping local authorities carry out anti-poaching activities; and increasing and connecting protected tiger habitats so tigers can safely move from one area to another.

Thanks to vigorous anti-poaching and other conservation efforts on the Russian side, the tiger population there has become stable over the last decade and is beginning to increase. As such, should the feeding population in Changbaishan be restored and protected in an effectively managed tiger habitat, then those tigers across the border may come to occupy the area.

Conservationists in the Changbaishan area are very eager for this to occur, and the fact that tiger tracks have now been found in the Wangqing Forestry Bureau twice in the last two years is an encouraging sign.

“Although Wangqing Forestry Bureau is a timber management unit, it attaches great importance to wildlife conservation,” said Liang Jixiang, head of the Forest Management Department of Wangqing Forestry Bureau. “We are calling for support and help from interested parties and experts at home and abroad to help find ways to make Wangqing a home for tigers.”

WWF’s Changchun Programme Office has recently developed the Hungchun-Wangqing-Dongning Tiger Conservation Planning tool enable greater coordination of activities across the region and to help maintain these fragile populations of Amur tiger.

“WWF is working with the Chinese government and other partners to achieve the restoration and recovery of tigers to north-east China – the one remaining place in all of China where the recovery of this majestic species is a real possibility,” said Dr. Susan Lieberman, director of WWF-International’s Species Programme.

source: http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroo ... sID=150681

Scientists have been analysing samples taken from the world’s rarest big cat.

Researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Biology and Soils (IBS) captured a female Far Eastern leopard, nicknamed “Alyona”, in Primorsky Krai , a narrow region of Russia bordered by China and North Korea, last week.

This subspecies has adapted to the cold Russian environment with its long pelt hair, measuring up to 7cm long in winter and has longer legs than the leopards found in humid Africa or south-east Asia. The rosette pattern on its fur is more widely spaced with thicker borders.

“This project has been ongoing for just over two years, and scientific work to capture Amur tigers and Far Eastern leopards in this part of Primorsky Krai has always been distinguished by the participation of world-class specialists and use of the best equipment and methodologies,” said Sergei Zubtsov, the head of Inspection Tiger, a Russian federal agency within the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Surviving along the Sino-Russian border, it is estimated that the population of this critically endangered species is between 25 and 40, among which there are approximately 10–15 females left.

Alyona was in good healthy physical condition, between eight to ten years of age and weighing 85lbs (39kg). After taking some blood samples and an electrocardiogram, she was released unharmed.

Both of these tests will reveal to scientists genetic information about the level of inbreeding within this tiny population and any symptoms of disease.

Previous captures of three leopards, two males and one female, in 2006 and 2007 have shown heart murmurs; a possible cause of genetic disorders from inbreeding.

Using camera-trapping and snow-tracking surveys, results indicate that over the past 30 years, population numbers have been stable, but with a high turnover rate.

Alexey Kostyria, PhD, IBS senior scientist and WCS-IBS project manager said, “We are excited by the capture, and are hopeful that ongoing analysis of biomedical information will confirm that this individual is in good health.”

“This research is critical for conservation of the Far Eastern leopard, as it will help us to determine the risks posed by inbreeding and what we can do to mitigate them.”

To increase genetic diversity, scientists are considering translocating foreign leopards to try to increase the gene pool.

One successful case occurred with Florida panthers, whereby animals from Texas were merged into the population to increase the remaining numbers. Originally at a low of ten, Florida panthers now number approximately 100.

Over the last century, Amur leopards have been hunted by poachers for their pelts and medicinal qualities and had their habitat destroyed by logging.

Their prey, Sika deer, wild board and hares are also hunted by locals. Forest produce are also a much needed source of income in southwest Primorye.

Local farmers who burn their fields to promote better growth of vegetation, often cannot control the fires, resulting in them spreading to the nearby forests, destroying the habitat.

source (and photos): http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/science-tec ... -6840.html

DR Congo's rare mountain gorillas have become the latest victim of the current fighting in the east of the country.

Rangers who protect the gorillas have fled increased fighting in the region and are now living in makeshift camps with their families. The conflict has displaced hundreds of thousands of people in the DR Congo's North Kivu province, home to Virunga Park, Africa's oldest national park.

Virunga's Gorilla Sector has been in the hands of rebel General Laurent Nkunda's fighters since September 2007 and the Rumangabo park headquarters, from which conservation operations were run, fell to a rebel assault in October this year.

