March 10, 2015

Last week, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced they will retire their performing elephants by 2018. The animals will then live at the company’s Center for Elephant Conservation in central Florida. The 200-acre (80-hectare) center was established in 1995 and is a home for elephants to grow up and grow old.

After 145 years of featuring the animals in its “Greatest Show on Earth,” the company announced that it had taken this “unprecedented” decision to be able to focus its efforts on elephant conservation programs in North America and Sri Lanka. Critics noted the announcement came after years of scrutiny and criticism concerning the organization’s training and treatment of elephants while on tour, which can include traveling to over 100 cities in a year. Several cities banned shows with live elephants, which made Ringling Brothers tour schedule more complex.

Elephants performing at a Ringling Brothers show. Animal-rights activists have objected to the way in which elephants are housed and trained when traveling with the circus. Credit: © Shutterstock

The Asian elephant (Elephas maximas), the species of elephant featured in Ringling Brothers shows, is one of the largest animals on Earth, standing from 9 to 10 ½ feet (2.7 to 3.2 meters) tall at the shoulder and weighing up to 8,000 pounds (3,600 kilograms). Elephants are extremely strong, highly intelligent, and socially sensitive. People have tamed and trained them for thousands of years. Trained circus elephants can stand on their heads, lie down and roll over, dance, and perform many other tricks. According to Ringling Brothers circus, elephants can respond to some 60 verbal commands.

Hopefully, Ringling Brothers conservation center can help to increase the number of Asian elephants. There are only about 40,000 to 50,000 of this endangered species remaining in the wild. Since the 1860′s, the animal’s population has been halved. Threats to elephants’ survival include habitat loss, conflict with humans, and illegal wildlife trade, especially of ivory from elephant tusks. Wildlife experts agree that elephants are in great danger and need human protection to survive. A spokesman for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey stated of their Center for Elephant Conservation, “No other institution has done or is doing more to save this species from extinction.”

Other World Book articles:

• In the Company of Elephants (a Special report)
• Ringling brothers

February 11, 2015

Australian scientists claim that feral cats (cats that have reverted from domesticated animals back to their original wild or untamed state) and foxes are the cause of an extinction crisis that is affecting the country’s native mammals, in a study published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. As many as 30 species of Australia’s native mammals have gone extinct since the first European colonists arrived in 1788. This represents about 10 percent of all mammal species found in Australia. Many more native species are threatened with extinction, as well.

Australia’s high rate of mammalian extinction has long puzzled scientists. Researchers know that habitat destruction by people is the main cause of most animal extinctions over the past few centuries. However, large portions of Australia have only sparse human populations compared to the rest of the world. Furthermore, in Australia, many of the endangered species are small, unlike in other regions of the world, where larger animals are at the highest risk of extinction.

The scientists examined over 200 years of records of Australian wildlife extinctions searching for common elements. They found that the decline of many Australian native species coincided with the introduction of domestic cats and foxes. Cats were kept on ships to control rats and were introduced to Australia when the first European sailors arrived. Many cats have since escaped and reverted to a feral state. Red foxes, which were later introduced for sport hunting, also adapted well to the new environment. Both predators specialize in hunting smaller prey, such as the endangered quoll and numbat.

The quoll is a small, spotted mammal that lives in forests in the southeastern part of mainland Australia and on the island of Tasmania. They are in danger of dying out. (World Book illustration by Colin Newman, Bernard Thornton Artists)

Numbats are in danger of going extinct. They inhabit woodland areas in the southwestern corner of Australia. They feed primarily on insects. (© Steven David Miller, Nature Picture Library)

Wildlife experts point out that solutions for this problem are difficult and expensive. Campaigns to eradicate feral cats and foxes can lead to other problems. For example, when cats and foxes are removed, the population of rabbits, another introduced species, increases dramatically. Fenced reserves can provide protection for endangered mammals. However, fences that exclude predators are very expensive to build and require constant monitoring and maintenance.

Other World Book articles:

• History of Attempts to Save Species (a Special report)
  
• Invasive species
• Science stalks the domestic cat (a Special report)

October 20, 2014

The number of northern white rhinoceroses remaining on Earth has fallen to just six with the death of Suni, a 34-year-old male that lived at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. Even worse, Suni was one of only two breeding males. The first northern white rhino born in captivity, Suni was found dead in his boma (fenced corral) on Friday. Officials at the reserve said Suni was not a victim of poaching for his horn and ordered a necropsy. The other breeding male as well as two females still live at Ol Pejeta. Another southern white rhino is housed at the Dvur Kralove Zoo in the Czech Republic; two of the rhinos live at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. No northern white rhinos are known to live in the wild now.

The northern white rhino is one of two subspecies of white rhino, the largest of all rhinoceroses. The other subspecies is the southern white rhino. The white rhino stands about 5 feet 8 inches (1.7 meters) tall. In some cases, it may be over 6 feet (1.8 meters) tall and 15 feet (4.6 meters) long. It weighs about 31/2 tons (3.2 metric tons).

The white rhinoceros is the largest kind of rhinoceros. There are two subspecies of white rhinoceros, the northern white rhino and the southern white rhino. (Clem Haagner, Bruce Coleman Inc.)

Suni, who was born at the Dvur Kralove Zoo, and three other rhinos were moved to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in 2009 as part of a program called “Last Chance to Survive.” Officials had hoped that the natural conditions in Kenya would improve the rhinos’ chances of breeding and so save the subspecies from extinction. Suni had mated twice with one of the females, but the two did not produce offspring.

Thousands of northern white rhinos once roamed parts of East and Central Africa south of the Sahara. The animal’s situation grew dire in the 1970′s and 1980′s, as poaching for rhino horn cut the wild population, from about 500 to only 15. Many Asian people believe the powdered horn of the rhinoceros has healing qualities and can be used to cure lung and chest illnesses. Some people believe the horn has magical powers. Asian people also use the skin, blood, and urine of rhinoceroses to cure illnesses. Rhino horn now sells for more than gold or platinum. In a statement on Suni’s death, Ol Pejeta officials said, “the species now stands at the brink of complete extinction, a sorry testament to the greed of the human race.”

Additional World Book articles:

• Endangered species
• International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources