World's strangest sharks and rays 'on brink of extinction'

By Helen Briggs BBC News

4 December 2018

Some of the world's most unusual sharks and rays are on the brink of extinction because of threats such as commercial fishing, scientists have said.

A shark that uses its tail to stun prey and a ray half the length of a bus are on the list of 50 species.

The scientists say sharks have a bad image and people do not understand how important and threatened they are.

And losing even one of these "living fossils" would wipe out millions of years of evolutionary history.

"The biggest myth around sharks is definitely the perception that they are dangerous, that they are man-eating machines - they're not," marine biologist Fran Cabada told BBC News.

"There have been some negative interactions recorded but they are very infrequent and they're not intentional."

This is the first time sharks, rays and chimeras (fish with cartilage in place of bones) have been assessed for the Edge (Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered) of Existence programme.

Most sharks are at the top of the food chain, which makes them crucial to the health of the oceans.

Losing them would have a big impact on other fish populations and, ultimately, human livelihoods.

"They have very few relatives on the tree of life, so they are very unique and losing them will actually represent a big, big loss," said Fran Cabada.

Continued  

Cambodia's last leopards on brink of extinction

Date:  March 1, 2018

Source:  Panthera

Summary:

A new study has confirmed that the world's last breeding population of leopards in Cambodia is at immediate risk of extinction, having declined an astonishing 72% during a five-year period. The population represents the last remaining leopards in all of eastern Indochina - a region incorporating Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

Read on  

Asiatic cheetahs on the brink of extinction with only 50 left alive

With UN funds being cut this month, conservationists call for last-ditch effort to save animal which clings on only in Iran

Robin McKie

Saturday 16 December 2017 21.00 GMTLast modified on Saturday 16 December 2017 23.30 GMT

Conservationists have warned that the Asiatic cheetah is on the threshold of extinction following a UN decision to pull funding from conservation efforts to protect it.

Fewer than 50 of the critically endangered carnivores are thought to be left in the wild – all of them in Iran – and scientists fear that without urgent intervention there is little chance of saving one of the planet’s most distinctive and graceful hunters.

“Lack of funding means extinction for the Asiatic cheetah, I’m afraid,” the Iranian conservationist Jamshid Parchizadeh said. “Iran has already suffered from the loss of the Asiatic lion and the Caspian tiger. Now we are about to see the Asiatic cheetah go extinct as well.”

The Asiatic cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus venaticus, is slightly smaller and paler than its African cousin. It has a fawn-coloured coat with black spots on its head and neck, and distinctive black “tear marks” running from the corner of each eye down the side of its nose.

Read on 

North Atlantic right whales on the brink of extinction, officials say

Fishing nets and lack of food blamed for pushing number of the world’s most endangered marine animal to just 450

Associated Press

Monday 11 December 2017 00.56 GMT

Officials with the US federal government say it is time to consider the possibility that endangered right whales could become extinct unless new steps are taken to protect them.

North Atlantic right whales are among the rarest marine mammals in the world, and they have endured a deadly year. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has said there are only about 450 of the whales left and 17 of them have died so far in 2017.

The situation is so dire that American and Canadian regulators need to consider the possibility that the population won’t recover without action soon, said John Bullard, the Northeast Regional Administrator for NOAA Fisheries. The high year of mortality is coinciding with a year of poor reproduction, and there are only about 100 breeding female North Atlantic right whales left.

“You do have to use the extinction word, because that’s where the trend lines say they are,” Bullard said. “That’s something we can’t let happen.”

Continued  

Iconic Indian fish on the brink of extinction

Date: May 14, 2015

Source: Bournemouth University

Summary: The legendary humpback Mahseer, one of the world's most iconic freshwater fish, is on the brink of extinction according to scientists. Ever since the publication of HS Thomas's A Rod in India in 1873, this giant member of the carp family has been known to anglers around the globe as 'one of the largest and hardest fighting freshwater fish in the world'. With its distribution having always been limited to South India's River Cauvery basin, this fish is now believed to be so endangered it may be extinct in the wild within a generation.

Continued ...

Researchers find rare bee feared headed for extinction

Rusty patched bumble bees were once a common sight, flitting from flower to flower to sip nectar and transfer pollen. But that species of bee had not been seen in the eastern United States for five years, and researchers feared that one of nature's most efficient pollinators was headed for extinction.