See the video report here.

source : http://uk.reuters.com/news/video?videoI ... Channel=74

Brush-tailed rock wallabies have been reintroduced into Victoria's Grampians National Park in a bid to save the critically endangered species from extinction in the state.

The Victorian government hopes the 10 captive-bred animals will create a second Victorian wild population in addition to a small colony of 20 marsupials that exists in remote East Gippsland.

Environment Minister Gavin Jennings said the move is a milestone in the effort to secure the future survival of the species.

"The Brumby government is taking action now to protect and enhance Victoria's biodiversity and this is an example of what can be done to help reverse the decline of our native wildlife," Mr Jennings said.

He said the decline of the brush-tailed rock wallaby was largely due to historical hunting for the fur trade, habitat clearing and predation from the red fox.

The trial program will be considered successful if the wallabies breed in the wild and the species is secured in the park.

source (and photos): http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=664587

· Effect of overfishing could be greater still, say experts
· Porbeagle, spiny dogfish and common skate at risk

More than a quarter of sharks and rays in the north-east Atlantic face extinction through the effects of overfishing, with 7% classed as critically endangered, conservationists have warned.

The Red List published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature states that 26% of these species are at risk of being wiped out and a fifth are now regarded as "near threatened".

The true number of fish under threat may be considerably larger, the report by the IUCN's shark specialist group cautions, because scientists have too little information on 27% of them to determine the health of their populations.

Many of the animals at risk are slow-breeding fish that have few young and reach sexual maturity late in life, a fact that makes them especially vulnerable to the fisheries' activities.

The spiny dogfish (rock salmon) and porbeagle shark, both caught for their meat, are critically endangered. They are among a handful of species under EU fishing restrictions, though these quotas are well above the zero-catch levels proposed by scientists at the International Council for Exploration of the Sea (Ices).

Angel sharks and common skates are also critically endangered in the north-east Atlantic, according to the report. The realisation is prompting Ices scientists to call for greater restrictions on fisheries which either deliberately catch the fish or land them as bycatch.

The basking shark, the world's second largest fish, is listed as vulnerable.

The report was released ahead of European commission recommendations for tighter controls on fishing, including zero-catches for porbeagle sharks and spiny dogfish. The advice is also for a ban on fishing vessels keeping aboard common skates, undulate rays, white skates and angel sharks, which should be returned safely to the water wherever possible.

Fisheries ministers are due to discuss the new restrictions at a meeting next month. If the quotas are cut in line with the proposals, fisheries would lose permission to catch 600 tonnes of porbeagles and 2,600 tonnes of spiny dogfish.

Sonja Fordham, policy director at the Shark Alliance and co-author of the report, said: "The north Atlantic is one of the most overfished regions in the world and yet only four species of sharks and rays are protected. This is a clear consequence of overfishing, whether these species are targeted or taken as bycatch."

Another species listed as critically endangered is the deepwater gulper shark, sought for its rich liver oil, which is used by the cosmetics industry. In 2005 Ices urged the EU to ban deepwater shark fishing, but current quotas will allow more than 800 tonnes to be taken next year.

The IUCN finds that the percentage of sharks and rays in the north-east Atlantic region classified as threatened is higher than the figure for the species globally - which is given to be 18%. It says the decline in numbers is due to the activities of fishing nations such as Spain, Portugal, France and Britain.

Two species of guitarfish, whose fins are among the most highly sought after for use in shark fin soup in Asian markets, are classified as endangered in the north-east Atlantic. There are no limits on catches of them in European waters.

Scientists working for the IUCN said that it could already be too late to save two types of sawfish, both of which were critically endangered.

Claudine Gibson, former programme officer for the IUCN shark specialist group and lead author of the report, said: "North-east Atlantic populations of these vulnerable species are in serious trouble, more so than in many other parts of the world.

"Most sharks and rays are exceptionally vulnerable to overfishing because of their tendency to grow slowly, mature late, and produce few young. Those at greatest risk of extinction in the north-east Atlantic include heavily-fished large sharks and rays ... as well as commercially valuable deepwater sharks and spiny dogfish."

The EU is also looking to protect a string of other species, including cod and haddock, in proposals that reduce quotas by up to a quarter next year.

"We have made real progress in fisheries management over the last six years and we are starting to see positive results, such as the recovery in certain stocks under long-term management plans," said the EU fisheries commissioner, Joe Borg. "But this good news remains the exception, not the rule. There has been so much overfishing over many years that the balance of the marine ecosystems on which our fisheries depend is seriously disturbed."

