One of Zimbabwe’s largest wildlife reserves, the Bubye Valley Conservancy, recently announced that it was considering culling up to 200 lions as the c… From: www.outdoorhub.com
GR: Too many people; no place for lions.
Category Archives: Endangered Species
The Owl Massacre of 2016: Proposed Timber Sale to Take Over 100 Northern Spotted Owls
In the past year, EPIC has talked a lot about the proposed Westside Project—a massive logging project on the Klamath National Forest. In case you haven’t heard, the Klamath National Forest has proposed logging approximately 6,800 acres of clearcuts near the Klamath River. The majority of these clearcuts—upwards of 70%—are scheduled for northern spotted owl critical habitat and/or “Late Successional Reserves,” lands set aside for northern spotted owls. You can find more at our archives, located here.
On Friday, February 19, 2016, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued its Biological Opinion on the Westside Project which detailed the amount of carnage this logging project would cause to northern spotted owls. The numbers are grim. All told, the Westside Project would “take” up to 103 owls; 74 adults and between 12–24 juveniles.
To put this number in perspective, this represents 1–2% of all northern spotted owls left. While this might not seem like a lot, rangewide populations of northern spotted owl are in increasingly steep decline. A recent demographic study estimates that northern spotted owl populations have declined by 3.8% per year from 1985 to 2013 and suggests the rate of decline appears to be increasing. You can read more about the plight of the northern spotted owl and EPIC’s efforts to help save the owl on our new blog post, located here. From: www.wildcalifornia.org
GR: The U. S. Forest Service strikes again! Simultaneous deforestation and attack on an endangered-species.
Mali’s Desert Elephants Face Extinction in 3 Years
“DAKAR, Jan 28 (Reuters) – Mali’s elephants, one of just two remaining desert herds in the world, will be gone in three years unless the government does more to protect them, a conservation group said on Thursday.
“Poachers have taken advantage of the chaos from a growing Islamist insurgency and other unrest in the lawless north to step up ivory trafficking – a trade that the United Nations says funds militants.
“Sixteen elephants have been killed so far this month, adding to more than 80 slaughtered in 2015, said Susan Canney, director of Mali Elephant Project for the WILD Foundation.” www.scientificamerican.com
GR: These great animals indicate the consequences of our lack of concern for other species. Instead of protecting our fellow creatures, we eat up their habitats and harvest their body parts.
Stop Costa Rica’s Illegal Logging From Destroying National P… – Care2 News Network
“As one of the top 20 countries with the most biodiversity, Costa Rica is deeply committed to environmental protection and conservation.
GR: After all the protection efforts, Nature is never safe from human progress–sign the petition.
Congo giraffes near to extinction | The Times
The last giraffes in the Democratic Republic of Congo are teetering on the brink of extinction, conservationists have warned, with only 38 animals left. . . . From: www.thetimes.co.uk
GR: There aren’t any words to describe this sad loss. Here’s a National Geographic story that provides more information on giraffes.
World’s wildlife trade regulator meets to assess compliance with multilateral rules, strengthen measures to prevent extinctions and tackle illicit trafficking | CITES
This post includes summary statements on several popular species. I’ve included grey parrots here as an example.
“The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is currently the range State with the largest volume of exports of wild-sourced grey parrots. According to trade records reported by importing countries, DRC has exceeded the annual export quota for various consecutive years. There are no recent scientific studies on the status of the DRC populations of grey parrot, which can provide a science base for the establishment of quotas. There are however suggestions that the populations are declining. Furthermore, there exists an alarmingly high rate of mortality (50% or higher) in domestic transport before the export takes place.
“In the light of the current situation, the Standing Committee is asked to consider a recommendation for all Parties to suspend commercial trade in grey parrots from DRC until all the concerns and recommendations have been sufficiently addressed.” From: cites.org
GR: CITES appears to have no ability to reduce poaching or illegal trafficking in endangered species. The organization follows ponderously behind as popular species are captured or killed for fun, food, and profit. Of course, there have been valuable contributions by CITES, but Earth’s animals and plants are dying so rapidly now that the contributions have little meaning. One might argue that the damage caused by a gathering of 500 participants from across the globe exceeds the value of the organization’s continued existence.
So, what can we do to protect wildlife?
Most people might say that they appreciate wild animals and plants and want them to survive. People have paid for wildlife refuges, landscape linkages, inventories, ecological research, and interventions on behalf of endangered species. However, these conservation efforts have not offset the harm caused by air pollution, construction, invasive species, farming, livestock production, and trafficking. Will we act to increase spending for conservation? Will we act to begin reducing our population? Perhaps both answers are yes, but if we ask if our acts will be sufficient to protect wildlife, the answer is probably no.
Numbers dwindle at Mexico’s mountain of butterflies
“The number of Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) wintering in Mexico plunged this year to its lowest level since studies began in 1993, leading experts to announce Wednesday that the insects’ annual migration from the United States and Canada is in danger of disappearing.
“A study released by the World Wildlife Fund, Mexico’s Environment Department and the Natural Protected Areas Commission blames the displacement of the milkweed the species feeds on by genetically modified crops and urban sprawl in the United States, as well as the dramatic reduction of the butterflies’ habitat in Mexico due to illegal logging of the trees they depend on for shelter.” From: www.theguardian.com
GR: This Guardian story is worth repeating. It covers the situation very well. It highlights the conservation failure of NAFTA and the disastrous consequences of Monsanto’s war on wildlife. Of course, the Monarch, like the Honey Bees, is just one of the many species being destroyed by pesticides and destructive harvest of the natural environment.
NASA: Worst of El Nino Still to Come. With Climate Change in the Mix, 2015-2016 Event May Equal Most Devastating On Record
GR: Perhaps a year of extremes will help bring more people to their senses. Human population pressure (building, farming, logging, grazing, poisoning) has eliminated half of Earth’s accumulated genetic marvels. With population pressure continuing, and with human-caused climate change creating relatively sudden habitat changes, many more of our fellow creatures will surely be lost. Some of the finest minds I’ve encountered have fought for climate prudence. So far, they have failed to slow the change. I’m hopeful that this year’s weather will lend them a hand. Human activities are battering our ecosystems. Harsh weather will be harmful too, but worth it if it wakes up a few more of our too gullible citizens. [So it has to be “like” for me.]
Decision to declare lions endangered comes just months after the death of ‘Cecil the Lion’
GR: American trophy hunters just aren’t rich enough to stop this move. In other instances, it is clear that protecting economic interests is more important to the Fish and Wildlife Service than protecting wildlife (e.g., the Greater Sage Grouse: http://www.fws.gov/greatersagegrouse/status.php). That’s the way it is in America. Government agencies that actively harm the wildlife or ecosystems in their care are just one more consequence of a government controlled by money.