persecution – See Animals Wild

Dhole

The Dhole is an ancient species of dog, It split from the rest of the dog family 5.2-7.6 million years ago.

While it is related to the family of canis, it is different. It was once found throughout Europe, Asia and North America, but its range decreased down to its current range 12,000-18,000 years ago. In more recent times, this area has shrunk significantly, as a result of human changes.

Even with the dramatic reduction in range, it is still a large area, given the current population is thought to be around 2500 individuals, which means that it has to be a rare species, and likely there are areas with little or none of the species still found.

There are a variety of factors, from loss of habitat, persecution for livestock predation, competition from other species and diseases caught from closely related species. There are currently 7 subspecies of dhole recognized, though in the past that number has been as high as 10.

It is protected in parts of its range, but is still at threat.

Two baby rhino born in Java in the species last remaining habitat

Tim
February 17, 2022

There are only around 60 rhino left in the wild. They live in Ujung Kulon National Park. To put that in perspective, that is an increase of 3.3%.

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

Tim
February 6, 2022

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...

Algonquin Wolf

This wolf was formerly called the Eastern Timber wolf, and was considered a subspecies of the grey wolf. There are only around 500 of this species that live in the wild. They are classified as vulnerable, presumably as there was never a large population of these wolves in the wild. They are thought to have split from grey wolves 67,000 years ago (for reference, this is more than twice the minimum distance back to when red and grey wolves split).

Found in the area of the great lakes and eastern Canada.

At the point at which it was decided that this wolf is a separate species, it already has a relatively low population, though it is considered to be mid-way between secure and extinct.

Any articles that we write in the future will appear below. We hope in the future to link to people who can help you see them in the wild, this will lie below the news. Do get in touch if you live or work in the area, we are really keen to connect you with those people visiting the area, so that they can see this newly split species and to bring you income from this species on your doorstep.

Both of the below videos are from Algonquin park, the first is a natural howl of a wolf in the stillness of the morning, while the second, is a howl prompted by a human howling into the wilderness – while this should not be done too often, as it can make the wolves nervous (they howl to spread themselves out, so hearing howls can make them think that they have to fight – though howling in North America is far more common, likely as a result of centuries of persecution in Europe.

As we make links in the field to see this species, they will appear below the videos and the list of articles.

Algonquin wolves -origin different than we thought?

Tim
December 7, 2023

The Algonquin wolf, also known as the Eastern wolf is a species which has been discovered in the eastern USA and Canada (click on the bold name above, to visit the species page). Perhaps, understandably, it is hard to find a new species in the USA unless it is already pretty rare. This species is …...

Jaguarundi

Rare in much of their range, with persecution and habitat loss, we yet have time to save this creature

The Jaguarundi is a mid-sized cat, similar in size to the Ocelot – about twice the size of a domestic cat. It is found from central Argentina to Northern Mexico at the top of its range. In central and Southern America it is found east of the Andes. Secretive, and very alert, it actually tends to hunt during the day and the evenings. They live in large home ranges and low densities. In the wild they tend to be solitary or living in pairs.

Although a good climber, it generally prefers to hunt on the ground. It lives in an array of habitats from tropical rainforests, deciduous forests to deserts and thorn scrubs.

It is pretty common in Brazil, Peru and Venezuela, though it is thought to be extinct in the USA – it is obviously found in the countries in between, however due to range loss from fragmentation of habitat, as well as direct persecution as a result of taking of poultry, there are many regions where it is threatened as populations are declining fast.

The Jaguarundi shares a clade with the mountain lion (cougar), and is in the same lineage as the Cheetah

May 1, 2023April 27, 2023

The future of the Pine marten in the UK

Before humans started cutting down the forests of the UK, the pine marten was likely one of the most common carnivores in the UK. This voracious arboreal hunter is the reason that our resident squirrel is so acrobatic – these skills would likely be tested every day.

Indeed, pine martens are less widely spread in the USA which is likely one of the reasons that grey squirrels are so incapable of surviving alongside pine martens. Thus, in the UK we have this perverse situation within the UK, where the only refuge of the red squirrel (apart from small islands which can be cleared more easily) are areas of the country where pine martens also survive on.

In the UK, it has been long known that pine martens survive in Scotland. Protection of their forests must improve if we are to hold onto them for longer.

Continue reading “The future of the Pine marten in the UK”