WAR ON MOTHER NATURE: Record Numbers Of Rhinos Poached In Africa In 2015 - Report!

A report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) revealed that at least 1,338 rhinos (stock image) were murdered across Africa in the past year.

March 11, 2016 - AFRICA - The number of African rhinos killed by poachers in 2015 increased for the sixth year in a row.

A report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) revealed that at least 1,338 rhinos were murdered across the continent in the past year.

This is the highest its been since 2008 when South Africa banned trade in rhino horns, leading conservation body IUCN said on Wednesday.

The slaughter has been driven by demand for their horn in countries such as China and Vietnam, where they are prized for their purported medicinal properties.

The horn is composed mainly of keratin, the same component as in human nails, but it is sold in powdered form as a supposed cure for cancer and other diseases.

Trade in rhino horns was banned in 1977 by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites).

The international treaty was set up in 1973 to protect wildlife against over-exploitation, and ensure that trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

However, the practice was only banned in 2008 in South Africa, which is said to be home to 20,000 rhinos or 80 per cent of the world's rhino population.

IUCN Director General Inger Andersen said despite stepped up surveillance by field rangers there had been 'alarming increases in poaching over the past year in other vitally important range states, such as Namibia and Zimbabwe' both of which adjoin South Africa.

Demand for rhino horn from South East Asia is being illegally supplied by sophisticated transnational organised crime networks, the IUCN said.

They are sold for about $60,000 a kilo on the black market, making it more expensive than cocaine.

'The extensive poaching for the illegal trade in horn continues to undermine the rhino conservation successes made in Africa over the last two decades,' said IUCN expert Mike Knight.

On the plus side, poaching in Kenya decreased over the past two years and went down for the first time in South Africa in 2015.

According to experts, there were between 19,000 and 21,000 white rhinos in Africa last year and between 5,000 and 5,500 black ones. - Daily Mail.

 

EXTINCTION LEVEL EVENT: War On Mother Nature - African Lions To Join The Endangered Species List!

The order states the Fish and Wildlife Service will deny a permit to import a sport-hunted lion to anyone who has been convicted
or pleaded guilty to violating federal or state wildlife laws

December 22, 2015 - AFRICA - African lions are to be placed under the protection of the Endangered Species Act, just five months after a famous lion named Cecil was killed in Zimbabwe by an American dentist.

It is hoped the move will better regulate hunting and make it trickier for hunters to bring lion trophies into the US.

Lions in central and west Africa will be listed as endangered, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service, while a second subspecies found across southern and eastern Africa will be listed as threatened.

Both changes will make it harder for hunters to import lion parts.

In particular, importing skins and trophies from countries where the animals are endangered will be 'generally prohibited,' the agency told The New York Times.

The order states the Fish and Wildlife Service will deny a permit to import a sport-hunted lion to anyone who has been convicted or pleaded guilty to violating federal or state wildlife laws.

If this rule had been implemented sooner, it could have potentially prevented the death of Cecil.

In 2008, Walter Palmer, the Minnesota dentist who shot the lion with a bow and arrow earlier this year, pleaded guilty to making false statements to the Fish and Wildlife Service about a black bear fatally shot in western Wisconsin outside an authorised hunting zone.

Under the changes, this would have prevented him getting a permit to travel and Africa and hunt Cecil.

African lions are to be placed under the protection of the Endangered Species Act

The move has been made in response to a large decline in the numbers of lions in Africa over the past two decades, rather than in direct response to Cecil's demise.

But some claim the creature's very public death was the driving force for many such changes.

For example, France has banned the import of lion trophies and the UK has promised to do the same by 2017. More than 40 airlines no longer carry hunting trophies.

Wayne Pacelle, the president of the Humane Society of the United States, told journalist Eria Goode that Cecil had 'changed the atmospherics on the issue of trophy hunting around the world.'

Conservation groups have been warning of declining numbers for years, driven by habitat loss, killings by farmers and sometimes trophy hunters.

