Polar Bear Conservation

Polar Bear

Ursus maritimus

Polar bears, or “sea bears,” are the world’s largest land predators, weighing up to 600 kg (1300 lb.) and measuring up to 3 m (10 ft.) tall. On average they live to be about 25 years old, reaching sexual maturity at around 4 years.

Although they appear white or yellow in color, their fur is actually clear and hollow, and their skin is black. Their visibly pale coloring is caused by the reflection and scattering of light.

Inhabiting the ice and sea of the Arctic, polar bears are well-equipped for survival in a harsh environment. Two coats of fur and a thick layer of blubber help insulate the polar bear’s body from the cold, keeping its temperature at an even 37° C (98.6° F). In addition, polar bears’ paws are especially adapted for walking on the ice and swimming in the sea. Hairs and bumps on the soles of their feet provide traction, while webbing between their toes allows for effective swimming strokes.

Polar bears are also equipped with strong noses. They use their powerful sense of smell when hunting for seals, their main source of food. They can smell a seal’s breathing hole, or aglu, up to one mile away. Once located, a polar bear will wait patiently by the hole and attack the seal’s head when it comes up for air. In ideal hunting conditions, the bear will just eat the seal fat, leaving the carcass for other animals. However, when food is scarce, polar bears will eat just about anything. Supplemental foods include walruses, short-legged reindeer, birds, bird eggs, kelp, and beached whales. When in proximity to human settlements, they have even been known to eat garbage such as Styrofoam.

Polar bears do not hibernate like other bears, but females do enter into a dormant state while pregnant. After mating in the spring, a female polar bear spends the summer ingesting large amounts of food and building a maternity den in a snow drift to prepare for the arrival of her cubs.

In the fall, she enters into a dormant state, remaining this way even as she gives birth. The litter, usually two cubs, will spend two years with their mother learning essential hunting and survival skills.

Conservation Status

Polar bears are currently listed as vulnerable by IUCN’s Red List. Global warming greatly impacts the fate of the polar bear. A reduction of large masses of ice results in limited access to seals. Not only does this adversely affect the health of adult polar bears, it also hinders the successful reproduction and nourishment of new bear cubs. Rising temperatures also result in unstable maternity dens, as snowdrifts melt and collapse.

What You Can Do to Help

To help save the polar bear habitat, you can take measures to reduce your carbon emissions in order to curb global warming. This includes walking or taking public transportation instead of driving, using energy saver appliances and light bulbs, buying locally grown produce, recycling, and more. For more information, visit the Inconvenient Truth website.

Polar Bear Distribution

Polar bears inhabit the sea and ice masses of the Arctic circle.

Gorilla Conservation

Mountain Gorilla
Gorilla beringei beringei

The mountain gorilla, a large, strong ape inhabiting Africa’s volcanic slopes, has few natural predators. Yet due to detrimental human activity, such as poaching, civil war, and habitat destruction, the mountain gorilla, a subspecies of the eastern gorilla, has become the most endangered type of gorilla.

Currently, the mountain gorilla’s habitat is limited to protected national parks in two regions of Africa. One group of gorillas lives in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda. The other group is spread over three national parks in the Virungas mountain region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Rwanda.

Mountain gorillas are as shy as they are strong. But when threatened, they can be aggressive. They beat their chests and let out angry grunts and roars. Group leaders will charge at the threat. Mothers will fight to the death to protect their young.

Mountain gorillas live in groups of up to 30. The group, or troop, is led by a single alpha male, an older silverback. These males are called silverbacks because of the silver stripe they develop on their backs when they mature. The oldest males of the group are at least 12 years old. These troops also include several younger males, adult and juvenile females, and infants.

In addition to providing protection to group members, silverbacks maintain order and decide all activities within their troop. They schedule feeding trips, resting time, and travel. They also father the majority of the young in the group.

Female mountain gorillas can produce young beginning at age 10. They carry one or two babies at a time and give birth after a 8.5-month gestation period. In general, they will bear between two and six offspring in a lifetime.

Newborn gorillas weigh about 1.8 kg (4 lb.) at birth. They are as weak and uncoordinated as human babies. For the first four years of their lives, they get around by clinging to their mothers backs. By 3.5 years of age, the young gorillas are fully weaned from their mothers milk and start the same diet as mature mountain gorillas: plants, leaves, roots and shoots.

