September 27th, 2009, marks the beginning of the 7th annual Sea Otter Awareness Week.   Aquariums across the United States, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands are featuring a variety of activities, exhibits and educational events to raise awareness and bring attention to those utterly charming and charismatic mammals, the sea otters. 

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Both economic theory and experimental data concur–increasing the distance traveled to find food incurs “negative fitness consequences”, by decreasing total energy for maintenance, repair and reproduction. Yet, most animals must travel to find food. Individual, small groups, and large herds of eutherian (placental) mammals–like wild buffalo, gazelles, lions, and elephants–often travel great distances to find food. This expenditure of energy, at the apparent risk of biological fitness, has puzzled zoologists for some time.

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A new species of Samoan fruit bat or ‘flying fox’ was discovered at the Academy of Sciences in Philadelphia by Kristofer M. Helgen, a Research Zoologist and Curator of Mammals at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. Helgen, the lead author of the paper published in American Museum Novitates, noticed the bat within one hour of being on the premises of the Academy of Sciences. (There are about 17 million biological specimens housed at the Academy.)

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On average these wild sheep are weighing in at 5 percent smaller than 25 years ago, an indication that climate change can have a rapid effect on natural populations and a sign of possible more widespread changes in future, researchers said on Thursday.

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For years and years parents have taken their children to zoos to see exotic animals, animals that they don’t get to see everyday. They want to see lions and tigers and bears. Oh my! High on the the list of animals to be seen are elephants, nature’s gentle giants. These cute, (hardly) cuddly animals are the largest of the land mammals. But all of that could change. Elephants could be removed from zoos forever if In Defense of Animals (IDA) and a handful of scientists and activists get their way.

June 20 highlighted the International Day of Action for Elephants in Zoos.  In Defense of Animals (IDA) and activists in over 30 cities worldwide (including L.A., Washington D.C., and more) participated in a day of demonstration to inform the public about the travesty of keeping Dumbo locked up - even Salt Lake City had one demonstrator brave the torrential rain in order to bring justice to our big grey friends.

Elliot M. Katz, DVM, President of IDA said that ”Zoos can no longer ignore the mounting scientific evidence of the devastating effects of captivity on elephants.” Infanticide, Herpes and tuberculosis are just a few of the ailments prevalent in captive elephants, and zoo populations are not self sustaining, unlike populations in natural environments.

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The Slovenian Environment Ministry has approved a wild bear kill of 70 animals. The country has between 430 and 480 bears according to one estimate.

Some environmentalists put the number slightly lower. In 2008 the Environment Ministry approved a kill of 75, and in 2007 it was 100. In 2006 it was also 100. That will make 345 wild bears killed in the last four years.  The number of cubs born each year is estimated at 60-90.
(Brown bears in Slovenia are a protected species.)

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With only 60 Javan rhinos still in existence, the World Wildlife Fund is desperately tracking the animals with 34 video cameras in their native habitat in Indonesia’s Ujung Kulon National Park to better determine their behaviors and plan a conservation effort.

“The project is helping the most endangered large mammal species,” said Adhi Rachmat Hariyadi who leads WWF-Indonesia’s project in Ujung Kulon National Park. “We’ve already recorded video of 9 individuals, including a mother and calf.”

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Forget the need for economic stimulus, Barack, can you come up with a better plan for the raccoons? The Obama family is always looking for opportunities to put action behind their beliefs, so would it be better for them to send out a pro-wildlife message by letting the raccoons stay?

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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.

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Endangered US animal and plant species are in danger of losing vital legal protection designed to prevent them from extinction.

The outgoing Bush administration is proposing to rush through legislation that will remove the right of government experts to ensure that dams, highways and other big infrastructure projects don’t pose an unacceptable threat to fragile plants and animals under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Crucially, the regulations must be approved by Friday if they are to come into effect before President-elect Obama’s swearing-in ceremony on January 20th.

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Under the constant watch of environmental conservation groups for more than two decades, the fruit bat with a wing span of almost 6 feet wide has faced numerous odds to recover its numbers which now stand at a remarkable 22,000, according to a newly released research finding.

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Large herds of buffalo once trampled the Great Plains, making the landscape appear black and in motion. Wolves roamed the continent, creating complex societies. This time period now lives as legend, in accounts from early settlers and Indian stories. Scattered reserves are home to relatively small populations.

A recently study by scientists from the Princeton University and the World Wildlife Fund found the story of the buffalo and the wolf common on a global scale. The study found that less than 21% of the earth’s land surface still contains all the large mammals (at least 44 pounds or 20 kilograms) than it did in the year 1500.

About 500 years ago, the earth was in a time of great transition as colonization began increasing significantly. Farming was introduced to new regions, often contributing to the decline of large mammal populations.

These animals have a significant effect on the health and function of ecosystems because large mammals are often top predators and sculpt the landscape. Their disappearance can cause other populations to fluctuate greatly if an equilibrium is broken.

“Perhaps the most striking result of our study is that those 109 places that still retain the same roster of large mammals as in 1500AD are either small, intensively managed reserves or places of extremes,” says John Morrison, WWF’s Director of Conservation Measures and lead author of the study. “Remote areas are either too hot, dry, wet, frozen or swampy to support intensive human activities.”

This study speaks to the effects that human populations often have on large mammals and can be used as a tool to shape future action. Eric Dinerstein, WWF’s Chief Scientist and Vice-President of Conservation Science said, “The obvious question we always ask ourselves is: How does this information help us? First, we can now pinpoint places where large mammal assemblages still play important roles in terrestrial ecosystems. Second, we now have targets where through strategic reintroductions - such as returning wolves to Yellowstone - we can restore intactness in places missing one or two species and recover the ecological fabric of these important conservation landscapes.”

Several geographic areas have been identified as priorities of long-term conservation efforts. The Great Plains of North America, the Eastern Himalayas, and Ninibia will be targeted to restore species and bring back populations to levels sufficient to play important ecological roles.

This study highlights the both the effects of human impacts on mammal populations and the opportunity to shift our relationship with these communities.

When the number of bears to be killed in 2006 was set at 100, the European Commission expressed concern that the number was too high, and the bear population could not sustain such aggressive culls. “It also pointed out that, based on Slovenia’s own figures, the cull could eradicate 25 per cent of the country’s bears.” The EC also stated that the manner of population estimation coud be improved and the current estimate is questionable.

A study conducted by scientists from the University of Freiburg and the University of Veterinary Medicine in Austria concluded the current reliance on killing bears annually to manage the whole population needs to be changed, “>3.3.) Slovenia has to solve its problems not only by culling, but also by public awareness campaigns, changes in the decision making processes, and applied research.”

With small populations, inbreeding can become a threat to the survival of the species.
For example a very small population of wild wolves in Michigan is experiencing deformities of the spine because of inbreeding among a population of less than 30 animals. It would seem prudent that Slovenian bears have their DNA or reproductive material sampled regularly to build up a gene bank larger than the actual number of animals that are currently allowed to live by the government.

Image Credit: Copyright-free-images UK