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Despite the fact that over time I’m many zoos have accidentally or intentionally interbred African and Asian leopards they are actually significantly different.
How different you might ask? The two different cat species are more genetically distinct than the polar bear and the brown Bear!
We need to remember that subspecies of animals evolve separately to be able to cope with local requirements. It is clear that we must save as many species as we can but also subspecies.
After the Chernobyl nuclear accident an exclusion zone 2660 square kilometres (just over 1000 square miles) hod to be abandoned.
Now while the area is horrifically damaged by the the nuclear waste, the absence of humans has been such a boon that wildlife populations in the exclusion zone are doing phenomenally well.
The area hosts several dozen wolves, and bears returned for the first time in 2014 – having been absent from the area for more than a century.
Indeed what is fascinating about the area is the clear evidence that the damage caused by nuclear radiation is nowhere near as damaging as the human population.
Whether this can change and we can allow small pockets of wilderness in the heart of Europe is a question that most would answer no. However given how many benefits will genesis like this give to the area around them, perhaps we should be aiming to create more.
In many countries around the world, some conservation success can lead to problems. In Africa halting elephant poaching can lead to rocketing populations, which in turn can lead to not enough space and human elephant conflict.
In some places countries have sold the animals that they no longer say they have the space for.
The problem is that many countries are now doing this merely for the money. Namibia has decided to sell 170 elephants. The problem is is that namibia’s resident elephant population is very small, perhaps 5000 to 7000. More than 80% of the elephants in Namibia are migratory, in that they roam in and out of the country. In terms of the resident population, the 170 elephants represents at least 3% of the permanent population.
While selling animals can be a good way of raising money for conservation, reduction of this size is not wise particularly when elephants are not in a good place globally anyway.
Ivory, sometimes known as white gold is a real problem. Often valued as much as gold, the rewards for killing a wild elephant can amount too many decades, sometimes the equivalent of a lifetime’s wage to a poor African or Indian.
Unfortunately, in many parts of the world wild animals and humans are coming closer and closer in where they live. Due to our wasteful lifestyle, our leftovers can provide good pickings for wildlife though this often leads to conflict.
The asiatic lion only continues to exist in the Gir national park. When this area was first protected, the lion population had fallen very low, some saying a matter of only a couple of dozen remaining members. In the 50 or so years since the population has multiplied well. Now are said to be around 400, spread across 1 contiguous protected area (under a number of different authorities – Gir Sanctuary, Gir National Park, Pania Sanctuary, Mitiyala Sanctuary, and Girnar Sanctuary. The first 3 form the core, with the others lying within dispersal range.
The problem is at these three have a combined area of about 561 square miles, which is an incredibly high density for lions.
Continue reading “Asiatic lions are found in only one place, yet local government authorities refuse to move any”Having drilled 900m through the ice this team of scientists found something incredible. Despite no light making its way through the ice, they found a boulder surrounded by sponges as well as 22 other species (including barnacles). Immobile life has not been found below the Antarctic ice before.
Continue reading “Life has been discovered living beneath the Antarctic ice sheet”The Coronavirus is thought to have emerged in one of the wet markets of Wuhan, China. Much of what went on in these markets was never fully legal. Indeed this $13 billion a year trade has often operated in the grey areas of the law.
However, it has become clear that these are actually rather dangerous. It is one thing to enter a wild area to see the animals that live there. However it is something quite different to go in and kill animals to eat. These wild areas often harbour odd viruses or bacteria and by taking animals alive or dead out of these ecosystems you bring out these threats so that we can contract the illness.
Continue reading “What to do about the wild animal market in China”Until recently there were only 3 viable embryos, so it is encouraging that these two new ones have be able to be created. There are currently just 2 remaining northern white rhino left. The last two both live at Ol Pejeta conservancy in central Kenya.
At the beginning of January an new agreement was signed by 50 countries who pledged to protect 30% of the earths land and oceans. The intention of this agreement is to stem the flow of extinctions that human activity has been causing for the last few centuries.
The hope is that this agreement can form the basis of a larger agreement at the UN, building on the early commitments from nations such as Nigeria Pakistan Costa Rica Canada and many more.
Continue reading “Paris agreement for nature?”
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