Elephant's Dying Cries Highlight Horrific Reality Of Poaching (VIDEO)

This is very sad indeed, it is estimated that if the current rate of poaching continues in Africa, the elephant will vanish from the earth by 2022.

International Animal Rescue film shocking scenes of deforestation and starving Orangutans

Great efforts are been made to save the last remaining orang-utans in the world!!

The Tragic Fate of the Wild Tiger.

 

The Tragic Fate of the Wild Tiger:

 

 

 

The tiger, one of the worlds most respected, loved and beautiful creatures, is on the verge of been lost forever.

 

The number of tigers in the wild has reduced dramatically over the last century, from over 100,000 in 1900 to as few as 3,200 in the wild day. There are a number of reasons why;

 

Their habitat has been destroyed, degraded and fragmented by human activity, including the clearing of forests for agriculture and the timber trade and development activity such as the building of roads.

Tigers have now lost 93% of their historic range. Also the tiger populations in the rainforests of Sumatra are vanishing at a staggering rate, reducing the number of the endangered species to as few as 400.  This is due to the recent expansion of oil and pulpwood plantations which has been  responsible for nearly two-thirds of the destruction of tiger habitat between 2009 and 2011.

 

 

Furthermore, as the worlds population grows rapidly, people and tigers are increasingly competing for space. The conflict threatens the worlds remaining tigers and poses a major threat for communities living in or around tiger habitat. As the tiger's habitat shrinks, tigers are forced to hunt domestic livestock which many local communities depend on. In retaliation many tigers are killed or captured;

 (Please be aware graphic footage below)  

 

 

 

 

However, poaching is perhaps the most immediate threat to the last remaining tigers in the wild. Every part of the tiger from the whiskers to the tail is traded in illegal wildlife markets. In a relentless demand, their parts are used for traditional medicines and are increasingly seen as a status symbol among wealthy Asians.

 

More than 5,000 captive bread-tigers are held in sickening Chinese farms. These animals are kept in small cages and starved to the extent that there fur is hanging off their bones, where they are mercilessly being killed to decorate the houses of the elite while their bones are ground down to make toxic wines.

 

 

 

The impact from the death of a single tiger can have huge consequences for a local population. If the tiger that was killed was female with cubs, her cubs are likely to die without their mother and the female's potential for future breeding is lost. If a male is killed, then his death can result in increase competition for his territory among the remaining males creating further disruption in potential breeding males. With a global population of only 3,200 this is a huge problem.

 

However, there is still a future for the tiger if we act now. The World Wildlife Fund has set up a bold initiative of doubling the numbers of tigers in the wild by 2022. They are focusing on protecting and connecting key tiger habitat, monitoring tigers and their prey and building political will.

 

 

Heads of government from all over the world met in 2010 and set up the first Tiger Summit to finalize a Global Tiger Recovery Programme. The summit was met with a success and huge multi government backing was given to the creation of a plan to help reverse the decline in wild tiger populations.

 

However, as the number of tigers continue to decrease, many have argued that more action is needed  to save this amazing species. Of the nine original subspecies of tiger, the Bali, Caspian and Javan are already extinct and the South China Tiger has not been seen in the wild for over 40 years. The five which remain, the Siberian, Malayan, Indo-Chinese, Bengal and Sumatran, are "spread across south-east Asia, small areas of China and Russia, and the sub-continent, with around 1,400 in India."

 

With the Indian government pledging to spend over $150 million on tiger protection in the next five years and the sentencing for tiger poachers increased to six years, there are signs that the necessary steps are finally being taken. However, what is needed is a worldwide push to save the tiger. As Dr Barney Long states "Saving the tiger is simple. All they need is enough prey, space and protection. The difficult part is securing unswerving long-term commitment from the world to save this species".

 

In short, it is up to the world to decide if they want to save one of our most majestic and beautiful animals, or if they are happy to sit back and see the king of the jungle disappear forever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Western black rhino declared extinct

Africa's western black rhino is now officially extinct according the latest review of animals and plants by the world's largest conservation network.

The subspecies of the black rhino -- which is classified as "critically endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species -- was last seen in western Africa in 2006.

