A 2,000-pound white rhinoceros has been shot and killed at a Florida safari park after it ‘aggressively’ escaped from its enclosure – staff claiming it could have ‘killed other animals.’ Bodycam footage in the moments after the shooting shows Wild Florida Drive-Thru Safari Park general manager Jordan Munns explaining that the behavior of the rhino…
A 2,000-pound white rhinoceros has been shot and killed at a Florida safari park after it ‘aggressively’ escaped from its enclosure – staff claiming it could have ‘killed other animals.’
Bodycam footage in the moments after the shooting shows Wild Florida Drive-Thru Safari Park general manager Jordan Munns explaining that the behavior of the rhino indicated it was going to cause harm to other animals, forcing staff to stop it.
‘The way he was acting inside the pen, he was going to burn through a couple animals, kill them, and then get out, and there was no chance we’re going have that,’ he said.
The three-year-old mammal was killed in September last year, a day before it was brought to the park for its scheduled debut of their new rhino exhibit.
Staff deployed 15 rounds, using three different calibers, before the colossal beast dropped dead, then dug a huge hole to bury it in.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) said in a report obtained by News 6 that they’d received an anonymous tip about the shooting which launched a probe into the incident.
Munns said the next morning, he and other staff members watched as the animal worked to escape from its secondary enclosure, once free, it ran into a grove of cypress trees inside the park.
‘We were so close to catching him that we didn’t want to shoot him right on the spot, but I said if four feet touch the ground on the other side of this wire, he’s done,’ Munns was heard telling investigators.
‘We came up flying up here, he was still maybe 10 or 12 trees in, and we started shooting.’
Munns said that staff used ‘the biggest guns’ they had and that they had ‘three guns going at one time.’
While the calf had been only three, it took about 15 rounds and three different calibers to finally kill the rare animal.
‘Out of fear that a helicopter might spot the rhino, they dug a hole, placed the rhino in it and covered it most of the way, leaving a portion of the head exposed for us to observe upon our arrival,’ FWC investigators wrote.
‘We did everything we could to not have to kill this animal,’ Munns was heard telling investigators.
‘[But] that’s what it came down to.’
There are currently only 18,000 white rhinos in existence, according to the World Wildlife Federation and they’re considered ‘near threatened’ and the only rhino species not classified as ‘endangered.’
Bodycam footage in the moment after the shooting shows Wild Florida Drive-Thru Safari Park general manager Jordan Munns explaining that the behavior of the rhino indicated it was going to cause harm to other animals, forcing staff to stop it Staff deployed 15 rounds, using three different calibers, before the colossal beast dropped dead, then dug a huge hole to bury it in
In comments of a Facebook post made by Wild Florida, most users appeared to be understanding of the decision but some were disgusted given how close the animal is to extinction.
One user said: ‘This is an endangered animal. One that is practically blind (yes. White rhinos can’t see very far in front of them) and poses little threat to people and other animals.
‘With the proper enclosures and procedures this shouldn’t have happened. As a zoo it’s your responsibility to ensure the safety of the animals and visitors. And both seemed to have been compromised.’
Another user said, boycotting the park: ‘I am disturbed by this entire situation. The rhino had been in the park approximately 24 hours, so was most likely anxious.
‘With time and a better enclosure, he might have settled. The optics are bad. It appears he was hunted down and shot. Is this ‘humanely euthanized’? Was a veterinarian consulted to consider options like sedation? Could he have been transferred to a zoo or wildlife park equipped to handle him?
‘There are only 18,000 white rhinos left in the world. They are a threatened species. I have been to Wild Florida, and enjoyed it. I will not return.’
Meanwhile some questioned why tranquillizers weren’t considered before killing the animal, a similar sentiment which emerged when beloved 400-pound Gorilla, Harambe was shot and killed in 2016.
A user said: ‘No tranquilizer guns? No safety protocol put in place before this animal was brought in? Disgusting failure to uphold your responsibility to these creatures.’
The FWC determined that no state law had been violated but urged Munns to report the incident to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which enforces the Federal Animal Welfare Act.
