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"Weirdest"
Animals to Get Conservation Attention
A slender loris walks on a branch at a shelter just outside "Weirdest" Animals to Get Conservation
Attention John Roach A
conservation effort announced today aims to protect some of the world‘s oddest
and most overlooked animal species. The
Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) program, led by the
Zoological Society of London, focuses on animals that have unique evolutionary
histories and face immediate risk of extinction. The project combined
existing data on species relatedness and threat status to develop a list of a
hundred top animals. In 2007 the project will
focus on ten high priority species from that list "with potential for
slipping through the gaps without notice," said Samuel Turvey, a project
scientist with the zoological society. "Of the top 100
species which we‘re focusing on, more than 70 percent receive either no
conservation attention or extremely limited attention," Turvey said. The highest priority
species, the Turvey recently visited "It appears to have
died out because there wasn‘t any conservation action done in time," he
said. "For 20 years
conservationists recommended things that needed to happen that no one ever
acted on," he added. "We need to make sure that what happened to the Yangtze River dolphin never happens to any other species." EDGE will raise
awareness of the animals and their plights, fund research studying the species
in their natural habitats, and then help execute conservation plans. Ten Targeted Animals The Zoological Society
of London‘s focal species for 2007 include the following animals: Yangtze River dolphin: Also known as the baiji, this pale,
blue-gray freshwater dolphin with tiny eyes lives in one of the world‘s busiest
and most degraded waterways—China‘s muddy Yangtze River. Since the mid-1980s
conservationists have advocated moving some baiji to a safer environment to
establish a breeding program, but no funds were ever allocated for such a
program. Many scientists suspect the dolphin may already be extinct. Long-beaked echidna: These
spine-covered, egg-laying mammals—among the island of New Guinea‘s last
surviving indigenous animals—are characterized by long beaks that comprise
two-thirds the lengths of their heads. Traditional
hunting—along with forest habitat loss to farming, logging, and mining—are the
primary threats to long-beaked echidnas. Hispaniolan solenodon: This
shrewlike insectivore native to the Slow and clumsy, the
solenodon is poorly equipped to fight off introduced predators such as dogs and
cats and is also threatened by habitat loss from human activity and
deforestation. Bactrian camel: Able to
survive for days on end without food and water, Bactrian
camels—likely the ancestor to all two-humped camels—are adapted to life in
Asia‘s hostile and fragile Gobi region. The camels have lost
habitat to mining and industrial development and must compete for food and
water with introduced livestock, including domestic camels. Many are also shot
when they wander outside protected areas. Conservationists also fear
interbreeding with domestic camels has led to a loss of the genetically
distinct wild population. Pygmy hippopotamus: This small
relative of the common hippopotamus is distinguished from its cousins by a
round head, eyes on the side of the head instead of the front, and separated
toes with sharp nails instead of webbed feet. Like its relatives, the pygmy
secretes a thick, oily substance known as blood sweat that allows it to stay in
water or a dry atmosphere on land for extended periods of time. The pygmy hippopotamus
has a discontinuous and shrinking presence in western Slender loris: This small
primate with long, slender arms and legs (see
photo) is found only in Both subspecies are
losing their habitats to logging, agriculture, and development and are hunted
for their meat and body parts, which are used in folk medicine. Hirola: Perhaps the
world‘s rarest and most endangered antelope, Disease, predation, and
competition with domestic livestock are the major threats to the hirola, which
can be found in Golden-rumped elephant
shrew: A bright yellow patch of fur on its rear easily distinguishes
this shrew with a long, elephant-like trunk. About the size of a small cat, it
is the largest of the elephant shrews and has long, spindly legs, large eyes
and ears, and a long, partially naked tail. The shrews are endemic
to Bumblebee bat: Weighing in
at 0.07 ounce (2 grams), this is the smallest mammal in the world. The
bumblebee-size creature has a swollen, piglike nose, relatively large ears, and
small eyes concealed by fur. The bats are found in caves
at Long-eared jerboa: Very little
is known about this small, jumping rodent with enormous ears. The jerboa
resembles a mouse with a long, tufted tail and elongated hind legs, and its
ears are about a third larger than its head. Living in the desert
habitats of northwest ====================================================================================================== 中国人都应该好好看看这篇文章，好好反省！！！ |
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