 

The IUCN warns that other rhinos could follow saying Africa's northern white rhino is "teetering on the brink of extinction" while Asia's Javan rhino is "making its last stand" due to continued poaching and lack of conservation.

 

Rhino horn trade triggers extinction threat

 

"In the case of the western black rhino and the northern white rhino the situation could have had very different results if the suggested conservation measures had been implemented," Simon Stuart, chair of the IUCN species survival commission said in a statement.

This update offers both good and bad news on the status of many species around the world
Jane Smart, IUCN

 

"These measures must be strengthened now, specifically managing habitats in order to improve performance, preventing other rhinos from fading into extinction," Stuart added.

The IUCN points to conservation efforts which have paid off for the southern white rhino subspecies which have seen populations rise from less than 100 at the end of the 19th century to an estimated wild population of 20,000 today.

 

Where animals go before extinction

 

Another success can be seen with the Przewalski's Horse which was listed as "extinct in the wild" in 1996 but now, thanks to a captive breeding program, has an estimated population of 300.

Airlifting rhinos to safe location

 

 

Relocating rhinos to save the species

 

The latest update to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species reviews more than 60,000 species, concluding that 25% of mammals on the list are at risk of extinction.

 

Many plants are also under threat, say the IUCN.

Populations of Chinese fir, a conifer which was once widespread throughout China and Vietnam, is being threatened by the expansion of intensive agriculture according to the IUCN.

 

A type of yew tree (taxus contorta) found in Asia which is used to produce Taxol (a chemotherapy drug) has been reclassified from "vulnerable" to "endangered" on the IUCN Red List, as has the Coco de Mer -- a palm tree found in the Seychelles islands -- which is at risk from fires and illegal harvesting of its kernels.

 

Recent studies of 79 tropical plants in the Indian Ocean archipelago revealed that more than three quarters of them were at risk of extinction.

 

In the oceans, the IUCN reports that five out of eight tuna species are now "threatened" or "near threatened," while 26 recently-discovered amphibians have been added to the Red List including the "blessed poison frog" (classified as vulnerable) while the "summers' poison frog" is endangered.

 

"This update offers both good and bad news on the status of many species around the world," Jane Smart, director of IUCN's global species program said in a statement.

 

"We have the knowledge that conservation works if executed in a timely manner, yet, without strong political will in combination with targeted efforts and resources, the wonders of nature and the services it provides can be lost forever."

LETS STOP THE BADGER CULL

Please everyone who sees this please sign the petition against the badger cull underneath. This could save up to 100,000 badgers from been killed and end the holocaust against badgers.


http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/38257

Tiger count goes up in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu: Wildlife Conservation Society data

Our data base has recorded over 600 individual tigers in past seven years. The total tiger population in Karnataka is about 250 to 300.

Tiger population in India is not dwindling, at least in key reserves in south India where it is actually reaching saturation levels.

In Nagarahole and Bandipur National Parks in Karnataka and bordering areas in Tamil Nadu, tiger populations have reached saturation levels with surplus young tigers spilling out into forests and dispersing through forest corridors. In newer tiger reserves including Bhadra and Kudremukh, numbers have increased by as much as 50 percent.

This has emerged in new global data released by Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which is engaged in scientific monitoring and conservation programme in collaboration with government agencies including the National Tiger Conservation Agency.

"The picture is not at all dismal as often projected", said Dr Ullas Karanth, Bangalore-based conservationist who heads Asia operations of WCS. "Scientific monitoring of tiger and prey populations using techniques like Camera Trap, enhanced antipoaching patrols by government agencies and voluntary relocation of people with help from NGOs have helped in boosting tiger numbers significantly".

The Camera Trap project of WCS in Karnaraka, said to be the largest such globally, has helped in scientific monitoring. "Our data base has recorded over 600 individual tigers in the past seven years, and at any given point in time the total tiger population in Karnataka is about 250 to 300", Karanth said.

The overall tiger population densities in Nagarahole-Bandipur have remained high, ranging between 8 tigers per 100 square kilometer to 13 tigers per 100 square kilometres. The prey densities have also been high. "The dispersal and conflict patterns indicate that this population is producing a large surplus every year", he said. Elephants and leopards are among the wild species that share the same landscape.