‘Our rules don’t prohibit you from doing what you did,’ an FWC investigator was heard saying in the body worn camera footage.
‘So, from a lethal take of the animal from a public safety point-of-view, the FWC rules don’t prohibit that.’
Staff deployed 15 rounds, using three different calibers, before the colossal beast dropped dead, then dug a huge hole to bury it in. Here is a photo the FWC took showing the exposed head of the dead beast Wild Florida has received an official warning from the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in relation to a separate incident in March last year involving the escape of four Aoudads, or Barbary Sheep
News 6 discovered that Wild Florida has received an official warning from the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in relation to a separate incident in March last year.
An inspector told the outlet that the escape of four Aoudads, or Barbary Sheep, were the reason.
‘In January 2020, seven Aoudads were released onto the facility’s property without closing the appropriate gates,’ the report obtained by News 6 read.
‘Four Aoudads managed to escape; two were killed by hunters and two were eventually killed by the licensee after chemical immobilization attempts failed.’
The official warning stated: ‘If APHIS obtains evidence of any future violation of these federal regulations, APHIS may pursue civil penalties, criminal prosecution, or other sanctions for this alleged violation(s) and for any future violation(s).’
The USDA told News 6 that Wild Florida were inspected in Dec 2022, but a spokesperson did not confirm whether an investigation into the rhino shooting had taken place.
In a statement posted online Wild Florida wrote: ‘For more than 12 years, Wild Florida’s mission has been to provide an unforgettable Everglades experience that promotes a connection with animals while inspiring education and conservation.’
‘Unfortunately, we are sometimes faced with unforeseen situations and circumstances that require an immediate response to ensure the continued safety of visitors, staff, neighbors, and, most importantly, animals in our care.
It comes years after beloved 400-pound Cincinnati Zoo’s gorilla, Harambe, was fatally shot after a four-year-old boy crawled past the railing of his enclosure and fell 15ft into the gorilla exhibit moat The public mourned Harambe, who many believed had been ‘acting protecting’ the young boy, the zoo director at the time confirming that the boy was not under attack Video of the incident emerged showing the boy reaching for Harambe’s arm the pair briefly holding hands The public mourned Harambe, who many believed had been ‘acting protecting’ the young boy, the zoo director at the time confirming that the boy was not under attack
‘In September 2022, a new rhino began to pose an imminent danger to the park at large, and after consultation with leadership and Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) guidelines, we made the difficult decision to humanely euthanize the animal.
‘As an organization, Wild Florida will continue providing the best care for our animal family and promote the importance of conservation through our educational programs.’
DailyMail have contacted Wild Florida, FWC and USDA for comment.
It comes years after beloved 400-pound Cincinnati Zoo’s gorilla, Harambe, was fatally shot after a four-year-old boy crawled past the railing of his enclosure and fell 15ft into the gorilla exhibit moat.
The public mourned Harambe, who many believed had been ‘acting protecting’ the young boy, the zoo director at the time confirming that the boy was not under attack.
Video of the incident emerged showing the boy reaching for Harambe’s arm the pair briefly holding hands.
Many have blamed the boy’s parents for 17-year-old Harambe’s death and the Zoo’s director commenting at the time that tranquilizer would have taken too long with the possibility of agitating the animal even more.
This article by Aneeta Bhole was first published by The Daily Mail on 31 January 2023. Lead Image: A 2,000-pound white rhinoceros calf has been shot and killed at a Florida safari park after it ‘aggressively’ escaped from its enclosure – staff claiming it could have ‘killed other animals’.
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“The dolphins are more playful than us,” says Diego Cifuentes, co-founder of Villa Lilia Agroecoturistico, a community dolphin-watching project on Colombia’s Lake Nare. “If you give off good energy, they may even touch you.”Diego Cifuentes, who set up the dolphin-watching project on Lake Nare. Photograph: Dimitri SelibasCifuentes is sitting on a boat in the middle…
“The dolphins are more playful than us,” says Diego Cifuentes, co-founder of Villa Lilia Agroecoturistico, a community dolphin-watching project on Colombia’s Lake Nare. “If you give off good energy, they may even touch you.”
