animals

Popular auction site eBay is the hero of animal activists this week as they announced a ban on ivory products on all of their auction sites. The ban will go into effect next year. Antique items which contain some ivory will still be allowed, but any product that is predominantly ivory will be prohibited. 

eBay announced that this new policy was a measure to discourage the poaching of African and Asian elephants, both of which are endangered, for their ivory tusks. Animal defense groups estimate that 20,000 African and Asian elephants are killed illegally each year.  » read more

Did you know that this week (October 4-10) is World Animal Week (it's also referred to as World Wildlife Week in some places). I came across a story this morning that I thought would be perfect to put in my blog, especially during World Animal Week. You may find this hard to believe (I sure did!), but a recent international study claims that a quarter of the world's mammals are in danger of extinction. One in four mammals on the planet are in serious danger of disappearing forever. That's scary! » read more

An okapi, a little-known relative of the giraffe with parts of its body striped like a zebra, was spotted in the wild for the first time yesterday, and captured on film in the Democratic Republic of Congo yesterday.

This rare animal is kept in some zoos, but never has been captured on film in its native habitat. In fact, the species was unknown to Europeans a mere one hundred years ago. » read more

This Saturday, September 7, is National Threatened Species Day in Australia. Activists are trying to raise awareness of the fact that a full 20% of Australian species are endangered or threatened. This means that climate change and other human impacts could drive a fifth of Australia's biodiversity to extinction in the years to come. 

Affected animals include the flatback turtle...

» read more

The American Pika, or 'Rock Rabbit,' is becoming just another victim of climate change. In fact, researchers are saying this creature is the "canary in the coal mine" for the American West, a sign of more drastic changes to come. This animal is the first warning sign because it is so sensitive to heat. The pika lives at high altitudes where the temperatures stay low. Even a temperature of 80 degrees Fahrenheit can endanger the pika if it is exposed for longer than an hour or two. » read more

On August 2, two anti-whaling activists, one Australian and the other British, approached a Japanese whaling ship while on a whaling hunt. Their objective was to deliver a letter to the ship informing them that what they were doing defied international agreements. However, these two men could never have guessed at the welcome they received. They were immediately seized, tied to the rail and then the mast (in Arctic waters), and kept captive for nearly three days before an Australian ship came to retrieve them.  » read more

As climate change threatens more and more species, the question that is coming to the forefront is this: How far should we go to save species that are endangered by global warming? In 1973 the Endangered Species Act was passed into law, and carried heavy penalties for harming members of species listed as threatened or endangered. But this will not be enough to save many plant and animal species whose habitats are threatened by climate change. » read more

The Pesticide DDT was used during WWII to stop mosquitoes from spreading diseases such as malaria. It was also used as an insecticide for agriculture. » read more