Focusing On The Conservation of Ecosystems, Habitats & Wildlife

Revolutionary Moment To Conserve Forests

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GOOD NEWS!  Singapore-listed Golden Agri-Resources (GAR) today announced a new forest conservation policy intended to ensure its palm oil operations have less impact on forests and will be working with the Indonesian government and green groups to build a “sustainable palm oil industry” in Indonesia.


With an annual revenue of US$2.3 billion, GAR is the largest palm oil producer in the world’s leading palm oil-producing country.

Tasmanian Devil Is Close To Extinction

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According to an article in the Huffington post today, The Tasmanian Devil from Australia is becoming very endangered in the wild due to a highly lethal contagious cancer.

It article stated the cancer, devil facial tumor disease (DFTD) has killed off up to 90% of the Tasmanian devil population since it was first observed in 1996, according to Scientific American. The cancer fills the animal’s mouth with tumors, causing it to starve to death. The cancer is transmitted easily between Tasmanian devils because they bite each other while mating and fighting.

Sanctuaries are currently being built to isolate disease-free devils, in the hopes of breeding them and then releasing the animal back to the wild in the future.

26% Increase Growth In The population Of Endangered Mountain Gorillas In East Africa

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GOOD NEWS!

According to a new study released last week from CNN, the number of mountain gorillas, which are a critically endangered species, has increased by more than 26% in regions in eastern Africa.

“The mountain gorilla population has made an absolutely remarkable recovery. We are very pleased to see yet another increase in the numbers of this critically endangered species,” said Allard Blom, a director with the World Wildlife Fund.

International Year of The Forest – 2011

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The year 2011 was declared the International Year of Forests by the United Nations[1] to raise awareness and strengthen the sustainable forest management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests for the benefit of current and future generations.

We are losing the world’s tropical rainforest at an alarming rate, with major repercussions for the entire planet.

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, an estimated 13 million hectares of the world’s forests are lost every year, mainly as a result of converting forest land to other uses. At least 1.6 billion people directly depend on forests for their livelihoods, the majority of them poor inhabitants of areas next to forests; while an estimated 60 million people, mainly members of indigenous and local communities, live in forests.

2 Baby Cheetahs Born At National Zoo

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Cheetahs that give birth to just one cub, called a singleton, cannot produce enough milk to keep the cub alive.  To help stimulate milk production and avoid this situation from happening, zoologists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute decided to make one mother responsible for both cubs, in an act known as “cross-fostering.”

Many years of research are celebrated in the birth of two cheetah cubs at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute—the first cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) born at the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park facility in Front Royal, Va. The cubs were born to two separate females; the first to 5-year-old Amani Dec. 6, the second to 9-year-old Zazi Dec. 16

Big Cat Initiative Week December 6-10

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Derek and Beverly Jouberet are leading the Big Cat Initiative, which is a “comprehensive program that supports on-the-ground conservation projects, education, and economic incentive efforts and a global public-awareness campaign” in Botswana Africa.

Learn About Four Simple Ways You Can Help Big Cats Today – CLICK HERE

Big Cats Facts

(Found on National Geographic’s Website)

-The cheetah is the world’s fastest land mammal. It can run at speeds of up to 70 miles an hour (113 kilometers an hour).

-An adult lion’s roar can be heard up to five miles (eight kilometers) away.

-Long, muscular hind legs enable snow leopards to leap seven times their own body length in a single bound.

-A tiger’s stripes are like fingerprints—no two animals have the same pattern.

-The strongest climber among the big cats, a leopard can carry prey twice its weight up a tree.

-The Amur leopard is one of the most endangered animals in the world.

-In one stride, a cheetah can cover 23 to 26 feet (7 to 8 meters).

-The name “jaguar” comes from a Native American word meaning “he who kills with one leap.”

-In the wild, lions live for an average of 12 years and up to 16 years. They live up to 25 years in captivity.

-The mountain lion and the cheetah share an ancestor.

-Cheetahs do not roar, as the other big cats do. Instead, they purr.

-Tigers are excellent swimmers and do not avoid water.

-A female Amur leopard gives birth to one to four cubs in each litter.

-Fossil records from two million years ago show evidence of jaguars.

-Lions are the only cats that live in groups, called prides. Every female within the pride is usually related.

-The leopard is the most widespread of all big cats.

-Mountain lions are strong jumpers, thanks to muscular hind legs that are longer than their front legs.

-Tigers have been hunted for their skin, bones, and other body parts, used in traditional Chinese medicine.

-Unlike other cats, lions have a tuft of hair at the end of their tails.

-After humans, mountain lions have the largest range of any mammal in the Western Hemisphere.

Where Does Your Coffee Cups Go?

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Next time you go to your local Starbucks and get a cup of coffee to go, think twice about where that cup ends up later….. in the Trash!  Then ask yourself, where does that trash go?

Photo illustration by Tony Cenicola/ The New York Times

CLICK HERE To Read How Starbucks goal of making 100 percent of its cups reusable or recyclable by 2015. That’s one billion paper cups a year. (Another billion are plastic.)