This summer, though, a research team led by a University of Virginia professor and two members of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute spotted a rusty patched bumble bee at Sky Meadows State Park in Delaplane, Virginia. It was only one worker bee from the rusty patched species, out of the nearly 35,000 bees belonging to 126 species collected and examined in the study, but its identification raises the possibility that this extremely rare species may be hanging on.

"In 20 years of studying bees, I have never seen a rusty patched," said T'ai Roulston, research associate professor in the College of Arts & Sciences' Department of Environmental Sciences and a member of the research team. "Where there is a worker bee, there is a colony and maybe more than one. As they've gone underground for the winter, we can actively look for the colony next spring, study them and what might be affecting the species.

Read more at: 

500 Right Whales Could Face the Wrong Fate (Op-Ed)

Sarah Young, Oceana | May 16, 2014 02:49pm ET

Sara Young is a marine scientist at Oceana, the largest international advocacy group working solely to protect the world's oceans. She contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

Even before the heyday of whaling in the mid-1800s, whalers knew which whales were the "right" and easiest ones to hunt — three species that float when killed, are fairly slow moving, feed near the surface and live close to shore. Unfortunately, these creatures now face a new, more modern threat — a proposal to use seismic airguns off the U.S. Atlantic coast to search for oil and gas deposits beneath the ocean floor.

Today, Endangered Species Day, is a day marked for raising awareness of such amazing creatures and to help bring them back from the brink of extinction.

Continued

Blue Iguana Slithers Back from Extinction

Just a decade ago, the Grand Cayman blue iguana was on the brink of extinction, with only 10 to 25 individuals left in the wild. But the reptile has made a major comeback and is no longer listed as a critically endangered species.

The blue iguana, which is only found on the Caribbean island Grand Cayman, now has a population of about 750 thanks to a recovery program. And over the weekend, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) updated its listing of the species from critically endangered to endangered.

An endangered status is probably the best conservationists could ever hope for as far as the reptile is concerned, said Fred Burton, director of the Blue Iguana Recovery Program.

Continued:  http://www.livescience.com/24159-blue-iguana-slithers-back-from-extinction.html

Rare hatchling opens eyes for first time

KOB Eyewitness News 4 got a unique opportunity to be present as a baby bird at the Albuquerque Biopark Zoo started to open its eyes for the first time.

It may not sound like such a big deal, but KOB4 discovered the Guam Micronesian Kingfisher was opening his eyes to a world with very few birds like him - his species is practically extinct.

The species is so rare that the chick is only one of 135 throughout the world. Right now it's being raised by Albuquerque Biopark Zoo staff.

Peter Shannon, the zoo's curator of birds, has dealt with hundreds - if not thousands - of species, but said this one is special.

"This species disappeared from the wild on Guam - by 1988 there were none left in the wild," Shannon said.

For almost 25 years the species has only survived in zoos and conservation centers.

The zoo now has five of the birds and Shannon said he's been caring for the newest member ever since he hatched.

Read more and see video:  http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S2714409.shtml?cat=504

Biggest ever survey of one of the world’s most endangered bats gets underway on Comoros Islands

Counting the cost of habitat loss
July 2012. A major new effort is underway to survey one of the world's most endangered bat species on the brink of extinction. Field biologists and researchers from Bristol Zoo Gardens and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (Durrell) have joined forces to monitor the roost sites of Livingstone's fruit bats as it is feared that the rapid clearance of the bats' forest habitat is increasing the chances of the species being lost forever.

  

Less than 1000 giant red-eyed bats alive
There are thought to be less than 1,000 of these giant, red-eyed bats left in the wild on their native islands of Anjouan and Moheli - in the Comoros archipelago, off the south-east coast of Africa. Now the teams are carrying out the most thorough count of the species ever done, in a bid to assess the current population status and identify threats to the species' survival.

With help from local experts, the teams will traverse the bats' entire range, scaling mountains and travelling to the most inaccessible areas of the islands, to count bats in all their known treetop roost sites. The two organisations are partners in a conservation project working with local communities to protect the forest areas which are vital to the bats' survival.

Neil Maddison, Head of Conservation Programmes at Bristol Zoo Gardens, explains the importance of monitoring the bats in the wild: "These surveys are key to conserving these magnificent bats, and while they have been done some years ago, they have never been done with this level of intensity."

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/comoros-bat.html

US launches emergency rescue of Schaus swallowtail butterfly on the verge of extinction

Emergency action underway to protect endangered Schaus swallowtail butterfly

June 2012. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has issued an emergency authorization for the collection and captive rearing of Schaus swallowtail butterflies in an effort to save the "endangered" species from extinction.

