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SpotLight: 5 most endangered species in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: Five of the 10 animals and plants most threatened by the illegal wildlife trade are in Malaysia.

The tiger, Asian rhinoceros, elephant and orang utan are included in the top 10 list released by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) International, together with a red and pink jewel-like coral species, Corallium borneense. All are found in Malaysia.

"Malaysia’s global position in providing habitat to some of the most charismatic and endangered flagship mammal species, such as the tiger, Asian elephant and orang utan has to be recognised and emphasised," said WWF-Malaysia’s National Programme Director Dr Arun Venkataraman.

The list was released ahead of the annual Conference of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, to be held from June 3 to June 15 in The Hague, the Netherlands.

Representatives from 171 countries are expected to attend.

The tiger and Asian rhino have been threatened for decades because of poaching and illegal trade.

Others, particularly marine species, are on the list because their populations have declined drastically in recent years.

According to WWF-Malaysia, tigers are at risk because of a loss of habitat and forest conversion. And an old threat has re-emerged which could sound the death knell for the species — the reopening of tiger farms in China.

The population of Asian rhinos has been devastated by the trade of their highly prized horns. An upsurge in poaching has put the last remaining populations at risk, said Venkataraman.

"The Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus) is already extinct in Malaysia," he said, adding that WWF-Malaysia was working with government agencies and the corporate sector to protect the near-extinct Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatranus), the only rhino species remaining in Malaysia, and the one most threatened by poaching.

The poaching of elephants and illegal international trade in ivory is stimulated by rampant ivory sales in some countries, particularly in East Asia.

In Sabah, government agencies are working with WWF-Malaysia to reduce the threat to the Bornean pygmy elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis) through AREAS (Asian Rhino Elephant Action Strategy) and the Heart of Borneo programme, which aims to connect fragmented lowland forests using corridors, said Venkataraman.

Wild populations of great apes (gorillas, chimpanzees and orang utan) are declining because of a combination of the illegal trade in live animals (usually for pets), poaching for meat, disease and habitat disturbance, fragmentation and destruction.

This includes Malaysia’s only great ape, the Bornean orang utan (Pongo pygmaeus).

Red and pink coral (Corallium spp.) is the most valuable of all the precious corals. Pink coral has been extracted for over 5,000 years and used for jewellery and decoration. Over-harvesting and the destruction of entire colonies by bottom trawlers and dredges have led to dramatic population decline.

"At least one species, Corallium borneense, is found in Malaysian waters. Malaysia also imports coral from Taiwan and Japan, which is made into jewellery and then re-exported to the United States," Venkataraman said.

Other species on the list are the Porbeagle (Lamna nasus), a powerful, medium-sized shark highly valued for its meat and fins; the Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthias), a smaller, slender white-spotted shark also known as rock salmon, used in fish and chips in the United Kingdom and eaten smoked as a delicacy called Schillerlocken in Germany.

The saw fish (Pristidae spp.), whose distinctive saw-like snouts are sold as souvenirs and ceremonial weapons while other body parts are used for traditional medicines; is also on the list, as well as the European eel (Anguilla anguilla), for which there is significant international demand, both for adults whose meat is highly valued and live juvenile eels (shipped from Europe to Asia) for rearing in aqua-culture.

The Bigleaf Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), a highly valuable South and Central American rainforest timber species, is also endangered because of illegal logging.

LINK: 

http://redapes.org/news-amp-updates/spotlight-5-most-endangered-species-malaysia

 

More Malaysian Mammals Seeing Red

Gland, Switzerland – Marine mammals such as the Irawaddy dolphin, and land mammals such as the Malayan sun bear, were confirmed to be closer to extinction according to the recent release of the 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
The Red List ranks species according to their population status and threat levels, which have increased for many species as a result of habitat loss and degradation, over-exploitation, pollutants and climate change.
“For many species, population numbers are declining while the number and intensity of threats are increasing, making it harder and harder for species to survive,” said Dr. Susan Lieberman, Director of WWF International’s Species Programme. 

The pangolin (Manis javanica), which can be found in Malaysia, went from Near Threatened to Endangered. This underlines the severity of the threats faced by this species from poaching and illegal wildlife trade. According to unreleased TRAFFIC reports, there has been many seizures of pangolins across Southeast Asia, many of which orignated from Indonesia and Malaysia.

Also new on the endangered list is the gentle tapir (Tapirus indicus). A totally protected species under the Protection of Wild Life Act 1972, the tapir is not usually hunted for its meat nor it is a subject of retaliation by villagers which suggests that its decline may be attributed to habitat loss and fragmentation.

Unsurprisingly, the status of the Sambar deer (Cervus unicolor) went from Least Concern to Vulnerable.

“Sambar deer populations appear to have plummeted in recent years,” informed Dato’ Dr. Dionysius Sharma, Executive Director/CEO of WWF-Malaysia.

