Friday, April 19, 2013

America's most endangered rivers

Source CBS News

The Colorado River was today named the Most Endangered River in an annual American Rivers report. It doesn't call pollution the problem. It instead cites drought and demand. The Colorado River is endangered by outdated water management that is inadequate to respond to the pressures of over-allocation and persistent drought.

American Rivers is calling on Congress to fund programs that encourage 21st century water management, while protecting rivers and the people, communities, and wildlife they support across the Colorado Basin.

Pictured here with ring marking the high water line, a recreational boat approaches Hoover Dam as it makes its way along Black Canyon on Lake Mead, the Colorado River's largest reservoir.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Endangered Sumatran elephant born in captivity

Source AFP

A baby Sumatran elephant peeps out timidly from between the legs of its mother at an Indonesian zoo, where her birth has given a boost to the critically endangered animal.

Kartini, named after the country's most celebrated feminist, Raden Ajeng Kartini, was born on Friday under a captive breeding programme and is in good health.

"Her birth is the result of conservation efforts at the zoo, and we're all happy to welcome her," Taman Safari zoo spokesman Yulius Suprihardo told AFP.

The zoo said that she seemed happy, and was feeding from her mother every 30 minutes.

The 105 kilogram (231 pound) elephant was born just south of the capital Jakarta, but the animal is native to Sumatra island, where its population has halved in one generation, according to environmental group WWF.

There are fewer than 3,000 Sumatran elephants remaining in the wild, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Rampant expansion of palm oil, paper plantations, and mines, has destroyed nearly 70 percent of the Sumatran elephant's forest habitat over 25 years, the WWF says, and the animals remain a target of poaching.

Three of the elephants were found dead in Riau province in November last year, with officials saying they were probably poisoned in a revenge attack by palm oil plantation workers who suspected the animals had destroyed their huts.

Monday, April 15, 2013

Endangered pangolins found on Chinese poacher boat

Source AFP

pangolin endangered wildlife

The Philippine coast guard said Monday it had found hundreds of frozen scaly anteaters, or pangolins, in the cargo hold of a Chinese boat that ran aground in a protected marine sanctuary last week.

Wildlife officials have been informed of the surprising discovery, which could lead to more charges for the 12 Chinese men arrested on charges including poaching after their boat was stranded in Tubbataha Reef last week.

"We found 400 boxes containing anteaters aboard the vessel, and we are now determining where these came from," coast guard spokesman Lieutenant Commander Armand Balilo told AFP.

He could not say whether the pangolins were frozen alive, or had already been butchered as meat.

A protected species, pangolins are widely hunted in parts of Asia for their meat, skin and scales. In China, they are known as a delicacy and are purported to have medicinal qualities.

According to the International Union of Conservation of Nature, all eight species of the insect-eating mammals are protected by international laws around the world.

Two -- the Malaysian and Chinese pangolins -- are in its "red list" of endangered species.

Pangolins are also found roaming in the wild in the western Philippine island of Palawan, the nearest land area to Tubbataha Reef where the Chinese boat had been marooned.

Balilo said the vessel remained stuck in Tubbataha, while the coast guard awaited arrival of a salvage ship to tow it away.

Prosecutors charged the 12 Chinese fishermen last week with illegal poaching and with corruption for attempting to bribe Filipinos officials, and if convicted they could face long jail terms.

It was not immediately clear however what additional charges, if any, are to be filed against them with the discovery of the pangolins, Balilo said.

The grounding of the 48-metre (157-foot) boat came amid deep tensions between the Philippines and China over competing territorial claims to the neighbouring South China Sea.

China claims virtually all of the South China Sea on historical grounds, including waters close to the shores of its neighbours.

The Philippines, as well as Vietnam, have accused China of bullying other claimants as it aggressively stakes out its claims.

Farm manager fined Dh10,000 for trading endangered species

Source Gulf News.com

A farm manager was fined Dh10,000 on Monday for trading in endangered animals and plants illegally and abusing animals by failing to care for them and selling malnourished animals.

The Dubai Misdemeanour Court convicted the Dutch manager of importing endangered species, animals and plants, and selling them in the market without being licensed to do so. He was also found guilty of failing to provide proper care which led to the animals being malnourished.

In a ruling that is believed to be uncommon, the court also decided that the endangered species be impounded.

According to Monday’s judgement, the Dutchman violated the Cites (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) agreement and sold endangered species at a farm in Al Warsan area.