Hello again and happy one week of fall! Fall here at UP is already looking so pretty and I am so excited for when all the trees are full of different colors. I have already had about 10 pumpkin spice lattes and I think I will just never get sick of them!

I also just figured out I can change colors, so that's pretty cool!

But moving on, this weeks endangered species is one I have never heard of (although I feel like I should’ve), so maybe this species will be a new one for you too to get to know!

Endangered Species of the Week: The Bonobo

(Pan paniscus)

STATUS: Endangered

POPULATION: 10,000 to 50,000

HEIGHT: 28 to 35 inches

WEIGHT: 68 to 86 pounds

The Bonobos are about two-thirds the size of humans and are covered with dark hair. They are distinguished by their black faces, red lips, two or three webbed toes, a tail tuft, and parted long hair. Unlike their closest cousins, the common chimpanzees, they are not divided into subspecies.

Wild bonobos can only be found in forests south of the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

What is threatening them?

POACHING

Humans hunt bonobos to eat them, trade them as bushmeat, keep them as pets and for use in traditional medicine. Specific bonobo body parts are believed to enhance sexual vigor or strength. The number of bonobos lost to poaching each year is not known, but the number of bonobo charms available in parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo suggests that poaching may be common.

HABITAT LOSS

Only part of the bonobo’s range lies in protected areas. A growing and moving human population, combined with slash-and-burn agriculture and commercial logging, leaves bonobos outside parks at risk of losing their homes.

CIVIL WARFARE

Civil unrest in the region around the bonobo’s home territory has led to many bonobo deaths, as gangs of poachers have been free to invade Salonga National Park, one of few protected areas for bonobos. In addition, unrest has made modern weaponry and ammunition more available, enabling hunting, and the military has at times sanctioned the hunting and killing of bonobos.

Why is it so important to save them?

Bonobos share 98.7% of their genetic code with humans (woah!), making them, along with chimpanzees, our closest living relatives. As the last great ape to be scientifically discovered, much still remains unknown about the bonobo.

Also, they play an important role as seed dispersers, which is critical for forest regeneration.

What is being done?

MONITORING POPULATIONS

The ICCN and non-governmental organizations are conducting surveys of bonobo populations. After the first survey of Salonga National Park found fewer bonobos than expected and greater amounts of human disturbance, additional efforts were made to monitor and protect these animals.

PROTECTING HABITAT

 A survey of large mammals in the DRC’s Lac Télé-Lac Tumba Landscape revealed a previously unknown population of bonobos, a population that has the highest density and largest group size of the animals anywhere in their range. After this discovery the Lac Tumba-Lediima Nature Reserve was established, which will help to protect this dwindling species.

SUPPORTING LAW ENFORCEMENT

To combat the rampant problem of poaching, antipoaching units in Salonga National Park are being provided with training, improved transportation, and communication and other field equipment. The Congolese Wildlife Authority (ICCN) to helping to establish sustainable funding for antipoaching activities in the park.

Fun Facts

• Bonobos have not traditionally been acknowledged for their use of tools, but they have been noted to self-medicate by leaf swallowing during the peak occurrence of intestinal parasites.
• Females do not produce their first infant before 13–15 years old.
• Bonobos are highly social animals, living in large communities of up to 120 individuals.
• Fruits constitute the bulk of the bonobo’s diet but seeds, leaves, flowers and invertebrates are also eaten.
• Bonobos whimper when they fail, just like humans.
• They walk on their feet and their knuckles.

How can you help?

Support the African Wildlife Foundation

Support the WCS Congo

Stay Informed!

Sources

https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15932/102331567

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/bonobo

Bye!!

Ok so shout out to my friend Alyssa who told me to look into the Baiji Dolphin. Spoiler, this weeks endangered species is not this dolphin, but another freshwater river dolphin. However, I think the story behind my inspo is an interesting one, so I will give a brief summary of this dolphin (and maybe one week I will deep dive into it).

The Chinese river dolphin, or baiji, holds the unenviable record of being the first dolphin species driven to extinction by human beings.

