When considering animals:
This is not an official pootie & woozle diary, with apologies to the pootie & woozle folks. This is not a diary to relax. Please enjoy the pictures, share your own stories about our endangered animal friends, build community, and then take political action.
The African lion and Asiatic lion: one's indirectly threatened by global warming, the other's been hunted to no more than 200 living lions in the Gir Wildlife Sanctuary, India. African lions (shown here) are facing an indirect threat from global warming called co-infection. As the earth continues to heat up, certain types of diseases are thriving in the warmer temperatures that pose a threat to lions. Droughts that cripple human populations in East Africa also kill lions. Lions and tigers and bears go extinct, oh my!
Tyger, tyger, burning bright: experts call for urgent action to save species: There are only about 3,200 tigers left in the wild. World Wildlife Fund's goal is to double that number by 2022, the next Year of the Tiger. Tiger populations are declining in face of massive poaching for illegal wildlife trade, habitat loss and fragmentation, and conflict with humans. They're poisoned, shot, trapped, and snared, and the majority of these animals are sought to meet the demands of a continuing illegal wildlife trade, including traditional Chinese medicine. Of the nine tiger subspecies, three -- Bali, Caspian, and Javan tigers -- have become extinct, and many scientists believe the South China tiger is "functionally extinct." (Photo is of a Malayan tiger.) Its range has decreased 93 percent from historic levels. Crouching tigers no match for hidden humans.
Grizzly bears are back on the endangered species list: From an estimated 100,000 bears in the lower 48 states, the grizzly bears are down to 1,500, mostly in the northern Rocky Mountain area. In 2007, the Bush administration removed the grizzly from the Endangered Species list, but the bears were restored to the list in September 2009. Grizzlies are among the many animals dependent on nuts from the whitebark pine tree. Since about 2000, whitebark pines have been devoured by the mountain pine beetle; the climate at high elevations has been warm enough for the beetles to reproduce within whitebark pine, often completing their life cycle within one year and enabling their populations to grow exponentially. The Natural Resources Defense Council has petitioned the Fish & Wildlife Service to list the whitebark pine, and a decision is due in December. Climate change is colorblind: it doesn't just endanger white bears!
Blood diamond ivory: Currently, there are 600,000 African bush elephants, Loxodonta africanus, in the world, but 38,000 are killed each year, mostly for their tusks. That's far more being killed than able to reproduce. Thus, it's predicted that the species will become extinct within 15 years. For just one example, Chad’s Zakouma National Park had 3,885 elephants in 2005 but by 2009 the figure had plummeted to just 617. At least 11 rangers were killed by poachers there over the same period. It's illegal to sell ivory, usually, in most parts of the world, but that hasn't stopped poachers -- the trade is said to be worth $20 billion/year.
Unfortunately, the Loxodonta Americana species is alive, thriving, and infesting swamps near Chesapeake Bay.
Feds deny protection for spotted seals near Alaska: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration decided last month, in its infinite wisdom, not to list Alaskan spotted seals as endangered. Spotted seals use spring sea ice for breeding, often choosing small floes near the sea ice edge that are separated from adjacent floes by slush or water. Sea ice provides a dry platform during the lactation period and a resting area for pups when they learn to swim and feed. In summer, spotted seals can be found in open ocean or on shore. Climate change is shrinking the amount of available sea ice. Beyond the obvious scary news of losing their habitat, warming depletes their prey, makes them more vulnerable to predators and disease, and leads to increased shipping activity (which brings with it even more dangers). Add to all this the ever-increasing threats of oil and gas development, hunting, pollution, and commercial fishery bycatch, and the implications are overwhelming. Question: Who could possibly look at that face and want to hurt it? Answer: Seven Republican Senators on the Environment & Public Works Committee, that's who.
Speaking of seven grumpy old white males
who just lost a public battle for credibility and relevance
and who don't care about the world's children
and who look forward to the day when ships can cross the North Pole free of pesky critters who need summer sea ice for their survival
please sign this National Wildlife Fund petition or take other political action of your choice: tell your Senator that you want a better world for children of all species.