Tag Archives: animal conservation

Poacher Turned Park Ranger

A former poacher now turned conservationist for the World Wildlife Fund. It seems an impossible irony, but it’s true. Lean Kha used to shoot dozens of endangered species, including bears, tigers, and elephants, in his native Cambodia but now it’s his mission to protect them. What happened? Yahoo News has the full details. To understand the transformation we need to examine Kha’s background. He started hunting at 13 years old, recruited by soldiers for Khmer Rouge. Kha hunted not for sport, not to collect hides with which to decorate his walls, but to support himself and his family. He’d sell … Continue reading →

Why Are Amphibians in Trouble (and What Can You Do?)

Starting on Leap Day, people around the world are celebrating the International Year of the Frog. Experts fear that approximately two thousand species of frog, toad, and salamander are in danger of extinction — many within the next five years if we don’t take action. Why are amphibians in trouble? One main factor is a fungus that comes from South Africa. Here’s how the chytrid fungus became a problem: In the 1930s, scientists discovered that the African clawed frog could be used as a human pregnancy test. Inject the frog with female urine. Within a day, if the frog produced … Continue reading →

International Year of the Frog

Just in time for Leap Year! (Har har.) 2008 has been declared the International Year of the Frog. The idea is to address the problem of amphibian extinction — including frogs, toads, and salamanders. Zoos, aquarium, government agencies, and volunteers are making 2008 a year of a major public education effort. The bad news for frogs, toads, and salamanders: Nearly one third of all known species of amphibian are in serious decline. There are approximately six thousand known species — that means about two thousand species are in trouble. Within the next five years, we could lose nearly five hundred … Continue reading →

Teaching Survival Skills to Pandas

Less than a year ago, China released a five year old panda into the wild. Why is this news? He was the world’s first artificially bred panda to be released. Unfortunately, Xiang Xiang didn’t survive. Scientists believe the panda fell from a height after a fight with wild animals (possibly other pandas) over food or territory. This is a terrible loss for the Wolong giant panda breeding center. But the loss of Xiang Xiang is inspiring scientists to work on better preparing future pandas for life in the wild. China has been making a serious effort to save the giant … Continue reading →

Elephants and Chili Peppers

Misbehaving elephants in northeastern India are leaving their habitats and wreaking havoc. Wandering elephants have destroyed homes, decimated crops, and trampled people. Wildlife experts are trying a somewhat unconventional method to keep elephants away from villages near the elephant habitats: the world’s hottest chili. Fences around villages and fields are smeared with automobile grease and bhut jolokia, the ghost chili. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the ghost chili is the world’s hottest chili pepper. Conservationists have also used chili smoke bombs to keep the elephants away from residential and growing areas. Dried chili and straw lit on … Continue reading →

Endangered Piping Plovers in New Jersey

The endangered piping plover has been something of a conservation success story on the New Jersey beaches. The piping plover is a small, territorial shorebird. Like many human beach visitors, the piping plovers pick out their territory, settle into the sand, play in the water, and watch life go on around them. These birds return to their breeding grounds in late March and early April. After courtship rituals, the mated birds form shallow nests in the sand and line them with shells and small rocks. Plovers lay as many as four eggs at a time; the hatchlings can fly a … Continue reading →

Tiger Populations Dwindle In India

Animal conservation experts believe that India may have less than 1,500 tigers left — that is half the population from just five years ago. Conservationists are performing a state by state census of tiger populations in India and expect to have final results in December. However, tiger experts are estimating that there are only between 1,300 and 1,500 tigers left in the country. Wildlife experts and government officials agree on the estimate, which is a severe drop from the 2002 tiger population — 3,700 tigers. If the census is still going on, how do the conservationists have this estimate? Technology … Continue reading →

Endangered Bog Turtles in NJ

Bog turtles used to be abundant throughout New Jersey. Now they are found in the rural areas of Sussex, Warren, Hunterdon, and Salem counties. These tiny, palm-sized turtles like to live in wet meadows and mucky, saturated bogs. Most of their lives are spent in the cool muck, which helps keep them cool in summer and allows them a safe place to hibernate during the winter. Learn more about bog turtles: Bog turtles have a shell length between three and four inches at adulthood. These rare turtles are prized by collectors, but it is a violation of state and federal … Continue reading →

Small Steps Can Save Giant Sea Turtles

The population of giant sea turtles in the Western Pacific is declining. The giant sea turtles — also known as leatherback turtles — are in trouble thanks to the state of their nesting beaches. If the beaches are unavailable or contaminated or allow too much human wandering, the eggs may be in danger. Female turtles are in danger from fishing nets, and may strangle themselves on their way to nest. Many eggs that are being laid just don’t hatch for one reason or another. Over-fishing, poaching, and pollution have all been blamed for the decline in leatherback populations in Malaysia, … Continue reading →

Discovery Channel’s Shark Week: I Stand Corrected

Earlier this week I wondered if the Discovery Channel was sending mixed messages with its Shark Week programming. On the one hand they had sponsors like the Ocean Conservancy advocating shark awareness and conservation, but on the other they were running programs like Ocean of Fear, which, well, inspires fear of sharks. I’ve been following some of the other shows they’ve aired this week. They’re not just running sensational shark attack stories. (Although they are running a fair amount of those as well.) They’re also running ones that feature people trying to better understand and save sharks. The Myth of … Continue reading →