Horror in Africa

African elephants being poached in unprecedented numbers.  They are disappearing from the continent as the poachers become increasingly militarized.

Full story here at the New York Times.

Humboldt Penguins in Chile Face Extinction

From the Huffington Post....

Invading rats with bodies up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) long have begun eating eggs and chicks, and some experts fear that unless the rats are eradicated, they could tip the Humboldt penguin toward extinction.

Efforts to Rescue Lolita the Orca from Miami

Read the rest of the article in the Courthouse News Service....

Animal-rights activists claim an orca is being held in an "inadequate tank" in the Miami Seaquarium. They sued the National Marine Fisheries Service for excluding captive killer whales from listing under the Endangered Species Act.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund, People for the Ethical Treatment of Individuals and three individuals challenge the NMFS decision "to exclude from the listing of the Southern Resident killer whale population all captive members of that population and their progeny."

The federal complaint focuses on a whale named Lolita, who was captured more than 40 years ago, and has been held at the Miami Seaquarium. The activists claim Lolita is being "kept in an inadequate tank, without companions of her own species or adequate protection from the sun."

Sad Story about Exotic Animals in Ohio

The owner released them and killed himself. Now, 48 of the 56 animals have been put down. Tragic. These animals include endangered species.

What was he thinking?

Polar Bears Keep "Threatened" Status

This is good news. For the full story, here's the link to the Environmental News Network.

A federal judge on Thursday upheld a 2008 decision to protect polar bears throughout their range as a “threatened” species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The listing was the result of a 2005 petition and litigation filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, Natural Resources Defense Council and Greenpeace. The polar bear was the first species added to the Endangered Species List due solely to the threat from global warming.

Cute Pictures from Mountain Gorilla Births in February

Twins born in February, a rare event! Here's the link to some cute pictures! Eerie how similar to humans they appear....

Chimpanzee Meat Sold In British Black Market

Disgusting. Sometimes it's hard to read these stories. It makes one feel so helpless.

Sad Fate for Rare Whale in Olympia, WA

This is really sad.

Full story at mynorthwest.com...

A severely injured whale off the shores of Olympia has little chance of survival, an expert said Thursday.

The animal is either a sei or Bryde's whale, said biologist John Calambokidis with Cascadia Research. "Both would be extremely rare. The sei is endangered and is rarely seen off the West Coast. The Bryde's is a more tropical species not usually seen north of southern California."

The 40-foot whale is suffering from a large, deep gash on its back, probably caused by a collision with a fast-moving boat. The injuries are making it difficult for the animal to surface normally.

"It almost looks like part of its back has erupted. There's ragged tissue around the edges of it," Calambokidis said.

Sobering Tiger Statistics

Very sad. I wish I could say something inspiring or hopeful, but it's hard to feel that way when you read these kinds of stories.

For the rest of the article, go to this TRAFFIC link...

Parts of at least 1,069 Tigers have been seized in Tiger range countries over the past decade, according to new analysis of Tiger seizures carried out by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network.

Reduced to Skin and Bones (PDF, 4 MB) shows that from January 2000 to April 2010, parts of between 1,069 and 1,220 Tigers were seized in 11 of the 13 tiger range countries—or an average of 104 to 119 animals per year.

Of the 11, India, China and Nepal ranked highest in the number of tiger part seizures, the report states, with India by far the highest number of Tiger part seizures at 276, representing between 469 and 533 Tigers. China, with 40, had the second highest number of seizures, or 116-124 Tigers, and Nepal reported 39 seizures, or 113-130 Tigers, according to the report.

Interpol Makes Arrests in Tiger Smuggling

From the PR Newswire...

A coordinated international law enforcement operation has led to the arrest of 25 individuals suspected of taking part in the illicit trade of tigers, one of the world's most endangered species.

The two-month operation involved national enforcement agencies in six tiger-range countries (China, India, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam) and was coordinated by INTERPOL's Environmental Crime Program at its headquarters in Lyon, France. "International collaboration in wildlife crime enforcement is critical to protecting species like tigers that are on the brink of extinction," said Fred O'Regan, President and Chief Executive Officer of IFAW, the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

Sandpiper Species Heading Towards Extinction

Really sad.

