GA4

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

NORTHERN WHITE RHINOS - Ugandan Rebel Army pledges to save the rhino

There are reports that The Earth Organization, a South African conservation group has made an agreement with the Ugandan Lords Resistance Army rebels in an effort to save the last "four" Northern White Rhinos in the wild - Source - SanePR.
Lawrence Anthony, founder of The Earth Organization, has been in negotiations with the LRA leadership for two days to secure the safety of the endangered species. The rebels who are currently occupying Garamba national park in north-eastern DR Congo have issued a formal statement pledging to protect the only estimated four Rhinos of their sub-species remaining in the world.
[...]
“These are the most highly endangered large mammals on earth and if we lose them they will be the largest mammal since the mammoth to go extinct,” said Anthony who led the negotiations at the LRA base camp outside of the Sudanese provincial capital of Juba.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures. The LRA, with many highly armed mobile combatants have already killed 12 game rangers and eight Guatemalan UN troops in the park and the future of these only remaining rhinos lies in their hands at the moment,” added Anthony.
With the recent difficult DR Congo elections, this is a welcome move in a troubled country.

Speaking of Woolly Mammoths.... Did you see the recent coverage on the oft-talked about plan to resurrect Woolly Mammoths using sperm taken from frozen carcasses discovered in the Siberian tundra? CNet has the story...
All ethical questions aside, it still probably won't be biologically possible to actually bring back the woolly mammoth in its original state. Its sperm might be viable, but that's unfortunately only half of what would be needed to bring forth a new member of the species. Consequently, scientists interested in mammoth revival speculate that the still-extant Asian elephant--believed to be genetically close enough to interbreed with the mammoth--could fill the female void.

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