Sumantran Elephants characteristics and threats

Sumatran Elephants

The Sumatra is a large Island in Western Indonesia that is a part of the Sunda Islands. This island has a wide range of plants and animals species but it has lost almost 50% of its tropical rainforest in the last 35 years and many species are critically endangered such as the Sumatran elephant, Sumatran tiger, Sumatran rhinoceros, and Sumatran orangutan. They feed on  a variety of plants and deposit seeds wherever they go, contributing to a healthy forest ecosystem.

The scientific name of Sumatran elephants is Elephas maximus sumatranus. They are one of three recognized subspecies of Asian elephant, and native to the Indonesia island of Sumatra. The Sumatran elephants are extremely rare today, with estimates in 2000 putting Sumatran elephant number at just over 2000 individuals. The current Sumatran elephant population is estimated at 2400 wild individuals. They are critically endangered animal.

Characteristics

Asian elephants are slightly smaller than African elephants. Adult Asian elephants weigh on average between 6000 and 12000 pounds.  The Asian elephants are found in India, Southeast Asia, including Sumatra and Borneo. Their skin is grey in color. The Asian elephant have the highest body point on the head. The tip of their trunk has one finger like process. Their back is convex or someone have leveled Females are usually smaller than males. And they have short tusk or no tusk.

The Sumatran elephants reach a shoulder height of between 2 and 3.2 m and have a weigh between 2000 and 4000 kg (4400 and 8800 lb). They have 20 pairs of ribs.

Habitat, Ecology, Behavior and Diet

Elephants largely use lowland forests and hills below an attitude of 300 m. Forest loss in the lowlands is higher than the forest loss at all heights and including habitats such as peat forests, where elephants are not present.

Their life span is about 55 to 70 years. Their skin color is Grey, Brown, and Black. Female elephants stop reproducing after 60 years of age. Female captive elephants have survived for until 75 years while male elephants have survived up to 60 years. The elephant’s baby is able to stand up on its own after 10 to 30 minutes.

They are herbivore animals meaning that they only eat plants to gain all of the nutrients that they to survive. They eat wide variety of vegetation including leaves, shoots, barks, fruits, seeds, grasses, and nuts.

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Threats

The major threats are due to conversion of forests area into human settlement and agriculture areas, many of the Sumatran elephant’s population have lost their habitats. And the result, many elephants have been killed or they are removed from the wild. In addition, most of the elephants are target of illegal killing for their ivory. From 1985 to 2007, 50% of Sumatran elephants died. And 69% of Sumatran elephant habitat lost in between 1980 and 2005. Riau and Lampung are the two provinces in which entire elephants population have disappeared as a result of habitat loss. After half of its population was lost in one generation, the Sumatran elephant’s status was changed from endangered to critically endanger in 2012.

Most of the Sumatran elephants found in Sumatran camps were captured. The decrease in the population of elephant’s habitat for illegal conversion of agriculture still continues. 

Sumatran elephants have smaller tusks but they are enough to persuade poachers who kill the animals and sell their tusks on the illegal ivory market. Only male Asian elephants have tusks.

The conservationists think that Sumatran elephants may become extinct in less then 10 years if killing, poaching is not stopped.

"STOP DEFORESTATION AND ILLEGAL TRADE OF IVORY"

Vaquitas Facts and conservation status | International Save the Vaquita Day

Vaquitas

The vaquita (Phocoena sinus) is also known as the Gulf of California harbour porpoise. They are endemic to the northern part of California. It is the smallest and rarest of the cetaceans – which includes whale,  dolphins, and porpoises. The vaquita is the most endangered species of marine mammal in the world. They are very rarely seen in the wild. In Spanish, vaquita means 'little cow' and many local people believe them to be 'mythical creatures' as most have never seen one and photographs, until recently, were lacking. The vaquita has a grey body with a pale gray or white belly and a dark patch around its eye. It is listed as critically endangered because the estimated number of individuals dropped below 100 in 2014, putting it in imminent danger of extinction or approaching to extinction.  That number was updated to approximately 60 in May 2016, leading to the conclusion that the species is about to extinction within 5 years unless further conservation efforts are undertaken.

