About Jane Goodall Animals
Below are whimsical drawings of endangered species discussed in Dr. Goodall's book Hope for Animals and Their World. Artworks were donated by Patrick McDonnell and printed with water-based ink. Babysoy and Jane Goodall Institute collaborated to create the Janey Baby Collection. During the process, we learned a lot about these animals and their stories and how we humans have destroyed their habitat and causing the extinction or near extinction. We'd like to share the stories with you. We admire the dedication of the scientists who devoted their life in the effort to recover these animals, especially Dr. Goodall who spent over 50 years studying the Chimps. We encourage everyone to contribute our little part to help the effort. Like what Dr. Goodall said "Think globally and act locally. If each one of us water into our own sphere of influence we can grow this planet into a greener place."
Mala
Mala or Rufous Hare-Wallaby is a small marsupial with reddish-orange fur that were once widespread and abundant across various parts of Australia. Adults stand about 30cm in height and weigh between 0.7 to 2.0 kilograms. During the 1950s it was thought that the mala was extinct, but in 1964, a small colony was found in the Tanami Desert and 12 years later another colony was found nearby. But in 1987 and 1991 destructive wildfires and feral predators (foxes and cats) really did made mala become extinct in the wild. Luckily a research team was able to start their breeding program in the 1980s with just 7 mala. The group had thrived. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s various program was carried out in an effort to reintroduce mala back to wild. With a current population of over 4,000, these small macropods are making a comeback at Newhaven, as part of the largest re-wilding project in Australia.
Red wolf
The red wolf is a canine native to the southeastern United Sates. The subspecies is the product of ancient genetic admixture between a wolf and a coyote, however it is regarded as unique and therefore worthy of conservation by evolutionary biologists. Morphologically it is intermediate between the coyote and gray wolf, and is of a reddish-tawny color. Red wolves were originally distributed throughout the southeastern and south-central United States from the Atlantic Ocean to central Texas, southeastern Oklahoma and southwestern Illinois in the west, and in the north from the Ohio River Valley, northern Pennsylvania and southern New York south to the Gulf of Mexico. The red wolf was nearly driven to extinction by the mid-1900s due to aggressive predator-control programs, habitat destruction, and extensive hybridization with coyotes. By 1973, the red wolf was finally classified as endangered, it was on the very brink of extinction. Scientists put every effort to capture as many red wolf as possible for captive breeding, fourteen of these survivors were found to be the founders of a captive-bred population. When the last of these was captured in 1980, the red wolf was declared extinct in the wild. Of 63 red wolves released from 1987–1994 the population rose to as many as 100–120 individuals in 2012, but has declined to 40 individuals in 2018.
Whooping Crane
The whooping crane, the tallest North American bird, is an endangered crane species named for its whooping sound. Along with the sandhill crane, it is one of only two crane species found in North America. The whooping crane's lifespan is estimated to be 22 to 24 years in the wild. After being pushed to the brink of extinction by unregulated hunting and loss of habitat to just 21 wild (in 1941 these crane arrived Texas from Canada for winter) and two captive whooping cranes by 1941, conservation efforts have led to a limited recovery. One interest thing about crane is that they normally lay two eggs, but typically rear only one chick, and often only one egg is viable. So Ernie Kuyt, who led the breeding effort, was often in the field testing for viable of the eggs, if both eggs were good, Ernie would take one, if a nest had only bad eggs, he would replace with one of the good eggs. All the excess eggs he collected were sent to hatch to start the captive breeding program. He used nothing more than his thick socks to safely transported more than 400 eggs during 25 years of crane work.
A March 2018 Fish and Wildlife Service report counted the total number of cranes in the surviving migratory population, plus three reintroduced flocks and in captivity, now exceeds 800 birds.
