Population in the Wild: individuals Population in Captivity: 170 individuals (approximate) Locality: Southwest Primoskiy Krai, of far eastern Russia Population in the Wild: 7,500 individuals Population in Captivity: 1,400 individuals Locality: Kenya; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; Somalia; South Africa; Sudan; Tanzania Of the nearly forty feline, or cat, species in the world, only one—the domestic cat—is believed to be secure. As undeveloped land becomes harder to find, large cats, such as lions, panthers, tigers, jaguars, and cheetahs, are left with less and less natural habitat in which to live. Several causes examined on local levels, including inbreeding, human interaction, and sea level rise, have brought big cats close to extinction. 3 CAT CONSERVATI ON AMUR LEOPARD SINKING SPECI ES MAN VS. WIL D CHEETAH BENGAL TIGER As the only tiger sub species that has adapted to live in mangroves, the Bengal tiger is threatened partially due to habitat loss by rising ocean levels. A mangrove is a specialized ecosystem where forests grow on a saltwater coast The Sundarban Forest, located between Bangladesh and India, is the only documented mangrove occupied by Bengals The mean elevation for most of the Sundarbans is less than one meter The sea level is predicted to rise by between.3 and.5 m by 2050 and up to 1.0 m by 2100 Beyond 28 cm sea level rise, Sundarban tiger populations will not likely remain viable This would leave the area segmented into five main patches, making mating very difficult It is likely that the populations would experience a bottleneck effect A bottleneck effect is a sudden reduction in size leading to limited genetic variation 10 Conflict with farmers and ranchers is one of the major threats to cheetahs in southern Africa. Cheetahs are often killed because they are a perceived threat to livestock, although they cause relatively littledamage. In Namibia, large numbers of cheetahs have been trapped and removed by ranchers looking to protect their livestock Over 9,500 cheetahs were removed in between 1978 and 1995 Research shows that cheetahs were only responsible for 3% of livestock losses to predators Even though the removal rates have fallen due to intensified conservation and education efforts, many ranchers and farmers still view cheetahs as a major pest to their livestock The Republic of Namibia permits cheetahs to be killed in defense of life and livestock. Killing cheetahs for their skin is also permitted as long as the killing is reported Illegal trade of cheetah skins and capture of live cubs for trade causes Concern 6/7/8 There is much debate over how to handle the conservation of the Amur leopard. The subspecies is critically endangered and action to save this genetically distinct leopard must be taken. There is discussion of breeding the wild and captive species to increase populations in the wild. However there is much debate over whether this is the best decision. The origins of the captive populations were not pure – some captive leopards are of a different subspecies Introducing these two groups of animals for breeding would mean the sacrifice of the Amur leopards’ genetic purity This could result in a more resilient subspecies and an increase in genetic diversity The debate is between a healthier overall population due to cross breeding versus maintaining the integrity of the leopards by not introducing the different sub species 4/ life forms on this planet endangered species 869 extinct species 22% of world’s mammals are threatened or extinct 76 mammal species are known to be extinct 2000 mammal species are being affected globally by habitat loss 31% of world’s amphibians are threatened or extinct 38 amphibian species are known to be extinct 14% of world’s birds are threatened or extinct 134 bird species are known to be extinct 27% of world’s warm-water reef-building corals are threatened 71% of world’s coral are climate change susceptible 42% of all species have declining populations 2 FAST FACTS: ENDANGERED SPECIES A SPECIES CONSIDERED TO BE FACING A (VERY) HIGH RISK OF EXTINCTION IN THE WILD 1 Population in the Wild: about 1,500 individuals Population in Captivity: about 2,500 individuals Locality: Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar and Nepal 9 1 The International Union for Conservation of Nature. (2009, February). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved from 2 Ibid. 3 Library Index. (2010). Endangered Mammals - Big Cats. Retrieved from 4 O. Uphyrkina, D. Miquelle, H. Quigley, C. Driscoll, and S. J. O’Brien. (2002, September). Conservation genetics of the far eastern leopard (panthera pardus orientalis). Journal of Heredity, 93(5), , 02/21/10. 5 Uphyrkina O, O. S. (August 2003). Applying molecular genetic tools to the conservation and action plan for the critically endangered far eastern leopard (panthera pardus orientalis). COMPTES RENDUS BIOLOGIES, 326, doi: /S (03) Cheetah. (2010). Defenders of Wildlife. Retrieved from wildlife_and_habitat/wildlife/cheetah.php 7 IUCN Red Li st. (2010, March 2). The International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved from 8 Appendices I, II and III. (2009, May 22). Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna. Retrieved from Year of the Tiger. (2010). World Wildlife Foundation. Retrieved from 10 Loucks, C., Barber-Meyer, S., Hossain, M., Barlow, A., & Chowdhury, R. (2010). Sea level rise and tigers: predicted impacts to Bangladesh’s Sundarbans mangroves. Climatic Change, 98(1-2), Retrieved from Wildlife & Ecology Studies Worldwide database. WHERE THE WILD THIN GS ARE ENDANGERED SPECIES BIG CA TS (From left to right) Amur Leopard Ucumari, V. (2007). Tree of Life Web Project [Picture]. Retrieved from Amur Leopard and Tiger Distribution in Russia ALTA Amur Leopard Conservation. (2005). Amur Leopard and Tiger Distribution in Russia [Map]. Retrieved from Cheetah Johns, C. (2006). National Geographic [Picture]. Retrieved from Cheetah Distribution Map The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. (2009, October 27). Acinonyx jubatus [Map]. Retrieved from Bengal Tiger The Animal Photo Archive [Picture]. (1993). Retrieved from Tiger Map World Wildlife Federation. (2010, January 29). Tiger Range [Map]. Retri eved from JENNIFER YEO M MARIAH VANE MARLEE GROS S section AB