Check out this great blog post from Eating . . . Our Words, a blog hosted by Houston Press. It details ten species of endangered fish that are still commonly eaten, and asks the question "Why are we still eating species that are on the verge of collapse?"
10 Fish You're Eating That Are Endangered Species
Here's a list of different organizations and advisories focusing on sustainable seafood choices.
Showing posts with label Endangered. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Endangered. Show all posts
28 September 2011
19 April 2011
Numbat Numbers
Numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus), Endangered
Having just spent several months living and working in Australia, Australian species are especially interesting to me right now. Koalas, Kookaburras, and Kangaroos all crossed my path, as did Wallabies, Wattles, and Wombats. What didn't cross my path was a small creature known as a Numbat. This is likely because the Numbat is no longer common in the state of Victoria, where I spent almost all of my time.
Numbats used to live all across the southern regions of Australia. Their population was reduced to two tiny pockets in the state of Western Australia after the introduction of foxes. Since then, it has been reintroduced to a few small conservation areas, but still numbers less than a 1 000 animals in the wild.
The Numbat diet is a little bit monotonous, consisting of nothing but termites. Each individual can eat between 10 000 and 20 000 termites in a day! Unlike many other termite eating animals, however, Numbats are small, and lack claws or any other method to open up termite nests. This means that they have to forage for termites when the termites themselves are out of the nest foraging--that is, during the day--making it one of the very few marsupials active during the day. Being active during the day like this is thought to make them more susceptible to predation.
In the evening, when they aren't foraging, these rare marsupials retire to their burrows, which are very often inside of hollowed out logs. It is thought that an abundance of hollow logs to hide in may have saved the two groups of Numbats that survived in Western Australia, as they provided protected hiding places from predators.
These stripy furry animals are cute, no doubt about it. They're one of Western Australia's State Emblem's, and they've also been chosen as the icon for the Conservation Council of Western Australia. A captive breeding and reintroduction program is underway, and Numbats are bred at Perth Zoo and released each year into managed habitat. Here's a great video about hand-rearing baby Numbats at the zoo.
If you want to help Numbats, you can donate to Perth Zoo's Wildlife Conservation Action.
Numbats used to live all across the southern regions of Australia. Their population was reduced to two tiny pockets in the state of Western Australia after the introduction of foxes. Since then, it has been reintroduced to a few small conservation areas, but still numbers less than a 1 000 animals in the wild.
The Numbat diet is a little bit monotonous, consisting of nothing but termites. Each individual can eat between 10 000 and 20 000 termites in a day! Unlike many other termite eating animals, however, Numbats are small, and lack claws or any other method to open up termite nests. This means that they have to forage for termites when the termites themselves are out of the nest foraging--that is, during the day--making it one of the very few marsupials active during the day. Being active during the day like this is thought to make them more susceptible to predation.
In the evening, when they aren't foraging, these rare marsupials retire to their burrows, which are very often inside of hollowed out logs. It is thought that an abundance of hollow logs to hide in may have saved the two groups of Numbats that survived in Western Australia, as they provided protected hiding places from predators.
These stripy furry animals are cute, no doubt about it. They're one of Western Australia's State Emblem's, and they've also been chosen as the icon for the Conservation Council of Western Australia. A captive breeding and reintroduction program is underway, and Numbats are bred at Perth Zoo and released each year into managed habitat. Here's a great video about hand-rearing baby Numbats at the zoo.
If you want to help Numbats, you can donate to Perth Zoo's Wildlife Conservation Action.
22 January 2010
Splash! Puurrrrr.
Flat-headed Cat (Prionailurus planiceps), Endangered
An awesome article from New Scientist, about a water-loving cat with webbed feet.
An awesome article from New Scientist, about a water-loving cat with webbed feet.
22 October 2009
More Than We Thought
Gurney's Pitta (Pitta gurneyi), Endangered
Some good news, from BirdLife International.
Some good news, from BirdLife International."A recent paper published online in BirdLife's journal Bird Conservation International, provides strong evidence that the global population of Gurney's Pitta . . . once believed to be one of the rarest birds in the world, is much greater than was previously estimated."
04 October 2009
Back to Canada!
Black-footed Ferret (Mustela Nigripes), Endangered
The Black-footed Ferret is being reintroduced to Canada! Thirty-four endangered ferrets were released into Saskatchewan's Grassland National Park on Friday. They were released near a colony of Black-tailed Prairie Dogs, their main prey, as well as their architects, since the Ferrets live in abandoned Prairie Dog burrows.
All of the Ferrets released had a few things in common. They all were born in captivity, and therefore had to spend some time in a special facility in Colorado, where they learned which predators to fear, and how to hunt and survive in the wild. They also all have a small electronic chip implanted under their skin, which will help conservationists keep track of and study them.
For each of the next few years, 30-40 Black-footed Ferrets will be released into the park, with the eventual aim of having wild populations across North America. Conservationists warn, however, that time is still a long ways off. Although Black-footed Ferrets have been reintroduced to 19 sites across North America, only three of these are self-sustaining. The rest require new captive-bred ferrets each year to maintain their populations.
