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Under Trump, the American wolf lost its endangered species status.
This was not a scientific decision, it was a political. It is true that the number of wolves in North America has grown dramatically since hunting was banned across most areas. However it is absolutely absurd to suggest that the population has recovered.
While the great Serengeti migration is known about by most people, there is a second almost as impressive migration that occurs on the African continent.
Unfortunately, this migration occurs in a far less stable place. Indeed, it is only in recent years that this region of Africa has emerged from violence that raged on and off for 2 decades. So dangerous was it that no researchers had remained. As people returned, they found that the incredible migration was largely untouched.
Continue reading “Africa’s second great migration”These animals were covered during the BBC wild China series a few years ago, and as such a relatively poorly known but highly important animal which plays an important part of the ecosystem in this part of China has likely been saved – though there is still much work to do.
As with an awful lot of other wildlife found within the borders of China, the Chinese alligator is severely endangered. In the wild it’s population numbers around 150, at this population is highly fragmented and no habitat has a significant number of these animals.
Continue reading “The Chinese alligator – critically endangered in the wild yet with tens of thousands captive members”The UK has been predator free (at least large predators that can threaten humans and have to regularly kill to survive) for roughly 300 years. Wolves disappeared around 300 years ago, bears are thought to have gone extinct around 1,000 years ago and lynx are thought that have gone extinct about 1,300 years ago.
The recovery of the European beaver seems to be accelerating, with many planned reintroductions across many counties within the UK.
Unfortunately as the wealth of the Chinese middle class has grown, these several 100,000,000 extra people have wanted the traditional medicines that supposedly there ruling ancestors once enjoyed. The start of the epidemic that we are just starting to recover from, was caused by poaching of wild animals. It is likely that there are many more forms of bacteria and virus living deep in rainforests and other wildernesses around the world. Might the risk of a further outbreak, finally force the Chinese government to halt the insane poaching that its people have caused around the world?
In order to deliver these raw materials for so called chinese medicine (I say so called, as no scientific study has been able to show a link between any of these treatments and a change in human conditions) animals have to be hunted. These animals are protected, and so this demand drive poaching that can locally eliminate these animals from ecosystems.
Continue reading “Perhaps one good thing come out of the epidemic-Chinese people are finally prepared to change behaviour towards wild animals”6 more rangers have been killed in the Virunga national park on the border between the DRC Uganda and Rwanda. Likely, currently one of the most dangerous places to try to protect wildlife – many rangers have been killed over the years. Lying where 3 countries meet; Democratic republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi, there has been regular flare ups, of fighting. Also militia groups have regularly taken refuge in this huge wilderness, hunting all wildlife for food.
Continue reading “The virungas national park continues to be dangerous for rangers”One of the most reliable forms of renewable electricity generation is hydro. Create a dam, and then make electricity when ever you release the water from behind it. However, there are clearly places where this is not going to be good for the environment.
If the river that is dammed is running through a forest, then the flooding will cover the rainforest. What happens then? Well all the carbon that is stored in the trees, and the ground is released back into the air.
Continue reading “Absurd green washing of an environmental failure”For the first time the population of elephants in addo elephant park in South Africa has been counted from space using computer learning.
The satellite images now taken are detailed enough to show each individual elephant has a separate grey blob. Then by using computer learning, a program can be taught to count these accurately.
Continue reading “Elephant counting from space”The white rhino recovery was a huge success story- from a low of just 60 animals the population rose to over 20,000, the biggest single population, lying within the huge Kruger national park.
Unfortunately, while China has slowly got their illegal wildlife trade under control (still a big problem, but for rhino, nowhere near the biggest) Vietnam and Laos, have seen a demand for rhino horn rocket.
Continue reading “White rhino population in the Kruger has crashed by â…” in a decade”
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