Diego Cifuentes, who set up the dolphin-watching project on Lake Nare. Photograph: Dimitri Selibas
Cifuentes is sitting on a boat in the middle of a lake surrounded by thick forest, a two-hour boat ride from San José del Guaviare. In the water, a dozen tourists bob in fluorescent lifejackets, waiting for the chance to meet a boto, the local name for the pink Amazon River dolphin (Inia geoffrensis). Soon enough, a plume of steam bursts from the water and the humped backs of three botos glide through the surface. The tourists giggle and squeal at the momentary encounter with the rare cetacean.
Rural communities, former guerrillas of the Farc (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and endangered dolphins are unlikely allies in this near-forgotten corner of Colombia’s Amazon basin, where tourism is providing opportunities for reconciliation as well as creating jobs and promoting conservation.
The guerrillas cared for the dolphins and nature
Diego Cifuentes
Indigenous peoples across Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela regard the boto as a divine creature. But with the dolphins’ numbers dwindling, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed the boto as an endangered species in 2019. The threat to the dolphins is largely from being caught as fishing bycatch and killed for use as commercial fishing bait, as well as habitat disruption from dam-building, deforestation and pollution from chemicals and heavy metals, such as mercury from illegal gold mining.
Tourists hoping to encounter an Amazon dolphin in Lake Nare. Photograph: Dimitri Selibas
Cifuentes’s brother had the idea of starting the dolphin-watching project after moving to the area in 2011 and slowly getting to know the animals. It was at a time, says Cifuentes, that fishers saw river dolphins as a menace.
“They were angry with them because they are very voracious at eating fish,” says Cifuentes. “They would break the nets or tear them apart, get tangled up and suffocate.”
When they first came to the lake, the brothers, shoemakers by trade, had to ask permission from the Farc guerrillas to move into the area, Cifuentes says. If a fisherman killed a boto, a guerrilla would have a word with him. “It would happen once, but it wouldn’t happen again,” says Cifuentes. “The guerrillas cared for the dolphins and nature.”
These days botos are increasingly seen as being worth more alive than dead. The Omacha Foundation, a Colombian conservation organisation, calculated that each dolphin could bring in US$20,000 (£16,200) a year for the local economy through tourism, compared with $25 that a fisher could get for a dead dolphin.
Federico Mosquera, the Omacha Foundation’s endangered species coordinator, soothes an Amazon river dolphin, the first to be tagged with a GPS tracker. Photograph: Jaime Rojo/WWF
There are nine botos living in Lake Nare. However, the lake is seasonal and opens on to the Guaviare River during the rainy season. Fernando Trujillo, scientific director of the Omacha Foundation and a leading Colombian marine biologist who has been studying dolphins in the Amazon for 35 years, warns that if the dolphins are disturbed too much, they could leave the area.
He says the nascent ecotourism industry has a lot of potential to promote marine conservation, as well as create jobs and educate people. It is part of a wider trend in Latin America, says Trujillo, of tourists flocking to see whales and dolphins. However, he says that if tourism is not properly managed it can create more damage to ecosystems, especially with “express tourism”.
“It’s a phenomenon that we see more and more frequently,” says Trujillo. “People want to easily check off everything in one day. They want to see a jaguar, swim with dolphins, dance with the Indigenous people, and take ayahuasca. All in just one day.
An Amazon river dolphin in a flooded forest in the Rio Negro, Amazonia, Brazil. Photograph: Kevin Schafer/Minden/naturepl.com
“These charismatic species are important – they are fundamental – but ultimately, what we need is to generate sustainable processes in the territories,” he adds. “Neither dolphins, nor jaguars, nor turtles are going to exist in degraded, polluted ecosystems. We have to work with the people, we have to work with community processes, because if not, there is no sense in it.”
