Green Options

Dung-sniffing dogs have confirmed that Javan rhinos are indeed still surviving in Vietnam.

The WWF survey of Vietnam’s Javan rhino population is off to a promising start: Two dung piles and recent footprints!

Thanks to rampant poaching and habitat destruction, rhinos have the unfortunate distinction of being one of the most endangered animals on earth.

Over the last 30 years, the world’s overall rhinoceros population has declined by over 90% - and if not for dedicated conservation efforts over the last 100 years, it is likely that all rhinoceros species would already be extinct.

To help raise awareness for these proud pachyderms, here are 11 incredible facts about rhinos - plus a compilation of beautiful photos (except for one very graphic photo) and a couple of videos, too. Enjoy!

A lawsuit to overturn the approval of Tejon Mountain Village - a luxury development which will destroy fragile California condor habitat - has been filed by a coalition of environmental justice advocates, Native Americans, endangered species advocates, and local residents.

The Center for Biological Diversity, Wishtoyo Foundation, TriCounty Watchdogs, and the Center on Race, Poverty & The Environment filed the suit under the California Environmental Quality Act in Kern County Superior Court in Bakersfield.

The last known female Yangtze giant soft-shell turtle laid 188 eggs this year, but none of them will be hatching.

A disappointment for turtle conservationists: The world’s only known pair of critically endangered Yangtze giant soft-shell turtles (Rafetus swinhoei) have failed to reproduce for the second consecutive year. 81-year-old “China Doll” is the last known female of the species and her 101-year-old partner is one of possibly three known males.

A comprehensive survey to gather genetic data about the last Javan rhino population in Vietnam kicks off in November 2009.

WWF announced today that a comprehensive survey of Cat Tien’s Javan rhino population will begin next month and continue until April 2010. The purpose of the study is to gather urgently needed genetic data in order to develop a local conservation management strategy for these critically endangered mammals.

It is estimated that there no more than five individuals of this rare Javan rhino subspecies (Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus) still surviving in Vietnam’s Cat Tien National Park.

Good news for the world’s rarest lemur!  A scientific survey has revealed that the Greater bamboo lemur, Prolemur simus, exists in more locations than previously recorded.   Less than 100 Greater Bamboo Lemur were known to exist in the wild.  But a scientific expedition into the rainforests of Madagascar has revealed the rare primate exists in twice as many locations as once thought. 

A donation of three tons of grapes has been converted, via wine, into funds for the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) project to save endangered dolphins endemic to New Zealand.

A Hector’s Dolphin showing the characteristic round dorsal fin.

The Wine

It started with Gemma McGrath who had moved from a job on Whale Watch boats to a barmaid in the small Otago village of Bannockburn which is about as far away from the sea as one can get in New Zealand.

Missing the dolphins and concerned by the steady decrease in their numbers, she spoke of them so passionately and persistently that she eventually got a farmer in the area to donate 3 tons of Pinot Gris grapes.

Falco, the Iberian lynx cub born in captivity earlier this year, has died.  Raised with his mother and siblings, the small cub suffered a seizure about a month ago.  No other episodes of seizures occurred until the morning of Sunday, October 4th.   Falco underwent emergency surgery but did not survive.  A necropsy was performed on Monday. Results are pending.

The most recent NOAA Fisheries Service’s population survey reveals a decline in Cook Inlet beluga whale numbers.

Alaska’s small population of critically endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales is continuing to decline even further, according to the new survey by NOAA scientists.

Did you know there are only 358 critically endangered California condors left?

In 1980, the wild population of California condors (Gymnogyps californianus) was thought to consist of just five breeding pairs. In 1987, the species became extinct in the wild when the last wild California condors were taken into captivity to become part of a captive breeding program - the only way to save the species.

Today, thanks to that decision to start a captive breeding program, 189 California condors are flying free and 169 are in captivity. To help raise awareness for these majestic birds, here is a compilation of incredible California condor facts and a photo gallery of some of the most unusual faces you’ve ever seen. Enjoy!

Wild Bactrian camels are critically endangered due to hunting, habitat loss, illegal mining activities, and competition with livestock for grazing areas.

Here is a list of eleven things you might not know about the beautiful Bactrian. Enjoy!