endangered species

AMPHIBIANS
Boreal Toad	Bufo boreas boreas	SE
Northern Cricket Frog	Acris crepitans	SC
Great Plains Narrowmouth Toad	Gastrophryne olivacea	SC
Northern Leopard Frog	Rana pipiens	SC
Wood Frog	Rana sylvatica	SC
Plains Leopard Frog	Rana blairi	SC
Couch's Spadefoot	Scaphiopus couchii	SC
BIRDS
Whooping Crane	Grus americana	FE, SE
Least Tern	Sterna antillarum	FE, SE
Southwestern Willow Flycatcher	Empidonax traillii extimus	FE, SE
Plains Sharp-Tailed Grouse	Tympanuchus phasianellus jamesii	SE
Piping Plover	Charadrius melodus circumcinctus	FT, ST
Bald Eagle	Haliaeetus leucocephalus	ST
Mexican Spotted Owl	Strix occidentalis lucida	FT, ST
Burrowing Owl	Athene cunicularia	ST
Lesser Prairie-Chicken	Tympanuchus pallidicinctus	ST
Western Yellow-Billed Cuckoo	Coccyzus americanus	SC
Greater Sandhill Crane	Grus canadensis tabida	SC
Ferruginous Hawk	Buteo regalis	SC
Gunnison Sage-Grouse	Centrocercus minimus	SC
American Peregrine Falcon	Falco peregrinus anatum	SC
Greater Sage Grouse	Centrocercus urophasianus	SC
Western Snowy Plover	Charadrius alexandrinus	SC
Mountain Plover	Charadrius montanus	SC
Long-Billed Curlew	Numenius americanus	SC
Columbian Sharp-Tailed Grouse	Tympanuchus phasianellus columbianus	SC
FISH
Bonytail	Gila elegans	FE, SE
Razorback Sucker	Xyrauchen texanus	FE, SE
Humpback Chub	Gila cypha	FE, ST
Colorado Pikeminnow	Ptychocheilus lucius	FE, ST
Greenback Cutthroat Trout	Oncorhynchus clarki stomias	FT, ST
Rio Grande Sucker	Catostomus plebeius	SE
Lake Chub	Couesius plumbeus	SE
Plains Minnow	Hybognathus placitus	SE
Suckermouth Minnow	Phenacobius mirabilis	SE
Northern Redbelly Dace	Phoxinus eos	SE
Southern Redbelly Dace	Phoxinus erythrogaster	SE
Brassy Minnow	Hybognathus hankinsoni	ST
Common Shiner	Luxilus cornutus	ST
Arkansas Darter	Etheostoma cragini	ST
Mountain Sucker	Catostomus playtrhynchus	SC
Plains Orangethroat Darter	Etheostoma spectabile	SC
Iowa Darter	Etheostoma exile	SC
Rio Grande Chub	Gila pandora	SC
Colorado Roundtail Chub	Gila robusta	SC
Stonecat	Noturus flavus	SC
Colorado River Cutthroat Trout	Oncorhynchus clarki pleuriticus	SC
Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout	Oncorhynchus clarki virginalis	SC
Flathead Chub	Platygobio gracilus	SC
MAMMALS
Gray Wolf	Canis lupus	FE, SE
Black-Footed Ferret	Mustela nigripes	FE, SE
Grizzly Bear	Ursus arctos	FT, SE
Preble's Meadow Jumping Mouse	Zapus hudsonius preblei	FT, ST
Lynx	Lynx canadensis	FT, SE
Wolverine	Gulo gulo	SE
River Otter	Lontra canadensis	ST
Kit Fox	Vulpes macrotis	SE
Townsend's Big-Eared Bat	Corynorhinus townsendii pallescens	SC
Black-Tailed Prairie Dog	Cynomys ludovicianus	SC
Botta's Pocket Gopher	Thomomy bottae rubidus	SC
Northern Pocket Gopher	Thomomys talpoides macrotis	SC
Swift fox	Vulpes velox	SC
REPTILES
Triploid Checkered Whiptail	Cnemidophorus neotesselatus	SC
Midget Faded Rattlesnake	Crotalus viridis concolor	SC
Longnose Leopard Lizard	Gambelia wislizenii	SC
Yellow Mud Turtle	Kinosternon flavescens	SC
Common King Snake	Lampropeltis getula	SC
Texas Blind Snake	Leptotyphlops dulcis	SC
Texas Horned Lizard	Phrynosoma cornutum	SC
Roundtail Horned Lizard	Phrynosoma modestum	SC
Massasauga	Sistrurus catenatus	SC
Common Garter Snake	Thamnophis sirtalis	SC
MOLLUSKS
Rocky Mountain Capshell	Acroloxus coloradensis	SC
Cylindrical Papershell	Anodontoides ferussacianus	SC

Facts About Endangered Species

According to scientists, more than one and one-half million species exist on the earth today. However, recent estimates state that at least 20 times that many species inhabit the planet.