As a result of that authorization on June 8, two days after surveyors observed only three to five Schaus swallowtail butterflies at Biscayne National Park (BNP) during their current flight season, the USFWS, National Park Service, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the University of Florida initiated an on-going emergency action to collect up to four female Schaus Swallowtail butterflies within BNP. The surveys are continuing.

Only 1 female sighted in 2012
Biological technicians count the endangered butterfly at Biscayne National Park near Miami each year and this year's tally plummeted to five from 41 in 2011. "We've only confirmed three of the five butterflies sighted this year and only one of those counted this year was a female," said Dr. Jaret Daniels, lead project researcher for the University of Florida.

The emergency authorization allows the University of Florida crew to capture up to four female butterflies and begin a propagation project to repopulate the species in Biscayne National Park.

Daniels said, "Intervention doesn't guarantee survival, but it does offer hope and puts us into a better position to save this species."

Egg collection
Once collected, females will be temporarily confined in a mesh cage on site in natural habitat, where they will hopefully lay eggs on host plants. New eggs will be removed daily. Females will only be confined for up to four days and then released.

"National Parks like Biscayne protect entire ecosystems for the benefit of all species," said Mark Lewis, Biscayne National Park Superintendent. "Right now, with our partners in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission and the University of Florida, we must focus on a fragile but important part of the ecosystem -- the Schaus swallowtail -- to ensure it doesn't disappear from the planet."

As pollinators, butterflies are important members of south Florida ecosystem. They're also good indicators of the ecological quality of a habitat, as they are important components of the food chain, particularly as larvae (caterpillars).

Insecticide, habitat destruction, droughts, hurricanes, and illegal collection
The Schaus swallowtail was initially listed under the Endangered Species Act as "Threatened" in 1976 and then "Endangered" in 1984. During the 2011 survey, there were 41 total -- 35 in BNP (mostly on Elliott Key) and six on north Key Largo. Recovery of the Schaus swallowtail is hindered by insecticide use, habitat destruction, droughts, hurricanes, and illegal collection.

"We're encouraging concerned citizens to help us save this species by submitting new scientific and commercial information and data related to the status of the Schaus swallowtail butterfly throughout its range in south Florida," said Larry Williams, Field Supervisor of the South Florida Ecological Services Office.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/schaus-swallowtail.html

Securing a safe future for sawfishes

Shark and ray experts from around the world gathered last week at the Zoological Society of London to address the plight of the most threatened marine fishes in the world – the sawfishes. The group, convened by the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Shark Specialist Group, is breaking new ground with the development of a focused global action plan to bring these iconic species back from the brink of extinction.

Once found in tropical and subtropical waters throughout the world, all species of sawfish are now listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. They have been revered by coastal societies throughout the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific Oceans for centuries. Today, ancient art, folklore, and mythology are almost all that is left to remind us of how widespread and abundant they were. Sawfishes are still featured on Thai postage stamps and West African currency, but the chance of seeing a sawfish in either region, or anywhere else other than the USA or Australia, is exceedingly low.

As their name suggests, sawfishes can be easily identified by their long, toothed rostra or “saws”. Long valued for medicinal and cultural purposes, and as curios, this most distinctive feature has been central to their downfall. The rostra are easily entangled in all kinds of fishing nets that are used extensively throughout the shallow coastal waters and river estuaries where sawfishes live.

Read on:  http://www.iucnredlist.org/news/securing-a-safe-future-for-sawfishes

Saola may be slipping to extinction unnoticed

Saola still a mystery 20 years after its spectacular debut
May 2012. Two decades after the sensational discovery of a new ungulate species called the saola, this rare animal remains as mysterious and elusive as ever. WWF, the Saola Working Group (SWG) of the IUCN Species Survival Commission and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) warn the species is sliding towards extinction because of intensive hunting pressure and poor reserve management. 


A cousin of cattle but antelope-like in appearance, the saola was discovered in 1992 by a joint team from Vietnam's Ministry of Forestry and WWF surveying the forests of Vu Quang, near Vietnam's border with Laos. The team found a skull with unusual long, straight horns in a hunter's home and knew it was something extraordinary. The find proved to be the first large mammal new to science in more than 50 years and one of the most spectacular zoological discoveries of the 20th century.


One was captured in 2010
Twenty years on, little is still known about the saola's ecology or behaviour. In 2010, villagers in the central Laos province of Bolikhamxay captured a saola, but the animal died several days later. Prior to that, the last confirmed record of a saola in the wild was in 1999 from camera-trap photos in Bolikhamxay.