Fully-grown male mountain gorillas can weigh up to 180 kg (400 lb). Females weigh half that at about 90 kg ( 200 lb). Aside from the silver stripe on their backs, male mountain gorillas are distinguished from females because they have a crest of fur on their heads. Both genders have similar thick black hair covering their body. Their thick hair keeps them warm in cold mountain temperatures.

Conservation Status

Mountain gorillas are considered critically endangered by IUCN’s Red List. Not only are mountain gorillas threatened by loss of habitat due to human encroachment, they have also become victims of human violence. As civil war rages in Africa, efforts to conserve mountain gorilla populations have been curtailed. Mountain gorillas have also been killed or captured by poachers. Their body parts are sold to collectors, and baby gorillas are sold illegally as pets, research subjects, or private zoo animals.

Save The Gorilla

1) Keep your distance from gorillas.

If you ever take an exciting visit to any of the three National parks that covers the habitat of mountain gorillas, make sure you keep your distance. Despite the urge to get closer, to gain an awe-inspiring photograph or to feel as one with nature, this can impose disease threats to the gorillas.

2) Take part in a gorilla event!

Organised Gorilla events are great fun to participate in! They bring awareness to the declining numbers of the mountain gorillas whilst raising money for global conservation projects. Its fun for everyone! Those who take part in these events wear a full gorilla costume! That’s right – from head to toe! 

3) Buy Gorilla Related Merchandise

Buying Gorilla related gifts such as mugs, bags, sponsorship, calendars and cute cuddly toys is another small way of contributing towards gorilla charities. The WWF online store is an exciting place to start looking! With both merchandise and virtual gifts to choose from, you would be excited to see what you can find!

4) Visit the Mountain gorillas in Rwanda

Taking a journey of a lifetime to visit the magnificent mountain gorillas in their natural environments brings in revenue to the parks that protect them. Going with an experienced company with good morals and aims such as the Dian Fossey Gorilla fund not only provide you with extraordinary experiences and comfort, but ensure that the welfare of Gorillas remain unaffected by the tourism industry.

5) Adopt a Gorilla

I know it means giving away money, and not everyone seems very comfortable at the moment spending their money freely, but this is certainly something rewarding. Even if you know a nature lover in the family, or its birthday time for someone and you want to get something exciting and different, adoption packages may be the answer. Not only does your money contribute to conservation, but you receive a gorilla bio, photograph and adoption certificate.

Cheetah Conservation

Cheetah

Acinonyx jubatus

Accelerating from 0 to 96 km/h (60 mph) in three seconds, the cheetah is the world’s fastest land mammal. They inhabit the grasslands of eastern, central, and southwestern Africa, as well as a small portion of Iran.

Cheetahs have several special adaptations that allow them to reach top speeds. Wide nostrils and large lungs combined with a powerful heart and strong arteries provide more oxygen to their muscles. Their huge leg muscles mainly consist of fast twitch fibers, which contract faster than normal muscles. Their small body frame is lightweight and aerodynamic. With long legs, loose hip and shoulder joints, and a flexible spine, cheetahs can cover 7 m (20-25 ft.) in one stride.

Running this quickly takes a lot of energy, and cheetahs can only maintain the sprint for about half a minute before burning out. With this limiting factor, they try to get as close as possible to their prey, which include antelope, wildebeest calves, and hares, before starting the chase. Camouflaged against the tall grasses, they quietly sneak up until they are confident of the attack. They burst out, using their tail as a rudder to help keep balance while making sharp turns. Their claws, which do not fully retract, grip the ground like cleats. Once they reach their target, they use their front paw to trip the prey. Then they strangle the animal with a bite and drag it to a hiding spot before another predator, such as a lion, leopard, or hyena, steals it.

Although sometimes confused with leopards, cheetahs are distinguished by their “tear-stained” black marks that run from the corners of their eyes down the side of their nose to their mouth. Their smaller stature and small, flat heads also set them apart. They cannot roar, but they can purr and chirp. Unlike most cats, they have terrible night vision, which is why they hunt during the day. They also cannot climb trees.

