Europe's rarest seabird 'faces extinction'

Europe's rarest seabird will be extinct within 60 years, according to a new analysis.

The bird breeds in caves off Mallorca

Urgent action is needed to stop the Balearic sheerwater being drowned in fishing lines and nets, say scientists.

The bird breeds in the Balearic Islands, sometimes stopping off in British waters as it migrates north.

Research shows the global population is not sustainable in the long term. There are about 3,000 breeding pairs left.

The main threat to the bird is becoming entangled in fishing gear, according to findings published in the Journal of Applied Ecology.

Other risks include hunting by the likes of cats and other small mammals.

Prof Tim Guilford of the Department of Zoology at the University of Oxford is co-researcher on the study.

He told BBC News: "The survival of adults from one year to the next and especially of young adults is much lower than we thought.

"The species is unsustainable - it is on the road to extinction."

Night fishing

Estimates suggest about half of deaths in adult birds are due to accidental capture in fishing lines and nets.

Fishing on the seabed is a particular risk as birds can become entangled and drown when lines are immersed, say researchers in the UK and Spain.

Changes such as setting fishing gear at night when the bird does not dive "could make a massive difference", said Prof Guilford.

"The science shows just how serious the problem is, but also that there is a technically simple solution - the setting of demersal long-lines at night," he added.

The Balearic shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus) is one of the rarest seabirds in the world.

The seabird is classified as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of species.

It breeds on cliffs and small islets and lays only one egg.

From BBC News-Science / Environment

Zoo in effort to save beautiful rare Indonesian magpie

Rare bird experts at a zoo in Cheshire have started a project that they hope will save one of the world's most endangered birds.

The Javan green Magpie, Cissa thalassina from Indonesia has been poached almost to extinction.

    Now, four pairs of the birds have been brought to the UK in the hope that they will breed.Andrew Owen, who looks after the birds at Chester Zoo, hopes the project will stop these types of birds from dying out.

There is thought to be fewer than 100 of the Javan green magpie left in the world, putting the inquisitive bird with distinctive green plumage, black eye feathers and a pink beak on the critically endangered list.

The zoo is hoping to boost survival rates by developing the first captive breeding programme outside of Indonesia, where a passion for keeping caged birds has seen numbers in the wild decimated. As the birds become rarer, their value increases, leaving many species on the brink of disappearing altogether.

The zoo's curator of birds, Andrew Owen, explains: "We really are fighting against time to save the incredibly rare Javan green magpie from extinction. Sadly, there is evidence that the species is fast disappearing in the wild as they have fallen victim to the pet trade and an ever shrinking habitat.

"In fact, they have only been found once in the last 10 years in the wild by ornithologists. By bringing twelve of the birds to the UK, we are hoping our new conservation breeding programme will begin to address the desperate plight of this species and ensure a protected population for the future.

"We've been working with the Cikananga Conservation Breeding Centre in Java for five years and our mission to track down the birds with the beautiful green plumage has included trawling markets and interviewing traders.

"Over time we have managed to rescue a handful of birds and set up a breeding centre and, together, we have been successful in breeding the birds on their country of origin. However, so prized are they in Java, the breeding centre has suffered from a number of break-ins - the magpies being a prime target given their beauty and increasing value on the pet trade."

Press Association

One of the world's last northern white rhinos dies in the US

An extremely rare northern white rhino has died in the US, leaving only three others in the world.

Nola was one of four northern white rhinos left in the world.

The 41-year-old rhino, Nola, died after surgery to her hip at San Diego Zoo.

Nola's death means that there are only three other northern white rhinos in the world.

They live in Kenya and are kept closely guarded.

Nola had surgery on 13 November but her health got worse.

Poachers have been blamed for the devastating drop in northern white rhino numbers.

They kill many rhinos to get their horns, which are worth a lot of money in some cultures.

However, there is hope that there may be more northern white rhinos born in the future.

San Diego Zoo has recently brought in six southern white rhinos, hoping to use them as mothers to new northern white rhino calves.
Zoo researchers are still working out if it's possible, but they say they're hopeful that a northern white rhino calf could be born within 10 to 15 years.
From CBBC Newsround

Endangered pygmy hippo born at zoo

A rare baby pygmy hippo has been born at Bristol Zoo.

It is now three weeks old and has been enjoying splashing around in the water with its parents.

Pygmy hippos are an endangered species, with fewer than 2,000 left in the wild, as they face threats from hunting and people destroying the forests they live in.

