Eli's Endangered Species Blog

The Mariana Fruit dove, also known as also known as mwee’mwe in the Carolinian language, totot on Guam or Paluman totut in Northern Marianas Islands, is in danger of extinction. This species is the official bird of the Northern Mariana Islands. Due to limited range and habitat loss, the Mariana Fruit Dove is listed as Engangered on the IUCN Red List. This small creature only reaches about 24cm long and has a red forehead; greyish head, back, and breast; and yellow belly patch and under-tail coverts. According to recent surveys on datazone.birdlife.org, the Mariana fruit dove's population is estimated at about 16,230 birds. Of this proportion, 9/723 are reported to live on Saipan, the largest island in the North Mariana Islands. An interesting thing about this bird is both the mother and father will sit on the eggs to keep them protected and warm. Adult females resemble males, however, they are slightly smaller with a greener neck. The fruit dove is primarily a canopy frugivore but ...

In this blog, I will introduce you to the gorilla gorilla diehli or better known as the cross river gorilla who is on the verge of extinction and needs OUR HELP!       The cross-river gorilla is the most threatened subspecies to the western gorilla. The cross river gorilla has similar features to other species of gorillas, but their feet are apparently shorter than the western lowland gorilla. The subspecies was first recorded on video in 2009. Since it is such a shy animal and likes to avoid humans, this clip was groundbreaking. The animals are very wary of humans and avoid all interactions, so capturing them on camera is difficult. Crossrivergorilla.org reports that there are fewer than 300 individuals in the wild, making this subspecies the most endangered of gorillas. Not only this, the cross river gorilla is listed by the IUCN as critically endangered which is the highest-ranking for species that remain in the world. A cross river gorilla upset with the decline ...

 Welcome to the third blog posting on the Endangered Species Blog. Today, I will be highlighting a fascinating energetic creature whose population has declined significantly over the past decade. You may ask yourself, why such a significant decline in the past decade. To that question, I would say a one-word answer: humans. Yes, you hear me correctly, humans are causing the closest genetic ancestors to go extinct. It is reported that Chimpanzees are genetically closest to humans and share 98.6% of DNA.  In 2017, Smithsonian Magazine reported that the population of Western chimpanzees had declined by 80 percent in 25 years. According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, chimpanzees are declared as "critically endangered" on the list. In addition, the report indicated that there are an estimated 21,300 to 55,600 individuals in the wild. The Western Chimpanzee is a subspecies of the common chimpanzee. It inhabits western Africa, mainly in Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberi...

 Welcome to my second blog posting! I am excited that you have found your way here. In this blog, I am going to present a species that is already extinct to explain its decline and inspire conservation that has the potential to save similar species from becoming extinct. Like people always say, "we learn history so we don't repeat the past." Below you will find a photo of the beautiful creature that will be highlighted in this blog: The Pinta Island Tortoise, also known as the Pinta giant tortoise, is a native species of Ecuador that went formally extinct in 2012. The giant tortoise was added to the formal extinction list when "Lonesome George", the last tortoise alive held in captivity, died. Before George died, he was recognized as the world "rarest creature" by the Guinness book of world records. However, when George died, the species was classified as entirely extinct causing the population to drop to zero. Before its entire extinction, the Pinta I...

Hello everyone it is nice to e-meet you all. Welcome to the blog! My name is Eli Wagner. I am a second-year psychology student with a minor in English. My favorite animal growing up was always the elephant. I think this could be attributed to my young brain that was obsessed with "big things" (ie. trucks, buildings, etc.) Today, I would have to say my favorite animal is by far the alpine ibex. I am so fascinated with their ability to climb and their obsession with the salt from the sides of mountains.  Follow this link for a fascinating article:  https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/an-alpine-ibex-defies-gravity-to-lick-salt  (Links to an external site.) My interest in wildlife started in my childhood from visiting so many national parks and forests in America. My mother is very interested in wildlife and hiking and passed the trait on to me. Ever since I have fallen in love with being in nature, I have become more aware of the wildlife conservation around me.