Animal Conservation - Page 16

Following on from last weeks post, this blog will cover the final five “words of advice” I would offer to those seeking a career in the environmental field.

A large gene-based survey based on nearly 450 samples in MesoAmerica has identified areas of conservation concern for the region’s jaguars.

You would be forgiven for thinking, that given the somewhat exotic nature of species lost already, that this was, in fact, a tropical problem, though you would be wrong. And Britain’s amphibians too find themselves in hot water.

Using population estimates from a wide range of sources, including aerial surveys and elephant dung counts, the findings show that estimates for 2015 are 93,000 lower than they were in 2006. The continental total number of elephants is now thought to be about 415,000.

2016, unfortunately, saw the first verified cases of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) outside of its native range in North America, identified back in March in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway.

Further updates to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species was released during the IUCN World Conservation Congress earlier this month.

Mammals are one of the hardest hit groups of animals when habitat is lost through human activities.

It should be remembered that positive change is, in fact, possible. And that, when we put our minds to it, we have shown time and time again that it is possible to reverse negative trends in our wildlife populations. That through practical conservation work, changing attitudes and a healthy dose of optimism, we can make a difference. As such, and in dire need of a more upbeat topic, below I have included a list of five such success stories.

Island foxes, endemic to the Channel Islands off the southern coast of California, have been removed from the endangered species list following a rapid recovery.