(by 9 people)
Do We Want to Leave a Legacy for Our Children with No MoreTigers and Orangutans?
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Red List: Endangered
The Tiger is the world's largest living big cat and among the world's most highly threatened animals. Around 2,500 tigers exist in the wild today, down from 100,000 at the turn of the 20th century.
Wild tigers call few places home today. Half of the wild population is in India, and the rest is scattered in Bangladesh, China, and Russia. Historically, this magnificent cat could be found in the islands of Bali and Java, across Asia, and all the way to eastern Turkey. Of the eight known tiger subspecies that once existed in this vast area, almost half are extinct in the wild.
Commercial poaching is the main cause of these declines. Tigers are one of the most sought-after victims of the wildlife trade. On the black market, a whole tiger is worth less than the sum of its parts. While a cat's skin might sell for $10,000, its bones and body parts can fetch double or even triple that amount. Once sold, these parts often wind up on pharmacy shelves as traditional medicines and dining tables as delicacies across Asia.
This large predator requires sufficient space for it to thrive. As developing nations clear entire forests to meet the needs of their growing populations and economies, tigers are forced to roam around landscapes that are too small and fragmented to support their prey.
Our scientists are leading efforts to identify biodiversity conservation corridors that support highly threatened species and human development by promoting conservation-friendly land uses where necessary.
New data decreases Orangutan populations
On the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the orangutan population has been revised downwards from 7,501 to 6,600 in 2004. The new figure is the result of the discovery that a large area of Aceh which was thought to contain orangutans, did not in fact have contain any. Researchers also state that the 2004 estimated population on the island of Borneo of 54,000 orangutans has probably declined due a 10% loss in habitat from 2004 to 2008.
Only 40 - 60 Indonesian Javan Rhino Rhinoceros Remain
Indonesian Javan Rhino RhinocerosThe Indonesian Javan Rhino is very rare (40 -60), but all occur in one population which is well protected, so it is probably not as endangered as the Sumatran Rhino. Nevertheless, the Indonesian population is precarious because of its small numbers and the fact that the population does not seem to have increased in size for the last 15 years.
Coral Reefs Face Extinction
Coral Reefs Are Dying
Many coral reefs are dying from water pollution.One-third of the more than 700 species of reef-building corals are threatened with extinction.
The causes of the coral's demise are manifold, but they all come back to one culprit: us.
Overfishing - especially the kind that uses dynamite or poison to kill whole schools of fish - destroys the coral directly, while polluted runoff from agriculture simply chokes them.
Development in booming coastal economies from the Caribbean to Southeast Asia further threaten the delicate reefs.
Tourism - in the form of diving and snorkeling - can also cause damage. As with so many other endangered species around the world, there doesn't seem to be enough space for healthy coral reefs and unchecked human development.
The American Midwest is essentially the granary of the world, supplying corn, wheat and other crops to markets from Chile to China. But all that food doesn't grow by itself. In 2006 U.S. farmers used more than 21 million tons of nitrogen, phosphorus and other fertilizers to boost their crops, and all those chemicals have consequences far beyond the immediate area. When the spring rains come, fertilizer from Midwestern farms drains into the Mississippi river system and down to Louisiana, where the agricultural sewage pours into the Gulf of Mexico. Just as fertilizer speeds the growth of plants on land, the chemicals enhance the rapid development of algae in the water. When the algae die and decompose, the process sucks all the oxygen out of the surrounding waters, leading to a hypoxic event - better known as a "dead zone." The water becomes as barren as the surface of the moon. What sea life that can flee the zone does so; what can't, dies.
"It's just a litany of bad actions," says Brian Huse, the executive director of the Coral Reef Alliance.
"Over the past 35 to 50 years, we've lost 25% of our reefs worldwide. Put it altogether, and you can see why."
Orangutan Could be the First Great Ape to Become Extinct
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China's Rare White Dolphin Is Now Effectively Extinct
http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/white-dolphin-now-extinct-12-15.html
Scientists from China, Japan, Britain and the United States failed to find the white dolphin, known as the baiji, during a six-week search of its natural habitat in the Yangtze river last year.
"This result means the baiji is likely extinct," said Wang Ding, co-author of the survey and one of the world's leading experts on the species.
The dolphin was a victim of devastating pollution, illegal fishing and heavy cargo traffic on the Yangtze, Wang said.
The findings mean the baiji is likely the first mammal to become extinct in more than 50 years.
It is the cousin of the bottlenose dolphin, which is also on the critically endangered list.
The Most Important Thing For You To Decide Is---
Will You Help?
You Can Help!
In Just 5 Years, In 10 Years, In 15 Years - Gone Forever
The human population of the world is continuing to grow, while the once vast land ranges of Africa are shrinking. At the current rate of human expansion, the cheetah will become extinct in the wild in approximately 15 years.
"STOP THE CLOCK ON EXTINCTION!
If Not,
We Will Be Next!"
Do We Want To Loose These Magnificent Animals?
How Do You View Extinction Issues?
LisaKG wrote...
Hi, I'm from the wozone. It's really good to see you getting the word out on what's happening to our beautiful planet. Keep it up.
Posted November 07, 2008
cheerfulmadness wrote...
5 stars for your lens and your awareness of the fact that if they die, we will be next...
All the best,
Cheerful Madness
Posted November 07, 2008
qlcoach wrote...
Beautiful, touching, and well crafted lens. I rate it 5 stars. I appreciate your passion for saving the "almost extinct." I met you on the WOZ. Hope you will see how I try to help others in new ways too. Sincerely: Gary Eby, author and therapist.
Posted November 06, 2008
BigGirlBlue wrote...
It's truly amazing how we can sit by as these animals disappear forever.
Posted September 11, 2008
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