The monitoring and conservation aspects of the Karnataka model can be emulated in reserves elsewhere though involvement of voluntary groups could vary keeping in view local situation, the veteran conservationist said.

In both states, wildlife staff vacancies have been filled up, patrolling systems have been improved with increased investments and local communities involved in conservation efforts.

It is a technique used to capture images of wild animals without direct human interference. Ordinary cameras are fixed at key points in a reserve, along with infrared sensors that let the camera clock whenever they sense movement in the forest. The locations are changed occasionally because their flash lights alert animals and they start avoiding the area. To distinguish one tiger from another, WCS has developed image processing software which allows speedy and reliable identification of tigers from trap photographs.

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/tiger-count-goes-up-in-karnataka-and-tamil-nadu-wcs/1/240283.html

Blood Ivory, The Last Stance of the Elephant in the Wild

Thousands of Elephants are dying each year so their tusks can be carved into religious objects and ornaments. Can the slaughter be stopped before it is to late?


In January 2012, a Hundred raiders on horseback out charged out of Chad, Central Africa, into Cameroon's Bouda Ndjidah National Park, slaughtering hundred of elephants-entire families. It was one of the worst concentrated killings of elephants seen since the adoption of the global ivory ban in 1989. Armed with AK47's and Rocket Propelled Grenades, the raiders tore down groups of elephants with military precision. Mother elephants clung to their young to save them, but terrified herds of up to 50 went down together.

The end scenes looked something like this;

 

 

You might ask why is this happening?

Elephant poaching levels are currently at their worst in a decade and the number of killings have dramatically increased in the last few years. It was reported by the WWF that over 32,000 elephants were indiscriminately killed last year.  With populations of wild elephants (African and Asian) at an all time low, (down from 3-4 million in the late 1950's to around 400,000 now) there is a real danger that unless drastic action is taken, the elephant will be extinct by as early as 2050.

Whilst the scene for poaching is in Africa, the destination for the resulting illegal ivory is almost always Asia, with China and Thailand considered the worst offenders in recent years.

 China is considered the key to defeating poachers says conversation groups, "as the final destination of the vast majority of the world's illegal ivory, China has seen a demand explode in recent years as the country's rich residents have grown ever fonder of trinkets and carvings made from illegal ivory".

Just last January two tonnes of ivory almost £800,000 worth was destined for Asia was seized in Kenya.

Furthermore, in the last six months alone more than six tonnes of elephant ivory worth close to $6.5 million was confiscated in one shipment alone in Hong Kong. With a black market price of $3000 per tonne of ivory, the trade in illegal ivory has now doubled since 2007.

Corruption is also rife in the ivory crisis. According to the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) a large amount of ivory stockpiles goes missing each year. A CITES report "Elephants in the Dust, The African Elephant Crisis" states that;

"The size of ivory stockpiles in many countries in and outside Africa, and their possible contribution to the illegal ivory supply chain, remains another important gap in the current understanding of the dynamics of the illegal ivory trade,"

At a recent 178 nation summit of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species a gang of "eight nations" were branded key players in the ivory crisis, including Kenya, Thailand, Uganda, Tanzania, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines and China. At its final decision, the CITES delegates approved a action plan for these countries to reduce their ivory trade or face international sanctions, barring their own wildlife and plant trades.

However, many have argued that this is not enough to stop the continued and expansive rise in the luxurious illegal ivory trade. Just last week 26 weeks elephants were killed at a World Heritage Site in Central Africa,

Overall, the evidence in front of us is undeniable, and we must decide as a global community which path we will take. The elephant can still be saved but the challenges are large and layered and the future of the species now depends on what happens next. 

Author: Harry Wright

Sources:

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/05/13/chaos-and-confusion-following-elephant-poaching-in-a-central-african-world-heritage-site/

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/15/world/asia/hong-kong-ivory

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/06/ivory-poaching-sanctions-cites

6 of Nature’s Loneliest Animals Looking for Love

The London Zoo recently put out a call to collectors that doubled as the animal version of a personals ad.
The zoo was looking for females of the Mangarahara cichlid, a species of fish so rare that none are thought to exist in the wild, and one that is in critical danger of going extinct entirely if the zoo’s two males and a further bachelor fish at a zoo in Berlin don’t find mates soon.