Appearance:

The vaquita has a complex patterning and colour variations in individuals are common. Like the other porpoises, the vaquita has virtually no beak and between 32 and 44 teeth in the upper jaw and 34 to 40 in the lower. Vaquitas have a dark ring surrounding their eyes, and the mouth area is dark. Their bellies are paler grey or white. A dark grey stripe runs from their mouth, down their chin, and widens where the flippers, which are small and broad, meet their body. Vaquita's dorsal fins are shark-like being tall and triangular and the species can sometimes be confused with bottlenose and common dolphins which are also present in their range however their size is distinctive. Their bodies are robust in build and medium to dark grey on the back, sometimes appearing tawny or olive brown.

The vaquitas have a height  up to 5 feet and weighing up to 120 pounds.

Behaviour:

Vaquitas use high-pitched sounds or sonar to communicate with one another and for echolocation to navigate through their habitats. The vaquita is also the only porpoise species found in such warm waters. They are very shy and avoid boats whenever possible. Vaquitas are nonselective predators. They generally seem to feed and swim at a leisurely pace.

Distribution:

Vaquitas are found in the northern end of the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez), with a core area of approx. 2,235 km². They live in shallow water along the shoreline, often in shallow lagoons. Their range may stretch further south along the Mexican mainland and movements may be seasonal. Vaquitas are on the brink of extinction and the worldwide population is estimated to consist of less than 100 individuals. The major threat to the vaquita is entanglement in fishing nets (specifically gillnets used to catch shrimp) whilst habitat loss, climate change and chemical pollution are also concerns.

Current conservation efforts include not only the Mexican government but also national and international NGOs, academic institutions and other relevant stakeholders, aiming to extreme conservation measures in order to avoid the extinction of the vaquita. The IUCN lists this species as Critically Endangered. The vaquitas porpoise is growing nearer to extinction : Population has declined 40% to around 60 individuals.

International Save the Vaquita Day:

The first Saturday after the 4th of July has been designated as International Save the Vaquita Day. This is intended to be an annual event similar to Earth Day, but with a specific focus on raising awareness and appreciation of the world’s most endangered marine mammal, the vaquita (Phocoena sinus).  Events around the globe direct the attention of people to the plight of this tiny porpoise species, and what needs to be done to save it from extinction.

The primary goal is to make as many people as possible aware of the vaquita and its plight, and spur them to act.  The species is nearly extinct, with only about 50-60 individuals left, and declining at 30% per year!  We will have a simple message for folks about what they can do to help.  Secondary goals are to gather signatures for our petitions to the Mexican government, and also to raise additional funds for future educational and research work on the vaquita.

In july 2016, President Enrique Pena Nieto of Mexico and President Barack Obama announced bilateral collaboration measures to protect the vaquita. As a follow to this meeting and to the recommendations CIRVA presented in its latest vaquita report, Mexico’s National Institute of Fisheries (INAPESCA) and WWF Mexico established an international committee of experts to further develop and urgently implement vaquita safe fishing technologies.

They will advise the Mexican government on improving fishing techniques that not harmfuk to vaquita

In 2016, we organized International Save the Vaquita Day (ISTV Day) on Saturday, July 9th.  This event featured over 30 booths and other venues at sites in southern California, various cities in the US, and all over the world.  The venues included 12 aquaria and 9 museums.  There were experts on hand to answer questions, seminars, educational demonstrations, children’s games and events, face-painting, brochures and colouring books, etc.  At one site (Seaport Village in San Diego) there was even live music – the LA-based surf-rock band Insect Surfers.

The events were all very peaceful, and respectful of the Mexican fishing culture.  It is estimated that at least 15,895 people were educated about the vaquita at the various events on ISTV Day 2016.

"SAVE THE VAQUITAS"

South China tiger Facts | Why South China tigers matter?

