Strange Beasts

Every child loves lions, tigers and elephants or, closer to home, cats, dogs and rabbits. But what about the more unusual?

A bid to protect some of the world’s most bizarre animals – many of which are being completely ignored by current international conservation efforts – is just under way.

The move by the Zoological Society of London focuses on the world’s most threatened animals and is called Edge, which stands for Evolutionary, Distinct and Globally Endangered.

Dr Jonathan Baillie, the ZSL scientist leading the project, said, ‘This is the first global-scale programme specifically developed to focus on these one-of-a-kind and highly threatened animals.

‘We will be working to protect some of the world’s most extraordinary species, including giant venomous shrew-like creatures, matchbox-sized bats and egg-laying mammals, all of which are teetering on the Edge of extinction.’

Edge animals are those with few close relatives and are highly distinct genetically. These animals are also extremely endangered and desperately in need of immediate action to save them from becoming extinct.

By mathematically combining a measure of each species’ unique evolutionary history with its threat of extinction, the scientists are able to give species an Edge value, which identifies species that are unique and at significant risk of extinction.

The Edge team has assessed how much conservation attention each of the top 100 Edge species is currently receiving and found that over two-thirds are receiving little or no conservation attention.

The ZSL is starting work to protect 10 of the most unusual and threatened species this year including:

1. Yangtze River dolphin;

2. Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna (egg-laying mammal);

3. Hispaniolan solenodon (venomous shrew-like creature);

4. Bactrian camel;

5. Pygmy hippopotamus;

6. Slender loris (a shy, nocturnal primate with gigantic eyes);

7. Hicola antelope (known as the ‘four-eye antelope’ as its preorbital glands look like a second set of eyes);

8. Golden-rumped elephant shrew (the size of a small rabbit, which can run at speeds of up to 15.5mph/25kph);

9. Bumblebee bat (possibly the world’s smallest mammal);

10. Long-eared jerboa (mouse-like animals with the largest ear- to-body ratio of any mammal).

Dr Baillie said, ‘It is a tragedy that many Edge species are being ignored and are slipping silently towards extinction.

‘It is essential that we now focus our energies on highlighting and protecting these remarkable species before it is too late.’

Amanda Brown

(c) 2007 Western Mail. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.