"Saola are extremely secretive and very seldom seen," said Nick Cox, Manager of WWF-Greater Mekong's Species Programme. "While they inhabit a very restricted range, there is still no reported sighting of a saola in the wild by a scientist, and the handful of saola that have been taken into captivity have not survived."

Probably 200 alive at most
The difficulty in detecting the animal has prevented scientists from making a precise population estimate. "If things are good, there may be a couple of hundred saola out there," said William Robichaud, Coordinator of the Saola Working Group. "If things are bad, the population could now be down in the tens." 


Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/saola-extinction.html

Gene bank idea for rare birds

A high-tech gene bank should be set up to help save birds on the brink of extinction, a seminar has been told.

"We should conduct extensive studies and research in this field," said Dr Jamal Badani, of the Ministry of Environment and Water.

"Birds that have high environmental importance are a valuable treasure which can't be regained once lost."

Dr Badani said that climate change posed the biggest threat to birds.

But he added that hunting, pesticides and the encroachment of desert areas were also significant factors.

Dr Badani was speaking at an event held by the Dubai Municipality to mark World Migratory Bird Day.

http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/gene-bank-idea-for-rare-birds

2 rare Guam rail chicks hatch at National Zoo; bird is extinct in the wild

WASHINGTON — National Zoo officials say two rare Guam rail chicks have hatched there. The birds are extinct in the wild.

The small, flightless birds hatched March 3 and 4. The total population of the birds is now 162.

In several weeks, zookeepers will perform routine medical exams and take feather samples to determine the birds' sexes.

Eighty-two chicks have hatched at the Zoo and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va. Some of have been sent o Guam for release and breeding.

Guam rails were plentiful on the island until the brown tree snake arrived in military equipment shipped from New Guinea after World War II. The snakes had no natural predators and hunted the Guam rails and eight other bird species to the brink of extinction.

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/02d7b0678744424a9ba30e8d534bb60b/DC--Rare-Birds-Hatch/ 

Worrying declines for world's seabirds

Many species perilously close to extinction

March 2012: The status of the world's seabirds has deteriorated rapidly over recent decades and several species and populations are now perilously close to extinction, according to a new review by BirdLife International, a partner of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Across the globe, commercial fisheries pose the most serious threat to seabirds.

The review reveals that seabirds are now more threatened than any other group of birds. Of the 346 seabird species, 97 (28 per cent) are globally threatened, and a further ten per cent are listed as Near Threatened. Almost half of all seabird species are known or suspected to be experiencing population declines. The albatross family is especially imperiled, with 17 of the 22 species currently threatened with extinction.

Scale of decline is 'staggering'‘This new data details the rapid deterioration of creatures that provide a crucial window on to the condition of the oceans,' says Jean-Christophe Vié, deputy director, IUCN Global Species Programme. ‘We must now use this information to enact changes that will reverse the loss of such an important group of species.'

Human activities lie at the heart of the staggering decline of seabird populations. At sea, commercial fisheries have depleted fish stocks, an important food source for seabirds, and caused the death of innumerable seabirds through accidental bycatch. On land, the introduction of invasive species has destroyed many breeding colonies.

‘Seabirds are a diverse group with worldwide distribution, and as top predators they also provide a valuable indicator of wider marine health,' says Professor John Croxall, Chair of BirdLife's Global Seabird Programme, and lead author of the paper.

There may still be time to reverse these declines and the review is clear on the actions that need to be taken. The sites where seabirds congregate - both onshore breeding colonies and offshore feeding grounds - must be protected. BirdLife has identified many Important Bird Areas (IBAs) for seabirds on land and plans to publish the first inventory of marine IBAs in the high seas.

Non-native rodents need to be removedThe goal is to use the identified areas to develop a global network of Marine Protected Areas and assist in the implementation of new approaches to the management and protection of marine systems. 

In order to stem the disappearance of seabird populations, invasive species - specifically introduced rodents - must be removed from major seabird colonies. Several successful restoration projects have already taken place, and BirdLife is currently collaborating with Island Conservation and the University of California, Santa Cruz to compile a list of priority sites for future eradication operations.

There is also a need for more research to fill existing knowledge gaps and address emerging threats such as aquaculture, energy generation operations and climate change.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/seabird-decline2012.html

Nowhere to Hide: Tigers Threatened by Human Destruction of Groundcover

ScienceDaily (Feb. 28, 2012) — The elimination of ground-level vegetation is bringing another of the world's tiger subspecies to the brink of extinction, according to Virginia Tech and World Wildlife Fund researchers.