SOUTH CHINA TIGER FACTS :

Class                          :Mammalia

Genus                        :Panthera

Scientific Name         : Panthera Tigris Amoyensis

Diet                            :Carnivore

Size                            :2.3m - 2.8m (7.5ft - 9ft)

Weight                        :100kg - 195kg (221lbs - 430lbs)

Top Speed                   :96km/h (60mph)

Life Span                    :18 - 25 years

Lifestyle                     :Solitary

Conservation Status   :Endangered

Colour                        :Orange, Black, White

Skin Type                   :Fur

Favourite Food           :Deer

Habitat                        :Dense tropical forest

Average Litter Size     :3

Main Prey                   :Deer, Cattle, Wild Boar

Predators                     :Human

Special Features          :Striped fur and powerful body

The South China tiger are also known as the Amoy, Chinese or Xiamen tiger. They are smaller-sized subspecies of tiger. The South China Tiger is native to the forest of southern China. They are most critically endangered tiger species. The South China tiger was once distributed across China, from Zhejiang Province in the east to Sichuan in the west, and from the Yellow River in the north to Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan provinces in the south.

The South China tiger population was estimated to number 4,000 individuals in the early 1950s. Thousands were killed as the subspecies was hunted as a pest in the next few decades. The Chinese government banned hunting of tiger in 1979. By 1996 the population was estimated to be just 30-80 individuals only.

Today the South China tiger is considered by scientists to be “functionally extinct,” as it hasn’t been sighted in the wild for more than 25 years.

Physical Characteristics:

The South China Tiger is small in size comparison to other Panthera tigris subspecies. Males reach about 8 feet or 2.6 meters in length, while females are only about 7.5 feet or 2.3 meters in length. Males weigh approximately 150 kilograms (330 pounds) and tigresses weigh in at about 110 kilograms (240 pounds). 

Why they matter?

South China tigers are a reminder that the threat against the world’s tiger is very urgent one. Today, South China tigers are found in zoos and in South Africa, where there are plans to reintroduce captive-bred tigers back into the wild.

Conservation:

The South China tiger is the most endangered of all the tigers. In fact, it is one of the most critically endangered species overall in the world. Hunted and killed as a common pest in the mid-20th century, this is now one of the most valuable living resources that are to be sustained and protected. In addition to having been hunted in near-ridiculous proportions, the availability of natural habitat and prey are also major factors that threaten the existence of the few animals that are still alive.

There are a number of program and initiatives around the world that focus on helping this tiger subspecies to live in an environment that promotes population growth, so that its numbers are increased steadily. The aim is to reintroduce these tigers into the wild and to establish healthy populations of them in various suitable areas around the world.

There are total of 11 reserves in China today where the remainder of the South China tigers resides. A few of them are now in zoos in other parts of the world. However, that practice isn’t one that has been widely proposed as the people of China want to keep them in their native area. They are also doing their best to profile genetic materials so that they can be sure to breed the right South China tigers.

"SAVE TIGER  SAVE EARTH"

What is a Saola? | What are the main threats for Saola?

Saola

FACTS

Class                          : Mammalia
Scientific Name         : Pseudoryx nghetinhensis
Location                    : Mountains of Vietnam-Laos border
Colour                       : Brown, Black, Red
Size                           : 150cm-200cm
Weight                      : 80kg-100kg
Diet                           : Herbivore
Prey                          : Leaves, Grasses, Herbs
Predators                  : Humans, Tiger, Crocodile
Life span                  : 8-12 years
Conservation status  : Critically Endangered
Biggest threat           : Habitat loss and hunting


The saola is one of the world’s rarest large mammals on earth. They are mysterious animal that inhabits pristine woodlands. It is the sole species of a genus of bovids, and has been known to science only since 1992. Both males and females have long, slender horns that are up to 52 centimetres in length and slightly curved horns, and white markings above the eyes, like eyebrows. The tail is split into three bands of colour - brown at the top, cream in the middle, and black towards the end, tipped in a fluffy tassel. Its genus name comes from its resemblance to the oryxes –antelopes of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
The entire range of the saola lies within a narrow area of forests along the northern and central Annamite mountain range, on the border between Vietnam and the Laos. While most records come from south of the Song Ca River in Vietnam, populations to the north have also been found. The Saola is thought to be a diurnal animal meaning that they are most active during the day-light hours, possibly resting out of sight to protect themselves from predators under the cover of night.

