News on Wildlife, Animal Cruelty and Rights & Endangered Animal Species
From animal abuse and legislation, endangered species and wildlife extinction, if it's wildlife in the news (or sadly not as in the news as it should be) you'll find it in this section! New species, dying species and the animals we all love
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US Diplomat Goes Undercover at Chinese Tiger Farm
Wikileaks strikes again, and this time it’s in the name of animal rights. A recent cable released by Wikileaks reported on an undercover investigation of Chinese “tiger farms” by an American diplomat. The news is not good.
Dog Theft on the Rise
I don’t know about you, but I can think of a billion worries that I have about my dog. Is he healthy, is he exercised enough, does he like his food? I worry he’s bored or that he feels rejected when I leave him alone. I even worry about how depressed he always looks when we’re in the car. You know what I haven’t worried about until today? Someone dognapping him!
Bear Kills Cub, Self to Avoid Tortured Life
This is one of those stories that seems like a fictional nightmare, but in fact, it’s true. As we reported earlier this year, there is a thriving bear bile industry in Asia. Essentially, people cage bears, cut holes in their abdomens and drain their bile to be used in Chinese medicine. However, we’ve recently read that a mother bear who was held captive at a bile farm in a remote area of North-West China seemingly decided to ensure her cub would not suffer a life of pain.
Bob Barker Rescues Chimps, Earns Shinier Halo
Perhaps he’s collecting karma points to pay us back for all those years on the Price is Right, or maybe he’s just the reincarnation of St. Francis Assisi, but Bob Barker continues to save animals all over the place. This time, he’s saved some chimps in Texas by financing their new lives at a chimpanzee rescue.
Endangered Species Domino Effect: Rabbit Extinction Causes Iberian Lynx Extinction
Often, when we think of the fate of endangered species, we primarily think of them as individual events. A species was here, and now it is not (or soon it will not be). However, the eco system is a vastly interconnected world, and whenever a species becomes extinct or dramatically reduces in population size, it has an impact on the surrounding eco system. Such is the case in Spain, where the dramatic reduction in the population of the European rabbit may ultimately cause the extinction of the Iberian Lynx.
Could China Save Its Last Wild Camels with Embryonic Transfers?
The wild Bactrian Camel is so rare, lives in such remote areas and is so critically endangered in population size that it was actually only recognized as its own species in 2008 after literally years of scientific debate. Unfortunately, the recognition and critically endangered status came decades after China began using one of the animals few habitats, the Lop Nur Desert, to test nuclear bombs, according to Scientific American.
Rare and Endangered Leopard Species Show Small Signs of Hope
While both the Amur leopard in Russia and the Snow Leopard in Afghanistan remain critically endangered and endangered respectively, new numbers show that at least there has been positive growth in their population sizes. That’s certainly better than the alternative and gives us some hope that the species may yet be saved from extinction.
Help Bat Populations With an iPhone App
It’s not the first time that smart phones, apps and in some cases GPS tracking have been used to help save or conserve a species (like frogs), but we are kind of in love with iBats. iBats is an app from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the Bat Conservation Trust that invites people to get involved in “citizen science” in a way that can help conserve adorable bat populations. The app is actually named after the Indicator Bats Program, which began in Transylvania in 2006 because, as ZSL senior research fellow and iBats program manager Kate Jones puts it, “Where else would you start a global bat monitoring program?”
Two Species Beating the Extinction Odds
No, we are not about to tell you that unicorns have magically reappeared or that species have suddenly become, well, not endangered species. However, Scientific American recently pointed out several cases of animals on the brink of extinction that are making an impressive fight back. The state of endangered species can be disheartening sometimes, so take this time to enjoy the evidence that hard work to save animals can pay off!
Botox Can Now Be Cruelty Free
Listen, we try not to judge here. If you want to shoot bubonic plague into your face, who are we to question that? We have probably taken substances that are just as questionable, and there’s nothing wrong (within reason) about wanting to look good. However, we could (and did) judge Botox® users because it was well known that the product was tested on mice (a testing process called LD50), and we strongly suspected that the mice hadn’t agreed to get shot up with the plague to help people relieve their forehead wrinkles.
