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animals

ANIMALS IN DANGER OF EXTINCTION


HERE is an excellent site with a world map that shows where almost all the worlds species can be found. It explains that all of them are under pressure from human activity.


Here is yet another excellent site that shows where all the world's hotspots are in relation to endangered species , both Flora and Fauna. Check it out!


BBC Species and Extincion Quiz

WWWCoF Members bring attention to ENDANGERED SPECIES in their areas
Please,Let us Knowif you hear of any in your area


ARGENTINA

AUSTRALIA

CANADA

ENGLAND

UNITED STATES

ASIA



ARGENTINA



Jan of Australia wanted us to know about
Frilled Neck Lizard
The frilled neck lizard. I still remember seeing them in the garden, and it was over 40 years ago. We only lived in that old house a few miles out of town, for a short while and I don't recall seeing them in the wild since then
The Frilled Neck Lizard is an amazing little reptile. It is also an Australian icon. They are between 70 to 90 cms long, and have a 'frill' around their head. When the lizard gets frightened, it opens its mouth and the frill is folded out. This is to make the lizard appear larger and is one of its defensive strategies against predators. The lizard can also run very fast, and it runs on its two hind legs.
They live in hot tropical climates, so are found all over the northern part of Australia. They like to bathe themselves in the sun like other reptiles. They feed on all kinds of small insects. The frilled neck lizard can stay very still, and match the colour of its surroundings. It goes unnoticed by insects, and the frilled neck lizard can easily catch them before they have a chance to escape.
The female frilled neck lizard lays about 15 eggs. They take on average 3-4 months to hatch.
Amazing Fact: The Frilled Neck Lizard was pictured on Australia's two cent coin. The coins are no longer in circulation.