As part of its repositioning from a no-go conflict zone to a thriving ecotourism hub, Guaviare also offers visitors the chance to see rivers of pink algae and rock paintings more than 10,000 years old, as well as birdwatching in one of the most biodiverse places on the planet.
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“Tourism allows us to really know what we have to take care of,” says Julian Eduardo Niño, founder of Geotours del Guaviare, an operator that works with Villa Lilia. He started his company in 2015, a year before the Colombian government and the Farc rebels signed the peace agreement.
Since then, he says, the peace process has had a positive economic impact on all those involved in today’s tourist industry, from tour companies and Indigenous communities to farmers selling sancocho stew.
The unique rock paintings found in the Guaviare area are more than 10,000 years old and have become a big draw for tourists. Photograph: Dimitri Selibas
Sustainably managing the nascent environmental tourism industry is especially appealing in areas such as Guaviare, which were among the worst affected by the country’s 50-year civil war.
Semillas, whose nom de guerre means seed in Spanish, says after laying down their arms, the former rebels looked at different options to earn an income and naturally gravitated to ecotourism. A recent initiative is the Manatu community project, which began in July 2022 and aims to give tourists the chance to learn about plants with healing properties, visit a replica Farc camp in the forest and hear stories from former combatants. Since its launch, the scheme has also attracted visitors who have been to see dolphins in Lake Nare.
“There are a lot of pluses, a lot of interesting things that I think are going to contribute a lot, including to heal,” says Semillas. “Being in contact with nature generates a lot of peace.”
An Albanese government environment plan to encourage companies to invest in nature merely expands a Coalition proposal under Scott Morrison and is at risk of failing due to a lack of business interest, experts say.The federal government is consulting on legislation to establish a scheme to incentivise investment in nature restoration by creating tradable certificates…
An Albanese government environment plan to encourage companies to invest in nature merely expands a Coalition proposal under Scott Morrison and is at risk of failing due to a lack of business interest, experts say.
The federal government is consulting on legislation to establish a scheme to incentivise investment in nature restoration by creating tradable certificates for projects that protect and restore biodiversity.
An exposure draft, published shortly before Christmas, is similarly worded to legislation proposed by the previous government and would establish governance arrangements for the scheme.
It follows a speech by the environment and water minister, Tanya Plibersek, last year in which she said she hoped Australia may one day be home to a “green Wall Street” that attracted conservation investment from around the world.
Andrew Macintosh, an Australian National University professor and former head of the government’s emissions reduction assurance committee, said although a nature repair market presented opportunities, there were several issues that could “impede the realisation of its potential”.
“Most obvious is the absence of a source of demand,” he said.
“The government is expecting the private sector to be the main buyer but the private sector is not yet there, at least not at scale.
“If this market is going to work, governments need to be the primary buyer for the foreseeable future.”
Macintosh also said there were governance issues in the draft that could create similar problems to those seen in the carbon offset market.
Megan Evans, a senior lecturer at the University of New South Wales in Canberra, said one concern was the draft only required the environment minister to “have regard” to integrity standards when making a method under the legislation, rather than making the endorsement of methods contingent on compliance with integrity standards.
Evans said she also disagreed with government’s proposal to have the Clean Energy Regulator administer the scheme. She said the environment protection agency, when established, would be better placed to do this work.
The former government proposed a land stewardship scheme that would reward farmers who restored and protected nature on their properties.
The Albanese government’s proposal expands the proposal to all landholders and would apply to terrestrial as well as coastal and marine areas.
Plibersek has put private investment at the centre of the government’s plans for the environment, which include a zero-extinctions target and a commitment to protect 30% of Australia’s land and sea areas by 2030.
But Evans agreed with Macintosh that the private market demand for certificates was “untested and likely overestimated”.
“[The government] haven’t committed any money to kickstart this market so it’s very likely it will be a thin, low-activity market,” she said.
Tim Beshara, manager of policy and strategy of the Wilderness Society, was critical that the government’s first proposal for new biodiversity legislation was “near word-for-word identical” to the land stewardship bill put forward by David Littleproud, the former government’s agriculture minister.
