Across the globe, amphibian numbers have been in fast decline since first reported in 1990. Habitat change due to human population growth has been identified as the leading factor, but in pristine habitats population reductions are as a result of a number of factors including ultraviolet light, climate change and infectious diseases.
The environmental pressure group GeaSphere submitted a formal complaint to the FSC €“ Forest Stewardship Council €“ on Tuesday, 11 January 2011.
The builders departed and the gardening of the small courtyard began. I wanted to bring the garden into the house, so to speak. All shade plants, big and small ferns in our small space but most of all a small bird- bath / pond.
Farmers and farm workers are encouraged to report mortalities of Cranes and show where they occur, so that they can be recorded and some proactive measures can be taken to prevent such incidents in the future (such as marking of power lines with flappers).
On the Cape Peninsula hundreds of tiny little endangered western leopard toadlets as small as a finger nail have started the beginning of their terrestrial life with an overwhelming 1 kilometer hike from the breeding ponds to our gardens.
Please join us inwardly for a special prayer and meditation vigil for the elephants - the magnificent, gentle giants, guardians of the Earth - on 12/12, Sunday December 12, at 12 noon €“ 1 pm in your time zone (or for as long as you are able and at a time that works for you that day). Performing a sacred ceremony or chanting a mantra would also be appropriate. Whatever calls to you.
Of the 9 856 bird species on Earth, 1 226 are listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable. Forty of these occur in South Africa and of these 20 are endemic. Although extinction is a natural phenomenon, species are now disappearing from our planet at an alarming rate, and studies have shown that this is mostly driven by human activities.
Oceans cover 70% of the Earth€™s surface, yet less than 1% of these critical systems are under any form of legal protection. The Convention on Biological Diversity€™s (CBD) third edition of Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-3) indicates that the world€™s marine ecosystems are in peril.
South Africa is in the midst of a terrestrial war over rhino horn poaching, a war that has spiked in recent years to frightening heights.
It was hoped that the presence of the Zambian antelope would be a lifeline for the survival of the giant sable, described as critically endangered on the Red List of Threatened Species. It was feared that the giant sable had completely died out in the wild because of the effects of the Angolan civil war.
The first Saturday of September every year is observed as International Vulture Awareness day by the Endangered Wildlife Trust€™s Birds of Prey Programme (EWT-BoPP), its partners and associates including provincial conservation bodies and several other NGOs involved in vulture research and conservation in South Africa.
Anyone who has made their way along the Midlands Meander will know that it is represented by a butterfly. This little guy, known to entomologists as Orachrysopsariadne, is restricted to the Karkloof and Merrivale area because of its life cycle.
Panjo, the Fernandes€™ pet tiger that was in the news a few weeks ago, has placed the public focus on big cats in South Africa. He might have been a Bengal Tiger, not in the least indigenous, but at least alive and well in this country.
As guardians of our domesticated pet, we have a responsibility to protect them from harm and assure them of basic humane rights. That said, it should be our honor and privilege to harbor this companion in our home. A being so loyal, committed, loving and affectionate, you will not find anywhere.
'And if Baboons could write, what book would they publish on the ways of mankind, and what would they then decide, beast or blessing?€ Noel Ashton: whale artist, conservationist and co-founder of Baboon Matters in `Walking the Way of the Baboon'.
The next full moon is the start of our resident endangered Western Leopard Toad's epic migration across the Western Cape€™s roads to their local breeding ponds!
World leaders have failed to make good on their commitments to reduce the global rate of biodiversity loss by 2010, instead there is an alarming decline in biodiversity worldwide. So says a new paper published in the journal Science.
In one of the continent€™s largest collaborative conservation projects to date, South Africa has become the first of the world€™s mega-diverse countries to fully assess the status of its entire flora €“ a staggering 20 456 species.
Corals are vanishing at an alarming rate, and scientists warn that coral reefs are poised to become the first mass ecosystem extinction. Coral loss also spells trouble for the wide array of marine animals and coastal communities that depend on coral reefs.
It is essential for livestock farmers to find non-lethal methods to protect their animals from predators. The Anatolian Shepherd Dog fits this bill perfectly.
