Common human viruses threaten endangered great apes

Press Release..
Contact: Cathleen Genova
cgenova@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press
Common human viruses are responsible for outbreaks of respiratory disease that have led to the decline of endangered chimpanzees in the wild, according to a study reported online on January 24th in Current Biology, a publication of Cell Press. The findings—which are the first to provide direct evidence of virus transmission [...]

Sask. river sturgeon headed for extinction

Hanneke Brooymans – The Star Phoenix
EDMONTON — Canada’s largest freshwater fish could soon find itself on the endangered species list.
And in the North and South Saskatchewan River systems, which span the three Prairie provinces and part of Montana, the population of lake sturgeon — which once shared the planet with dinosaurs — has declined as [...]

Extinction threat to Scots bird

BBC News
The Scottish crossbill, the UK’s only endemic bird which is native to the Highlands of Scotland, faces extinction, according to a new report.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds warns that unless action is taken to halt a rise in global temperatures, the species is under severe threat.
The bird, which lives [...]

‘Vulture population declining alarmingly’

Nepal News
Four out of eight species of vulture found in Nepal are included in endangered list of the IUCN- the world conservation union. They are White Rumped (Gyps beldgalensis), Slender Billed (Gyps tenuirostris), Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopteros) and Red headed vulture (Sarcogyps calvus). Additionally, the first two are termed ‘critically endangered’.

White rumped Vulture (Photo Courtesy: [...]

Critically Endangered Porpoise May Be Doomed To Extinction

 Science Daily – Press Release
ScienceDaily (Jan. 16, 2008) — An international research team, including biologists from NOAA’s Fisheries Service, reported in the scientific journal Conservation Biology, that the estimated population of vaquita, a porpoise found in the Gulf of California, is likely two years away from reaching such low levels that their rate to extinction [...]

Mass Extinctions Not So Easy to Come Back From

Canada Free Press – Joshua Hill 
A recent report from the University of Bristol, and published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B this week, focuses on just what it takes for real recovery to take place after a mass extinction. The study, conducted by Sarda Sahney and Professor Michael Benton focused upon the mass [...]

Chinese police seize endangered pangolins from home

 Reuters
BEIJING, Jan 19 (Reuters) – A foul stench led Chinese police to a home where they found 16 protected pangolins in cages and plastic bags, and another 37 dead ones in the refrigerator, the Xinhua news agency said on Saturday.
The rescued pangolins, an endangered scaly ant eater sought for their skin and for use in [...]

Snake-eat-snake: endangered pythons wipeout

Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Endangered snakes reintroduced to a conservation zone near Roxby Downs in outback South Australia have been virtually wiped out in a short time.
Adelaide Zoo and the Arid Recovery Group introduced nine woma pythons into the area late last year.
John Read from Arid Recovery says only one of the womas is still alive – [...]

Ribbon Seals Endangered by loss of Arctic Sea Ice

Wildlife Extra
December 2007. The rare ribbon seal may be one of the first species to lose its habitat to global warming, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. The ribbon seal is dependent on Arctic sea ice for survival – but that sea ice is shrinking fast.

The group has filed a scientific petition with the [...]

NEARLY 50 ENDANGERED CROCODILES DEAD

Associated Press – (via The Peninsula)
BHOPAL • At least 49 endangered Indian crocodiles have washed up dead on river shores, sparking concerns about an unknown illness, officials said yesterday.
The crocodiles, called gharials, have been found dead in the Chambal river sanctuary in central India over the past month. [...]