Marine conservationists urged tighter curbs. "Such action is immediately possible and absolutely necessary to change the course toward extinction of these remarkable ocean animals," said Fordham.

source (and photos): http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2 ... ed-species

Wolfes reduced by 50 % in Norway.
Preliminary figures show that the wolf stock in Norway is reduced by 50 %. There was no breeding in 2007.
Illegal hunting is evidently one of the reasons for this tragedy. But we have to remember that the Government in Norway has given permission to kill 27 species from year 2000 till today says chairman of Committee of Our Predators in Norway, Birger Westergren.

There is no doubt that illegal hunting is the main reason of the reduced numbers of wolfes in Norway. If the Government had taken the responsibility and followed up the enactment of law, the stock would have reached the number of species that is set for living in Norway, says Westergren.

source: http://www.fvr.no/
photo: http://www.nina.no

Wolf is observed in southern Norway.
Fresh wolf tracks found in Vegusdal.
Jon Erling Skåtan in Statens Naturoppsyn (Norwegian Nature Supervision Institute) says that this might be a specimen that is out of it's habitat.
It has falled some snow, and we followed the wolf for about 3 kilometers and it's no doubt that this is a wolf.
A wolf can walk severel miles pr. day, and when we look at the pattern, there is almost certain this is a wolf he says.

Skåtan also says that with the predator policy that exists in Norway at this time, we must live with the fact that wild animals will appear in areas they should not be.

Source: nrk.no

The whooping cranes are back. Each year, some of these birds - the largest and rarest of North American cranes - make a stop in central Kansas, at Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area, near Great Bend, or at Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, about 30 miles south of Cheyenne Bottoms.

Currently, officials at both sites are reporting the presence of whoopers. Cheyenne Bottoms staff reported eight birds on November 4, and an undetermined number of birds has been reported at Quivira, as well as another small group several miles south.

As a result, Cheyenne Bottoms has closed the hunting of sandhill cranes and white geese on the area's firing line until further notice. Quivira has suspended all hunting on the national refuge until further notice.


An estimated 266 whoopers - the largest wild flock of endangered whooping cranes - will migrate from Wood Buffalo National Park in the Canadian Northwest Territories to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge on the Gulf Coast of Texas this fall.

This migration route takes them directly through the center of the Central Flyway, offering Kansas wildlife watchers an opportunity to see one of the rarest birds in the world.

Officials with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks say they and their colleagues with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will monitor the birds' movements and lift hunting restrictions once they are certain the cranes have moved south.

Tom Stehn, whooping crane coordinator with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, reported in September that 2008 was an excellent production year for whooping cranes in Canada.

There were 41 fledged chicks from a record 66 nests that Stehn says "should equate into a substantial population increase in the Aransas-Wood Buffalo flock in the 2008-09 winter."

However, he warns, threats to the flock, including water and land development in Texas, wind farm construction in the migration corridor, and tar sands waste ponds in Canada all increased in 2008.

The tallest bird in North America, the whooping crane was once on the brink of extinction. It is making a steady recovery due to intensive management efforts in Canada and the United States.

As of September 2008, the total population of wild whooping cranes numbered 387, with cranes in captivity numbering 152, bringing the total population to 539.

In December 2004, wildlife experts said 468 whooping cranes existed in the wild and in captivity.

The species was reduced to 16 individuals in 1941, according to the Cornell University Ornithology Lab. Captive breeding established a captive population and efforts have been made to establish additional wild populations in Florida and Wisconsin; neither of which is yet self-sustaining.

The species is probably safe from imminent extinction, but threats remain, Cornell says.

While their habitat is protected, it is limited, leaving the birds vulnerable to catastrophic weather events or contaminant spills. Development near wintering sites is also a concern.

The Aransas range in Texas is protected as is the whoopers' last breeding area in Wood Buffalo National Park. But, Aransas abuts an intercoastal waterway with heavy commercial barge traffic. Wildlife biologists want to establish new populations to ensure the species could not be wiped out by an oil spill there.

Collisions with power lines have killed or injured at least 19 whooping cranes since 1956. Two whooping cranes were shot to death by hunters in Kansas in November 2004, mistaken for sandhill cranes, a game species.

Whooping crane recovery efforts involve many agencies and organizations in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors in the United States and in Canada. Efforts include habitat management, captive breeding, and leading birds along migration routes with ultralight aircraft.

Crane experts agree that continued intensive management of habitat, captive breeding and reintroduction programs, and population monitoring is essential to the recovery of the species.

source (and photos): http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/nov2008 ... 06-093.asp

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has signed the decree which will put into effect a long-sought protected area that will house half of all remaining Far-Eastern leopards.



