In this department, we bring you compelling stories of animals in the wild that are in danger of being lost to us - animals that are quite literally on the brink of extinction. Whether due to man's careless disregard for their habitat and its destruction, or because of overfishing or hunting, or due to chemicals or predators that we've introduced into their environment, these are profiles of the animals who most need our time, attention and protection.

Like every animal, they have a need to feed. That need is especially important during the breeding season, when the female is reliant on her partner for sustenance. After laying her eggs primarily atop the nest, the female owl will then incubate them with her body; meanwhile, the male searches the nearby woods and grasslands for rodents, small mammals and fish.

Many owls have been on the endangered species list for years. The most famous would be the Northern Spotted Owl that inhabits the old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), which is supposed to protect and defend our endangered species, has approved logging permits for the Rogue River Basin - located in the very heart of Spotted Owl habitat. To keep environmentalists off their back, the USFWS produced permits for the “incidental take” of owls. In a nutshell this means that owls that are killed, harassed or harmed by logging companies are now considered to be acceptable casualties of the industry. Conservation groups are fighting to stop the sale of these permits.
As it stands now, apparently the ‘take’ statement was deemed “arbitrary and capricious on several counts,” because it did not allow for a scientific means of tracking how many owls were being destroyed by logging.

So it appears that yet again another speechless creature, in this case the owl, that performs an integral service for the environment, is caught between mans’ quest for commerce and its right to survive.

Imagine showing up at the court of the 19th century Russian czar with the hide and skull of a horse that was practically unknown in the west. When explorer Nikolai Mikhailovich Przewalski returned to Russia from one of his geographic expeditions to Central Asia, he brought with him remains from a horse that was already rare in its native environment; and less than 100 years later, it was seen for the last time in the wild.

By the end of WWII, there were only about 40 Przewalski’s (also known as the Asian wild horse) remaining in captivity. However, due to the efforts of a variety of European zoos (which had imported the animals at the turn of the century), their numbers started to slowly increase. Captive breeding was also initiated in China at the Xinjiang Wild Horse Breeding Center with the goal of reintroducing the species to its native habitat in China and Mongolia. A successful reintroduction program was also started in Hungary, where close to 100 are now living in relatively wild

conditions.

Places such as zoos, the Khustain Nuruu National Park, the Takhin Tal Nature Reserve, Khomiin Tal, and the Hungarian wild have a combined population of approximately 2,000 Przewalski's horses. These hardy animals, with bristly manes that stand straight up, can endure temperatures that drop well-below freezing. But perhaps, especially in the day-and-age of disappearing species, the most remarkable feature of the Przewalski’s is that they are the only surviving bred of wild horse that remains.

Recently named by the Wildlife Conservation Society Institute (WCSI) as one of 2010 "Rarest of the Rare," it was also noted as being one of 2010's animal success stories. Notes Kent Redford, director of the WCSI, "While the news is dire for some species, it also shows that conservation measures can and do protect wildlife if given the chance to work."

The last stronghold for tigers in Indonesia is the small island of Sumatra. Tigers were once widely known on the islands of Java, Bali and Sumatra and their numbers were measured in the thousands. However, the sub-species found on Java and Bali were exterminated in the 20th century. The last sighting of a tiger on the island of Bali dates back to the mid 1930’s and the last recorded sighting on the island of Java was in 1976. It’s a sad fact that these magnificent animals are gone forever.

This leaves the Sumatran tiger as the last surviving tiger sub-species found in Indonesia. Smaller than typical tigers, the Sumatran males averages about 8’ in length and weighs in at about 265 lbs. The females are slightly smaller and lighter. This smaller frame helps the tiger maneuver quickly through the jungle. Highly evolved to their surroundings, the webbing between their toes, when spread, helps the Sumatran tiger to become a very fast and efficient swimmer. They have been known to chase their prey into the water where their swimming ability helps to make a successful kill. Interestingly, popular belief has it that the reason orangutans spend such a minimal amount of time on the

Indonesia, countries such as China, Taiwan, South Korea and other neighboring Asian nations still clamor for medicines made from the bones and skins of these tigers. Until education can quell the thoughtless demand for body parts, it appears that the fate of the Sumatran tiger is identical to that of its extinct cousins’. 

For information on conservation efforts directly aimed at helping the Sumatran Tiger, go to: www.tigertrust.info.

Most of us will probably never catch a glimpse of the gentle and timid rhino in the wild. Shy and seldom seen, rhinos have no natural predators except for humans, and are not naturally aggressive unless startled. Like people, rhinos greatly impact other species with their actions. For example, black rhinos in Africa only browse on the tips of shrubs and small trees, pruning them and keeping growth under control, thus allowing other species to thrive in an ecosystem that works for all living within it. If rhinos disappear from their habitat, so do many other animals.

If numbers are a clear-cut way to determine an equation, consider this: in the past 100 years, the black rhino population has decreased by 96%, making it the fastest-declining of the five rhino species worldwide. Out of the four subspecies of black rhinos - eastern, southwestern, southern central and western - the latter is thought to already be extinct. This alarming fact not only has conservationists troubled and working tirelessly to combat the sharp decline in the numbers of the remaining three subspecies, but this by-product of human interference (through poaching and loss of habitat) affects every future generation as each species’ departure impacts the next.

Far more likely is the fact that most of us will never get to see them grazing on herbaceous plants or wandering the plains in Africa or Asia; but if more isn’t done to save this powerful animal in the wild, they may soon be lost to us forever.

*Editors note: The Western Black Rhino of Africa was declared officially extinct in November, 2011 by a leading conservation group.

If you’d like more information regarding rhino conservation or find out ways in which you can help with conversation efforts of the black and/or white rhino, the following are good sources of information:

As one of the smallest deer in the world, the hog deer is a good example of what it means to have a “short man’s complex.” The male hog deer is one of the more aggressive of his species, which is especially pronounced when it’s mating season. In autumn, male deer will gather out in the open and antagonize one another hoping to get noticed. The males will focus on only one female when they’re in pursuit of an amorous encounter, but unlike other types of deer they don’t utilize a mating call: fighting amongst themselves is the only known form of a mating ritual. Still, while some may perceive the tiny deer’s aggressive behavior as a compensation for their lack of height, their short stature does come in handy.

Once the mating season is over, the deer return to the tall grasses closest to riverbeds in the Pakistan and Indian mountain ranges. If all goes well, after a gestation period of about six months the female hog deer will give birth to only one deer, which is kept hidden in the grasses of the riverbeds to protect them from predators like Bengal tigers. This means that most deer are born during monsoon season, when new grass is plentiful. The newborns are born brown, not bearing the spots of their older counterparts, but it’s common for them to develop spots during the winter months. However, their coloring isn’t the only thing they use for cover: it’s thought that the reason for this deer’s pig-like name is because it runs with its head low to the ground, and doesn’t leap like other deer - keeping it relatively unnoticed by predators.

Unfortunately for the hog deer, housing developments and other projects have lead to dwindling numbers. Developments like building dams for the river Indus have caused disruptions in the deer’s ability to access its food supply and to hide from their natural predators. Once plentiful in the region of southeast China, the deer are now near-extinct there and unfortunately their numbers are dwindling elsewhere. The hog deer has also become a favorite target of game hunters on private reserves.

However, Chinese scientists at the Yongde Nature Reserve have been seeking ways to encourage breeding in the wild as they hang on to the hope that the hog deer will be able to restore its population.