National News

Giraffes Silently Slip onto the Endangered Species List. “In 2016, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) shifted the conservation status of giraffes from species of “least concern” to “vulnerable”. It seems that in all of six years, the gentle giants had gone from a state of low or no concern to being just four steps away from a complete wipeout. The population of giraffes dropped from over 157,000 in 1985 to around 97,500 in 2015 – a 40% drop in three decades. The IUCN Red List identified four major threats to giraffe populations: habitat loss, recreational killing, civil unrest and ecological changes. Giraffes are commonly poached for their tails. Congolese populations consider the tail to be a status symbol, used as dowry while asking for a girl’s hand in marriage. Some tribes are also known to kill these animals for meat. However, poaching for body parts, which is different, remains one of the biggest threats to their survival. Apart from tails, illegal trade in giraffe marrow, touted to cure AIDS, has also contributed to their decline. The US is the biggest importer of hunting trophies from giraffes, according to The Guardian. A majority of trophy hunters also originate from the US. According to American conservationists, residents imported “21,402 bone carvings, 3,008 skin pieces and 3,744 miscellaneous trophies from giraffes”. For this, they estimated at least 3,700 individuals would have had to be killed.” [NoInvite.com, 3/29/18 (=)]

Alarmed Conservationists Call for Urgent Action to Fix “America’s Wildlife Crisis.” “An extinction crisis is rippling though America’s wildlife, with scores of species at risk of being wiped out unless recovery plans start to receive sufficient funding, conservationists have warned. One-third of species in the US are vulnerable to extinction, a crisis that has ravaged swaths of creatures such as butterflies, amphibians, fish and bats, according to a report compiled by a coalition of conservation groups. A further one in five species face an even greater threat, with a severe risk of being eliminated amid a “serious decline” in US biodiversity, the report warns. ‘America’s wildlife are in crisis,’ said Collin O’Mara, chief executive of the National Wildlife Federation. ‘Fish, birds, mammals, reptiles and invertebrates are all losing ground. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to prevent these species from vanishing from the earth.’ More than 1,270 species found in the US are listed as at risk under the federal Endangered Species Act, an imperiled menagerie that includes the grizzly bear, California condor, leatherback sea turtle and rusty patched bumble bee. However, the actual number of threatened species is “far higher than what is formally listed”, states the report by the National Wildlife Federation, American Fisheries Society and the Wildlife Society.” [The Guardian, 3/29/18 (=)]