The leopards, the only species in the world able to survive long cold periods, are on the brink of extinction with only about thirty surviving members.

Continuing threats include habitat loss from logging, forest fires and unregulated tourism. Poaching remains a severe problem and the small population raises concerns of inbreeding as a further threat.
The new reserve will join two small protected areas into one, called Leopardovy Zakaznik (Leopard nature sanctuary), and will be managed by the Ministry of Nature Resources of Russia. According to the decree, the ministry will also manage neighbouring Kedrovaya Pad nature reserve.

Before the decree, all three protected areas had been managed by different state agencies whose differing mandates meant that a unified Leopard conservation strategy was not in place. The transfer of jurisdiction to a single authoritiy will allow for a single strategy that places the restoration of the leopard population at the heart of its operations in the area.

WWF proposed this change as early as 1999, in its Strategy for conservation of the Far Eastern leopard in Russia. “We are happy that finally, after all these years, the government has addressed this issue”, says WWF-Russia CEO Igor Chestin. “We hope that the Ministry will immediately start improving management of the protected area to ensure effective leopard conservation. WWF is ready to provide help and advice to the new sanctuary”.

To ensure Far-Eastern leopard protection, WWF created anti-poaching groups in the region. WWF also cooperates with Chinese conservation agencies to create a trans-border system of protected areas that sought to save the leopards habitat from industrial pollution. Education programs to inform locals of the threats facing this extremely rare cat species were set up, while customs agents were trained to track poachers who illegally sell leopard parts to China.

In 2007, WWF built a visit centre for the future protected area, which now will finally be given to the Leopardovy zakaznik, and will hope to create revenue that can go towards making the sanctuary commercially viable.

source (and photos): http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroo ... sID=149221

The white lion release at Sanbona Wildlife Reserve in South Africa has been heralded a success. Over the past few decades these lions have been isolated to breeding programs and circuses, and there have been only a few reported sightings of these rare big cats in their natural environment. Due to this it has been widely assumed that the recessive gene in wild lions that causes the colouring is bordering extinction. The Sanbona projects success means that white lions are now free ranging and self sustaining in the wild.





source (photos): http://www.sanbona.com/properties/news_ ... .asp?ID=28

The world's largest population of vulnerable Irrawaddy dolphins -- famed as aquarium attractions -- has been found in Bangladesh's waters, according to a five-year wildlife study.

Irrawaddy dolphin in the Mekhong river in Cambodia

Until now, it was believed the small light-grey mammal was threatened and the International Union of Conservation of Nature had put five of its Southeast Asian populations on its list of critically endangered animals.

But the study, launched in 2003 by the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society and the Bangladesh Cetacean Diversity Project, has counted 5,832 Irrawaddy dolphins along Bangladesh's coast and estuaries.

"It's by far the biggest population of Irrawaddy dolphins in the world," said project director Brian Smith of the Wildlife Conservation Society.

"It's very good news for all of us," he said.

The researchers surveyed the waters along Bangladesh's 1,400 kilometres (870 miles) of coastline, said Rubayat Mansur, who led the research team.

"We're absolutely thrilled to make such an important discovery... We don't know any other place where these dolphins are found in such large numbers," he told AFP.

In other areas where the dolphins are known to converge, such as the Mekong delta, populations have been estimated at less than 100.

"It's great news if the researchers have in fact found such a huge number of Irrawaddy dolphins off the Bangladesh coast," said Switzerland-based Liz McLellan of environmental group WWF.

"We'll look into the study because we know only a very small population of Irrawaddy dolphins now live in Southeast Asia," she told AFP.

Although its name is derived from Myanmar's biggest river, the two-metre (six-foot) long Irrawaddy dolphin is mainly an oceanic mammal that favours coastal waters and estuaries.

They are found in small, geographically isolated populations from Australia to India to the Philippines.

One of the main threats to their survival is drowning in fishing nets, says the WWF. They are also fished for their oil and meat.

The dolphins' ability to live in both salt water and fresh water makes them popular with dolphin shows, where fresh water tanks are cheaper to maintain.

Mansur said many of the dolphins had been found in the world's largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans which straddles Bangladesh and India. The forest is also home to 400 Ganges sweet-water dolphins which also are on the endangered list.

Despite the welcome discovery of the larger than expected number of Irrawaddy dolphins off Bangladesh, Smith of the Wildlife Conservation Society said their long-term future was far from secure.