Habitat:
The Saola typically inhabits climatically wet, broadleaf forests, evergreen, usually between 400 to 1,000 meters. Areas of low human disturbance are preferred. The species appears to occupy lowlands during the dry season when the upper mountain streams have dried up and higher elevations during the wet season when upper streams have plenty of water.

Breeding:
The species appears to have a fixed breeding season: in Lao, births take place at the beginning of the rains (between April and June). The Gestation has been estimated at between 7 to 8 months.

What are the main threats?

1. The main threats to the saola are hunting and fragmentation of its range through habitat loss.
2. Snares set in the forest for wild boar, barking deer or sambar, also trap saola. Locals set some snares for subsistence use and crop protection, but recent increases in lowland people hunting to supply the illegal trade in wildlife has led to a massive increase in hunting pressure.
3. In the north of their range, saola are hunted for the horns which have become prized trophies.
4. In the Annamites, rapid and extensive infrastructure development is underway as the government attempts to reduce the high levels of rural poverty.

Saola Conservation Status and Life Today

Today, the Saola is listed by the IUCN as being an animal that is Critically Endangered in it's natural environment. Despite the fact that no formal survey has been conducted, the IUCN estimates that populations could have been as low as 250 when the Saola was first recorded in the summer of 1992, a number that is thought to have dropped significantly since then due to the increased growth of Human settlements.
The Saola Working Group was formed in 2006 in recognition of the need for urgent, coordinated action to save the saola from extinction. Part of the Asian Wild Cattle Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC), we held our first biennial meeting in 2009. In addition to being the main driver of saola conservation in Laos and Vietnam, the SWG advocates for conservation of the globally significant Annamite Mountains as a whole.
WWF claim that the distinctiveness, rareness, and uniqueness of the Saola, make it one of the greatest priorities to conservation in the Indochina region today. A small 61 square mile reserve has just been set up in the Quang Nam province in central Vietnam, specifically to try and protect the dwindling populations of Saola.

 "Protect the Saola"

What is A Pangolin? | Save Pangolins

Pangolin

Pangolins are also called as “scaly anteaters”. The name pangolin comes from the Malay word “pengguling”, meaning roller--representative of how pangolins behave when they feel threatened, rolling up into a ball. They are covered in tough, overlapping scales. These are only mammals in the world covered in scales. They are not reptiles. This mammal’s scales are actually made up of keratin, and these scales make up about 15% of its weight. The pangolin has a small head and a long, broad tail. It has no external ears. Pangolins have no teeth and instead, have a gizzard-like stomach that is specially adapted for grinding food. They consume small stones and sand to assist the grinding. Pangolins are insectivorous. They predate almost exclusively on ants and termites using an extraordinary long, sticky tongue. Pangolins are critically endangered species.

Life span     :  20 years

Weight         :  30 to 40 lb (common Pangolin)

Size              : 12 to 39 inch long depending on the species

Gestation    : 5 months

Predators    : Leopards, hyenas, humans

Species of Pangolins

There are a total of eight species of pangolin on our planet. 

Four live in Asia:

• Thick-tailed Pangolin ( Indian Pangolin), Manis crassicaudata — ‘Near Threatened’

• Phillipine Pangolin, Manis culionensis — ‘Near Threatened’

• Sunda Pangolin (also called Malayan Pangolin), Manis javanica — ‘Endangered’

• Chinese Pangolin, Manis pentadactyla — ‘Endangered’

Four others live in Africa:

• Three-Cusped Pangolin (also called African White-Bellied Pangolin and Tree Pangolin), Phataginus tricuspis — ‘Near Threatened’

• Giant Ground Pangolin, Smutsia gigantea — ‘Near Threatened’

• Cape Pangolin (also called Temminck’s Pangolin), Smutsia temminckii — ‘Least Concern’

• Long-Tailed Pangolin (also called Black-Bellied Pangolin), Uromanis tetradactyla — ‘Least                      Concern’

Habitat

Pangolins are found in a variety of habitats including tropical and flooded forests, thick brush, cleared and cultivated areas, and savannah grassland; in general they occur where large numbers of ants and termites are found. Asian pangolins in particular are threatened by loss of habitat due to expanding agriculture and other human uses. Some pangolin species such as the Malayan pangolin also sleep in the hollows and forks of trees and logs.

