Western Black Rhino Officially Extinct

Western Black Rhino Officially ExtinctAfrica’s western black rhino is now officially extinct according the latest review of animals and plants by the world’s largest conservation network.

‘Making its last stand’

The subspecies of the black rhino — which is classified as “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species – was last seen in western Africa in 2006. The IUCN warns that other rhinos could follow saying Africa’s northern white rhino is “teetering on the brink of extinction” while Asia’s Javan rhino is “making its last stand” due to continued poaching and lack of conservation.

“In the case of the western black rhino and the northern white rhino the situation could have had very different results if the suggested conservation measures had been implemented,” Simon Stuart, chair of the IUCN species survival commission said in a statement.


‘Near threatened’

Many plants are also under threat, say the IUCN. Populations of Chinese fir, a conifer which was once widespread throughout China and Vietnam, is being threatened by the expansion of intensive agriculture according to the IUCN.

In the oceans, the IUCN reports that five out of eight tuna species are now “threatened” or “near threatened,” while 26 recently-discovered amphibians have been added to the Red List including the “blessed poison frog” (classified as vulnerable) while the “summers’ poison frog” is endangered.

Do you think these “near threatened” species can still be saved? Is urbanization to blame for this?

Source: Matthew Knight, CNN

Image: Mother Nature Network

Mysterious Structure Discovered At Bottom Of Sea Of Galilee

Mysterious Structure Discovered At Bottom Of Sea Of GalileeA mysterious, circular structure, with a diameter greater than the length of a Boeing 747 jet, has been discovered submerged about 30 feet (9 meters) underneath the Sea of Galilee in Israel.

‘Built on dry land’

Scientists first made the discovery by accident in 2003 using sonar to survey the bottom of the lake but published their findings only recently. The structure is comprised of basalt rocks, arranged in the shape of a cone. It measures 230 feet (70 meters) at the base of the structure, is 32 feet (10 meters) tall, and weighs an estimated 60,000 tons. It is twice the size of the ancient stone circle at Stonehenge in England.

Its size and location, says Shmuel Marco, a geophysicist from Tel Aviv University who worked on the project and who also took video of the structure during a scuba dive to examine it, indicated it could have been constructed underwater as a type of fish nursery. However archaeologists think it more likely it was built on dry land and later submerged by the lake.


‘Even more enigmatic’

The exact age of the structure has been difficult to pinpoint, but calculations based on the six to ten feet (two to three meters) of sand that have accumulated over the bottom of the base — sand accumulates an average of one to four millimeters per year — as well as comparisons to other structures in the region, put the estimate anywhere between 2,000 and 12,000 years old. The possible purpose of the structure is even more enigmatic.

Dani Nadel, an archeologist from the University of Haifa, who partnered on the site, and who has led several prehistoric excavations in the region, notes it shares similarities with communal burial sites, though he’s quick to discourage anyone from drawing a definitive conclusion.

What do you think could have been the purpose of this mysterious ancient structure? Feel free to share your own speculations with us!

Source: Daisy Carrington, CNN

Image: News.com.au