This is a blog dedicated to all the endangered species of the world in an effort to raise awareness. Submissions are welcomed and appreciated. I do not claim ownership of any of the photos displayed unless otherwise stated. hide
lilsharko: The Northern White Rhino is a very rare rhino. Out of the total population, only 4 remain in the wild.  Their horns have been removed and they are given an armed escort to protect them from poachers.
theanimalblog: Endangered Egyptian Tortoises
scienceyoucanlove: In a major development, the world’s main consumer of shark fins, China, has announced that it will ban shark fin soup from all official banquets. The Government Offices Administration of the State Council announced that it will take up to three years to implement the ban, but given the right circumstances this could happen quicker. While bans on the sale and consumption of shark fins have been picking up momentum around the world recently, this is the first such legislation in China. Over 95 percent of the annual harvest of shark fin worldwide is consumed on the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan. While cutting down on spending on lavish public banquets has been cited as a major reason for the ban, awareness in China about the negative effects of shark fin consumption on the global shark population has slowly been rising thanks in part to a WildAid ad campaign featuring Chinese basketball star Yao Ming, which Save Our Seas Foundation helped fund. Nevertheless, enforcement of the ban may prove to be problematic in a vast country where Beijing’s directives often go unheeded by local officials. As many as 73 million sharks are killed each year to supply the global shark fin trade, and of the shark and ray species assessed by scientists for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 30 percent are threatened or near-threatened with extinction.
nationalpost: RIP, George: Lonesome George, the last La Pinta giant tortoise, dies in the Galapagos Islands Lonesome George, the last remaining tortoise of his kind and a conservation icon, died on Sunday of unknown causes, the Galapagos National Park said. He was thought to be about 100 years old
Golden Sun-Moth (Synemon plana) The Golden Sun-Moth can be found in the Nhill Sun-Moth Reserve in Australia along with the Pale Sun-Moth (Synemon slene). Both sun-moths are critically endangered and depend heavily on the bristly wallaby grass in the reserve. They have similar life cycles, but defer in a bizarre way.   In late October and mid November, golden sun-moths emerge from the ground as adults. They lack functional mouth parts and must rely on their storage of fat to sustain themselves. The females are practically flightless and full of eggs that are ready to be fertilized. The males can fly and they scope the grass for females. The females open their fore-wings to signal males with their bright golden-yellow hind-wings. After they mate, the females lay their eggs at the base of the grass. Once the larvae hatch, they burrow underground to feed on the roots of the grass.  There are no males in the pale sun-moth population, only females arise from the ground. They can fly with ease and can lay fertile eggs. The eggs, however, only produce other females.  Cultivation, weed invasion, grazing sheep, and chemicals from fertilizers threaten the bristly wallaby grass. The population of both sun-moths are monitored frequently and precautions have been made to ensure that the bristly wallaby grass remains at optimum level for the moths’ survival.  (Source 1)(photo: chowchilla)
giraffe-in-a-tree: This is absolutely horrifying, and simply disgusting. Every single species of great ape is classified as endangered or critically endangered with the exception of humans and 2 species of gibbon, one of which hasn’t been studied enough to have a determined level of endangerment, the other classified as vulnerable, simply a step below endangered. Of the endangered great apes, of those whom we are very closely related, of which there is a striking resemblance, of those that share 97% of our DNA, those that are capable of complex feelings and intelligence, the following are endangered or critically endangered 2/2 species of Gorillas: the Western Gorilla and the Eastern Gorilla 2/2 species of Chimpanzee: the Common Chimpanzee and the Bonobo 2/2 species of Orangutan: the Bornean Orangutan and the Sumatran Orangutan 15/17 species of Gibbon: the Lar Gibbon, the Malaysian Lar Gibbon, the Carpenter’s Lar Gibbon, the Central Lar Gibbon, the Sumatran Lar Gibbon, the Yunnan Lar Gibbon, the Bornean White-bearded Gibbon, the Agile Gibbon, the Müller’s Bornean Gibbon, the Müller’s Gray Gibbon, the Abbott’s Gray Gibbon, the Northern Gray Gibbon, the Silvery Gibbon, the Western Silvery Gibbon, the Eastern Silvery Gibbon, the Pileated Gibbon, the Kloss’s Gibbon, the Western Hoolock Gibbon, the Siamang, the Yellow-cheeked Gibbon, the Black Crested Gibbon, the Eastern Black Crested Gibbon, the Hainan Black Crested Gibbon, the Northern White-Cheeked Gibbon, and the Southern White-Cheeked Gibbon 0/1 species of Human Of the hominids (great apes excluding the Gibbons) left on this Earth, 7,000,000,000 (7 billion) of them are humans, while the rest combined, add up to a mere 400,000. For every 1 non-Human hominid/great ape there are 17,500 humans. Soon, there won’t be an ape left on Earth. Now, there are things you can do. First off you can sign any of these petitions, free of charge http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/213/995/151/ http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Support-HR-1326-The-Great-Ape-Protection-Act/ http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/makeachimpsmile/ http://petitions.tigweb.org/jhoward Here, you can read about the cruel torture these apes are exposed to as test subjects in the United States, and what you can do to stop it. Find your local Senator/House member to demand change Places where you can donate some money (which is desperately needed, as money is sadly the best and sometimes the only way to bring about change) http://www.greatapetrust.org/forest-of-hope/donate-to-forest-of-hope/ http://greatapeheartproject.org/support/ http://www.aidforafrica.org/member-charities/great-ape-trust-of-iowa/ http://www.care2.com/click-to-donate/primates/ (Donate at simply the cost of a click no money necessary) So now it’s up to YOU to do something. Bring about the necessary change to save these primates that desperately need your help if they are to survive. Be the catalyst for change. Make something happen. Save a life, however wild that life is, it’s just as important as yours. (Photo by Stacey)