Articles by Alex Taylor - Page 35

The Red List does highlight some great conservation successes, but the IUCN is clear that the message remains bleak.

Sadly, poaching remains a problem, not for food but for Chinese traditional medicine. The translucent, foot-long horns belonging to the males are ground into a powder and used for the treatment of headaches and fever, and a pound of powder can fetch US$2,000.

The situation is particularly serious in west and central Africa, where lions are almost extinct as a result of illegal killing and the loss of prey and habitat.

The only way to ensure the survival of the dormouse, according to The Woodland Trust, is to create stronger, more resilient landscapes by planting more native trees and diverse woods, better management of these woods and by bringing back hedgerows to create wildlife corridors that connect the woods and prevents further isolation of dormice populations.

In all regions across the continent, there is no single cause of the decline, however, they do all appear to be linked by rising temperatures caused by climate change.

When the time that plants are most nutritious differs from the time the animals need their nutrients the most, it is known as a trophic mismatch.

The native small mammals vanished extremely quickly. In fragments less than 10 hectares, they disappeared almost entirely within 5 years. By 25 years only a handful were left, on average less than one individual per island

The population of the Bonelli’s Eagle is experiencing a decreasing population trend. It is most at risk in western Europe and is one of France’s most threatened species.

Like many other baleen whales, blue whales accumulate layers of wax, lipids and keratin protein in their ear canals, which build up over time to form long earplugs.