World’s Best Animal Parks

Posted by joanne on November 30th, 2009 at 01:14pm

“Young people are the future of conservation. We must inspire them and we must lead them by our example,” said Dr. Sybille Klenzendorf from the World Wildlife Federation. Over the years, Dr. Klenzendorf has worked on the conservation of endangered animals like tigers, leopards, elephants, rhinos and orangutans around the world. “We are really at a crisis. So many species are in decline right now,” she told the Buffalo News recently. To put things into perspective, the rhino population has dropped 90% since 1970 and there are only 4,000 to 5,000 tigers living in the wild right now. Here is a list of the most endangered species on the planet.

The Sumatran tiger is one of the world’s most endangered animals, particularly because they are highly coveted in the world of poaching and their habitat is rapidly being destroyed by the logging industry. The island’s nature preserve houses 100 tigers but the poachers have managed to find their way into the park to kill. Three similar breeds of tiger — the Bali, the Java and the Trinil — have already gone extinct. It is believed that there are less than 400 Sumatran tigers in the wild. Similarly, the Siberian tiger has been whittled down to less than 200 existing in the wild. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums has 1,000 tigers in their breeding programs, which has female tigers birthing several cubs each year.

Another one of the most endangered species in the world is the orangutan, which experts warn could be extinct within 10 to 20 years. In 2006, 1,000 apes were killed in raging forest fires that swept Indonesia; not to mention that 80% of their habitat has been destroyed by palm oil/bio-fuel loggers and farmers. Now only small pockets of orangutan exist in Borneo and Sumatra. Their numbers have dwindled from 300,000 to 50,000, with 5,000 of these endangered animals perishing each year. “Orangutans are in catastrophic decline and everything that is being done to protect them is not up to the challenge,” explained Ape Alliance chairman Ian Redmond. “It is all looking pretty bleak.”

“It’s sad to see in my lifetime the loss of so many species. It’s like watching the end of the world in slow motion,” said Donna Fernandes, president of the Buffalo Zoo. In Buffalo, NY there are captive breeding and resettlement programs for 28 endangered species, including the snow leopard, Indian rhino, Siberian tiger, Puerto Rican Crested Toad and Golden Lion Tamarin. “I sometimes wish I could time travel back 200 years ago, and see the world the way it was,” she sighs, referring to the numerous endangered animals who have already met their end — including the Vancouver Island wolverine, the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit, the Dusky Seaside sparrow and the Bay Spring salamander, which have gone extinct since 1960. Fernandes adds, “I’m hoping people will realize there is hope if they take an active role in changing their behavior, and in supporting organizations trying to halt extinction.”

Sarah Lomas is a foremost expert in natural cure yeast infection. She has had extensive experience and conducted countless experiments in finding natural yeast infection remedies. She is also a highly acclaimed writer in the yeast infection field and you can find out more at remedyforyeastinfection.com.

Under Education