Without intervention, one group recently warned the number of lions in Africa could half in just 20 years, with Oxford University estimating just 20,000 now roam the continent.

Mr Pacelle said Cecil had 'changed the atmospherics on the issue of trophy hunting around the world.'

The administration signalled it would protect lions in Africa long before Cecil's case caught the public's attention.

The Fish and Wildlife Service proposed a rule in October 2014 to list the African lion as threatened. After getting feedback, the agency revised its findings.

It determined that two subspecies of lions live in Africa.

One group, found primarily in western and central countries, is more genetically related to the Asiatic lion. Only around 1,400 remain in Africa and India.

The agency is listing that subspecies as endangered, meaning it risks extinction.

A second subspecies, numbering between 17,000 and 19,000 and found across southern and eastern Africa, will be listed as threatened.

The Endangered Species Act requires the Fish and Wildlife Service to list species as endangered or threatened regardless of the country where they live.

'If we want to ensure that healthy lion populations continue to roam the Africa savannahs and forests of India, it's up to all of us - not just the people of Africa and India - to take action,' Dan Ashe, the agency's director said.

The listings will bring extra protection for both subspecies.

A permit would be required before importing any live or sport-hunted lions.

The bar for an import permit would be highest with the endangered group, with permits granted if importing the animal would enhance the species' survival.

The permitting process for the threatened group would require the import to come from nations that have sound conservation practices, and those that use trophy hunting revenue to sustain lion populations and deter poaching.

Currently, sport hunters don't need a permit from the US to bring in a trophy lion.

Mr Ashe said trophy hunting can and does contribute to the survival of species in the wild as part of a well-managed conservation programme and that the new permitting requirements in the US will encourage African countries to improve their lion management programmes.

The agency added hundreds of sport-hunted trophy lions are brought into the US each year.

The agency already has authority to deny an import permit to individuals who have violated federal and state wildlife laws. But Mr Ashe's order essentially turns that authority into a requirement.

'Importing sport-hunted trophies and other wildlife or animal parts into the United States is a privilege, not a right, a privilege that violators of wildlife laws have demonstrated they do not deserve,' he continued.

The agency said its investigation into the Cecil's killing is ongoing and declined to comment directly on the case.

Mr Palmer said he shot the big cat outside the park's borders, but it didn't die immediately and was tracked down the next day.

Mr Palmer admitted he would not have shot the animal if anybody in the hunting party had known of the lion's status.

Zimbabwe officials cleared Mr Palmer of wrongdoing in October, saying he did not break the country's hunting laws. - Daily Mail.

EXTINCTION LEVEL EVENT: Rare Quetzal Bird From Southern Mexico & Central America Facing Extinction - Numbers Are Dwindling At An Alarming Rate!

Quetzal. © Donna J. Provancher

December 20, 2015 - CENTRAL AMERICA - The rare quetzal bird, long seen as the national bird of Guatemala, is now on the verge of extinction. Reports say that the beautiful bird's numbers are dwindling at an alarming rate. There are a range of threats that pose a danger to the rare bird, including poaching and habitat loss.

In a report with Fox News Latino, the endemic bird of southern Mexico and Central America, is now on the verge of extinction due to habitat loss and poaching.

Sofia Solorzano Lujano, researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said that the resplendent quetzal faces a range of existential threats, such as illegal trafficking and habitat loss and forest destruction.

The researcher from the institution also said that the birds have fallen prey to predators such as the green toucan, squirrels, as well as other nocturnal mammals. These predators normally attack quetzal eggs or young chicks. The researcher also added that bigger prey, like falcons and eagles, prey on the adult quetzals.


WATCH: Amazing quetzal at Monteverde - Costa Rica.

Besides being natural prey, the quetzals are also under threat because of human activity. These beautiful birds are known all over the world for their beautiful and exquisite plummage. People hunt these birds to the brink of extinction for their feathers, which are used to make fashionable clothing items such as headbands and headdresses. These beautiful birds are also seen as exotic pets. Many are sold at black markets for top dollar prices.

