Animals

[CaaC (John)+]

Extinction: One-third of all lemurs 'on the brink'

A third of all the lemur species on Earth are "one step from extinction".

This is according to the latest update of the Red List, the comprehensive, continually updated report on the status of species.

Human activities, particularly deforestation and hunting, drive the declines in these unique primates.

Such habitat destruction has also been linked to an increased risk of wildlife diseases - like the coronavirus - spilling over into human populations.

The update shows that 33 lemur species - primates unique to Madagascar - are now classified as Critically Endangered, with 103 of the 107 surviving species threatened with extinction. Thirteen lemur species have been "uplisted" - pushed to higher threat categories as a result of these "intensifying human pressures".

Craig Hilton-Taylor from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which produces the list, told BBC News that the current pandemic should give us pause to "ask some difficult questions about our relationship with the natural world".

"We need to look to nature to provide future solutions to human problems - like treatments for disease and food supplies," Dr Hilton-Taylor added.

"Nature has a huge amount to offer us, but if we continue to impact the natural world as we're doing - and if we lose species like lemurs - then our chances of looking to nature for those solutions is reduced dramatically

From whales to fungus

Updates to the list are based on the latest scientific assessments. There are now more than 120,000 different species that have been assessed, with 120,372 species now listed and, of these, 32,441 are threatened with extinction

Other species that have been "uplisted" include:

• The North Atlantic Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis) has been moved from Endangered to Critically Endangered, with fewer than 250 mature individuals estimated to be alive at the end of 2018;
• The European Hamster (Cricetus cricetus), a common pet that was once abundant in the wild across Europe and Russia. It is now listed as Critically Endangered. Reasons for its population declines across Europe and Russia are not clear, but scientists believe that the animal's reproduction rates have fallen - something that may be linked to light pollution and climate change;
• The world's most expensive fungus, Caterpillar Fungus (Ophiocordyceps Sinensis), has entered the IUCN Red List as Vulnerable. This fungus is highly valued in Traditional Chinese Medicine, where it has been used for millennia to treat diseases including those related to the kidneys and lungs. Demand for the fungus has risen sharply since the 1990s.

There are some conservation success stories in the latest list. A little known species of iguana native to the Turks and Caicos Islands has been "downlisted" from Critically Endangered to Endangered, meaning it is no longer at immediate threat of extinction.

That is entirely, Craig Hilton-Taylor said, because of a concerted conservation effort on the islands, involving the government, NGOs and local people - restoring habitat and reintroducing the species.

"If people pull together, species can recover," he added.

BBC

[CaaC (John)+]

Assam flooding: Several rare rhinos die in India's Kaziranga park

More than 100 wild animals, including at least eight rare rhinos, have died in recent flooding at a national park in north-eastern India, officials say.

The Kaziranga park in Assam state is home to the world's largest population of one-horned rhinos, which faced extinction at the turn of the century.

But this year's monsoon rains have almost 85% of the park underwater.

The floods have killed more than 200 people and displaced millions in Assam, Nepal and Bangladesh.

Kaziranga park, which is a Unesco World Heritage site, is home to at least 2,400 one-horned rhinos.

Park officials told the Hindustan Times eight one-horned rhinos had drowned in the recent rains, while another died of natural causes last month.

• The park that shoots people to protect rhinos

Dozens of other animals, including deer, buffalo and porcupines, have also died - many due to drowning, although others were hit by vehicles as they attempted to escape the floodwaters.

Across Assam, heavy rain has submerged thousands of villages. Hundreds of relief camps have been set up to shelter those displaced.

FULL REPORT

[Azeem]

I just learned Cheetah never puts more than one paw on land at a time  while running 

Edited July 20, 2020 by Azeem

[CaaC (John)+]

Rare yellow turtle discovered in India

CNN - A farmer in eastern India has found a yellow turtle which experts say is the product of albinism. Basudev Mahapatra spotted the turtle while he was working in his fields in the village of Sujanpur, in Odisha's Balasore district, and decided to bring it home, forest official Susanta Nanda told CNN on Tuesday. Mahapatra found the turtle on Sunday and handed it over to forest officials, who called in conservation experts. Siddhartha Pati, executive director at the Association for Biodiversity Conservation, which works to protect wildlife and habitats, told CNN it was the first time he had seen this kind of turtle.

The Indian flap shell turtle is commonly found in parts of South Asia.