Angonoka or Ploughshare Tortoise
The angonoka tortoise, also known as the ploughshare or Madagascar tortoise, is a critically endangered species that is endemic to Madagascar. These tortoises have unique shell colorations, a characteristic that makes them a sought-after commodity in the exotic pet trade. These tortoise can grow up to 15-17 inches and weighs 19-23 pounds and have an average lifespan of 188 years. Their habitat is at the Baly Bay area of northwestern Madagascar.
In March of 2013, smugglers were caught transporting 54 live angonoka tortoises—nearly 13 percent of the entire remaining population—through an airport in Thailand. Since the first population count (estimate) in 1974, it was estimated that population have been anywhere around 100-800. In 2008 Pedroso estimated that his estimate of 440 in 2000 had decreased to 400 (half being adults). It was estimated in 2016 at a CITES conference that the wild population had dropped to 100 adults and the species would be extinct in the wild by 2018. In 1986 the DWCT (Durrell Wildlife conservation Trust) established a captive breeding centre at the Ampijoroa in Madagascar, which was able to breed the first captive ploughshare tortoises the following year. In 1997 the Madagascar government created Baie de Baly National Park to conserve to tortoise, and the first five captive-bred tortoises were released back into the wild in the park in 1998 by the DWCT.
Vancouver Island Marmot
Vancouver Island marmots are easy to recognize by their rich chocolate brown fur with contrasting white patches on their nose, chin, forehead and chest.
Newborns have a uniformed brownish black coat that fades in summer to a rusty brown at hibernation time. These different colour stages of coat development make it easy to identify pups from yearlings and older adults in the field.
Marmots have large beaver-like teeth, sharp claws and powerful shoulder and leg muscles for digging. An adult Vancouver Island marmot typically measures 65-70 centimeters and weighs 4.5-7.5 kgs. Vancouver Island marmots live in family groups called colonies and hibernate below ground from mid-September until late April or early May. Hibernation permits the marmots to survive the long alpine winters when food is not available.
During the active summer period, marmots spend a lot of their time lounging on rocks and watching for predators. Only a few hours each day are spent looking for food, eating and interacting with other marmots. Marmots are more likely to be seen in early morning or late afternoon than during the heat of the day.
Andrew Bryant, who begun study marmot in 1987, attribute unregulated clear-cutting of the forests during the 70 & 80s to a change in marmot behavior. Marmots live in networks of colonies, which we call “meta-populations.” Colonies within these meta-populations regularly exchange young marmots with other. However, in many areas, the movement of marmots was disrupted, and colonies were increasingly isolated, and vulnerable. This type of isolation can lead to local extinction. In 1998, there were only about 70 marmots in the wild and five years later, around 30 remained.
Thanks to recent recovery efforts, the population has increased to just over 200 marmots on over more than 20 mountains in 2019. Recovery efforts are bringing the Vancouver Island Marmot back from the brink of extinction, but work remains to be done to ensure it has a secure future in the wild.
Iberian Lynx
The Iberian lynx is a wild cat species native to the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe that is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. It preys almost exclusively on the European Rabbit. In the 20th century, the Iberian lynx population declined because of sharp declines in rabbit populations, caused by disease and overhunting.
By the turn of the 21st century, the Iberian lynx was on the verge of extinction, as only about 100 individuals survived in two isolated sub-populations in Andalusia. Conservation measures such as one of the biggest grants from EU and Miguel Angel Simon's team took place since 2002. It took a lot of effort to persuade 98 private land owners over the 540 square miles of ground where these lynxes reside to sign the agreement to help protect the lynx (and the rabbits). Eventually, it becomes a thing to brag about if lynx were found in their land/farm. By 2012 the population had increased to 326 individuals.
Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit
The Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit is an isolated population of pygmy rabbit, that is native only to a single Columbia Basin area of Washington State. The Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit is the smallest North American rabbit, an adult fit easily onto the palm of human hand.
These rabbits are typically found in areas that include tall, dense stands of sagebrush, which they are highly dependent on to provide both food and shelter throughout the year. During the winter months their diet consists primarily of sagebrush, while in the summer and spring their diets become more varied, with the addition of grasses, particularly native bunchgrasses to the sagebrush. They are one of the only two North American rabbits that actually dig their own burrows.