Researchers have tried to save the quetzal from the threat of extinction, but so far efforts have proved to be in vain. The quetzals "are unable to survive in captivity," Solorzano said, adding that "once trapped they stop eating and die." The birds are known to be very calm and do not see humans or predators as a threat. They can usually be seen perching quietly on the branches in forests.

The brilliant bird is found in the cloud forests of Central America. In Ancient Times, the Mayans have held the beautiful bird to be sacred and have immortalized them in their artworks and legends, reports American Edu. The quetzal is the national bird of Guatemala, and is the name of the Guatemalan currency. Some countries, such as Costa Rica, have managed to preserve the quetzal's habitat by setting the birds in national parks to promote eco-tourism. It is predicted that Guatemala's national bird will extinct in the country in the late 2000s. - LatinOne.

INFRASTRUCTURE COLLAPSE: Ship Sinks In The Southern Ocean - Crew Rescued By Sea Shepherd Activists!

The Nigerian-flagged boat Thunder lists to starboard as it sinks in the waters of Sao Tome and Principe, an island nation
off the coast of Africa's eastern coast, on April 6, 2015 (AFP Photo/Simon Ager)

April 7, 2015 - SOUTHERN OCEAN - Environmental activist group Sea Shepherd said it rescued 40 crew members from a sinking "poaching" ship it was pursuing for months for allegedly illegally fishing in the Southern Ocean, but described the ship's sinking as suspicious.

Sea Shepherd said its ships Bob Barker and Sam Simon picked up the crew, which included the captain, from life rafts from the Nigerian-flagged boat Thunder late Monday.

They had been sailing in the waters of Sao Tome and Principe, an island nation off Africa's western coast.

"It is an incredibly suspicious situation, to say the least," Bob Barker's captain Peter Hammarstedt said in a statement.

"When my chief engineer boarded the Thunder in the hours leading up to the sinking, he was able to confirm that there were clear signs that the vessel was intentionally scuttled.

"Usually when a vessel is sinking, the captain will close all hatches so as to maintain buoyancy. However, on the Thunder, the reverse was done -- doors and hatches were tied open and the fishhold was opened."

The crew of the Nigerian-flagged boat Thunder being handed water during rescue operations by Sea Shepherd activists in the waters of Sao Tome and Principe,
an island nation off the coast off Africa's eastern coast, on April 6, 2015 (AFP Photo/Jeff Wirth)

Sea Shepherd said the crew were given food and water and were transferred to Sam Simon.

Video recorded by the activist group showed the ship sinking just hours after it said Thunder issued a distress signal on Monday afternoon.

Hammarstedt said Thunder's captain, who was not named, complained about being rescued and "started applauding and cheering" when the vessel sank.

"We've been chasing the Thunder for 110 days now, and I think they're basically at the end of their fuel, and they would have had to make a port call," Hammarstedt told the Sydney Morning Herald.


WATCH: Ship crew rescued by ‪Sea Shepherd‬ activists.

"I think the captain of the Thunder made the decision that he preferred the physical evidence on board... was better on the ocean bottom than going into port with him."

Thunder, on a list of boats deemed to have engaged in illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing activities by multi-national body the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), is suspected of illegal fishing for Patagonian toothfish and other rare species in the Antarctic.

Toothfish is sold as Chilean sea bass, which is popular in high-end restaurants. It sells primarily in the United States, Europe and Japan, although there is also a growing market in China. - Yahoo.

THE WAR ON MOTHER NATURE: Poachers Kill One Of The World's Largest Elephants In Kenya - African Elephants "Face Survival Threat" And Are Now On The Verge Of EXTINCTION!

June 22, 2014 - AFRICA - The survival of Africa's elephants is under threat, with estimates suggesting more than 20,000 were killed in 2013, a report says.

