Baiji Dolphins: A Fellow Mammal Leaves the Planet

Dr. Robert L. Pitman, a member of the recent Chinese expedition, writes an emotional note for the New York Times in response to reporter’s question about the broader implications of the apparent extinction the Baiji Dolphin.

What we are seeing now is probably the first large animal that has ever gone extinct merely as an indirect consequence of human activity: a victim of market forces and our collective lifestyle. Nobody eats baiji and no tourists pay to see it — there were no reasons to take it deliberately, but there was no economic reason to save it, either. It is gone because too many people got too efficient at catching fish in the river and it was incidental bycatch. And it is perhaps a view of the future for much of the rest of the world and an indication that the predicted mass extinction is arriving on schedule.

Full story at The New York Times.

Google Earth: Space Navigator 3D controller

Santa Claus was very nice to me this year and dropped the "3Dconnexion SpaceNavigator" 3D navigation device down my chimney. It makes flying around Google Earth an ABSOLUTE BREEZE and really helps to get the most out of the wonderful application that Google Earth is.

In the past week I've flown around my old hometown in England, my new hometown in the USA, along with more cities and famous landmarks than I care to mention. Mt. Everest, Mt. St. Helens, and the Grand Canyon were great places to explore. No more messing around with a regular mouse and CTRL, ALT and SHIFT keys. The Space Navigator is so much more instinctive and natural, and it's very attractively priced too. A fabulous device!

I've also been flying around the Last Chance To See locations which you'll find in our Another Chance To See KMZ file, and also the Jane Goodall Chimpanzee Google Earth blog which is a very clever use of Google Earth. The Space Navigator brings so much to the whole experience, and it's thoroughly addictive! The device is not just for Google Earth though. It also works with Google Sketchup, Autodesk products, and much more besides. I highly recommend it.

Fundraiser: Thanks to all our sponsors!

Thanks to all our sponsors who've donated to our "Another Chance To See Fundraiser". With the help of two recent substantial donations from Kjartan Albertsson and Michael Werlitz we've now raised a total of £165 for Save The Rhino.

Just a few pounds or dollars will help towards some of the items shown here in Save The Rhino's list of needs. Anyone in the world can donate, because JustGiving's secure website will convert your credit card donation to GB pounds automatically. Thanks again to all our contributors so far. Happy New Year to you and rhinos everywhere!

The fundraiser will run until the middle of 2007 when we'll start again with another charity for one of the endangered animals from "Last Chance To See".

Mountain Gorillas: News round-up

Here's a few Mountain Gorilla stories that wafted my way recently. I've been terribly busy in the weeks leading up to Christmas, and now I've got the dreaded lurgy that's going around, so apologies for not keeping up with all of this.

Meet Rachel Hogan, the wildlife volunteer being hailed as the new Gorillas In The Mist girl - Sunday Mirror

The Mountain Gorilla is not known to have contracted the ebola virus - Age.com.au

Former Chelsea and England football player Graeme Le Saux on ITV's Extinct - The Times

Le Saux is scheduled to make his pitch tomorrow night. On the launch show, there was a tantalising glimpse of him giving it the full Sir David Attenborough, whispering into the camera from a crouched position in some tall grass as, over his shoulder, several tonnes of male ape was debating with itself whether or not to eat him. Quality work from Le Saux, although, if we’re being picky, Sir David never looks quite so terrified.

The Mountain Gorilla Twins featured on the Extinct show - The Sun

Gorilla Tourism Feature - Reuters

About 10,650 tourists came to Rwanda's park last year. Up to November this year, nearly 12,000 had been, park figures show.

Baiji Dolphins: Chinese to continue the search for the White Flag dolphin

China's People's Daily Online reports that some Chinese scientists remain noncommittal over the findings (read: lack of) of the recent Baiji expedition.

Wang Ding, vice director of the hydrobiology institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and head of the research team, insisted it was still too early to say whether or not the dolphin, also known as baiji, is extinct, even though none were found along the 3,400-km expedition route.

"A species are only said to be extinct after human beings fail to find any in the wild for 50 years according to the standards of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature," Wang said.

So it's going to be many years before the scientific community can officially declare the Baiji extinct, and thus the search WILL continue.

Chinese scientists said they will continue to search for the rare white-flag (baiji) dolphin although it is possibly extinct after a 38-day search failed to find any in the Yangtze River.
[...]
"We will try every effort to save them as long as they are not announced to be extinct," said Wang, who is vice-director of the hydrobiology institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Komodo Dragons: 'Virgin births' for giant lizards

Komodo Dragon parthenogenesis is back in the news again this Christmas. Parthenogenesis is the process of eggs being developed without being fertilised by a sperm. This Christmas virgin birth is due to take place at Chester Zoo in the UK. BBC News has the story...

Flora, a resident of Chester Zoo in the UK, is awaiting her clutch of eight eggs to hatch, with a due-date estimated around Christmas.

Kevin Buley, a curator at Chester Zoo and a co-author on the paper, said: "Flora laid her eggs at the end of May and, given the incubation period of between seven and nine months, it is possible they could hatch around Christmas - which for a 'virgin birth' would finish the story off nicely.

"We will be on the look-out for shepherds, wise men and an unusually bright star in the sky over Chester Zoo."

We reported a previous case of purported Komodo Dragon parthenogenesis back in May 2006, this time in France.

Baiji Dolphins: Saddened by end of Yangtze dolphin

Carlie Wiener wrote into the Toronto Star to complain about the placement of their article on the perceived extinction of the White Flag or Baiji Dolphin.

Its placement on page A14 in a small article at the bottom of the page illustrates utter disregard for the environment. Since when do the salaries of sports stars, a restaurant catching fire and a new food guide take precedence over the loss of an entire species?

Read Carlie's full comment at TheStar.com .