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Beshara said he was concerned the most likely outcome was the market would become a biodiversity offset market that was by driven by nature destruction elsewhere.
“The government has clearly indicated that while this is not its intention, if regulators choose to use this scheme as part of offset requirements, then that is OK by government,” he said.
“What follows from that is that the only way the market would grow is if the amount of destruction also grows.”
The Greens’ environment spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young, said the party would review the legislation carefully but said it was “delusional” to suggest the market would repair Australia’s biodiversity crisis while habitat clearing continued.
Plibersek said once the market was properly structured and running: “I’m confident we will see increasing investment in nature repair.”
She noted a report by the consulting firm PwC had estimated a nature restoration market could inject $137bn into conservation measures by 2050.
“Businesses tell me all the time that they want to invest in nature because their shareholders, customers and staff are demanding it,” she said.
“Global changes to accounting rules make it inevitable that businesses will start reporting on their nature-related risks. There will be an increasing public expectation that businesses act to reduce those risks.”
Plibersek said all feedback on the exposure draft would be considered before legislation was introduced to parliament this year.
The UK Ivory Act and other measures have been incredibly important as elephant ivory is now almost banned around the world. Elephants are an endangered species so this was a very crucial victory for them and the people who care about them. However, poachers are now killing hippos to collect their teeth in response. Hippos…
The UK Ivory Act and other measures have been incredibly important as elephant ivory is now almost banned around the world.
Elephants are an endangered species so this was a very crucial victory for them and the people who care about them.
However, poachers are now killing hippos to collect their teeth in response.
Hippos are listed as “vulnerable to extinction” and measures must be made to protect them as well.
Please sign this petition to demand that the UK Parliament ban the trading of hippo teeth!
This article by Mathew Davis was first published by OneGreenPlanet on 27 January 2023.
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Butterfly species have vanished from nearly half of the places where they once flew in the UK since 1976, according to a study.The distribution of 58 native species has fallen by 42% as butterflies disappear from cities, fields and woods. Those that are only found in particular habitats, such as wetlands or chalk grassland, have…
Butterfly species have vanished from nearly half of the places where they once flew in the UK since 1976, according to a study.
The distribution of 58 native species has fallen by 42% as butterflies disappear from cities, fields and woods. Those that are only found in particular habitats, such as wetlands or chalk grassland, have fared even worse, declining in distribution by 68%.
Scientists for Butterfly Conservation, which produced its State of the UK’s Butterflies 2022 report from nearly 23m butterfly records, said there needed to be a “massive step-change” to reverse what it described as disastrous declines in insect populations.
The report shows that many of the most endangered species have been revived by targeted conservation action or successfully reintroduced in specific places, but butterflies and other flying insects continue to vanish from much of Britain.
The grayling fell by 92% in distribution and 72% in abundance between 1976 and 2019. Photograph: FLPA/Alamy
“We’ve been focused on the most threatened butterfly species, which is stopping them going extinct,” said Richard Fox of Butterfly Conservation, the lead author of the report. “But there’s a massive challenge revealed by millions of pieces of data in the report, and we need a massive step change in our approach to tackle this and meet the legally binding government target that now exists for halting the decline of wildlife. This report shows we are not halting the decline of wildlife.”
The overall figure for the decline in butterfly abundance is a relatively modest 6%, but this average figure is obtained from data gathered from nature reserves and nature-rich landscapes, which masks wider population falls.
Species such as the wood white, grayling, wall, white admiral and pearl-bordered fritillary have suffered precipitous declines in both distribution and abundance. The grayling fell by 92% in distribution and 72% in abundance between 1976 and 2019.
A pearl-bordered fritillary. Photograph: Forestry Commission/PA
There have been some successes, linked to climate change or concerted conservation action. Beneficiaries of global heating, which has facilitated their expansion further north through Britain, include strong-flying species such as the purple emperor, whose distribution is up by 58% and abundance by 110%, and the comma , whose distribution is up by 94% and abundance by 203%.