The Yangtze River in China was the baiji’s native home for 20 million years. However, It took less than 50 years for humans to wipe them out. Baiji numbers crashed dramatically and then they disappeared entirely from the river. They were pronounced extinct in 2007 following the failure of a dedicated 6-week expedition in 2006 to find a single one. There have been no confirmed baiji sightings since before 2006, although in 2018 there was a conspiracy that a baiji was sighted in a picture taken.

I just thought that was pretty cool… but now onto the main event!

Endangered Species Of The Week: The Amazon River Dolphin

Also known as the Pink River Dolphin, boto, or bufeo

(Inia geoffrensis) 

There are 6 species of freshwater river dolphins. River dolphins have long beaks and rounded foreheads. The ancestors of river dolphins were marine dolphins that invaded freshwater environments during high sea levels 23 million to 5.3 million years ago.

They are found through much of the Amazon and Orinoco river basins in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela.

A male Amazon river dolphin can grow to over 2.4 metres (8 feet) and 160 kg (350 pounds); females are slightly smaller. Its colour can vary from dark gray to mottled pink-and-gray to bright pink. The young are blue-gray and get pinker as they age.

It is a relatively abundant freshwater cetacean with an estimated population in the tens of thousands. However, it is classified as endangered by the IUCN Red List as numbers keep declining.

Why are they threatened?

POLLUTION

Mercury pollution from small-scale gold mining activities are one of the main threats. The mercury reaches dolphins through the food chain. They mainly eat catfish, which are bottom feeders greatly affected by metals like mercury in the water.

Poaching

The Amazon river dolphin is seen as a competitor for diminished fish populations (such as catfish) and are killed when seen in an effort to reduce competition. In the Brazilian and Colombian Amazon, river dolphins are often deliberately killed for use as bait in the “mota” catfish fishery, which gathers fish that demand high prices in the city.

What is being done?

A catfish ban was put into place in 2014, yet the dolphins were still being killed to use as bait.

However, Environmentalists at the Mamirauá reserve in the state of Amazonas have been fighting the local fishing industry for decades. Da Silva’s team tracks the local boto population’s size and health by catching the dolphins with nets and bringing them back to the lab, where they are examined, measured, and then marked prior to release.

Fun Facts:

• The Amazon river dolphin in the largest river dolphin
• They have the equivalent to molar teeth
• River dolphins do not make sensational leaps and dives. Instead, they spend much of their time at river bottoms, probing with sensitive snouts for fish and crustaceans
• Despite having small eyes, river dolphins navigate muddy waters with ease thanks to their amazing sonar ability
• They are often friendly and curious toward people.
• Amazon river dolphins are usually seen in groups. They often swim and play with another small dolphin
• In some parts of the Amazon, river dolphins will herd fish into fishermen’s nets; in other areas, they will raid the nets instead.
• To people of the Amazon, the pink dolphins hold  special importance. Local legend says the creatures have magical powers, including the ability to come ashore at night as humans. Some indigenous people believe killing or eating a river dolphin brings years of bad luck.

What can you do?

Support the Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC)!

• Adopt a Whale: When you adopt a whale or dolphin, you will get a unique insight into their amazing underwater world and learn about the incredible individual you have adopted.
• Donate: When you make a gift to WDC, you make it possible for many teams of researchers and campaigners around the world to fight hard for whales and dolphins.
• Shop at their store: 100% of profits go to help protect whales and dolphins.
• Collect spare change: They will send you a collection box for you to collect all your loose change. Every penny helps support our work to save whales and dolphins.
• Sign up for their newsletter to stay informed!

Sources

https://www.britannica.com/animal/river-dolphin

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/amazon-river-dolphin

https://www.businessinsider.com/pink-river-dolphin-brazil-endangered-2020-4

See y’all next week!

In honor of the bear those of us at State College saw on Monday, this weeks endangered species is a bear!

Sadly, six of the world’s eight bear species (75%) are threatened with extinction, with Asia and South America being “the areas most in need of urgent conservation action.”

Endangered Species of the Week: The Giant Panda

(Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

According to a recent survey by the Chinese State Forestry Administration and the conservation organization WWF, approximately 1,600 pandas remain. And ok, technically the giant panda is no loner considered endangered (yay!) as of 2019, but according to the IUCN Red List, the giant panda is still categorized as vulnerable.

