Spanish Fishing posing danger for Sharks

Wasteful and unregulated methods of fishing employed by Spanish fishermen are posing serious risk to Sharks. Irish, Norwegian and British marine experts revealed this in an investigation. They estimate that the practice may have wiped out four-fifths of two threatened species: the leafscale gulper shark and the siki shark, also known as the Portuguese dogfish.

Flying Reptiles - Chinese Connection

Palaeontologists have uncovered remains of 2 flying reptiles that lived 120 million years ago. The reptiles belonged to species Pterosaur.The finding was made in the North East region of China. The North East region is very rich in fossil remains. Scientists are hopeful of making further discoveries akin to the one recovered.

Conservation groups call for moratorium on bottom trawling

Rémi Parmentier from the Deep-Sea Conservation Coalition, an umbrella organisation of conservation groups, is spearheading a movement for moratorium enforced by UN on bottom trawling. Bottom trawling is highly deleterious for coral and quite a number of other organisms and is likely to pose significant risks to the biodiversity,including the risk of species extinction.Fisheries negotiations begin Wednesday at the UN in New York, and will continue to the end of November.

Canada's environment commissioner slams bad environmental management

The latest reports by Johanne Gelinas, Canada's environment commissioner has slammed the Liberal government for what she terms its patchy environmental record. The government is already under fire for its tardy environmental management. The environmental action plans rarely, if ever, reaches the finish line," she wrote. Gelinas blamed government mismanagement for serious problems with water quality, especially among aboriginals living on reserves where living conditions are poor. The government is not working hard enough to protect Canadians from unsafe drinking water," she said. She also said inadequate planning for increased number of visitors to wildlife reserves pointed to the fact "the health of Canada's national parks is also in danger"

Potatoes – Roots in Peru

A team of scientists, led by Dr David Spooner of the University of Wisconsin-Madison has discovered that all modern cultivated varieties of potatoes can be traced back to a single source. Potatoes grown in Peru,7000 years ago. This discovery was facilitated by DNA analysis of about 360 potatoes. Potatoes were brought back to Spain by the conquistadors around 1570, and spread throughout Europe.

Threat to elephants from Europe

Shocking facts about rampant,clandestine trade in ivory in Europe have surfaced following detailed investigations by the conservation organizations Care for wild and Save the Elephants. In UK, France, Italy and Spain 27000 ivory artifacts are on display for sale. These sad additions to the already notorious markets in China and Japan have the conservationists worried. Dr Douglas Hamilton of save the elephants says these unsavoury incidents are fuelling a “Poaching Holocaust”

Loggerhead turtles being pushed towards extinction

Unbridled tourist inflow in to Greece’s National Marine Park of Zakynthos, is pushing the Mediterranean’s largest nesting population of loggerhead turtles(Caretta caretta) towards extinction. The National Marine Park of Zakynthos normally hosts between 800 and 1,100 nests from the end of May to the end of July. Local businessmen installed hundreds of umbrellas and sun beds above the authorised limit on the beaches. It is a free for all on the beaches with unauthorised cafes, bars and parking areas springing up. Vehicles zip past quite unconcerned about this highly endangered animal. WWF wants the EU to urgently enforce European laws protecting endangered species. Marine turtles are very sensitive to human disturbances.

Chinese sturgeons with micro chips

1,512 endangered Chinese sturgeons implanted with microchips were released into the Yangtze River a few days back as part of a project to study their migration habits. Main intention is to ascertain where the fish live and spawn. Information gathered could be used to devise more effective conservation plans.
Dam construction on the river is believed to have decimated numbers of sturgeon, which gather at the mouth of the Yangtze each spring to swim to spawning grounds upstream
The prehistoric fish are believed to be on the verge of extinction. Xie Yumin, Director of the Shanghai Wildlife Conservation Administration Office, is heading the project. Each fish carries a tag with a phone number to call in the event it is caught or trapped

Drought hits Amazon

In what is believed to be the worst drought, rivers and lakes are drying up in Amazon. It is the worst in 60 years. Navigation is becoming increasingly difficult. Large parts of the rain forests are at their driest. Scientists attribute this climate change to the severe hurricane season off the US Gulf Coast.

Solar output and Global Warming

Studies by two Duke University researchers, Nicola Scafetta and Bruce West, indicate that at least 10 percent to 30 percent of global warming measured during the past two decades may be due to increased solar output. Solar output has been rising slightly for about 100 years.

Zoological Society of London Setting up Hi Tech Frog Centre

Zoological society of London is setting up a brand new frog center. This will be the world’s first amphibian center to combine public awareness, lab science, field research and captive breeding. One of the key components will be captive breeding both here and abroad. Amphibians are threatened by human interference, poaching, shrinking habitat and climate change. They are perhaps the most threatened animals in the world.