Starting in the early 1990s, numbers of pygmy rabbits declined following loss of habitat and fragmentation of the remaining sagebrush ecosystems as ever more land was taken over by farms, ranches, and urban development. By 2001, the entire wild pygmy rabbit population in Washington was thought to consist of only one colony with fewer than 50 individuals. A captive breeding program was implemented to retain, to the maximum extent possible, the different genetic characteristics of the purebred Columbia Basin population. Sixteen rabbits were captured and sent to three facilities for captive breeding. However, it was soon discovered that these rabbits have low reproductive success, partly caused by reduced genetic diversity in the small captive population. The recovery team came to conclusion that the only way to save the last Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit was to allow some of them to mate with Idaho rabbits. The last purebred Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit died in 2008, marking the end of the pure genetic line. But the cross-breeding plan went well. The high production allowed for the release of over 1,200 rabbits to the wild on Sagebrush Flat Wildlife Area from 2011 through 2014.
Kakapo
The kakapo, also called owl parrot, is a species of large, flightless, nocturnal, ground-dwelling parrot of the super-family Strigopoidea, endemic to New Zealand.
It has finely blotched yellow-green plumage, a distinct facial disc, a large grey beak, short legs, large feet, and relatively short wings and tail. A combination of traits make it unique among its kind; it is the world's only flightless parrot, the heaviest parrot, nocturnal, herbivorous, visibly sexually dimorphic in body size, has a low basal metabolic rate and no male parental care, and is the only parrot to have a polygynous lek breeding system. It is also possibly one of the world's longest-living birds.
The kakapo is critically endangered; the total known adult population is 213 living individuals, all of which are named. The introduction of predators such as cats, rats, ferrets, and stoats during European colonization almost wiped out the kakapo. Conservation efforts began in the 1890s, but they were not very successful until the implementation of the Kakapo Recovery Program in 1995. A key part of the Recovery Program is the supplementary feeding of females. Kakapo breed only once every two to five years, when certain plant species, primarily "rimu", produce protein-rich fruit and seeds. During breeding years when rimu masts supplementary food is provided to kakapo to increase the likelihood of individuals successfully breeding. Together with nest management and monitoring, the road to recovery went well. An abundance of rimu fruit and the introduction of several new technologies helped making 2019 the best breeding season on record, with over 200 eggs laid and 72 chicks fledged as of 1 July 2019.
Chimpanzee
The chimpanzee or simply known as the "chimp", is a species of great ape native to the forests and savannas of tropical Africa. The chimpanzee are classified in the genus Pan. Evidence from fossils and DNA sequencing shows that Pan is a sister group to the human lineage and is humans' closest living relative.
The chimpanzee is covered in coarse black hair, but has a bare face, fingers, toes, palms of the hands, and soles of the feet. It weighs 88–132 lbs for males and 60–110 lbs for females and stands 3.3 to 4.6 ft. Its gestation period is eight months. The infant is weaned at about three years old, but usually maintains a close relationship with its mother for several years more. The chimpanzee lives in groups which range in size from 15 to 150 members. The species lives in a strict male-dominated hierarchy, where disputes are generally settled without the need for violence. Nearly all chimpanzee populations have been recorded using tools, modifying sticks, rocks, grass and leaves and using them for hunting and acquiring honey, termites, ants, nuts and water. The species has also been found creating sharpened sticks to spear small mammals.
The chimpanzee is listed on the IUCN Red List as an endangered species. Between 170,000 and 300,000 individuals are estimated across its range. The biggest threats to the chimpanzee are habitat loss, poaching and disease. Jane Goodall undertook the first long-term field study of the common chimpanzee, begun in Tanzania at Gombe Stream National Park in 1960. Current understanding of the species' typical behaviors and social organization has been formed largely from Goodall's ongoing 50-year Gombe research study.