Pati explained that the creature's colour is due to albinism. "It is a congenital disorder and it is characterized by complete or partial absence of tyrosine pigment," he said.

"Also, sometimes a mutation takes place in the gene sequence or there is a deficiency of tyrosine."

The turtle has now been released into the wild in Balasore, added Pati.

The turtle is known as the Indian flap shell turtle. This one was an adult -- believed to be between one and a half and two years old.

"We find turtles and crabs regularly and we rescue them and release them into the water. But this is the first time in Odisha and second time in India that an albino turtle has been found," said Pati.

The turtle is commonly found in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar. It is omnivorous and its diet consists of frogs, snails and even some aquatic vegetation, he added.

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In 2016, a rare albino green turtle -- newly hatched -- was spotted on an Australian beach.

Volunteers from Coolum and North Shore Coast Care were "amazed" to see the tiny creature, which they named Little Alby, at Castaways Beach, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

CNN

 

[Azeem]

Is this the monkey from Hangover? 

[nudge]

This photo is amazing...

 

 

 

[Bluewolf]

4 minutes ago, nudge said:

This photo is amazing...

 

 

 

Never seen a shadow with real eyes before.... spooky!! 

[nudge]

1 minute ago, Bluewolf said:

Never seen a shadow with real eyes before.... spooky!! 

Yeah... that's once-in-a-lifetime shot for sure...

[CaaC (John)+]

These sightings of engendered tigers in western Thailand are rekindling hope that the animals are returning to the country's forests after being poached near extinction.
Source: CNN

[CaaC (John)+]

Bloody shite myself just looking at them climbing the dam. 

 

 The incredible ibex defies gravity and climbs a dam | Forces of Nature with Brian Cox - BBC

 

[CaaC (John)+]

Sad day here, especially for wee Kaiden, our daughter called with him and the oldest pet rat Badger who has not got long to go, 2 and a 1/2 years old but has a tumour and our daughter will have to get her put down in the next two days, I managed to feed her some chicken before the daughter left to go home. Badger finds it hard to move nowadays so best all around I guess.

[Stan]

 

 

[Bluewolf]

One early morning last week while I was out on the decking area having a coffee ( about 4am ) In the silence I could suddenly hear this rustling under the seating where I was sitting so I got my phone and shone the light under there thinking it might be a Mouse or a Rat only to find a Hedgehog grubbing about... very,very rare to see them these days, last time we saw one was last year on the lawn of next doors house.. I could see something moving from the window while I was decorating and went out to investigate so I took Leelah out to see it as she has never seen one EVER!! 

Well tonight the Mooms was trying to get under the chairs we have stacked up in the corner and suddenly emerges with this hedgehog in her mouth and carries it over to the seating area then promptly starts dribbling everywhere because she has spikes stuck in her mouth... got it in a box now for a while and when the cat and dog are both in later I will let it out again to go about it's business.. Not sure how it got in as the place is fairly secure but it found a way... I often hear noises in the very early hours when I am out there but have never actually seen anything.. It has plenty of places to hide/hibernate so may have been with us sometime without previously being discovered.. 

Might explain why the cat continues to hang around the pond area every evening patrolling up and down... 

[CaaC (John)+]

10 humorous pictures from the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2020

The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards is a global photography competition, showcasing unintentionally funny images of the earth’s most amazing wildlife.

The competition is open to all and is free to enter. Held every year, the awards throw up some really funny images, and this year is no exception, and, let’s face it, we all need a good laugh right now.

Here, we pick out our favourites from the 44 finalists.

PHOTOS - 1/9

[CaaC (John)+]

Quote

Conservation: Bridge of hope for world's rarest primate

Swinging through the treetops comes naturally for gibbons.

But that's tricky if a landslide has torn a huge gap in the forest, making it difficult to roam far and wide, to find food or meet a date.

For the rarest primate in the world, there's now a temporary solution: a rope bridge reconnecting the trees.

And scientists have filmed the ape, a type of gibbon, climbing or swinging across in seconds.

Some used the ropes as a handrail, others swung by their arms and the most daring walked the tightrope.

The primate lives only in the forests of China's Hainan island.

All nine in the group mastered the rope bridge, save one adult male, which made a mighty jump from one tree to another, sometimes accompanied by athletic teenage companions.

Conservation scientists say the 18-metre-long structure could be an essential lifeline for the endangered species, while the forests are restored to their former glory.

A small number of primates, including the orangutan, have been seen to use artificial rope bridges. But this is the first time the Hainan Gibbon has learnt the ropes.

