Christmas Bilby

Photo from Ipswich Nature Centre 

A baby bilby boy has been born in time for Christmas at the Ipswich Nature Centre in Queens Park, Queensland.  The Bilby is a symbol of Hope in Australia.

The Bilby and its struggle for survival is symbolic of the plight of many of Australia’s small native animals. It has been suggested that Australia adopt the Bilby as the wildlife symbol of Easter in Australia.  Hence chocolate Bilbies are around at Easter time.  See this link here.

The World Wildlife Fund says:

The bilby is an important ecosystem engineer. It’s an excellent digger and so many other species reap the rewards of its hard work. When bilbies aren’t living in their complex burrows, which can be up to three metres long and two metres deep, other animals like insects, reptiles, birds and small mammals take up residence. The burrows provide vital shelter from predators and high summer temperatures.

Bilbies might be small but they punch well above their weight. They can shift more than 1.5 tonnes of soil per kilogram of body mass in a single year as they construct and maintain their subterranean homes.

https://www.wwf.org.au/what-we-do/species/bilby#gs.0NLKAHI

For more information and photos of this Bilby (who is yet to be named) please go to the Ipswich Nature Centre website.

Bilbies, or rabbit-bandicoots, are desert-dwelling marsupial omnivores; they are members of the order Peramelemorphia. At the time of European colonisation of Australia, there were two species.  Bilbies now occupy only about 15% of Australia’s landmass. There were originally two species but the Greater Bilby (Macrotis lagotis) is now commonly referred to simply as ‘the Bilby’ as the Lesser Bilby (Macrotis leucura) is thought to have become extinct in the early 1950s.

Class: Mammalia

Order: Peramelemorphia

Family: Thylacomyidae; Bensley, 1903

Genus: Macrotis

Species: lagotis

Did you know: Previously more widespread, the bilby is now only found in remote parts of western Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia.   savethebilbyfund.com

Good information about Bilbies can be found at the webpage below.

https://www.bushheritage.org.au/species/bilby

For information about the Vulnerable status of this mammal, by the IUCN, click on the link below.

https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/12650/21967189

Giraffes recommended to be placed on the U.S.A. Endangered Species List

Kamili baby giraffe

Did you know that a series of valves in the Giraffe’s neck stops blood from rushing to its head when it bends down to drink?

Read more here  about the amazing Giraffe !

The Perth Zoo’s Australasian Giraffe Breeding program has resulted in a wonderful and cute new addition.  She is a Rothschild Giraffe, Kamili, which is Swahili for “perfection.”  Click on the following links for more information.

https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/animals/perth-zoo-unveils-name-of-baby-giraffe-kamili-ng-b88790424z

https://perthzoo.wa.gov.au/article/we-have-giraffe-calf

Around this time last year, five major wildlife protection groups petitioned the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to list the giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) as an endangered species.

An article in “The Conversation” states that – While extinction can be a natural process, the current rate of extinction is anything but. Scientists estimate that at least 99 out of 100 species extinctions in the world today are the result of human action.

It also states:

In 1964, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) began tracking the conservation status of species on its “Red List.” Although the IUCN provides information only about the status of species, this is the first step in helping to limit extinction because it allows conservation efforts to be directed where they’re most needed.

In 2016 the International Union for the Conservation of Nature–  IUCN – SSC Giraffe and Okapi Specialist Group (GOSG) recognized a single species of giraffe, Giraffa Camelopardalis as vulnerable.  This means the animal faces extinction in the wild in the medium-term future if nothing is done to minimize the threats to its life or habitat. The next steps are endangered, critically endangered, extinct in the wild and extinct.

Rare Dingo Puppy Wave

This is sweet.  Eight little pups – 8 dingo puppies born to a gorgeous white Alpine Dog .. . and to a rare Bogong Dingo.

They were born at Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Conservation Centre in the Perth Hills, Martin, Western Australia !

