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Tag: endangered

  • Medicinal Chemistry: A New Hope for Endangered Species

    Medicinal Chemistry: A New Hope for Endangered Species

    Conservation medicine says chemists and pharmacists can help stop animals from dying out. Timothy Cernak is a professor at the University of Michigan and she thinks medicinal chemistry is crucial for saving animals. Cernak’s lab isn’t just about making medicine for people. They also want to help animals like fighting deadly fungus hurting frogs.

    Medicinal Chemistry

    Cernak wants everyone including high school students to join in saving animals. He mentions gorillas and birds like the akikiki from Hawaii are in danger. He believes using medicinal chemistry can quickly help sick animals, like the Panamanian golden frogs.

    Cernak wants big drug companies and young scientists to get involved. He is working hard to get money for research and show why this is important. He talks about sea lion pups dying from the flu, showing how animal diseases can affect people too.

    Cernak wants chemists and pharmacists to work with vets and conservationists to save lives and nature. He believes in “One Health Pharmacy,” where everyone’s health is connected. Cernak thinks technology like AI can help find medicines faster for both people and animals.

    He hopes in the future we can use medicine to help sick animals and stop extinction. This new way of helping animals shows how different fields can work together for a better world for everyone.

  • Kenya’s Largest Rhino Relocation: Hope for Endangered Species

    Kenya’s Largest Rhino Relocation: Hope for Endangered Species

    Conservationists in Kenya are excited as rhinos return to a grassy plateau after many years. The successful relocation of 21 eastern black rhinos to a new home will provide them with space to breed and could help increase their population. This relocation marks Kenya’s largest rhino relocation ever. The rhinos were moved from three parks that were becoming too crowded to the private Loisaba Conservancy, where rhino herds were wiped out by poaching decades ago.

    rhinos

    “It’s been almost 50 years since rhinos roamed here,” said Loisaba security manager Daniel Ole Yiankere. “Their numbers were greatly affected by poaching. Now, our focus is on restoring this landscape and allowing rhinos to breed, aiming to bring their population back to its former glory.”

    Moving rhinos safely is a big challenge. The 18-day operation involved tracking the rhinos by helicopter and tranquilizing them with darts. Then, the animals, which weigh about a ton each, had to be loaded onto trucks for transportation.

    David Ndere, a rhino expert at the Kenya Wildlife Service, explained that reproduction rates decrease when there are too many rhinos in one area. “By moving some animals, we expect the rhino population in those areas to increase,” Ndere said. “Then, we reintroduce at least 20 rhinos into new areas.”

    There are just over 6,400 wild black rhinos left in the world, all in Africa, according to the Save the Rhino organization. Tom Silvester, the CEO of Loisaba Conservancy, said Kenya aims to increase its black rhino numbers to 2,000 in the next decade. “Once we reach 2,000 individuals, we’ll have a population that gives us hope of bringing them back from extinction,” he said.

    rhinos

    Kenya has relocated more than 150 rhinos in the last decade. An attempt to move 11 rhinos in 2018 ended tragically when all of them died shortly after. Investigations found that ten died from stress, dehydration, and starvation due to salt poisoning. Since then, new guidelines have been established for rhino capture and relocation in Kenya.

    Kenya is also home to the last two northern white rhinos on the planet. Researchers hope to save this subspecies by creating embryos in labs and transferring them into surrogate female black rhinos.

  • Leonardo DiCaprio Joins Fight to Save Endangered Birds in Tasmania

    Leonardo DiCaprio Joins Fight to Save Endangered Birds in Tasmania

    Renowned actor Leonardo DiCaprio has shifted his attention from Hollywood glamour to Tasmania’s lush forests, shedding light on the urgent need to protect the swift parrot, a bird facing extinction. With a single social media post, DiCaprio, known for his award-winning acting, raised awareness among his vast online following about the perilous situation of Tasmania’s swift parrots.

    DiCaprio

    Sharing the success of Australian conservationists who secured a temporary halt to logging in crucial swift parrot nesting areas, DiCaprio emphasized the importance of preserving these habitats. His message underscored the dire situation faced by the remaining 750 swift parrots, whose survival hangs in the balance if logging continues in Eastern Tasmania’s forests.

    DiCaprio’s advocacy has sparked enthusiasm among environmental groups, including the Bob Brown Foundation, founded by former Greens leader Bob Brown. Extending an invitation to DiCaprio to experience Tasmania’s natural beauty firsthand, Brown’s foundation hailed the actor’s influential support, which has propelled the swift parrot’s conservation efforts onto the global stage.

    The spotlight on Tasmania’s swift parrot has reignited calls for the Australian government to fulfill its commitments to protect native forests. Felicity Wade of the Labor Environment Action Network has condemned logging as a “travesty,” urging policymakers to take decisive action. However, Tasmania’s logging debate remains contentious, with local political parties divided in their stance on the industry.

    DiCaprio’s involvement in the swift parrot’s conservation is not merely symbolic but holds the promise of real change for Tasmania’s avian inhabitants. Through his organization, Re: Wild, DiCaprio invites others to join the cause, signaling a broader movement to restore forests and safeguard Tasmania’s natural heritage.