 

Many creatures are in this situation because they are endemic (i.e. unique) to specific areas and habitats and therefore at increased risk for extinction, or else because their numbers have been reduced by habitat destruction or hunting and poaching.

The Mangarahara cichlid isn’t alone. Here are some other lonely creatures looking for a friend.

Lonesome George

 

One of the most well-known members of the Forlorn Creatures Club was the aptly named Lonesome George, a Pinta Island tortoise from the Galapagos who sadly passed away last year after several failed attempts to successfully mate him with another tortoise and thereby continue the subspecies. At over 100 years old Lonesome George at least had a good run, but it was a long and solitary one (see “Lonesome George Not the Last of His Kind, After All?“).

Here are a few other lonesome creatures who we hope can find love and avoid a similar fate

Beauty Spots

The forests of Eastern Russia may not seem like big cat country but they are in fact home to the Amur leopard, a quick, clever, and striking feline of which only roughly 30 are thought to exist. Their eye-catching appearance is actually part of the problem. Despite their critically low numbers, the leopards are still being killed by poachers for their valuable skins.

Further compounding the Amur’s population problem is a food problem: It’s typical prey of deer and hare are often hunted by the residents of nearby villages, making it difficult for the population to grow. Luckily for the Amur leopard the Russian government took action in 2012 to create a 650,000-acre (263,046-hectare) protected zone called Land of the Leopard National Park, giving the species a fighting (and loving) chance.

Big Love

Then there’s the Javan rhinoceros. Once common throughout Southeast Asia, these lonely hulks are now isolated entirely to Ujung Kulon National Park in western Java, with fewer than 100 individuals thought to be remaining. As perhaps the rarest large mammal on Earth, needless to say their situation is critical and it’s in the interest of biodiversity that their love lives be as exciting as possible.

Lonely Mountains

 

Now spare a thought for a lonely heart from our own great ape family: the mountain gorilla of Central and East Africa. As humans have encroached on their habitat, mountain gorillas have been driven to higher, more unforgiving altitudes. The main factor putting the squeeze on the mountain gorilla is habitat loss, as displaced humans from conflict zones move in and in turn displace the gorillas, clearing flora for agriculture and to make charcoal.

Thanks to conservation efforts populations have stabilized somewhat in the past few years, though with a population estimated to be under 900 they remain critically endangered.

Small Porpoise, Big Pond

The vaquita is a mini-porpoise that makes its home in Mexico’s Gulf of California. It has suffered as a casualty of the fishing industry, getting unintentionally caught and killed in nets (a phenomenon known as “bycatch”). Because of this there are estimated to be only 200 individuals remaining.
Since their dolphin cousins are famously frisky animals, with prehensile penises, who even copulate face-to-face, populations would hopefully rebound if the porpoises were left to their own devices and free of human ones. One can only hope that efforts to eliminate bycatch incidents will be sucessful and that the vaquita will be left to get busy getting busy.

Source: http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/05/15/six-of-natures-loneliest-animals/

Chaos and Confusion Following Elephant Poaching in a Central African World Heritage Site

As poachers fired on forest elephants inside the Dzanga-Ndoki National Park, a World Heritage Site in the Central African Republic (CAR), the impotence of foreign governments and non-governmental organizations in preventing the slaughter of wildlife amid political chaos was, once again, revealed.
Earlier this week, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) reported that on May 6 a group of 17 heavily armed poachers, who presented themselves as part of the transitional Séléka government but were of Sudanese origin, entered the Dzanga-Ndoki National Park.

They then headed to Dzanga Bai, a large clearing where between 50 and 200 elephants gather at any given time during the day and night for the mineral salts. Ecoguards later reported that they saw these poachers fire at elephants from the observation platform used by scientists and tourists.