Female cheetahs give birth to around three cubs at a time. In the first few weeks, she moves the cubs from den to den, hiding them while she goes out hunting. At this point, they are very vulnerable to predators such as large eagles, lions, hyenas, and baboons. Young cubs grow a thick yellow-gray coat on their backs called a mantle. The mantle protects the cub from the sun and rain and helps camouflage it in the shadows. It also makes the cub resemble a honey badger, which is a small feisty carnivore that most predators leave alone. The mantle starts disappearing when the cub is around three months old and thins to a mane at around two years. Despite these protections, cub mortality rate is high, at around 90%.

The cubs that survive start following their mother at around 6 weeks. They practice hunting though play with each other. After a year and a half, their mother leaves them to breed again. The cubs stay together until the females reach sexual maturity at around two years. At that point, other male cheetahs chase the male cubs off. But the male offspring often stay together for life, forming a group called a coalition. Coalitions are beneficial because they help male cheetahs gain territory.

Conservation Status

Today, around 7,500 cheetahs live in the wild, with about 100 living in small isolated populations in Iran. Cheetahs are threatened by habitat loss and conflicts with farmers. With low genetic diversity, the IUCN Red List considers them vulnerable of extinction.

Ways to Save Cheetah

• Cheetahs can be saved by: first restoring their habitat in wild lands where the big cats could freely roam without being shot by farmers located too closely from them.
• Cheetahs can be saved by educating people, farmers, children about the story of the majestic African cheetahs and how the big cats represent the diversity of this marvelous continent.
• Cheetahs can be saved if humans respect the environment and its natural balance between game and predators.
• Cheetahs can be saved by encouraging governments and officials to intensify the protection of the cheetah and reinforcing breeding and conversation programmes.
• Cheetahs can be saved if measures are taken and projects are drawn to sensitive conversation animal centers, not only in Africa, but also on the international stage.
• Cheetahs can be saved if the message is widely spread through different media channels on different platforms such as social media on the Internet, blogs, radio, TV, newspapers, conferences etc. to create awareness around this threat of extinction for one of the most famous big cats on the planet.

Turtle Conservation

What is turtle conservation

Sea turtles, also called marine turtles, are air-breathing reptiles with streamlined bodies and large flippers. They are well-adapted to life in the marine environment. They inhabit tropical and subtropical ocean waters throughout the world. Although sea turtles live most of their lives in the ocean, adult females must return to beaches on land to lay their eggs. They often migrate long distances between feeding grounds and nesting beaches. Seven species have been identified worldwide. Six sea turtle species are found in U.S. waters (the flatback sea turtle is found only in Australia and Papua New Guinea).

Why should we save turtle

Sea turtles are one of the longest living groups of animals to have ever existed, having far outlived the Dinosaurs. They have existed for approximately 200 million years, adapted perfectly for their environment until human activities placed them under increasing pressure. Sea turtles are a flagship species, which means they are a species chosen to represent an environmental cause conserving the marine ecosystem and wildlife. Chosen for their charismatic nature, distinctiveness and vulnerable status, sea turtles engender public support and thus assist leverage of the entire ecosystem and associated species.

Sea Turtles act as environmental indicators. When populations are healthy (disease is uncommon), it reflects on the health of their marine habitat. They feed on a variety of organisms, e.g., Hawksbills eat sponges and corals, providing space for reef colonisation by other organisms, increasing species diversity. They feed other organisms, e.g., insects, crabs, fish, etc. which prey upon them at various life stages. Nutrients turtles produce through digestion feed other organisms. They provide a habitat for an array of animals including cleaner fish, and various barnacle species, some of which are exclusive to sea turtles. Sea turtles are an intricate part of their ecosystem. If they are wiped out, many organisms dependant upon them will also be affected.

Sea turtles make substantial nutrient and energy contributions to beaches, promoting plant growth, stabilising beach and dune systems. Green sea turtles graze sea grass beds, increasing the productivity of those areas. Leatherback turtles are major jellyfish predators, providing natural ecological control of jellyfish populations. If the decline in sea turtle populations is allowed to continue, it could have severe conse

quences on many marine and terrestrial plant and animal species that depend on sea turtles for their survival. 

