South Korea Plans a National Research Center For Endangered Species

South Korea Plans a National Research Center For Endangered Species

South Korea is planning a 'green' research center located in Yeongyang-gun for the study and protection of endangered plant and animal species. Plans are are to breed and release threatened Korean species.
Still in the planning stages by Samoo it will be interesting to see how things develop.

Al Ain Zoo Launches Arabian Endangered Species Month

Al Ain Zoo Launches Arabian Endangered Species Month

- Themed month aims to raise awareness on the importance of conserving critically endangered species -

Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, 04 May 2014: As part of its commitment to the conservation of arid land species, Al Ain Zoo is set to launch Arabian Endangered Species Month from 1 to 30 May, 2014. Through a wide range of activities, visitors will have the opportunity to learn more about the importance of breeding and conservation programmes that have been adopted by Al Ain Zoo.

Each week, zoo keepers will be leading a discussion that focuses on an endangered species, including the Arabian Sand Cat, Arabian Leopard, Arabian Oryx, and the Ghaf Tree. Other related initiatives include an endangered species tour and a “Create Your Own Mask” activity where guests will also be asked to create their own masks and contribute their pictures for a collage to be put on display around a fence specifically designed for this activity at the zoo. A fun and educational cartoon presentation about the Arabian Oryx conservation story will also be exhibited at the Parrot Tent, and visitors can also enjoy a screening of a children’s educational movie that was shot at Al Ain Zoo.

Muna al Dhaheri, Chief of Conservation and Education at Al Ain Zoo said:

“Al Ain Zoo has long been committed to wildlife preservation and is part of numerous partnerships and programmes – both in the UAE and overseas – in this sphere, and our aim is to enlighten the public and encourage them to share this important commitment. Arabian Endangered Species Month will involve visitors in our cause by discovering our exciting animal exhibits in a fun and interactive way.”

Two additional activities will be held on 16 and 17 May in line with World Endangered Species Day, including a trail competition, where guests will be asked to follow a trail that leads to the most endangered species at the zoo, as well as a Ghaf tree planting. Furthermore, on 22 May, visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy a photo exhibition, aptly themed Biodiversity and Water, in celebration of the International Day for Biological Diversity.

Al Ain Zoo is also home to international programmes and partnerships aimed at protecting critically endangered species through captive breeding, propagation, and the reintroduction of endangered species in to the wild, among others. The zoo has successfully introduced conservation and breeding programmes for a number of species over the past decades, including species of oryx, gazelle, the Arabian Leopard and the Houbara bustard.

Al Ain Zoo is a proud member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquaria (WAZA). Strategic partnerships have been set up with leading zoos, conservation agencies and associations from across the world, including the World Conservation Union and Species Survival Commission, Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, San Diego Zoo, Edinburgh Zoo, the Northern Rangelands Trust of Kenya and the Sahara Conservation Fund.

Al Ain Zoo summer operating hours will begin in June, opening daily from 4pm to 10pm.

The Waikiki Aquarium is growing more than 127 species of Coral

I love Coral and I am fascinated by Coral Aquariums. One of the finest books I have ever read...which in all honesty would be of interest and fascination to anyone is titled 'Coral' by Steve Jones. Give it a go. I am sure you won't regret it. - Peter

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The Waikiki Aquarium's Coral Collection


The Waikiki Aquarium has one of the largest coral collections in the world. Here’s why.
 
In many parts of the world, coral is now endangered or severely threatened,” says Waikiki Aquarium director Andrew Rossiter. Hawaii’s corals are not currently considered endangered, but damage to them is progressing due to factors such as global warming, marine activities and sedimentation.




For this reason, Waikiki Aquarium is growing more than 127 species from the South Pacific and Hawaii. Think of the collection as an insurance policy of healthy coral, just waiting to be reintroduced into the wild if a species goes extinct.



The program began in 1978, when Waikiki Aquarium biologists discovered a way to keep coral alive while in captivity. (The system the aquarium pioneered mimics the ocean, but in a tank: water flows in all directions, and artificial light simulates the wavelength of sunshine). Today, the technology is used worldwide.



How researchers get the coral is a delicate endeavor. “We locate a large colony, say about four feet by four feet,” explains Rossiter. “The coral has all these tiny little fingers on it, most of them about 2-inches long. We remove a finger, put it in an egg crate, then put it inside an incubation tank where it’s given ideal conditions to grow.” The cutting doesn’t hurt the coral. The finger usually replaces itself in about two weeks.



