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The environment 77

Endangered species
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Black rhino
Description: One of the oldest groups of mammals. Can be described as living fossils. Three of the
seven subspecies of black rhino have become extinct.
A huge source of revenue from ecotourism in Eastern and Central Africa countries. Valuable ‘umbrella
species’ – their protection creates large blocks of land benefitting many other species such as elephants.
Threats: Main threat is illegal poaching due to rising demand for rhino horn. The market is strongest in
S.E. Asia, particularly China and Vietnam, where traditional medicines contain rhino horn. Ninety-six per
cent of Africa’s black rhinos were killed between 1970 and 1992. Political instability and war have made
it difficult to fight this trade, which is now on the increase again.
In captivity, they are susceptible to disease and show high mortality rates.

Mountain gorilla
Description: Small populations remain in Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda. In
September 2015, estimated that less than 900 remain. Very social, shy and generally gentle and
peaceful. Conservation work, often with the involvement of the local community and ecotourism
has shown some success and numbers are beginning to increase, but still critically endangered and
dependant on continuing conservation to survive.
Threats: War and civil unrest has led to movement of refugees and subsequent loss of rhino habitat,
and an increase in poaching. They have been killed for their heads, hands and feet which are sold to
collectors. Babies are sold to zoos or private owners.
Increased contact with tourists and researchers has made the gorillas susceptible to human disease –
they can die from the common cold. Small numbers in isolated groups has led to signs of inbreeding
appearing.

Asian elephant
Description: The largest living land animal in Asia. The only remaining species of the genus Elephas. The
population has declined by approximately 50% over the last 60 years. Highly intelligent and self-aware,
research is showing that they exhibit grief, altruism, compassion and use of tools. A flagship species,
used to raise awareness of conservation issues. Of huge importance culturally and economically in Asia.
Used ceremonially in Hindu traditions and used to work as timber carriers in inaccessible areas.
Threats: The main threat is loss of habitat from encroachment of settlements, roads, railways, etc.,
resulting in human-elephant conflict over protection of crops. Elephants are increasingly confined to
“islands” as they cannot migrate or mix with other herds.
They are also poached for their ivory and skin. The loss of the big males with large tusks, is increasing
the dangers of inbreeding.
Wild elephants are also captured for use in the timber or tourist industries, often resulting in the
elephant’s death.
Zoo populations are not sustainable – they die younger and have a lower birth rate and higher infant
mortality rate than in the wild.

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Bluefin tuna
Description: Atlantic bluefin tuna can grow up to 4 metres long and weigh up to 450kg. Their size,
speed (up to 64km/h) and power are remarkable. All tunas are warm-blooded, which is rare for fish, but
the bluefin has the most highly developed ability to thermoregulate, allowing it to survive in cold water.
It’s a top predator in the food chain and plays an important role in maintaining balance in the marine
habitat.
Now extinct in the Black Sea. Has declined by 90% in the Atlantic since the 1970s.
Threats: The main threat is the global demand as a food fish, particularly in the sushi trade. Bluefin is
overfished and attempts to impose controls have not been successful.
Aquaculture of tuna is not sustainable. Young tuna are captured from the wild before they have had time
to reproduce, to be raised captive in pens. Tuna farming has also decreased prices so fishermen now
need to catch twice as many to make the same money, using ever more sophisticated techniques.

Polar bear
Description: Found around the Arctic. Polar bears are at the top of the food chain and have an
important role in the overall health of the marine environment. Over thousands of years, polar bears
have also played a key role in the cultural and spiritual life and economies of indigenous Arctic peoples,
and continue to do so today.
Polar bears need sea ice in order to hunt and survive and so are directly and quickly affected by climate
change, meaning that they are a crucial ‘indicator species’ for the effects of climate change on wildlife
as a whole.
Eight of the nineteen subpopulations are declining.
Threats: The biggest threat is climate change and the loss of sea ice. Without sea ice the bears can’t
hunt and are now suffering from malnutrition, or even starvation in some cases of females with cubs.
Increased shipping and developments of gas and oil also pose a threat.
As sea ice disappears, the hungry bears are forced onto the land and into contact with human
populations, which doesn’t usually end well.

Dugong
Description: The only seawater-living herbivorous mammal, inhabiting shallow coastal areas and eating
seagrass. They are generally thought to be the original inspiration for mermaids.
Dugongs are very shy of human contact. They communicate through whistles and barks. Mothers and
calves have a very close relationship, with the babies touching their mothers with their flippers when
upset or afraid.
Dugongs have become an important tourist attraction in some areas. Tourists can swim with them or
observe them from boats.
The dugong lives for 70 years and with its slow reproduction rate is particularly vulnerable to extinction.
Little is known about dugong numbers worldwide, but general consensus is that populations are
declining.
Threats: The main threat is habitat loss and degradation, through human activity that causes water
pollution, damaging the seagrass they need to live. They also become entangled in fishing nets, and as
they cannot stay underwater for very long, this is usually fatal.
As they live in shallow water there are fatalities involving speedboats.

