News
We bring you the latest from around the World in wildlife and conservation news.
World’s Oldest Captive Panda Passes Away
The world’s oldest living captive male panda died at the end of last year. Pan Pan was extremely virile and a quarter of all captive pandas can trace their origins back to Pan Pan. The panda is survived by more than 130 direct descendants living in zoos all over the world. Pan Pan’s nick name was “hero father” passed away on Wednesday 28th December in Sichuan Province China said the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Great Panda. By the time he reached 31 years of age, Pan Pan was the equivalent of a 100 year old human.
Giraffe’s Are Now Vulnerable To Extinction
Over the last 3 decades there has been a dramatic drop in the number of wild giraffes. The drop has been so precipitous that the world’s tallest land mammal is now being classified as vulnerable to extinction. To get a sense of how grave the situation is, in 1985 there were approximately 155,000 wild giraffes. That number has fallen to 97,000 in 2015 says the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. The reasons behind the drop are poaching, habitat loss and civil war in parts of the African continent.
Orangutan Achieves A Guinness World Record
A Sumatran Orangutan that lives at the Perth Zoo in Western Australia has been awarded the Guinness World record for being the oldest of her species in the world. The irony is she couldn’t care less. Puan is a 60-year-old female orangutan and is matriarch of the zoo’s orangutan colony. She was born in 1956 and has been at the zoo since 1968 after being presented as a gift by Malaysia’s Sultan of Johore.
Three Pygmy Marmosets Stolen From A Wildlife Park In Australia
At the end of last month, three pygmy marmosets were stolen from an Australian wildlife park. The species is incredibly rare so losing them was very bad news. The good news was whilst the marmosets were reported missing from their enclosure at Symbio Wildlife Park in South Sydney, the female marmoset Sophia and a baby were found alive the very next day. However, Gomez a male marmoset continues to remain missing.
Panda Status As Endangered Has Been Reclassified
A top global conservation groups has taken the giant panda off its endangered species list. This is a great result and is the product of decades of conservation efforts. Despite this fact, the Government of China refused to accept the decision claiming the situation of the country’s most beloved symbol is no less serious.
Anti-Poaching Team Save Drowning Elephant
A couple of members of ant-poaching team were patrolling Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park early in the morning when they chanced upon a truly awful sight according to National Geographic. Tom Lautenbach one of the members of the patrol said to their surprise they noticed four very large grey legs sticking out of the man-made water trough, which was established to provide clean drinking water. Mr Lautenbach adds that they then realised the legs belonged to an elephant.
India’s Most Loved Lion Dies
According to a report by the BBC, one of India’s most loved lions as well as its oldest passed away in the wild from old age. The lion named Ram was found dead at the Gir sanctuary in Western Giujarat. Ram’s age was estimated to be approximately 15 years old. He was very popular with forest officials who described Ram as being both “beautiful and flamboyant”. They added that Ram was without a doubt their most photographed lion.
WWF Report Claims We Are losing Wildlife At An Alarming Rate
A new report by WWF claims that as many as two thirds of the worlds wildlife could be extinct by the end of the decade if action is not taken immediately. Since 1970, 58 per cent of the numbers of fish, mammals, birds and reptiles have already disappeared says the latest bi-annual Living Planet Index commissioned by WWF. If that figure is accurate, it means that wildlife across the planet is disappearing at the rate of 2 per cent a year.