Tag: endangered

Over 150 endangered vultures poisoned to death in southern Africa

  JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) — At least 150 critically-endangered vultures were poisoned to death in separate incidents in Botswana and South Africa, conservationists said Friday, warning the killings pushed the birds closer to extinction. Vulture poisoning is not uncommon in wildlife-rich southern Africa, where they are targeted by poachers because they draw unwanted attention to their illegal activities. Their heads are also used in traditional medicine, according to wildlife groups. In the latest incidents, […]

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Climate change pushing Australia’s platypus towards extinction

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – Prolonged drought and other effects of climate change are pushing Australia’s unique platypus population towards extinction, scientists warned in a study published Monday. The river-dwelling animal has already disappeared from up to 40 percent of its historical range on Australia’s east coast due to the drought, land clearing, pollution and building of dams, which fragment their habitat, the researchers said. They predicted that if the current threats persist, platypus numbers will […]

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Malaysia makes record 30-tonne pangolin seizure

Malaysian authorities have made a record seizure of about 30 tonnes of pangolins and their scales worth some $2 million in raids on major processing facilities, police and environmentalists said Tuesday. The haul included about 1,800 boxes full of frozen pangolins stuffed inside three refrigerated containers, 572 more frozen pangolins in six freezers, 61 live pangolins in cages, and 361 kilogrammes (795 pounds) of pangolin scales, according to police. The Southeast Asian nation is battling […]

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Smiling at danger, China’s finless porpoise fights to survive

by Kelly WANG Agence France-Presse WUHAN, China (AFP) — In an oxbow lake along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, a breathy sigh pierces the surface stillness as one of China’s most endangered animals comes up for a gulp of hazy air. A slick black back with no dorsal fin arches briefly above the water line before plunging back down. Such glimpses of the shy Yangtze finless porpoise, the only aquatic mammal left in […]

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Red pandas rescued in Laos stir fears over exotic pet trade

by Joe Freeman Agence France Presse BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — The rescue in Laos of three endangered red pandas trafficked from China has raised fears the rare animals are increasingly being coveted by exotic pet owners. Landlocked Laos, which borders China and Vietnam, is a key transit hub in the global trade in illegal wildlife, but experts say the discovery of red pandas there is virtually unheard of. Six of the cat-sized bears were found […]

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UNESCO puts Hebron on endangered heritage list, outraging Israel

by Anna Maria Jakubek Agence France Presse WARSAW, Poland (AFP) — UNESCO on Friday declared the Old City of Hebron a Palestinian world heritage site in danger, sparking outrage from Israel which said the decision denied a Jewish claim to an ancient burial cave that is also sacred to Muslims. The Tomb of the Patriarchs, known to Muslims as the Ibrahami Mosque, is venerated by members of both faiths as the gravesite of the biblical […]

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Rare Siamese crocodile eggs found in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AFP) — Conservationists in Cambodia have found a nest with 19 eggs from one of the world’s most endangered crocodiles, boosting hopes for a rare species threatened by poachers and habitat loss. The clutch of fist-sized eggs was discovered this week by environmental officers and local villagers near a pond in southwestern Koh Kong province, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which assisted with the discovery. The group had been searching […]

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Yellowstone grizzly bears to lose Endangered Species protection

WYOMING, United States (Reuters) – Grizzly bears in and around Yellowstone National Park will be stripped off Endangered Species Act safeguards this summer, United States Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced on Thursday (June 22), in a move conservation groups vowed to challenge in court. Dropping federal protection of Yellowstone’s grizzlies formally proposed in March 2016 under the Obama administration was based on the agency’s findings that the bears’ numbers have rebounded sufficiently in recent decades. The […]

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Japan zoo releases new images of new born baby panda

TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) – Tokyo Ueno Zoo on Sunday (June 18) released new images of a panda cub which was born on June 12. The mother, Shin Shin, 11, had the cub five years after her first cub was found dead just days after it was born. The new cub has yet to be named and the sex of the cub has yet to be determined, but its weight was estimated at around 180 grams, […]

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Sanctuary offers hope for endangered Philippine eagle

by Karl MALAKUNAS DAVAO, Philippines (AFP) — Surprisingly loud chirps accompany a clumsy flurry of tiny wings as a wispy-haired chick breaks through its shell, its birth offering rare cause for celebration in the struggle to save the Philippine eagle from extinction. Tropical rainforest destruction and relentless hunting have decimated the population of the majestic bird — one of the world’s biggest and most powerful — with just hundreds believed to be left in the […]

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