Critically Endangered Animal Species 2013 Continued

Cross River Gorilla

Photograph thanks to WWF

STATUS

Critically Endangered

~~~~~

POPULATION

200 to 300 individuals

SCIENTIFIC NAME

Gorilla gorilla diehli

HEIGHT

4 to 5 ½ feet when standing on two feet

WEIGHT

up to 440 pounds

from WWF

The population risks inbreeding and a loss of genetic diversity because there are so few Cross River gorillas and they live in groups that interact infrequently if at all.

Where these endangered animals live it is illegal to hunt Gorillas but the wildlife laws are lax. The killing of just one of the few remaining can be detrimental in this already small population.

Cameroon and Nigeria

One way to help the plight of these animals

Hawkbill Turtle

STATUS

Critically Endangered

~~~~~

SCIENTIFIC NAME

Eretmochelys imbricata

WEIGHT

90-150 pounds

LENGTH

less than 3 feet

HABITATS

Oceans

Threats

FISHERIES BYCATCH

Hawksbills are particularly susceptible to entanglement in gill nets and accidental capture on fishing hooks. Marine turtles need to reach the surface to breathe, and therefore many drown once caught. Known as bycatch, this is a serious threat to hawksbill turtles. As fishing activity expands, this threat is more of a problem.

ILLEGAL TRADE

One way you can help the plight of these animals

Saola

STATUS

Critically Endangered

~~~~~

POPULATION

Unknown

SCIENTIFIC NAME

Pseudoryx nghetinhensis

HEIGHT

Average 33 inches at the shoulder

WEIGHT

176-220 lbs

HABITATS

Evergreen forests with little or no dry season

South China Tiger

South China tigers - the reminder that the threat against the world's tiger is an urgent one.

The only living South China tigers are found in zoos and in South Africa.

There are plans with the hopes of reintroducing captive-bred tigers back into the wild.

They were hunted as pests and their habitat was destroyed

South China Tiger

TOO LATE :(

STATUS

Critically Endangered

~~~~~

POPULATION

believed to be extinct in the wild

SCIENTIFIC NAME

Panthera tigris amoyensis

HABITATS

Southeast China-Hainan Moist Forests

This list saddens me I will add more soon. Visit the World Wildlife Fund for more information.

2013 Endangered Animals, Amur Leopard, Black Rhino

This is a truly horrifying list of natures near extinct wild animals. The horrifying part is that man is the reason for the animals being on this list. Instead of natural selection as a way to kill off a species man has taken it upon himself to single-handedly wipe the planet free of all animals not beneficial to his daily needs and greedy wants.These are only those animals that are listed as CRITICAL by the WWF, World Wildlife Fund. Not to be confused with the World Wrestling Federation. This post contains only facts and links to WWF for donations and / or the purchase of adopting their cute stuffed animals.

Photo credit: konjure / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

Amur Leopard

Photographs thanks to WWF
STATUS
Critically Endangered
~~~~
POPULATION
Around 30 individuals

SCIENTIFIC NAME
Panthera pardus orientalis

WEIGHT
70 -105 pounds

HABITATS
Temperate, Broadleaf, and Mixed Forests

It is usual for leopards living in the savannas of Africa but beautiful and rare the Amur Leopard has adapted to the Russian Far East. Similar to other leopards, the Amur leopard can run at speeds of up to 37 miles per hour. This incredible animal has been reported to leap more than 19 feet horizontally and up to 10 feet vertically.

Black Rhino

Photograph thanks to WWF

STATUS
Critically Endangered
~~~~~~
POPULATION
4,848

SCIENTIFIC NAME
Diceros bicornis

HEIGHT
5.2 feet

WEIGHT
1,760 -3,080 pounds

HABITATS
Tropical and Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, Deserts and Xeric Shrubland


as per WWF

1961
"DOOMED." That was the front page headline of the UK newspaper, the Daily Mirror, in 1961, accompanied by a full-page photo of two African rhinos. The article said that rhinos were "doomed to disappear from the face of the earth due to man's folly, greed, neglect".
2013
Record Number of Rhinos Killed in South Africa
Poaching statistics released by the South African government reveal 668 rhinos were slaughtered-a 50% increase over 2011 and a staggering 5000% increase since 2007.

