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!

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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!

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Nine black rhino from Zululand game reserves are being airlifted to a new home as part of a range expansion project for the critically endangered species.

In an effort to ensure the survival of critically endangered black rhino, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (EKZNW) are partnering on a project designed to establish founder populations of black rhino throughout KwaZulu Natal and other parts of Africa.

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Authorities in central Khanh Hoa Province have rescued and released 849 critically endangered hawksbill turtles.

Good news: 849 hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) were rescued last week from a farm in Bich Dam Hamlet in Nha Trang City.

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One of the poachers involved in the recent killing of a critically endangered Sumatran tiger inside Jambi’s Rimbo Zoo has been arrested.

Last month, when Sheila the tiger was poisoned and then skinned inside her enclosure, authorities feared the incident was a horrifying new development in the illegal trade in tiger skin and body parts.

Tragically, they were correct: Now that one of the men who killed Sheila has been arrested, police questioning has revealed that the murder was financed by a Palembang “businessman.”

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A sad discovery in Huelva province: The body of a female Iberian lynx was found on the road between Almonte and El Rocío.

This is unfortunately the third Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) killed in Andalucía this year - and the second in just two weeks. In March, a female - pregnant with two kittens - was run over in Doñana. She had also been shot.

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Although beauty is in the eye of the beholder, most would agree that the Mexican axolotl has a very unique appearance! The strange-looking salamander, also known as the Mexican Water Monster, is facing extinction.

According to a recent study conducted by scientists from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), it is estimated that only 700 to 1,200 Mexican axolotl, Ambystoma mexicanum, exist in the wild today. The situation is critical and urgent action is required.

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As recently as 1995, there were only 50 known Kakapo still surviving. Relentless hunting by humans, widespread forest clearing, and the introduction of dogs, cats, and rats nearly wiped these friendly, flightless birds off the planet.

Thanks to New Zealand’s Kakapo Recovery Programme’s intensive species management and successful breeding results, the Kakapo (Strigops habroptila) population has now increased to 124 birds.

The program requires intensive monitoring of wild adult birds on Codfish Island and Anchor Island - the only locations of the remaining Kakapo. Hand-raising of some of the chicks has also been necessary, and 17 Kakapo have been hand-raised and returned to the wild.

Kakapo Recovery Plan

The ultimate vision for the species is to have at least 150 adult females. Species management is guided by the Kakapo Recovery Plan to:

• Maximize recruitment in the kakapo population
• Minimize the loss of genetic diversity in the kakapo population
• Secure, restore or maintain sufficient habitat to accommodate the expected increase in the kakapo population
• Maintain public awareness and stakeholder support for kakapo conservation

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Three species of Gyps vulture are in danger of extinction - poisoned by the use of diclofenac in livestock. India, Nepal, and Pakistan have lost 95% of their vulture populations.

As recently as the early 1980’s, there were approximately 40 million vultures in India, comprised of nine species. Now there are only 60,000 of these important scavengers left. Captive breeding efforts are in progress, the last hope of saving these birds from extinction.

The alarming population decline was first observed In the late 1990’s by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), in a breeding colony of White-backed Vultures in Keoladeo National park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan.

By 2000, there were no breeding pairs left.

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Aspalathus recurvispina is a plant of the same Genus as that from which the internationally known Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) herbal tea is made. It is Rooibos that is pictured above as photos of the believed to be distinct plant are hard to come by.

A. recurvispina was first collected and identified on the fringe of the Humewood coastal bypass dunes near Port Elizabeth (now Nelson Mandela Bay) in the early 1960s.

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Korea’s national creation myth also tells of a tiger and a bear who asked the son of the ruler of Heaven if he would make them human. He agreed, but only if they could endure 100 days in a cave eating nothing but garlic and mugwort. The steadfast bear endured and became a beautiful woman, who gave birth to Tangun, the legendary father of Korea in 2333 BCE. But the tiger grew hungry and impatient. He left the cave early, unable cope with the hunger and waiting, and has been slinking through the Korean mountains ever since.

That is, until the last century when hunting and habitat loss pushed the Korean tiger over the brink of extinction in the wild in South Korea. With it went an important symbol of Korea’s identity.

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