This year Endangered Species Day is on the 17^th of May and here at ARKive to show our support we have decided to showcase some of the less well known endangered species.

Greater bamboo lemur 

Once widespread throughout Madagascar, the greater bamboo lemur is now restricted to just 1-4% of its historic range. The largest of the bamboo lemurs, this species was believed to be extinct for almost 50 years until it was rediscovered in 1972. The main threats to the greater bamboo lemur is habitat destruction by slash and burn agriculture, mining and illegal logging.  

Spoon-billed sandpiper

The spoon-billed sandpiper is a small, attractive bird with a distinctive spoon-shaped bill. As this species has very particular habitat requirements, only breeding in coastal areas with sand and sparse vegetation within six kilometres of the sea, habitat loss and alteration have greatly impacted upon it. Recent population surveys have shown that numbers of this species are declining rapidly. However, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust are taking action to save this species by setting up a conservation breeding programme to buy some time while the major problems are tackled.

Tonkin snub-nosed monkey 

Chinese giant salamander

Ploughshare tortoise 

Coco-de-mer

A giant of the plant world, the coco-de-mer is a palm species which produces the largest and heaviest seeds of any plant in the world. Endemic to the Seychelles, the Endangered coco-de-mer has already been lost from three of the Seychelles islands in its former range. The main threat to this plant species is the collection of its seeds, which has almost stopped all natural regeneration of population’s.

Saola

The saola is an unusual, long-horned bovid which was discovered as recently as 1992. The entire range of the saola is found in a narrow area of forest on the border between Vietnam and Laos. Classified as Critically Endangered, the saola is increasingly threatened as a result of hunting, as well as habitat loss and habitat fragmentation due to the development of infrastructure within its small range.   

Titicaca water frog

Endemic to Lake Titicaca, the Titicaca water frog is the largest truly aquatic frog and can weigh up to 1 kg. While its extremely loose skin gives it a bizarre appearance, the skin is very rich in capillaries, enabling the frog to remain underwater without having to surface for air. Unfortunately, the Titicaca water frog is under great threat as a result of over-collection for human consumption.

Estuarine pipefish

Believed to be extinct in the early 1990s until being rediscovered in 1995, the estuarine pipefish is still at risk of extinction. The loss of this pipefish from the majority of its former range is thought to be due to construction of upstream dams. These developments restrict the supply of fresh water which brings with it essential nutrients required by the phytoplankton upon which the food chain depends.

 These are just a few of the species which need our help – find out more about endangered species by visiting our Endangered Species topic page.

Jemma Pealing, ARKive Researcher

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Eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei)

Species: Eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei)

Status: Endangered (EN)

Interesting Fact: The eastern gorilla is divided into two subspecies, the eastern lowland or Grauer’s gorilla, and the mountain gorilla.

Together with the western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla), the eastern gorilla is the largest of the living apes. Gorillas have characteristically robust, heavy bodies and dark, shaggy coats, and males are much larger than females. The eastern gorilla lives in stable family groups, led by a dominant ‘silverback’ male, and females in the group give birth around once every three to four years. The eastern lowland gorilla is found in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the mountain gorilla in two isolated populations in Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The eastern gorilla faces a range of threats, including snares set for other wildlife, as well as deliberate poaching for bushmeat or to take infants as pets. This species is also surrounded by rapidly increasing human populations, and habitat destruction, illegal cattle grazing and timber extraction are also serious problems, as is political unrest in some areas. Fortunately, the eastern gorilla occurs largely in protected areas and a number of conservation programmes are underway to protect it. Mountain gorillas have been studied for decades, and in some places are protected by armed guards. Visits by tourists pose a risk of disease transmission to the gorillas, but these charismatic primates are recognised as an important source of tourist revenue, which may help to protect them.

Find out more about gorilla conservation at the International Gorilla Conservation Programme and the Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP).

See images and videos of the eastern gorilla on ARKive.

Liz Shaw, ARKive Text Author

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Organised by UNESCO, World Book and Copyright Day is held yearly on the 23^rd of April, a date which also marks the birth and death of William Shakespeare, and aims to promote reading, publishing and copyright. To celebrate and help people rediscover the pleasure of reading, we’ve gathered together some of our favourite animals featured in famous and much-loved works of literature. How many of these books have you read?!

