Roads are like borders for animals. And where there are borders, there are tensions. A new study has found that roads cause rapid evolutionary changes in the animals living in the vicinity. Some of these changes can help adapt to new conditions. Others cause cause harm, often leading to early death. “We have long known…
via Building a road can set off rapid evolutionary changes in animals — Quartz
The BBC reports A dramatic drop in giraffe populations over the past 30 years has seen the world’s tallest land mammal classified as vulnerable to extinction. Numbers have gone from around 155,000 in 1985 to 97,000 in 2015 according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The iconic animal has declined because of habitat […]
via Giraffes Face Extinction Risk As Population Drops Dramatically — Natural History Wanderings
The BBC reports Global wildlife populations have fallen by 58% since 1970, a report says. The Living Planet assessment, by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and WWF, suggests that if the trend continues that decline could reach two-thirds among vertebrates by 2020. The figures suggest that animals living in lakes, rivers and wetlands are […]
via Global Wildlife Falls By 58% Since 1979 — Natural History Wanderings
African giraffe population by current estimates is around 80,000. Ten years ago the population sat at an estimated 160,000. The current populations live mostly on reserves and state-run National Parks.
Poaching, American Trophy Hunting, human encroachment on traditional habitats, agriculture, poor government control over the territories they administer all account for the decline.
Zimbabwe’s national parks put its wildlife up for sale on Tuesday in a bid to save the animals from a devastating drought, Reuters reported. Zimbabwe’s Parks and Wildlife Management Authority said potential buyers “with the capacity to acquire and manage wildlife” and the requisite land to house the animals should get in touch. “In light…
via Cash-strapped Zimbabwe sells off its wildlife to cope with drought — Quartz
In 1999 the total giraffe population was estimated at 125,00, and in 2010 at 99,000. Although not considered endangered the downward trend is not good. Giraffe populations are widespread from Chad to South Africa, but have become extirpated in some countries. Certain sub-species are experiencing dangerously low numbers. Hunting is still permitted by big game hunters in several countries, while in some the giraffe is partially protected.
Here is what a giraffe looks like when it is being prepared as a trophy, one starts by shooting it…
It is a very sad waste of a beautiful animal that was minding its own business just eating at the top of a tree in the forest.
Is anybody indignant?
