asia
Reviving Vaquitas
The world’s smallest porpoise is in real trouble. According to scientists, there could be as few as 30 vaquitas remaining on the planet. We highlighted the plight facing this species in detail last month.
Can Cheetahs Survive?
A new study has revealed that the global population of the world’s fastest land animal – the cheetah – is down to only 7,100, a drop of 50% over the past 40 years. The dramatic decline in cheetah population could soon lead to the extinction of the species unless urgent conservation efforts are made.
The Threat Of Bushmeat Hunting
A recent study has identified the steep decline of more than 300 species of mammals as a result of unregulated or illegal hunting. Humans are consuming many of the world’s wild mammals to the point of extinction.
Snow Leopards And Humans
Snow leopards are majestic animals native to Central Asia. They roam the region’s rugged terrain, from Afghanistan to Kazakhstan and Russia in the north, and to India and China in the east. Snow leopards are known for their thick white coat of fur with ringed black and brown spots. These markings help camouflage the animals from their prey. But the camouflage does little to protect snow leopards from one of their biggest threats: humans.
Help For Pangolins
Poaching and illegal trafficking in exotic animals is a world-wide problem that most of us are aware of. What most of us are less aware of is that the most trafficked mammal in the world is the pangolin, which you may well have never even heard of.
Cruising The Northwest Passage
The Northwest Passage is a sea route connecting the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Arctic Ocean, going along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
Dehorning Rhinos
At the beginning of the 20th century, there were about 500,000 rhinos across Africa and Asia. By 1970, the number was down to 70,000. Today, there are less than 30,000 rhinos in the wild. The number of black rhinos dropped to as low as 2,300 in 1993. Aggressive conservation efforts have brought their numbers up to over 5,000 today.
Our Air Is Killing Us
Poor air quality is a serious problem. Exposure to air pollution is linked to the premature deaths of an estimated 6.5 million people every year. This makes air pollution the fourth largest threat to human health. Only high blood pressure, dietary risks, and smoking are a bigger danger.
Half A Degree
The average global temperature is one degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels. There has long been a goal to limit global warming to no more than 2 degrees above those levels. But the Paris climate conference has set a more ambitious goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees. What difference would that half a degree make?
A Bad Year For Rhinos
The number of African rhinos poached in 2015 set a new record, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Some 1,338 were killed, which is the highest level since the current poaching crisis began in 2008. Since that time, nearly 6,000 African rhinos have been killed.
Who Needs Aedes Mosquitoes?
There are approximately 3,500 mosquito species in the world. Of those, only a few hundred are known to bite humans. And just two have adapted to breed almost exclusively in urban environments where they are in close proximity to people.
Crocodiles And Climate Change
Crocodiles are large aquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Australia. The first crocodiles appeared approximately 240 million years ago – around the same time as dinosaurs. And while the resilient species did survive the last great extinction, crocodiles might not be climate change-proof after all.
Outsourcing Our Emissions