On the aquarium’s lawn, an exhibit called the Coral Farm demonstrates the growing process. A few years ago, coral in the tank grew so large that fish in the exhibit became cramped
 
 

Photo By: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cybersam/

 
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A cure for the Tasmanian Devil facial tumour disease may be in sight

Scientists find clue to killer of Tasmanian devils


Fierce as they are, Tasmanian devils can't beat a contagious cancer that threatens to wipe them out. Now scientists think they've found the disease's origin, a step in the race to save Australia's snarling marsupial.
 
 

                                Photo By: http://www.flickr.com/photos/andy_bernay-roman/

The furry black animals spread a fast-killing cancer when they bite each other's faces. Since the disease's discovery in 1996, their numbers have plummeted by 70 percent. Last spring, Australia listed the devils — made famous by their Looney Tunes cartoon namesake Taz — as an endangered species.



There's no treatment, and little hope of finding one until scientists better understand what's fueling this bizarre "devil facial tumor disease." So an international research team picked apart the cancer's genes, and discovered that it apparently first arose in cells that protect the animals' nerves.



The surprise finding, reported in Friday's edition of the journal Science, has led to development of a test to help diagnose this tumor.



Next, scientists are hunting the mutations that turned these cells rogue, work they hope could one day lead to a vaccine to protect remaining Tasmanian devils, or perhaps treatments.



"The clock's ticking," lead researcher Elizabeth Murchison of the Australian National University said by phone from Tasmania. "It's awful to think there could be no devils here in 50 years because they're dying so quickly."



The devils, known for powerful jaws, fierce screeches and voracious consumption of prey, are the world's largest marsupial carnivores. They don't exist in the wild outside Tasmania, an island south of Australia.



What triggered this cancer, which causes tumors that grow so large on the face and neck that the animals eventually can't eat?



It didn't jump from another species, said Murchison. Tasmanian devils, for unknown reasons, are prone to various types of cancer. This tumor's genetic signature suggests that probably no more than 20 years ago, mutations built up in some animals' Schwann cells — cells that produce the insulation, called myelin, crucial for nerves — until the

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Sainsbury's Help To Save The Iberian Lynx

Sainsbury's pulls plug on plastic corks to protect endangered species

All of Sainsbury's own-brand wines will be sealed with corks certified by the Forest Stewardship Council by the end of 2010

                                Photo By: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stewart/


The corks popping from bottles of bubbly tonight will release more than a toast to the new year: a safer home for Europe's last big cat, the Iberian lynx, and other endangered animals.






To help the celebrations be more environmentally friendly in future, Sainsbury's has pledged that from 2010 all the corks used in its own-label drinks will be from guaranteed sustainable sources.





Its first champagnes and sparkling wines sealed with the cork – certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and sourced from the most sustainably farmed forests in the world – will be bottled next month. A full-scale switchover for the rest of the supermarket's 6m bottles of own-brand wine, champagne, and sparkling wines using the FSC-certified corks will be completed by the end of 2010.





The move is the largest yet by a single UK retailer. A spokesman for the Co-operative Group said it planned to introduce



FSC-certified corks in 2010 on about a third of its own-brand wines.





The use of FSC corks could reduce the threat of extinction of a number of endangered species living in forests such as the Mediterranean Cork Oak forests. These include the Iberian lynx, of which there are fewer than 100 remaining, and the Iberian imperial eagle, of which only 150 breeding pairs remain.





Cork oak trees are unique in their ability to regenerate after their bark has been harvested. This means that cork forests undergo fewer disturbances than conventional commercial forests, creating a unique and valuable eco-system. FSC certification is considered the best way to protect this environment for the long-term benefit of communities living and working in these regions, as well as the indigenous wildlife. In order to gain certification, cork producers have to ensure that they have minimal impact on biodiversity in the area, while also ensuring that harvesting practice is fully sustainable.





But while Sainsbury's move was welcomed by conservationists as a step in the right direction, it is a small step. Natural corks are used for about 80% of the 20bn bottles produced globally each year.