 How to save turtle

How to save turtles

1.       turn Out Lights Visible From the Beach!

2.       reduce the A Be Aware of Sea Turtle Nesting Areas and Avoid Nesting and Hatching Turtle 3.

3.       mount of educe the Amount of Chemicals You Use

4. Volunteer! Reduce the Amount of Chemicals You Us

Tiger Conservation

What Is Tiger Conservation

There are very few people who understand the true importance of protecting the tiger. Most people feel it is only a matter of saving an animal that makes a beautiful sight to see. This reason only makes up a fraction of why we need to save this incredible animal. The tiger is at the top of the food chain in the jungles that it roams.

The following is a very basic description of the chaos that would ensue if the tiger became extinct. If this was to happen, the populations of prey species like Spotted deer and Sambhar would burst at the seams. This excessive population would then totally ravage it's food source - vegetation. If the vegetation in the jungles was devastated, where and how would the insects survive. They may even shift to the crops in farmlands. If the plants in the jungles would be finished, what would refurbish the soil. If the soil was no longer fertile, new plants would not sprout. Over the years, this would probably mean the end of the jungles

The end of jungles also means the end of the biggest suppliers of the oxygen filled air, which we take so much for granted. This is a very simple layman description of what the result of tiger extinction could mean to our own survival. The truly scientific description more alarming and draws

Why Should We Save

Not only is tiger a beautiful animal but it is also the indicator of the forest's health. Saving the tiger means we save the forest since tiger cannot live in places where trees have vanished and in turn secure food and water for all.

If we make sure tigers live, we have to make sure that deer, antelope and all other animals that the tiger eats (its prey base) live. To make sure that these herbivores live, we must make sure that all the trees, grass and other plants that these prey animals need for food are protected. In this way, the whole forest gets saved! Saving the tiger means saving its entire forest kingdom with all the other animals in it.

Also forests catch and help store rainwater and protect soils. In this way we protect our rivers and recharge groundwater sources. Areas with less trees lead to floods, killing people and destroying homes. It takes away the precious soil, leaving behind a wasteland. The soil jams up our lakes and dams, reducing their ability to store water. By destroying the tiger's home, we not only harm tigers, but also ourselves.

The tiger thus becomes the symbol for the protection of all species on our earth since it is at the top of the food chain. This is why we sometimes call the tiger, an apex predator, an indicator of our ecosystem's health

Our survival is dependent on the natural environment as it provides us with clean air, food and water. Tigers are at the apex of the food pyramid and are indicators of a healthy environment. The ‘Web of Life’: all things in nature, including humans, are interrelated - changing any component of the web will impact others. In saving the tiger we are protecting the entire ecosystem and all its inhabitants.

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How To  Save Tiger

Over the past century the number of tigers in India has fallen from about 40,000 to less than 4,000 (and possibly as few as 1,500). Relentless poaching and clearing of habitat for agriculture have been the primary drivers of this decline, though medicinal" demand for tiger skins and parts for "purposes has become an increasingly important threat in recent years.

However the news is not all bad. Research published last year showed that if protected and given sufficient access to abundant prey, tiger populations can quickly stabilize. With India's large network of protected areas and continued funding from conservation groups like the Wildlife Conservation Society, the findings provide hope that tigers can avoid extinction in the wild.

The biggest threat to tigers in India is depletion of their chief prey like deer, wild pigs and wild cattle by local people. As a result although about 300,000 square kilometers of tiger habitat still remains, much of it is empty of tigers because there is not enough food for them to survive and breed successfully.

 

One important thing that you can do is learn as much about tigers as you can, and teach others about the threats they face. You can do reports at school, or just talk to your friends and family. As people learn more about tigers, they will try harder to protect them.

 

Another thing that you can do is raise money for a tiger conservation organization – on your own, or as a school or scout-group project. Although most of us cannot go out and protect wild tigers ourselves, we can support some of the organizations and researchers who are working to save tigers. Save The Tiger Fund helps the world's best tiger conservationists to work throughout the world.

