A turtle that washed up on a beach in Israel was found with his two left flippers dangling hopelessly by his side – they had been severed by sharp fishing lines. The Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Michmoret named him Freedom and kept him for four years.

The center had no choice but to amputate Freedom’s necrotic fins, but when they did, he was no longer able to swim or breathe properly, according to NBC News.

“When he gets stressed, panicking for some reason, he gets into a spin as he can only use one side to paddle, his head tilts down to one side and he starts taking in water,” Yaniv Levy, the center’s director, told NBC.

“He stopped breathing once and we were lucky to resuscitate him.”

Related: Eco-crusader frees trapped turtle in Oman

Freedom, whose Hebrew name is Hofesh, lived like this for four years before an industrial design student came around looking for a meaningful design project to complete for his thesis.

Shlomi Gez’s work was cut out for him since the turtle needed prosthetic limbs that he could use to swim, but these are not easy to strap to a hard shell.

The Bezalel Academy student did some research, contacted a Texas rescue center that is rehabilitating a turtle with a similar condition, and eventually settled on a couple of angled fins that attach to Freedom’s shell.

Inspired by the tail of a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor jet, they are made with an “advanced plastic” and have restored the turtle’s ability to move without assistance.

Freedom will never return to the Mediterranean Sea, where Levy estimates only 10-20 Chelonia mydas breeding females have survived reckless overfishing, pollution and oil spills and other human and environmental threats, but he will become a breeder – just as soon as his new girlfriend Tzurit is ready.

Photos via the Israel Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center

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First discovered in 1946, the Hula Painted Frog was thought to have disappeared when Hula Lake dried up in the 1950s, but the IUCN waited until 1996 to officially declare its extinction.

Scientists feared that they had lost their opportunity to collect genetic analysis, but the reappearance of new individuals has allowed them to conduct extensive research and their findings have been surprising.

A team of Israeli, German and French researchers reported in the journal Nature Communications that the Hula Painted frog is very different than its other painted relatives living in North and West Africa.

“Instead, the Hula frog is related to a genus of fossil frogs, Latonia, which were found over much of Europe dating back to prehistoric periods and has been considered extinct for about a million years,” according to a statement released by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

This research suggests that the Hula frog is the last remaining representative of an ancient clade or group of frogs with a single common ancestor.

Plans are in place to re-flood the Hula Valley and restore the frog’s habitat, which would go a long way to help new individuals reproduce and increase the existing population.

Absolutely essential to any healthy ecosystem, frogs and other amphibians have suffered enormous population losses in the last couple of decades, so this is particularly good news for Israel’s biodiversity.

Photo via Prof. Sarig Gafny 

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When they arrived, rangers working for the Egyptian Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs were towing the 500kg female dugong to shore and Professor Adel Sehem gave them permission to do further analysis in order to determine the cause of death. While it is too soon to know for sure, activists suspect that the increased development and tourism traffic in Hurghada might be partially responsible.

HEPCA says that the dugong showed no signs of external trauma and that it was freshly dead when they arrived.

A biopsy of the lungs and kidneys will hopefully give more clues about why she died, and it will be the first time that a DNA fingerprint can be extracted of a dugong swimming in Egyptian Red Sea waters, according to the group.

Listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of threatened species, dugongs have been hunted for centuries for their meat and oil. Although they traverse 48 countries and 140,000 km of coastline, the population has dropped precipitously in recent years.

Dugongs are herbivorous mammals that typically stay close to the coastline so they can feed on seagrasses and other marine plants. These habitats are typically threatened by over-fishing, hunting and development. The port in Lamu, a Swahili outpost in Kenya, is one such development that threatens their fragile population.

That dugongs live for up to 70 years and are slow to reproduce makes it more challenging for their numbers to recover.

Once the biopsy of the Red Sea Dugong is completed, HEPCA hopes to be able to report their findings to the public. In the meantime, they are mourning this tragic loss.

“It’s a sad day to lose such a beautiful animal,” they posted on Facebook. “The harassment that these animals are exposed to by the endless over pressure of the snorkeling and diving boats has to stop,” they added.

“Although the examinations are not finished yet to determine the reason of the death of this dugong , the pressure on sea grass beds where these beautiful animals feed such as Abu Dabbab , Marsa Umbarak and Magawish and the continuous harassment has gone beyond tolerance. This crime has to stop.”

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An investigation is underway to determine the deaths of dozens of sea turtles that washed up on Egypt’s Mediterranean shore last week. Initial forays prompted suspicion that the turtles had eaten deliberately poisoned fish in Lake Bardawil, but conclusive results have not yet been published.

