New species of river dolphin discovered in Brazil

A bittersweet story emerged today when it was revealed that a new species of river dolphin was discovered in Brazil- but it is already endangered.

River dolphins are among the world's rarest creatures, and there are thought to be about 1,000 of them living in the Amazon. The Yangtze river dolphin became extinct in 2006.

The new species- Araguaian Boto, named after the Araguaia river basin where it was discovered- is the first new species of river dolphin to be discovered in nearly a century.

Unfortunately, the species is expected to be categorised on the vulnerable list, as they are at high risk of being shot by local people, as they eat fish supplies, robbing fishermen of their livelihood.

WWF announces Earth Hour 2014

WWF have announced that their Earth Hour 2014 will take place on March 29th.

At 8.30pm, people around the world will switch off their lights for an hour to show their support for environmental issues.  Earth Hour began in one city in 2007, when the people of Sydney in Australia switched off their lights. In just 7 years it has become an annual, global movement; Last year, 154 countries took part, and celebrities including Jessica Alba, Al Gore, McFly and Amanda Holden have all pledged their support.

Take a look at WWF's great list of things to do in the dark during Earth Hour. Will you be taking part?

BOOK REVIEW: Hunting the Hunters

Laurens de Groot's biographical book, Hunting the Hunters, is published in the UK today, and is well worth a read.

Hunting the Hunters is the story of a campaigner and activist working for Sea Shepherd , the marine wildlife conservation organisation which aims to put whale hunting to a stop.

I was fortunate enough to receive a preview copy of the book, and despite not having a keen interest in whale-hunting beyond my general conservation interest, I couldn't put it down. De Groot's dramatic yet truthful, humorous yet heartbreaking account of life onboard some of Sea Shepherd's vessels is well worth a read, as much for what it says about human nature for the insight it gives into whale hunting, and his passion is inspirational. Can't recommend it highly enough.

Nepalese snow leopards collared for the first time

An adult male snow leopard has been fitted with a GPS tracking collar in Nepal, the first of its species to be collared.

The collaring expedition involved conservationists and scientists working closely with local communities to locate the animal.

The collar will be used to aid conservationists to track and monitor the behaviour of snow leopards, which are endangered, but also allows local communities to track the animals and protect their livestock.

For more information on this story, click here

Good news for near-extinct fish!

Remember this? In May this year, ZSL London Zoo launched an appeal to find a female Mangarahara cichlid (Ptychochromis Insolitus - or Madagascan fish to you and me) as the last three known members of the species- all male - were in residence at London Zoo.

Eight months and a worldwide appeal that went viral on social media later, London Zoo have announced that a small number of them have been found in the wild in Madagascar, thanks to a tip-off from a member of the public. After an expedition to find them, a group of the remaining fish have been put into a conservation project in Madagascar whilst a conservation programme is designed.

Good work ZSL, and let's hope there are more conservation success stories like this.

More on this story here.

Giraffe calf at Whipsnade!

Although -thankfully- not an endangered species, everyone loves a giraffe, so it's great news at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo this week, as they announce the birth of a baby giraffe 4 weeks ago. Willow arrives shortly after the opening of the zoo's new Giraffe Heights exhibition.

Altogether now....aaaaw!

Why save an endangered species?

Why do we bother saving an endangered species? Why not let nature take its course? What does it matter if one or two species are allowed to peter off until they disappear completely, forever?

Aside from the fact that humans are responsible for the decline of so many species, and we should therefore buck up our ideas and take responsibility for some of the damage we've done, and the fact that ecosystems rely on each individual species to play a part, I think that this quote from Laurens de Groot's upcoming book, 'Hunting the hunters: At war with the whalers' sums it up brilliantly:

"If mankind fails to protect rare whales then that seals the fate of all endangered animal species as far as I'm concerned, from European hamster to Rwandan mountain gorilla, from badger to snow leopard, from tuna to Andean condor. They will all be doomed."

'Hunting the hunters' is released on January 2nd 2014. I am currently halfway through my copy and I'm loving it - and I'm not being paid or bribed in any way to say this!