The Rainbow Trout

The rainbow trout is part of the salmon family and valued as a hard fighting game fish.  They average 20-30 inches long and average 8 pounds in weight.  The rainbow trout generally lives to be between 4 and 6 years old.  The largest rainbow trout recorded was 57 pounds and around 11 years old.

Rainbow trout are native to North America in Alaska, California, Oregon, Alberta, and British Columbia.  Rainbow trout have been introduced all around the world and in many states including
http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=910

Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, and Virginia.  Rainbow trout were introduced into springs and streams for people to sport fish.  Because it's such a popular species to sport fish, many places frequently stock rainbow trout in order to replenish populations.

Rainbow trout have had some impact on the habitats they are released into.  Rainbow trout will hybridize with other trout species affecting their genetic integrity.  Also rainbow trout will consume native fish and compete with other native fish for food.  Rainbow trout have also been known to drive out non-game fish out of their respective areas and into open water which makes them vulnerable to predation.  To help this problem plans have been put into place to restore and sustain the native fish to the areas where rainbow trout were introduced.

http://www.austinpost.org/files/articles/Rainbow-Trout.jpg

Snow Leopards Threatened by Global Warming

Snow leopards, known for their beautiful and thick fur coat which serves as camouflage from their prey.  The snow leopard has wide paws which act as snowshoes and the tail helps the leopard balance.  Snow leopards are well adapted to cold weather and dry habitats, which they live in.  Snow leopards are found at altitudes of 9800 - 17,000 feet in the mountains of central Asia.

Due to the snow leopards reclusive nature it is hard to determine the exact number in population.  There's an estimated 3500-7000 snow leopards in the wild, with 600-700 in zoos around the world.  60% of the population is in China with the rest ranging from Afghanistan to Kazakstan, Russia to the North and India to the east.

Snow leopards are facing a very distinct threat from global warming.  Generally the snow leopards habitat ranges from where the tree line stops to where the snow line begins on the mountain.  Due to global warming the snow line is receding making the snow leopard have to move to higher elevations.  The higher they go, the less vegetation there is, which means there's less herbivores for the leopard to prey on.  Snow leopards are also illegally hunted for their fur coats and pelts, which are a commodity in Russia, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe.  Their bones and body parts are also used for traditional Asian medicine.  The snow leopard was placed on the endangered species list in 1972.

http://www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/wildlife/snow_leopard.php

  

Species of Special Concern

Species of special concern are not necessarily creatures that are threatened.  Species of special concern are animals that require "special protection, recognition, or consideration because it has an inherent significant vulnerability to habitat modification, environmental alteration, human disturbance, or substantial human exploitation which, in the foreseeable future, may result in its becoming threatened."

  

These animals of special concern aren't exactly low in population but have shown signs of decline in population.  Due to pollution, poaching, environment destruction, and other actions that started to cause these animals to decline in population.  Therefore actions were taken in advance to protect these animals before they become threatened or endangered.

ANIMALS - 

SPECIES OF SPECIAL CONCERN 

AMPHIBIANS

Florida bog frog 

Georgia blind salamander 

Gopher frog 

Pine barrens treefrog 

BIRDS

Black-crowned night heron 

Black skimmer 

Glossy ibis 

Great egret 

Great white heron 

Least bittern 

Limpkin 

Little blue heron 

Osprey 

Reddish egret 

Roseate spoonbill                                                   

Snowy egret 

Tricolored heron 

White ibis 

Yellow-crowned night heron 

CRUSTACEANS  

Black Creek crayfish 

Panama City crayfish 

Santa Fe cave crayfish 

FISH 

Bluenose shiner 

Harlequin darter 

Lake Eustis pupfish 

Shoal bass 

Suwannee bass 

Tessellated darter                                                       

MAMMALS 

Eastern chipmunk 

Lower Keys marsh rabbit 

Sherman's short-tailed shrew 

REPTILES 

Alligator snapping turtle 

American alligator                                                

Barbour's map turtle 

Suwannee cooter

http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/guide/endanger.html

(Animals listed in bold are the animals in the pictures.)

The Golden Lion Tamarin

The video to the left is a short video about a species of monkey called golden lion tamarins native to the Atlantic Coast forests of Brazil.   Golden lion tamarins live in thick forests and require a high canopy with a copious amount of tangled vines.   Other then providing a home for the tamarin  the canopy and vines also serves as protection from predators.  The main predators of the tamarin are birds of prey, snakes, and big cats like jaguars and tigers.   The vines also serve as a source of food, including rainwater and insects that gather in the vines.  Tamarins also eat a variety of fruit.

In 1982 the species was listed as endangered and in 1996 listed as critically endangered.  Logging and agriculture forced the tamarins to isolated habitats and inbreeding, two things that can cause extinction.  By 2003 a new population reserve helped move the golden lion tamarin from critically endangered to endangered.  Several reserve programs have been put into place in order to help rise the wild population and maintain a large population in zoos.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Leontopithecus.rosalia-01-ZOO.Dvur.Kralove.jpg

Tigers Extinct by 2022

Wildlife experts have estimated that wild tigers will be extinct by 2022.  On Sunday November 21, 2010 a "Tiger Summit" meeting was held to discuss new ways and develop a plan to stop the tiger from becoming extinct in 12 years.  Thirteen countries got together at this meeting, all which still  have some tiger population.  The thirteen countries are Bangladesh, Russia, Thailand, Bhutan, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Nepal, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and Malaysia.

100 years ago there was roughly 100,000 tigers in the world.  Now the population stands at about 3,200 tigers due to construction, poaching, and forest cutting.  The officials of the 13 countries came up with the Global Tiger Recovery Program in an effort to try and double tiger populations by 2022.  This plan will protect tiger habitats,  create a plan that will make locals want to help tigers, and stop the black market which is the incentive for poaching.

The Wolf Off The Endangered List?

The gray wolf is the largest wild member of the Canidae family.  The gray wolf used to populate a vast amount of Europe, Asia, and North America.  The wolf population decreased dramatically due to habitat destruction, human involvement, and many human-wolf encounters that led to local extinction of the wolf.  The wolf is now only protected in certain areas of the U.S.

In 2009 The gray wolf was removed from the ESA
( Endangered Species Act) in the Rockies, mainly Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.  This upset certain conservation organizations(which are suing the federal government) because they know the wolf is not yet populated enough to be removed from the list.  In order to be removed from the ESA conservation groups argue that there has to be 2,000 - 2,500 wolves in the Rockies area.  Currently there are only 1,600 wolves accounted for in the Rockies area.  If the wolf is removed now, conservation groups fear that their numbers are still to low and that the wolves will be over hunted leading to another huge decrease in the population.    



http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0507-hance_wolfoped.html