The Sumatran tiger, native to Indonesia, could be the fourth type of tiger to disappear from the wild. This is due, in part, because of deforestation and the loss of thick groundcover, also known as understory cover, said Sunarto, lead scientist on a study that is the first to systematically investigate the use of both forests and plantation areas for tiger habitat.

Although tiger's prefer forest to plantation areas, the study found that the most important factor was that availability of thick ground-level vegetation which apparently serves as an environmental necessity for tiger habitat, regardless of location.

Continued:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120228140502.htm

Rescuing wildlife: the family of water rats (Part 1)

VietNamNet Bridge – The Cu Chi Wildlife Center is now saving 1500 individuals of wildlife, including the rare species which are on the verge of extinction.


The habit of hunting rare birds and animals and eating the food made of wild animals has pushed many rare species to the brink of extinction. In this context, the efforts by animal rescue centers to save the animals are described as the scream to awaken people’s conscience.

Established in 2006, the Cu Chi Wildlife Center has rescued and returned 2000 wild animal individuals to the wild so far. The center is rescuing 25 species with 1500 individuals, including the rare and valuable which are on the verge of extinction. This is considered the biggest wildlife’s hospital in the south, where some individuals have reproduced and the next generation of animals has turned up here.


Continued:  http://english.vietnamnet.vn/en/environment/19349/rescuing-wildlife--part-1--the-family-of-water-rats.html

Chinese pandas leave for Japan

Female panda Xian Nu looks out of the cage at Shanghai Pudong Airport in Shanghai, east China, Feb. 21, 2011. A pair of giant pandas left their home in southwest China's Sichuan Province Monday for a 10-year stay in Japan, under a joint research agreement on the endangered species. Female panda Xian Nu and male Bi Li, accompanied by two keepers from the China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center in Wolong, stopped in Shanghai before heading to Tokyo's Narita International Airport. They are scheduled to arrive Ueno Zoo at around 9 p.m.. (Xinhua/Chen Fei)

CHENGDU/TOKYO, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- A pair of giant pandas left their home in southwest China's Sichuan Province Monday for a 10-year stay in Japan, under a joint research agreement on the endangered species.

Female panda Xian Nu and male Bi Li left Chengdu, Sichuan's capital, on board a Sichuan Airlines passenger flight at 7:50 a.m., said a spokesman with the China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center in Wolong.

The pandas, accompanied by two keepers from Wolong, stopped in Shanghai before heading to Tokyo's Narita International Airport. They are scheduled to arrive Ueno Zoo at around 9 p.m., the spokesman said.

Panda keepers prepared 80 kg of fresh bamboo and 8 kg of dim sum for the animals to eat on the 13-hour journey.

Xian Nu and Bi Li are both aged 5 years. Pandas born in captivity can live up to 25 years.

Tokyo is rolling out the red carpet for the pair's arrival.

The Ueno Zoo was closed Monday, but a giant panda poster at its entrance caught the attention of many locals.

Read more at:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-02/21/c_13741684.htm
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-02/21/c_13741684_2.htm
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-02/21/c_13741684_3.htm
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-02/21/c_13741684_4.htm
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-02/21/c_13741684_5.htm

Polar bears not endangered, US confirms (via Dawn Holloway)

Environmental campaigners in the US have lost a battle to have the polar bear listed as an "endangered" species.

The US department of the interior has upheld a decision to classify the bear as "threatened" - a status that gives them less protection under the law.

The government said it did not find that polar bears were on the brink of extinction, needed to qualify for the status of "endangered".

Environmental campaigners have said they will challenge the decision.

'Anti-science decision'
Under the Endangered Species Act, the status of "endangered" requires the government to assess the impact of greenhouse gases on the bears' Arctic homelands.

When the government is considering permits for oil development in northern Alaska, it must include greenhouse gas emissions in its decision.

When the polar bear was listed as "threatened" by the administration of former US President George W Bush, officials invoked a special rule saying the Endangered Species Act could not be used to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

So an "endangered" listing is a more powerful tool for limiting industrial activity that causes greenhouse gases.

The Centre for Biological Diversity - one of the groups trying to get the polar bear listed as "endangered" - said the ruling showed that the administration of US President Barack Obama was continuing to defend Bush-era "anti-science decisions".

It says polar bears face an 80% chance of extinction within 40 years and it will continue to challenge the US government in court.


By Rajesh Mirchandani

BBC News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12065257