Pygmy hippos only grow to be around 80cm tall, which is half the height of their cousin the Hippopotamus.

Lynsey Bugg, assistant curator of mammals at the zoo, said: "The calf is looking very strong and it certainly feeds well."

The role of zoos in keeping these species alive is very important. In fact, without their work and preserverance many species would no longer have any elements to represent them and therefore the world would be poorer and less balanced.

From CBBC Newsround

European snow vole discovered in Portugal

A wildlife photographer discovered, by chance, the European snow vole (Chionomys nivalis) in the summer of 2014, in Montesinho, North of Portugal. This is the first record for this species in the country and was published in Italian Journal of Zoology on 2 November.

Gonçalo didn’t know what he was looking at. Two little “strange” mice passing by, on a summer night in 2014, in a gorse and heather meadow in Montesinho mountain region, at 1300 m. The infrared images recorded by a camera that he placed under a big rock confronted him with a different kind of mouse. “It was a species that I didn’t recognise. I couldn’t tell what it was. It was a very peculiar animal”, he told Wilder.

This wildlife photographer was in Montesinho looking for mammals for an awareness conservation project. But it turned out that his images helped science discover a new species to Portugal. “Everything happened by chance”, he said.

Gonçalo sent his images to a team of biologists in UTAD University (Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro), in Bragança district. Soon enough they realized it was a new species of mammal no one had ever seen in the country. Could it be a snow vole? There were no historic records of it in Portugal. There was still a lot of work to do.

That same team of biologists travelled to Montesinho in October 2014, to a place called Lama Grande, to look for the mouse and to be sure. They set 27 traps, baited with fresh apples and carrots, and with hydrophobous cotton as bedding material.

“We were able to capture two snow voles, an adult male and a juvenile female”, said Hélia Vale-Gonçalves, a biologist working with small mammals at UTAD, and one of the paper authors. “The animals were weighed and sexed, and the reproductive status and standard biometric measurements were recorded. Also, tissue samples were collected”. Then, the mice were released at the trapping location.

Next to the traps “we found many traces of snow voles’ presence, such as little tunnels on the vegetation and lots of galleries”, she told Wilder.

From 

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Snow leopards face 'new climate change threat'

Warmer temperatures are threatening to shrink the habitat of the snow leopard and weaken their struggle against extinction, a report says.

Snow leopards are a species in crisis, the WWF report says

Conservation charity WWF says more than a third of the animal's mountain living areas could become uninhabitable because of climate change.

It says plants and trees there are not able to survive in warmer temperatures.

The report describes snow leopards as one of the most beautiful and enigmatic big cats.

"But it is also one of the most elusive and endangered," it says.

WWF says that the animal is threatened not just because of climate change but also because of a combination of other factors including:

• Habitat fragmentation: the snow leopard's habitat especially in the eastern Himalayas - is being increasingly encroached upon by humans
• A decline in natural prey, resulting in snow leopards sometimes attacking livestock, which can result in local people killing them
• Illegal wildlife trade: Snow leopards are being increasingly poached for their body parts

The WWF report is accompanied by rare camera trap images of snow leopards in Mongolia

Snow leopards have been described by WWF as one of the world's most majestically beautiful and enigmatic big cats

Climate change will exacerbate most of these threats, the report says, further increasing the pressure on snow leopards and reducing them to unsustainable numbers in many areas.

"The Himalayas region will face a major crisis if we choose to ignore climate change. Not only do we risk losing majestic species such as the snow leopard, but hundreds of millions of people who rely on water flowing from these mountains may be affected," WWF-UK's Snow Leopard Programme Lead Rebecca May said.

The charity says that India, Nepal and Bhutan's success in increasing the number of endangered species such as tigers and rhinos could be replicated for snow leopards

Snow leopards

• Native to the mountains of Central and South Asia, it is estimated that there are some 4,000 to 6,000 worldwide
• Usually found at elevations of 3,000-4,500m (11,480-14,760ft)
• Solitary creatures, they usually hunt at dawn and dusk and are able to kill prey up to three times their own weight
• Mostly feed on wild animals, but will also prey on livestock
• Their spotted coats change with the seasons - from a thick, white fur to keep them warm and camouflaged in winter to a fine yellow-grey coat in summer
• Retaliatory killings by farmers are not uncommon but are rarely reported

From BBC News- science/Environment

Efforts to save Great Barrier Reef 'too slow'

Efforts to try to save the Great Barrier Reef from pollution aren't happening quickly enough, according to top politicians in Australia.

