Lions 'facing extinction in West Africa'

There has been a "catastrophic collapse" in the number of lions in West Africa, with only around 400 left in the region, a new survey suggests.

With fewer than 250 mature lions of breeding age, there are concerns the entire population could disappear.



The research by Panthera, a non-profit organisation, was carried out in 17 countries, from Senegal to Nigeria, and took more than six years.



West African lions are genetically distinct from others in Africa.



In 2005, West African lions were believed to live in 21 different protected areas. But the survey, published in the scientific journal PLOS One, suggests lions now exist in just four of those sites.

The report says lions now roam in just 1.1% of their historic range in West Africa. The majority of their habitat has been converted for agricultural use, says Philipp Henschel, co-author of the report


Panthera is calling for the lion to be listed as critically endangered in West Africa.


"Our results came as a complete shock; all but a few of the areas we surveyed were basically paper parks, having neither management budgets nor patrol staff, and had lost all their lions and other iconic large mammals," Mr Henschel told the BBC's Sivaramakrishnan Parameswaran.


The conservation of lions in West Africa have been largely neglected, whereas in eastern and southern Africa where millions of dollars a year are spent, he said.


Bush meat problem
The researchers discovered that West African lions now survive in only five countries; Senegal, Nigeria and a single trans-frontier population on the shared borders of Benin, Niger and Burkina-Faso.


These lions have unique genetic sequence not found in other lions including in zoos or captivity. If they are lost then a unique locally adapted population will become extinct, researchers say.


Large-scale plantations for cotton and food crops have contributed significantly to the decline of the lions in the last decade, the survey found.


Today, lions are largely restricted to protected areas, and the poaching of animals - usually preyed upon by lions - to supply local bushmeat markets is probably the main threat, said Mr Henschel.


"In some areas, we also witnessed the retaliatory killing of lions by herdsmen that entered protected areas illegally with their herds of cattle and goats," he said.
Funding crisis
A lack of funding for conservation coupled with an increasing human population and impoverished economies, means lions are increasingly vulnerable, researchers say.


"We are talking about some of the poorest counties in the world - many governments have bigger problems than protecting lions," Mr Henschel said.


West African Lions have special significance in the culture of the region. They are a symbol of pride for the governments and people, and are represented on the coats of arms of several countries.


The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says concerted international help is urgently needed.


Benin and Senegal are working with the research team to establish a National Lion Action Plan to identify ways and measures to save the lions in their countries.


"Lions have undergone a catastrophic collapse in West Africa. The countries that have managed to retain them are struggling with pervasive poverty and very little funding for conservation," says Panthera's President Luke Hunter.


To save the lion will require a massive commitment of resources from the international community."

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