Minister of State for Environmental Affairs Mostafa Hussein Kamel established a committee to explore the cause of death of the 84 dead sea turtles, though some critics claim the ministry, the Egyptian Authority of Fish Resources and the Sinai governorate were all initially slow to respond. It isn’t clear which species have turned up in Egypt, but six out of seven marine turtles species are listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List of threatened species.

Professors from Suez Canal University and the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency nature conservation sector are among the committee members tasked with determining the cause of death, and they are currently analyzing blood and tissue samples.

“The committee doesn’t want to rush to conclusions, as they are still working on more lab results,” Executive Coordinator of Nature Conservation Egypt (NCE) Noor Noor told Egypt Independent.

“This includes samples of dead turtles and one that is still alive although in critical condition. But some of the professors indicated that the mass deaths occurred as a result of poisoned fish that were consumed by the turtles, however this theory remains under inspection.”

Suez Canal University oceanography professor Magdy Elwani told the paper that it is common for fishermen to poison marine turtles. As fish stocks dwindle and their livelihood suffers, the fishermen eliminate their competition by feeding the turtles small tainted fish.

He added that it can sometimes take weeks for the turtles to die as the poison is absorbed into their bodies; the last two turtles to succumb in this last event are currently being examined to “verify the poison theory.”

Other possible explanations for one of the largest mass die offs of sea turtles in Egypt’s history include pollution or changes in water salinity, though no immediate signs of either presented themselves.

We should know more about the lab results next week, so stay tuned for details.

:: Egypt Independent

Image of sea turtle, Shutterstock

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The Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA) first caught him with two full sacks full of quills and other Indian crested porcupine body parts, including pieces of stomach, in 2009, and he was soon indicted for the crime. But that didn’t stop the serial hunter from pursuing more of his prey.  

Despite his 2009 brush with the law, Fahmawhi continued to hunt porcupines, although it is unknown how frequently he evaded the park authorities. Then in February this year he was again caught with at least one porcupine in his possession.

The Haifa District Court issued a $2,600 fine (NIS 10,000) but INPA was not satisfied that this sentence adequately punished the crime and so they appealed the judge’s decision.

The court accepted the appeal and Fahmawhi is expected to begin his prison sentence next month.

This is a major achievement in the struggle to preserve wildlife and in the struggle against criminals hunting and possessing protected wildlife without a permit,” according to a statement released by INPA.

The judges who overturned the fine, Shmuel Berliner, Igal Grill and Bracha Bar-Ziv, wrote that “The law defines both the terms ‘hunting’ and ‘confining’ as violations of the wild animal protection law. This is not a ‘minor’ infringement that does not justify applying the suspended sentence.”

Porcupine meat is a sought after commodity on the black market, where they sell for up to $200 each, and porcupines suffer a great deal when monogamous families are broken up by poachers.

:: Jerusalem Post

Image of porcupine, Shutterstock

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A disturbing video of an enormous Great hammerhead shark (Sphyma mokarran) being hauled out of a truck in a Dubai fish market reveals once again the failure of authorities to monitor shark fishing in the United Arab Emirates. We had used an image of it here, but it was so violent and ugly Google banned the page! So we removed it for the tamer pic you see above.

In the UAE, it is officially illegal to kill sharks with the sole purpose of harvesting their fins, but Dubai has a record of supplying shark fins to Hong Kong, where they are highly coveted as the main ingredient in shark fin soup. They are never captured for their meat, which the International Union of Conservation (IUCN) claims is considered unpalatable. Hit the jump to see the video.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LermuNgmwpQ[/youtube]

Reproductive prime

This video was uploaded onto the Shark Year website by Alexmoz76, who we were unable to reach for comment.

But Jonathan Ali, Managing Director of Wild Animal Productions and a renowned shark activist based in the UAE, posted the video on his Facebook page with strong exclamations of disapproval.

“Another massive great Hammerhead in Dubai fish market brought in from Oman!” he wrote. “They can barely get it out of the truck!! This is a magnificent specimen and reproductively in its prime! What a sad waste!”

Great hammerhead sharks are particularly vulnerable since they only reach sexual maturity when they are five years old, according to a 2011 story published in The National. And then they only reproduce once every two years.

Last year we posted a ghastly image of a female hammerhead that was killed along with a belly full of pups, a devastating loss to the species that prompted a massive outcry.

Shoddy enforcement

Shark conservation in the UAE is hampered in great measure because of gaps in crucial data, which Rima Jabado from Lebanon – a doctoral student at UAE University – is striving daily to fill. In an interview with Arwa, Rima describes the challenges associated with shark conservation and overfishing.

She explains that shark finning is a major threat to this apex species, but it is not the only one. Habitat degradation and by-catch in places where the hammerhead is not specifically targeted are other key factors contributing to diminishing populations.