Elephant conservationists say demand for ivory remains high

The office of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) said poaching levels were far above the elephant birth rate.

However, the report said poaching numbers had dropped slightly compared to the previous two years.

Transnational organised crime appeared to be involved in the trade, it added.

Cites, which is based in Geneva, is responsible for regulating the international trade in more than 35,000 species of plants and animals.

China has started to destroy seized ivory in public

There are a number of interesting signals in these latest figures, perhaps indicating that the tougher line being taken by Cites is bearing fruit.

For the first time, more large-scale consignments of ivory have been seized in Africa rather than in Asia.

This is down to better policing in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and perhaps a slight downturn in demand from the key markets such as China, which carried out the first public destruction of ivory earlier this year.

There is also the rise in demand in China for legal mammoth ivory that is mainly exported from Russia, which may also indicate a growing awareness of the connection to elephants and a willingness to look at alternatives.

While these may be positive indicators, the report highlights continuing bad news.

The slaughter of elephants is rising in countries like the Central African Republic, where local populations remain on the verge of extinction.

'Large seizures'

"Africa's elephants continue to face an immediate threat to their survival from high levels of poaching for their ivory," said Cites Secretary-General John E Scanlon.

The report also documented an increase in the number of large seizures of ivory - of shipments over 500kg (1,100 pounds), in 2013.

The report says elephants could face extinction if the current rate of poaching continues

For the first time, there were more such seizures in Africa than Asia, with Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda accounting for 80% of the seizures, the report said.

"Large-scale ivory seizures are indicative of transnational organised crime being involved in the illicit ivory trade," a Cites press release said.

While elephant conservationists do believe that increased ivory confiscation is a sign that law enforcement is improving, they also point out that demand for ivory remains very high, says the BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva.

Conservationists say that even in some of the monitored elephant populations, poaching is actually increasing, our correspondent adds.

The Cites poaching estimates were based on data from 51 sites across Africa, which accounted for 30-40% of the continent's elephant population.

Figures from those site were extended to estimate the total numbers killed in Africa. - BBC.

Poachers Kill One Of The World's Largest Elephants In Kenya

 Satao's enormous tusks classed him among the largest elephants left alive in the world
Photo: RICHARD MOLLER/TSAVO TRUST

One of Africa’s last 'great tuskers’, elephants with ivory weighing over 100lbs, has been poisoned to death by poachers in Kenya after years of adapting his behaviour to hide himself from humans.

The bull, named Satao and likely born in the late 1960s, succumbed to wounds from poison darts in a remote corner of Tsavo National Park where he had migrated to find fresh water after recent storms.

His carcass yesterday lay with its face and great tusks hacked off, four legs splayed where he fell with his last breath, left only for the vultures and the scavengers.

Conservationists told how he moved from bush to bush always keeping his ivory hidden amongst the foliage.

“I’m convinced he did that to hide his tusks from humans, he had an awareness that they were a danger to him,” said Mark Deeble, a British documentary filmmaker who has spent long periods of time filming Satao.

The elephant’s killing is the latest in a massive surge of poaching of the mammals for their ivory across Africa.

Richard Moller, of The Tsavo Trust, who had been monitoring Satao for several months confirmed that the elephant found dead on May 30 was indeed Satao, whom he called “an icon”.

“There is no doubt that Satao is dead, killed by an ivory poacher’s poisoned arrow to feed the seemingly insatiable demand for ivory in far off countries,” Mr Moller said.

“A great life lost so that someone far away can have a trinket on their mantelpiece.”

A soaring demand for ivory in a number of Asian nations has seen poaching reach levels that were last seen in the 1980s before the ivory trade was banned.

“The loss of such an iconic elephant is the most visible and heart-rending tip of this iceberg, this tragedy that is unfolding across the continent,” added Frank Pope of Save The Elephants in Nairobi.

The street value of elephant ivory is now greater than gold, running to tens of thousands of pounds per tusk. Organised criminals are increasingly running poaching gangs and networks, officials have said.

