#Endangered Species List

[rebeccathenaturalist]

This is from last summer (I found it while trying to clean up browser tabs--oops.) Anyway, it's one of many examples of critically endangered species showing an upturn in population with support. The Devils Hole pupfish is particularly imperiled because it is only found in one flooded cavern in Nevada's Amargosa Desert; the species is likely descended from fish that were washed in there by flooding thousands of years ago, and have managed to eke out a living in the hot, oxygen-deficient water ever since.

This is one of the first species ever listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Devils Hole is threatened by groundwater depletion from well drilling, and after the pupfish's ESA listing there were numerous legal battles between conservationists and farmers over water usage. Water levels reached their lowest point in the early 1970s, but have been slowly rising since then.

Scientists are excited because the current wild population (at least as of last fall) is at 263 fish. That's up from just 35 in 2013, the lowest recorded population ever. There are a few hundred more in captivity, being used to breed more young for reintroduction. The hope is that this fall's wild count will break 300, a good sign for the world's most endangered fish.

By the way, THIS is the entirety of the Devils hole pupfish's habitat, the only place in the world where they are found:

[probablybadrpgideas]

Elves but there's a fuckton of them.

Like, they're immortal, magical and can asks plants to give them food. Their population growth has got to be massive. There's got to be so many elves. They're everywhere. Open your closet and ten pour out, singing prophecies of what is to come.

[fuwaprince]

Um excuse me ma'am may I also be protected by the endangered species act of 1973 👉👈

[tetrameryxx]

Beasts sighted

[xlntwtch2]

11/29/23 ..AP News...

"....Across most of the U.S., wolverines were wiped out by the early 1900s from unregulated trapping and poisoning campaigns. About 300 surviving animals in the contiguous U.S. live in fragmented, isolated groups at high elevations in the northern Rocky Mountains.

Wolverines join a growing number of animals, plants and insects — from polar bears in Alaska to crocodiles in southern Florida — that officials say are at growing risk as increasing temperatures bake the planet, altering snowfall patterns and raising sea levels...."

"...The animals resemble small bears and are the world’s largest species of terrestrial weasels. Sometimes called “mountain devils,” they thrive in harsh alpine environments.

"...Republican lawmakers in Montana had urged the administration to delay its decision, claiming the scientists’ estimates were too inaccurate to make a fair call about the dangers faced by wolverines. The lawmakers, led by hard-right conservative Rep. Matt Rosendale, warned that protections could lead to future restrictions on activities allowed in wolverine habitats, including snowmobiling and skiing...."

[throwing-roses-into-the-abyss]

btw now that orcas are getting a lot of attention (rightfully) I see a lot of discourse again about how orcas aren't dolphins or whatever, SO, just one more time:

orcas are dolphins. dolphins are whales. so orcas are, in fact, both dolphins and also whales. specifically they're a toothed whale in the dolphin family. and also orcas are not just one species but actually a bunch of ecotypes that should by now have been classified as separate species.

plus a small Fun Fact: their closest on-land relative is the hippo.

[covenawhite66]

10. Queen's Hedgehog-Fungi

9. Carpotroche caceresia-tree

8. Victoria Boliviana-Flower

7. Garland of Nails-Plant

6. Denise's Orchid of the Fall-Plant

5. Sternbergia mishustinii-Plant

4. Bruising ink bolete-Mushroom

3. Impatiens banen-Plant

2. Impomoea aequatoriensis-Plant

1. Eugenia paranapanemensis-Tree

[amaranth]

i need a study into why so many people on tiktok are convinced that mourning doves have disappeared off the face of the earth

[thatswhatsushesaid]

just a scaly-friend photo update of my two female lygodactylus williamsi, who i love dearly even tho they do not care about jin guangyao at all 😞 it’s fine, we’re working on it and they are open to constructive feedback

[amcattos]

© LIA 2023

Cattolotl (CR)

Axolotls (Ambystoma mexicanum) may be pretty popular pets and internet stars with their silly antics and strange appearance but unfortunately in the wild, they are now critically endangered. They remain at only three sites and their population is estimated to be between 50 to 1000 individuals. Their decline has been mainly attributed to the increasing urbanisation of Mexico City resulting in pollution and desiccation of their aquatic home. Previous collection for the international pet trade, local consumption, and the introduction of invasive carp and tilapia have also threatened the species.

Find out more on the IUCN RedList website.

[lizardsaredinosaurs]

Ili Pika (ochotona iliensis)

Endangered

endemic to Tian Shan mountains, Xinjiang, China

threats: climate change, pollution, grazing pressure

[eucyon]

How is it a good thing that wolves are endangered?

I should clarify that it’s not good that wolves are another species suffering from population and habitat loss. However it’s good that they’ve been reclassified as endangered because the US removed them from the endangered species list in 2020 when they shouldn’t have. This lifted many of the regulations and policies in place that helped protect wolves in the US. By reinstating the classification, conservation efforts can one again work more securely ensure the gray wolf truly recovers!

[reasonsforhope]

"In one of Africa’s last great wildernesses, a remarkable thing has happened—the scimitar-horned oryx, once declared extinct in the wild, is now classified only as endangered.

It’s the first time the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the world’s largest conservation organization, has ever moved a species on its Red List from ‘Extinct in the Wild’ to ‘Endangered.’

The recovery was down to the conservation work of zoos around the world, but also from game breeders in the Texas hill country, who kept the oryx alive while the governments of Abu Dhabi and Chad worked together on a reintroduction program.

Chad... ranks second-lowest on the UN Development Index. Nevertheless, it is within this North African country that can be found the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Faunal Reserve, a piece of protected desert and savannah the size of Scotland—around 30,000 square miles, or 10 times the size of Yellowstone.

At a workshop in Chad’s capital of N’Djamena, in 2012, Environment Abu Dhabi, the government of Chad, the Sahara Conservation Fund, and the Zoological Society of London, all secured the support of local landowners and nomadic herders for the reintroduction of the scimitar-horned oryx to the reserve.

Environment Abu Dhabi started the project, assembling captive animals from zoos and private collections the world over to ensure genetic diversity. In March 2016, the first 21 animals from this “world herd” were released over time into a fenced-off part of the reserve where they could acclimatize. Ranging over 30 miles, one female gave birth—the first oryx born into its once-native habitat in over three decades.

In late January 2017, 14 more animals were flown to the reserve in Chad from Abu Dhabi.

In 2022, the rewilded species was officially assessed by the IUCN’s Red List, and determined them to be just ‘Endangered,’ and not ‘Critically Endangered,’ with a population of between 140 and 160 individuals that was increasing, not decreasing.

It’s a tremendous achievement of international scientific and governmental collaboration and a sign that zoological efforts to breed endangered and even extinct animals in captivity can truly work if suitable habitat remains for them to return to."

-via Good News Network, December 13, 2023

[ruralcat]

hate that post thats like "dont feed the trolsl pwesse guys remember when trolls were bad and everyone stomped on them and now theyre thriving and becoming tiktok influencers :("

likes yes. god. this is how it was always supposed to be. do you hate culture? do you hate people being silly on the internet? do you hate what keeos this place from becoming completely sanintized and censored and advertisor friendly?please feed the trolsl you pussy babies. Please. they need nutrients.