3) ipsnews.net Nov. 20, 2009
5) Miller Chapter 11
6) Area covered: regional- Southeast Asia
7) Siamese Crocodiles once inhabited an area that stretched far and wide across Southeast Asia. Due to habitat loss and poaching, the siamese crocs were named extinct in the wild. They were illegally hunted for their skin which is much softer than other crocodiles. This declaration occurred 20 years ago; although in 2000 several dozen of them were found living in Southwest Cambodia. Scientists feared the crocs found were a hybrid animal but DNA tests confirmed that they are indeed siamese crocodiles. The estimated population of these animals is 250 which are residing mostly in Cambodia. Scientists say that the news is very encouraging and shows that it is possible for the crocs to claw their way back from the brink of extinction. One last important point about the remaining crocodiles is that the mature adults that do exist are not genetically related which will increase the genetic diversity when breeding.
8) It is nice to see that a species thought to be extinct has independantly worked its way back into the ecosystem successfully. It gives hope for other critically endangered species by demonstrating that it is possible to re-establish a population after 99% of the original population is gone.
9) Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature: an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. IUCN's mission is to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable
1 comment:
Great news and hope!
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