Home/Articles in: Nature
Articles in: Nature
Conservation, Nature, Weird Stuff, Wildlife & Flora, Nov 15th, 2011,
Flying Rhinos: WWF’s Black Rhino Range Expansion Project Last week, Green Renaissance filmed the translocation of the seventh black rhino population established by the WWF Black Rhino Range Expansion Project, after an epic 1500 kilometre trip across the country. In this translocation, 19 of the critically endangered animals were moved from the Eastern Cape to a new location in the Limpopo province. “This was possible because of the far-sightedness of the Eastern Cape Provincial government who were prepared to become partners in the project for the sake of black rhino conservation in South Africa,” said WWF’s project leader Dr Jacques…
Tags: black rhino, flying rhinos, Green Renaissance, translocation, WWF, WWF Black Rhino Range Expansion Project
Conservation, Nature, Wildlife & Flora, ,
Species: Numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus) Status: Endangered (EN) Interesting Fact: The numbat can eat around 20,000 termites a day. That’s 10% of its body weight! This small, carnivorous marsupial is an expert termite hunter. It spends its day in search of its favourite prey, walking with its nose to the ground, sniffing and turning over small pieces of wood in search of shallow underground termite galleries. It then collects the termites with its long, sticky tongue, which can grow to over 10 centimetres in length. At night, numbats shelter in hollow logs that are too narrow for its predators, such as foxes,…
Tags: animal conservation, ARKive, Conservation, endangered species, Myrmecobius fasciatus, Numbat
Wildlife & Flora, Nov 6th, 2011,
Southern California is a strange place. It is the global center for popular culture; film, television, music, media, etc. But there are wild animals roaming Hollywood Blvd at night. Coyotes – these native North American canine predators hunt in the suburbs of Southern California. The same places where residents with manicured lawns raise families and keep pet cats and dogs. Sometimes coyotes eat cats and dogs. Sometimes they even attack small children. So it’s understandable that some California residents would like to exterminate coyotes, rather than risk attacks on their families and pets. Even though its human garbage and pet…
Tags: Calabasas, California, coyotes, Southern
Conservation, Nov 5th, 2011,
The Asian market for traditional bogus medicine continues to grow, causing unprecedented losses in endangered species like the African White Rhino. Two poachers from Thailand were recently arrested for poaching upon their arrival in South Africa as part of a recent crackdown on poaching gangs. From Reuters Africa: More rhinos have been killed in South Africa in the past 10 months than in all of 2010, the WWF reported this week, citing figures from the South Africa National Parks. The figure stands at 341 animals lost to poaching, compared with a record total of 333 last year. Another response…
Tags: African, horn, poaching, rhino, South Africa, white
Conservation, Videos & Documentaries, ,
The 3-year old daughter of the owners of a zoo in Queensland, Australia has some new unusual playmates: two cute cuddly little African lion cubs. Both cubs were born at the zoo, but one’s mother wasn’t producing enough milk to feed it, so the Robinson family took in the little cub, along with another cub to keep it company, and are looking after the two little lions in their home. The little girl’s father is quoted in an APP report: African lions are now threatened in the wild, with only about 25,000 remaining. These little cubs will one day…
Tags: African, animals, australia, lion cub, little girl, Robinson, zoo
Conservation, Nature, Weird Stuff, Wildlife & Flora, ,
Species: Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus) Status: Critically Endangered (CR) Interesting Fact: Rhino horn is not made of bone, but keratin, the same substance that forms nails and hair. The prehistoric-looking Javan rhinoceros is one of the world’s rarest large mammals. This amazing species has a single horn and an armour-plated appearance caused by the deep folds of hairless skin. Little is known of this exceptionally rare mammal. It is mainly a browser of leaves, twigs, fruits and shoots and often breaks saplings down to access food. The rate of reproduction in this species is relatively slow; females give birth to…
Tags: ARKive, endangered species, Javan rhinoceros, rhinoceros concervation
Climate Change, Wildlife & Flora, Nov 4th, 2011,
The ‘doomsayers’ brayed about climate change. They said ignore it at your peril. And despite some token political efforts and changes in public consciousness concerning environmental issues, governments and industries pretty much did just that: ignored it. An article by the Associated Press states that greenhouse gasses have increased even the worst predictions made by climate scientists only four years ago. This information comes from the US Department of Energy. Global CO2 emissions jumped by 6% in just one year from 2009 to 2010, mostly due to China and the US. The biggest source of CO2 is from coal burning,…