"During the study, we have seen that because of fishing with long nets, accidental deaths of dolphins along Bangladesh coast and estuary rivers is common," Smith said

"They get entangled in the fishing nets and die," Smith said.

And Mansur said the construction of new dams along Bangladesh's coastal rivers to stop flooding, pollution and habitat was also cause for concern.

The researchers urged the government to take immediate steps to create small networks of protected zones in order to prevent the Irrawaddy dolphin following the Yangtze river dolphin down the path of extinction.

source (and photos): http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081011/wl ... ifedolphin

Barcelona, Spain, 6 October, 2008 (IUCN) – The most comprehensive assessment of the world’s mammals has confirmed an extinction crisis, with almost one in four at risk of disappearing forever, according to The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, revealed at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona.

source: http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programm ... /index.cfm

For the project "Save the South chinese tiger" 9 tigers are transported to south africa. This now resulted in the birth of tiger cubs. In time the tigers will be brought back to their homeland.

Mother Madonna takes good care of her children and that is neccecary also. In the wild there are only 20 -30 South Chinese tigers left. In Chinese zoos there are about 50.

Follow the link for footage of the cubs... damn cute..

source (and movie, dutch): http://messagent.ilsemedia.nl/optiext/o ... _oMr7WuuuP

Washington, DC – Alternative fishing technology has been shown to save turtles while not affecting fish catches, according to a report released today by World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC).

The report demonstrates how changing from the classic J hook to circular hooks, providing adequate training and tools to release turtles accidentally hooked and enhancing sustainable fishing practices, can dramatically reduce incidental catch (bycatch) of marine turtles without impacting fishing activity.


source (and report): http://www.worldwildlife.org/who/media/ ... m9904.html

A clever canine trained at Melton's Defence Animal Centre is helping to save rare bumblebees from extinction.

Three-year-old springer spaniel Toby has been specially trained to sniff out bumblebees and is currently helping to locate bees' nests in the Scottish countryside.

Toby, who is working with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, recently starred on BBC's The One Show with his handler Steph O'Connor, a postgraduate research student who is specialising in the ecology of bees.

Toby and Steph are sponsored by the trust - a charity set up in 2006 to halt declines in bumblebees.

Steph said: "To conserve dwindling bee populations we need to find out what are the main causes of mortality of bumblebee nests – hard to do unless you can find the nests.

"They are very hard to find as they are small and often hidden away underground or in dense vegetation.

"But with Toby we can track down the nests of both common and rare species and follow them over time to see how they fare.

"Toby is just the bee's knees! By finding the nests we can estimate local population sizes, and learn more about previously elusive aspects of bumblebee ecology."

Researchers at the University of Stirling's School of Biological and Environmental Sciences - where the Bumblebee Conservation Trust is based - have been awarded a £111,956 grant from the Leverhulme Trust to discover more about the world of bumblebees with Toby's help.

The three-year project is being undertaken by Professor Dave Goulson and Dr Kirsty Park.

Prof Goulson explained: "Bumblebees are very important to the environment as pollinators of crops and flowers, but sadly they're struggling to survive in the modern world of habitat loss, pesticides and intensive agriculture.

"Further declines in bumblebees could result in a downward cycle of poorer harvests and sweeping changes to the countryside, as wild flowers set less seed and disappear, which in turn could have catastrophic effects for other wildlife."

source (and photos): http://www.meltontimes.co.uk/news/Toby- ... 4469795.jp

Just as we get elephant trading to zoo's under control this pops up!

China and the wild dogs
Chinese zoos buy african wild dogs en masse in South Africa to fill their cages. Netwerk visits these zoos and establishes that animal welfare is poor there. The word circus is the word to describe the scenes that happen in those zoos. The wild dogs are stuck in small cages and get pestered by the chinese public. In the Netwerk clip, an undercover report about animal dealers in South Africa and China, that say that mainly animals from the wild are well sought off. And this is at the cost of the wild population that counts to only 3000 in the whole of Africa.

source: http://www.netwerk.tv/archief/7713931/3 ... onden.html

Bottlenose dolphins suffering from food shortages may be killing their sibling species to take out the competition, scientists have warned. A series of dead porpoises and young bottlenose dolphins washed up the country's coastline have borne the animal's teeth marks. But the appearance of the body of a rare baby Risso's dolphin on a beach in the Scilly Isles has raised fears that bottlenose dolphins may be becoming more aggressive in its desperate search for food.

source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.j ... hin103.xml

The full report can be found here : http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countr ... ar2007.pdf

In Cambodia, the trees are alive with the sounds of monkeys, according to a recent survey by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). The report reveals surprisingly large populations of two globally endangered primates in one of this Southeast Asian country’s protected areas.

