Four Wild Animal Species Were Endangered

Maybe you can still see them at the zoo. But that doesn’t mean they’re doing alright in the wild.

Tigers

All six tiger species are endangered, with Sumatran tigers and South Chin tigers at a seriously endangered status. The main reasons for their population decline are illegal hunting and destroyed habitats(栖息地), as humans clear forests to gather timber（木材）and build roadways. Only about 3890 tigers presently live in the wild.

Ground squirrels

That’s right, even squirrels are endangered, specifically the San Joaquin ground squirrel. Native to California, USA, these guys have been disappearing since 1979 on account of the construction and human development going through their habitat. Their total population is unknown, but it could be anywhere between 124000 and 413000.

Giraffes

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature recently put giraffes at a vulnerable(脆弱的) status, the level just before endangered. The giraffe population has declined 40 percent in the last 30 years, primarily due to loss of habitat and illegal hunting. Some giraffes are killed just for their tails, which are considered status symbols in Africa.

Asian elephants

The main threat to Asian elephants, one of the most intelligent animals, is their shrinking habitat. As the human population grows, people invade their land to build roads and railway tracks. Elephants in Myanmar are at an especially high risk for being captured and traded or used illegally in the tourist industry. Fewer than 50000 are left on the entire continent.

A homeowner in Massachusetts had a surprise visitor that came down the chimney (烟囱)... and it wasn’t Santa. A barred owl (横斑林鸮) was sitting in the fireplace in a home in the city of Bolton, staring at the homeowner. Not sure how to deal with the bird, the homeowner called Mass Wildlife.

“This individual was very calm and we simply reached in, gently grabbed it, and placed it in the animal carrier,” Mass Wildlife Central District Manager Todd Olanyk says. Before releasing the owl, Olanyk examined the bird for injuries and found none. “It was released just outside the house where it was found,” he says.

Wildlife experts say barred owls may find chimneys enticing during this time of year because they begin laying eggs from February through May. Since they don’t build their own nests, they look for holes. Mass Wildlife has also received similar reports of this happening with other birds. To help prevent wild animals like birds and bats from entering your home, Mass Wildlife suggests placing a metal cap with a screen on your chimney. Chimneys aren’t the only places that pose a danger to birds and other wildlife.

According to a 2014 study, 27% of the more than 100 uncapped bollards (路桩) had dead birds inside them. Bollards are used for traffic control or building security. They’re usually capped but in this case, many of these posts were left open. They also looked at 88 open pipes used as gate posts and 11% contained dead birds. In another study on a nearby highway, 14% of the open pipes had dead birds. “The birds likely investigate the open pipe as a potential nesting site, and once inside they cannot climb the smooth metal or extend their wings to fly out. Alternatively, birds may attempt to land on the upright open pipes and then fall in,” the researchers wrote.

In the long dispute over whether dogs are smarter than cats, a recent study published in the journal Learning & Behavior suggests that dogs are no more exceptional than other animals when it comes to smartness and intelligence.

The news is sure to cause the debate among dog owners and scientists who study dog behaviors. The authors reviewed existing studies and data on animal cognition (认知) and found that while dogs are smart and trainable, they are not “super smart”, despite what most dog owners will tell you. Dog research was quite popular in the 1990s and continues to be so. When it came to other animals, though, scientific studies on intelligence were barely involved in, despite evidence to suggest that horses, chimpanzees ( 黑猩猩 ) and cats had tricks of their own. Almost everything a dog claimed to do, other animals could do too.

Researchers set out to test the supposition (假设，猜想). They compared dog cognition with members of three similar groups: meat-eating animals, social hunters and farm animals. Among the animals they studied were wolves, cats, chimpanzees, dolphins, horses and pigeons. What they found was that “dog cognition does not look exceptional”. Dogs can not use tools, unlike dolphins, New Caledonian crows and chimpanzees, which have been observed using plant stems to hunt for termites (白蚁). Homing pigeons are trained to fly home, sometimes crossing hundreds of miles of unfamiliar area. At the same time, farm animals share similar characters with their dog partners. Horses, like dogs, perform complex tasks. And cats? They have more in common with dogs than one might think. Still it is much easier to show intelligence in dogs because they like to be trained. Dogs are not smarter than they are supposed to be, given what they are.