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Many articles ago we wrote that only 4,000 tigers existed in the wild.

It appears we were way off; the number is actually much lower. Conservationists now say fewer than 1,400 wild tigers exist.

Forty years ago Project Tiger started in India, which set aside 27 Tiger Reserves. Confidence ran high that this project would bring back the tiger numbers, but this is no longer true. Poaching and loss of habitat in India continue to decimate the species.

This week two tiger cubs were found dead, presumably poisoned by Indian villagers upset over a tiger killing goats. The cubs were in Ranthambore, a tiger reserve that covers several hundred square kilometers and that is visited by 200,000 tourists each year.

As of 2009, forty tigers inhabited the park. The park is surrounded by almost 100 villages, however, and the inhabitants will kill the tigers if they feel their livestock is threatened.

And, with tiger pelts fetching up to $12,500 in China, plenty of poaching still takes place. The government of India has been unable to stop the poaching. In some areas of the country continued violence and civil unrest has made it impossible for conservationists to work.

It’s hard not to be pessimistic about the situation, but it is very likely our generation will be the last to see tigers in the wild.

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The Green Man Blog is written to spread environmental awareness and appreciation of the natural world around us. Thank you for visiting! Stay green, support the organic movement, and be sure to visit www.greenmantshirts.com or www.robjuszak.com for the best in organic cotton and bamboo t shirts!

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Over the last 72 years, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has established whale sanctuaries in order to protect the species from uncontrolled whaling.

In 1938, the IWC established a sanctuary in the Antarctic. Forty-one years later the Indian Ocean Sanctuary was established and in 1994 IWC adopted the Southern Ocean Sanctuary as another area in which commercial whaling is prohibited.

So why does Japan actively hunt whales in these sanctuaries?

Well, according to Japan’s interpretation of the sanctuary statutes, whaling is still allowed for “scientific research.” Therefore, Japan regularly slaughters whales in these sanctuaries and chalks it up to “research.”

Japan runs their scientific program under the acronym of JARPA, which stands for JApanese whale Research Program in the Antarctic.

Under JARPA, Japan kills over 1,000 whales annually in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary alone.

Despite worldwide condemnation, Japan continues to slaughter whales wherever it wants. In 2007, the IWC issued Resolution 2007-1 that contained the wording, “the aims of JARPA II do not address critically important research needs.” In bureaucratic-speak, that’s about as strong as language can get when calling a country a liar.

Yet, despite being called out by the IWC on its ridiculous research claims, Japan refuses to stop its whale slaughter.

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Ever hear of a Pika? Neither did we, but they’re in the news lately.

American pikas are small mammals, related to the rabbit, which reside in rocky, alpine areas of the western United States. They prefer the cool, somewhat moist climates that mountain “sky islands” usually have.

Unfortunately, these climate zones are being affected by global warming. The American pika may be the first animal studied to show a positive decline from the effects of climate change.

Of 25 pika habitats studied, 7 have become barren of pikas. Scientists believe the pika cannot easily migrate north to cooler temperatures to escape the climate changes, and remain trapped on the sky islands to die.

Some scientists feel the American pika is the canary in the coal mine of global warming.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering extending federal protections to the pika and a decision will be announced this Friday. If the American pika is placed on the Endangered Species list, it will become the first animal placed on the list due to climate change.

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The recent clash between a Japanese whaling ship and the Ady Gil, a small craft deployed by the Sea Sheppard, highlights the controversy over illegal and questionable whaling practices.

Since 1986, there has been a moratorium on commercial whaling. The idea was to allow whale species a chance to recover from the devastating effects of mass whaling all around the world. Most countries have adhered to the moratorium, but some have been aggressive in seeking ways around it.

Japan and Norway, for example, have continued whaling operations. They have found loopholes in the moratorium that allow whaling under the guise of “research.” Between the two countries, Japan is by far the most aggressive.

Japan kills over 1,000 whales annually under their JApanese whale Research Program in the Antarctic (JARPA).

But many people have seen through Japan’s flimsy attempt at disguising whaling as “research.” In 2007, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) became alarmed at Japan’s whaling activities in the Southern Ocean, which had been previously declared a whale sanctuary.