Scientists from WCS together with the Royal Government of Cambodia’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries searched an area of 300 square miles within the Seima Biodiversity Conservation Area. They counted 42,000 black-shanked douc langurs and 2,500 yellow-cheeked crested gibbons. The estimate represents the world’s largest known populations for both species. The researchers believe total populations within the 1,150-square-mile landscape surrounding Seima may be even bigger.

The WCS scientists who worked on the census include Tom Clements, Nut Meng Hor, Men Soriyun, Edward Pollard, Hannah O’Kelly, and Samantha Strindberg.

Prior to this discovery, the largest known populations of the two primate species were believed to live in adjacent Vietnam, where black-shanked douc langurs and yellow-cheeked crested gibbons number at 600 and 200 respectively. Their total population figures remain unknown.

The Cambodian census took place in a former logging area where the two primates were once extensively hunted. In 2002, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries declared the region a conservation area and began working with WCS on site management and planning for conservation and local development. In the years since the joint program began, the primates began to recover. Their populations have remained stable since 2005.

The primates have also benefited from a cessation of logging activities, a nation-wide gun confiscation program implemented in the 1990s, and a habitat where there is plenty to eat.

But WCS researchers in Cambodia remain concerned that looming threats could jeopardize recent successes.

“Despite this good news in Cambodia, the area still remains at risk from conversion to agro-industrial plantations for crops, including biofuels, and commercial mining,” said Tom Clements, the lead author of the report. “WCS is therefore committed to continuing to work with the Cambodian government to ensure that these globally important primate populations will remain secure.”

WCS has worked with the Royal Government of Cambodia since 1999, helping to establish the Seima Biodiversity Conservation Area and developing landscape-level conservation programs in the Northern Plains and Tonle Sap Great Lake.

WCS work in Cambodia has been supported by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Great Apes Conservation Fund, MacArthur Foundation, Liz Claiborne Art Ortenberg Foundation, ADB Greater Mekong Subregion Core Environment Program, and the Danish Government’s Danida program.

The Great Apes Conservation Fund and all the U.S. government funding to support global priority species and their habitats is at risk of being cut in the Fiscal Year 2009 federal budget. Although the budget process in Washington has stalled, WCS is calling for Congress to restore and grow these programs by completing work on the Fiscal Year 2009 budget before the end of September.

Source: http://www.wcs.org/353624/wcs_gibbonsinasia

An aerial survey by government scientists in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea this week found at least nine polar bears swimming in open water – with one at least 60 miles from shore – raising concern among wildlife experts about their survival.

Geoff York, the polar bear coordinator for WWF's Arctic Programme, said that when polar bears swim so far from land, they could have difficulty making it safely to shore and are at risk of drowning, particularly if a storm arises.

“To find so many polar bears at sea at one time is extremely worrisome because it could be an indication that as the sea ice on which they live and hunt continues to melt, many more bears may be out there facing similar risk,” he said.

“As climate change continues to dramatically disrupt the Arctic, polar bears and their cubs are being forced to swim longer distances to find food and habitat.”

Scientists say the Arctic is changing more rapidly and acutely than anywhere on the planet, noting that 2007 witnessed the lowest sea ice coverage in recorded history.

Satellite images indicate that ice was absent in most of the region where the bears were found on August 16, 2008, and some experts predict this year’s sea ice loss could meet or exceed the record set last year.

The discovery of the nine bears at sea came as the US Minerals Management Service was conducting marine surveys in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas in advance of potential offshore oil development.

In May, the US Department of Interior listed polar bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, with Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne cited the strong body of science pointing to the significant loss of Arctic sea ice habitat as the primary reason for protecting the bear with federal legislation.

However, the state of Alaska has opposed the listing and has sued the federal government over its decision to list the bear.

Professor Richard Steiner of the University of Alaska’s Marine Advisory Program said: “While these bears are swimming around in an ice-free coastal Arctic Ocean, the only thing the State of Alaska is doing is suing the federal government trying to overturn the listing of polar bears.

“The bottom line here is that polar bears need sea ice, sea ice is decaying, and the bears are in very serious trouble. For any people who are still non-believers in global warming and the impacts it is having in the Arctic, this should answer their doubts once and for all.”

source: http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroo ... sID=143943