 The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), with its duck bill and webbed feet, is a unique Australian animal. Platypus and echidnas are the only existing species of monotremes (egg laying mammals) on earth. All other mammals (such as deer or kangaroos ) are in the subclass Theria and give birth to live young. Since the legs of monotremes extend out from the sides of their bodies, they walk with a reptilian waddle, rather than a straight-line gait.
Appearance
Platypus are readily identified by their streamlined body, webbed feet, broad tail and characteristic bill, which is rubbery and contains no true teeth. Since platypus dive repeatedly for food, they generally are only sighted when they briefly return to the surface to breathe. Then the top of their head, back and tail can be seen – like the tip of an iceberg, the rest remains submerged.
An adult platypus is from 45 cm to 60 cm long, with females generally smaller than males. Average platypus size increases with latitude, with the platypuses in north Queensland generally being the smallest where males average about 1 kg. Tasmanian platypus are relatively huge, with some adult males weighing up to 3 kg.
Platypus are usually a deep brown colour on the back and sides of the head, body and upper surfaces of the limbs. The underside is a golden colour or silky grey. They have two layers of fur - a dense waterproof outercoat and a grey woolly underfur to provide insulation. The fur on the broad flat tail is coarse and bristly. They have a smooth swimming action together with a low body profile and no visible ears, making them easily recognisable in the water.
Distribution and habitat The platypus is widespread in the eastern states of Australia, in the streams and rivers predominantly east of the Great Dividing Range. They occupy a wide range of habitats and climates, from tropical rainforest streams in the lowlands of north Queensland to alpine lakes in Tasmania at up to 1000 m above sea level. In Tasmania, platypus are widely spread across the state and are common in the lakes of the Central Highlands as well as the rivers and streams of the south, south-west and north-west coasts.
Platypus are semi-aquatic and require access to freshwater habitats to forage, and earth banks to dig their burrows. Ideal platypus habitat includes rivers or streams with earth banks consolidated by the roots of native vegetation, abundant invertebrate prey, cobbled or gravel substrates, overhanging shady vegetation and a sequence of pools and riffles. However they can also occupy lakes and farm dams and even can be found in some streams moderately degraded by human activities.
Burrowing Platypus spend around half their day resting in short, oval-shaped burrows of about 3 to 8 m long that they dig into earth banks around rivers, lakes or streams. They often have multiple burrows scattered along their home range and adults typically occupy a burrow alone, although different platypuses may use the same burrow on different days. Females also dig elaborate nesting burrows around 20 m long with multiple chambers and earth plugs which they share with their unweaned young.
Swimming and diving
Platypus use their webbed front feet for swimming. On land, the webbing, which extends beyond the long front claws, is folded back to enable the animal to walk and burrow. Platypus have powerful front legs and rely on them for the hard work of both paddling and digging. The webbing on the hind feet does not extend beyond the bases of the claws; the hind legs are used mainly for steering and to tread water while they chew food at the surface.
The tail acts as a rudder when swimming and also aids the animal when diving. It is also where the platypus stores much of its body fat. Biologists use the thickness of the tail to measure an individual’s body condition.
Although platypus are strong swimmers, they are not fast and prefer slow-flowing streams.
Senses
Platypus have small eyes but acute sight. They only open their eyes above water and are particularly good at detecting movement on the river bank. Their hearing is also acute, with a range of hearing similar to the frequencies that humans can detect, but with sensitivity to lower frequency sounds that we can't hear. Little is known about their sense of smell and taste. However males secrete a musky odour from a scent gland in the breeding season so it seems likely that they would have a reasonable sense of smell.
Underwater, platypus rely on touch and a special sixth sense called electro-reception. Monotremes are the only mammals to have developed electro-reception. Sharks and rays use electro-reception to detect prey and can pick up the tiny electrical fields produced by the muscular contraction of their prey. Underwater footage shows platypus swinging their heads from side to side (see video clip above), to detect tiny changes in the electrical field generated by their prey and determine its location.
Behaviour and Diet
Platypus are solitary animals that only come together to mate, although several individuals may be found living in the same section of habitat. Generally they leave their burrows around dusk, forage all night and return around dawn but some animals can also be active in the early morning or evening.
Platypus forage for food for about 12 hours every day and can consume 13-28% of their own body weight in food a day. They dive for between 20-40 seconds during foraging, generally in shallow water less than about five metres deep, and often rest on the surface chewing for only 10 seconds between dives. They can perform about 75 dives per hour.
During dives, platypus are searching for small invertebrate animals on the bottom, including crustaceans, worms and molluscs, as well as the larvae of many freshwater insects. Once caught, these small prey are carried to the surface in cheek-pouches and then eaten. Platypus have no teeth, but instead have small, horny pads which they use to hold and grind their prey.
In some areas platypus spend a surprising amount of time out of water, crossing land between water bodies - even foraging for worms and other invertebrates in waterlogged paddocks.
Grooming of the fur is important to keep the animal’s pelt in good condition and is carried out in the water or on land.
Breeding
Mating occurs during spring but is generally earlier in the north of Australia than in the south. Mating takes place in the water and, after about 21 days, between one and three eggs are laid in a nesting burrow constructed by the female.
The eggs are incubated between the belly and the tail of the female and hatch after about 10 days. Like the echidna, the platypus lacks nipples. Milk from the mammary glands oozes through the skin along both sides of the mother's belly where it is then sucked up by the young platypuses. By six weeks, the young are furred, have their eyes open and may leave the burrow for short intervals and enter the water. When about four months, old the young are weaned.
Venom glands and spurs
Male platypuses have spurs on the inside of their hind legs which are attached to crural glands that produce a powerful venom. Male platypuses can inflict extremely painful wounds in humans, while the venom is capable of killing other animals such as dogs that attack them.
Platypuses are one of only five known venomous mammals but the precise role of the spur and venom is not fully understood. The spurs can inflict wounds on natural predators or other males, and may possibly play some part in the breeding behaviour of the species. The crural gland increases in size during the breeding season and the volume of poison produced increases.
Platypus are capable of many vocalisations including a soft growling sound when disturbed. audio buttonHave a listen this rarely heard growl!
Conservation status
The platypus is totally protected throughout Australia. Although still common in many parts of its range, it is vulnerable to the continuing degradation of suitable water bodies caused by agriculture, damming, drainage and pollution. The illegal netting and trapping of fish also causes many platypus deaths, as do dogs and vehicles.
There also is also increasing concern about the potential impact of an infection to Tasmanian platypus caused by a fungus, Mucor amphiborum. Affected animals develop ulcers on various parts of the body that can lead to death from secondary infection and an inability to control body temperature. Find out more about platypus fungal disease and be sure to report any sightings of diseased platypus.
Source and more information