Although Article 5 of the UAE’s Ministry of Environment and Water’s Decree No. 216 makes it clear that “capture of sharks for fins is prohibited,” the law in Dubai is poorly enforced. Notice that the men handling the enormous shark were completely unphased by the cameraman, which probably means that they have little fear of retribution.

Great hammerheads are listed as globally endangered on the IUCN red list but as long as their fins remain so profitable, it will be very difficult to slow their journey towards extinction.

More on Shark Fishing and Finning in the UAE:
Dubai Marine Life at Risk After Devastating Shark Catch
25 Shark Species in the Persian Gulf Need Urgent Protection
Shark Fin Soup Can Give You Brain Damage

The post This amazing hammerhead shark will be finned appeared first on Green Prophet.

While some zoos in the Middle East and North Africa have a terrible track record when it comes to their treatment of animals, Al Ain Zoo in the United Arab Emirates functions as a leading wildlife conservation center that specializes in threatened species from the world’s arid regions. It was at their veterinary center that these adorable Arabian sand gazelles were born on 18 March, 2012.

Also known as Rhim or slender horned gazelles, Arabian sand gazelles are listed as vulnerable on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) list of threatened species because of illegal hunting, habitat disruption, and agricultural development. The Al Ain newborns, three males and two females, were bred in captivity and these pictures of them certainly made our day!

Stories about Kuwaitis who shoot flamingos and wolves for sport or the Lebanese who massacred a cave full of bats leave a nasty taste in the blogosphere, so it’s an enormous relief to bring happy wildlife news from the Middle East.

Originally established in 1968 by the late Sheikh Zayed, a revered environmentalist and leader, the Al Ain Zoo has recently expanded to become a wildlife park and resort. Included in the UAE World Desert facility is the Sheikh Zayed Desert Learning Center, where visitors can learn more about desert fauna and flora.

To date Al Ain researches and protects 4,300 animals, and is particularly well-known for its work with gazelles.

Arabian Sand Gazelles are extinct in several countries in which they used to occur, but populations still exist throughout the Arabian peninsula and in Central Asia. However, their numbers have declined by at least 30% in the last few decades as a result of poaching and competition with farmers for land.

Fortunately they are a fairly hardy species that can survive in a wide range of arid and semi-arid conditions. They thrive in dunes and desert environments, but also travel through the foothills and valleys of Central Asia to altitudes of as high as 2,700 m. They migrate in search of food and water.

These pictures are bound to put a smile on your face, but even more importantly, they are a symbol of hope. As custodians of the Gulf’s incredible biodiversity, we are grateful to Al Ain for their dedication to its preservation.

More on Wildlife in the Middle East and North Africa:

Kuwaiti Kills Wolf Then Shows Off

Thousands of Endangered Fruit Bats Were Gunned Down in Lebanon

The Cheetah: Nature’s 21st Century Feminist

The post These Pictures of Baby Arabian Sand Gazelles Will Make Your Day appeared first on Green Prophet.

The donkey’s ancestor, African Wild Asses once lived all over North Africa, but now they are critically endangered.

Donkeys aplenty can be found roaming fields and mountains all over Africa, but their ancestor the African Wild Ass is critically endangered. Equus africanus used to be found as far north as Morocco’s Atlas Mountains and as far east as the Arabian peninsular, but now only a few hundred of them are left in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan. Domesticated about 6,000 years ago, wild asses adapted extraordinary tools for surviving in harsh desert climates, but now they are hunted for meat and medicine.

Critically endangered

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) added Equus africanus to their list of critically endangered species in 2010. It is believed that 10 African wild asses still remain in Somalia and 160 in Ethiopia, where they are commonly hunted for meat and medicine.

In Eritrea it appears that the species is actually thriving, with 400 left, although the 1500 thought to be in Sudan are most likely feral.

Wild asses can survive the loss of up to 30% of its weight in water even though it never usually strays more than 30 km from the nearest water hole. They can then re-hydrate within 2 to 5 minutes of drinking water.

Its males are solitary and lasting bonds, aside from that between mothers and their offspring, have not been recorded. Instead, wild asses form temporary relationships in groups of 5 or less, probably to limit competition for scarce water resources.

A regular guest in biblical accounts

The gestation period for wild asses is one year. Females typically produce one foal every other year, which may contribute to the species’ vulnerability.

Other factors contributing to their near-extinction include interbreeding with domestic animals and competition with livestock for grazing, as well as limited access to water supplies as a result of new agricultural developments.

A regular guest in biblical accounts, wild asses are protected by law in Sudan, Somalia, and Ethiopia, but in these climatically and politically unstable countries, wildlife conservation is a low priority.

:: Greenfudge

image via wikicommons

More on donkeys:

Recycling and Deifying Donkey Dung in Israel

Donkeys, not DSL, to get Syria’s News out

Gaza Zoo Paints Donkeys to Look Like Zebras

The post Where Have all the Wild Asses Gone? appeared first on Green Prophet.

