Ganga, the holiest of holy rivers in the Indian sub-continent is also one of the most polluted rivers in the region. Last year, after much lobbying, Ganga was declared the National River of India owing to its religious as well as environmental significance. However, just that could never have been enough for cleaning a river on which millions of Rupees have already been spent.
Now, the Union Environment Minister of India Mr. Jairam Ramesh, who had previously unveiled the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA), has put the NBRBA on a “mission mode” to clean the river by 2020. And his indicator for success is not clear blue waters but the return of the Gangetic dolphins that were once sighted in the river in plenty!
Ric O’Barry reports that the horrific annual dolphin slaughter in Taiji has been suspended due to publicity from the film, The Cove.
September 1st usually marks the first day of the year for the brutal killings, but for the first time the Japanese media has arrived in Taiji en masse, causing the local fishermen to pause while the world takes notice.
A seemingly paranoid, ex-dolphin trainer slowly drives through a foreign land while being pursued by police and other locals may appear to be the start of a riveting spy thriller and in some cases that’s exactly what this film is but instead of drawing from the mind of Robert Ludlum, this situation comes from a real life deep dark cover up. Four years in the making, The Cove, surrounds the slaughter of thousands of dolphins in Taiji, Japan instantly thrusts viewers into a sort of Flipper espionage that not only rivets the audience but sends them on an emotional and educational rollercoaster.
The Cove refers to a sea inlet of the coast of Taiji where on the surface the town seems to embrace dolphins but in reality some of the local politicos as well as a handful of fisherman keep the dolphin slaughter a secret to not only most locals but the rest of Japan as well.
Researchers working with Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) at the Bronx zoo, conducted an MSR test. They applied “real” and “sham” marks to the rights sides of the pachyderms’ heads and waited to see how the elephants would respond to these when a large mirror was placed in their presence. Sure enough, the elephants demonstrated that they understood they were looking at themselves (and not another elephant) and begin touching the marks with their trunks. In all, their behavior during the [...]
Scientists who study Cetacea (the group that includes whales, porpoises and dolphins) have long puzzled over how deep-diving whales (which are also air-breathing mammals like us) avoid this dangerous, decompression condition, that is, why don’t whales get the bends?
Dunham the bottlenose dolphin was attacked by sharks and euthanized this Tuesday just 3 hours after being released from Florida’s Clearwater Marine Aquarium.
Experts nearby monitoring the dolphin said he was attacked by at least two different sharks, and that the wounds were life-threatening. They euthanized him immediately upon arriving at the scene.
According to a new study, climate change could drastically alter 88% of the waters where dolphins, whales and porpoises are found. While some species may stand to benefit from the changes, the research concluded that one fifth of cetacean species could be lost forever.
The cetaceans most at risk are colder water species and species with restricted ranges in shallower waters. All in all, as many as half of cetacean species should experience a shrinking of their habitat as the oceans warm.
Nearly 6,000 Irawaddy freshwater dolphins were discovered in areas near the Bay of Bengal and the Sundarbans mangrove forests in Bangladesh.
Previously it was assumed there only tiny populations numbering in the low 100s, and the species could go extinct almost at any moment. In 2008 the Irawaddy was listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
World Species Survey details gloomy outlook for many animal species.In early October of 2008, the results of a global species survey, conducted by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, were released. The numbers are startling:
At least a quarter of mammal species are headed toward extinction in the near future.
Nearly 80 percent of the primate species in southern and southeastern Asia are immediately threatened.
At least 22 percent of reptile species are at risk of extinction.
Perhaps 40 percent of North American freshwater fish are threatened.
In Europe, 45 percent of the most common bird species are rapidly declining, and so are the most common bird species in North America.
But perhaps these figures are a bit too abstract. Here’s a more precise way to look at the present state of bio-diversity on Earth.
The Cove exposes an atrocity of unimaginable brutality. The dolphin slaughter depicted here is committed yearly and without knowledge of the general Japanese public, even though they could be buying highly-toxic mercury-laden dolphin meat disguised as fish from their local supermarkets.
According to José Truda Palazzo, Jr., Brazilian Commissioner to the International Whaling Commission, “the initiative sends a clear and powerful message to the international community in relation to Brazil’s commitment towards whale conservation, and also reinforces our campaign for a South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary to be established in the entire oceanic basin.”