In the United States, 735 species of plants and 496 species of animals are listed as threatened or endangered.

266 of these listed species have recovery plans currently under development.

There are more than 1,000 animal species endangered worldwide.

There are more than 3,500 protected areas in existence worldwide. These areas include parks, wildlife refuges and other reserves. They cover a total of nearly 2 million square miles (5 million square km), or 3% of our total land area.

Aquatic species, which are often overlooked, are facing serious trouble. One third of the United States’ fish species, two-thirds of its crayfish species, and almost three-quarters of its mussel species are in trouble.

Killing in the name of fashion

ON THE ice floes of Canada’s northeast coast more than a thousand hunters have embarked on the biggest and bloodiest seal hunt of modern times — a grisly annual ritual that has provoked an outcry from environmentalists the world over.
On the frozen surface of the Gulf of St Lawrence hunters armed with rifles, spears and clubs have begun to track down the first of more than 300,000 baby seals to be killed for their valuable pelts over the coming six weeks.
The seal hunting industry faced bankruptcy a few years ago because of lack of demand abroad. But with fur back in fashion, and seal skins now worth a record high of about £30 each, hunting the mammals is suddenly profitable and popular. Last year locals made about £7 million from the hunt and expect their biggest profits this year. But the bonanza will come at a steep price for Canada’s reputation. Shocking images and gruesome eyewitness accounts of the carnage were yesterday relayed around the world by environmental groups demanding a boycott of Canadian goods.
Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, told The Times from his ship, the Farley Mowat, in the Gulf of St Lawrence, of the bloody scenes he had witnessed as pups were stripped of their fur and carcasses abandoned in heaps on the ice. “It was wholesale carnage,” he said. “The ice was running with rivers of blood. It was a killing field. The seals were helpless. They are all three to seven weeks old. They can’t swim or get away. They never stood a chance.”
The spring hunt began on Tuesday off the Magdalen Islands and will expand over the next six weeks towards an area known as the Front, 40 miles north of Newfoundland. Yesterday bad weather in the area temporarily halted most hunting, which is due to resume today.
The Canadian authorities are aware of the potential damage that the hunt will have abroad, and have tried to hamper environmentalists recording the event. Yesterday coastguard vessels tried to seize the Farley Mowat. On another occasion Mr Watson said that a hunter pointed a hunting rifle at a member of his crew.
Environmentalists are pressing for a boycott of Canadian exports, particularly seafood to the US, to force the authorities to halt the killing. This year’s hunt is the biggest since the 1970s and has attracted some 1,500 seal hunters in 100 boats.
The Canadian Government said that the operation was carefully controlled and humane, brought millions of dollars to poor indigenous communities in the area, and would cause no lasting impact to the environment where seals are blamed for harming fish stocks.
Much of the criticism has been directed against the use of hakapiks, clubs fitted with a spike at one end, which are used to smash the pups’ skulls. The animals are allowed to be hunted after they begin to moult their fluffy white coats usually three to five weeks after birth. Markets for the pelts include Norway, China and Denmark. “Hunting methods were studied by the Royal Commission on Sealing in Canada and they found that the clubbing of seals, when properly performed, is at least as humane as, and often more humane than, the killing methods used in commercial slaughterhouses,” a Canadian government statement said.
However, Rebecca Aldworth, another environmentalist, said that she had seen seals still alive after they had been skinned. “We have seen seals that were moving around and breathing, that have been left in these piles, some left unconscious and crawling,” she said.
Most EU states, including Britain, have banned the import of skins from harp and hooded seals for the past two decades. The US and many other countries also ban all imports of seal products.

animal poaching is cruel!

animals have lived on the earth thousands of years before us. they lived peacfully and naturally until we came along. when we came we decided to rip up their homes and make them ours. which is not right! we had no right to through mostly harmless creatures out of their homes and kill them. then when we built cities we started to move up into the intellectual side. we became intellagent. we started building machines. thats how pollution came about. the fish that live in the lakes started mutating. they started dying just because of our carelessness. then when fashion magazines came along they just had to use real fur! how do you think animals felt about that? poachers went out to get elephent ivy and tusks just for money. leaving the rest behind. then they started killing other rare animals. what i am basically trying to say is stop animal poaching and do the right thing! we need to live in peace and harmony with animals because we are basically animals ourselves.