Category: News

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The north of the country of Myanmar has been found to play host to a wide range of large mammals

We have watched with horror, the problems that Myanmar has suffered over the last few decades. Perhaps one of the positives though is the fact that often when this sort of thing happens ecosystems are given time to recover.

This appears to be the case in the the snowy north.

40 different large mammals were sighted on the camera traps. These include Red pandas dholes Shortridges langurs and takins. As a result of the study, a recommended southern extension of a local national park, could protect this special area.

Clouded leopards are also present (a species that could encourage tourists to come and visit).

With few roads in the area, at the moment it is only accessible after several days hiking through unforgiving terrain. This has protected it from destruction, but also from discovery.

We must just hope and put pressure on Myanmar to protect this area before it is destroyed.

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In 2010 the 12 tiger countries agreed to try to double the number of wild tigers by 2022 how did they do? Today India

Yesterday I wrote about the problem of tigers living as pets in the USA (https://seeanimalswild.com/2022/02/04/there-are-more-than-10000-tigers-living-in-the-usa-with-under-4000-in-the-wild/(opens in a new tab)

Today and over the next few days, I am going to try to do an overview of how the 12 tiger range countries have managed in their target of doubling tiger numbers in the last 12 years.

India:

Indian tiger resting in the shade

In 2010 it is estimated by WWF that India had 1706 tigers living wild within its borders. There are now estimated to be roughly 2967, which would mean an impressive growth but not meeting the doubling goal they have however claimed to have met it (often with lower starting figures). Still a population increase of 72% is not a bad showing in just 12 years. I should note that this number of 2967 is also listed on many pages as the number of tigers in 2018. So it is possible that they have increased the number further over the last 4 years – data is hard to find. One positive point for the future is currently wild tigers only live in about 10% of the potential 115,830 square miles of habitat. Either way, the Indian country is not satisfied with this number, and are aiming to increase numbers by a further 35%. One thing that has been recognized, is that reserves missing apex predators do not do as well. This is for a variety of reasons, but the main ones come down to regulating availability of grazing for too many herbivores. Mizoram’s Dampa reserve, West Bengal’s Buxa reserve and Jharkhand’s Palamau reserve are three tiger reserves within India which have no tigers.

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Climate scientists have spotted warning signs of the Gulf stream collapse

For many years there has been concern about what will happen to the various ocean currents, as the earth and the oceans warm. One of the currents that has the biggest positive effect is the Gulf stream – and scientists warn that the loss of this current could have devastating effects on the world and must not be allowed to happen.

Unfortunately, we are not changing our habits very much at all, and certainly not fast enough.

Continue reading “Climate scientists have spotted warning signs of the Gulf stream collapse”
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one in three shark and ray species in the world faces extinction

Sharks are generally one of the top predators in any ocean. As a result, if they disappear the rest of the ecosystem tends to loose its balance.

The number of these predators facing global extinction has doubled in just 1 decade. A study recently found that shark and ray numbers are down 70% in the last 50 years. Species that were once pretty common like hammerhead sharks are now in danger of disappearing for ever.

These sorts of sights are already rare, however, we could see them consigned to history if dramatic action is not undertaken in the next few years.

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Carbon footprint of ghost flights during the lockdown

One would think that during the height of lockdown. that no planes would fly. After all, few people wanted to travel, and many destinations were banned.

Unfortunately no such luck. Why do I say this? Well currently 2.1% of emissions come from aviation (in wealthy countries this is far higher as many poor countries have little or no aviation – in the USA aviation accounts for 3-4%).

So what happened in lockdown?

Continue reading “Carbon footprint of ghost flights during the lockdown”
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Pine martens are back in the new forest! for sure. How will they fare?

Pine martens are an important part of the UK ecosystem. Indeed, it is only through their absence that the grey squirrel was able to get a foothold. Might this pine marten group return to save the red squirrel and remove the grey?

This video was filmed a few months ago

Pine martens are very good for the UK. It is the reason that red squirrels are so acrobatic – it is the only way to avoid this arboreal predator.

It is not thought that this population can be large, but its size is being studied.

If they are given the space to survive and thrive (it is probably necessary to translocate a few more) they could be really good for the forest.

