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As much as 98% of colonies of this penguin species is at risk of extinction by 2100. So, the U.S. has listed the bird as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. There's still hope to save them.

Where do emperor penguins live?

Different species of penguins are found in different parts of the Southern Hemisphere. The emperor penguins are found only in Antarctica, where they live and breed. Emperor penguins thrive on Antarctica's coastlines in icy conditions any human would find extreme. The penguins breed on fast ice, which is sea ice attached to land But they hunt for food within the pack ice-sea ice floes that move with the wind or ocean currents and may merge. Sea ice is also important for resting, during their annual moult, and to escape from predators.  

The U.S. lists them as "threatened".

If current global warming trends and government policies continue, Antarctica's sea ice will decline at a rate that would dramatically reduce emperor penguin numbers to the point that 98% of all their colonies would become quasi-extinct by 2100, with little chance of recovering, a new study has shown. That's why the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finalised a rule listing the emperor penguin as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act, effective November 25, 2022. The director of the service said the listing "reflects the growing extinction crisis". The U.S. Endangered Species Act has been used before to protect other species that are primarily at risk from climate change, including the polar bear, ringed seal, and several species of coral, which are all listed as threatened.

But, these penguins don't even live in the U.S.!

Sure, these penguins don't live on US. territory, so some of the Endangered Species Act's measures meant to protect species habitats and prevent hunting them don't directly apply. Being listed under the Endangered Species Act could still bring benefits, though. It could provide a way to reduce harm from U.S. fishing fleets that might operate in the region. And, with expected actions from the current administration, the listing could eventually pressure U.S. agencies to take actions to limit greenhouse gas emissions. However, the Bureau of Land Management has never acknowledged that emissions from oil and gas extraction on public lands and waters could harm climate-imperiled species. It issued more than 3.500 oil and gas drilling permits in New Mexico and Wyoming on public land during the first 16 months of the Joe Biden administration.

What's harming the birds?

The greatest threat emperor penguins face is climate change. It will disrupt the sea ice cover they rely on unless governments adopt policies that reduce the greenhouse gases driving global warming. If there's too much sea ice, trips to bring food from the ocean become long and arduous, and their chicks may starve. With too little sea ice, the chicks are at risk of drowning. Climate change is now putting that delicate balance and potentially the entire species at risk. Emperor penguins are adapted to their current environment, but the species has not evolved to survive the rapid effects of climate change that threaten to reshape its world. Major environmental shifts, such as the late formation and early loss of sea ice on which colonies are located, are already raising the risk.

How can we save them?

Decades of data since the 1960s are now helping scientists gauge the effects of anthropogenic climate change on the penguins, their sea ice habitat and their food sources. Meeting the Paris Agreement goal could still save the penguins. The results of the new study showed that if the world meets the Paris climate agreement targets, keeping warming to under 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 F) compared with pre-industrial temperatures, it could protect sufficient habitat to halt the emperor penguins decline. But the world isn't on track to meet the Paris Agreement goals. The future of emperor penguins, and much of life on Earth, including humanity, ultimately depends upon the decisions made today.

Picture Credit : Google 

A gentle giant, the dugong is functionally extinct in China. Dugong, a gentle marine mammal related to the manatees that lived in China's southern waters for hundreds of years, has been declared functionally extinct - so few in number that it cannot recover - in the country.

Weighing almost half a tonne, the ocean's most gentle giant is the only vegetarian marine mammal. Its diet consists mostly of seagrass. Despite having an appearance similar to the manatee, it is different due to its dolphin fluke-like tail and gentle disposition. Some people believe that it inspired ancient tales of mermaids and sirens.

Commonly known as "sea cows", dugongs are usually found in the coastal waters from East Africa to Vanuatu and even Japan. They are found in 37 more tropical regions in the world, especially in the shallow coastal waters of the Indian and western Pacific Oceans.

The creature is listed as vulnerable in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List.

According to research by the Zoological Society of London and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, fishing, ship strikes, and human-caused habitat loss have resulted in the rapid decrease in the number of dugongs since the 1970s.

The mammal had been sought by hunters in the 20th Century for its meat, skin, and  bones. With a significant decline in the population, the mammal has been declared a Grade 1 National Key Protected Animal since 1988 by the Chinese State Council. There has been no verified dugong sightings by scientists since 2000.