The only ferret native to North America, it looks like a cross between a raccoon and a weasel, with distinctive dark markings across its face and feet. It disappeared from north of the 49th Parallel around 1937 and was thought to have gone extinct across its range throughout Mexico and the United States sometime in the 1970s. Then came 1981, and a tiny population of 18 Black-footed ferrets was discovered in Wyoming. They were trapped, and taken into captivity, effectively making the species extinct in the wild.
With those original 18 animals though, a successful captive breeding program was begun, and Black-footed Ferrets have been reintroduced to the prairies of the United States and Mexico since 1991. The current wild population stands at around 750, with 250 more still in captivity.
The reason for the Black-footed Ferrets decline in the 20th century was tied to its main source of food--Prairie Dogs. As farmers and ranchers cultivated the land, they tended to see the Prairie Dogs as pests and a hindrance to agriculture. This view led to widespread poisoning and trapping, and huge reductions in population size, which were exacerbated by outbreaks of sylvatic plague. They continue to be threatened by the extreme fragmentation of their primary habitat, which has been occupied by humans for food production and living space.
You can learn more at the Black-footed Ferret Recovery Program.
Or you can adopt one. As the adoption website notes: This is a sponsorship program. You will NOT receive a black-footed ferret.
See if there's a zoo near you that has Black-footed Ferrets on display.
The Black-footed Ferret is being reintroduced to Canada! Thirty-four endangered ferrets were released into Saskatchewan's Grassland National Park on Friday. They were released near a colony of Black-tailed Prairie Dogs, their main prey, as well as their architects, since the Ferrets live in abandoned Prairie Dog burrows.All of the Ferrets released had a few things in common. They all were born in captivity, and therefore had to spend some time in a special facility in Colorado, where they learned which predators to fear, and how to hunt and survive in the wild. They also all have a small electronic chip implanted under their skin, which will help conservationists keep track of and study them.
For each of the next few years, 30-40 Black-footed Ferrets will be released into the park, with the eventual aim of having wild populations across North America. Conservationists warn, however, that time is still a long ways off. Although Black-footed Ferrets have been reintroduced to 19 sites across North America, only three of these are self-sustaining. The rest require new captive-bred ferrets each year to maintain their populations.
The only ferret native to North America, it looks like a cross between a raccoon and a weasel, with distinctive dark markings across its face and feet. It disappeared from north of the 49th Parallel around 1937 and was thought to have gone extinct across its range throughout Mexico and the United States sometime in the 1970s. Then came 1981, and a tiny population of 18 Black-footed ferrets was discovered in Wyoming. They were trapped, and taken into captivity, effectively making the species extinct in the wild.
With those original 18 animals though, a successful captive breeding program was begun, and Black-footed Ferrets have been reintroduced to the prairies of the United States and Mexico since 1991. The current wild population stands at around 750, with 250 more still in captivity.
The reason for the Black-footed Ferrets decline in the 20th century was tied to its main source of food--Prairie Dogs. As farmers and ranchers cultivated the land, they tended to see the Prairie Dogs as pests and a hindrance to agriculture. This view led to widespread poisoning and trapping, and huge reductions in population size, which were exacerbated by outbreaks of sylvatic plague. They continue to be threatened by the extreme fragmentation of their primary habitat, which has been occupied by humans for food production and living space.
You can learn more at the Black-footed Ferret Recovery Program.
Or you can adopt one. As the adoption website notes: This is a sponsorship program. You will NOT receive a black-footed ferret.
See if there's a zoo near you that has Black-footed Ferrets on display.
17 April 2008
Endangered Eating - Indian Bushmeat
Himalayan Quail (Ophrysia superciliosa), Critically Endangered
River Terrapin (Batagur baska), Critically Endangered
Malabar Civet (Viverra civettina), Critically Endangered
Pygmy Hog (Sus salvanius), Critically Endangered
Hoolock Gibbon (Bunopithecus hoolock), Endangered
Narrow-headed Softshell Turtle (Chitra indica), Endangered
Swamp Deer (Cervus duvaucelii), Endangered
Capped Langur (Trachypithecus pileatus), Endangered
Markhor (Capra falconeri), Endangered
Asiatic Black Bear (Ursus thibetanus), Vulnerable
"Musk-deer jerky, rice garnished with boiled macaque, roasted porcupine and marbled cat curry," begins an article published at OneWorld South Asia.
The article takes a look at some of the reasons that endangered species in India are rising in popularity as foods. From status symbols to subsistence fare, many of India's most endangered species are being decimated, one meal at a time. Read the full article, to learn more.
River Terrapin (Batagur baska), Critically Endangered
Malabar Civet (Viverra civettina), Critically Endangered
Pygmy Hog (Sus salvanius), Critically Endangered
Hoolock Gibbon (Bunopithecus hoolock), Endangered
Narrow-headed Softshell Turtle (Chitra indica), Endangered
Swamp Deer (Cervus duvaucelii), Endangered
Capped Langur (Trachypithecus pileatus), Endangered
Markhor (Capra falconeri), Endangered
Asiatic Black Bear (Ursus thibetanus), Vulnerable
"Musk-deer jerky, rice garnished with boiled macaque, roasted porcupine and marbled cat curry," begins an article published at OneWorld South Asia.
The article takes a look at some of the reasons that endangered species in India are rising in popularity as foods. From status symbols to subsistence fare, many of India's most endangered species are being decimated, one meal at a time. Read the full article, to learn more.
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