More than 20,000 African elephants were slaughtered in 2013, according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has documented the killing of 97 elephants so far this year, but experts dispute the official figures.

Dr Paula Kahumbu, who leads the Hands Off Our Elephants campaign, wrote that – based on the reports she has seen – “elephant poaching in Kenya is at least 10 times the official figures”.

In March this year, renowned conservationist Richard Leakey described poaching in Kenya as a “national disaster” and that poachers were operating with “outrageous impunity”.

“They could not operate with the impunity we are seeing if you did not have some form of protection from law enforcement agencies,” he said, likening the crisis to the mass poaching of the late 1980s.

Mr Leakey disputes official statistics that claim that the number of elephants that have been killed has declined. KWS recorded that 302 elephants were poached in 2013 down from 384 the previous year, of a total estimated population of 38,000 in Kenya.

Earlier this month, police seized more than 200 elephant tusks in a warehouse in the port city of Mombasa, weighing over 4,400lb.

Two men have been charged in connection with the haul.

Nelson Marwa, Mombasa county commissioner, said that the ivory find was linked to terrorism and drug barons in the city.

Mr Leakey cited the Indian Ocean port as a “staging post” for ivory smuggled from countries across the region.

Until recently, poachers in Kenya faced lenient sentences and few were successfully prosecuted.

A study by WildlifeDirect, a Nairobi-based charity that Dr Kahumbu heads, found that over the past five years just four per cent of those convicted of wildlife crimes in 18 of the country’s courts were sent to jail.

There is hope that tough new legislation passed earlier this year will lead to higher conviction rates and tougher sentences.

“Satao was probably one of half a dozen of Kenya’s great tuskers, possibly the largest,” said Mr Deeble, who flew over the elephant’s carcass on Friday.

“It’s a devastating situation. Kenya’s last great tuskers need presidential protection. If Satao’s death can galvanise the focus on what’s actually happening here in terms of poaching, then he won’t have died in vain.” - Telegraph.

THE WAR ON MOTHER NATURE: Africa's Western Black Rhino Has Been Officially Declared Extinct - Africa's Northern White Rhino And Asia's Javan Rhino Are "Teetering On The Brink Of Extinction!

November 08, 2013 - AFRICA - Africa's western black rhino is now officially extinct according the latest review of animals and plants by the world's largest conservation network.

The subspecies of the black rhino -- which is classified as "critically endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species -- was last seen in western Africa in 2006.

Poaching and lack of conservation have made a subspecies of Africa's black rhino (pictured) extinct.

The IUCN warns that other rhinos could follow saying Africa's northern white rhino is "teetering on the brink of extinction" while Asia's Javan rhino is "making its last stand" due to continued poaching and lack of conservation.

"In the case of the western black rhino and the northern white rhino the situation could have had very different results if the suggested conservation measures had been implemented," Simon Stuart, chair of the IUCN species survival commission said in a statement.

"These measures must be strengthened now, specifically managing habitats in order to improve performance, preventing other rhinos from fading into extinction," Stuart added.

The IUCN points to conservation efforts which have paid off for the southern white rhino subspecies which have seen populations rise from less than 100 at the end of the 19th century to an estimated wild population of 20,000 today.

Africa's northern white rhino is "teetering on the brink of extinction" according to the lastest IUCN Red List

Another success can be seen with the Przewalski's Horse which was listed as "extinct in the wild" in 1996 but now, thanks to a captive breeding program, has an estimated population of 300.

The latest update to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species reviews more than 60,000 species, concluding that 25% of mammals on the list are at risk of extinction.

Many plants are also under threat, say the IUCN.

Populations of Chinese fir, a conifer which was once widespread throughout China and Vietnam, is being threatened by the expansion of intensive agriculture according to the IUCN.

In 1996 the Przewalski's Horse was listed as "extinct in the wild." But thanks to a captive breeding
program its population has risen to around 300, say the IUCN.