Grey squirrels only arrived in the new forest in 1940s, and if this arboreal predator gets fully re-established, it is likely that the grey squirrel will disappear once again. This would then allow the return of the red squirrel. There is a red squirrel colony on Brownsea island, which is likely to benefit from the pine martens return, as they will greatly reduce grey squirrels in the area.

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There are more than 10,000 tigers living in the USA, with under 4000 in the wild

Back in 2010, the 12 tiger countries in the world came together with an aim to double their tiger population by 2022 the next year of the tiger. This has failed and I will write about it in an article coming out tomorrow.

However, perhaps more alarming, there is currently almost 3 times as many tigers living in private collections in the USA than there are in the wild. Even with 12 years of hard work and much money spent the wild tiger population has increased to 3,900, yet in back yards across the USA there are estimated to be 10,000. Now some estimates are lower with the WWF estimating 5000 -though even this low estimate is still lower than the total in the wild. Importantly only 6% of these tigers are kept in facilities that are accredited as zoos, and the rest usually have no one who knows how to work with them. One of the problem with this, is that much of the USA tiger trade is there to provide tiger bones for traditional Chinese medicine.

While some of these are carefully looked after and are only bred amongst their own sub-species, others are are treated essentially as a large pussy cat. Why is keeping their sub-species pure? If captive tigers are to form a protective net against wild extinction, they must be capable of returning to the wild. For this we need each subspecies to remain genetically pure, so that they are able to retain their adaptions for each environment. If for instance, a Bengal tiger from India was released into the Siberian tiger range it would be unlikely to survive as it would not be able to cope with the cold. On the other hand, if the Bengal tiger was released in Sumatra, it could do great damage to the ecosystem as it is so much larger than the native tiger.

Although tigers are listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act, the law still allows private possession of captive-bred tigers as long as they are used for conservation. Precisely how the US authorities can enforce this is anyone’s guess. Clearly, the majority of US tigers have nothing to do with conservation.

The fact that there are so many tigers in the USA can therefore be a threat to the long-term survival of wild tigers. However, it would seem that it is also a big threat to the survival of the Jaguar. Jaguar canines sell for $200-$300 in south America. However, sold in china as tiger teeth, they can go for $5000-$10,000. As a result, this tiger pet industry in the USA can lead to the destruction of not only tigers, but also Jaguars.

What is clear, is that the USA needs to get a grip in its domestic exotic pet trade and fast. There is no place for a big cat in someone’s home. If things continue to go as they are, USA will not only be responsible for much game hunting around the world, but could also lead to the extinction of other species to supply the pet trade.

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Almost 1/3 of the wild koala population has been lost in the last 3 years.

Koalas are often listed as one of the most popular animals worldwide. Living only in Australia, most of us are not going to see them in their natural setting.

Increasingly it is looking like, no one will see them in their natural setting unless you are travelling to Australia soon.

A mix of droughts, heatwaves and bushfires have all contributed to deal this huge blow to this unique species.

There are now estimated to be just 58,000 wild koalas, down for 80,000 in 2018. Another problem occurs when developers clear land to build a property – which is continuing to occur in Koala habitat.

Earlier this year, Australia announced that it was considering listing the East coast koala as endangered. With a precipitous fall in population like this, it seems odd that there is any decision to be made – of course the Koala is endangered, and if the government is considering listing a particular subspecies as endangered it must be very bad.

Estimates as high as 1 billion are quoted for the number of animals killed in the fires.

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Montana has moved to limit wolf hunts after more than intended, but commissioners won’t reinstate quota ended by Republicans

The rules about hunting around Yellowstone, are like elsewhere quite absurd. When the animals roam across an arbitrary line, they can be shot. One side is fully protected land, the other side open season.

Now it is encouraging that the wolf hunt has ended early. The commission vote (passed unanimously) made a rule that hunting and trapping would end when 82 animals had been killed (76 had died at the time).

Montana wolf

23 wolves from park packs have been killed this year – more than in any season since wolves were reintroduced 25 years ago.

Continue reading “Montana has moved to limit wolf hunts after more than intended, but commissioners won’t reinstate quota ended by Republicans”
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