Why do pangolins need conservation action?

Pangolins are little studied and little understood species. However, they are poached and illegally traded in huge numbers in Asia, while in Africa they are hunted for bushmeat and use in traditional African medicine, though evidence now suggests African pangolins and their derivatives are being targeted for trade to Asian markets. Pangolins are being eaten to extinction. An estimated 100000 are illegally  traded every yearConsequently, pangolin populations are in severe decline. The biggest threat to all pangolin species today is illegal, commercial hunting for human consumption.

Amazing facts of pangolins

• Baby pangolins travel around with their mothers by riding on the base of her tail.

• Giant ground pangolins are the largest of all eight species. One was found to weigh 33 kilograms (72.6 pounds) — the largest pangolin ever recorded! Long-tailed pangolins are the smallest, weighing around 2-3 kg (about 4-6 pounds).

• They emit a noxious acid like skunks, when they are threatened, to defend themselves.

• Their eyesight is dreadful.

"World Pangolins Day is celebrated on 3rd Saturday  in February"

"SAVE THE PANGOLIN"

Why do Leatherback Sea Turtle become critically endangered?

Leatherback Sea Turtle

Scientific Name: Dermochelys coriacea

Leatherback turtles are the largest, oldest, and most widely distributed of the world’s marine turtles. The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), sometimes called the lute turtle or leathery turtle, is the largest of all living turtles and is the fourth-heaviest modern reptile behind three crocodilians. It is the only living species in the genus Dermochelys and family Dermochelyidae. The leatherback sea turtle is a global species, meaning that it can range throughout almost all the oceans of the world. It nests on tropical beaches in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans.

Its appearance alone distinguishes the leatherback from its relatives: shell-less and bluish black in colour, with seven fleshy ridges along its back, and dappled all over with white spots. It is the only extant member of the ancient Dermochelyidae family, which first appeared around 100 million years ago.

They can keep themselves warm in water close to freezing

RANGE DESCRIPTION

There are several populations of leatherback turtles that live in very different parts of the world. Western Pacific leatherbacks nest in areas such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Mariana Islands of the South Pacific and travel across the Pacific Ocean to the west coast of the US and Canada to forage for food.  Eastern Pacific leatherbacks nest in Mexico and Costa Rica and travel to both South America and California. Atlantic leatherbacks nest in places like the southern states of the US, the Caribbean, Trinidad, French Guyana, Mexico, and Western Africa. They travel to various locations throughout the Atlantic as far as the Eastern Coast of Canada even to South Africa and the United Kingdom.

Size/Weight/Age

Adult Leatherback Turtles grow to 1.3 - 2.7 meters (4 - 9 feet) long. Average weight of mature individuals is 660 to 1,100 pounds (300 - 500 kg). The largest leatherback ever recorded was almost 3.1 meters (10 feet) from the tip of its beak to the tip of its tail and weighed in at 2,019 pounds (916 kg). According to the World Wildlife Foundation, the actual lifespan of Leatherback Sea Turtles is still unknown but they have estimated that it could be between 40 - 45 years. Its lifespan estimates exceed up to 100 years.

Diet

Leatherbacks have delicate, scissor-like jaws. Their jaws would be damaged by anything other than a diet of soft-bodied animals and organism. Jellyfish are the main staple of its diet, but it is also feed on sea urchins, squid, crustaceans, tunicates, fish, blue-green algae, and floating seaweed. The large size of leatherback is all the more remarkable given their low energy, low protein diet of soft-bodied creatures. They can eat hundreds of pounds of jellyfish a day.

Breeding

Female leatherbacks sea turtle may lay up to 4 to 5 times per season, and each time depositing 60 to 120 eggs. Leatherbacks appear to nest once every two or three years with an incubation period of approximately 60 days. Leatherback sea turtle hatchlings break out of their egg with a special tooth.

Turtle faces these problems

Leatherbacks are facing extinction mainly due to human impacts on their environment.

Nesting sites are disturbed through tourism or commercial development, and poachers often harvest eggs for food.

