A few nice about endangered animals images I found:
In search of the Maltese Falcon #3 - Female Spanish Sparrow, Ghadira Nature Reserve, Malta
Image by foxypar4
BirdLife Malta was the driving force behind the creation of Ghadira Nature Reserve in Mellieha, next to Malta’s most popular sandy beach.
It is of ecological importance because it encloses two types of habitat which are very rare in Malta: wetland and saltmarsh.
The area was declared a bird sanctuary in 1978 after BirdLife Malta presented scientific data to the government showing the ornithological value of the wetland. Our work continues to ensure that this area remain a haven for birds. The protection the reserve enjoys ensures that as the seasons change, Ghadira hosts a variety of animal and plant life.
As a result of the management and protection of the site, the reserve offers a stunning combination of biodiversity and natural beauty. Today the area is home to a variety of flora and fauna, some of which is rare and endangered and given special protection by the European Union.
Ghadira offers a taste of what the Maltese islands would be like if illegal hunting and trapping are stopped. Malta sits at the heart of the central Mediterranean migration route and could be host to many species of wild birds that stop here en route.
The indiscriminate hunting and trapping that has occurred over the last fifty years means that significant numbers of migrating birds that land in Malta never make it to their final destination. The reserve is a rare sanctuary. Hunting and trapping of birds within 500m of the area has been banned here for over three decades. Although hunting is permitted on more than two-thirds of the Maltese islands, hunters still occasionally break into the reserve and shoot any migrating birds that land there for a well-deserved rest. The reserve has also been attacked in other ways - for example, large quantities of oil were dumped into the pools and reservoirs in an attempt to destroy the fragile wetland ecosystem.
From November to May, Ghadira and Is-Simar reserves are open to the public. BirdLife volunteers lead guide walks along the nature trail.
Useful information for visiting the Ghadira Nature Reserve:
* Opening Times: Saturdays and Sundays from November until May. Visiting hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
* Public Transport from/to Valletta: Buses 44 and 45.
* The reserve is a no smoking area.
* No pets are allowed inside the reserve.
* Entrance is free.
The Spanish Sparrow Passer hispaniolensis, also sometimes called the Willow Sparrow, is a species of sparrow closely related to the House Sparrow. It has a complex distribution in the Mediterranean region in Cape Verde, the Canary Islands, Madeira, northern Africa, western Spain, Sardinia, Sicily, Malta, the Balkans, and across southwest and central Asia from Turkey east to westernmost China. It is however absent from some parts of the Mediterranean region, notably Italy and Corsica, where it is replaced by the Italian Sparrow, a sparrow intermediate (and possibly hybrid) between Spanish Sparrow and House Sparrow. It also hybridises freely with House Sparrow in parts of northern Africa (northeastern Algeria, Tunisia, and northwestern Libya), forming highly variable mixed populations with a full range of characters from pure House Sparrows to pure Spanish Sparrows and everything between.
The range expanded greatly over the last 200 years, partly through natural colonisation, as in the Balkans (Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, and Moldova colonised from 1950 onward), and partly through accidental human intervention, with the species reaching the Canary Islands (early 19th Century) and Cape Verde (1832) on board ships. Madeira was colonised in May 1935 after a period of severe east winds blew some birds in. It is mainly resident in the west of its range, but eastern populations are more migratory; birds from the Balkans and Turkey migrate to northeast Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Odd birds have wandered as far north as Scotland and Norway.
It is 15-16 cm long and weighs 22-36 g, slightly larger and heavier than House Sparrows, and also has a slightly longer and stouter bill. The male is similar to the House Sparrow in plumage, but has a red-brown (not grey) crown, white (not pale grey) cheeks, blacker back, and underparts heavily streaked with black. The female is effectively inseparable from House Sparrow on plumage, only distinguishable by its slightly heavier build.
It is an urban bird in some areas, notably where House Sparrows are absent such as the Canary Islands, Madeira, and Malta, but more often breeds in trees near rivers or other wet areas in farmland well away from buildings. Like other sparrows this species feeds principally on seeds. It is strongly gregarious, often building closely spaced or even multiple shared nests, though each pair having an individual nest cavity and entrance; some colonies breed in the base of large nests of birds like White Storks. Colonies may hold anything from a few pairs up to over a thousand pairs. Each pair lays 3-8 eggs, which hatch in 12 days, with the chicks fledging when about 14 days old.