Please click on the Link below for full information.

http://www.yourlocalexaminer.com.au/rare-dingo-puppy-wave/

FOR INFO ABOUT DINGOES,  LINKS BELOW

http://www.outback-australia-travel-secrets.com/australian_dingo.html

http://www.dingoconservation.org.au/dingo-physical.html

Help save Sudan, northern White Rhino

The ultimate solution is to stop the demand for Rhino & Elephant tusks/products

 

With only 5 individuals remaining, the survival prospects for the northern white rhino seem bleak.

Ol Pejeta Reserve in East Africa is home to three of the world’s last five northern white rhinos, including Sudan the last male, and also to 106 critically endangered black rhinos, and 20 southern white rhinos. It is the largest black rhino sanctuary in East Africa, and a centre for innovation in conservation and wildlife protection.

43 year old Sudan and some female rhinos were transported from a Zoo to the Reserve, in the hope that they would breed to help continue the line of the Northern White Rhino.  Sudan needs around the clock protection from human beings, and has had his horn removed in a bid to deter poachers from taking him.

Please click on the link below, to get information and see photos of Sudan.

Save SUDAN the Rhino

The Reserve he lives on is susceptible to poachers, and you can contribute toward Sudan’s protection through a donation via “crowdfunding”.

Please if you have a conscience and want to contribute toward stopping all of our non-human Animal species from being wiped out, share this Post and have people including yourself, click on the LINK BELOW, in order to contribute $1 or $2 or any amount –  to help keep Sudan safe.  Thank you from Sudan.

http://www.gofundme.com/olpejeta

Ol Pejeta is a  90,000 acre wildlife preserve 330km north of Nairobi, Kenya.  While it is a tourism attraction, gaining revenue from vehicle drives through the roads in the Reserve, it is well managed.  However, because of its size, it is a continual challenge to protect all of the animals within it.

For animal symbolism of the RHINO,   click  HERE.

 

 LINKS OF INTEREST

Demilitarised Drones to be used to Protect animals in Ol Pejeta Reserve

Visitor Reviews of Ol Pejeta Reserve

What to do during your Stay at Ol Pejeta Reserve

Agricultural Development Corporation joins with Ol Pejeta to conserve Animals

 

Conservation status
Critically Endangered (IUCN 3.1)[2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Perissodactyla
Family:	Rhinocerotidae
Genus:	Ceratotherium
Species:	C. simum

Stop the landfill of the Dugong habitat in Okinawa

Please sign and share this   PETITION   calling on Okinawa Governor Nakaima to deny the landfill application for the waters of Henoko.

Okinawa dugong, a close relative of the manatee and the northernmost population of its species, is now on the verge of extinction. The dugong, a gentle marine mammal once commonly seen around Okinawa, has long been a symbol of the sea rich in life. The coast off Henoko, in Nago, still beautiful with wildlife such as corals and turtles, holds a rich sea-grass colony where the dugong feed.

However, there are plans to landfill this area to construct a US military base.

In March, Minister of Defense Itsunori Onodera filed with Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima an application for approval to landfill waters off Henoko in order to build a new base. This filing used an environmental assessment conducted by the Defense Bureau to claim that the dugongs will “stay far away from the construction site”.

The Governor has already expressed grave concerns regarding the environmental assessment and impact on the welfare of local residents. In response, the Defense Bureau has simply maintained its assertion that the dugongs would not be affected.

But on September 22, Kyodo News broke the story that the Defense Bureau had actively hidden important facts about dugong activity in Henoko waters uncovered during its environmental assessment.

Dugong feeding traces had been found in the waters off Henoko through April to June last year and a dugong was sighted in Oura Bay, adjacent to the Henoko beach. It’s clear that for the Defense Bureau, those findings constituted ‘inconvenient truths’ better hidden from the public.

The Governor will make his decision on the project before December. If this project is carried out, the Henoko seagrass beds, together with the Okinawa dugong, will be lost forever.

