Endangered species

There are many species in danger of extinction today. The main causes are habitat loss, pollution, diseases, predation and illegal killing. So which are the most known endangered animals?

The Iberian lynx.

This is the world's most threatened species of cat, and the most threatened carnivore in Europe. Studies conducted in March 2005 have estimated the number of surviving Iberian lynx to be as few as 100. If the Iberian lynx were to become extinct, it would be the first big cat species to do so since the extinction of the Smilodon. The Iberian lynx and its habitat are fully protected and are no longer legally hunted. Its critical status is mainly due to habitat loss, poisoning, road casualties, feral dogs and poaching. Its habitat loss is due mainly to infrastructure improvement, urban and resort development, tree monocultivation (pine, eucalyptus) which serves to break the lynx's distribution area. In addition, the lynx prey population of rabbits is also declining due to diseases like hemorrhagic pneumonia. On March 29, 2005, the birth of three cubs, the first born in captivity, was announced. Four more cubs were born in 2006. These recent births seem to open up the prospect of a future reintroduction of the species to parts of its former habitat where it has disappeared.

The giant panda.

Though the Wolong National Nature Reserve was set up by the PRC government in 1958 to save the declining panda population, few advances in the conservation of pandas were made, due to inexperience and insufficient knowledge of ecology. Many believed that the best way to save the pandas was to cage them. As a result, pandas were caged at any sign of decline, and suffered from terrible conditions. Because of pollution and destruction of their natural habitat, along with segregation due to caging, reproduction of wild pandas was severely limited. In the 1990s, however, several laws (including gun control and the removal of resident humans from the reserves) helped the chances of survival for pandas. With these renewed efforts and improved conservation methods, wild pandas have started to increase in numbers in some areas, even though they still are classified as a rare species.

In 2006, scientists reported that the number of pandas living in the wild may have been underestimated at about 1,000. Previous population surveys had used conventional methods to estimate the size of the wild panda population, but using a new method that analyzes DNA from panda droppings, scientists believe that the wild panda population may be as large as 3,000. Although the species is still endangered, it is thought that the conservation efforts are working. As of 2006, there were 40 panda reserves in China, compared to just 13 reserves two decades ago. The Giant Panda is among the world's most adored and protected rare animals, and is one of the few in the world whose natural inhabitant status was able to gain a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation. The Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries, located in the southwest Sichuan province and covering 7 natural reserves, were inscribed onto the World Heritage List in 2006.

The Javan Rhino.

The main factor in the continued decline of the Javan Rhinoceros population has been poaching for horns, a problem that affects all rhino species. The horns have been a traded commodity in China for over 2,000 years where they are believed to have healing properties in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Historically, its hide was used to make armor for Chinese soldiers and some local tribes in Vietnam believed the hide can be used to make an antidote for snake venom. Because the rhinoceros's range encompasses many areas of poverty, it has been difficult to convince local people not to kill a seemingly useless animal which could be sold for a large sum of money. When the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora first went into effect in 1975, the Javan Rhinoceros was placed under complete Appendix 1 protection: all international trade in the Javan Rhinoceros and products derived from it is illegal. Surveys of the rhinoceros horn black market have determined that Asian rhinoceros horn fetches a price as high as $30,000 per kilogram, three times the value of African rhinoceros horn.

Loss of habitat because of agriculture has also contributed to its decline, though this is no longer as significant a factor because the rhinoceros only lives in two nationally protected parks. Deteriorating habitats have hindered the recovery of rhino populations that fell victim to poaching. Even with all the conservation efforts, the prospects for the Javan Rhinoceros's survival are grim. Because the populations are restricted to two small areas, they are very susceptible to disease and the problems of inbreeding. Conservation geneticists estimate that a population of 100 rhinos would be needed to preserve the genetic diversity of the species.

The red wolf.

Aggressive predator control programs, hunting and agriculturalization have combined to bring the red wolf near to extinction, because it was thought to be a threat to livestock. It is now considered rare.

It is thought that its original distribution included much of eastern North America, where Red Wolves were found from New York in the east, Florida in the south, and Texas in the south-west. Records of bounty payments to Wappinger Indians in New York in the middle 1700s confirm its range at least that far north; it's possible that it could have extended as far as extreme eastern Canada. There are thought to be about 300 red wolves remaining in the world, with 220 of those in captivity. For decades, the Red Wolf has been indistinguishable genetically from either the Gray Wolf or the Coyote. The Red Wolf breeds with both species and may again be in peril as contact with other species in the wild resumes.

In 1987 approximately 100 were reintroduced into the wild as the first island propagation project in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge off the coast of North Carolina. In 1989 the second island propagation project initiated with release of a population on Horn Island off the Mississippi coast. This population was moved in 1998 because of a likelihood of encounters with humans.


Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iberian_Lynx#Population
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Panda#Conservation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javan_Rhinoceros#Conservation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Wolf#Conservation