A report by the Queensland government says the Great Barrier Reef is in poor condition because of chemicals, used by farmers to help their crops grow, entering into the sea.

When it rains the chemicals run off the land in the rainwater, flowing into rivers that end up in the sea.

Once in the sea the chemicals damage the coral and threaten certain species of fish by making the levels of acid in the water go up and the oxygen levels, needed for sea creatures to breathe, go down.

The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system covering 1,600 miles along Australia's north east coast.

The government in Queensland say more work needs to be done urgently with farmers to cut down the use of chemicals on their crops.(CBBC Newsround)

Bald ibis chicks shipped to Spain

Four captive-bred northern bald ibis chicks have been sent from Chester Zoo to Jerez in Spain, where they will soon be released into the wild as part of an effort to reintroduce the species.

Apart from captive ibis like this one in Chester Zoo, the species is nearly extinct

The bird was once widespread, from North Africa to Central Europe, but is now almost extinct in the wild.

In Europe, there have been no northern bald ibis in the wild for 300 years.

The Chester chicks will join others, from zoos around Europe, for a bonding period before they are set free.

"It's amazing enough working with these remarkable birds in the zoo, but to be part of a successful reintroduction programme is something extra special," said Lauren Hough, a bird keeper at the zoo.

"We hope that by reintroducing birds into the wild, they will go on to breed and boost the wild population themselves, securing the future of the species."

Four ibis chicks, born and bred in Chester Zoo, arrived safely in Spain on Friday

At present only about 500 of the birds can be found in the wild, largely in a population in Morocco.

A second, tiny group remains in Syria, where the birds are threatened by the advance of IS militants.

They have disappeared from Europe due to habitat loss and hunting of their chicks and eggs.

Chester Zoo currently houses 28 northern bald ibis, a "safety-net population" the zoo has cared for since 1986.

The latest four chicks from Chester are joining an international conservation effort, which has already seen wild numbers of the birds begin, slowly, to recover.

They will live in a holding aviary at Jerez Zoo in southern Spain until they are released, possibly in late November.

From BBC News Science-Environment

Rare Sumatran orangutan born at Chester Zoo

A rare species of Sumatran orangutan has been born at Chester Zoo.

The tiny new arrival is extra special because the species is facing extinction in the wild.

The baby orangutan hasn't got a name yet but it will be joining a family of four older brothers and sisters.

Sumatran orangutans are from Indonesia and lots of their homes are being destroyed as forest are chopped down for wood.(CBBC newsround)

Keepers at the zoo said they were doing their early morning checks when they spotted the tiny newcomer in the arms of its mother, 28-year-old Subis.

Sumatran orangutans are found only on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia where it is estimated that less than 6,500 remain.

The species has come under threat due largely to the destruction of its habitat for logging, wholesale conversion of forest to palm oil plantations and hunting, say the zoo.

Tim Rowlands, curator of mammals, said: "Subis herself was born here in 1986 and has since had four other young, but this is the first Sumatran orangutan to be born here at the zoo in just under three years so the team is absolutely thrilled.

"To watch Subis cradling her new arrival is a truly wonderful sight and we just hope that the pair help us to raise a little more awareness of their cousins in the wild that face enormous threats on a day-to-day basis. Sadly, without continued conservation work the Sumatran orangutan could become the first great ape to become extinct in the wild." (home.bt.com)

Along with orangutans other species are being threatned in Sumatra. Rhinos, tigers, elephants among others, are victims of the palm oil world's demand. Palm trees are being massively logged off shrinking these are others animals' habitat and  preventing them from a free healthy life in the wild. Palm oil is more and more an important ingredient in tooth paste, soaps and in almost everything that foams and even in various food like frying oils. Cosmetics and cleaning products are two other uses for palm oil. Due to its importance to industry these animals' habitat is being destroyed and therefore in a while they'll have nowhere to go. They´ll die or will be killed by humans who see their properties invaded by famished animals.

Live interview interrupted by a blue whale

Steve Backshall's interview with whale expert Doris Welch is cut short when, against all odds, the team spot a Blue Whale live on air.

FROM BBC

Good news!A parrot, feared extinct, is found in Australia

So Cuuute!

The mysterious night parrot is one of the world's rarest species.

Now researchers have finally managed to capture and tag one of the birds, as part of a project to protect the species.