Conservation triumphs include the large blue, which was reintroduced using caterpillars from Sweden after its extinction in 1979. Its abundance has risen by 1,883%.
The large blue has been a conservation success. Photograph: Keith Warmington/PA
But in many cases, although targeted conservation work on certain nature reserves has increased the abundance of rare butterflies, they have continued to vanish from other places, their range shrinking and their populations losing resilience as a result.
The swallowtail has increased in abundance by 51%, doing well on nature reserves which are precisely managed to meet its needs, but its distribution or presence in the wider landscape has shrunk by 27%. Chalk grassland specialists such as the silver-spotted skipper and adonis blue have increased in abundance by 596% and 130% respectively, but their distribution has fallen by 70% and 44%. This shows that they are no longer able to survive in a large proportion of their former haunts, nor are they able to colonise new areas.
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A swallowtail. Photograph: Kevin Elsby/Alamy
The biggest butterfly declines are in England. The picture looks more positive in Scotland, where species have, on average, increased in abundance by 37% and in distribution by 3%.
But Fox said these figures were caused by the huge successes of a few species, such as the comma and the white-letter hairstreak, which have been able to move further north with climate change. “It’s not a cause for celebration,” he said. “Butterflies that you might think of as iconic examples of Scotland’s natural heritage such as the mountain ringlet, Scotch argus and northern brown argus are all doing really badly.
“UK butterflies are by far the best, most comprehensively monitored group of insects anywhere in the world. Butterflies are fulfilling that really important role as an indicator for thousands of other species and the general state of our environment. This report is very gloomy reading on that front.
An adonis blue. Photograph: Richard Becker/Alamy
“It’s going to need bold moves by government and everyone to take responsibility. Everyone with a garden can help, but the scale of the biodiversity crisis is such that planting a few pollinator-friendly plants is not enough. We need to create habitat where butterflies and other wildlife can live and not just visit for a snack.”
Julie Williams, the chief executive of Butterfly Conservation, said: “This report is yet more compelling evidence of nature’s decline in the UK. We are totally dependent on the natural world for food, water and clean air. We need swift and effective action on this. The decline in butterflies we have seen in our own lifetimes is shocking and we can no longer stand by and watch the UK’s biodiversity be destroyed.”
The Chacoan peccary is so elusive that scientists believed it was extinct until its “discovery” in 1975. Today, only 3,000 remain in the inhospitable forests and lagoons of the Gran Chaco region, which stretches across northern Argentina, Paraguay and southern Bolivia, and comprises more than 50 different ecosystems.Micaela Camino, who works with the Indigenous Wichí…
The Chacoan peccary is so elusive that scientists believed it was extinct until its “discovery” in 1975. Today, only 3,000 remain in the inhospitable forests and lagoons of the Gran Chaco region, which stretches across northern Argentina, Paraguay and southern Bolivia, and comprises more than 50 different ecosystems.
Micaela Camino, who works with the Indigenous Wichí and Criollo communities to protect the animals and their land rights in Argentina, knows how difficult to find they can be. She has only seen one Chacoan peccary, or quimilero, in 13 years since she set up her NGO, Proyecto Quimilero, but has fallen in love with the critically endangered mammal, which looks like a peculiar cross between a boar and a hedgehog.
Micaela Camino, who won a Whitley award in 2022 for her work in helping to protect the Chacoan peccary. Photograph: Whitley Awards
“I was told that the Chacoan peccary was extinct outside protected areas when I first started,” says Camino. “So when we found it, I thought it was great. We set up monitoring to find more in one of the most isolated parts of the dry Chaco. But then the loggers started to come.”
The Gran Chaco, South America’s second-largest forest after the Amazon, is one of the most deforested places on Earth. Every month, more than 133 square miles is lost, cleared for vast soya farms and cattle ranches that export to markets in the US, China and Europe – including UK supermarkets, according to a joint Guardian investigation in 2019. However, the loss is largely ignored on the international stage, receiving little conservation money or celebrity attention in comparison with the Amazon.