The Spoon-billed Sandpiper, one of the world's most threatened birds, is rapidly heading towards extinction because young birds are being targeted for human consumption.

Spoon-billed Sandpipers nest only in the far north-east of Russia. In 2000, around 1,000 breeding pairs were known, but by 2009, the number had plummeted to just 120–220 pairs, a decline of 88%.

During that time, adult survival appeared unchanged and breeding success was reasonable, but the recruitment of young birds back into the adult population was zero in all but one of the years studied.

Now an international team of scientists has discovered the apparent reason behind the dramatic decline and why young birds are particularly at risk.

...In both 2009 and 2010, the team located around 200 Spoon-billed Sandpipers—the majority of the world population—wintering in Myanmar, most of them in the Bay of Martaban where local people target wading birds for food.

“The unintentional targeting of young Spoon-billed Sandpipers during the summer months explains the lack of recruitment of new birds into the breeding population,” said Zöckler.

To prevent the Spoon-billed Sandpiper’s extinction urgent action is needed, both to find ways to give local people economic alternatives to hunting birds and to persuade hunters to release any sandpipers they catch.

Ligers in China

A private zoo operator in Taiwan cross-bred lions and tigers, resulting in three "liger" cubs. One died and the other two were seized for sheltering at a research institution. Both species are endangered and it is illegal to cross breed them.

From Focus Taiwan...

The Environmental and Animal Society of Taiwan (EAST) said Huang, who possesses an array of wildlife, should be dealt with harshly to deter others from copying the behavior.

"Cross-breeding two protected species is completely against nature. We are urging the Council of Agriculture (COA) to seize the two cubs immediately and bring Huang to real justice. A fine of NT$50,000 is a mere slap on the wrist, " said Lin Tai-jing, an EAST researcher.

Illegal Puma Skin Sent to India

It was sent from North America to India and confiscated by the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau. It was labeled as a "rug" and the only reason they searched was because of a tip.

Mexican Male Caught Smuggling Titi Monkeys

Caught at the airport in Mexico City, he had 18 of these monkeys and two of them were dead.

Another Bird Species Goes Extinct

This time, it's the Alaotra grebe from Madagascar, according to the 2010 IUCN Red List update for birds, by BirdLife International.

The report has bad news for bird species all around, identifying 12.5 percent as being endangered.

Asian Demand for Ivory Pushing Elephants to Extinction

Be warned. Very upsetting article.

Portugal Pursued by EU for Poor Environmental Policies

Oh, it's no surprise that the Portuguese are allowing rampant development for tourism. But I'm glad the EU is calling them on it.

From the Portugal News...

The European Commission said on Wednesday it is pursuing legal action against Portugal for breaching nature protection legislation. The Commission said it is sending Portugal a final warning over an inadequate impact assessment for a tourist resort development in the south of the country which falls under the Natura 2000 programme.

...The case concerns the Montinho da Ribeira resort at Algoceira in the Alentejo region. The resort falls within a site protected by the Habitats Directive and in the vicinity of a Special Area of Conservation for wild birds (Costa Sudoeste sites).

The resort includes 322 villas, 40 apartments and a hotel. It also foresees two golf courses, road infrastructure, a water treatment station and a waste water treatment plant. Four other resorts are also planned nearby.

Oil to Hit US Shore Either this Sunday or Monday

That's when the full impact of the oil spill on wildlife will be seen. Right now, there are still no confirmed deaths due to the spill, but rescue groups are gearing up for the worst. The animals threatened most by the spill are bluefin tuna, sea turtles, brown pelicans, shrimp and sharks.

Mary Landrieu is Stupid

This Louisiana Senator is just a slave to these oil interests and I'm sick of her.

She's calling for MORE frigging oil drilling in spite of the catastrophe in the Gulf.

I'd like to shove her face in a vat of oil and not bring her up for a long, long time.

Gulf Coast Wildlife Threatened by Oil Spill

Here's a slideshow of the most imperiled animals.