Life of Pi – Richard Parker

Bengal tiger

Winner of four Oscars, the popular 2012 film Life of Pi was based on Yann Martel’s intriguing novel of the same name, and tells the story of Pi, a young boy from Pondicherry, India, who ends up on a remarkable journey. When the ship taking him to North America sinks, Pi is left stranded on a lifeboat for 227 days with only Richard Parker for company. Trouble is, Richard Parker is a Bengal tiger…

Harry Potter – Hedwig

Snowy owl

Adored by children and adults alike, the Harry Potter books have sold more than 450 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling series in history. Each novel in the seven-book series envelops readers in a wonderful world of magic and mayhem, and is filled with charismatic characters and fantastical creatures. Among these is Harry Potter’s loyal feathery friend Hedwig the snowy owl, a large, powerful owl species with piercing golden-yellow eyes.

Moby Dick – Moby Dick

Sperm whale

“He tasks me! That whale, he tasks me!”

It doesn’t end at all well for Captain Ahab when he tries to take on Moby Dick, the gigantic white sperm whale that had bitten off the sea-farer’s leg on his last whaling voyage. In the story, Captain Ahab, a vengeful whale-hunter, is determined to track down the great whale and kill it, but the tables are turned when the harpoon rope becomes entangled around his neck, and he is dragged to the ocean’s depths by the very animal he was trying to kill.

Esio Trot – Alfie

Egyptian tortoise

“ESIO TROT, ESIO TROT, TEG REGGIB REGGIB!”

The star of Roald Dahl’s 1990 children’s novel Esio Trot is none other than Alfie, a little tortoise who, his owner believes, would be much happier if he were a little bigger. We can’t be sure exactly what species Alfie is supposed to be, but one fellow carapaced creature that knows all about being diminutive is the Egyptian tortoise. This runty reptile has a high-domed shell which grows no longer than about 14 centimetres at full size!

The Ancient Mariner – the albatross

Wandering albatross

Being followed by an albatross is often considered to be a good omen for sea-farers, and in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, an albatross appears at a most opportune moment, leading the ship and its crew out of the bitterly cold Antarctic. However, much to the anger of the other sailors, the Mariner shoots the bird, an action which causes bad fortune to befall him and his ship mates. The albatross in the poem could well have been a wandering albatross, which has the largest wingspan of any bird, reaching up to an impressive 3.5 metres across.

The Jungle Book – Baloo

Sloth bear

Much-loved by many, Baloo the bear in Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book is described as being ‘the sleepy brown bear’. However, this law-teaching character is actually thought to be a sloth bear, which is found in the Seoni area of India where the novel takes place. Sloth bears are unique amongst bears in that the majority of their diet is composed of insects, particularly termites and ants…this might explain Baloo’s choice of snack as he sings ‘Bear Necessities’ in the animated Disney film adaptation!

White Fang – White Fang

Grey wolf

Published in 1906, Jack London’s novel White Fang is set during the Klondike Gold Rush in Canada’s Yukon Territory at the end of the 19^th century. It tells the story of the trials and tribulations faced by White Fang, part dog and part grey wolf, as he grows from a feisty pup into a majestic canine. Grey wolves are highly social and intelligent animals which hunt efficiently in packs. Once wide ranging in the northern hemisphere, the grey wolf now has a more restricted distribution, being extinct in parts of Western Europe, Mexico and the USA.

Jaws – the great white shark

Great white shark

A 1974 novel by Peter Benchley, Jaws tells the story of the residents of a fictional seaside town terrorised by a man-eating great white shark, and the efforts of three men to rid the small resort of the fearsome beast. While the film of the same name became a Hollywood blockbuster, it can’t have done much good for the reputation of some of the ocean’s most incredible predators! Despite media frenzy surrounding the topic, only an average of 30 to 50 shark attacks are reported each year, and of these just 5 to 10 prove to be fatal. If you consider that, in the coastal states of the USA alone, lightning strikes and kills more than 41 people each year, it’s really not that high a statistic!

The Wind in the Willows – Mr Toad

Common toad

Mr Toad, an impulsive motor car enthusiast and the owner of Toad Hall, is one of the central characters in Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows. Described as resourceful and intelligent, Mr Toad is a self-centred yet loveable rogue, and finds himself in several scrapes throughout the book. While not known for its penchant for tweed suits, the common toad is believed to be the inspiration behind the wealthy occupant of Toad Hall.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar – the caterpillar

Swallowtail caterpillar

We couldn’t finish off this blog without mentioning a wonderful childhood favourite which documents a fascinating biological process…The Very Hungry Caterpillar! Young and old are enthralled by this picture book following the journey of a caterpillar as it chomps its way through various food items before pupating and emerging as a beautiful butterfly!