Flying foxes live in Asia and Australia, and islands of Indian and Pacific Oceans. Four species are native to Australia.. The ones Jan saw were the larger ones with the russet colour. They are seasonal, and some communities do try to scare them away as they are so noisy and also make a lot of mess, but these were a little away from the houses. They are an endangered species and play an important role in propagation of forests etc.

In the past Jan has seen thousands rise from the trees to forage, particularly from Susan Island in Grafton, and it can be an awesome sight. On the weekend we saw them leave in the evening and return in the morning when they were circling around, preparing to settle.
I have lived in areas where they are very common, all my life. When I was a child, the smaller species, which we refer to as fruit bats, sometimes flew into the house at night, and I recall my father trying to get them onto a broom to put them back outside.
Jan, of Australia


 Robyn of Perth told us about the Australian Koala

She says:
  • They are mammals but they are not bears.
  • Males are a bit bigger than females.
  • Koalas can't see very well. They rely mostly on their hearing and smell.
  • They are herbivores
  • They mainly eat leaves from gum trees – and only a few varieties. The others could be poisonous.
  • Koalas have their own territory to live in. Each koala marks its territory with its own smell.
  • Baby koalas are called joeys.
  • When joeys are born they are pink and the size of a jellybean.
  • Because young joeys live in their mother's pouch drinking her milk koalas are marsupials.
  • At about 6 months they start to come out of the pouch and nibble gum leaves.
  • When they are about a year old they leave their mums and have to look after themselves.
  • Koalas are great climbers, leapers, excellent swimmers and can run quickly on the ground but they prefer to spend most of their time in the trees.
  • When they are on the ground they can be attacked by dogs or if they have to cross a road they could get hit by a car.
  • Gum trees provide food and homes.
The biggest problem for koalas is their bushland is being cut down

Here is Robyn with a koala

 Robyn also told us about the Australian Kangaroo This is what she told us:
  • They are marsupials. The young live in the mother's pouch.
  • They are the only large mammal that can hop.
  • They live in groups called mobs.
  • Males are called bucks.
  • Females are called does.
  • Babies are called joeys.
  • Joeys are the size of a jellybean when they are born. They are pink, blind and hairless
  • They live in their mother's pouch drinking her milk.
  • When they're about a year old they don't need mum's milk any more – but they stay close to her as they still have a lot to learn.
  • Kangaroos are herbivores. They eat only grasses, leaves and the shoots of small trees. As they do most of their feeding in the evening or at night they are nocturnal animals.

How do kangaroos keep cool?
They rest in the heat of the day.
They pant like a dog.
They dig shallow holes under trees and lie in the cool sand.
They have a spit bath by licking their arms.
Kangaroos are very good swimmers but they will only take to water when chased or if they have no other choice.
They have very good hearing, eyesight and sense of smell.
Why don't joeys fly out of mum's pouch when she's hopping? The female kangaroo can control the muscles that control the size of her pouch and the size of the opening. She can contract the muscles, pulling the pouch tight against the body. If she wants to clean her pouch and wants the joey out, she can also relax the opening allowing the joey to fall out.
The milk joeys drink is very different from the milk we drink, so if you ever find a sick joey, never feed it cow's milk.




 CANADA
In an indirect way, our west Canadian correspondent, Sharon, has been letting us know what is happening environmentally in B.C.

