Photo from animals.nationalgeographic.com

Throughout the news recently, we have heard about the mass killings of elephants and rhinos. We have also heard that if these killings continue at their current rate, these species will become extinct in our near future. However, you rarely ever hear about the endangerment of lions. TakePart interviewed conservationist, Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society, and maker of the 2011 film The Last Lions, Dereck Joubert, to discuss why he believes that the entire lion species may be wiped out within the next decade or so, if nothing is done to stop this from happening.

Photo from wildaid.org

It is heartbreaking to hear about what is happening to the elephants in Africa. The elephant population is quickly declining because poachers are killing them in order to obtain their ivory tusks. There has been an increasing demand for ivory in China and other surrounding countries. However, ivory serves no vital purpose and is often used for jewelry, counter tops, and other minor decorative, yet insignificant items. Finding a replacement for ivory would be an easy task.

Because of climate change, coral reefs are disappearing and marine life is weakening, due to the rise of ocean temperatures. Most species of sea animals depend on coral reefs for food supply or shelter. Chris Goldblatt, an ocean fanatic and conservationist, has spent a majority of his life by the sea. He has had many marine oriented jobs and is disturbed by what is currently occurring in the oceans around the world. He has recently become an enthusiast of a notion that will preserve, and even create, marine life.

Every year around Christmastime, a group of volunteers along the Texas Gulf, more specifically Mad Island, Texas, spend a full 24 hours bird watching. According to an article from the Huffington Post, the purpose of bird watching is to record the types of birds that have been spotted within the 24 hour timespan in efforts to collect data on the relationship between bird migration and climate change.

There has been a photo floating around the Internet of a dolphin, left in a waterless tank at an aquarium, with several employees around it cleaning the tank. This photo is getting a lot of attention from dolphin lovers all over the world who cannot believe this is the way dolphin aquariums are cleaned. The photo was taken by a Chinese man, Huang-Ju Chen, who was visiting an aquarium while the event was taking place. The photographer commented on the photo saying he did not agree with how the dolphin was left lying there while the workers were in no apparent rush to get the tank cleaned and filled back up with water.

There are the obvious effects caused by global warming and climate change such as higher temperatures, melting glaciers, rising sea levels, droughts, severe storms, etc. However a lot of these effects cause smaller issues to arise, potentially ruining some of the activities you take for granted in your everyday life. The Huffington Post came out with a list of some of the things that could be ruined by climate change, and here are some of them:

In honor of everybody’s favorite week, Shark Week, we decided to dedicate this post to the sharks. There are countless species of sharks roaming our oceans, but, according to treehugger.com, there are about 400 species that are humanly known. A large portion of these species are becoming increasingly endangered, a majority of the cause related to humans. Commercial fishing is a huge threat to sharks. Shark fin soup is a popular dish in Asia that contains meat from the fin of a shark. When fishermen capture the sharks, they are only interested in their fins, in which they cut off and discard the remainder of the shark, thus killing the shark. Sharks often become trapped in fishing nets not meant for them, a term known as bycatch. Another reason for the endangerment of sharks is the changing climate.

Courtesy of treehugger.com, here are ten endangered shark species:

1.) Angel Shark – Believed to be extinct in areas near the North Sea and a majority of the northern Mediterranean.

2.) Daggernose Shark – Is known to roam waters along the coast of northeastern South America and has declined over 90% over the last decade.

3.) Zebra Shark – This species is not yet considered endangered but is vulnerable. It lives in the waters along the Indo-Pacific.

4.) Great White Shark – This is the commonly known species of shark, thanks to popular films. The Great White Shark is also not yet endangered but is coming rather close to it.

5.) Shortfin Mako Shark – Also vulnerable, and favors offshore mild and tropical seas around the globe.

6.) Basking Shark – The second largest living fish and lives in moderate oceans where it is a filter feeder.

7.) Dumb Gulper Shark

8.) Speartooth Shark – This type of shark inhabits areas of water near Australia and New Guinea.

9.) Whale Shark – Considered the largest fish and roams the coasts of Asia near Taiwan and Philippines.

10.) Dusky Shark – This species of shark is vulnerable along some North American coastlines.

You’ve probably never heard of this animal, called a Saola. It’s sort of a hybrid of an antelope and a wild cow, and lives in the forested areas of Vietnam and Laos. This extremely rare creature was discovered only 20 years ago in 1992, the first large mammal discovered since 1930. The celebrations by scientists have been cut short in light of the bad news: there are as few as only several dozen to 200 animals left on the planet.

The Arctic circle is once again in the center of a battle between business and conservation. Several European ventures are interested in heading north to exploit the untapped reserves of the Arctic. Since global warming has been melting the ice caps, it is believed that it will be easier to pursue oil drilling and other such things that were impossible before. However, Lloyd’s of London, the world’s biggest insurance market, is calling for these various businesses to think before they rush in.

Two scientists are determined to bring back to life the extinct Woolly Mammoth. These mammals have been absent from Earth for thousands and thousands of years. So, how, you may ask, is this possible? Russian scientist, Vasily Vasiliev and cell scientist Hwang Woo-Suk signed a deal Tuesday, March 12th to clone this nonexistent creature. According to the Huffington Post, the process will involve a modern-day elephant and thawed remains of Woolly Mammoths that were discovered in Siberia’s now-thawed permafrost.