Help save the Spiny-headed Tree Frog, elusive and shy arboreal frogs threatened by deforestation in Mexico and Panama. Boycott palm oil for them!
Tag Archives: animals
A Broken Record on Repeat – Animal Extinction Likely if Palm Oil Expands in North East India
As with the forest kingdoms of Borneo and the Amazon rainforest, the Indian forest kingdom of the Golden Langurs and Pygmy Hogs is under siege by palm oil in the north east of India. The region is home to some of the most endangered wildlife in the world. Situated in the foothills of the Himalayas, the whole area is one of the most fertile and diverse places on the planet. This region is earmarked for destruction for palm oil. Renowned British wildlife photographer Craig Jones went there to photograph pygmy hogs and report on their dwindling home.
Golden Langur Trachypithecus geei
The regal, striking looking Golden #langurs Trachypithecus geei is also known by the common names Gee’s Golden #langur. They are the most endangered primate species in #India and are considered to be sacred to many Himalayan peoples. Once widespread, they are now only found in a handful of fragmented forests straddling India and Bhutan. They are classified as endangered due to #palmoil, #meat and #timber #deforestation and hunting. Golden langurs are known for their expressive eyes and grumpy expressions. This has made them the subject of global fascination and online memes. Help them every time you shop and be #vegan, #Boycottpalmoil and #Boycott4Wildlife
Pygmy Hog Porcula salvania
Pygmy hogs are only found in the lush and dense grasslands of Manas National Park, a small protected region in the shadows of the Himalayan mountains. These shy tiny wild pigs are the smallest pigs in the world and also the most endangered, threatened by habitat loss for palm oil and meat agriculture. Help them to survive each time you shop and #BeVegan #Boycottpalmoil and #Boycott4Wildlife
White-Nosed Saki Chiropotes albinasus
Curious, social and beautiful White-Nosed Sakis are striking and unusual looking #primates. This vulnerable primate is instantly recognisable by their long, silky black fur, reddish-pink noses, and distinctive hair tufts crowning their heads. The white-Nosed Saki’s range spans the shaded forests south-west of the Dos Marmelos river, where they are vulnerable from human-related threats including #palmoil, #soy and #meat #deforestation, #goldmining and human persecution. They deserve us to fight for their survival. Help them every time you shop and be #Vegan #BoycottPalmOil and #Boycott4Wildlife
Nicobar Islands Port and Palm Oil: Threatens Giant Turtles
On Great Nicobar Island in the most southerly part of India, big plans are in motion to transform the island into a shipping hub and destroy its native ecosystems including mangroves, reef systems and forests, putting the already endangered leatherback sea turtle (along with 1000’s of other species) perilously close to extinction. Around one million trees are set to be felled to make way for palm oil and other monoculture crops on the islands, writes PhD Candidate Divya Narain for The Conversation. Read on after to discover how to help these beautiful animals.
Southern Ground-hornbill Bucorvus leadbeateri
Territorial and highly social, Southern Ground #Hornbills collectively raise their young in groups – a process of parental guidance that can take up to two years – the longest of any #bird species known. They are considered to be a culturally important species to many indigenous peoples and are known as rain birds or thunder birds for their folklore association with bringing rain and ending drought. Help them to survive every time you shop and #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife
Sumatran elephants: Surrounded by palm oil and nobody knows how many are left alive!
Sumatran elephants in Indonesia’s North Aceh district are being increasingly encircled by shrinking patches of forest. Their home is being destroyed primarily for oil palm plantations.
Ongoing attempts of scientists to take a measure of their population have been hampered and oppressed by the Indonesian government, which has also attempted to prevent media coverage of the issue. Help these irreplacable beings every time you shop, #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife
Amazon River Dolphin Inia geoffrensis
The Amazon River dolphins, also known as the Boto Dolphins or Amazon Pink River Dolphins are playful, curious and intelligent mammals, the largest river dolphin species in the world. Known for their stunning pink coloured skin they are endangered due to human-related threats like #palmoil, #meat and #soy #deforestation, #gold #mining and #pollution. Help them survive each time you shop and use your wallet as a weapon. Be #vegan, #Boycottpalmoil and #Boycott4Wildlife
UN report says up to 850,000 animal viruses could be caught by humans, unless we protect nature
Human damage to biodiversity is leading us into a pandemic era. The virus that causes COVID-19, for example, is linked to similar viruses in bats, which may have been passed to humans via pangolins or another species.