We hope you’ve enjoyed reuniting with some of the most famous (and infamous!) creatures in literature! Was your favourite animal character featured here? If not, comment below to tell us who your top choice is!

Four of our Top Ten Animals in Literature have made it onto the shortlist of the world’s Top 50 Favourite Species…so why not check out what else has been nominated and cast your vote!

Kathryn Pintus, ARKive Text Author

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After a 300-year absence, the European bison is once again freely roaming the forests of Germany.

In 1927, no European bison remained in the wild, with just 54 captive individuals being found in zoos

A welcome return to the wild

A small herd of European bison has been released in Germany, marking the first time in over 300 years that this species has roamed the country’s wilderness. Once widespread across Europe and northern Asia, the European bison, also known as the wisent, underwent a dramatic population decline as a result of large-scale deforestation and hunting. By the 1920s, the species was extinct in the wild, and only 54 captive individuals remained.

Reintroduction programmes began in the 1950s, and since then the European bison has successfully been released in forests in ten countries, including Belarus, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, the Ukraine and Slovakia. However, Germany has this month become the first western European nation to see the bison return to its borders.

The European bison is classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List

Unhindered herd

For the last three years, the small herd of just eight bison has been held within a 220 acre pen. Researchers have been monitoring the group, which comprises one male, five females and two calves, and have conducted several studies relating to the animals’ release.

Experts have deemed that the bison pose no danger to humans, and so the decision was made to allow the herd to roam unhindered in the Rothaar Mountains of North Rhine-Westphalia. Officials took down the fence earlier this month, enabling the bison to enter Germany’s forests, and it is hoped that the small herd will grow in number to include around 25 individuals. Two of the bison have been fitted with radio transmitters so that scientists can track and monitor them.

Once extinct in the wild, there are now 1,800 European bison roaming free in Europe

Successful reintroductions

An interesting reintroduction study is currently being conducted in Pleistocene Park, a protected area in northern Siberia. Researchers are investigating the effects of returning bison and other large native animals to the region, to see if the area is returned to the steppe ecosystem which was present during the Pleistocene epoch.

Reintroduction of the European bison within its historic range has so far proved successful, with an impressive 1,800 individuals now roaming the wild, all of which have stemmed from the 54 captive individuals.

Read more on this story at Mongabay.com – Bison return to Germany after 300 year absence.

View photos and videos of European bison on ARKive.

Kathryn Pintus, ARKive Text Author

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Masked men have raided a storeroom in the National Museum of Ireland and stolen four rhino heads believed to be worth a total of £430,000 on the black market.

The black rhino is classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List

Night-time raid

Police have revealed that the lone security guard on duty Wednesday night at the museum’s storeroom in Swords, north of Dublin, was tied up by three masked men who broke into the building. The security guard later managed to free himself and raise the alarm.

During the raid, the thieves managed to escape with the heads of three black rhinos from Kenya, as well as one from a northern white rhino, a subspecies on the very brink of extinction. The horned mammals had all been killed more than a century ago and, until recently, had been on public display at the museum itself. The rhino heads, each of which sports two valuable horns, had been removed from the exhibit last year and placed in storage, in order to protect them from being targeted by thieves.

In 2006, as few as four northern white rhinos were thought to exist in the wild

Powdered horn

Nigel Monaghan, keeper at the museum’s Natural History section, has said that, based on their weight, the eight horns could be worth up to £430,000 on the black market. Despite being made of keratin, the same fibrous protein that makes up our own hair and nails, and having no documented medicinal value, rhino horn is highly prized in traditional Asian medicine.

In countries such as China and Viet Nam, powdered rhino horn is marketed as being an aphrodisiac and a cure for serious diseases, including cancer. As a result, rhino horn is considered to be extremely valuable, and its illegal trade has led to three of the five rhino species in Africa and South Asia being classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Read more on this story at The Guardian – Rhino heads seized in gang raid on Ireland’s national museum.

View photos and videos of rhino species on ARKive.

Kathryn Pintus, ARKive Text Author

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