In a recent magazine there is an article on the spotted owl. In the past there were between 300 and 500 pairs of spotted owls living in B.C: Today only 22 are known to exist. The female one or two young every two years, but last year none were known to survive. The cause is put on the clearing of forests which means the animals the owls live on are leaving the area. More information can be found at: < A HREF="www.speciesatrisk.gc.ca"> for Species at Risk.




UNITED STATES
Becky tells us that Maryland has 27 endangered animals and plants. Here are some: ENGLAND
February 2008
Now, where did I leave my bag of nuts??
Grey-haired squirrels deceive each other and humans when it comes to hiding their food supply
These animals, with their quick intelligence, sharp memory and ruthless cunning are an enemy to gardeners everywhere. A study has shown that to protect their winter food stocks from potential thieves, they put on an elaborate show of burying non existent nuts and seeds, designed to confuse rival squirrels, birds and humans who might be watching. The study shows that a fifth of all so –called food burials are fake, with the proportion rising if they think they are being watched, and can remember 10.000 hidden food stores
It has not been proved if they have a superior intelligence, or if simple by trial and error they have learned to protect their food supply.
Sent in by Sylvia, Dorset UK.
Squirrels
It is calculated that around the UK there are about 2 million grey squirrels and only about 120,000 reds. But now there is a new type of squirrel, known as The Mutant Black Super-squirrel, and where before the grey squirrel dominated ousting out the red, with the arrival of the black squirrel, it is rampaging through parks and woodlands and spreading throughout England. It is described as testosterone –charged, much fitter, faster and fiercely competitive, and much more aggressive than the other types. They already make up half the squirrel population, with 25,000 calculated in East UK alone. It seems they are the result of a single mutation, and were first spotted as a rarity around 1920 but female greys seem to prefer them as mates, hence their rapid expansion in the last few years.
August 2006
Birds in danger. Our British correspondent, Sylvia, has been sending me a lot of stuff on how climate change is affecting so many aspects of life.
The Vanishing Robins
With their cheery song and endearing habits of sitting on the handles of garden spades , robims are garanteed to brighten up the garden. But thanks to the erratic weather, they are becoming a rarer sight.
Robin numbers are down by over a third in the last ten years, in the UK, and have fallen by 7% in the last year alone. Uk gardens are also missing million of other popular visitors, such as song-thrushes, blackbirds, etc.
Experts say the warmer shorter winters are to blame for this change, as grubs and insects birds feed on are not appearing at the correct time, as well as the growing trend to replace borders and shrubs with patios and decks. Also it has been noted that there is an increase in predator type birds. The winter of 2006-07 was reported to have been the warmest for over 4 years. Meanwhile paradoxlly, here in Argetina we are having the coldest winter in about the same length of time!
The main human induced cause of climate change is the burning of fossil fuels. Birds are a powerful indicator of environmental change, for example as the North Sea becomes warmer the food chain is disrupted and sea birds can no longer find food, and hundreds of thousands of seabirds failed to raise any young in the last couple of years.
Drought in Southern England, affecting the habitat of many species has caused drops of up to 80% in the breeding. It has also been noticed that the migration of certain swans and geese is also affected by warmer areas.
More information can be found at Bird Protection , which in turn is a member of Stop Climate Chaos
Sylvia has also brought attention to the fact that lately great White sharks have been spotted of the south west coast of England. These creatures are usually temperate water beings.
She recommends World Wildlife Fund for information on wildlife the world over.

July 2005
Wetland birds hit hard by drought
Wading birds in south-east England look set to be amongst the casualties of this year's drought, the RSPB has said.

FULL STORY

Babbler is the first new species of bird found in India for more than 50 years.

A striking multicoloured bird has been discovered in the remote north-east of India, making it the first ornithological discovery in that country for more than 50 years. The Bugun Liocichia is a species of babbler and was discovered in a wildlife sanctuary close to the border with China. It has olive green and golden yellow plumage, a black cap and flamed tipped wings, and is believed to be very rare. Only two have been seen, and though they took some feathers and recorded its song, they do not know if there are others or other colonies elswhere.

Article sent in by Sylvia, Dorset UK

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