The research was done by a team of international scientists who conducted interviews in 66 fishing communities across four Chinese provinces along the coastal region of the South China Sea.

Fishing, ship strikes, and human-caused habitat loss have resulted in the rapid decrease in the number of dugongs since the 1970s.

Picture Credit : Google 

Researchers are working to bring back Tasmanian tiger, the marsupial that went extinct about a century ago.

After almost 100 years since its extinction, the world may get to see the Tasmanian tiger once again. Researchers in Australia and the U.S. have embarked on a multi-million dollar project to revive the striped carnivorous marsupial, officially known as a thylacine, which used to roam the Australian bush.

Genetic blueprint

The scientists will be using advances in genetics, ancient DNA retrieval, and artificial reproduction to bring the marsupial back from extinction. The marsupial raises its young in a pouch.

The project will involve several measures incorporating cutting-edge science and technology such as gene editing and building artificial wombs. The scientists plan to take stem cells from fat-tailed dunnart, a living marsupial species with similar DNA. They will then use gene-editing technology to "bring back the extinct species- or an extremely close approximation of it.

Funding

The ambitious project is a joint venture with Colossal Biosciences founded by tech entrepreneur Ben Lamm and Harvard Medical School geneticist George Church. The company is also working on a $15-million project to bring back the woolly mammoth which vanished 4.000 years ago, in an altered form.

Last of the species

About the size of a coyote, the thylacine vanished about 2.000 years ago from everywhere except the Australian island of Tasmania. The last thylacine living in captivity named Benjamin died in 1936 at Tasmania's Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart. This was shortly after the tiger was granted protected status.

It was the only marsupial apex predator that lived in modern times. It also played a key role in its ecosystem.

 The European settlers on the Australian island in the 1800s had accused thylacines for the loss of their livestock. This resulted in the shy semi-nocturnal Tasmanian tigers being hunted down to the point of extinction.

Picture Credit : Google 

An elusive and rare hummingbird has been rediscovered in Colombia by a birdwatcher. The hummingbird Santa Marta sabrewing has been spotted years after it was first recorded in 2010. The news has sent ornithologists across the world into a state of excitement as they celebrate the find.

This is the third time that the species has been documented. It was first documented in 1946 and later in 2010 when the researchers captured pictures of the species in the wilderness.

The bird was spotted by Yurgen Vega during a survey of the endemic birds in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. The researcher said that the sighting was a complete surprise and that he was overwhelmed with emotion when he first spotted the bird.

The hummingbird Santa Marta sabrewing, which is only found in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains of Colombia was thought to have gone extinct by many ornithologists. This species of hummingbird has been listed on the IUCN red list of threatened species 'as critically endangered'. The bird also figures in the Top 10 'most wanted' list of the 'Search for Lost Birds' initiative of conservation organisations.

The hummingbird spotted by Yurgen Vega was male. The bird is identified by its emerald green feathers, bright blue throat and curved black bill The bird was spotted to be singing and vocalising. Scientists associate this behaviour to either courtship or defending territory.

John Mittermeier, director of threatened species outreach at the American Bird Conservancy has likened the rediscovery to "seeing a phantom".

The species is believed to live at an altitude of 1200 to 1800 metres in the neotropical forest. During the rainy season, they are known to migrate in search of flowering plants.

The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia is rich with wildlife and home to 24 bird species that aren't found anywhere else. Yet, according to scientists, only 15 per cent of the habitat is intact. The spotting of the hummingbird has further intensified the call to protect these forests which can solely aid in the conservation of the rare species dwelling there.

Armed with this information, the scientists will now focus on identifying stable populations of this species which can help them come up with conservation strategies and learn more about the bird.

What's the IUCN Red List?

The International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species is an indicator of the health of the biodiversity in the world. The global conservation status of animals, plant species and fungi are covered under this. The list indicates the conservation status of the species and helps in formulating conservation plans. It gives information such as the habitat, population size, ecology, threats the species faces and so on. At present, there are more than 147,500 species on the IUCN Red List of which more than 41.000 species figure under the "threatened with extinction" category.

What's 'Search for Lost Birds'

A joint initiative of conservation organistaions Rewild', 'American Bird Conservancy (ABC) and ‘Bird Life International’, the Search for Lost Birds' attempts to find 10 species that haven't been observed in the wild for over a decade but do not figure in the extinct category of IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Picture Credit : Google