For one thing, don`t buy tiger products like tiger fur or teeth because people kill tigers to sell these products. Also, help protect the envirorment, because if we don`t stop hurting the environment, the only tigers left in the world would be in captivity. By not cutting trees of the forests and when we see people cutting trees we should stop them

 

The tiger is not just a charismatic species. It’s not just a wild animal living in some forest either. The tiger is a unique animal which plays a pivotal role in the health and diversity of an ecosystem. It is a top predator and is at the apex of the food chain and keeps the population of wild ungulates in check, thereby maintaining the balance between prey herbivores and the vegetation upon which they feed. Therefore the presence of tigers in the forest is an indicator of the well being of the ecosystem. The extinction of this top predator is an indication that its ecosystem is not sufficiently protected, and neither would it exist for long thereafter.

 

If the tigers go extinct, the entire system would collapse. For e.g. when the Dodos went extinct in Mauritius, one species of Acacia tree stopped regenerating completely. So when a species goes extinct, it leaves behind a scar, which affects the entire ecosystem. Another reason why we need to save the tiger is that our forests are water catchment areas.

 

When we protect one tiger, we protect about a 100 sq. km of area and thus save other species living in its habitat. Therefore, it’s not just about saving a beautiful animal. It is about making sure that we live a little longer as the forests are known to provide ecological services like clean air, water, pollination, temperature regulation etc. This way, our planet can still be home to our children.

 

 

1.)Spread the word: Go out loud and tell others that tigers are dying and that they need our help. You can form forums (or join existing ones) on the web for discussions and exchange views on tiger conservation. Reach school going children. WWF can help you in this regard.

2.)Be responsible tourist: The wilderness is to be experienced and not to be disturbed and polluted. Follow the forest department guidelines when visiting any wilderness area, tiger reserve in particular. As the saying goes ‘Don’t leave thing anything behind except foot steps, and don’t take anything except memories.’

Write to the policy makers: If you are really concerned and feel that more needs to be done for tiger conservation, then write polite letters to the decision makers - the Prime Minister, the Minister for Environment and Forests or even your local MP.

3.)Informing the nearest police station: If you know of any information on poaching or trade of illegal wildlife. You can also contact TRAFFIC- an organisation fighting the powerful poachers and pass on the information to them.

4.)Reducing pressure on natural resources:

By reducing the use of products derived from forests, such as timber and paper.

5.)Encouraging Students:the best way is to create more opportunities in the real world for trained conservationists and conservation scientists. At present, both in the Government and the non-governmental sectors, the conservation field filled with people who are professionally untrained and are as a result offering and implementing "seat of the pants" solutions, many of which don't work. Secondly, conservationists must learn to independently function as small NGO groups without looking for government doles and jobs.

6.) Institutions and people Scientists who were closely involved in managing tigers at the local level, Hemendra Panwar of India and Hemanta Mishra of Nepal, pointed out an important lesson more than a decade ago: unless local community needs are met, conservation of the tiger will not succeed and protected areas will perish. Therefore, conservation programmes

7.) Must reconcile the interests of people and tigers. In most situations, a sustainable tiger conservation strategy cannot be achieved without the full participation and collective action of individual rural households whose livelihoods depend on rights of access and use of the forests where tigers live.

8.) Technologies for conservation of resources There already exists a wide range of technologies and practices in forest and watershed management and agriculture, both traditional and new, for conservation of resources. The biological processes that regenerate forests and make agriculture less damaging to tiger habitats take time to become established

9.)Use of external institutions Institutions, such as NGOs, government departments, and banks, can facilitate processes by which local people develop their sense of ownership and commitment. When little effort is made to build local skills, interest, and capacity, people have no interest or stake in maintaining structures or practices once the incentives for conservation stop. Success hinges on people’s participation in planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation, which leads to the formation of new institutions or the strengthening of existing ones

10.)Conservation of tiger habitat and of prey In many areas peripheral to tiger habitat, grazing lands for livestock have been converted to crops or degraded by excessive use; livestock is of poor quality and of poor productivity; wood for fuel and building has been exhausted; and sources of income are limited. The rehabilitation of the natural resource base of local people is essential if they are not to seek their requirements in protected areas. This requires ecodevelopment with the support and cooperation of specialized government organs and the non-governmental conservation community.

11.) Educate the locals

People living near the forests need to be educated about the importance of tigers in terms of ecosystem. They need to be told that if there will be no tigers there will be no forests as all the grass eaters will devour the forests.

