Extinction – TINA CHIARELLI, PHD, FRGS

A Year in Review: Let 2017 be the Year of Action

December 14th, 2016tinalc0 Comments

As 2016 draws to a close, it’s important to reflect upon the last 365 days. Just like the preceding years, 2016 had triumphs and failures in wildlife and habitat protection. Although we still have a lot of battles before us in the field of conservation, I feel that 2016 was the year of awareness. Global issues were brought to the forefront to be openly discussed. I have to hope that is a great start for things to come in 2017. With each passing year, I am often asked how one person can make a difference. I completely understand how easy …

Coral: Diversity in Danger

March 25th, 2016tinalc0 Comments

Occupying less than one percent of the Earth’s surface and less than two percent of the ocean floor, it would be easy to overlook the significance of coral. In fact, 25% of all marine species depend on coral reefs for survival. In addition, for humans, coral provides shoreline protection, medicine, food, and an incentive for ecotourism to the sum of ~$50 million annually. Coral belong to the phylum Cnideria; closely related to sea anemones and jellyfish. Although they begin their lives as mobile medusa, they spend their adulthood as sessile polyps. Coral secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard exoskeleton …

A New Year of Hope for Wildlife Conservation

January 1st, 2016tinalc0 Comments

Another year has come and gone. Like those years preceding, 2015 has witnessed both heartbreak and achievements in conservation. As we reflect back, it is important to find the positive in the saddest of situations, learn from them, and apply the knowledge gained to help in the new year. The death of the King of Hwange, Cecil, brought trophy hunter to center stage. Through his tragic end, Cecil became a voice for Lions. Not only did the world listen they too spoke out asking how and why this could have happened. Demanding justice. In response, the United States listed one …

What an Endangered Species listing in the US means for African Lions

December 22nd, 2015tinalc0 Comments

2015 has seen a media frenzy centered on the African lion, mostly for the wrong reasons. Headlines condemning the illegal killing of a research lion, Cecil, started a global conversation on the lion hunting industry. A recent documentary, Blood Lions, solidified the fact that this type of exploitation is a contributing factor to the demise of this magnificent species. For years wildlife conservation groups have called for the increase in protection for the African lion to no avail.According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), there are only ~23,000 lions representing five subspecies still found in Africa. That …

The State of Africa’s Big Cats: a 30-year Conservation Report Card

January 21st, 2015tinalc0 Comments

Despite staunch conservation efforts, global big cat populations continue to decline. In just the last 30 years, data collected by conservation groups in Africa show that some big cat populations fell by at least 50% (table 1). Loss of habitat, human-wildlife conflicts, hunting, and poaching continue to threaten the long –term survival of these iconic creatures. Population 1985 2015 Cheetah (Africa and Iran) ~21,000 <10,000 (CCF) Lion (African and Asia) 100,000 ~23,000 Africa; <400 Asia (IUCN) Tiger (6 subspecies) 5,000-7,000 <3,500 (Global Tiger Initiative) Leopard (9 subspecies) no reliable data 100,000 Africa; 8,000 India (Nat Geo) …

Make 2015 the Year of Conservation Achievements

January 5th, 2015tinalc0 Comments

As 2014 came to a close, I felt inundated with reports of record numbers of animals killed to fuel the illegal wildlife trade. In 2014, almost 1,200 rhino were killed for their horns. Numbers of elephants slaughtered for ivory were in the tens of thousands. It appears that life in the sea is just as dangerous on land as over 100 million sharks were killed for their fins. Gorillas, tigers, okapis, hippos, lions, and cheetah are not only losing their lives, but also their homes. Sadly, they are not the only ones. This cannot continue. As we begin 2015, …

Can CITES Regulations Help Protect Wildlife?

March 13th, 2013tinalc0 Comments

From 3-14 March, the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) is holding their Conference of Parties 16 (CoP16) in Bangkok, Thailand. While some species will get the protection they so desperately need to survive in the wild, others seem to fall by the wayside. What constitutes a species being placed on the coveted Appendix I list? Is a down listing to Appendix II or III, or a delisting a death sentence for species? Do CITES regulations really help protect endangered species or simply pay lip service to the angry mob? A great deal of confusion surrounds what CITES …

Human-Wildlife Conflict Redefined

December 7th, 2012tinalc0 Comments

Five years ago, if you heard the words “human-wildlife conflict” (or HWC) the first thing that probably came to mind was the challenges agriculturalists in range countries face coexisting with native fauna. Maybe you thought about the struggle between Namibian goat herders and cheetahs or East African farmers protecting their crops from raiding elephants. In short, humans had what animals wanted. No doubt those types of incidences still exist, but the overall dynamic of human-wildlife conflicts have changed, and therefore need redefined. Perhaps the first thing we should change is our way of thinking; how we view conflict between man …

Vultures: Ecosystem Guardians

August 31st, 2012tinalc0 Comments

1 September marks International Vulture Awareness Day. Although sometimes regarded as ugly and gross, vultures play a most important role in keeping ecosystems healthy. They serve both a biological and cultural significance. Unfortunately, several species are under threat of extinction due to humans. And please believe me when I say, this is not a species that we can live without. Collectively, there are 23 species of vultures that are classified into two groups: Old World Vultures and New World Vultures. Although all species are similar, these two groups actually belong to different families. There are 16 species of Old World …

Animal Extinctions: What Can We Learn From Past Mistakes

April 30th, 2012tinalc0 Comments

Across the globe animal species are going extinct. From such contributing factors such as disease, persecution, poaching, displacement, and habitat destruction, we are losing some of our most amazing creatures at an alarming rate. Unfortunately, species extinctions are nothing new. But can we learn from past mistakes to ensure more magnificent animals do not do the way of the dodo? One of the most iconic species to have become extinct in the 20th Century was the thylacine or Tasmanian tiger. The last known thylacine was observed in captivity at the Hobart Zoo in 1936. Although the thylacine was a large …