America's Endangered Species

Saat ini ada sekitar 1.500 spesies yang dikenal di dunia yang terancam punah - Joel Sartore, seoang photographer dari National Geographic, menyajikan 68 dari mereka dalam bukunya Rare: Portraits of America's Endangered Species, mulai dari serigala ke wolverines, tanaman pitcher sampai kaktus nanas, semua indah difoto. Dibawah ini 10 diantaranya ...

Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit. 0

Brachylagus idahoensis

Bryn the pygmy rabbit died in 2008, marking the end of her genetic line. This subpopulation lost its sagebrush habitat as the land was developed for agriculture. Key features of Bryn's genetic material survive in hybrid pygmy rabbits; a breeding and reintroduction program holds out hope for her kind.

Bog Turtle <18,100

Glyptemys muhlenbergii

America's tiniest turtle, the palm-size bog turtle now survives mostly on private lands from Massachusetts to Georgia. Adapted to soggy soils, the species suffers where wetlands are filled or groundwater is diverted, and significant numbers end up as roadkill.

St. Andrew Beach Mouse <6,000

Peromyscus polionotus peninsularis

In diminishing numbers, these mice live on about 20 miles of the Florida Panhandle - a narrow margin for survival. Why save them? They are a unique species and an important part of the food chain. Furthermore, their existence is a good indicator of a healthy dune ecosystem.

Alabama Canebrake Pitcher-Plant <1,000

Sarracenia rubra ssp. alabamensis

Once found in 28 sites across three counties in central Alabama, this carnivorous plant now grows in only 11. It takes to swamps or bogs with acidic sands or clays, environments that have by and large been converted to farm ponds and other agricultural uses. And plant collectors are willing to break the law to add these gems to their collections.

Delhi Sands Flower-Loving Fly <1,000

Rhaphiomidas terminatus abdominalis

This fly is now relegated to a few vacant lots in the Los Angeles Basin. The photo you're looking at may be its last hurrah. "The world would go on without it," says biologist Ken Osborne of this humble southern California dunes dweller, "but it would be a shame."

Black-Footed Ferret ~800

Mustela nigripes

A government-assisted war on prairie dogs in the 1900s nearly wiped out the black-footed ferret, which depends on prairie dogs as a staple in its diet. Its geographic range is now some 3 percent of what it once was across the Great Plains. Meanwhile, reintroduced ferrets lack survival skills and often fall prey themselves to eagles and coyotes.

California Condor 356

Gymnogyps californianus

Nine wild condors remained in 1985, many of their predecessors felled by hunters or poisoned by eating fragments of lead shot. Captive breeding and reduced use of lead ammunition have restored North America's largest flying bird.

Wolverine 300

Gulo gulo

Originally roaming as far southeast as Maryland and as far southwest as New Mexico, this bear-like omnivorous weasel now lives only in the northwestern United States. Fur hunting and development have decimated its numbers, yet larger populations in Canada and Alaska have hindered its protection under the ESA.

Eastern Hellbender ?

Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis

Surviving in the Appalachians as one of North America's largest salamanders, these hellbenders range from 12 to 29 inches long. They like swift, clear streams with rocky bottoms and thus serve as barometers of river health. Topping their list of woes are dams and siltation; fishermen sometimes kill them in the mistaken belief that they are poisonous.

Iowa Pleistocene Snail ?

Discus macclintocki

This Ice Age snail was known only in fossils until examples were discovered alive in 1972. The species persists on steep slopes in Iowa and Illinois where cracks in the limestone act as cool-air vents. Naturally air-conditioned at 15° to 50°F, these micro-habitats mimic Pleistocene conditions, but logging and erosion threaten change.

The Making Of RARE: Behind the Scenes With National Geographic Photographer Joel Sartore

Baca Juga:
Hewan Asli Indonesia yg Hampir Punah
Burung Surga



Source