According to Dato’ Sharma, the WWF-Malaysia field teams did not photograph any Sambar deer during their camera-trapping activities in Gunung Basor Forest Reserve, Kelantan, which went on for nine months; and Terengganu’s Jerangau Forest Reserve, which was carried out from 2001 – 2003.

All gibbons species have also been highlighted as Endangered, from previously Near Threatened status in 2007. The second largest cat in Malaysia, the leopard (Panthera pardus), has also been reclassified from Least Concern to Near Threatened. 

The Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) and Malayan tiger’s (Panthera tigris) status however remain unchanged, with each falling in critically endangered and endangered categories respectively.

But not all species are “in the red” on the 2008 Red List, with African elephants being upgraded from Vulnerable to Near Threatened because their populations in eastern and southern Africa are better off today than in the past when poaching for ivory was out of control.  

WWF supports use of the IUCN Red list as an important science-based conservation tool that should be used across the globe by communities, governments and international organizations to drive funding and decision making. 

“Reversal of negative trends towards extinction is possible when political motivation is high and when local communities see the value and benefit from conserving species,” Dr Lieberman said.  “The case of African elephants is a classic example of what is possible.” 

Link: http://www.wwf.org.my/about_wwf/what_we_do/species_main/species_news/?7400

World’s Most Endangered Otter 'Rediscovered' in Malaysia

ScienceDaily (Aug. 3, 2010) — The world's most endangered otter species known as the hairy-nosed otter (Lutra sumatrana) has been "rediscovered" in Deramakot Forest Reserve in Sabah by a collaboration of German and Malaysian researchers.

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"This is great news for Sabah and shows once again how unique and fortunate we are in terms of wildlife and nature. In addition, these findings also boost the conservation of this endangered otter internationally as historically this otter was distributed throughout large parts of southeast Asia," said an elated Sabah Wildlife Department Director, Dr. Laurentius Ambu.

The last confirmed record of the hairy-nosed otter in Sabah is a museum specimen collected over a hundred years ago.

"Even over the whole island of Borneo the last record -- a road-kill from Brunei -- was 1997, over ten years ago. Therefore it was unknown to scientists if this species can be still found on Borneo," stated Andreas Wilting, the project leader of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW).

In 2008, IZW initiated the Conservation of Carnivores in Sabah (ConCaSa) project with the collaboration of SWD and Sabah Forestry Department (SFD) to study carnivores such as the Sunda clouded leopard, civets and otters in the State.

The ConCaSa project used automated camera traps that were set up in Deramakot and the surrounding forest reserves during the last two years. As the different otter species look very similar the hairy-nosed otter pictures had first to be verified by a number of experts before they were published recently by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission journal.

In addition to capturing camera trap pictures of the endangered hairy-nosed otter, the study also confirmed the presence of all five Bornean cat species, 13 other small carnivores such as the Banded civet and the sun bear.

"These results mean that out of 25 known carnivore species in Borneo, our project, together with a Japanese researcher Hiromitsu Samejima, confirmed 20 in Deramakot. This makes Deramakot outstanding for being extremely rich in its diversity of carnivores," explained Wilting.

Besides pictures, ConCaSa also obtained the first videos footages ever taken for some species such the otter civet (Cynogale bennettii).

Since 1997, Deramakot Forest Reserve has been managed by the SFD as a sustainable logged forest with the coveted Forest Stewardship Council certification.

"These findings show that long-term sustainable forest management is of great importance for the protection of some of this country's most threatened species and of the unique biodiversity of the forests of Borneo," shared Datuk Sam Mannan the Director of the SFD.

One of the next steps in the conservation of Bornean carnivores is planned to be the 1^st Borneo Carnivore Symposium [http://www.fwrc.msstate.edu/borneocarnivoresymposium/] in Kota Kinabalu, in June 2011. This symposium organized by the SWD, three IUCN/SSC Specialist Groups and the IZW will be a landmark international meeting bring together scientists, Government agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGO) working on the protection of the Bornean carnivores to ensure their survival.

 LINK: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100803072723.htm 

List of Animals that Are Facing Extinction

Endangered Species By The Numbers

Unless otherwise noted, all endangered species status information and population figures are taken from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Listings are alphabetical, by common name.

Bears

Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus)
Population: 20,000 to 25,000 Status: Threatened Species
Trends: Very likely declining due to habitat loss brought on by climate-change-induced melting of Arctic sea ice and shelf ice.

Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
Population: 1,000 to 2,000 in the wild. Status: Endangered Species
Trends: Still decreasing due to habitat loss

Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis)
Population: More than 500 in the US Lower 48, most in the greater Yellowstone National Park region. Status: Threatened Species under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Trends: Increasing. At its low point several decades ago, the grizzly population was down to 140. ESA protections were removed from grizzlies in 2008, but restored in 2009 following a lawsuit by conservation organizations.

