The Year was 2010 : When Asian’s Unicorn Was Last Spotted

Posted on September 26, 2011 by admin| Comments Off
We all know that the unicorn is a legendary animal however among many endangered animals in Asia, there is the Saola, an endangered species which has been coined as Asia’s unicorn. The saola is considered to be one of a few rarest animals left.
endangered_speciesLast year, after more than 10 years, a wild soala was spotted in Laos. It was captured alive by the local villagers but died in captivity. Obviously, they did not have the means to take care of it. Before this, the last time a soala was seen was in 1999 by some conservationists. They could not do more than admire it from a distance.

The soala is closely related to cattle but looks like an antelope with 2 horns. It’s natural habitat is in the wild jungles of Laos and Vietnam. The first anyone ever saw the species was in 1992, and in 1999 was listed as critically endangered because only a few hundred were believed to exist. You won’t be able to find any soalas in zoos or in captivity. They are so elusive, it’s very hard to pin them down to one place long enough to take a shot much more capture one.  The problem with situation is that not much is known about the saolas, and there is practically no support for their survival.

When the soala was captured last year, the villagers did not know what to do with it. It became very weak and when help arrived, it dies soon after. If more people were aware about the rarity of this endangered, maybe extinct, creature, then the efforts to keep them alive would have been more intense and serious.

According to William Robichaud of the IUCN working group for soalas, “ The government of Laos … are to be commended for their rapid response and efforts to save this animal.” He further said that with this story coming out, more people will be aware and it is possible that the next time a soala is sighted or captured, this information will help keep it alive.

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What are the Endangered Animals in Japan?

Posted on June 16, 2011 by admin| Comments Off

Japan is an archipelago rich with animal and plant life. Just this 2005, the entire country was declared a Biodiversity Hot Spot. This declaration was due to the growing number of threatened animal and plant life of Japan because of the acts of human beings. Japan now has a large number of endangered species. Endangered species are animals that are in the brink of extinction. Animals that are close to extinction will be placed in the Red list of endangered species. They are placed in the list so that the government will be able to help them. Prohibitions against hunting or hurting these endangered animals will be done to protect them. Other countries also have their list of endangered animals, and they also have their own means of protecting them. Japan is one of the countries that have a lot of endangered animals on this list. This is so even though it is just a small country.

Here is a list of endangered animals in Japan:

  1. Mammals that is included in the list of endangered species in Japan. Mammals have fur, hair and backbones. They do not lay eggs; instead they have offspring. The Tsushima cat and the Iriomote cat are animals that are considered extremely endangered. They are named after the island where they can be found. These cats are native animals of Japan.
  2. Birds that is included in the list of endangered species in Japan. There are so many birds in Japan that are included in the list. The Japanese crested Ibis is not just one of the most popular endangered birds in Japan, but is one of the most endangered animals in the world. It took scientist and environmentalist many years to save this species. Now that it is slowly returning to the habitat, the Japanese are exited and emotional about it.
  3. Reptiles that is included in the list of endangered species in Japan. The Kikuzato’s brook-snake is considered a critically endangered species. This snake can only be found in Japan.
  4. Amphibians included in the list of endangered species in Japan. The Hokuriku is one of the most famous critically endangered amphibians in Japan.
  5. Insects that is included in the list of endangered species in Japan. There are many insects in Japan that are endangered. There are also many endangered insects in Japan that are yet to be discovered. The three-stink bug is one of the endangered insect in Japan.

Reference: Illustrated Encyclopedia of endangered animals.

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What are Endangered Species in the US?

Posted on June 16, 2011 by admin| Comments Off

There are so many innocent animals being harmed by humans every day, this is why certain animals become endangered, or worse, extinct. When the world was still covered by trees, animals can just roam around freely without being threatened or killed. Now only one fifth of the world has trees because of the advancements of human beings. Now animals only have a small place to live in, because of the acts of humans. There is an alarming rate of increasing numbers of animals being included in the list of endangered animals every year. This is why the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was done. This act protects endangered species that are threatened to be extinct. This act does not just protect the animals but also their habitats. The Fish and Wildlife Services and the National Marine Fisheries Services are administering this act. They determine which species will be included in the list of endangered animals. They provide lands and resources to places where endangered animals can be found. Examples of these places are the Klamath River Basin and the Pacific Northwest forests.

According to the ESA, there are around 618 endangered animals in the United States for the year 2010. These species are protected and included by the list of endangered species of the ESA.

Here is a list of endangered animals in the United States:

  1. The Gray Bat. There are so many endangered bats in the US. The gray bat is one of the most endangered species of bats in the United States.
  2. The American Black Bear. This is one of the most famous endangered bear in the US. There are three more types of bears that are included in the list of endangered animals in the US, namely the grizzly bear, the Louisiana black bear, and the polar bear.
  3. The Steller Sea Lion. This is one of the endangered aquatic mammals of America. There are many aquatic mammals in the US that are included in the list of endangered animals. Seals and sea lions are also considered endangered. Whales are also considered endangered.
  4. The California Northern Flying Squirrel. This is one of the forest animals of US that are considered endangered. There are so many other endangered forest animals in the United States.
  5. Cat Families. Florida Panther, jaguar, cougar, and the mountain lions are some of the endangered animals in the United States that are part of the cat family.

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