#conservationstatus-endangered

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The Ring Tailed Lemur, or Lemur catta, can only be found on the island of Madagascar and, other than in captivity, does not live anywhere else in the world. They are an Endangered species primarily due to deforestation, mining, creation of farmland destroying their habitat, being hunted for bushmeat, and captured for the illegal pet trade. Large numbers can also be killed due to Madagascar's harsh weather conditions and extended periods of drought. A special reserve called 'Bezà Mahafaly' has been created to protect the lemur population and educate the local community on conservation. The reserve also promotes ecotourism and takes part in drought intervention by introducing water sources during periods of harsh weather.

Lemurs have several distinctive characteristics. Their tails are longer than their bodies (up to 63 centimeters while their bodies are between 39-46 centimeters). They also have specialized lower teeth that form a sort of dental comb used in grooming themselves and each other. But their most distinctive characteristic is their eyes: they have an adapted reflective layer in the retina that gives them excellent night vision (and makes their eyes practically glow in the dark when shining on them with a light-source).

Fun fact: Male Ring Tailed Lemurs engage in so-called 'stink fighting' when in competition for females: they drag their tails through strong-scent secreting glands located on their wrists and shoulders, and then waft their tails at each other.

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The Reticulated or Somali Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) lives in the savannahs and open forests of Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia. Their Latin name 'camelopardalis' comes from the fact that the ancient Greeks and Romans believed that giraffes were a cross between camels and leopards.

They are an Endangered species due to deforestation and the increase in agricultural land conversion, both of which are destroying their habitats. Another reason behind their declining population in the wild (currently 8.500) is that they live in areas of civil unrest and are likely to be killed as an indirect victim of the human conflict in those locations. Many conservation groups such as the 'Reticulated Giraffe Conservation with Pastoralists Initiative' have been established and are dedicated to protecting the species. Efforts include placing cameras on giraffe trails to track the animals, locate snares and prevent poaching (this also benefits other species living in the area). The groups also educate locals on giraffes and other local wildlife.

The giraffe is the tallest animal in the world with a prehensile tongue measuring 45 centimeters in length. Male giraffes are significantly taller than their female counterparts. And in order to win the right to mate with females, the males fight viciously by swinging their necks and horned heads into each other.

Fun fact: the skin of Reticulated Giraffes secretes chemicals that repel parasites and other insects, effectively creating their own personal bug-repellents.

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The Nile Lechwe (Kobus megaceros) are an Endangered ungulate species native to the swamps and marshes of South Sudan and Ethiopia. It is difficult for any protection efforts to succeed or even be put in place as they live in areas of civil and political instability. Due to this hunting and habitat fragmentation continue to threaten the species despite their protection status. And preferring to live close to bodies of water and grazing on aquatic plants, Nile Lechwes are a key prey species for crocodiles. The young also have another specific enemy: warble flies. In the wild those flies can parasitize the calves, leading to relatively high mortality as the fly-larvae feed on tissue under the skin which can cause severe infections leading to the death of their hosts.

Male and female Lechwes are easily distinguished with males being dark brown in colour, their size measuring 160-180 centimeters in length, a shoulder height of around 1 meter, weighing between 90-120 kilos, and large horns that can measure up to 87 centimeters long. Females are much lighter in colour, have no horns, only measure 130-170 centimeters in length, no higher than 85 centimeters at the shoulder, with a weight between 60-90 kilos. As juveniles they look similar other than that the male calves already show horn-development. As male calves age they start to develop their darker coat with the characteristic white patches.

Fun fact: Nile Lechwes are also known as Mrs. Gray's Lechwe, after Maria Emma Gray, the wife of John Edward Gray, a keeper at the British Museum, who also proposed to classify the species as Kobus maria.

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The Giant Otter, or Pteronura brasiliensis, lives predominantly in the Amazon river basin and the Pantanal wetlands of South America. The otter is an Endangered species due to being extensively hunted for its pelt in the past (1950s & 60s), and this continues to be an issue at present. However, currently the biggest risk for the population is posed by habitat degradation and habitat loss by deforestation and water pollution.

Their size (average between 150-180 centimeters) and their streamlined shape not only makes them the longest member of the weasel (mustelid) family, but the Indigenous Amazonian (Tupi) word for the giant otter is 'ari'raña', which translates as 'water jaguar'.

Otters are very social animals, living in family groups up to 15 animals lead by a dominant breeding pair. In those groups they spend large amounts of timing grooming each other in order to build and maintain group cohesion. They also have 9 different vocalizations that they use to communicate with their group members.

