The plains-wanderer is a small, critically-endangered bird with a tawny marking on its chest that can only be found in south-eastern Australia’s arid grasslands. It is estimated that only 250 to 1,000 of these speckled birds are left in the wild, according to Bush Heritage Australia. The plains-wanderer is at risk of impending extinction and is the lone surviving species on its branch of the evolutionary tree.
In order to track this rare bird species, fifteen plains-wanderers have been released into their native habitat in New South Wales (NSW) wearing tiny solar-powered backpacks equipped with satellite tracking technology, a press release from the NSW Government’s Minister for Environment and Heritage said.
It is only the second time the birds have been released in NSW and is part of a joint government conservation effort between Southern Australia (SA), Victoria and NSW.
“This second-ever release of Plains-wanderers back into their native habitat in NSW is the culmination of years of conservation work aimed at bringing the species back from the brink,” said NSW Environment Minister James Griffin in the press release.
“Plains-wanderers are a small, ground-dwelling bird that is particularly vulnerable to threats such as foxes and feral cats, and native grassland habitat loss. They’re a critical part of the ecosystem because their presence or absence is an indicator of the health of their native habitat.”
As part of the Saving our Species program sponsored by the NSW Government — which has $175 in funding over a ten-year period — the plains-wanderers were released into Oolambeyan National Park, a critical habitat for the rare bird species.
The solar-powered backpacks can provide as much as two years of satellite data. Earlier backpack tracking devices only had a battery life of 12 weeks and were only able to be tracked with field transmitters.
“These solar-backpack wearing Plains-wanderers are paving the way for us to gather important data, which will ultimately help us improve our conservation efforts for wild populations into the future,” Griffin said.
Before a drastic decline in numbers in the past decade, the plains-wanderer was apparent throughout eastern Australia, reported The Guardian. Much of their known remaining habitat is on privately-owned land.
The quail-like birds have very specific habitat requirements. The population isn’t able to sustain itself during droughts, when there are fewer insects and materials to make nests. But during periods of extreme rain, an excess of weeds can cause the birds to relocate, but researchers aren’t sure where the endangered birds go.
All of the fifteen plains-wanderers released into the wild were from conservation breeding programs — eleven from NSW’s Taronga Western Plains Zoo, three from SA’s Monarto Safari Park and one from Victoria’s Werribee Open Range Zoo, the press release said.
“Three of the recently released birds have come from Monarto Safari Park, and this project is a great example of our zoos working together across a number of jurisdictions with the help of private landholders to help save a native species,” said South Australia Minister for Climate, Environment and Water Susan Close in the press release.
The second NSW release follows a release of ten birds in March near Hay in NSW and 16 last year in Victoria in conjunction with a national recovery initiative to bring the species back from the brink of extinction.
“This is the first ever plains-wanderer release to use satellite technology to track the endangered species and the more we know about this elusive bird, the better chance we have at conservation success.
This joint initiative is part of our record investment into protecting our precious biodiversity,” said Victorian Minister for Environment and Climate Action Lily D’Ambrosio in the press release.
This article originally appeared on Ecowatch.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
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Amazing endangered animals that need your help
At the end of 2020, the International Union for Conservation of Nature added 31 species to its list of extinct plants and animals. The most recent update brings the total number of species threatened with extinction to 35,700 — more than a quarter of all species evaluated by the organization.
These species include all of the world’s fresh water dolphins, a third of the world’s oak trees and 40% of the world’s amphibians.
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Of course, it’s not all bad news. Many species are bouncing back thanks to focused and dedicated conservation efforts. The European bison, for example, moved from “vulnerable” classification to “near threatened.”
“The European bison and twenty-five other species recoveries documented in [the] IUCN Red List update demonstrate the power of conservation,” said Dr. Bruno Oberle, IUCN Director General. “Yet the growing list of Extinct species is a stark reminder that conservation efforts must urgently expand. To tackle global threats such as unsustainable fisheries, land clearing for agriculture, and invasive species, conservation needs to happen around the world and be incorporated into all sectors of the economy.”
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Here, we’ve compiled photos of some of the most endangered animals in the world, based on a list of adoptable species from the World Wildlife Foundation,. WWF allows individuals to make symbolic adoptions of these animals, with 81% of spending from these adoptions going directly to worldwide conservation activities.
If you’d like to learn more about endangered and extinct species around the world, check out IUCN’s Red List.
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Also known as the Far East leopard, the Manchurian leopard or the Korean leopard, this critically endangered cat is found in the Russian Far East.
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The black rhino is still considered critically endangered despite their numbers more than doubling thanks to persistent conservation efforts across Africa.
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Only an estimated 104,700 Bornean orangutans remain in the wild, less than half their numbers 60 years ago.
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Only an estimated 200 to 300 of these gorillas living at the border of Cameroon and Nigeria are believed to still exist.
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Also known as Grauer’s gorilla, the Eastern lowland gorilla is the largest of the four gorilla subspecies. It is estimated it may now inhabit just 13% of its original historic range in the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
slowmotiongli / istockphoto
Named for their narrow, pointed beak, Hawksbill turtles are found predominantly around coral reefs in tropical oceans. These critically endangered turtles can weigh up to 150 pounds.
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The critically endangered Saola lives in the mountains of Laos and Vietnam and was only discovered in 1992. None exist in captivity. Because the saola (pronounced SOW-la) is rarely seen, it is sometimes referred to as the Asian Unicorn.