The gibbon is the most critically endangered primate on Earth, with only about 30 left.

A conservation programme run by the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden in Hong Kong is trying to rescue the species from extinction.

Dr Bosco Chan says the rope bridge should help boost numbers as part of various conservation efforts.

"When we started work at the reserve, in 2003, we could only find two groups with a total of 13 individuals were left in the entire world," he told BBC News.

"The gibbon population has gradually recovered, with a third and fourth family group formed in 2011 and 2015, respectively.

"At the beginning of 2020, we confirmed the formation of the fifth group, and the world population has bounced back to over 30 individuals. It shows the species is slowly recovering, and we should have hope."

Reforestation should be the priority in preventing the extinction of the species, he added.

"We need to make sure we control poaching effectively, expand lowland forest which is the optimal habitat for gibbons, and keep monitoring the gibbon groups to predict and prevent any threats. "

Once common across China, the apes are now confined to a patch of forest on the island in the South China Sea.

Within their habitat, they travel above ground from tree to tree. Gaps in the canopy, both natural and man-made, can tie them to a specific area, interfering with foraging and breeding, and increasing the risk of predation.

Nearly 20 gibbon species exist throughout the world, from northeastern India to Borneo. Most are under threat from the destruction of forests, hunting and illegal trade.

Two species of gibbon have recently disappeared in China and all surviving Chinese species, including the Hainan Gibbon (Nomascus hainanus), are classified as Critically Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

The study is published in the journal, Scientific Reports.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-54557877

 

[Azeem]

[Stan]

Which one is you @Azeem? 

[MUFC]

 

[Stan]

Birds, but whatever!

 

[nudge]

11 minutes ago, Stan said:

Birds, but whatever!

 

Looks unreal...

Also, for the bolded part... are we having a new "Egypt is not Africa" moment here?  

[Stan]

10 minutes ago, nudge said:

Looks unreal...

Also, for the bolded part... are we having a new "Egypt is not Africa" moment here?  

How dare you. 

[CaaC (John)+]

On 06/11/2020 at 22:55, Stan said:

Birds, but whatever!

 

Fuck man, that is unreal, I guess it's like them playing follow the leader. 

[CaaC (John)+]

Pretty deadly: The world’s most beautiful but dangerous creatures

FRAMES 1/8

 

 

 

 

 

[nudge]

Two new animal species discovered in Australia. Just look at it... 

[CaaC (John)+]

Quote

Newly discovered primate 'already facing extinction'

A monkey that is new to science has been discovered in the remote forests of Myanmar.

The Popa langur, named after its home on Mount Popa, is critically endangered with numbers down to about 200 individuals.

Langurs are a group of leaf-eating monkeys that are found across south-east Asia.

The newly described animal is known for its distinctive spectacle-like eye patches and greyish-coloured fur.

It is at risk from habitat loss and hunting.

Scientists have long suspected there might be a new species in Myanmar, based on DNA extracted from the droppings of wild monkeys, but evidence has been hard to find.

With very little information to go on, they turned to historical specimens stored in natural history museums in London, Leiden, New York and Singapore.

Early explorers to Burma collected the monkey specimens, which had never been examined in detail.

The researchers extracted DNA and measured physical features such as the tail and ear length, which they compared with those of wild populations.

This revealed a new species, the Popa langur, which is found only in patches of forest in the centre of the country. Most live in a wildlife sanctuary park on the slopes of the sacred pilgrimage site of Mount Popa.

Describing the species scientifically will help in its conservation, said Frank Momberg of the conservation group Fauna & Flora International.

He told BBC News: "The Popa langur, just newly described, is already critically endangered and facing extinction so it's absolutely critical to protect the remaining population and to engage with local communities as well as private sector stakeholders to safeguard its future."

There are only 200 to 250 animals of the new species, which live in four isolated populations.

In the last decade or so, Myanmar has opened up to international collaborations with scientists, which has led to the discovery of species new to science, including reptiles, amphibians. But the discovery of a new primate is rare.

Christian Roos of the primate genetics laboratory at the German Primate Centre in Gottingen said the animals faced threats from habitat loss and hunting.

"Hunting is a big problem but the bigger threat is the habitat is almost gone and it is reduced, fragmented and isolated due to human encroachment, " he said.

The discovery is described in the journal Zoological Research.

Genetic studies revealed that the Popa langur (Trachypithecus popa) separated from other known species around one million years ago.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-54894681