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rhamphotheca: Are these animals too ‘ugly’ to be saved? by Victoria Gill People are used to being asked to help save photogenic pandas, but are there animals whose strange appearance hinders conservation? Creatures that achieve world fame for being under threat - the panda, the mountain gorilla, the tiger - tend to be conventionally aesthetically pleasing, even cute. But the scientists who study the planet’s rarest beasts say that many of the most precious and threatened creatures have physical characteristics that, although perhaps not adorable in the most orthodox sense, make them truly unique. A project run by the Zoological Society for London (Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered) is trying to raise awareness of these less appreciated creatures. “I love all the species on the Edge list,” says Carly Waterman, director of Edge. “But I think some do need a little extra help to get them a place in hearts of the general public.” Here are a few of the less doe-eyed and fluffy and more spiky, scaly, big-nosed and slimy animals that might be conservation icons… (read more: BBC Nature)   
Media Coverage on Sharks Focuses More on Attacks Than Conservation The treatment of sharks in the media and popular culture has been historically rather harsh. A new study from Michigan State University reveals that this negative image is affecting their survival. The findings of this study, published in the current issue of Conservation Biology, reviewed worldwide media coverage of sharks and found that the majority isn’t good. Read the sad truth here.
Australia’s controversial plans to reduce the population of sharks in surrounding seas entails of very little thought and fear-mongering tactics. The proposed cull is an attempt to protect beach-goers from potential attack, but is this a largely Jaws-inspired fear campaign that hasn’t been properly thought through? Do sharks actually pose a threat to Australians? Read the entire article here.
The Iriomote cat (Prionailurus iriomotensis) is a feline relatively similar in size to the typical domestic house cat, except it has cute short legs and a thick, bushy tail. Oh, and unlike the domestic house cat, they’re also one of the worlds most critically endangered and rarest species.. Or subspecies, since it’s argued whether they’re a subspecies of the leopard cat.. They potentially separated genetically around 200,000 years ago. Endemic to the Iriomotejima Island in Japan, they prefer to live in more coastal areas opposed to mountainous areas. Their meals consist of a variety of wildlife like rats, bats.. Yes I know, I’m a poet.. birds, reptiles, and insects. Fish and crabs are also finding their way into the Iriomote cat’s stomach, since they’re impeccable swimmers and top notch predators.  Breeding is common during February-March but can occur throughout the year. With a gestation period of up to 70 days, an extreme variation from 1 to 8 kittens has been recorded per liter. Their youngin’ mature in as little as 8 months, and spend the remaining 10 years of their life on their own.  ..If there’s any youngins in the first place, since less than 100 of these felines roam Japan today. Hybrids with feral cats, small range, and increasing human population has all lead up to this incredibly low population. With no captive cats, Japan has had to make them a fully protected species, otherwise we’d find them extinct quite soon. Funds like the Japan Tiger and Elephant Fund are attempting to spread awareness and conserve this species in order to ensure their survival.

If any of you would like to read my email to stop the hunt for this ‘great white killer’

Let me start off by saying: I’m completely devastated by the loss of a human life as anybody else. With that being said, I’m also not a fan of ruthless murder. What kind of government wants to quite literally have blood on their hands? I know I wouldn’t want my government to. So, why go on a killing spree for a species that’s already at risk for extinction? Especially since they are the key to a successful food chain. 

Sharks are an extremely important part to any ecosystem. Without them, you’ll have lower scale predators climbing up in populations to unsustainable amounts, leaving lower scale prey populations practically diminished. What will you do then, when not only the fisheries will be out of business, but you won’t have any abundant wildlife for ecotourism? Your economy will certainly take a hit, and I know for a fact that is the last think any successful government wants for their country.

I’m sure you want to console the family who has had to suffer the loss of a close one as well, but let’s put this into perspective: A murderer is seen with, let’s just say, red hair. So there’s a search to track down anybody with red hair who is a potential suspect to this murder.. Wouldn’t that be nearly every red head in sight?  Now what kind of government just allows people to freely kill as they see fit? Especially for something as simple as revenge. It’s not morally right. You have to see that these sharks are living creatures, as are you and I. They have individual personalities, along with a ton of intelligence.. And like us, intelligence involves curiosity combined with mistakes! Although I’m sure, as humans, we deny our mistakes, sharks actually learn from them. Humans are not fit to be an appetizing meal for any shark, as we lack the fat and other proteins/nutrients required to keep a high energy animal such as them alive. This isn’t a JAWS movie, and they don’t seek us out. 

So let me ask you this now: Why would you seek them out? No, really, I genuinely would be enlightened by a response. Don’t you think it’s enough that shark populations have been lowered by as much as 90%? Lack of proper fishing regulations to keep innocent animals safe, leading to the deaths of thousands of bycatch, should sooth the need for blood on our hands, shouldn’t it? So.. why kill an apex predator that has a right to hunt in it’s own home, just because it’s a danger to people that don’t belong in waters in the first place? Perhaps you should reconsider the dangers in entering beaches, and instead actually spread awareness of the dangers of entering the water, which, might I mention, are actually slight, where animals that have adapted over 400 million years hunt. 

For any of you who want to help spread awareness on shark finning, I found this awesome cover photo for facebook via WildAid’s page.
Most people have heard the phrase “An Elephant never forgets.” Whether this proves to be true or not, elephants (family Elephantidae) have outstanding memories and great cognition. Commonly thought to be one of the most intellectual species in the world, their brains are the largest of any other land animal. Brain size may not mean everything, but in this case it does. Their structure and complexity resembles that of a humans, including the cortex having as many neurons as a human, which may sugest convergent evolution. Elephants, like most animals, can feel. But their emotions are more remarkable than most, since they have been seen mourning loss of family and friends, or even having senses of humor. The sheer intelligence that comes from this is more complicated than you would believe, which puts them on a scale with primates, such as humans, and cetaceans. The Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation has even done tests where two elephants were required to pull on separate ends of a rope for a reward, and successfully waited for another elephant to help in order to get this prize. It took 45 seconds, which requires a lot of patience in the animal world. Not only that, but they can recognize themselves in mirrors. They also typically participate in painting and other various arts and crafts.. Which makes elephants not only self-aware, artistic, compassionate, and cooperative, but also animals with greatly complex feelings and maybe even possible languages. All these brains have made most people decide that it is wrong for humans to kill them, since they are  almost as smart as us- if not equally smart or smarter.  Photo credit: vanbikkel
Freckles the Liger at Big Cat Rescue (by Big Cat Advocat)
tigersandcompany: (by christopherphoto)
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