Nature & Wildlife - Page 6

Despite being listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1992, conservation efforts haven’t come close to increasing their population, and haven’t even been able to halt their decline.

Last year was the UK’s second wettest year on record and although the high rainfall has benefited some species, 2012 was the worst year for butterflies since scientific monitoring began in 1976.

As well as scales, pangolins are also hunted for their meat, considered to be “delicious” by some, a pound of which can sell for hundreds of US dollars. Unborn pangolin foetuses are also eaten as a delicacy, often found in soups.

Scientists at Duke University reported that more than two-thirds of lions in Africa have disappeared in the last 50 years. Rapid human population growth, and all the threats to wildlife that this brings with it, has reduced both lion populations and the savannah in which they live.

Last December, a group of intrepid Antarctic explorers located a colony of emperor penguins that had never been seen before by humans.

The John Muir Trust, a charity set up to protect wild places, takes its name from the pioneering conservationist John Muir, a Scottish born American who believed in preserving wilderness.

Today, the total population of Florida panthers is estimated to be between 100 and 160 animals. Sadly, this increase in numbers has resulted in more panthers becoming involved in vehicle collisions on Florida’s roads.

For animals that migrate over vast distances, new roads can dissect their traditional routes, and bring about many deaths to those attempting to cross.

Elephants can raid crops, damage water supplies, demolish homes and grain stores, and even kill or injure people and their livestock. People often retaliate in an effort to protect themselves and their livelihoods, by resorting to extreme measure such as poisoning and shooting elephants.