Did you know that mountain chicken frog is the national dish of Dominica and it is under threat from hunting?

Zoological society of London is organizing awareness programmes and captive breeding in association with Dominican Government.

Geology and Placental Reproduction

Oceanographer Paul Falkowski of Rutgers University in New Jersey and his colleagues have come up with the idea that amount of oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere was responsible for the appearance of large placental mammals, around 50 million years ago. They have found that the amount of oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere 200 million years ago was only about half what it is today. And the appearance of large placental mammals, around 50 million years ago, happened at the same time as the oxygen level more or less doubled. The Atlantic Ocean opened up and a super continent split into the Americas, Africa and Eurasia, creating the ocean between them. This created thousands of kilometers of coastline that helped to wash organic carbon into the sea, locking it away from the process of decay. Such carbon escapes chemical processes that would turn it into carbon dioxide. As carbon is washed away, more oxygen remains in the atmosphere. The work highlights the intimate connections between geology and biological evolution.

T.B Outbreaks spell danger for Krugar Lions

Dewald Keet Chief veterinarian of Krugar National Park is a worried man. T.B is spreading among the lions. Prevalence of disease in lions is 48% to 78%. The disease is believed to have been introduced by European settlers through domestic cattle. Lions first contracted disease by eating infected buffalo carcass. Now lions are infecting each other and about 25 lions die of TB every year. The death of lions is impacting their social behaviour also.

Spider is 20 million years old

Dr David Penny of University of Manchester has described a spider, a species from family filistatidae,that was trapped and preserved in amber 20 million years ago. He used the droplets of blood in the specimen to determine the age. Dr Penny thinks the spider was climbing a tree when it was hit by flowing resin and got trapped. He first saw the fossil during a visit to Museo del Amber Dominicano , In Puerto Plato in Dominican Republic.

New Populations of Grauer's gorilla discovered

Grauer's gorilla the endangered ape, is found only in Congo. Estimates are between 5,500 and 28,000.
Patrick Mehlman, vice president of Atlanta-based DFGFI's Africa programmes,says they have discovered two important populations of Grauer's gorilla that were severely underestimated, neglected or thought not to exist. The discoveries were made in Tayna Gorilla Reserve and Maiko National Park, sanctuaries in Congo's lawless east where invading armies and Congolese rebels fought two wars during the past decade.

Black rhinos(Diceros bicornis minor) rehabilitation in progress

Rehabilitation of critically endangered Black rhinos (Diceros bicornis minor) is progressing well in South Africa. Four Rhinos were airlifted recently from Hluhluwe Reserve, to form part of founder population of 20 animals for Ezemvelo Black rhino range expansion project. They will be realeased in to Zululand Rhino Reserve. Black Rhino, once the most numerous Rhino species’ in the world, became critically endangered following a wave of poaching in 70s and 80s.

Arctic Ice disappearing fast

Scientists of the National Snow and Ice Data center (NSIDC),Boulder,Colorado have revealed alarming data about arctic. This month has seen the lowest extent of ice cover for more than a century. It is now 20% less than 78-02 averages. They shudder to think of what it would be like in during the summer of 2060. The scientists ascribe it to human enhanced increased green house effect.

Wildlife News International

Japanese Scientists Capture Giant Squid on Camera

Tsunemi Kubodera of the National Science Museum and Kyoichi Mori of the Ogasawara whale watch association, have taken the first photographs of the mysterious giant squid in the dark cold waters of the North pacific. Giant squids measure up to 18 meters. Very little is known about this creature.

Whale-Rich Mexican Sea Named World Heritage Site

244 islands along with kilometers of mainland beaches in Mexico’BajaCalifornia, Sonora and Nayarit states(Sea of Cortez), a major breeding ground for Whales have been declared World Heritage Site by United Nations.

Danger Signals from China

China is thinking of reopening business in Tiger parts, based on farm bred animals.. Business groups are pressurizing officials. Domestic trade was banned in 1993 following international pressure. The new move has conservationists worried.
Susan Lieberman, head of WWFs Global species programme says” This could be the final step that drives the tiger towards extinction”. Global illegal trade in wildlife is worth $ 8 billion a year. Conservationists cutting across borders are working overtime to counter this new threat.

Tiger Protection-Controversial Positions

The conservationists are at loggerheads.The Tiger Task Force set up by Goverment of India has recommended " Repair the relationships with the people who share the tiger’s habitat by building strategies for coexistence". Tiger experts like Ullas Karanth firmly believe that tigers needs absolute inviolate spaces, and cannot coexist with human beings.