African Dwarf Crocodile Osteolaemus tetraspis
African Dwarf #Crocodiles are timid #nocturnal animals and solitary hunters. They predate mainly on small animals in rivers or nearby to the riverbank. They are also known as the Broad-Snouted Crocodile or the Bony Crocodile are the smallest extant species of crocodile in the world and are typically around 1.5 metres in length. They face persecution by humans and other animals and spend most of their daylight hours resting in burrows they make along riverbanks in #WestAfrica and Central Africa. They are vulnerable from #timber #palmoil #soy #meat #deforestation and hunting. Help them survive and be #vegan, #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife
New Guinea Singing Dog Canis hallstromi
Thought for decades to be extinct in the wild, the New Guinea singing #dog populations hang on to survival in the remote mountains and forests of New Guinea. These #wilddogs were last spotted in 2017 near the Grasberg gold and copper mine in #WestPapua. Little known and still not well understood by researchers, they announce themselves with a haunting overlapping howling between individual dogs that is unlike other forms of canid howling.
Elusive and likely now critically endangered, #NewGuinea Singing Dogs are rapidly disappearing and have no formal protection or conservation in place. Help them survive and fight against #palmoil #deforestation in #WestPapua, #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife
Butterfly Viper Bitis nasicornis
Although they possess one of the most potent venoms of all #snakes in #Africa, Butterfly Vipers are surprisingly placid and won’t attack unless provoked or threatened. They are known by several common names: Rhinoceros viper, River Jack, the Rhinoceros horned viper and the Horned puff adder. These remarkable serpents are appreciated for their vividly coloured markings that keep them camouflaged on the forest floor. Help them to survive when you shop and #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife.
Bangka Slow Loris Nycticebus bancanus
Shy and elusive tiny #primates, Bangka Slow Lorises were last reported from the wild in 1937. If the Bangka Slow Loris is still alive then the burning of their habitat and conversion to agriculture (especially palm oil plantations) is their greatest threat.
These diminuitive and sweet-faced primates are critically endangered due to #palmoil #deforestation and the illegal pet trade. Just 20% of their rainforest remains on Bangka island, #Indonesia. Help them every time you shop, be #vegan #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife
Fishing Cat Prionailurus viverrinus
Although they look cute and cuddly, the Fishing #Cat Prionailurus viverrinus has a feisty, firecracker temper. This small to medium sized wild cat can become defensive if approached in the wild. They are around twice the size of a domestic cat and typically weigh around 5-16 kg and have stocky short legs and a short tail.
Their faces are round with elongated noses that gives them a civet-like appearance, which is why their scientific name is viverrine. They are agile and fast hunters and can reach fast speeds in pursuit of prey. They have an average lifespan of approximately 12 years. Ongoing threats include palm oil deforestation, and in Indonesia it is uncertain if their population have remained alive intact due to widespread deforestation and hunting pressures. Help these plucky little #wildcats when you shop and #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife
Helmeted Hornbill Rhinoplax vigil
Helmeted #Hornbills are spectacular, large and intelligent #birds native to SE Asia, known for their substantial helmet-like structure on their head called a casque made of ivory. This hefty head accounts for 11% of their 3kg body weight. They are found on the Malay Peninsula: #Sumatra, #Borneo, #Myanmar and #Thailand. They are #criticallyendangered. Their main threats are illegal hunting and wildlife trade for their ivory casques along with palm oil and timber deforestation. Help them each time you shop and #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife
Do humans really need other species?
Do humans need other #species? Yes! millions of organisms are needed to keep #ecosystems in balance and ensure everyone can survive. Most importantly, #research shows other species make us happy! Be 🐱🐷🐎🐕🐠 #Vegan for the animals 🍅🥦 #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife
Thousands more species at risk of extinction than currently recorded, suggests new study
New research suggests the #extinction crisis may be even worse than we thought. More than half of species that have so far evaded any official conservation assessment are threatened with extinction. Some species that are not yet classified and are “data deficient” make up around 17% of the nearly 150,000 species currently assessed. according to predictions by researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Help them to survive! #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife
African Palm Civet Nandinia binotata
African palm civets were once common seed dispersers. Now they face pressure from palm oil-driven deforestation, mining, and hunting for bushmeat – boycott!
Palm oil substitutes can offer beleaguered rainforests a fighting chance
Palm oil is a versatile substance used in a wide range of products from foods to cosmetics. The trouble with it is that the cultivation of oil palm trees has caused massive enviromental harm, especially in Malaysia and Indonesia, which together account for 85% of palm oil production in the world.
But scientists from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and the University of Malaya in Malaysia say they have an answer as to how we can wean ourselves off palm oil.