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Sumatran elephants live on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. There are only an estimated 2,400 to 2,800 of them left in existence, according to data from the World Wildlife Foundation.
Eduardo Teixeira de Sousa / istockphoto
According to the World Wildlife Foundation, there are fewer than 400 of this subspecies of tiger remaining in the world today. Once found across many islands in Indonesia, today, Sunda tigers are found only on Sumatra.
Kevin Wells / istockphoto
The Vaquita is a small harbor porpoise and the world’s rarest marine mammal. Only about 10 still exist according to estimates from the World Wildlife Foundation. Living in the gulf waters off the Baja Peninsula, the Vaquita was not discovered until 1958.
David Schneider / istockphoto
The western lowland gorilla is the most numerous and widespread of all gorilla subspecies. Populations can be found in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea as well as in large areas in Gabon and the Republic of Congo. The exact number of western lowland gorillas is not known because they inhabit some of the most dense and remote rainforests in Africa.
April Stevenson / istockphoto
The wild dog is one of the world’s most endangered mammals. The largest populations remain in southern Africa and the southern part of East Africa (especially Tanzania and northern Mozambique).
Tomasz Dutkiewicz / istockphoto
Despite humans having had close associations with elephants over many centuries in Asia, and elephants becoming important cultural icons, Asia’s largest mammal is still endangered.
Asian elephants inhabit dry to wet forest and grassland habitats in 13 range countries spanning South and Southeast Asia. While they have preferred forage plants, Asian elephants have adapted to surviving on resources that vary based on the area.
hasachai / istockphoto
Once thought to be globally extinct, black-footed ferrets are making a comeback. For the last thirty years, concerted efforts from many state and federal agencies, zoos, Native American tribes, conservation organizations and private landowners have given black-footed ferrets a second chance for survival. Today, recovery efforts have helped restore the black-footed ferret population to nearly 300 animals across North America. Although great strides have been made to recover the black-footed ferret, habitat loss and disease remain key threats to this highly endangered species.
kahj19 / istockphoto
The blue whale is the largest animal on the planet, weighing as much as 200 tons (approximately 33 elephants). The blue whale has a heart the size of a Volkswagen Beetle. Its stomach can hold one ton of krill and it needs to eat about four tons of krill each day. They are the loudest animals on Earth and are even louder than a jet engine. Their calls reach 188 decibels, while a jet reaches 140 decibels. Their low frequency whistle can be heard for hundreds of miles and is probably used to attract other blue whales.
EarthViews Productions / istockphoto
Bonobos and chimpanzees look very similar and both share 98.7% of their DNA with humans—making the two species our closest living relatives. Bonobos are usually a bit smaller, leaner and darker than chimpanzees. Their society is also different—bonobo groups tend to be more peaceful and are led by females. They also maintain relationships and settle conflicts through sex. However, bonobo life isn’t entirely violence free; if two groups of bonobos come together, they may engage in serious fighting.
Jeff McCurry / istockphoto
The smallest Asian elephant subspecies, Bornean elephants are distinctly smaller than their mainland cousins. They have long tails that sometimes touch the ground, relatively large ears, and straighter tusks. While they are also known as Borneo pygmy elephants due to their smaller size, at 8.2-9.8 feet tall, the Bornean elephant is the largest mammal on the island.
jacus / istockphoto
Like us, chimps are highly social animals, care for their offspring for years and can live to be over 50. In fact, chimpanzees are our closest cousins; we share about 98% of our genes.
In their habitat in the forests of Central Africa, chimpanzees spend most of their days in the treetops. When they do come down to earth, chimps usually travel on all fours, though they can walk on their legs like humans for as far as a mile. They use sticks to fish termites out of mounds and bunches of leaves to sop up drinking water.
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The green turtle is one of the largest sea turtles and the only herbivore among the different species. Green turtles are in fact named for the greenish color of their cartilage and fat, not their shells. In the Eastern Pacific, a group of green turtles that have darker shells are called black turtles by the local community. Green turtles are found mainly in tropical and subtropical waters. Like other sea turtles, they migrate long distances between feeding grounds and the beaches from where they hatched. Classified as endangered, green turtles are threatened by over-harvesting of their eggs, hunting of adults, being caught in fishing gear and loss of nesting beach sites.
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The red panda is slightly larger than a domestic cat with a bear-like body and thick russet fur. The belly and limbs are black, and there are white markings on the side of the head and above its small eyes. Red pandas are very skillful and acrobatic animals that predominantly stay in trees. Almost 50% of the red panda’s habitat is in the Eastern Himalayas. They use their long, bushy tails for balance and to cover themselves in winter, presumably for warmth. Primarily an herbivore, the name panda is said to come from the Nepali word ‘ponya,’ which means bamboo or plant eating animal.
Adopt a red panda
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After a century of decline, overall wild tiger numbers are starting to tick upward. Based on the best available information, tiger populations are stable or increasing in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Russia and China. An estimated 3,900 tigers remain in the wild, but much more work is needed to protect this species if we are to secure its future in the wild. In some areas, including much of Southeast Asia, tigers are still in crisis and declining in number.
This article is based on information from the World Wildlife Foundation and was produced and syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
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Featured Image Credit: JJ Harrison / CC BY-SA 3.0.