It had been thought the species was extinct for at least 100 years since if had been so difficult to find.

Although some people have said that they have seen the bird, no-one has been able to take good quality photos to prove that they really had seen a night parrot.

Steve Murphy finally captured the parrot after 18 months of searching.

Now, researchers have taken photos, and feather samples that prove the species is still alive.

The parrot was fitted with a tracker, so that researchers can now continue to learn more about it.

They have found that it stays in the same nesting site, but travels up to eight kilometres each night to find food.

Night parrots are nocturnal - they only come out at night.

It's not clear how many night parrots there are yet.

But researchers say that they will keep the location a secret for as long as they can, to try to protect the parrot from being disturbed.

from CBBC Newsround

New York's Empire State Building hosts wildlife display

New York's famous Empire State Building had images of endangered animals flashed across its walls this weekend.

The aim was to raise awareness about these animals and risks of extinction.

Pictures of snow leopards, tigers and various animals were shown on the 381m high skyscraper.

An image of Cecil the lion, who died last month in Zimbabwe, Africa, was also displayed.

Cecil the lion projected on to Empire State building

Crowds of people came to watch and take photos

From CBBC Newsround

Lisbon Zoo welcomes new inhabitants

Unusually, two flamingos were born at the Lisbon Zoo recently. It is usually just one a year but this time they have two instead. The Lisbon Zoo definitely has the best living and procreating conditions, not only for flamingos, but for dozens of other important species among the which we may find really endangered species and others at risk of extinction such as elephants, rhinos, the Persian leopard,the spiked turtle, the golden parakeet, and many others including African Impalas, the marmoset Emperor, and so on. This Zoo is really worth a visit for the hundreds of species it keeps and grows, the warm climate we can find in Lisbon, the dolphins and sea lions shows held daily, the lung it is in a cosmopolitan city like Lisbon and the many attractions it provides due to the exchange programms to which it is associated and that allows tourists and common visitors to enjoy at any time of year.

 Every animal's habitat is carefully chosen and taken care so that every species can easily breed and live nearly with the same natural conditions they have in the wild. The Lisbon Zoo keeps the only Okapi calf born in Europe.

LISBON ZOO

Mª Dulce Branquinho

The decline of the burbot

When it comes to animals threatened with extinction, the cute and cuddly ones tend to get the most attention. But what about the ugly ones that go unnoticed when their numbers start to dwindle? Mary Colwell speaks up for the burbot.

"When you are furry, when you're lovable, you often fare better in people's interests than if you're bald and rather ugly," says Richard Sabin, curator of mammals at the Natural History Museum in London, referring to the popular appeal of animals such as pandas.

It was never going to bode well for the burbot then. The fish is "fat looking and a little bit flabby and soft" - a description offered by the museum's fish curator, James Maclaine.

He isn't the only one who doesn't swoon at its looks. "People have mixed feelings about the burbot," he says. "There's a 19th Century account by a man called Pennant who calls it 'a very delicate fish for the table, though of disgusting appearance when alive'."

It is true that burbot are… characterful. They are long and sinuous, commonly growing to more than a metre in length, but can get much larger. They look very much like eels - they are often called eelpout - and when caught, will wrap themselves around the angler's arms and legs.

With large squashed heads, small eyes, downturned mouths full of razor sharp teeth and tubes protruding from their nostrils, they are not exactly pretty. They are also exceedingly slimy and under the chin is a single long, fleshy feeler called a barbel, giving the impression of a goatee beard.

These characteristics are important. They are all adaptations to the cold, dark world at the bottom of northern lakes and rivers.

These were ice-age fish that once swam unhindered in a glacial world, until the ice retreated 10,000 years ago leaving some remnant populations throughout the northern hemisphere, including eastern England.

Find out more

Ten facts about the barbot

• Natural Histories is a series about our relationships with the natural world
• Listen to Barbot on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday 7 July at 11:00 BST or online after broadcast

The burbot is the only member of the cod family that lives in fresh water. For several months a year burbot can be trapped under ice - they need cold temperatures to spawn but all that slime and flabbiness provide excellent protection.

Their teeth are essential for catching a huge variety of food. "They're a very voracious predator," says Steve Simpson, marine biologist and lover of burbot at Exeter University. "There are reports of them eating birds, eating snakes, eating frogs - they really will eat anything they encounter."

