Category: Help a species

1. Australian Koalas need help - here's how you can get involved

   Posted on 8:00pm Saturday 5th Oct 2019

   Koalas have been having a critical time, thanks to punishing and devastating heatwaves and people destroying their habitat.  As a result, many are having no choice but to go into urban areas – where threats such as traffic and dogs threaten their very survival on a daily basis. In short, koalas are in crisis. But there is hope, and a way you can help, wherever you are in the world. IFAW (that’s the International Fund for Animal Welfare) have joined forces with Bangalow Koalas in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. Bangalor Koalas help restore essential wildlife corridors which enable koalas to move safely across the landscape – their own motorway network, if you like. The aim is to rescue orphaned koalas and restore vital koala corridors. They need somewhere safe to survive and thrive.   The will is there, and they need the cash to turn the will to do something about it into action and a result for the koalas. The goal is to raise £100,000 to plant 10,000 trees, but there’s more to it than that. Many koalas need help and a second chance to have a life in the wild.   Aminya is one of these; she lost her mother from a terrible fall at the age of 4 months, and so needed long term care.  Friends of the Koala stepped up and looked after her.  They prepare specialised milk formula, gather fresh leaves and give the koala joeys those essential life skills they need to survive in the wild.  Every single koala matters, so every single koala needs care, whether in the hands of Friends of the Koala or in the wild. Here's how your donation gift could help koalas: A gift of £14 could feed a koala at the nursery for one day  A gift of £40 could provide four eucalyptus trees  A gift of £110 could help us plant a section of eucalyptus forest for wildlife in need  A gift of £196 could feed a koala at the nursery for two weeks Of course, it isn’t just koalas who need trees.  Birds, squirrel gliders, possums, bats and insects all need them as well.  So your gift will help koalas AND a whole number of other species! We need to act now if we want to protect koalas and Australia’s animals from extinction.  DONATE HERE.

2. Help pygmy hippos in Liberia

   Posted on 8:00pm Thursday 12th Sep 2019

   Head to the jungles of Liberia, and you’ll find the absolutely adorable pygmy hippopotamus.   They enjoy spending their time bobbing along rivers, plodding up the riverbank and searching for tasty leaves. Enter a group of illegal miners.  They’ve hacked and hammered their way deep into the ancient forest, hunting for rare metals.  They brought about rampant deforestation and poaching all around them and the hippos have nowhere to run to.    All but 3,000 are dead.  They are heading towards extinction. But there’s a chance to enable local rangers to protect the hippos’ home - and making it impossible for the mining to ever return in the future. They are working with local people who want to protect the ancient forests as much as Fauna and Flora International do.   Please help the pygmy hippos and keep them free to romp and stomp around their home in peace. Will you donate £3 to help Fauna and Flora International and keep the forests free from illegal mining and care for the pygmy hippos and keep them safe Please go to Fauna and Flora's website to donate

    

3. Rhino horn belongs only to rhinos

   Posted on 9:00pm Wednesday 11th Sep 2019

   Do you agree with the statement: Rhino horn belongs only to rhinos? If you do agree with it, please sign the African Wildlife Foundaton’s pledge, saying “Rhion horn belongs only to rhinos”.  World Rhino Day takes place on 22 September, and the AWF says we must make one thing clearer than ever:  Rhino horns are not for sale. Let’s make it very clear: Rhino horns do not cure cancer or hangovers or any ailments. But the demand for rhino horn is there, as people believe it has medicinal benefits and is a symbol of high social status. Rhino horn is made of keratin – as human nails are – and it is as effective as curing cancer as chewing on your fingernails is. RHINO HORN BELONGS ON A RHINO. There are less than 6,000 critically endangered black rhinos left.  Unfortunately, poachers, traffickers and consumers don’t care.   We must stop them. Please give rhinos your support on this World Rhino Day.   Join one of 50,000 wildlife advocates and fight for these rhinos. Sign the AWF’s pledge if you agree that rhino horn belongs on a rhino.