The growing popularity of plastic corks and screw caps has raised fears about the long-term future of cork oak forests. Sainsbury's wine maker, Barry Dick, said the type of closure used to seal bottles was based on quality, style and appellation laws which stipulate the type of closure that best suits each individual wine. Natural corks are important for certain types of wine – particularly for bold reds – because they allow oxygen to interact with wine for proper ageing, for example.





Dick commented: "Where we use cork, it is important to us to make sure that the harvesting of that cork makes a positive contribution to the wildlife in the area, while at the same time managing traceability, consistency and quality to ensure our wines taste their best."





Julia Young, Manager of WWF's Global Forest and Trade Network in the UK said: "The fragile cork oak forests are part of the unique natural heritage of the Mediterranean; a valuable and threatened forest region right on our doorstep. Leadership like this sets the bar for UK retailers as Sainsbury's achieve a first going into the New Year, and an iconic forest habitat faces a more secure future."





Charles Thwaites, executive director of FSC UK, added: "We tend to associate trees with everyday goods such as timber, paper and tissues. But supporting the cork industry so that cork-oak forests continue to thrive is vital to the local ecology, especially

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Four At Once

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Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation celebrates the birth of 4 Somali Wild Ass babies

Between the 15th and the 28th of October 2009, not less than four of the critically endangered Somali wild asses (Equus africanus somaliensis) were born at Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation. The three little stallions and one mare, were sired by “Hector”, who arrived from Montpellier Zoo/France in April 2008, as part of an exchange within the European Endangered species breeding Program (EEP), where AWWP participates in.

Funnily, “Hector” was never seen mating with the mares - but proof that he successfully did so, is obvious. The four foals are frequently playing together on their favorite side - the rocky mountain within the wild asses’ spacious enclosure.

The Somali Wild Ass, regarded now as the most endangered Equid worldwide, has seen dramatic reduction over the last decade, of the wild population in their natural range – the Horn of Africa. This has been due to over-hunting, competition with livestock and habitat destruction. This last remaining ancestor of the modern donkey is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future.

The Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation received their Somali Wild Ass group, two stallions and four mares, from Europe in April 2003. To keep the animals in a suitable surrounding, four separate enclosures (2 x 12,000 m² and 2 x 6,000 m²) and a stable, with ten boxes (4 m x 4 m each) plus

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Zoos warn of mass extinctions from climate change

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Zoos and aquariums are warning they will be the last place on Earth where people will still be able to see species ranging from polar bears to corals, unless global leaders manage to halt climate change.

Governments must set targets limiting levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, to prevent a mass extinction of wildlife, according to a statement signed by more than 200 zoos.

The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums want governments to set a target of stabilising CO2 in the atmosphere at 350 parts per million (ppm) to prevent the gas causing temperature rises which will do irreversible damage to habitats such as coral reefs. CO2 levels currently stand at around 385ppm.

Paul Pearce-Kelly, senior curator at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), said: ''From seahorses to golden-headed lion tamarins, zoos and aquariums play a crucial role in breeding endangered species for reintroduction into the wild.

''However, the climate change threat to the natural world is so severe that we're rapidly losing suitable habitats for these species.''

WAZA president Dr Mark Penning said: ''The urgent protection of ecosystems, which act as natural carbon sinks, is vital if humanity is to avoid the fate of runaway climate change.

''Our only hope is that world leaders respond to this reality and take appropriate action.''

He added: ''Climate change is not just

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Hope for Animals and Their World

Hope for Animals and Their World: How Endangered Species Are Being Rescued from the Brink



At a time when animal species are becoming extinct on every continent and we are confronted with bad news about the environment nearly every day, Jane Goodall, one of the world's most renowned scientists, brings us inspiring news about the future of the animal kingdom. With the insatiable curiosity and conversational prose that have made her a bestselling author, Goodall-along with Cincinnati Zoo Director Thane Maynard-shares fascinating survival stories about the American Crocodile, the California Condor, the Black-Footed Ferret, and more; all formerly endangered species and species once on the verge of extinction whose populations are now being regenerated.

Interweaving her own first-hand experiences in the field with the compelling research of premier scientists, Goodall illuminates the heroic efforts of dedicated environmentalists and the truly critical need to protect the habitats of these beloved species. At once a celebration of the animal kingdom and a passionate call to arms, HOPE FOR ANIMALS THEIR WORLD presents an uplifting, hopeful message for the future of animal-human coexistence.