Animals Near Extinction

Urban sprawl has put many animal and plant species on the verge of extinction, and butterflies are no exception. The California pipevine swallowtail is a beautiful blue butterfly which has been living in San Francisco for centuries. But as city development has increased since the early 20th century, this wonderful butterfly became a rare sight in the city. Saving the butterfly and reintroducing it to San Francisco became the mission for Tim Wong, an aquatic biologist, and he does it right in his backyard. Here at  Bright Side  we’ve learned more about the DIY efforts of this young scientist that helps rare butterflies come back to the city. THE CALIFORNIA PIPEVINE SWALLOWTAIL ALMOST WENT EXTINCT DUE TO URBANIZATION. The California pipevine swallowtail is a real wonder in the kingdom of butterflies. The life cycle of this butterfly...

The extinction of the Christmas Island flea—and the current risk to other parasites—shows a major gap in conservation efforts When Western sailors first landed on the uninhabited volcanic outcropping in the Indian Ocean that would later become known as Christmas Island, they found it abounding with unique and interesting species that had evolved over thousands of years in isolation. At that time one of the most plentiful Christmas Island species was a nearly two-foot-long rodent. Eventually dubbed Maclear’s rat (Rattus macleari), the island’s dominant mammal exhibited little to no anxiety about the sudden presence of humans. “These animals, like most of those found in the island, are almost completely devoid of fear,” wrote British paleontologist Charles William Andrews in A Monograph of Christmas Island, published by the British Museum in 1900. “They are a great nuisance, entering the tents or shelters, running over the sleepers and upsetting everything in their search for ...

WILLIAM RAMOS April was a roller-coaster month for the world’s rarest wolves. On April 21 the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, N.C., announced that its female red wolf (Canis rufus) had given birth to a trio of adorable pups. Only about 220 red wolves exist in captivity, with the animals spread around the country among 43 institutions, so every birth tends to be cause for celebration. This time, sadly, there wasn’t much opportunity for joy. Just four days later, on April 25, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the wild population of red wolves had crashed to about 40 individuals, including just three breeding pairs. That’s down from about 120 wild wolves in 2013. Why this sudden, precipitous decline? It all started in 2012, when North Carolina introduced a new state rule that allowed night hunting of coyotes, which are often considered to be pests. That put the wolves, which are a bit bigger than coyotes and have been known to cross-breed with them...