From Wikipedia and Birdlife Malta
SCBI and GMU Groundbreaking Ceremony
Image by Smithsonian's National Zoo
Scientists and educators from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and George Mason University are donning their hard hats and dusting off their shovels to break ground June 29 on a green-design conservation complex that embodies the concept of the living classroom. Since October 2008, the Smithsonian–Mason Global Conservation Studies Program has trained future conservationists with an interdisciplinary and interactive program at SCBI headquarters, the Smithsonian National Zoological Park’s 3,200-acre facility in Front Royal, Va. There, undergraduate, graduate and professional students from the U.S. and abroad participate in courses taught by prominent scientists and educators from the Zoo, Mason and other institutions.
The Smithsonian–Mason Program began with 15 undergraduate students in fall 2008. When the expansion is complete in fall 2012, SCBI Front Royal will be able to accept 60 undergraduate students and 60 graduate students and professionals.
“There is no greater goal than to invest in educating and training the next generation of conservation professionals,” said Steve Monfort, director of SCBI and co-founder of the
Smithsonian–Mason Program. “By improving science-related education and engaging students in ways that provide them with hands-on experience, we’re fulfilling that goal.”
At the groundbreaking ceremony, Wayne Clough, Secretary of the Smithsonian, and Alan G. Merten, president of George Mason University, spoke about the expansion project. Two graduates of the Smithsonian–Mason program, Michelle Waterman and Joanna Lambert, offered insight about their experiences as participants of the program. Also in attendance at the ceremony were Eva Pell, the Smithsonian’s Under Secretary for Science; Roger Sant, Regent of the Smithsonian; Dennis Kelly, director of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo; Monfort; and Alonso Aguirre, executive director of the Smithsonian–Mason Program.
“We are extremely excited to literally build upon this unique partnership between two highly regarded institutions,” said Aguirre. “These new facilities will allow our students to live and learn in a collaborative environment where conservation is happening every day.”
The three new buildings will be LEED-certified Gold Standard and will model the best green practices, including green-roof technology, geothermal heating and cooling, composting kitchen waste, reuse of rainwater and storm-water management. The space will house classrooms, laboratories, dining and events facilities, dormitories and study halls.
SCBI serves as the umbrella for the Smithsonian’s conservation science. The priority for SCBI’s animal collection is veterinary and reproductive research. By living in controlled environments, the 22 species—most of them little-known and endangered birds and mammals—provide ideal subjects for intensive study and the rapid acquisition of urgently needed information. Findings from these studies provide critical information for the management of captive populations and valuable insights for the conservation and management of wild populations.
For information about the Smithsonian–Mason Global Conservation Studies Program, visit the National Zoo’s website: nationalzoo.si.edu/SCBI/ConservationEducation/Smithsonian....
Photo Credit: Mehgan Murphy, Smithsonian's National Zoo
Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica) at ZSL 15th May 2008
Image by schlechterwolf
The Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica) is a subspecies of the lion which survives today only in India.
They ranged once from the Mediterranean to India, covering most of Southwest Asia and hence it is also known as the Persian lion.
The current wild population consists of about 350 individuals restricted to the Gir Forest in the state of Gujarat, India.
The historic distribution included the Caucasus to Yemen and from Macedonia in Greece to present-day India through Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan through to the borders of Bangladesh.
Compared to their African cousins, Asiatic lions have shaggier coats, with a longer tassel on the end of the tail and longer tufts of hair on the elbows.
Both sexes have a distinctive fold of skin that runs along the belly. Males are 1.7-2.2 m long and weigh 150-225 kg, while females are 1.4-1.7 m in length and weigh in at 100-150 kg. The largest known wild male was exactly 3m in length.
Asian lions are highly social animals, and like their African cousins live in units called prides.
Asiatic lion prides are smaller than those of African lions, with an average of only two females (the African pride has an average of four to six).
The Asian males are less social and only associate with the pride when mating or on a large kill.
It has been suggested that this may be because their prey animals are smaller than those in Africa, requiring fewer hunters to tackle them.
Work has been going on over the past decade to establish the world's second completely removed population of the wild free ranging Asiatic Lions.
Wildlife Institute of India researchers confirmed that the Palpur-Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary is the most promising location to re-establish a free ranging population of the Asiatic lions and certified it ready to receive its first batch of translocated lions from Gir Wildlife Sanctuary where they are highly overpopulated.
Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary was selected as the reintroduction site for critically endangered Asiatic lion because it is in the former range of the lions before it was hunted into extinction in about 1873.