12.) Stop poaching and don't encourage poachers

Sale of tiger skin and other body parts is banned. So if you find somebody hunting tigers, report them to your local police station or even the forest officials. They will take care of the poachers.

13.) Severe punishment for poachers

Ensure that the poachers are not allowed to go easily. Make sure that they receive severe punishment for their crime.

14.) Ban the goods made of tiger skin

Please do not use goods made of tiger skin. Also please don't use the medicine made out of tiger's body parts. On an average one wild tiger is killed each day for profit killing.

15.) Protect forests

In order to save tigers forests need to be protected. Apparently the species are becoming extinct because of the loss of their natural habitat.

16.)  Donate money to tiger conservation organisations

Lion Conservation

Lion

What is lion conservation?

Lions are complicated creatures, magnificent at a distance yet fearsomely inconvenient to the rural peoples whose fate is to live among them. They are lords of the wild savanna but inimical to pastoralism and incompatible with farming. So it’s no wonder their fortunes have trended downward for as long as human civilization has been trending up.

There’s evidence across at least three continents of the lions’ glory days and their decline. Chauvet Cave, in southern France, filled with vivid Paleolithic paintings of wildlife, shows us that lions inhabited Europe along with humans 30 millennia ago; the Book of Daniel suggests that lions lurked at the outskirts of Babylon in the sixth century B.C.; and there are reports of lions surviving in Syria, Turkey, Iraq, and Iran until well into the 19th or 20th centuries. Africa alone, during this long ebb, remained the reliable heartland.

African Penguin

Spheniscus demersus

When you think of penguins, you may picture them surrounded by snow and ice. However, there is one species of penguins that is acclimated to warmer climates. African penguins live in colonies on the coast and islands of southern Africa.

Also called jackass penguins, they make donkey-like braying sounds to communicate. They can dive under water for up to 2.5 minutes while trying to catch small fish such as anchovies and sardines. They may also eat squid and crustaceans.

The African penguin averages about 60 cm (2 ft.) tall and weighs up to 3.6 kg (8 lb.). Their short tails and flipper-like wings that help them navigate in the water, while their webbed feet help propel them.

To keep dry and insulated in cold water, African penguins are covered in dense, water-proof feathers. These feathers are white on the belly and black on the back, which aids in camouflage. Their white belly will blend with the light when predators look up at them from below, and their black backs meld with the darker seas when predators look down on them from above.

African penguins breed within their colonies; they do not travel to give birth. The penguins nest in burrows they dig out of their own excrement, called guano, or in areas under boulders or bushes. Recent removal of the guano for fertilizer has forced the penguins to change their habits and nest primarily under bushes and boulders. Their nests protect eggs and chicks from the sun and from predators like cats and seagulls. Eggs are laid in pairs and both parents help incubate them. Both parents also feed the newly-born chicks. After 2-4 years, the chicks will mature and lay their own eggs.

Conservation Status

African penguins can live for an average of 10-15 years, however many do not reach their full life span, and populations have been steadily decreasing. The loss of nesting places due to guano removal has contributed to the population decline as well as a decrease of food due to overfishing and pollution. As such, African penguins are now considered endangered by IUCN’s Red List. This means there is a high risk they may become extinct.

Act to Save Penguin

1. Respect the penguin’s home.If you are resident in an African penguin area, respect the boundaries of their nesting sites. Lobby to ensure that the areas are not threatened.

2. Get involved in coastal clean-ups. Litter in our oceans is a threat to the penguins. If you don’t live on the coast, arrange a waterway clean-up in your area.

3. Use environmentally-friendly household cleaning products. To keep the waterways clean – because all the water ends up in the sea, watch that you only put products down your drain that are friendly to the environment.

4. Buy local products. Choose a product that you will only buy locally, perhaps food or clothing. Then it does not have to be shipped in – that means less chance of oil spills. Furthermore, the more of us that demand local, the less carbon emissions will be created.

5. Pass on this information. The more promises we all make and keep, the greater the chance of us making a difference to the future of our environment.

6. Pick up others’ litter. Anywhere, anytime. The humility of this action inspires others. And it means the litter does not end up in the sea.