American Bison

(Bison bison)
Population: 19,000 plains bison and 11,000 woods bison exist in conservation herds. Status: Near-Endangered Species. Note: Bison kept in commercial herds are not included in these numbers.
Trends: The bison was hunted to near-extinction in the 19th Century before conservation measures were put into place. It’s Near-Endangered status is based on the fact that the species’ survival requires management of bison (aka buffalo) herds.

Camels

Wild Bactrian (two-humped) Camel (Camelus ferus)
Population: 600 in China; 350 in Mongolia. Status: Critically Endangered Species.
Trends. Declining due to illegal hunting for food. In the mid-1980′s, the Mongolian population was above 600.

One-Humped Camel (Camelus dromedarius)
Population: Extinct in the wild. Thriving feral populations exist in Australia.

Cheetah

(Acinonyx jubatus)
Population: Between 7,000 and 10,000. Status: Vulnerable Species.
Trends: Decreasing due to habitat loss

Chimpanzees

Common Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)
Population: Between 150,000 and 250,000. Status: Endangered Species
Trends: Declining Rapidly due to habitat loss and illegal hunting. Chimps are used for food in Africa. An estimated 1 million to 2 million chimps lived in African forests a century ago.

Bonobo (Pan paniscus)
Population: Between 30,000 and 50,000. Status: Endangered Species.
Trends: Declining due to habitat loss and illegal hunting.

Condors

California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus)
Population: 130. Status: Critically Endangered Species
Trend: Increasing due to captive breeding programs

Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) Note: Widest wingspan of any bird in the world
Population: Unknown but declining due to human persecution based on claims that it kills livestock. Status: Near Threatened Species.

Dolphins

South Asian River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica)
Population: Fewer than 1,000. Status: Endangered Species.
Trend: Decreasing due to dams, water projects and water pollution.

Baijo, or Yangtze River Dolphin (Lipotes vexillifer)
Population: Not seen in years. Probably our first cetacean to have gone extinct.

Elephants

Asian Elephant (Elephus maximus)
Population: 40,000 to 50,000. Status: Endangered Species
Trends: Decreasing due to habitat loss and illegal hunting

African Elephant (Loxodonta africanus)
Population: Between 470,000 and 690,000 (World Wildlife Fund figures). Status: Near Threatened Species
Trends: Until recently, population numbers were increasing. But a recent upsurge in poaching may have ended this positive trend. African elephants are also threatened by habitat loss.

Gorillas

Total Population in the Wild: around 107,000
Subspecies:

Eastern Gorillas

Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla beringei)
Population: Fewer than 700 Status: Endangered Species
Grauer’s Gorilla (Gorilla beningei graueri)
Population: Fewer than 16,000 Status: Endangered Species

Western Gorillas

Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)
Population: 90,000 Status: Critically Endangered Species
Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla dielli)
Population: Fewer than 300. Status: Critically Endangered Species

Trends: Due to intensive conservation efforts, the population of the mountain gorilla appears stable for now. The other gorillas are vanishing quickly due to intensive illegal hunting and habitat loss.

Leopards

Amur Leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) Status: Critically Endangered Species.
Population: Few than 40 individuals left of this leopard subspecies that shares its frigid habit with the Siberian tiger.
Trends: Decreasing due to habitat loss and illegal hunting. Also threatened by a lack of genetic diversity due to its small population.

Snow Leopard (Panthera unica)
Population: 4,000 to 6,600. Status: Endangered Species
Trends: Declining due to declining prey base and loss of habitat.

Clouded Leopards (Neofilis nebulosa) sp.: several subspecies
Population & Trends: Numbers unknown, but the numbers of this small Asian rainforest leopard species are known to be declining due to illegal hunting and habitat loss.

Lions

African Lion (Panthera leo)
Population: Est. 30,000 to 50,000. Status: Vulnerable Species.
Trends: Downward due to a declining prey base and killing by humans in defense of livestock herds. Size of the African lion population three decades ago was probably double what it is now.

Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica)
Population: 350 Asiatic lions remain in one area of India. Status: Endangered species.
Trends: Stable.

Orangutans

Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo abelii)
Population: Around 7,000 Status: Critically Endangered Species
Trends: Decreasing rapidly due to habitat loss

Borneo Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus)
Population: Between 40,000 and 65,000. Status: Endangered Species
Trends: Decreasing rapidly due to habitat loss

Panther

(Florida)
(Puma concolor coryi)

Population: Around 80. Status: Listed as an Endangered Species under the ESA
Trends: Decreasing. This is a rare and beleaguered Southeastern subspecies of the mountain lion (AKA cougar or puma), which is thriving in the western half of the US in the wake of federal protections. Threats to the Florida panther include habitat loss and fragmentation, as well as mortality due to automobile strikes.