Adult turtles are sometimes captured for food and their body parts are used for various commercial products (like traditional medicines).

Turtles can also be killed and injured in collisions with boats. Turtles become trapped in fishing nets and drown.

Population

Leatherbacks have been recorded as far north as Alaska, and as far south as Africa's Cape of Good Hope.

The Pacific may now have as few as 2,300 adult females.

Why is this species important?

The leatherback sea turtle provides natural ecological control of jellyfish population. Jellyfish can feed on fish larvae and reduce population growth of commercially important fish.

How you can help

Send a turtle to rehab! Help the recuperation process for thousands of sick and injured turtles.

Don't buy products which have been made from sea turtle parts. Guitars, ashtrays, jewelry and other products made from sea turtles are sold to tourists around the world.

The largest leatherback sea turtle ever found was an 8.5-foot long weighing 2020 pounds

"SAVE THE TURTLE TO INCREASE THEIR COUNT"

You can also see:- https://lovecreaturetosavenature.blogspot.in/2016/10/why-hawksbill-sea-turtle-matter-facts.html

Why Hawksbill Sea Turtle matter; Facts; Threats

Hawksbill Turtle

Scientific Name- Eretmochelys imbricata

Hawksbills Turtle is a critically endangered sea turtle. Hawksbills are named for their narrow, pointed beak. They are similar to that of other marine turtles. In general, it has a flattened body shape, flipper-like limbs and a protective carapace. The Hawksbill is a small to medium sized marine turtle. They have an elongated oval shell with overlapping scutes on the carapace, a relatively small head with a distinctive hawk- like beak or pointed beak, and flippers with two claws. General coloration is brown with numerous splashes of yellow, reddish brown, or orange on carapace. The plastron is yellowish with black spots on the scutes. Young hawksbill turtle are black or very dark brown with light brown or yellow colored on the edge of the shell, limbs, and raised ridges of the carapace.

Range Description
Hawksbill turtle are considered as the most beautiful sea turtles for their colorful shells. They are found in tropical waters around the world. Hawksbill sea turtle have a wide range, found in tropical reefs of Indian, Pacific, Atlantic oceans. They are migratory and individuals undertake complex movements through geographically disparate habitats during their lifetime. Hawksbill nesting occurs in at least seventy countries. There occurrence in various countries such as American Samoa, Australia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Brazil, Guinea, India, Indonesia, Iran, etc. The largest population occurs in the Caribbean Sea, the Seychelles, Indonesia, Mexico, and Australia.

Diet/Size/Weight
The hawksbill turtles are omnivorous reptiles. They mainly feed on sponges found on coral reefs; algae and fish. They are prey to large fish, humans and shark.
Adult hawksbill sea turtle have been grow up to 1 meter (3 feet) in length, weigh about 176 lb (80 kilograms). The heaviest Hawksbill ever captured was measured to be 280 lb (127 kilograms).

Maturity and breeding
They have a life span between 30-50 years. Hawksbill matures very slowly taking about 20 to 40 years. Females Hawksbill Turtles, between the ages of 30 to 50, will usually mate every 2 to 3 years. On average\, they nest roughly 4 times per season at 2 week intervals and lay around 140 eggs per nest. Nests however, may contain over 200 eggs

THREATS
Their population has declined more than 80% in the last century, due to the trade in their beautiful carapace (shell), also called as “tortoiseshell”. The shell is used for items such as jewelry, combs, and brushes. They were hunted almost to extinction prior to the ban on the turtle shell trade. Other threats such as oil pollution, boat strikes, destruction of nesting and feeding habitat, destructive fishing practices like dynamite fishing, and coastal development. It is illegal to trade, purchase sea turtle products.

Why they matter
Hawksbill helps to maintain the health of coral reefs. As they remove prey such as sponges from the reef’s surface, they provide better access for reef fish to feed. They also have tourism value. For example, for local residents in the Coral Triangle, the flow of visitors who come to admire turtles is a vital source of income for them.

To reduce turtle by catch we have to work with fisheries to switch to more turtle-friendly fishing hooks and advocates for the use of special turtle excluder devices in nets. 

"Protect Sea Turtle"