Located in southwestern CAR, the Dzanga-Sangha reserve (which includes the Dzanga-Ndoki National Park) is part of the Sangha River Tri-National Protected Area (TNS), which includes Nouabalé Ndoki National Park (NNNP) in the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) and Lobéké National Park in Cameroon. Dzanga-Sangha is home to rare western lowland gorillas and more than 1,000 forest elephants. (This population is part of several thousand that share habitat with NNNP.)
While most World Heritage sites in elephant range states are seriously affected by poaching, the remoteness of the Dzanga-Ndoki National Park, combined with on-the-ground support by WWF and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), have helped protect it from major poaching incidents. Until now.

For the past 30 years WWF, WCS, and the CAR government have collaborated on programs within the Dzanga–Sangha protected areas that both protect wildlife and support livelihoods for hundreds of local people.

For nearly 25 years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) also has supported efforts in the park, including funding research on the forest elephants that use Dzanga Bai.

Dozens of Elephants Dead

Following the retreat of poachers on the evening of May 8, ecoguards explored Dzanga Bai the next day and found more than 26 elephant carcasses: 20 adults and four youngsters in the clearing itself and two in the river nearby. All their tusks had been hacked off.
An assessment of additional damage, possibly including other elephant carcasses in the surrounding forest and smaller clearings, is ongoing. It is reported that at least one of the camps in the park has been ransacked.

A Surprise
The violent incursion took conservationists by surprise. Months earlier, groups of poachers originating from Sudan, who were killing elephants in the Ngotto forest (some 60 miles from Dzanga Sangha), had been successfully blocked from advancing toward Dzanga-Sangha by government troops supported by WWF.
WWF staff in the area thought the poachers had left the region and started their trek back to Sudan in order to beat river levels rising in the rains; their donkeys and camels would be unable to cross the swollen rivers.
While lawlessness in the area had increased over the last two months—rebels repeatedly pillaged park headquarters and WWF offices, and there had been some local elephant poaching—nobody was ready for the methodical attack.
Since 2010, poachers had sought the Dzanga Bai elephant clearing, but conservationists had managed to prevent them from reaching it.
“We didn’t expect to find our worst nightmare: the most experienced elephant killers of these parts of Central Africa,” said Bas Huijbregts, who leads the Illegal Wildlife Trade Campaign for WWF in Central Africa.
“With our staff evacuated after the pillaging,” Huijbregts said, “our main priority was maintaining a minimum protection presence to stop local poachers from going on a rampage in the park while continuing to try to mobilize reinforcements from central government troops in Bangui. We were not prepared for this.”

Who Are the Poachers?
Who are the poachers? The answer is unclear. The vehicle carrying the group into the park was branded as Séléka. The poachers did not speak the local language or French.
“We understand that these Sudanese poachers came with a mission order from Séléka powers in Bangui,” Huijbregts said.
In March, Séléka, which means “union” in the local Sango language and is an alliance of seven opposition groups, finally ousted former CAR President François Bozizé. Chaos has reigned since then.
There have been many reports of looting, rapes, killings, and other human rights abuses since the takeover. On April 29, the UN Security Council issued a statement expressing strong concern about the worsening humanitarian and security situation and the weakening of CAR institutions.
The Séléka-dominated government is having a very difficult time establishing control over the country. There are many fighters who report to no one, and many splinter groups, who refer to themselves as Séléka but who may or may not be part of the “official” alliance. It seems that each of the seven members of the alliance has its own chief of staff and armed fighters.
One such subsidiary of Séléka is currently stationed in Bayanga, a town near the park, where they’re in charge of protecting Chinese diamond prospectors. Unlike previous groups who sacked  the region, these men are reportedly well-disciplined. They have helped reestablish some rule of law and have had meetings with local authorities and ecoguards.
On Wednesday, this subsidiary delivered a message to the poachers in the park from the Séléka leadership in Bangui asking them to leave the park immediately and report to the Bayanga-based Séléka.
It appears that the poachers obeyed. According to WWF, by the evening of May 8, they had left the park with their truck fully loaded with ivory.
Since the shooting, WWF reports that no elephants have been seen in the area.
What Is Happening Now?
The CAR ministry of environment in Bangui was expected imminently to announce a mission to secure the area in and around the Dzanga-Sangha protected areas. But when that announcement will be made, what such a mission would be, and who would be involved is unclear.
It would likely be made up of agents from the ministry of environment, plus some compilation of other forces. These could include members from one or more of the seven groups that make up Séléka and perhaps some of the official armed forces, who reportedly have little or no weapons or equipment.
As of May 10, most of the park’s 42 ecoguards are back at their posts—watching and waiting.
“We’re at war right now, and it’s foggy,” explains Richard Ruggiero, Chief, Branch of Asia and Africa at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Ruggiero has worked on the ground in Central Africa for over 20 years. “The possibility exists that we can turn this around in the very near future.”
Indeed, it’s not the first time conservationists have faced this situation. In 1997, rebels threatened to wipe out elephant herds in the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), and a group of dedicated conservationists and government rangers successfully prevented it.
“We are considering all options,” Huijbregts said. “We urge the government in Bangui to send the support troops to the area that were promised almost two weeks ago. In the meantime, we continue to support the local rangers, who, against all odds, are still doing their job.”