Fun fact: Giant Otters are highly intelligent and can be trained by anyone who has had the proper training and patience to do so.

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The Baird's Tapir (or Tapirus bairdii) is an Endangered species with only 5.500 animals left in the wilds of Central America. The main threat consists of deforestation destroying their woodland habitats. And while conservationists are hard at work on protecting the woodlands and rainforests of Central America, sadly, a second threat to the existence of the Baird's Tapir is maybe even more persistent. Despite laws making it illegal to hunt for tapirs in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Panama, those laws are rarely enforced.

While similar to elephants in the fact that tapirs love to swim, and use their prehensile snouts as snorkels similar to how elephants use their trunks, their closest evolutionary relative is a rhino. While their size is insignificant compared to the elephant and the rhino (tapirs measure around a meter tall at the shoulder), they are the largest land mammal in Central America.

The feeding habits of tapirs are of huge importance for the environment in general. Their varied diet and wide-ranging foraging behaviours make them some of the most important seed-dispensers of the rainforests of Central America.

Fun fact: a group of tapirs is known as a 'candle'.

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The Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis) only lives on the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, and Gili Motang. With only 1.400 dragons left in the wild, they're classed as Endangered. The reasons for their decline are plentiful: habitat loss (mainly due to human encroachment into their environments), loss of their preferred prey (again due to humans overhunting the deer they eat), and volcanic activity on the islands which destroys both large numbers of dragons and their nests at the same time. To prevent them from going extinct they are now protected by Indonesian Law and the Isle of Komodo has been declared a National Park to aid in the conservation of the species.

Komodo Dragons can be fairly easily separated into male and female dragons. The males average in length around 2.60 meters and usually weigh between 79-91 kilos. Females average around 2.30 meters in length and weigh between 68-73 kilos. And despite their slow distinctive snaking-like walking movement, they can run up to roughly 19 km/h when chasing prey. Their size also matters when it comes to dinner time since the feeding order is based on size.

Despite female dragons being capable of laying viable eggs without mating, those hatchlings are solely male, making it difficult to have a viable breeding program in captivity (which is also made difficult by the fact that dragons are monogamous in their mating habits).

Komodo Dragons have an ambush-strategy when it comes to hunting: they lie in wait and go for the throat once they attack. Part of their kill-mechanism is that they apply potent venom onto multiple frenzied bit wounds from their sharp teeth. The venom rapidly decreases blood pressure and expedites blood loss, causing victims to collapse from blood loss and shock after the initial attack, making them too weak to escape or fight back. Due to their anatomy, dragons can swallow prey whole up to the size of a goat or a small deer. After such a large meal they'll slowly digest it and regurgitate any fur, horns, and bones remaining.

Fun fact: Komodo Dragons are cannibalistic: 10% of an adult's diet consists of juvenile dragons (this too adds to the decrease in population).

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The Goliath Frog (Conraua goliath) is a rather large frog species from the African rainforest regions of Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. They can be found in and around rapid flowing water and at the base of waterfalls due to the fact that the tadpoles only eat one very specific species of plant that can only be found in those areas.

The males are larger than the females, weighing between 0.6-3 kilos and measuring between 17-30 centimeters long. Due to their size and weight the Goliath Frog is the largest living frog species in the world. Their size also enables them to cover up to 3 meters in a single jump.

The Goliath Frog is classed as Endangered due to being over-hunted for food, as trophies, and thanks to the pet trade (the fact that they don't have a vocal sac and, therefore, cannot croak makes them highly desirable).

Fun fact: Goliath Frogs have been around for 250 million years. In fact, they precede dinosaurs.

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The Golden Poison Frog (or Phyllobates terribilis) is an Endangered frog species from Colombia, South America. Their skin is extremely poisonous (a single frog has enough poison on the skin to kill 10-20 people!) and the bright colouration is used as primary defense mechanism. Unlike other frog species they don't need to live in or near water (though they do require a water source where they can deposit their eggs).

The Golden Poison Frog is the largest poison dart frog species ranging in size between 50-55 millimeters. The species has been given this name due to the fact that indigenous tribes that live in the rainforest use the frogs' poison on their poison darts with which they hunt for food. And while most frog species are extremely secretive and tend to hide most of the time, the Golden Poison Frog is fearless and does the opposite, likely due to the toxicity of their skin.

Fun fact: captive frogs are very easy to reproduce and handle by humans since they do not produce the toxins due to having different food sources (the frogs sources their toxins from the invertebrates they eat in the wild).