The Coco de Mer has been "uplisted" from vulnerable to endangered due to increased fires
and illegal havesting f its kernels.

The summers' poison frog is a recently discovered amphibian which is classified as endangered.

The blessed poison frog is currently listed as vulnerable, say the IUCN.

A type of yew tree (taxus contorta) found in Asia which is used to produce Taxol (a chemotherapy drug) has been reclassified from "vulnerable" to "endangered" on the IUCN Red List, as has the Coco de Mer -- a palm tree found in the Seychelles islands -- which is at risk from fires and illegal harvesting of its kernels.

Recent studies of 79 tropical plants in the Indian Ocean archipelago revealed that more than three quarters of them were at risk of extinction.

In the oceans, the IUCN reports that five out of eight tuna species are now "threatened" or "near threatened," while 26 recently-discovered amphibians have been added to the Red List including the "blessed poison frog" (classified as vulnerable) while the "summers' poison frog" is endangered.

"This update offers both good and bad news on the status of many species around the world," Jane Smart, director of IUCN's global species program said in a statement.

"We have the knowledge that conservation works if executed in a timely manner, yet, without strong political will in combination with targeted efforts and resources, the wonders of nature and the services it provides can be lost forever." - CNN.

WAR ON MOTHER NATURE: The Pervasive Threat Of Poaching - India Loses 50 Tigers In Six Months, 5 In Madhya Pradesh!

August 08, 2013 - INDIA - Even as India is striving hard to save the big cats, the country has lost fifty tigers so far this year against 72 tiger deaths in 2012.

(National Tiger Conservation Authourity said every tiger in the country is under threat from poaching.)

Heading the list is Karnataka with the loss of 13 tigers till now, followed by eight in Maharashtra, seven in Uttarakhand and five in Madhya Pradesh. Out of the five tiger deaths in Madhya Pradesh, two are from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, two from Pench Tiger Reserve and one from Katni forest division.  National Tiger Conservation Authourity (NTCA) DIG, SP Yadav on Wednesday said, every tiger in the country is under threat from poaching. Under the new protocol issued by NTCA on tiger mortality, cause of every tiger death will be considered as due to poaching, till the time state government proves it otherwise with proper evidence. Earlier there was trend among states to hide exact cause of the death. Now rules have been changed so as to highlight the actual cause of tiger deaths. The NTCA directions will bring in more transparency in the post-mortem process.  Earlier there was trend among states to hide exact cause of the death. Now rules have been changed so as to highlight the actual cause of tiger deaths. The NTCA directions will bring in more transparency in the post-mortem process.

Yadav stressed that poaching in India takes place to feed markets in China. Burma and Nepal have emerged as new routes for smuggling of tiger body parts, however, government is taking several steps to check poaching. Focus is on tiger conservation through satellite with uses of more advanced and sophisticated electronic and digital systems. Right now, India has around 1,500 tigers and NTCA is maintaining a photographic record of every tiger. Every tiger in the country has been given unique identification markings based on their stripes. Each tiger's markings are unique, like a fingerprint, and a new computer-driven technique can match images of live animals with illegally traded skins, identifying when and where poachers made their kills. Recently, three tiger skins were seized in Nepal and on the basis of this unique identification, one tiger was found to be from Madhya Pradesh, said Yadav.

When tigers and humans clash, the results are violent and usually fatal. Lives on both sides are lost. Exploding human populations and ever-shrinking forests means the pressure is rising. With so few of these big cats left, finding solutions to human-tiger conflict has become one of the most urgent issues facing conservation today. Yadav said, India has 60 per cent of total tiger population of the world. The country's existing habitat has a capacity to sustain maximum of 2,400 tigers, at present the country has 1,500 tigers), if number of tigers goes beyond this, more challenges are expected.

Tiger mortality in India:

Year, No.

2013 (till now) 50
2012 72

Deaths of tiger state wise (till now)

State, No. of tiger death

Karnataka 13
Maharashtra 8
Uttarakhand 7
Madhya Pradesh 5

Seizure of tiger body parts in the country

Year, No

2013 (till now) 02
2012 17

- Times of India.