The Greater Malady

Whatever actions are taken to resolve this crisis, the larger issue is the underlying incentive for the elephant poaching: high demand and high ivory prices.
“What we’re seeing in Dzanga-Sangha is a symptom of a greater malady,” Ruggiero said. “The malady is human selfishness and ignorance that produces the market that causes all of this demand. We’re seeing the symptoms being played out in CAR. The disease is greater and comes from elsewhere.”
“At the end of the day, one of two things will end poaching,” Huijbregts added. “Either there is no more demand, or there are no more elephants. The choice is up to us.”

Lets hope this does not mark the end of the African Elephants. Only 450,000 remaining in the world.

Source: http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/05/13/chaos-and-confusion-following-elephant-poaching-in-a-central-african-world-heritage-site/

Indian tigers face threat 'due to lack of genetic diversity'

India's tigers are facing extinction owing to a collapse in the variety of their mating partners, say Cardiff University researchers.

 

They found that 93% of DNA variants found in tigers shot the period of the British Raj were not present in tigers today

Prof Mike Bruford said the genetic diversity needed for the species to survive had been "lost dramatically".

There are fewer than 2,000 tigers left worldwide, 60% in India.

The Cardiff university team collaborated with the National Centre for Biological Sciences in Bangalore, India on the research.

They had unprecedented access to the Natural History Museum of London's tiger collection which allowed them to identify the DNA variants in the tigers killed in the British Raj period from 1858 to 1947 but which have disappeared today.

Mechanised trophy hunting reduced the animal's numbers from 40,000 in a mere 100 years.

The territory occupied by the tiger has declined more than 50% during the last three generations and mating now only occurs in 7% of its historical territory.

A tiger hunt on the back of elephants in India in 1912
Prof Bruford of the Cardiff School of Biosciences was one of the research's lead authors.

He said: "We found that genetic diversity has been lost dramatically compared to the Raj tigers and what diversity remains has become much more subdivided into the small (20-120 individual) populations that exist today.

"This is due to loss of habitat and habitat fragmentation, meaning lower population sizes, and the prevention of tigers from dispersing as they once would have, which means their gene pool is no longer mixing across the subcontinent.
Breeding programmes
"This is important because tigers, like all other species, need genetic diversity to survive - especially under climate change - so what diversity remains needs to be managed properly so that the Indian tiger does not become inbred, and retains its capacity to adapt."

Prof Bruford added: "Both conservationists and the Indian government must appreciate that the number of tigers alone is not enough to ensure the species' survival."

"They need to protect the whole spread of forest reserves because many reserves now have their own unique gene combinations, which might be useful for future breeding programmes.

"This study shows that genetic diversity can be lost and a new genetic structure can arise very quickly, if the effects of population collapse and habitat fragmentation are strong enough, so quick action is needed to stymie further demographic loss."

The report Demographic loss, genetic structure and the conservation implications for Indian tigers is published in the Proceedings of The Royal Society journal.

Funding for the project was provided by a Royal Society Collaborative Research Grant.

www.bbc.co.uk/news

Humans share 98% of DNA with the Great Apes of the World

Watch this video below, fantastic example of how man evolved from the Ape

Chimps share similar empathy levels with humans; Watch how a mother Chimp Reacts when she notices her dead baby!

