Scottish walkers asked to report wildcat sightings as numbers fall

 Mark Hughes – Independent
They were once widespread throughout the forests of the United Kingdom, fierce, feline creatures rumoured by some to be man-eating predators and revered by others as quasi-mythical beings harbouring the malevolent spirits of witches. But decades of relentless hunting took their toll on the population of the wildcat, so that by the [...]

Yellowstone Rabbits Hop into Extinction

LIVESCIENCE.COM
A new study found that white-tailed jack rabbits have vanished from the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, where the bunnies were once abundant.
No one knows what caused the rabbits to disappear, according to the study conducted by the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society. It could be disease, extreme weather, predation or other factors, said Wildlife Conservation Society [...]

Primates disappearing from tropical forests

Mohammad Shahidul Islam – The NEW NATION (Bangladesh)
Primates are considered closest living relatives of mankind. These living relatives-apes, monkeys, lemurs and other primates-are becoming rarer from the tropical forest. “Reasons for the decline are no mystery: they all relate directly or indirectly to human actions” says a Worldwatch Institute report. A survey, worked out [...]

Shark species face extinction amid overfishing and appetite for fins

ALOK JHA – THE GUARDIAN
Nine more species of shark are to be added to the endangered list as scientists warn that oceans are being emptied of the fish by overfishing and finning.
The scalloped hammerhead shark, which has declined by 99% over the past 30 years in some parts of the world, is particularly vulnerable and [...]

Hanguls run from Kashmir’s cold

Fayaz Bukhari – NDTV.com

The endangered Hangul deer found only in Kashmir have come downhill to the Dachigam National Park in search of food as their fodder in the upper reaches are under snow.
The wildlife department says it’s ready to welcome the new guests.
”We are providing them vegetable and dry willow branches. We are ready for [...]

Why You Should Care About the Horseshoe Crab

Dan Shapley – the daily green
The horseshoe crab is an ancient, ugly and misnamed creature, and it is surprisingly important to the survival of migrating shorebirds and, well, us.
The New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer just lifted a moratorium on harvesting horseshoe crabs in Delaware Bay, where the world’s largest population [...]

KING PENGUIN FACES EXTINCTION

TELEGRAPH – Roger Highfield
The prospect that the King penguin will go extinct as a result of climate warming is rising inexorably, scientists say today.
Second only to Emperor penguins in size, King Penguins – distinguished by their ear patches of bright golden-orange feathers – thrive on the islands at the northern reaches of Antarctica, with a [...]

Sumatran tigers being sold into extinction, report reveals

 Jessica Aldred  – The Guardian
Laws to protect the Sumatran tiger are failing to prevent body parts of the critically endangered animal from being sold openly in Indonesia, according to a report released today.
Body parts including canine teeth, claws, skin pieces, whiskers and bones were found on sale in one in 10 of the 326 retail [...]

Madagascar’s Tortoises Are Crawling Toward Extinction, Groups Say

 press releasa
Madagascar’s turtles and tortoises, which rank among the most endangered reptiles on earth, will continue to crawl steadily toward extinction unless major conservation measure are enacted, according to a recent assessment by the Wildlife Conservation Society and other groups.
The groups, which met for four days in Madagascar’s capital city Antananarivo, said there is still [...]

Outrage as endangered eagle shot dead

CLARE PEDDIE – Adelaide Now
THE apparent fatal shooting of a white-bellied sea eagle has sickened environmentalists, who have raised serious concerns about the future of the endangered species.
The majestic bird’s carcass was found near Cape Bauer, on the state’s west coast over the Christmas period. It was taken to the South Australian Museum where a [...]