When Professor Noel Fitzpatrick saw a rhinoceros in the wild for the first time the majestic animal took his breath away. The famed veterinary surgeon, known as The Supervet, is used to treating domesticated pets at his Surrey clinic, so this large and impressive animal was a sight to behold. “Wow,” gasps Noel, 55, during […]
Tag: captive breeding
Rare wolves headed to South Carolina from Ohio as fight to prevent extinction ramps up
By next spring, visitors to a South Carolina nature preserve may get a glimpse of one of the world’s rarest animals. Brookgreen Gardens expects three red wolves to be shipped from a zoo in Ohio to the Georgetown County nature center as part of an effort to revive the critically imperiled species in South Carolina […]
SA breeder to release 100 rhinos back into the wild every year
A leading South African private rhino breeder has announced plans to annually release 100 farm-bred rhinos into the wild to help restock a population decimated by poaching. The animals will come from a 2004-strong herd, bred by private rhino farmer John Hume, who runs the world’s biggest rhino farm on an 8 400-hectare piece of […]
Banned DDT and PCBs Still Threaten Critically Endangered California Condors
Despite being banned since the 1970s, DDT and PCBs are still affecting wildlife today, particularly the California condor, a critically endangered species. The condors feed on dead marine life along the California coast that often contain higher amounts of contaminants compared to marine life elsewhere. Scientists at San Diego State University (SDSU) and San Diego […]
First wild-born litter of endangered red wolf pups since 2018 in North Carolina
A litter of red wolf puppies was born in the wild for the first time in four years. Last week, the six pups were discovered in North Carolina’s Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. The good news gives the species, which is now designated as endangered, some hope. “As the sights and sounds of spring began […]
The Years of the Tiger: the demand for tigers and the price they pay
On the 1st of February 2022, the Year of the Tiger starts. The Chinese zodiac is an increasingly popular pseudoscientific classification scheme with followers in Asian countries, like China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Nepal, Bhutan, and Thailand. Hundreds of millions of primarily Asian people observe the start of the Year of the Tiger, but […]
Last-ditch effort under way to stop corncrake extinction in Britain
The piercing “crex crex” call of the male corncrake once kept country people awake at night. But its last breeding strongholds are falling silent as this elusive migratory bird teeters on the brink of extinction in Britain. Despite a successful rescue effort that led to its numbers rallying on the islands of north-west Scotland, rising […]
Campaigners criticise European zoo proposals to cull adult male gorillas
Campaigners are hitting back at zoo proposals to cull adult male gorillas, arguing they should be returned to the wild instead. Overcrowding of critically endangered western lowland gorillas in zoos has led the influential European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (Eaza) to consider killing adult males of the species. Eaza is the body that regulates […]