Deforestation in Borneo and Sumatra

The forests are vanishing at an alarming rate;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yU4i8eNlD8U

It is estimated that the orang-utan will be extinct in Borneo within the next twenty years unless the deforestation stops. Extent of deforestation since 1950.

 

Great video about how the demands for Palm Oil are driving huge levels of deforestation!

 

Amazing! Bird sounds from the lyre bird - David Attenborough - BBC wildlife

Remarkable creature under threat from deforestation. Listen to the last sound from the bird!!

Sounds of the foresters working their chainsaws nearby !!

Oil firms and loggers 'push indigenous people to brink of extinction'

'Uncontacted' tribes forced to flee armed gangs and bulldozers in forests of Peru, Brazil and Paraguay, says Survival International.

Five "uncontacted" tribes are at imminent risk of extinction as oil companies, colonists and loggers invade their territiories. The semi-nomadic groups, who live deep in the forests of Peru, Brazil and Paraguay, are vulnerable to common western diseases such as flu and measles but also risk being killed by armed gangs, according to a report by Survival International, which identifies the five groups as the most threatened on Earth.
Sixty members of the Awá tribe are said to be fleeing from gangs of loggers and ranchers on their land near Maranhão, Brazil. "Logging roads have been bulldozed through a part of their territory, where the uncontacted groups are living. The ranchers want land to graze cattle for beef. The loggers regularly block roads to prevent government teams from entering the area to investigate," says David Hill, a Survival researcher and co-author of the report.
Little is known about the group of 50 Indians who live along the River Pardo in the western Brazilian Amazon, although there is plenty of evidence for their existence, including communal houses, arrows, baskets, hammocks, and footprints along river banks. "Loggers operating out of Colniza have forced them to be constantly on the run, unable to cultivate crops and relying solely on hunting, gathering and fishing. It is believed that the women have stopped giving birth," says the report.
Perenco, an Anglo-French oil company working in a proposed Indian reserve in northern Peru, is endangering several uncontacted tribes, says the report. "The company plans to send hundreds of workers into the region. In recent weeks, indigenous protesters have blockaded the Napo river in order to prevent Perenco boats from passing. In response, a naval gunboat was called in to break the blockade."
One group is believed to be a sub-group of the Waorani, and another is known as the Pananujuri. Perenco denies the tribes exist.
Other tribes in trouble include several living near the Envira river in the Peruvian Amazon. "They are being forced to flee across the border into nearby Brazil. Despite being provided with evidence of their existence, Peru's government has failed to accept that uncontacted Indians are fleeing from Peru to Brazil. Peru's president, Alan Garcia, has suggested the tribes do not exist," says the report.
Ranchers are bulldozing land where a fifth group lives – the Ayoreo-Totobiegosode in the Chaco forest of western Paraguay. This week a Paraguayan court ruled that a company had the right to log on their land, further endangering their existence.
There are believed to be more than 100 uncontacted groups in the world. They are concentrated in Latin America, and aerial photographs of one uncontacted tribe in Brazil's Acre state captured headlines a year ago. But as many as 40 could live in West Papua, where vast areas of forest and mountain have been barely explored.
"They remain in isolation because they choose to, and because encounters with the outside world have brought them only violence, disease and murder. They are among the most vulnerable peoples on Earth, and could be wiped out within the next 20 years unless their land rights are recognised and upheld," said Stephen Corry, director of Survival

Shocking effect of Oil Palm Plantations in Borneo!!

Orangutans need our help urgently. They are an endangered species and only around 50,000 orangutans are left in the wild (UN's latest estimate from 2007). The single biggest threat to their survival is the rapid destruction of the rainforest, mainly caused by the global need for palm oil.

Check the video below!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmRaN5OcQZs

10 Causes of Deforestation

Fire (1/10)

Indians from the Xingu National Park in Brazil inspect smoldering remains after trees were cleared and burned to make way for farming near their reserve.

