General

It might not win a prize for the cutest animal on the block but, in some parts of the world, it is popular for its meat and eggs. The pig-nosed turtle (Carettochelys insculpta), also known as the pitted-shelled turtle or Fly River turtle, is found only in northern Australia and southern Papua New Guinea. The freshwater turtle has paddle-shaped flippers like a marine turtle and a pig-like nose. Numbers have declined steeply in the past 30 years, with an estimated 50 per cent decline in the population since 1981 in Papua New Guinea.

Cambodia's Royal Turtle (Batagur affinis), also known as the Southern River Terrapin, is one of the world's most endangered turtles and is now facing threats to its very survival. For several years the small remaining population of Royal Turtles—perhaps numbering fewer than 10—have been successfully protected from extinct by the Fisheries Administration (FiA) in partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS ) and local communities.

Wenn ein Bauer seine Felder spritzt, tötet er mehr als beabsichtigt. Carsten Brühl, Ökotoxikologe an der Universität Koblenz-Landau, geht davon aus, dass auch viele Frösche eingehen. «In Laborversuchen stellten wir fest, dass 40 bis 100 Prozent der mit Pflanzenschutzmitteln besprühten Amphibien verenden», sagt er. Innert 24 Stunden starben die Tiere einen stillen Tod. Angewandt wurden auch in der Schweiz zugelassene Spritz­mittel, und zwar in der empfohlenen Konzentration. Die Untersuchung wurde Anfang 2013 publiziert.

Global wildlife populations are set to have fallen by more than two thirds on 1970 levels by the end of the decade, conservationists warn. Assessment of 14,152 populations of 3,706 species of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles from around the world reveals a 58% fall between 1970 and 2012 - with no sign the average 2% drop in numbers each year will slow.

In Deutschland gibt es immer weniger Bienen, immer weniger Hummeln, immer weniger Schmetterlinge. Überhaupt gibt es immer weniger Insekten! Das haben Forscher aus Krefeld herausgefunden. Das ist eine Stadt im Bundesland Nordrhein-Westfalen. 25 Jahre lang haben die Forscher an bestimmten Orten Insekten gesammelt, ihre Art bestimmt und die Tiere gewogen. Das Ergebnis der Forscher: In dieser Zeit stellten sie einen Rückgang an Insekten von bis zu 80 Prozent fest. Gesammelt haben die Forscher vor allem in Nordrhein-Westfalen.

The reticulated flatwoods salamander (Ambystoma bishopi) and frosted flatwoods salamander (Ambystoma cingulatum) are black to chocolate-black salamanders with light-gray lines and specks that form a cross-banded pattern across their backs. Both species occupy longleaf pine flatwoods in the lower southeastern coastal plain. The animals spend most of their lives underground, in crayfish burrows, root channels or burrows of their own making; they emerge in the early winter rains to breed in small, isolated seasonal wetlands.

Diamondbacks (Malaclemys terrapin) are something of a revered species in Maryland, designated not only as the state reptile but the mascot of the University of Maryland, College Park. A long lived species, the diamondback terrapin can reach ages in excess of 20 years. Their diet includes mollusks, insects, crustaceans, and small fish. Chesapeake colonists ate terrapin prepared Native-American fashion, roasted whole in live coals. Abundant and easy to catch, terrapin were so ample that landowners often fed their slaves and indentured servants a staple diet of terrapin meat.

Gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) belong to a group of land turtles that originated in North America about 60 million years ago, making the species one of the oldest living today. This plodding, methodical, armored reptile is at once eye-catching and fascinating. Pure nature lovers might even describe the sluggish critter as winsomely attractive, albeit grotesquely so. Of all Southern turtles, the familiar “gopher” is one that seldom fails to capture the attention of most observers, first-time spotters or otherwise.

Eidechsen, Mauersegler, Schwalben, Fledermäuse und verschiedene Schmetterlingsarten sind nur ein Teil der Tiere, die im Landkreis Ebersberg immer seltener anzutreffen sind und irgendwann, wenn nichts dagegen unternommen wird, vielleicht gar nicht mehr. Inzwischen ist es etwas Besonderes, wenn Tagpfauenaugen und Distelfalter durch den Garten flattern. Der Sommerflieder, auf den sich in den letzten Jahren immer mehrere Exemplare niederließen, lockt nach heutigen Zählungen höchstens einen Schmetterling am Tag an. Auch Hummeln werden immer seltenere Gäste.