We hope all the people of the world will join us in an effort to continue to co-exist with the dugongs. Please sign and share our   petition   calling on Okinawa Governor Nakaima to deny the landfill application for the waters of Henoko.

Thank you for your support.

From the Association to Protect the Northernmost Dugong —
Masako Suzuki, Etsuko Urashima, Iyanaga Kenichi

Henoko, Okinawa, Japan

Anglo American Dumps the Pebble Mine in Alaska

Anglo American Dumps the Pebble Mine

By Joel Reynolds, September 16, 2013

Today Anglo American, a 50 percent partner in the Pebble Limited Partnership, announced that it is withdrawing from Pebble Mine – a giant gold and copper mine proposed at the headwaters of Bristol Bay, Alaska.  The London-based mining giant finally recognized what Alaska Natives, Bristol Bay residents, commercial fishermen, sportsmen, lodge owners, chefs, jewelers, EPA scientists, NRDC and others have been saying for years: Pebble Mine poses too great of a risk.

Anglo American Chief Executive Mark Cutifani issued a statement lauding the “rare magnitude and quality” of the Pebble deposit, while also justifying Anglo’s plans to withdraw from the risky venture: “Our focus has been to prioritise capital to projects with the highest value and lowest risks within our portfolio, and reduce the capital required to sustain such projects during the pre-approval phases of development as part of a more effective, value-driven capital allocation model.”

There is no question that Pebble Mine is a  bad investment, replete with environmental, economic, operational,  reputational, social, regulatory, and legal risks.  Mitsubishi Corporation realized it in 2011 when it sold 100% of its interest in the Pebble project.  Anglo American realized it only after spending $541 million trying to develop Pebble Mine.

Proposed at the headwaters of the world’s greatest wild salmon fishery, Pebble Mine would threaten the region’s internationally renowned salmon runs.  Salmon are the economic, cultural, and ecological linchpin of the region, supporting a  $1.5 billion annual commercial fishery that employ 14,000 workers.  Salmon also sustain the culture, tradition, and spirituality of native communities that have relied on subsistence fishing for thousands of years, and they are food to a vast array of wildlife, including bears, eagles, seals and whales.

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The San Joaquin Kit Fox

The San Joaquin Kit Fox  couresty of   Dave Collins

Phylum   Chordata

Class      Mammalia

Order      Carnivora

Family     Canidae

Genus     Vulpes

Species   velox

A Kit Fox is either of two small pale gray or buff coloured foxes, Vulpes velox macrotis  or Vulpes velox velox,  found on plains and in open, sandy areas of western North America, commercially valuable for their fur.

In the U.S.A. the San Joaquin Kit Fox species, Vulpes velox macrotis, was federally classified as Endangered in 1967, and as Threatened by the state of California in 1971 (USFWS 1998).  It is sometimes referred to as Vulpes macrotis mutica.

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Palm oil in Australia: Facts, Issues and Challenges

A recent report has this to say about orangutans.

Estimates made in 2005 put the Bornean population at between 45,000 and 69,000, and the Sumatran population at about 7,300.75 Since 1900, 91 per cent of the Sumatran orang-utans have died, most of these in the past decade. The remaining population lives in fragmented forest areas totalling about 10,000 square miles, much of which is marked for future palm oil development. At the current rates of decline, both species are likely to be extinct in the wild within ten years.

Please go to the website of the WWF Australia (World Wildlife Fund) now, to download a copy of a comprehensive report about palm oil plantations and the socio-economic and environmental impacts at this page   here.

The Report was commissioned by the  WWF and The Australian Food & Grocery Council and written by an independent researcher, Net Balance Foundation, using an investigation from 2010.

Help yourself by supporting the biodiversity on Earth, and get informed about the important facts, rather than “stick your head in the sand” and ignore this important issue, or leave it to others to follow up.  Also, please read the posts on this blog about Orang-utans and Elephants, and read the Action Alert page.

http://www.wwf.org.au/news_resources/resource_library/?6761/palm-oil-in-australia