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California condor
Description: The only surviving member of its genus. The largest (and maybe the ugliest) bird in North
America with a wingspan of over 3 meters. It’s a carrion scavenger, currently found around the Grand
Canyon and Zion National Park. One of the longest living birds – it can live up to 60 years.
In the 1980s only 22 birds existed in the wild, and an intensive captive-breeding drive increased the
population to 400, the approximate number that still exist today.
The bird is important in the traditional culture and myths of several Native American groups.
Threats: The condor faces a variety of threats. Being a scavenger, it can eat large quantities of lead
ammunition, causing poisoning. The parents only raise one chick in a nest, and the main cause of death
is eating plastic or other rubbish fed to them by their parents.
Also threatened by pollution, electric power lines, egg collecting and shooting by cattle ranchers who
mistakenly believe they kill their livestock.

St Lucia racer snake

Description: The world’s rarest and most endangered snake. One of four snakes endemic to St. Lucia
in the Caribbean. It was declared extinct in 1936 but someone spotted one in 1973 on a small, rocky
island off the coast.
Scientists have microchipped the snakes and at last count there were 18 specimens.
It’s a small (less than 1 metre long), non-venomous, gentle snake. Very little is known about its behaviour
because it is so rare. Scientists consider this to be a rare last chance to save an entire species.
Threats: There is of course inbreeding on the small island, but so far, no deformities have been noted.
The introduction of the mongoose to St Lucia was the cause of the near destruction of the species. The
mongoose was introduced to target the venomous snakes, but found the gentle St Lucia racer an easier
meal. The tiny Maria Islet, where the snake is to be found, is currently mongoose free, and will hopefully
remain that way.

Pygmy three-toed sloth

Description: This small sloth is only found on Isla Escudo de Veraguas, a small island off the coast
of Panama. It lives in the red mangroves around the waterline. It spends its day hanging in trees and
moving very slowly from tree to tree eating leaves. It has a rather unusual form of camouflage – the fur is
covered in algae, giving the animal a strange greenish colour.
Threats: In 2001, a survey estimated there were 300–500 sloths on the island. But most recent figures
put the population at just 79 animals.
No predators have been identified on the island. There is no human population on the island. Local
fishermen deny poaching them. The cause is thought to be loss of habitat, as much of the mangrove
forest has been cut for firewood.

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Ganges shark
Description: The most endangered shark worldwide. One of the few species of sharks that only lives in
freshwater, it can be found in several of the rivers of India, including the Ganges. It’s an accomplished
hunter of fish, with sharp, serrated teeth. It has not been known to attack humans, though there is some
confusion with the aggressive bull shark, which does.
Very little is known about the biology or behaviour of the Ganges shark as it is so rare.
The last confirmed sighting was in 2001 and reports nowadays are rare. There is no data to estimate
current population size – and investigation is urgently needed.
Threats: Pollution, overfishing for its fins and oil and hunting decimated the population. It is also
endangered from bycatch – Indian rivers are heavily fished. The building of dams has also contributed.
Sharks are particularly vulnerable to extinction because of their very slow rate of genetic change,
making them unable to adapt easily to environmental change.

Iberian lynx
Description: Native to the Iberian Peninsula. It is currently classified as endangered, and its extinction
would make it the first feline species to disappear since prehistory. The lynx eats mainly rabbits and the
sharp decline in numbers in the 20th century was caused by loss of their main prey to disease such as
myxomatosis. In recent years, there have been captive breeding and conservation initiatives, which have
helped to increase numbers. Several hundred are living in the wild in Andalusia.
Threats: Loss of scrubland habitat to human development and monoculture, though what remains is now
protected. Remaining threats include being hit by cars (21 were killed on Spanish roads in 2014), illegal
poaching, feral dogs, illegal fox and rabbit traps, and, given the small population, outbreaks of disease.

Axolotl (Ax-oh-lot-ul)
Description: Also known as the Mexican walking fish, it is in fact an amphibian, related to the salamander.
They are found exclusively in the Xochimilco Lake complex beneath Mexico City. It eats small fish and
worms and can live up to 15 years.
There is some mythological connection with Xolotl, the dog-headed Aztec god, but stories vary. It is
popular in aquariums because of its grotesque – or adorable – appearance, depending on your point of
view. The axolotl’s main claim to fame is as a laboratory animal, firstly because of its ability to regenerate
limbs, and secondly the fact that it does not metamorphose as it grows, and keeps its larval features
such as gills, as an adult. This is called ‘neoteny’ and is extremely rare.
Threats: For the above reasons, the axolotl is unlikely to die out in captivity, but its numbers have
declined drastically in the wild. In 2010 the species was declared near to extinction. This is largely
due to the draining and pollution of Lake Xochimilco as a result of the growth of Mexico City. Some
waterways and channels still exist where the creature may be able to survive.

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