Rhinoceros

White Rhinoceros (Africa) (Ceratotherium simum)
Population: 17,000 Status: Near-Threatened Species
Black Rhinoceros (Africa) (Diceros bicornis)
Population: 3,500 Status: Critically Endangered Species
Indian Rhinoceros (Asia) (Rhinoceros unicornis)
Population: 2,500 Status: Vulnerable Species
Sumatran Rhinoceros (Southeast Asia; Indonesia) (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis)
Population: 300 or fewer. Status: Critically Endangered Species
Javan Rhinoceros (Vietnam; Indonesia) (Rhiniceros sondaica)
Population: 60 Status: Critically Endangered Species

Trends: Populations of African and Indian subspecies appeared stable, perhaps even increasing slightly, until recently. But an upsurge in poaching in recent years has placed all species in renewed jeopardy.

Tasmanian Devil

(Sarcophilius harrisii)
Population: Around 80,000. Status: Endangered Species.
Trends: In the mid 1990′s, there were between 130,000 and 150,000 tasmanian devils in the wild. But an epidemic of Devil Facial Tumor Disease, a cancer specific to these Australian mammals, has reduced the population by over 60 percent since then.

Tiger

Total Population in the Wild: around 3,500
Subspecies:
Bengal tiger (Pantera tigris tigris)
Population: Fewer than 2,000 Status: Endangered Species
The Indochinese tiger (Pantera tigris corbetti)
Population: Fewer than 500. Status: Endangered Species
Malayan Tiger (Pantera tigris jacksoni)
Population: Fewer than 500 Status: Endangered Species
Sumatran tiger (Pantera tigris sumatrae)
Population: Fewer than 500 Status: Critically Endangered Species
Siberian Tiger (Pantera tigris alataica)
Population: Around 500 Status: Endangered Species
South China tiger (Pantera tigris amoyensis)
Population: No sightings in years. May be 0. Status: Critically Endangered Species

Trends: The Siberian tiger is the only subspecies whose population is stable. The others are declining. Main threats are illegal hunting and habitat loss.

Whales

Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus)
Population: 10,000 to 25,000. Status: Endangered Species.
Trends: Increasing. The whaling industry, which drove the largest animal earth has ever seen toward extinction, ceased to operate decades ago—but not before the blue whale’s population had fallen by more than 90 percent.

Northern Right Whale (Eubalena glacialis)
Population: Around 350. Status: Endangered Species
Trends: Unknown. Driven to the brink of extinction by the whaling industry; now enjoys international protection.

North Pacific Right Whale (Eubalena japonica)
Population: Fewer than 1,000. Status: Endangered Species.
Trends: Unknown. Driven to the brink of extinction by the whaling industry; now enjoys international protection.

Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus)
Population: Probably fewer than 400,000; down from well over 1 million at the turn of the 20th Century. Status: Vulnerable Species
Trends: Unknown.

Narwhal (Monodon monoceros)
Population: Over 80,000 worldwide. Status: Near-Threatened Species.
Trends: Decreasing due to hunting, climate change and industrial activities.

Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus leucas) AKA White Whale
Population: Above 150,000 worldwide. Status. Near-Threatened Species.
Trends: Decreasing due to hunting, climate change and industrial activities.

Wolves

Gray Wolf (Canis lupus)
Population in the US Lower 48: About 1,600 in the northern Rockies, including the Greater Yellowstone area, and about 5,000 in Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Status: Recently removed from Endangered Species Act (ESA) protection in Montana and Idaho. Conservation groups are contesting the removal. Reinstated as a Threatened Species in the US Midwest under the ESA in 2009 following lawsuits by conservationists who contested the delisting of the species.
Trends: Increasing. Threats include removal of ESA protections in Montana and Idaho, which has led to hunting seasons on the species, and may lead to more killing by humans overall.

Red Wolf (Canis rufus)
Population: About 100. Status: Endangered Species.
Trends: Increasing. The red wolf was declared extinct in the wild in 1980 after the last 17 animals were captured on the Gulf Coast of Texas. After captive breeding increased their numbers, the animals were reintroduced to North Carolina. Largest threat to the species is hybridization with coyotes.

Zebras

Grevy’s Zebra (Equus grevyi)
Population: Around 2,000. Status: Endangered Species.
Trends: Stable. Threats include reduction of water resources and habitat degradation.

Cape Mountain Zebra (Equus zebra)
Population: Around 1,500. Status: Vulnerable Species.
Trends: Increasing. Threats include crossing with Hartmann’s mountain zebra, a much more numerous (but also Vulnerable) subspecies of mountain zebra that was introduced into the cape mountain Zebra’s southern African range.

Taken from: All About Wild Life.

Link : http://www.allaboutwildlife.com/endangered-species/endangered-species-population-numbers/3596