Conservation

Category

Bat Awareness Month: Good places for bats 1

As this is Bat Awareness Month…. Here are some ideas about….   How do bats use churches? Why are bats in churches? Many medieval churches have bat roosts, and sometimes these roosts have been used for generations by bats. Cavities in old trees and caves offer suitable roosting spaces for bats, but as these natural roosting sites have been lost many bat species have adapted to using buildings for roosting. Bats have very specific requirements for their roosts – maternity...

World Penguin Day

  Penguins are sadly one of the most threatened groups of seabirds, with half of the 18 species listed by Birdlife as either Vulnerable or Endangered. While penguins are well adapted to their environments, human impacts are hitting their homes too hard and too fast for them to cope. The threats are numerous, including habitat loss, pollution, disease, and reduced food availability due to commercial fishing. Climate change is of particular concern for many species of penguin, as the sea...

Creature Feature | Cheetah

Did You Know – the Cheetah uses its tail much like a rudder, so it can change direction if required during hunting. Cheetah are found in Africa – and Iran –  in the first they are ‘vulnerable’ , however in Iran they are ‘critically endangered’ – IUCN For more info: National Geographic ...

Creature Feature | Takake success story

The flightless takahē is a unique bird, a conservation icon and a survivor. Good news…. The Wellington (New Zealand ) population of Takahe have doubled…. The flightless takahē (South Island takahē; Porphyrio hochstetteri), is the world’s largest living rail (a family of small-medium sized ground-dwelling birds with short wings, large feet and long toes). The North Island takahē (moho; P. mantelli) is unfortunately extinct. Takahē have special cultural, spiritual and traditional significance to Ngāi Tahu, the iwi (Māori tribe) of...

The IUCN Red List: Guiding Conservation for 50 years

  Established in 1964, the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species has evolved to become the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global extinction risk status of animal, fungus and plant species. The IUCN Red List is a critical indicator of the health of the world’s biodiversity. Far more than a list of species and their status, it is a powerful tool to inform and catalyse action for biodiversity conservation and policy change, critical...

Some good news – and reality – of rhino conservation

2,000 Southern White Rhino to be Released into the Wild Over Next 10 Years African Parks, a conservation NGO that manages 22 protected areas in partnership with 12 governments across Africa, announced that it will rewild over 2,000 southern white rhino over the next 10 years. African Parks has stepped in as the new owner of the world’s largest private captive rhino breeding operation, “Platinum Rhino”, a 7,800-hectare property in the North West province of South Africa, which currently holds...

Australian frogs at risk, with possible solutions

The Australian frogs at greatest risk of extinction and what to do about it   New research published in Pacific Conservation Biology has identified the 26 Australian frogs at greatest risk of extinction, the probability of each extinction by 2040, and the actions needed to prevent those extinctions. The study found that although not yet officially listed as extinct, Queensland’s mountain mist frog and northern tinker frog are very likely to be.  No-one has recorded these species in around 30...

Paw action! Dogs help save wildlife

For International Dog Day, a celebration about the use of 4-legged friends in conservation….. Case study #1 Department of Conservation in New Zealand Well trained dog-handler teams have successfully been used for conservation for more than 40 years. New Zealand was the first country to use dogs to benefit conservation as far back as the 1890s. Today, conservation dogs are used all over New Zealand, for example: protecting the Hauraki Gulf and other pest-free islands from introduced pests helping monitor...

Water Wednesday | Shark finning

Sharks – the ocean’s apex predator- are under attack! As hard as it is to look at, we must. Because only when we have the courage to confront the truth can we be compelled to act. Beyond the abhorrent cruelty of finning, it’s destroying our oceans—the life support system of our planet—because without the oceanic ecosystem’s apex predator the food chain will collapse. Shark finning is widespread, and largely unmanaged and unmonitored. The practice has increased over the past decade...