Buffy-tufted-ear Marmoset Callithrix aurita
Buffy-tufted-ear Marmosets are enchanting monkeys living in a tiny, isolated region of Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. Fight for them and boycott palm oil!
Spectacled Bear Tremarctos ornatus
Spectacled #bears are known as the ‘peaceful and gentle bear’. They are the only bear living in the tropics of South America. Like many other animals in tropical ecosystems they are #endangered. They get their name from their eye-catching markings around their eyes, face and neck that resemble spectacles. Each bear has unique markings like a fingerprint and some bears don’t have them at all.
They are found throughout the thin line of Peruvian rainforest and their range stretches across several countries: Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela and Colombia. Their main threats are habitat loss to #gold #mining, timber, #meat, #palmoil and #soy as well as #hunting. Protect them each time you shop by being #boycotting meat, be #vegan #boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife
What is causing the latest outbreak of Ebola in Uganda?
In light of the most recent Ebola outbreak in Uganda (over the past month), many people are experiencing a sense of déjà vu. The rapacious destruction of rainforests for palm oil, soy, meat and dairy by multinational corporations is deeply linked to the spread of infectious zoonotic diseases, such as Ebola. These diseases are becoming more and more commonplace with the destruction of the environment and growth of animal agriculture. This has enormous implications for human #health, food security, animal conservation and planetary health. #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife
Kaapori Capuchin Cebus kaapori
The Kaapori capuchin is a delightful, tenacious and intelligent small monkey species of #Brazil on a knife-edge of survival – they are critically endangered. In 2017 their population had been decimated by 80% due to deforestation for agriculture including soy, cattle grazing and palm oil. They are forgotten animals with no formal protections in place. Fight for them every time you shop and be #vegan #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife
Papuan Eagle Harpyopsis novaeguineae
Elusive, forest-dwelling apex predators in New Guinea, Papuan eagles are classified as vulnerable and rapidly declining due to enormous deforestation for mining and palm oil in Papua New Guinea and West Papua along with hunting threats. They are poorly studied birds and therefore estimates of their populations may be severely overestimated, meaning that they are in much more serious strife than we know.
While there have probably never been high densities of the Papuan eagle, evidence indicates that they are declining rapidly. It is possible that the entire population is considerably under 10,000 individuals. There is no evidence that the Papuan eagle is adaptable to the opening of forests and the eagles appear to abandon areas especially where logging roads have been cut into the forests.
Help them every time you shop and be #vegan, #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife
Philippine Eagle Pithecophaga jefferyi
Apex predator and flying royalty of the jungle, Philippine #Eagles are critically endangered from #climatechange, #palmoil, #timber and #cacao #deforestation and illegal #hunting.
There are estimated to be only 180-600 eagles left in the wild. Protecting the Philippine eagle would also protect 780 other plant and animal species in the Philippines. Help them every time you shop and #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife
Anthropologist and Author Dr Sophie Chao
Dr Sophie Chao is an environmental anthropologist and environmental humanities scholar interested in the intersections of capitalism, ecology, Indigeneity, health, and justice in the Pacific.
Palm Oil Detectives is honoured to interview to Dr Sophie Chao about her research into the impacts of palm oil on the daily lives of Marind people and other sentient beings in West Papua.
I wrote In the Shadow of the Palms because I wanted the world to understand how deforestation and industrial oil palm expansion are undermining Indigenous ways of being in West Papua.
Indigenous Communities: Key to Nature Conservation
Research finds indigenous communities provide the best long-term conservation outcomes. Support their environmental stewardship and complete autonomy!
Back from extinction: a world first effort to return threatened pangolins to the wild
Pangolins are one of the most illegally trafficked animals on the planet and are suspected to be linked to the current coronavirus pandemic. Pangolins are also one of the world’s most threatened species but new efforts are underway to reintroduce pangolins to parts of Africa where the animal has been extinct for decades. Help these remarkable armoured wonders to survive and call out wildlife trafficking when you see it online, also #BoycottPalmOil 🌴🪔🚜🔥☠️⛔️ #Boycott4Wildlife in the supermarket!
Nigeria’s nature reserves need more help to protect biodiversity
Apart from conserving species, #wetlands help to control floods, replenish groundwater, stabilise shorelines, retain nutrients and purify water. The park will join Nigeria’s protected area of 445 forest reserves, 29 game reserves, 12 strict nature reserves, 11 Ramsar sites, 7 national parks and one biosphere reserve.
Palm Oil Detectives 