Fire releases carbon dioxide and clouds of soot that can prevent normal rainfall. Poor logging practices, population growth, and urban expansion make forests more vulnerable to escaped fires. (Source: Reuters)

Agricultural Expansion (2/10)

Workers harvest soybeans in Nova Mutum, Mato Grosso state in western Brazil. Brazil now supplies some 34 percent of global soya exports, many of which go into making animal feed.

Large-scale agriculture is the main economic factor behind deforestatation. Additional profits can be made from timber thus driving agricultural expansion into forested rather than marginal lands. (Source: Reuters)

Cattle Ranching (3/10)

Cattle graze amid the remains of a burned-out forest outside of Boa Vista, northern Brazil. Rising living standards have increased local and global demand for meat.

In turn, the demand for grazing pasture and land to grow livestock feed has increased as well. Brazil has become one of the largest exporters of beef in the world. (Source: Reuters)

Palm Oil Production (4/10)

A truck drives through a palm oil plantation in Indonesia's Central Kalimantan province. Over the past decade, the area planted with oil palm in Indonesia has almost tripled.

Indonesia and Malaysia now supply over 80 percent of the world’s palm oil. Palm oil grown on cleared peat lands and turned into biofuels has a carbon footprint five times as big as diesel, says the Global Canopy Programme. (Source: Reuters)

Shrimp Farming (5/10)

Workers load shrimps onto a truck at a shrimp farm west of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Commercial farmers are clearing and draining mangrove forests—which shelter coasts from storms and sustain many unique species—to make way for shrimp farms. Coastal mangrove forests are peculiarly vulnerable to climate change impacts like rising sea levels and drought. (Source: Reuters)

Logging for Timber (6/10)

Logging, especially illegal logging, is a major cause of deforestation. In Brazil and Indonesia some 80 to 90 percent of timber extraction is deemed illegal.

According to the WWF, up to 28 percent of the EU’s timber imports could be illegal. Well-regulated, selective logging, however, need not trigger deforestation. Expanding plantation forestry can also provide an alternative to illegal timber. (Source: Reuters

Mining (7/10)

A giant opencast gold mine dominates the landscape in Indonesia's rainforest Papua province. Many forested areas are rich in minerals and therefore vulnerable to deforestation.

The Congo Basin, for instance, contains vast untapped reserves of gold, coltan (used in mobile phones), diamonds, uranium, manganese, and copper. (Source: Reuters)

Road Building (8/10)

The construction of the Interoceanic Highway connecting Peru and Brazil cuts a swathe through the Amazon jungle.

Road construction is the infrastructure development that contributes most to deforestation because roads encourage immigration and the spread of agriculture into forests, particularly in remote areas where property rights are unclear or poorly regulated. (Source: Reuters)

Charcoal Production (9/10)

Charcoal bags stacked beside a traditional charcoal factory in the Ivory Coast.
Charcoal production as a driver of deforestation primarily occurs in the forests of sub-Saharan Africa, where poverty drives many to cut down trees for fuel for cooking. Charcoal made from old-growth hardwood trees is the most valuable because it burns hotter and longer. (Source: Reuters)

Firewood Collection (10/10)

Boys gather firewood in Guinea. One third of the world’s population uses biomass fuels, mainly firewood, to cook and to heat their homes.

Together with population growth, this can have a devastating effect on forests in poor countries. Wood meets 80 percent of all the Democratic Republic of Congo’s energy needs and has been the main cause of deforestation in the area. (Source: Reuters

First Post

If you are reading this, I first want to say thank you very much. It means a huge amount that people are interested in a matter which is very close to my heart and in saving and preserving the fantastic rainforests which we have left.

The unaccountable slaughter of thousands of species of flora and fauna that are been devastated every day by the greed and selfishness of our own species, is in my eyes criminal.

What is the aim of the blog?

The aim of this blog is to spread awareness about the direct causes of deforestation, the effects of it and also how to prevent it. It will touch on success stories from around the world which have found sustainable alternatives to deforestation and how government action and consumer pressure have helped stop deforestation.

But most importantly the aim is to enshrine a sense of "necessity" into everyone that reads this blog, that now is the time to take action and stop the logging of millions of acres of rainforest each day around the world or many beautiful and amazing species will be lost forever.

The plant is dying and it needs our help.