Eurpean wildcat, in Bayerischer National Park in Germany (photo, wikipedia)
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland is seeing a revival of its wild cat population, notably in the Jura, where 450-900 of the animals are thought to be living in a 600m2 forested area.
The cats, which are not simply domestic cats gone wild, are visually hard to distinguish from household tiger-striped cats, although they tend to be pale gray and lighter brown in colour.
The cats are on the international red list of very threatened species. They were nearly wiped out by hunters in the 18th and 19th centuries, but they are now protected by Swiss law.
The federal government says studies indicate they are present in five cantons in western Switzerland. They need dense woods and pastures to survive.
Animals’ genetic integrity under threat
The wild animals now face a new threat, however.
Head of a tiger (Panthera tigris), India (photo: ©2010 Vivek R Sinh, WWF-Canon)
(video, nearly extinct Siberian tiger) Gland, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The WWF, based in Gland, near Geneva, says the world’s endangered tigers remain under pressure, with India, China and Nepal showing the worst poaching problems. In the past century the number of tigers worldwide has fallen from an estimated 100,000 to just 3,200.
The WWF is a member of Traffic (wildlife trade monitoring network), whose “Reduced to Skin and Bones” report released 9 November shows that “from January 2000 to April 2010, parts of between 1,069 and 1,220 tigers were seized in 11 of the 13 tiger range countries—or an average of 104 to 119 animals per year.”
The report is published ahead of a meeting at the end of November of heads of government of tiger range countries to sign the Global Tiger Recovery Programme, a plan that aims to double the number of tigers in the wild by 2022.
The programme aims to push harder to reduce poaching and illegal trade, but also to reduce the demand for tiger parts.
Tigers are coveted for their use in traditional medicines, decoration, and as good luck charms.
Panay Monitor Lizard (Varanus mabitang) © Tim Laman
Gland, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – A major new assessment of the threats to the world’s biodiversity shows that the continuing encroachment on many species’ habitats is increasing their vulnerability. The 2009 edition of world’s most comprehensive list of life under threat of extinction, the Red List of Threatened Species, was published Tuesday 3 November. The Red List is published yearly by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), in Gland, near Geneva.
“The scientific evidence of a serious extinction crisis is mounting,” says Jane Smart, Director of IUCN’s Biodiversity Conservation Group.