WAR ON NATURE: Endangered Elephant Killings Rising In Indonesia - Poaching Cause Total Number Of Elephants To Cut In Half Since 1985!

June 06, 2013 - INDONESIA - Killings of endangered elephants are rising in Indonesia as authorities fail to stop poaching.

The lifeless remains of a elephant after he was killed by poachers.

Poisoning or shooting killed many of the 129 critically endangered elephants that have died on Indonesia's Sumatra island in less than a decade, highlighting weak enforcement of laws against poaching, an environmental group says.

WWF Indonesia said killings of Sumatran elephants are on the rise, with 29 either shot or poisoned last year, including 14 in Aceh province. The group said Tuesday that no one has been convicted or jailed in the deaths that were counted in Riau province since 2004.

The report came three days after two dead Sumatran elephants were found near a paper plantation in Riau, allegedly poisoned by poachers. Another elephant was killed last month near Tesso Nilo national park and its tusks were hacked off. An autopsy found a plastic detergent wrapper in its belly filled with poison.

The group said 59 percent of the dead elephants were definitely poisoned, 13 percent were suspected to have been poisoned, and 5 percent were killed by gunshots. Others died from illness or other causes, or the reason for their death was unknown.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature listed the animals as "critically endangered" after their numbers dropped to between 2,400 and 2,800 from an estimated 5,000 in 1985. Environmentalists say the elephants could be extinct within three decades unless they are protected.

The decline is largely due to destruction of their habitat. Forests across Sumatra are being logged for timber, palm oil, and pulp and paper.

Sumatra has some of the most significant populations of Asian elephants outside of India and Sri Lanka and is also home to tigers, orangutans and rhinos.

"Effective action on the ground should be taken immediately to protect Sumatran elephants from extinction, especially in Riau," the report said. There are about 300 elephants left in Riau, which is part of Sumatra island.

Achmad Saeroji, head of the government conservation agency in Riau, denied the allegation of lax law enforcement, saying at least eight cases have been handled by authorities recently.

"We always investigate every case of elephants found dead," he said. "But it is hard to capture the perpetrators, either because of late reports or the fear of people to report the poachers, who work in a network."

Indonesia's elephants sometimes venture into populated areas searching for food. They destroy crops or attack humans, making them unpopular with villagers. Some are shot or poisoned with cyanide-laced fruit, while others are killed by poachers for their ivory. - News Daily.

ENDANGERED SPECIES: Large-Scale Industrial Poaching - Central Africa Elephant Population Down 62% In Ten Years; Nearly 5,000 Lost Between 2009 And 2011?!

April 28, 2013 - CENTRAL AFRICA - Poaching on an "industrial" scale has slashed the elephant population in the countries of central Africa by nearly two-thirds, a group of international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) said on Friday.

A Kenya Wildlife Services ranger stands guard in front of an illegal ivory stockpile in Nairobi on July 20, 2011. Poaching on an "industrial" scale has slashed the elephant population in the countries of central Africa by nearly two-thirds, a group of international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) said on Friday.

"A recent study shows that the population of forest elephants has dropped by almost two-thirds or 62 percent in the past 10 years, victims of large-scale ivory poaching," the group of eight NGOs said in a statement.

"The situation is dramatic and worrying. It's very dangerous," Jerome Mokoko, assistant director of the Wildlife Conservation Society, told reporters at a news conference in Brazzaville.

"Nearly 5,000 elephants have been lost in the northern zone of Congo between 2009 and 2011," said Mokoko.

He added there were 80,000 elephants in the Central African Republic just 30 years ago but their number has been reduced to just a few thousand.

"The Democratic Republic of Congo alone is home to 70 percent of the elephant population of central Africa. But now there are only between 7,000 and 10,000 elephants in the DRC," Mokoko said.

