Mexican Government takes action to save the World's rarest Marine Mammal

A vaquita caught in a shrimp net

Recently, Mexico has taken an important step towards protecting the vaquita, a species of porpoise that is seriously threatened with extinction. The new regulation passed is known as an official norm, which was made possible by over 38,000 people from 127  countries signing a petition launched by the World Wildlife Fund. This new norm will make it so a kind of fishing net originally used for catching shrimp ( that often catches unlucky vaquitas) will be gradually substituted for nets that are safer for marine Mammals. This is a step forward for the vaquita, and perhaps all of conservation as well. Read more here.

Source: World Wildlife Fund international Photo: National Geographic

 

Recently, the mascot of the Ogden Nature Center, Chitters the great horned owl, has, sadly, died, thankfully of natural causes in the presence of his caring owners at ONC, the place he has lived for the past 37 years. He was an important asset to the Nature Center along with all of the animals they have in captivity there because he was used to educate and inform visitors about Utah's native wildlife and the importance of wildlife and resource conservation. A memorial was held for him not too long after his death. My thoughts are with him.

Bee colony deaths around the world on the rise, Could be due to pesticides

Bees are a very important part of an ecosystem, spreading pollen from plant to plant and seeds from place to place. But these biologically important insects are in decline of number, and many people think it could be due to a kind of nicotine-like pesticide known as Neonicotinoids that has already been proven to mess up the natural process of producing food. This is also known as, or is at least supposedly linked to, a phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder. 40 or 50 percent of commercial beehives have already fell victim to CCD. It first surfaced in 2005, but has recently gotten dramatically worse. So next time you see this insect buzzing in your backyard, try your best not to call the exterminator, because that one bee could have a whole colony--or ecosystem--on its shoulders.

Turn off your lights for Earth Hour 2013

It doesn't matter who you are, or where you live, but (according to WWF) that hundreds of millions of people, businesses, and even whole towns will turn off all their lights in honor of the one commitment and responsibility we all have in common--taking care of our one and only planet. Your town as a whole might or might not be participating, but it doesn't matter. It's a simple way to show your affection for the planet. All you have to do is turn off all of your lights for just one hour on March 23rd, 2013. Whether on behalf of your city, town, school, or just your family, you can take the World Wildlife Fund's pledge to participate or learn more about Earth Hour by clicking here: Earth Hour 2013

Earth Hour 2013 Official Video

  

I don't know about you, but I'm gonna take the pledge.

-PJ

Video courtesy of WWF and EarthHour.org

2013, year of the Snake...

I just happen to be a snake (I was born in 2001), so it must be my lucky year. I love snakes, if you aren't already familiar with that fact, which I stated in recent posts about my volunteering experiences with Harry the Great Basin Gopher Snake.




     But with every new year comes new challenges that face wildlife and their habitats, and hopefully this year one of America's resolutions will be to better protect and preserve the natural habitat and native species on this little plaet named Earth. Poaching, habitat loss, illegal exploitation, etc., are all challenges that we have already faced before, but are getting more threatening and menacing than ever.  Its up to us, as a whole to take action and better preserve these species.

-PJ

Bouba N'Djida National Park in Cameroon Mobilizes Elite Soldiers to Defend Area From Poachers

Yes, the same country and park that fell victim to the horrible slaughter of over 300 elephants in these recent months is now immobilizing an army of armed patrols to defend the country from ruthless ivory poachers. It only makes sense: poaching groups that have developed use machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, and some even wear uniforms, says General Martin Tumenta, who also states that these are no ordinary poachers that Africa is dealing with. This is a good thing, given the amount of animals killed and the money in circulation. But are there other methods of solving this? Is the answer to this violence really more violence? That's still to be discovered, but we are running out of time. We have always had poaching patrols at use and at our disposal, but now we're getting serious--and more intense. 

Source & photo: worldwildlife.org (international)

Remarkable New Animals Discovered in Mekong

The list includes a new species of snake, a bat with a devilish appearance, and several new species of fish. This is exciting for the scientists who have discovered them, but there is always the grim realization that, given that they are newly discovered, we don't know if these new species are plentiful or if they are in imminent danger of extinction with the fall of a single tree. I would say we are lucky, given the amount of species that go extinct before we even know about them. Every day, whole swaths of rainforest are cut down, and the Amazon is currently under siege from a barrage of greedy companies struggling to obtain oil from the rich underground preserves there.

This is the ruby-eyed pit viper, the new snake species that was recently discovered

But fortunately there's always a way to help. To learn more about these newly-discovered species and more, check out the following link:

WorldWildlife/MekongSpecies

-PJ