The IWC issued this resolution:

Resolution 2007-1

RESOLUTION ON JARPA

WHEREAS paragraph 7(b) of the Schedule establishes a sanctuary in the Southern Ocean;
RECALLING that the Commission has repeatedly requested Contracting Parties to refrain from issuing special permits for research involving the killing of whales within the Southern Ocean Sanctuary, has expressed deep concern at continuing lethal research within the Southern Ocean Sanctuary, and has also recommended that scientific research involving the killing of cetaceans should only be permitted where critically important research needs are addressed;

CONSCIOUS that the Scientific Committee last year convened a workshop to analyze the results of JARPA 1, which is reported in SC/59/REP 1;

NOTING that the Workshop agreed that none of the goals of JARPA 1 had been reached, and that the results of the JARPA 1 programme are not required for management under the RMP;

FURTHER NOTING that the Government of Japan has authorised a new special permit programme in the Antarctic, JARPA II, in which the take of minke whales has been more than doubled, and fin whales and humpback whales have been added to the list of targeted species;

CONCERNED that fin whales in the Southern Hemisphere are currently classified as endangered, and that humpback whales in the JARPA II research area may include individuals from depleted breeding populations overwintering in the waters of certain Pacific Islands;

CONVINCED that the aims of JARPA II do not address critically important research needs;

NOW THEREFORE THE COMMISSION CALLS UPON the Government of Japan to address the 31 recommendations listed in Appendix 4 of Annex O of the Scientific Committee report relating to the December 2006 review of the JARPA I programme to the satisfaction of the Scientific Committee;

FURTHER CALLS UPON the Government of Japan to suspend indefinitely the lethal aspects of JARPA II conducted within the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.


The key words to this resolution are: “Convinced that the aims of JARPA II do not address critically important research needs.” In bureaucratic-speak, that’s about as strong as language can get when calling a country a liar.

Yet, without a means to enforce the resolution, the ICW and the rest of the world can do nothing about Japan’s illegal whaling. The Sea Sheppard has been harassing the Japanese whalers for years as they conduct their whaling operations, and the Ady Gil is just the latest in a long line of clashes. Many of these clashes have been documented on the Animal Planet show, Whale Wars.

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The Green Man Blog is written to spread environmental awareness and appreciation of the natural world around us. Thank you for visiting! Stay green, support the organic movement, and be sure to visit www.greenmantshirts.com or www.robjuszak.com for the best in organic cotton and bamboo t shirts!

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The Javan rhino is fighting a losing battle to survive. Fewer than 60 survive in the wild.

Hunted by poachers for its horns, what’s left of the rhinos hide in the thick Indonesian jungles. The poachers sell the horns to the Chinese, who grind them up and use them in traditional medicine.

Researchers who have worked for years to save the Javan rhino have rarely, if ever, seen the animal they are trying to save.

A video project placed 34 hidden cameras in various locations in the jungle where the Javan rhino was thought to travel. Last March, one of the cameras caught a few of the rhinos on film.

The footage shown at right may be your only chance ever to see this animal in the wild.

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The Green Man Blog is written to spread environmental awareness and appreciation of the natural world around us. Thank you for visiting! Stay green, support the organic movement, and be sure to visit www.greenmantshirts.com or www.robjuszak.com for the best in organic cotton and bamboo t shirts!

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How can an animal be reduced from a population of 2 million to just 40,000 in 50 years?

That’s what happened to the Saiga Antelope. Apparently, Chinese folk medicine values the Saiga horns as a cure for fevers, and poachers are hardly able to keep up with the demand. The horns sell for about $100.00 per pound.

The Saiga population has already been decimated by 98%, and experts say the animal will soon be extinct if the poaching isn’t stopped.

Unfortunately, Chinese folk medicine, rooted in ignorance and superstition, shows no sign of changing. Its demand for the horns of exotic and endangered animals is driving the slaughter of wildlife in unprecedented numbers.

The video below shows a group of wildlife researchers tagging Saiga.

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Amur tigers were all but extinct 50 years ago. If the Russian government hadn’t imposed protections, the tigers, which once roamed all across Siberia and parts of China and North Korea, would never have made it into the 21st century.

But increased poaching is threatening the species. The Wildlife Conservation Society states that the tiger population has dropped over 40% in the last 12 years. With only 4-500 left in the wild, the Amur tigers are in serious danger of being wiped out forever.

Logging has contributed to the problem by reducing the tiger’s habitat, but poaching remains the biggest threat. The previous tough protections have been eased. Nowadays, minor penalties for illegally killing the tigers don’t deter the poachers.

As usual in poaching stories, the Oriental demand for exotic animals drives the trade. The poachers can get high prices in Asian markets for the skins and body parts, and the fine for poaching is only 1,000 rubles which works out to a whopping $35.00.

If the demand doesn’t decline, or if penalties for poaching don’t increase, the illegal trade in slaughtered Amur tigers will guarantee their destruction in only a few more years.

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The Green Man Blog is written to spread environmental awareness and appreciation of the natural world around us. Thank you for visiting! Stay green, support the organic movement, and be sure to visit www.greenmantshirts.com or www.robjuszak.com for the best in organic cotton and bamboo t shirts!