Endangered Species Update articles from October - December 2005

Endangered Species Update archives from October - December 2005

Observations on gentiana kurroo royle, a critically endangered medicinal plant from the Kashmir himalaya, India.
October 1, 2005... Abstract Gentiana kurroo Royle, a Critically Endangered (CR) medicinal plant species, endemic to the northwestern Himalayas, is fast heading towards local extinction in the Kashmir Himalaya. The plant species, previously distributed...

Biology, policy and law in endangered species conservation: II. A case history in adaptive management of the Island Fox on Santa Catalina Island, California.
October 1, 2005... Abstract Successful recovery of endangered species at first would seem to have a clear answer: simply remove the anthropogenically-induced agent(s) and recovery should follow. While programs attempt to focus conservation efforts in such...

Captive propagation as a tool for the conservation and recovery of the Hawaiian Avifauna.(Report from the Field)
October 1, 2005... The Hawaiian Islands, because of their geographic isolation and evolutionary history, have a highly endemic native avifauna, significant portions of which are quickly being lost due to the introduction of alien species and disease. The State of...

Knowing wildlife and the impact of tourism on cheetahs.(Species at Risk)
October 1, 2005... Common and Scientific names Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Felidae Genus: Acinonyx Species: jubatus (IUCN, 2004) Sub Species: Acinonyx jubatus hecki, Acinonyx...

The Encyclopedia of Animals: A Complete Visual Guide.(Book review)
October 1, 2005... The Encyclopedia of Animals: A Complete Visual Guide Cooke, Dingle, Hutchinson, McKay, Schodate, Tait, Vogt University of California Press 2004 There are over one million animal species in the world; this encyclopedia touches on this great...

Reversing the plight of the Guam rail.(News From Zoos)(Brief article)
October 1, 2005... Following the end of World War II, the brown tree snake was accidentally introduced to the island of Guam in the Pacific Ocean. This invasive species devastated the ecosystem, obliterating many of the endemic forest species, including the...

Increasing Wolf Awareness at Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo.(News From Zoos)(Brief article)
October 1, 2005... Once upon a time, most native wolf species were close to extinction in North America. From their portrayal as characters in fairy tales to the grisly folklore of their human-eating habits, these fictional images have contributed to the wolves'...

Shedd's Caiman lizards hatch a North American first.(John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago )(Brief article)
October 1, 2005... Caiman lizards are listed as a CITES Appendix II species, owing to the possibility that they might soon be under threat of extinction in their native South American habitats. Not only are they growing more rare in the wild, but only seven North...

Successful Andean condor release.(News From Zoos)(Brief article)
October 1, 2005... The Incas believed that Andean condors flew the sun into the sky every morning and served as messengers to the gods. These birds had 11-foot wingspans and could be seen riding the currents along the entire length of the Andes in South America....

Insight into the lives of animals.(Focus on Nature[R])(Brief article)
October 1, 2005... The dew is evaporating as the morning sun spreads across the expansive green landscape of Mauna Kea's northern slope. Hidden in her nest built within the deep grass a PUEO, or Hawaiian short-eared owl, (Asio flammeus sandwichensis) decides to...

Endangered species Bulletin.(U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
October 1, 2005... Human endeavors in the conservation of imperiled species are a fairly recent development, scarcely more than a century old. In that brief span, we have witnessed the emergence of new ideas to describe the diversity of species on this planet and...

The Crucians are coming!(Saint Croix ground lizard )
October 1, 2005... The Saint Croix ground lizard (Ameiva polops) is a small lizard with adults measuring 1.5-3.5 inches (35-77 millimeters) from snout to vent. It is considered one of the world's most endangered reptiles, with fewer than 500 individuals living in...

How the Scanlans got their range back.(Jerry, Judy Scanlan, Malin, Oregon)
October 1, 2005... Since the late 1800s, western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) has encroached or increased in density on sagebrush and bunchgrass habitats in the intermountain region of the western United States. Such anthropogenic (human-caused) influences as...

Banking on gopher tortoises.
October 1, 2005... The tortoise beat the hare in a fabled footrace. But the gopher tortoises (Gopberus polypbemus) of southwestern Alabama have been slowly losing their race for living space. New homes, roads, and businesses squeeze them out, and the exclusion of...

Rare species are welcome on Arizona Ranch.
October 1, 2005... James W. Crosswhite, a rancher in eastern Arizona, knew that Nutrioso Creek wasn't in the best shape when he bought the 400-acre (162-hectare) EC Bar Ranch in 1996. The stream was a downcut channel and rabbit brush, an invasive plant not grazed...

Cactus comeback in the Caribbean.
October 1, 2005... When Columbus arrived in the Caribbean, the eastern islands were covered by extraordinary tropical coastal forests. After centuries of European colonization, few of those ecosystems remain intact. The colonization of Culebra began in 1880,...

Meet the beetles!(greater Adams Cave beetle, lesser Adams Cave beetle )
October 1, 2005... The greater Adams Cave beetle (Pseudanophthalmus pholeter) and the lesser Adams Cave beetle (P. cataryctos) are endemic to a single site in Madison County, Kentucky. Adams Cave, located in the middle of a rapidly developing subdivision...

Bull River: a new Wildlife haven.(Bull River Wildlife Management Area, The Conservation Fund, Plum Creek Timber Company, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks )
October 1, 2005... Thanks to the hard work and dedication of people from several organizations, more than 3 square miles (7.8 sq. kilometers) of outstanding fish and wildlife habitat are now under conservation management in northwestern Montana. Recently, Avista...

Sneezeweed conservation bears fruit.
October 1, 2005... One of the greatest challenges in the twenty-first century is to protect biodiversity in the face of widespread habitat loss. In the central United States, the Ozark Highlands are exceptionally rich in rare natural communities and at-risk...

Keeping family forests.
October 1, 2005... "Family forest" landowners manage about 60 percent of forests nationwide. Yet this statistic does not reflect the tremendous influence these landowners have over certain key landscapes. For instance, the ownership pattern within the...

Box score: listings and recovery plans as of August 5, 2005.(Table)
October 1, 2005... BOX SCORE Listings and Recovery Plans as of August 5, 2005 ENDANGERED THREATENED TOTAL GROUP U.S. FOREIGN U.S. FOREIGN LISTINGS ...