In the area where Camino works, the land clearing was turbocharged by Argentina’s 2001 economic collapse. Tree loss highlighted by Global Forest Watch shows the extent of the damage over the past 20 years. The area is home to charismatic species such as the maned wolf, the giant armadillo and the jabiru, many of which are not found anywhere else on Earth.
At current rates of deforestation, the mosaic of life in the Gran Chaco could collapse entirely. The loss of the Chacoan peccary would be guaranteed this time. Unlike the Amazon, there are few academic studies on tipping points and the forest’s waning ability to support itself as the climate changes and land is cleared, but people who live here are seeing the changes.
More than 133 square miles of the Gran Chaco is lost every month to deforestation. Photograph: Nicolás Villalobos/Greenpeace
“The Chacoan peccary cannot survive with such a rapid advance of deforestation. It doesn’t exist anywhere else. Locally, the animal is a good flagship. Jaguars and pumas are charismatic but nobody really likes these animals in the forest,” says Camino.
More than 140 countries, including Argentina and Paraguay, signed an international agreement at the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow in 2021 to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030. However, economic realities have complicated the picture. Argentina’s economy is collapsing once again, with the annual inflation rate in 2022 hitting its highest level in 30 years, and the country is desperate for dollars, which can be earned by trading commodities such as soy and beef.
“The Gran Chaco has been at a crossroads for a long time,” says Gastón Gordillo, a professor of anthropology at the University of British Columbia. “The 2007 forest law in Argentina did manage to slow some deforestation, but it also created the paradox by establishing legitimate ways of destroying the forest.”
Before the Covid pandemic, civil society organisations teamed up to launch the 2030 initiative to protect what is left of the Gran Chaco in Argentina, the part most affected by land clearing. They called for a change in the economic model of the region, urging local and national governments to move away from extraction, and pushed for greater compliance with forest law. However, a new motorway in Paraguay appears likely to open up more of the region to ranching.
“The agribusiness sector in Argentina is very powerful,” says Gordillo. “We are going through a profound economic crisis. There is a lot of anxiety about what is going to happen. The major concern for the government right now is to get US dollars, and exports from the agribusiness sector are the main source. That means there’s a strong incentive to continue.
“The dichotomy is clear. You either continue destroying forests and the environment or you don’t. But this is an uneven confrontation, unfortunately.”
Camino hopes the Chacoan peccary can become a flagship species to protect the region. Photograph: Andrew Taber/2020 Whitley Awards
For the Chacoan peccary, research indicates there are only 30 years left to save the species, with current deforestation rates meaning all of its habitat outside protected areas will have gone by 2051.
Camino’s conservation efforts, for which she won a 2022 Whitley prize, will focus on priority areas for saving the mammal and helping local people to resist corporate land grabs and stay in their Indigenous lands. She hopes the mammal can become a flagship species to protect the region.
“The only way we can save the Chacoan peccary is by protecting the forest. It represents a unique evolutionary path. It’s an umbrella species for working with the whole ecosystem,” she says.
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The Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) is the most endangered of all gorillas, with only an estimated 300 individuals remaining in the wild, the World Wildlife Fund reports. The Cross River gorilla is found only in a small area spanning the border between Nigeria and Cameroon. According to the WWF, It is here that…
The Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) is the most endangered of all gorillas, with only an estimated 300 individuals remaining in the wild, the World Wildlife Fund reports.
The Cross River gorilla is found only in a small area spanning the border between Nigeria and Cameroon.
According to the WWF, It is here that these gorillas are facing a number of threats that are driving them towards extinction.
The primary threat to the Cross River gorilla is habitat loss. The forests where these gorillas live are being cleared for agriculture and logging, leaving little room for these gorillas to survive.
Additionally, poaching is a significant threat, as gorillas are hunted for their meat, which is considered a delicacy in the region.
The gorillas are also killed for their body parts, which are believed to have medicinal properties, despite the fact that there is no scientific evidence to support these claims, Gorilla Facts reports.
