News
We bring you the latest from around the World in wildlife and conservation news.
Orangutan Rescued After Being Shot 74 Times With Air Rifle
Back in May an orangutan named Hope was found blinded having been show by an air gun more than 70 times on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. According to the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP), Hope was severely injured and was found along with her month-old infant who subsequently died of its injuries. After being rescued, Hope underwent immediate emergency surgery having been found in a near death condition in Subulussam.
Mongolian Activist Single Handedly Protects Snow Leopards From Mining Companies
A former language instructor who is now an animal activist has single handedly managed to save thousands of snow leopards from the threats posed by mining companies. Ms Bayarjargal Agvaantseren who is now 49 first became interested in helping conserve these vulnerable big cuts after she spent some time translating for a group of wildlife scientists during the 1980’s.
Global Warming Not Likely To Help Mountain Gorillas
Global warming could end up causing stress to mountain gorillas that live in Virunga and result in increased risk of health problems and cause early death the results of a new study suggest. Researchers collected fecal samples from the wild and found gorillas in Virunga National Park had elevated stress levels during months where there were higher… View Article
WWF And Indian Government To Create Rhino DNA Database
The Indian Environment Ministry has established a project that will see the creation of DNA profiles for all of India’s rhinos. The project has a completion deadline of 2021 which would make the Indian rhino the first wild animal species in the country to have every member undertake DNA sequencing. The project is being supported by WWF India and the government funded Wildlife Institute of India.
Everything You Could Want To Know About Jaguars
The word jaguar originates from an indigenous language, with the original word ‘yaguar’ which means ‘he who kills with one leap’. The species roams all the way from South-West USA throughout South America as far a Northern Argentina. Unfortunately, they have been almost wiped out from half of their historic range. Jaguars continue to remain robust in Brazil which is estimated to contain about half of the approximately 170,000 jaguars left in the wild. Most of the jaguars in Brazil can be found in the Amazon rainforest and Pantanal, the largest tropical wetland.
New Giant Panda Park To Be Established In China
Over the last ten years the population of giant pandas have expanded quite significantly with a census in 2015 estimating the total wild population at 1,864 up from a low of 1,200 during the 80’s. The numbers were so positive in fact that the very next year the IUCN Red List downgraded the species threat level from “endangered” to “vulnerable”. However, as a recent piece in National Geographic suggests, this iconic species is far from safe yet.
Rare River Dolphin Species Neither Solitary Or Quiet Says New Study
A rare species of river dolphin that was believed to be solitary and largely silent has been revealed to make hundreds of sounds. The discovery of Araguaian river dolphin sounds raises some interesting questions about the evolution of the way marine mammals communicate. The species is closely related to the Amazon river dolphin.
Everything You Need To Know About Black Leopards
Recently Nicholas Pilford a conservationist from the San Diego Zoo spotted a black leopard in Kenya’s Laikipia area. There have been several reports of black leopards in Africa but few of the sightings have actually been confirmed. In 2017 there was a global review undertaken of black leopard observations which found that sightings had been reported in South Africa, Kenya, and Ethiopia going back to 1909, however the only sighting that was ever confirmed was in Ethiopia.