Because their world is dark, they don't need big eyes. They use their barbels to detect vibrations and catch their prey. They may not be beautiful but they are perfectly adapted to their gloomy, chilly world.

Although still present throughout the rest of Europe and North America, the only burbot in England today can be found in the vaults of the Natural History Museum in London, preserved in pickling jars. Once a proud member of Britain's piscatorial family, the fish disappeared from British waters in the 1960s - the Angling Times offered a reward of £100 to anyone who found one in the UK, but that money lies unclaimed.

(BBC News/ Magazine)

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Rare Maui's dolphin 'critically endangered'

The smallest and rarest marine dolphin in the world could be extinct within 15 years if protection is not stepped up, experts have warned.

Maui's dolphins are less than 1.5m long and only found off the west coast of New Zealand

Conservation organisation Nabu say there are fewer than 50 Maui's dolphins left on the planet now.

The organisation said fishing should be banned in the waters off New Zealand, where the species live.

Dolphins are often caught in fishing nets which can harm and even kill them.

Change

"New Zealand has to abandon its current stance, which places the interests of the fishing industry above conservation," said Dr Barbara Maas from Nabu.

A spokesperson for the New Zealand minister for conservation said no comment would be made until after the scientific committee reported its findings and recommendations in June.

The number of dolphins has declined since the 1970s.

Scientists say the main threat is fishing using trawling nets. It's thought the nets kill five Maui's dolphins each year.

From CBBC Newsround

Wild lynx could return to Britain after 1,300 years

An animal charity is trying to get the lynx back into the UK countryside.

The big cats became extinct in the UK 1,300 years ago.

But now the Lynx UK trust wants to reintroduce them to three forest areas in Britain.

They say it will help stop wild deer from destroying woodland by eating too many plants and leaves.

However, farmers are worried that the lynx might decide to hunt their animals instead.

The Iberian lynx is one of the rarest types of lynx, and can only be found in parts of Spain and Portugal.

What is a lynx?

A lynx is a medium-sized cat which lives in the wild. There are four different species of lynx.

The Eurasian, Iberian, Canada and Bobcat.

The Eurasian lynx used to be native to Britain and is the biggest - around 60cm tall - about the same size as a Labrador.

The Iberian lynx is the rarest wildcat in the world and can be found in parts of Spain and Portugal.

You can find the Bobcat in North America and the Canada lynx lives in Canada and Alaska.

The Lynx is listed as threatened on the endangered species list, as many poachers hunt them for their fur.

Lynx are usually only active at night and hunt deer, rabbits and hares for food.

From CBBC Newsround

Wildlife decline may lead to 'empty landscape'

Populations of some of the world's largest wild animals are dwindling, raising the threat of an "empty landscape", say scientists.

The threatened black rhino

About 60% of giant herbivores - plant-eaters - including rhinos, elephants and gorillas, are at risk of extinction, according to research.

Analysis of 74 herbivore species, published in Science Advances, blamed poaching and habitat loss.

A previous study of large carnivores showed similar declines.

Prof William Ripple, of Oregon State University, led the research looking at herbivores weighing over 100kg, from the reindeer up to the African elephant.

"This is the first time anyone has analysed all of these species as a whole," he said.

"The process of declining animals is causing an empty landscape in the forest, savannah, grasslands and desert."

The threatened mountain zebra

Prof David Macdonald, of Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, was among the team of 15 international scientists.

"The big carnivores, like the charismatic big cats or wolves, face horrendous problems from direct persecution, over-hunting and habitat loss, but our new study adds another nail to their coffin - the empty larder," he said.

"It's no use having habitat if there's nothing left to eat in it."

According to the research, the decline is being driven by a number of factors including habitat loss, hunting for meat or body parts, and competition for food and resources with livestock.

With rhinoceros horn worth more than gold, diamonds or cocaine on illegal markets, rhinos could be extinct in the wild within 20 years in Africa, said the researchers.

The consequences of large wild herbivore decline include:

• Loss of habitat: for example, elephants maintain forest clearings by trampling vegetation

• Effects on the food chain: large predators such as lions, leopards, and hyena rely on large herbivores for food

• Seed dispersal: large herbivores eat seeds which are carried over long distances

• Impact on humans: an estimated one billion people rely on wild meat for subsistence while the loss of iconic herbivores will have a negative impact on tourism

The biggest losses are in South East Asia, India and Africa.

Europe and North America have already lost most of their large herbivores in a previous wave of extinctions.

From BBC Science