Tags: Africa, Burkina Faso, Climate change
Conservation, Nature, Weird Stuff, Wildlife & Flora, Oct 29th, 2011,
Species: Hispaniolan solenodon (Solenodon paradoxus) Status: Endangered (EN) Interesting Fact: The Hispaniolan solenodon is capable of secreting toxic saliva! The ancient and distinctive Hispaniolan solenodon is one of only two solenedons in existence. It resembles a large, stocky shrew, and has a distinctive, elongated snout with a unique ball-and-socket joint, which allows for an amazing level of flexibility. During the night, this species forages for prey using the flexible snout to explore cracks and crevices. It lunges at its chosen prey, pinning it down with its strong forelimbs, and then scoops up the prey with its lower jaw. A bite…
Tags: ARKive, Conservation, endangered species, Hispaniolan solenodon, solenodon paradoxus
Conservation, Videos & Documentaries, Wildlife & Flora, Oct 28th, 2011,
Recently on the Internets I have noticed a surge in videos of white people playing with big wild animals as if they were harmless house pets. I don’t know what it is all about, but some intrepid, extremely confident individuals think they can just play with huge lions, tigers, cheetahs and panthers and believe they will not get eaten. Did they not see Grizzly Man? Not hear of Siegfried and Roy? Ok, it might be going well so far, but when will they wrestle with one hyena or leopard too many and suddenly find themselves being disemboweled by a powerful…
Tags: big cats, cheetah, Kevin Richardson, lions, Marlice van Vuuren, videos
Conservation, Oct 25th, 2011,
Species come and go. It’s a normal, natural state of life on Earth since life began. Except since humanity has risen to prominence, more and more species have become extinct due to our behavior. Well, we are simply another species ourselves, right? A species of genocidal super-killers maybe, but just another animal nonetheless. Despite ongoing conservation efforts, there are now only 50 Javan rhinos left in the world. All of them live on Java, Indonesia’s (and the Earth’s) most populous island. There were some Javan rhinos also living in Vietnam, but now the last one has been killed by poachers,…
Tags: chinese medicine, horn, Javan Rhino, rhino, species, Vietnam
Green living, Nature, Pollution, Science & Technology, Videos & Documentaries, Wildlife & Flora, Oct 22nd, 2011,
Abraham Ramonwana, head guide at Tuli Safari Lodge says: “if a mine develops in South Africa, it’s also going to affect Botswana and Zimbabwe”. The authorisation given to an Australian company called Coal of Africa Limited (CoAL) to construct an open-cast coal mine, called the Vele Colliery, just outside of the boundaries of the Mapungubwe National Park will affect this fragile natural harmony. To Abraham, “mining and industry is a short term plan, tourism is a long-term plan.” Abraham, like many others, believes that the Mapungubwe region should be preserved and protected from the impacts of infrastructural development, and allowed…
Tags: Abraham Ramonwana, coal, coal mining, Coal of Africa Limited, manungubwe, Pollution, South Africa
Conservation, Nature, Wildlife & Flora, ,
Species: Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) Status: Critically Endangered (CR) Interesting Fact: The Mediterranean monk seal appeared on one of the first ever coins, around 500 BC! The Mediterranean monk seal is so named because its brown or greyish coat is said to resemble a monk’s robes. This shy creature is active during the day and forages mainly in shallow coastal waters, where it feeds on a variety of fish, squid and octopus. It takes up to six years to reach sexual maturity, after which, the Mediterranean monk seal will mate underwater before giving birth on secluded cave beaches. Newborn…
Tags: animal extinction, animals, ARKive.org, endangered species, Mediterranean monk seal, oceans, protecting animals
Conservation, Oct 20th, 2011,
On Tuesday night an exotic wild animal collector let loose 56 animals in Muskingum county, Ohio, a rural area of the United States. The collector, who has been identified as Terry Thompson, owner of Muskingum County Animal Farm, then killed himself. The drama that followed the animals release boiled down to police hunting down and killing the animals, including tigers and lions, for fear that they would attack people. From the Guardian: Animal bodies were seen scattered near a barn on the game preserve, and they were later buried there […] The preserve also had cheetahs, wolves, giraffes, camels and…
Tags: bears, exotic, killed, lions, Ohio, tigers, wild animals
Conservation, Politics, Videos & Documentaries, Oct 19th, 2011,