Poached Horn Anyone ?

Photo credit: VonShawn / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

The rhinos horns are being poached for many different reason. To increase longevity and increase sexual appetite to curing cancer. The horns are made of keritin, the same as our fingernails and have no medicial or magical properties.

To be continued ....

Endangered Animals 2012 WWF Listed

These great photographs are for viewing and identification purposes. Many of the photos I find have no reliable link so I am asking viewers to please add a comment and link if they know who took any of the photos. Photos will be removed at artists request.In the meantime enjoy today's post.

From the 2012 WWF's List of Endangered Animals

The Tiger

This is a sad statistic - only 3200 tigers remain in the wild, will any remain in 12 years when the "Year of the Tiger" rolls around again?

The Javan Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus)

Is very close to extinction. There are believed to be as few as 40 left in the wild in Ujung Kulon National Park, Indonesia and none are currently in captivity. The IUCN Red List currently lists Javan rhinos as critically endangered.
In October, poachers killed the last remaining Javan rhino in Vietnam. Several were alive in the wild in Vietnam as recently as 2004.
A survey of surviving Javan rhinos in Indonesia found that there are very few females in the population.
~ BlueChannel24

Snow Leopard

There are 4,080 to 6,590 of this Magnificent animal left in the wild

The Irrawaddy dolpin (Orcaella brevirostris)

According to WWF, there are only 85 of these dolphins left in Southeast Asia. The limited range of this animal along with killing by fisherman has left Irrawaddy dolphin populations in danger.

photo by Tom Lalley

The Vaquita (Phocoena sinus)

I was not able to find a photograph of a living animal for this endangered species. Small dolphin native to the Gulf of Califonia. The rarest porpoise in the world
WWF estimates that there are around 245 vaquita left in the wild. They are most immediately threatened by “entanglement in fishing gear.” Fortunately, WWF helped authorities in Mexico to reduce bycatch of vaquita to a “level that does not threaten the population” by 2009.

The mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei)

WWF explains that there are estimated to be about 786 individuals left in the two mountain gorilla populations near the Uganda-Rwanda-DRC and in a national park in Uganda. However, the two populations have grown by 14 and 12 percent, respectively, in the past decade.
Armed conflicts and natural resource exploitation have been blamed for endangering the gorilla populations.

Leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea)

According to WWF, there are about 34,000 nesting females left in the world and populations in the Atlantic are relatively stable. In the Pacific, however, there may be as few as 2,300 adult females.
Their wide geographical distribution and shallow dive depth means they are threatened by longline fishing operations, explains WWF.
A study from September found that although the number of sea turtles killed in U.S. fisheries has declined by 90 percent since 1990, it may not be enough to sustain sea turtle populations.

In August, a 700-pound leatherback washed up on the shore at Montauk, New York.

The Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo abelii)

According to WWF, they are the most endangered of the two orangutan species and there are about 7,500 Sumatran Orangutans left in the wild.
Native only to parts of Sumatra, Indonesia, the orangutans are threatened by human agricultural and residential development.
A recent study found that residents of Borneo killed at least 750 endangered orangutans in a one-year period.

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus thynnus)

Threatened by overfishing. A report from October found that eastern Atlantic bluefin is traded at twice the amount catch quotas actually allow. In August, it was reported that Mitsubishi executives planned to buy up tons of bluefin and freeze it to profit from impending population collapses.

Asian elephants (Elephas maximus)

World Wildlife Fund estimates that there are between 41,410 and 52,345 Asian elephants in the wild.
HuffPost blogger Wendy Diamond writes that besides deforestation and industrialization, landmines also threaten Asian elephants in the wild. The founder of an elephant park in Thailand claims he “has known about 20 elephants who stepped on land mines and died” since 1989. Efforts to raise awareness for elephants’ fragile status include Elephant Appreciation Day.