Thousands of people will gather for the 6th World Water Forum in Marseille, France between the 12th and 17th of March, 2012 in order to address the escalating challenges presented by water shortages, pollution, and population growth. And the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) – a leading conservation group – has announced that they will be on the scene to promote nature as the most effective solution. 

The world’s largest water gathering

140 Ministerial delegations and 25,000 participants from 180 different countries will gather at the World Water Forum in order to address international water concerns. These participants will include politicians, policy makers, water engineers, environmental managers and community members.

It is the largest meeting of its kind, so IUCN is determined to convey how important it is to ensure that nature’s own mechanisms are honored as an important part of meeting present and future hydrological problems.

River basins, forests, lakes, and wetlands have unique processes that channel, filter, and purify water. “Building new infrastructure is not, by itself, an answer to today’s water challenges,” says Julia Marton-Lefèvre, IUCN Director General.

Nature is more cost effective

“Nature is a much more efficient and cost-effective solution. It provides the natural infrastructure that we need to store, move and filter water. At the World Water Forum, IUCN will work towards including nature as an integral part of the solutions and commitments to address global water needs.”

In the Middle East, we have seen a rise in water-based conflicts. Syria has already seen widespread desertions of dried up areas, Yemen is similarly affected, and some people think that this essential component of life is at the heart of the Palestinian and Israeli issue. And as climate change escalates, water resources will become even more valuable.

Water and climate change

“Our ability to respond to the effects of climate change depends on a healthy environment,” says Mark Smith, Director of the IUCN Global Water Programme. “With healthy ecosystems, nature can provide the infrastructure that we need to be more resilient to climate change. Water management that puts nature at the centre keeps clean water flowing from our taps and protects us from floods, droughts, erosion and other disasters.”

Although the potency of these gatherings has come into question after a string of Convention of the Party meetings culminating in Durban have largely failed to produce any meaningful change, IUCN intends to carry their convictions to Rio and beyond.

“IUCN has a strong message to send from Marseille to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development taking place in Rio in June, and then onward to IUCN’s World Conservation Congress in Jeju, Republic of Korea in September,” says Julia Marton-Lefèvre, IUCN Director General.

“Sound water management is fundamental for building a sustainable future. Only with a healthy and sustainable natural environment can we make our economies ‘green’.”

image via IUCN

More on Water Issues:

US Researchers Clean Waste Water and Create Energy in One Generator

Syria’s Dustbowl Attributed to Wasted Water

Yemeni Communities Working Together to Save Water

The post IUCN to Make Nature’s Solutions Central to the World Water Forum in France appeared first on Green Prophet.

Fantapants is a “postaholic member” of a reptile forum in the United Kingdom. In January 2008, when gold star member Jay Kickboxer asked where he could buy an Egyptian Tortoise for his “missus” who likes “small things,” Fantapants answered, “they are rarer than rockin horse poo smeared on to chicken lips.”

He then posted a link to Dean Clackett’s 2006 online advertisement which offered “Egyptian Tortoises (testudo kleinmanni) – North Africa’s smallest tortoise – for only £1,100 (or $1,718 using today’s exchange rate.) Meanwhile, the tortoises, which don’t grow much larger than an orange and once plied North Africa’s harsh Scrub forest and desert en masse, are rarely found in the wild. 

Almasry Alyoum recently documented the Egyptian Tortoises’ threatened existence in their home country and in Libya, where 99 percent of the world’s illegally traded Egyptian Tortoises are now sourced.

After a 1994 survey conducted by Sherif Baha el-Din failed to turn up any tiny tortoises in Egypt, they were thought to have gone extinct. But in 2000, a Bedouin discovered one lonely reptile slowly traversing northern Sinai’s dunes without a mate. It was then that about 70-100 additional tortoises were discovered in the Zaranik Protectorate.

But wildlife conservationists at the Bristol Zoo fear that Egypt’s small population could face total extinction within the next two decades if measures are not taken to better protect them.

Despite being legally protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and listed as Critically Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Animals, illegal wildlife trafficking continues apace, government enforcement is scant, and human development has engulfed their natural habitat.

An ecologist, Baha el-Din told Almasry Alyoum that this species of tortoise is particularly sensitive to habitat disruption and that “even slight variations in temperature, vegetation and ground cover can seriously affect it.” It is also slow to mature, produces few offspring, and lives up to 50 years.

In 2001 National Geographic described Baha el-Din’s herculean efforts to keep testudo kleinmanni alive with a rooftop breeding program in Cairo, but experts suggest that these animals don’t stand a chance of surviving unless they are protected in the wild.

:: Almasry Alyoum

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