A young Cross River gorilla in its natural habitat, now threatened by deforestation and habitat loss PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK / ARENDDEHAAS The Cross River gorilla is the most endangered subspecies of gorilla in the world. PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK / TEXTBOOK TRAVEL
Poachers often operate in small groups and use traps, snares, guns and poisons to capture or kill gorillas. According to News24, this illegal hunting is further exacerbating the decline of the Cross River gorilla population, which is already threatened by habitat loss and diseases such as Ebola.
If no action is taken to protect the Cross River gorilla, it is possible that this subspecies could be extinct within the next few decades, the WWF reports. The rate of habitat loss and poaching is increasing, and if left unchecked, it is likely that the population of Cross River gorillas will continue to decline.
A Cross River gorilla resting, emphasizing the importance of protecting the species’ right to a peaceful existence. PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK / JULIELANGFORD.
It is imperative that action is taken to protect the Cross River gorilla and its habitat. This can be done through a number of measures such as increasing law enforcement to combat poaching, working with local communities to reduce the demand for gorilla meat, and setting aside protected areas for gorillas to live.
Conservation groups and government agencies are working tirelessly to protect this subspecies and its habitat. Anti-poaching patrols are being increased to combat illegal hunting, while community-based conservation programs are helping to reduce the demand for gorilla meat. Additionally, protected areas are being established to give the gorillas a safe haven to live.
It is imperative that action is taken to protect the Cross River gorilla and its habitat. PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK / JANJANA.
But protecting the Cross River gorilla is not just the responsibility of conservation groups and government agencies, it’s something we all need to take part in. Here are a few things you can do to help save the Cross River gorilla from extinction:
Conservation groups and government agencies are working tirelessly to protect this subspecies and its habitat. PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK / ELVIS SANTANA.
5. Educate yourself about the Cross River gorilla
Educate yourself about this species and the threats that are driving it toward extinction.
These gorillas are hunted for their meat, which is considered a delicacy. PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK / JANJANA.
4. Avoid products that are linked to habitat destruction
Avoid products that are linked to habitat destruction, such as palm oil and wood products from illegal logging.
The forests where these gorillas live are being cleared for agriculture and logging, leaving little room for these gorillas to survive. PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK / JANJANA.
3. Support sustainable and responsible tourism
Support sustainable and responsible tourism that does not harm gorillas or their habitats.
You can help save gorillas by avoiding products that are linked to habitat destruction. PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK / ELVIS SANTANA.
2. Spread awareness
Spread awareness about the plight of the Cross River gorilla by sharing information about this subspecies with your friends and family.
Illegal hunting is exacerbating the decline of the Cross River gorilla population. PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK / ELVIS SANTANA.
1. Support conservation groups
Support conservation groups working to protect the Cross River gorilla and its habitat like Greater Good Charities and Project Peril. With the help of your donations, Project Peril partners with the best non-profits devoted to combating habitat loss, stopping the illegal wildlife trade, and preventing human-animal conflict. Project Peril identifies key species on the brink of extinction and helps fund groups doing the best work to save these species around the world.
The Cross River gorilla is on the brink of extinction, but with our help, we can ensure that this subspecies continues to thrive for generations to come.
Take the pledge to help save the Cross River gorilla from extinction! PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK / JANJANA.
By taking action now, we can help protect the Cross River gorilla and its habitat, giving this subspecies a chance to survive and thrive.
This article by Matthew Russell was first published by The Animal Rescue Site. Lead Image: PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK / JULIELANGFORD – A CROSS RIVER GORILLA RESTING, EMPHASIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF PROTECTING THE SPECIES’ RIGHT TO A PEACEFUL EXISTENCE.
What you can do
Support ‘Fighting for Wildlife’ by donating as little as $1 – It only takes a minute. Thank you.
Fighting for Wildlife supports approved wildlife conservation organizations, which spend at least 80 percent of the money they raise on actual fieldwork, rather than administration and fundraising. When making a donation you can designate for which type of initiative it should be used – wildlife, oceans, forests or climate.
