Amidst continuing reports of species loss, both high-profile exotic beasts and domestic it’s easy to forget that, all creatures great and small are threatened by our heedless exploitation of nature, not only the charismatic mammals. One of the most famous examples is the humble snail darter (right).
Consequently, the US Senate recently declared that Friday, May 21 Endangered Species Day. Celebrate by visiting the zoo or aquarium, and perhaps savoring a (farmed) buffalo burger… an animal we pushed to near extinction but with careful stewardship have brought back from the brink.
The critically endangered tiger could soon join the dragon as a zodiac creature that exists only in legend. The Chinese lunar calendar year known as the Year of the Tiger began on February 14th with only 3200 tigers left in the wild.
This number is down from 100,000 wild tigers in the year 1900. Current estimates say that China, where tigers originated from, has only 50 wild tigers remaining. However, international conservation groups are using the year designation to their advantage and planning to work together to restore tiger numbers, with a goal of doubling current numbers by 2022 through captive breeding, reserves and anti-poaching programs.
To mark the start of the Year of the Tiger, the Nepalese government expanded their Bardia National Park by 347 square miles… [view entry]
Amidst continuing reports of species loss, both high-profile exotic beasts and domestic it’s easy to forget that, all creatures great and small are threatened by our heedless exploitation of nature, not only the charismatic mammals. One of the most famous examples is the humble snail darter (right).