    

4. Rare Asiatic black bear spotted in the DMZ between North and South Korea

   Posted on 4:35pm Thursday 9th May 2019

   There’s news from South Korea of a rare Asiatic black bear having been spotted in the DMZ. The DMZ is the Demilitarised Zone which divides North and South Korea.  The area is very cut off and as a result, it’s become a pristine nature reserve.  In fact, the DMZ has become a real haven for plants and wildlife;   the South Korean government predict that over 100 endangered species call the area home and the Ministry of Environment estimates that there are over 5,097 animal and plant species there, such as the red-crowned crane and black-faced spoonbill.  It’s thought there are about 3,050 red-crowned cranes left in the world so they are a very endangered species indeed.  However, it’s also a migrating route for birds and the Eurasian lynx has been spotted in the area too. Although South Korean soldiers reported seeing bears in the past, there wasn’t any photographic evidence.   The South Korea National Institute of Technology installed cameras – and the bear was spotted! KBS News   The bear seen is thought to be between 8 to 9 months old, weighing about 25 to 35 kilograms.   They think the bear is a descendant of the Asiatic black bears lived in the DMZ for a long time The DMZ is 155 miles long and 2.5 miles wide and it runs across the Korean Peninsula.  It’s heaviliy mined and fortified with barbed wire with surveillance cameras and electric fending.   It was created after the armistice which brought an end to the 1950-53 Korean War. Hiking trails are being established in the DMZ now as recently ties between North and South Korea have improved.

    

5. Polar bears heading to unusual places as sea ice melts

   Posted on 2:00pm Thursday 9th May 2019

   I had an interesting email from Polar Bears International (PBI) today. They have noticed that polar bears are showing up in odd places.   An exhausted polar bear was seen recently in a village on Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula – and that’s 600 kilometers plus from its home range. Their Senior Director of Conservation, Geoff York, thinks this could be that the bear hitched a ride on an ice floe and drifted south, as the ice broke up earlier in the Bering and Chukchi seas this spring.  Unusual and fast ice loss this year has displaced polar bears form their preferred hunting areas.   Seals give birth to their pups in spring In snow lairs or on the sea ice surface.  This makes the polar bear’s dinner more abundant and accessible than at any other time of the year. However the Russian polar bear was far from this area. It was decided to air-lift him back north, to Chukotka in the Russian Arctic. But there have been other unusual occurrences in the region over several months.  Some have been far from the sea.   This could be because of unstable ice cover. Sustained early sea ice is bad news for polar bears Polar Bears International know from other regions that sustained early sea ice break up doesn’t do polar bears any good.  Fewer hunting opportunities Decreased body condition Impacts on reproduction which aren’t good Negative impacts on survival, especially the old and  young If there’s less sea ice in the Arctic, it gets more difficult for polar bears to make a living from the frozen ocean.  Of course people living on the Arctic rely on stable ice to get around on, and to gather food.  We all need a frozen Arctic ecosystem to regulate our climate.    So we ALL need the Arctic to be in good health. Polar Bears International works in 3 ways: Education and outreach.  As more polar bears appear onshore, the charity works to help keep polar bears and people safe, with outreach on best practices for avoiding human-polar bear conflict.   These include getting rid of things such as open garbage dumps and installing bear-proof ones.  Research – the charity is studying the effectiveness of using surveillance radar to detect approaching polar bears.  This means alerts can be given before a bear enters town.  PBI help with research on the best deterrants – and that includes putting together a  history of polar bear attacks, and their causes to help avoid future conflicts. Climate Action. PBI is one working to solve the climate crisis, sharing their knowledge of polar bears and coming up with solutions.  This includes the Climate Alliance training program for zoo staff members, outreach to motivate citizen involvement, and advocacy to policy makers on the urgent need to act. Get involved and help polar bears