Jules Caron, head of communications for the World Wildlife Fund in central Africa, said the elephant poaching situation had changed "dramatically."

"We are no longer talking about small-scale poaching but poaching on an industrial scale, all run by highly organised and well-armed gangs of international criminals," added Caron.

The NGOs said poachers were seizing on weapons, especially Kalashnikov rifles that have become widespread due to several civil wars flaring in the region.

"The ivory trade begins and ends in south-east Asia, notably China and Thailand, respectively the world's biggest consumer and the world's biggest legal ivory market," Caron told AFP.

He called on heads of state to "take on the fight against poaching, criminal activity surrounding animal parts and illegal trade in wild species."- PHYSORG.

EXTINCTION EVENT: Big Cats in "Significant" Crisis - Populations Dramatically Decline!

December 9, 2012 - AFGHANISTAN - Boone Smith is on a search for the world's most elusive big cat in one of the most dangerous places on the planet: Afghanistan. It's not a military mission that has brought expert trapper Smith into the battleground, but a conservation group that hopes to save the snow leopard, one of several big cat species in dramatic decline. "It's the only cat I'd follow into a war zone," Smith says. "The snow leopard is this mystical, legendary creature, and it's the toughest cat in the world to catch and to find." Smith has been tasked with the challenge of finding and trapping a snow leopard and collaring it with a GPS locator.

A female tiger cools off in the water at the Ranthambhore National Park in Rajasthan, India. National Geographic
Channel is celebrating these animals with a series called Big Cat Week, which starts Dec. 9.  By Aditya Singh, NGC.

The collar will give the researchers a chance to collect 13 months of data to study the cat and attempt to protect the species. "We know so little about snow leopards, so everything we gain from these GPS collars is new," Smith says. "It's little dots and pieces at first, but once it comes together, it will be huge." There are only 100 to 200 snow leopards in all of Afghanistan and 2,000 left in the world. Because of their elusiveness, snow leopards haven't been studied as closely as other species. National Geographic is kicking off its third annual Big Cat Week with a special on Smith and the snow leopard of Afghanistan this Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on Nat Geo WILD. The week is part of National Geographic's Big Cats Initiative, an effort to stop poaching, protect habitats and save several species of big cats. Smith's fieldwork was led by a team of Wildlife Conservation Society members and Afghan veterinarians, and it was sponsored by National Geographic Society, Nat Geo WILD and the U.S. Agency for International Development .

"The tiger is one of the greatest and saddest losses," says Peter Zahler, deputy director of the Asia Program for the Wildlife Conservation Society. Tigers have seen a 97% decline in the past 100 years. There are only 3,000 to 3,200 left, Zahler said. "That is a pretty staggeringly significant decline in that amount of time," Zahler says. More than two-thirds of the African lion population has disappeared in the past 50 years, according to a recent study in the journal Biodiversity and Conservation. The study estimates the number of lions living on the savanna to be as low as 32,000, down from nearly 100,000 in 1960. The Cheetah Conservation Fund estimates that in 1900, more than 100,000 cheetahs were found in at least 44 countries throughout Africa and Asia. The species is extinct from more than 20 countries, and about 10,000 animals remain. "In many cases, we are looking at the loss of some of the world's most astonishing organisms on the planet," Zahler says. "If nothing is done, it will leave a gaping hole, not just in the ecosystem but for all of us." - USA Today.

MASS ANIMAL DIE-OFF: EXTINCTION LEVEL EVENT - Russia's Siberian Tigers Face Extinction, the Sub-species of Tiger Could Be Gone By 2022 as Population Plummets!

Worldwide tiger populations have plummeted from 100,000 a century ago to less than 7,000 today.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, tigers could be extinct in the wild within a decade.

The Siberian or Amur Tiger is one of the rarest in the world, with only around 500 left in the wild in Russia. But poaching, disease, and habitat loss from intensive logging and development continues to threaten populations.

WATCH: Al Jazeera's Robin Forestier-Walker reports.