Starting in the mid 1990s, economic liberalization, rampant privatization and a radical neoliberal agenda transformed Iceland from a nation of fishing to a wealthy finance center built on credit. Iceland became somewhere for foreigners to put their money and collect high rates of interest. Until the bubble burst in 2008. I will not pretend I have any in-depth understanding of economics (it’s too bloody confusing) but one thing seems clear: When Iceland was riding the bubble its natural environment suffered. Since Iceland defaulted and its nouveau riche found itself ‘nouveau in debt’, people have driven less, produced less waste and…
Tags: alcoa, aluminum, dreamland, economic, Iceland, magnason
Conservation, Nature, Weird Stuff, Wildlife & Flora, Oct 17th, 2011,
Species: Purple frog (Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis) Status: Endangered (EN) Interesting Fact: The purple frog is the sole surviving member of an ancient group of amphibians that evolved some 130 million years ago! You may have noticed the purple frog on our homepage before, but this amazing amphibian is so strange we couldn’t help getting it out again! This frog has a highly distinctive and somewhat comical appearance, with a hugely bloated body and short, stout limbs. The small head seems almost too short for the body and the peculiar narrow snout ends in a white, knob-like protrusion. The purple frog is specially…
Tags: ARKive, endangered species, frog conservation, frogs, purple frog
Pollution, Wildlife & Flora, Oct 14th, 2011,
Containment and clean up of what has been termed New Zealand’s ‘worst ever environmental disaster’ are on their way in the Bay of Plenty after a Liberian cargo ship ran aground on a coral reef and began leaking fuel oil late last week. So far 350 tons of oil have leaked into the bay, damaging wildlife and washing up on area beaches. A salvage crew has been working aboard the ship, the Rena, making slow progress. Meanwhile, a group of some 2,000 volunteers has been cleaning toxic oil from affected beaches. Read the latest in the New Zealand Herald. For…
Tags: beaches, coral, New Zealand, oil spill, reef, ship, wildlife
Pollution, Wildlife & Flora, Oct 10th, 2011,
Oil leaking from the stranded container ship off New Zealand’s coast has washed up on local beaches and could continue polluting for weeks, according to authorities. Beautiful Mt Maunganui Beach in Tauranga has been hit with “tar balls”, aka toxic blobs of oil, prompting authorities to issue a public warning to stay away from the stricken beach. So far some 10-50 tons of oil are estimated to have leaked from the Liberian container ship, the Rena, since it hit Astrolabe Reef, near the city of Tauranga on Wednesday, poisoning local wildlife. Weather conditions this week are predicted to hamper rescue…
Tags: beach, leak, Maunganui, New Zealand, oil, ship, spill, tauranga
Wildlife & Flora, ,
Growing up in suburban Washington, DC, I saw my fair share of wild animals; raccoons, grey squirrels, possum, muskrat, etc. Deer on the other hand, were a relatively rare site. That is until around the mid to late 90s, when the local population just exploded. Suddenly they were in the yard eating our flowers in the middle of the day. Car accidents involving deer went way up in my area. Once I almost hit a giant stag that had run straight into rush hour traffic on a busy road. Huge antlers swinging, he managed to cross the 6-lane parkway to…
Tags: deer, sprawl, suburban, UK, wild
Conservation, Nature, Weird Stuff, Wildlife & Flora, Oct 8th, 2011,
Species: Queen Alexandra’s birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae) Status: Endangered (EN) Interesting Fact: Queen Alexandra’s birdwing is the world’s largest species of butterfly With an enormous wingspan of up to 28 centimetres, Queen Alexandra’s birdwing deservedly has the title of the world’s largest butterfly. Vibrantly coloured, this magnificent butterfly feeds only from a single species of vine. The vine contains a toxic substance which, when consumed by the caterpillar, makes them distasteful to potential predators. This trait is advertised by the caterpillar’s bright, conspicuous colouration, but if consumed by a naive predator, the toxin may cause severe vomiting. The adult Queen Alexandra’s birdwing…
Tags: ARKive, Conservation, endangered species, Ornithoptera alexandrae, Queen Alexandra's Birdwing
Green living, Nature, Wildlife & Flora, Oct 7th, 2011,
Ginza Yoshimizu: Tokyo, Japan Ginza Yoshimizu is a traditional Japanese inn located in the urban center of Tokyo. The inn focuses on living in harmony with nature, being eco friendly, and providing a peaceful, relaxing experience for guests. The flooring of this unique eco lodge is constructed from natural thick-stemmed bamboo; all the tatami used is locally and organically grown. Located on the top floor there are 2 traditional Japanese style bath rooms. The hotel uses organic cotton towels and Yukata (Japanese style bath robe). Also, meals are prepared with fresh, local farm products. Discover the culture of Japan and…
Tags: eco-friendly holidays, Ginza Yoshimizu, Global Basecamps, Hiiragiya Ryokan, Houshi Ryokan, Japan eco lodges, Kayotei, Tokyo eco vacations
