"If we use tiger numbers as a performance indicator, then we must admit that we have failed miserably and that we are continuing to fail," said Willem Wijnstekers, secretary general of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

"2010 is the Chinese Year of the Tiger and the International Year of Biodiversity. This must be the year in which we reverse the trend. If we don't, it will be to our everlasting shame," he said.

Delegates from nearly 150 nations have gathered in Doha, capital of Qatar, to vote on more than 40 proposals on restricting or banning trade in endangered animals and plants.

Less than a century ago, more than 100,000 tigers roamed jungles and forests, from Turkey to China and from the Russian Far East to Indonesia.

A ban on tiger parts was implemented in 1975, marking one of the very first initiatives under CITES, which regulates cross-border commerce in imperilled species.

Today, though, less than 3,200 of the great cats remain in the wild.

Their range has been reduced by 93 percent through habitat loss for farming and human habitation, and several population pockets are teetering on the brink of extinction.

The animals are still poached, primarily for their skins but also for their bones and organs, used to make traditional medicines and supposed longevity potions.

"These animals don't have much time left unless we really get our act together," said John Sellar, CITES's senior enforcement officer.

"There is a real underground market going on here," he told journalists.

"People are willing to pay to get the genuine articles, and so there are still practicians that are buying tiger bones, tiger meat in order to supply their specialised clients," he said.

Sellar added: "If we lose the tiger, that in many ways is an indicator of the health of our planet. That is a terrible indictment."

earlier related report
Rio's zoo a maternity ward for endangered species
Rio De Janeiro (AFP) March 14, 2010 - Rio's zoo has been abuzz with activity in recent months, welcoming new arrivals to its collection of animals as it battles to try to save many of the nation's endangered species.

Among its rare residents are the black-collared anteater, the Ararajuba Golden Parakeet and the yellow-breasted capuchin -- just some examples of Brazil's rich and colorful wildlife threatened by extinction.

Now to ensure their survival, the Rio de Janeiro zoo has morphed into a maternity ward of sorts, with some of these animals being born in captivity for the first time.

In the heart of the historical Sao Cristovao neighborhood, close to Rio's open-air football stadium of Maracan, the zoo is home to over 500 mammals, 900 reptiles and 1,000 birds representing 400 species from the Brazilian ecosystem.

"This is the first time species like the anteater or toucan birds with spotted beaks have reproduced. These births prove that these species are well adapted to captivity," biologist Rodrigo Costa said with delight.

He noted that the Tamuanda-Mirim anteater faces extinction in Rio state, as it is originally from the Atlantic Forest.

This humid tropical forest, which covered all of Brazil's coast when it was discovered in 1500, is considered the richest, most diverse ecosystem in the world. But the forest will disappear within 40 years if it continues to be destroyed at the current pace.

Having animals reproduce and successfully give birth in captivity is no easy task and requires much patience.

"For toucans, we studied how they adapted, what they ate, how they made their nest and the couple itself. We switched around males and females until they really got along," Costa explained. The successful couple are the proud parents of two little ones.

When temperatures peaked at over 40 degrees C (104 degrees F) during the southern hemisphere's record-breaking February summer, he had to pierce bird nests to aerate them, he said.

Bears and wolves were fed frozen fruit and ice creams.

Among the hundred or so newborns from endangered species at the zoo are the scarlet ibis, the little Ararajuba Golden Parakeet and the Cuxiu primates of the Amazon (Black-bearded Saki or Chiropotes satanas), whose black beards give them a devilish look.

The yellow-breasted capuchin (Golden-bellied Capuchin or Cebus apella xanthosternos) is among the 25 most endangered primate species in the world.

"These births in Rio are an important gain for preservation," explained another biologist, Anderson Mendes Augusto.

Experts estimate that about 300 of these monkeys remain in the wild in the northeastern state of Bahia.

Around 25 of them are now held at the zoo, which is planning to reintroduce the primates to their natural habitat, an operation fraught with risk for animals born in captivity and not well adapted to the trials of surviving independently in the wild.

Opened in 1888, the Rio zoo is Brazil's oldest. It is now based in the park of the former Portuguese imperial family's residence.

The president of the Rio zoo foundation, Monica Valeria Blum, calls it the "most visited site" in Rio, ahead even of the Christ the Redeemer statue at the peak of the Corcovado mountain, boasting some 100,000 visitors per month.

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News