Latest Endangered species Stories
Preserving just 4 percent of the ocean could protect crucial habitat for the vast majority of marine mammal species, from sea otters to blue whales, according to researchers at Stanford University and the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Their findings were published in the Aug. 16 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Of the 129 species of marine mammals on Earth, including seals, dolphins and polar bears, approximately one-quarter are...
A new study by scientists from the Census of Marine Life has placed the number of species of animals on planet Earth to about 8.7 million, a number based on a validated analytical technique that narrows the range much more than the previous estimate of between 3 million and 100 million. The scientists also noted that only about a quarter of all species on the planet have been discovered, and they say that many could exist in our own backyard. So far, only 1.9 million species have...
The Iberian lynx, one of the most endangered cats in the world and Europe’s most endangered carnivore, may not be doomed by its small population size, according to a study published Monday in the journal Molecular Ecology. Just 250 Iberian lynx are believed to exist in the wild, raising the risks of inbreeding and low genetic diversity. However, the current study suggests the lynx has had little genetic variability over the last 50,000 years, and that this has not hindered the...
A study using hidden motion-sensor cameras has revealed mammals' lives around some of the world's most remote forests. The researchers sought to collect data on mammals living in seven different forests locations. Dr Jorge Ahumada of the Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring Network (TEAM) at Conservational International and colleagues captured over 50,000 images of 105 species that ranged from three-ton elephants to a 26-gram Linnaeu's Mouse Opposum. Protected regions in Uganda,...
Seven species are threatened and in need of further protectionA global study by an international team including professor John Graves of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science has found that several species of tunas and billfishes are threatened and in need of further protection.The team's analysis"”published in a recent issue of Science magazine's Policy Forum"”is the first study of global tuna and billfish populations using the methods of the International Union for Conservation of...
The world's ravenous appetite for consuming thousands of tons of frogs' legs every year is driving the amphibians to extinction, and could have a significant impact on bio-diversity, according to a new report by international wildlife conservation groups.The report, entitled "Canapés to Extinction: The international trade in frogs' legs and its ecological impact", was authored by the groups Pro Wildlife, Defenders of Wildlife and the Animal Welfare Institute, and is the first comprehensive...
Marine researchers in New Zealand have identified the direct impact of fishing as the largest known human factor in the decline of the endangered native sea lion population. The team's findings, published in Mammal Review, discount non-human factors, such as disease and identifies resource competition and by-catch incidents as the most likely causes.The New Zealand sea lion Phocarctos hookeri is the country's only native pinniped species and is listed as 'nationally critical'. The species...
Researchers, led by ecologist Sandra Pompa from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, have identified 20 of the most important regions of the world's oceans and lakes that are crucial to ensuring the survival of marine mammals such as seals, whales and porpoises, reports the Guardian. Marine mammals are under constant threat from climate change, ocean acidification, hunting and other perils. Of the 20 important sites chosen, 11 include creatures that are found nowhere else on Earth,...
Federal wildlife officials said on Tuesday that the gopher tortoise has been listed as eligible for protection under the Endangered Species Act, but limited funding could prevent the tortoise from being put on the list at this time.Cindy Dohner, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's regional director for the Southeast, said there is sufficient scientific data to list the gopher tortoise as threatened in parts of Alabama, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina. "But we do not have the...
A genetic study of the world's largest sheep species has revealed that the big-horned animals travel extensively across the mountainous borders of Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and China according to Wildlife Conservation Society researchers with the support of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).Using a non-invasive technique that extracts DNA from fecal samples, researchers in WCS's Afghanistan Program found that Marco Polo sheep in the Pamir Mountains of Afghanistan are...
Latest Endangered species Reference Libraries
Baird’s Tapir (Tapirus bairdii) is native to Central America and northern areas of South America. It is among three species of tapir that is native to Latin America. Baird’s tapir was named after Spencer Fullerton Baird, an American naturalist who observed the creatures in 1843 on a trip to Mexico, even though W. T. White, another American naturalist, made the first documentation of the tapir. Commonly known as danta by people throughout its range, this tapir has been given other...
The Bonytail Chub (Gila elegans) is a species of freshwater fish native to certain areas of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada and Utah in the United States. Bonytail chub prefer backwaters with rocky or muddy bottoms and flowing pools, although they have been reported in swiftly moving water. They are mostly restricted to rocky canyons today, but were historically abundant in the wide downstream sections of rivers. It is the rarest of the endemic big-river fishes of the Colorado River. It...
The Gray Bat (Myotis grisescens), is a small bat that lives in caves throughout the southern United States. It usually chooses caves which are located within one mile of a river or reservoir. The range of the endangered gray bat is concentrated in the cave regions of Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama, with occasional colonies and individuals found in adjacent states. The species' present total population is estimated to number over 1,500,000. The gray bat's range overlaps...
The Rothschild's Birdwing (Ornithoptera rothschildi), is a large butterfly from the birdwing genus endemic to the Arfak Mountains, Western New Guinea. The Rothschild's Birdwing has the most restricted distribution of all birdwings. Its preferred habitat is flowering meadows in an altitude from 6500 to 8800 feet. The females can reach a wingspan up to 6 inches. The forewings are dark brown to blackish brown with creamy white to grayish spots. The hindwings rimmed with black scales and have...
The beluga (Huso huso) is a species of anadromous fish in the sturgeon family (Acipenseridae) of order Acipenseriformes. It is found primarily in the Caspian and Black Sea basins, and occasionally in the Adriatic Sea. Heavily fished for the female's valuable roe"”known as beluga caviar"”the beluga is a large, maximum 19 feet (6 meters), slow-growing and late-maturing fish that can live for 150 years. The species' numbers have been greatly reduced by over-fishing or poaching, prompting...
