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Another One Bites the Dust

Posted by on Monday, June 24, 2013 · 9 Comments 

WoolyMammoth

The humans just keep crossing them off the list…

Well, there’s one less big, awesome, incredible animal in the world to worry about. Thanks, humans.

Apparently the last time this magnificent creature was spotted in the wild, and not mounted on someone’s wall was in 2006.

Africa’s western black rhino is now officially extinct according to the world’s largest conservation network – the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which maintains a Red List of Threatened Species.

There is both good and bad news for other animals under the watchful eye of the IUCN.

Africa’s northern white rhino, and Asia’s Java rhino are teetering on the brink of extinction also.

“In the case of the western black rhino and the northern white rhino the situation could have had very different results if the suggested conservation measures had been implemented,” Simon Stuart, chair of the IUCN species survival commission said in a statement.

“These measures must be strengthened now, specifically managing habitats in order to improve performance, preventing other rhinos from fading into extinction,” Stuart added.

The IUCN points to conservation efforts which have paid off for the southern white rhino subspecies which have seen populations rise from less than 100 at the end of the 19th century to an estimated wild population of 20,000 today.

The latest update reviews more than 60,000 species. Their conclusion? 25% of mammals on the list are at risk of extinction.

And plants aren’t doing much better. Of 79 tropical plants in the Indian Ocean archipelago that were studied, more than three quarters of them were at risk of extinction.

Jane Smart, director of the IUCN said in a statement, “We have the knowledge that conservation works if executed in a timely manner, yet, without strong political will in combination with targeted efforts and resources, the wonders of nature and the services it provides can be lost forever.”

 

 

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Filed under Environment, Fish & Wildlife, Headlines · Tagged with ,

Comments
9 Responses to “Another One Bites the Dust”
  1. thatcrowwoman says:
    June 28, 2013 at 3:04 pm

    …you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone…
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7agB7jriyUU

  2. Zyxomma says:
    June 25, 2013 at 1:39 pm

    At this point, we’re all endangered species. If you’d like to read an uplifting story about how poachers were enlisted to help SAVE an endangered species, read the chapter on tigers in The Upcycle, the latest book from the stellar team of William McDonough and Michael Braungart (who wrote Cradle to Cradle).

  3. Pinwheel says:
    June 25, 2013 at 2:24 am

    I miss Molly. There is no new voice. We are so lucky to have known her. n

  4. mike from iowa says:
    June 24, 2013 at 5:55 pm

    diceros bicornis-ubejane has left the building.

  5. slipstream says:
    June 24, 2013 at 3:01 pm

    Is that a photo of Mike from Iowa?

    • mike from iowa says:
      June 24, 2013 at 4:28 pm

      Are you suggesting i’m getting long in the tooth? Gray hair is a close match.

      • benlomond2 says:
        June 24, 2013 at 5:14 pm

        I thought it had something to do with the sie of the probiscus……

        • mike from iowa says:
          June 24, 2013 at 5:48 pm

          If you’re talking about an appendage that drags in the dirt and can be stomped on,you’d be referring to rw Texans,according to Molly Ivins.

          • benlomond2 says:
            June 24, 2013 at 6:28 pm

            I like this one from her….

            • It’s like, duh. Just when you thought there wasn’t a dime’s worth of difference between the two parties, the Republicans go and prove you’re wrong.