Cayman blue iguana (Cyclura lewisi) is one of the critically endangered species in the world. The wild population of blue iguanas is expected to be extinct within 10 years. There is however new hope on the horizon. Three eggs laid by a Grand Cayman blue iguana that had been released into a nature reserve on the Caribbean island have successfully hatched. Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. UK Is heading this successful captive breeding and release programme
The greater horseshoe bat, a very rare bat facing extinction threat has been discovered at the National Trust’s Dolaucothi Gold Mines in Carmarthenshire, south Wales,England. The name horseshoe bat comes from the distinctive horseshoe-shaped plate of skin around the nostrils of this bat. It is in a highly endangered state in Britain and the rest of northern Europe. The discovery in a new site is encouraging according to Carmarthenshire Bat Group, which regularly monitors the birds.
Reuters Foundation and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) have announced the regional winners of the 2006 Reuters-IUCN Media Awards for Excellence in Environmental Reporting. The six regional winners will receive a trophy at the ceremony co-hosted by Reuters and IUCN on 14 November 2006 in Nairobi, Kenya.The recipients will vie for the global prize of US$ 5,000.
This year’s regional winners competing for the global prize are:
Asia: Richard Stone and Hawk Jia of Science Magazine
English-speaking Africa and the Middle East: Anjam Sundaram of Associated Press
Europe: John Bohannon of Science Magazine
Francophone Africa: Dalia Abdel-Salam of Al Ahram Hebdo
Latin America: Marina Walker of Revista GatoPardo
North America, Oceania & the Caribbean: Sara Philips of Cosmos Magazine
The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (Ices) has said in its latest report that stocks of cod remained below sustainable limits in North Sea. Stocks have been reduced to a stage where productivity has been impaired. ICES have recommended that a total ban should be in force till 2007. The minimum desired level is 70000 thousand Tons. Ideally it should be 1500000 Tons.
According to researchers from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), poaching has brought the hippopotamus population in Democratic Republic of Congo to within a few months of extinction. Mai Mai militia, which has set up camp in Virunga National Park, is catching the animals for meat and ivory. The numbers now are below 400. Twenty years ago there were about 22,000 hippos in Virunga Park.