Giant pandas are identified by their distinctive black and white coloring. Their ears, muzzle, eyes, shoulders and legs are black while the rest of their body is white. They have thick hair that keeps them warm in the cool, wet mountain zones.

When on all fours, giant pandas average between 2-3 ft. tall  and 4-6 ft. long. They can weigh between 220-250 lb., with males being larger than females.

Why is it so important to save the giant panda?

The giant panda an example of an umbrella species. This means that through helping the giant panda, we also protect hundreds of other species and ecosystems that live around the panda and rely on them. Pandas also bring sustainable economic benefits to many local communities through ecotourism.

Where Do They Live?

Pandas live mainly in temperate broadleaf and mixed forests high in the mountains of southwest China, where they subsist almost entirely on bamboo.

Fun Facts

What is Threatening the Giant Panda?

HABITAT LOSS

And that's it! See you guys next week!

Hello all and welcome to my blog!

So, my blog is going to be focused on learning about different endangered animals every week. I do want to include other topics such as what is going on in the world the past week relating to environmental news (both good and bad),  what I eat for Meatless Mondays (and also giving some recipes I want to try), inspiring individuals, and other random bits of information about myself.

I plan to make an “About Me’ page in the future, so I will keep introductions a little short. I have always been passionate about the environment and taking actions to help the world around me one step at a time. The topic of environmental destruction is humongous (sadly), so I am going to just focus on a subtopic of endangered animals. I cry over every little thing, so thinking about how entire species are being wiped out due to human actions is my worst nightmare (chances are, I was crying while researching the animal of the week). To sum it up, I am going on a journey to become more sustainable and more aware of my surroundings. I hope you stick around to join me in this journey of learning about the world around us and what actions we can take to do more.

Spoiler Alert: I chose the Amur Tiger as the first species to educate myself about because for one, I think many people have heard about this species. And for two, I think it is symbolic in that these huge, proud, and majestic creatures have been exploited to the point of endangerment. I think it really sets the tone for the gravity of the situation we are in.

Endangered Species Of The Week: Amur Tiger

Also known as the Siberian Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica), there are only about 450 remaining today. The Siberian tiger resides in a small region in the southeast region Russia. They are also located in small numbers in China and North Korea. They can be up to 10 feet in length and weigh anywhere from  396 to 660 pounds.

It is interesting to note that this species was on the verge of extinction in the 1940s. There were only about 40 left due to extensive hunting in the Russian Far East. However, as stated previously, there are around 450 tigers in the wild today. This increase is due to Russia granting the tiger full protection. However, don’t let this increase diminish from the fact that the species is still gravely endangered and needs help.

Reasons for endangerment

The largest threat to the species is the illegal wildlife trade. They are poached as trophies and for their body parts. They are also threatened by loss of habitat, primarily through Russia’s logging industry as well as slash-and burn agriculture.

Fun Facts:

• They are the largest cat in the world
• No two tigers have the same stripe pattern (similar to human fingerprints)
• They are solitary creatures that mark their scent on trees to keep other creatures away
• They can eat up to 60 pounds of food in one sitting
• A litter contains 2 to 6 cubs and at 2-3 years will leave the den to live on their own

How You Can Help:

Wildcats Conservation Alliance: Learn more about the Amur tiger and its threats, make a monetary donation, and learn how zoos around the world are banding together to save the species.

World Wildlife Fund: Learn more about the Amur tiger and what is being done to save its population.

WCS Russia: Learn how Russia is working to protect this native species and how they are fighting poachers.

Further Readings:

Tigers in Crisis: Tigers in Crisis was created by Endangered Species Journalist Craig Kasnoff in 1998 as an effort to promote the plight of endangered tigers and the efforts to save them.

National Geographic’s Siberian Tiger Page

Sources

https://www.britannica.com/list/10-of-the-most-famous-endangered-species

http://www.animalplanet.com/wild-animals/endangered-species/amur-tiger/

Ok byeeee! Sorry this was long, but I hope you found it interesting! See you next week 😀