3 endangered animals in South Africa, and How You Can Help.

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3 endangered animals in South Africa, and How You Can Help.
by Rosa Domingos \| 30-05-2018 10:01 0
Not just the Rhinos, but other significant species are currently vulnerable to extinction, and it is up to us to make a difference. I have listed three species, that I believe, are the most or critically endanged today, and how anyone can aid, they are: 1. Pickergill?s Reedfrog It is quite easy to overlook a frog or any other species that is only 3cm long, but once you know of its existence, it?s hard not to care about its future. The Pickersgill?s reed frog is one of the most endangered amphibians in South Africa. It?s endemic to the coastline of KwaZulu-Natal where their numbers are shockingly low and vastly spread out along the coast. Coastal development, habitat fragmentation, and draining of water used for agricultural and urban development count as major threats to this unique amphibian's existence. Two of the wetland areas where they live are currently protected. South Africa?s very first captive breeding project for the conservation of a threatened amphibian species has included the Pickersgill?s reed frog. The project is run by the African Association of Zoos and Aquaria. The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) has named the Pickersgill?s reed frog its flagship species for its amphibian conservation programme. How you can help •Become a member of the African Association of Zoos and Aquaria. •Join the EWT and either donate money (however small the amount) to the programme! 2. Cape vulture Because the name 'vulture' has a negative connotation, we misunderstand and underestimate the importance of vultures. But the essence of being a vulture is to clean up, and therefore, do good. They do so by eating off carcasses, thus preventing diseases from spreading amongst the animal kingdom. Cape Vultures are only found in Southern Africa, limiting the already decreasing population. The major threats to this specie are loss of habitat, electrocution on pylons or collision with cables and unintentional poisoning. One of the leading Cape vulture conservation organisation in South Africa is VulPro . Their aim is to primarily conserve and protect Cape Vultures, but also to raise awareness around them. They recently launched a breeding and rehabilitation project and the first captive bred vulture chick hatched on 1 September last year at the Johannesburg Zoo. How you can help •VulPro has a wishlist of simple items needed for smooth operations. If you?re able to donate any of these, it?ll be greatly appreciated •Donate money to VulPro or the Endangered Wildlife Trust?s Birds of Prey programme 3. Cheetah No one can deny the grace and beauty of a cheetah, this unique cat specie (one of the fastest land animals in the world) is rapidly becoming endanged.They have been the subject of countless incredible wildlife images, with their dark-fur tear trails and faultless spotted agile bodies. Unfortunately, many farmers don?t feel the same because cheetahs are smart enough to know that a sheep is a much easier catch than an antelope, kudu or springbok on the run. Thus, many farmers resort to poisoning, shooting or trapping the cheetah culprits. its other threat over the years, like other animals and plants, has been loss of habitat. Two organisations that have dedicated themselves to cheetah protection and conservation in their natural habitat are: Cheetah Outreach in Somerset West- South Africa and the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia. Both have active guard dog programmes that place Anatolian shepherd dogs on farms to chase away cheetahs and other preditors. As cheetahs aren?t aggressive animals, they?ll rather find dinner somewhere else than face an opposition. These programmes have proven to be very successful. How you can help? •Become a volunteer at Cheetah Outreach by emailing cheetah@intekom.co.za. •Sponsor an item on Cheetah Conservation Fund?s wish list. •Volunteer at Cheetah Conservation Fund. •Make a donation to either Cheetah Outreach or Cheetah Conservation Fund. Reference-webpage: http://www.getaway.co.za/environment/conservation-environment/10-endangered-animals-south-africa-canbodies

Dormant user Rosa Domingos

11 Comments

Rosa Domingos says :
Hi Gyeongrin!

Yes, the term 'vulture' does give misconceptions to a lot of people, but I am really relieved to have enlightened you and the rest of our members about this

Posted 01-06-2018 21:05

Gyeongrin mentor says :
Hello Rosa!
By knowing the animals and getting familiar with them really does bring up our responsibility to save them from such threats they are living in! And thanks for correcting our misconception about cape vultures, as I too also had some of the misunderstanding of them!
Thanks for sharing :)
Posted 01-06-2018 20:48

Rosa Domingos says :
Your are most welcome Dyah!
Posted 31-05-2018 21:30

Dyah Reza Lestari says :
Thanks for sharing this information, Rosa! I've got more insight from your report :)
Posted 31-05-2018 21:23

Rosa Domingos says :
@ Isaac: you're welome!
@Prakriti: thank you! I do hope that it becomes something that gives alot of the members here insight.
Posted 31-05-2018 05:42

Prakriti Dhakal says :
you really mentioned very well about cape vulture, they actually look very beautiful. I liked the way you mentioned about the possible solutions of doing volunteerism.

Posted 31-05-2018 02:44

Isaac Abugri says :
Thanks for sharing
Posted 31-05-2018 02:22

Rosa Domingos says :
Hi Joon!
I have come to have respect for the Cape culture, because I too had this perception that vultures are dangerous. Which is not the case at all.
If the manner at which the Cape vulture breeds it offspring is one of the reasons why they are not taken into account, then they really might be in a vulnerable position.

Posted 31-05-2018 01:47

Joon Ho Mentor says :
Hello Rosa! I used to love cape vultures as they have really smooth look and outlines over their feathers and appearance. They especially have very very unique style of raising their siblings, and this may also be the reason why modern society and people cannot take this into account for their survival and keeping certain level of individual number.

Thanks for introducing endangered species of South Africa!
Posted 31-05-2018 01:30