https://www.timeslive.co.za/ne...uck-endangered-iucn/



Eland vulnerable, mountain reedbuck endangered: IUCN

14 September 2017 - 14:36
BY AFP


The International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN highlighted five species of African antelope that have seen their numbers decline drastically in recent years, largely due to poaching and habitat degradation.

"Our activities as humans are pushing species to the brink so fast that it's impossible for conservationists to assess the declines in real time," warned IUCN chief Inger Andersen, urging increased efforts to save species teetering on the edge.

The world's largest antelope, the giant eland, which is native to central and western Africa, was for instance previously assessed as having a sound population. It is now listed as "vulnerable", with fewer than 10,000 mature animals remaining.

And the mountain reedbuck has seen a 55-percent drop in its South African population over just 15 years, placing it on the "endangered" list, IUCN said.


The grey rhebok, the origin of the Reebok sports brand, has been listed as near threatened due to declining numbers.

"Although assumed to be unthreatened due to its inaccessible habitat, collation of available subpopulation data reveals an estimated decline of ca 20% over three generations (1999–2014) in 13 formally protected areas across its range," the IUCN reports.

Heuglin's gazelle is now endangered due to habitat degredation and the Southern Lechwe is near threatened due to poaching, agricultural expansion, livestock grazing and droughts.

"Even those species that we thought were abundant and safe, such as antelopes in Africa or ash trees in the US, now face an imminent threat of extinction," she said in the statement.

Of beetles and ash

An invasive beetle has driven North America's most widespread ash tree towards extinction, conservationists said.

The IUCN said six of North America's most prominent ash species were now "critically endangered" - just one step from becoming extinct.

The species are being destroyed by the invasive and fast-moving emerald ash borer beetle, which arrived in the northern state of Michigan from Asia in the late 1990s via infested shipping pallets.


It has already wiped out tens of millions of trees throughout the United States and Canada, and can kill off virtually an entire forest of ash within six years, the IUCN said.

"Their decline, which will likely affect over 80 percent of the trees, will dramatically change the composition of both wild and urban forests," Murphy Westwood, of IUCN's Global Tree Specialist Group, said in a statement.

Three of the endangered species -- the green ash, white ash and black ash -- are the most dominant ash trees in the US, comprising nearly nine billion trees in forested lands.

The white ash is also one of the most valuable timber trees in North America and is widely used to make furniture, baseball bats and hockey sticks.

IUCN said a warming climate meant the emerald ash borer was now thriving in places that once were too cold, warning that it was "impossible to know how far it could spread in the future".

The North American ash trees are among more than 25,000 species deemed by the Red List to be threatened with extinction.

'Pushing species to the brink'
IUCN also noted sharp declines among Madagascan grasshoppers and millipedes, with nearly half of them listed as endangered and some perilously close to extinction.

The Red List meanwhile said all hope was out for the pipistrelle bat, which was endemic to Australia's Christmas Island, and which has now officially been declared extinct.

The bat, which was widespread as late as the 1980s, counted a population of just 20 animals in January 2009, and the last one was seen in August of that year.

-Additional reporting by TimesLIVE

I question the drop in mountain reedbuck numbers. I've seen their numbers increase in the Eastern Cape over the last 10 years and would guess the opposite. None of the private landowners to my knowledge have submitted data so wonder where they get their numbers from.

quote:

Originally posted by Victor Watson:
I question the drop in mountain reedbuck numbers. I've seen their numbers increase in the Eastern Cape over the last 10 years and would guess the opposite. None of the private landowners to my knowledge have submitted data so wonder where they get their numbers from.

Vic,

They make them up, just like climate change scientists and all the wild animal "protection groups".



I better get my ass back to Africa to get my eland soon.

I have been saying this for sometime. If you want to shoot a Lord Derby eland go before it is too late.

I would also say the same applies for Bongo.



Arjun Reddy
www.huntersnetworks.com
30 Ivy Hill Road
Brewster, NY 10509
Tel: +1 845 259 3628
DSC booth # 1222 (January 4th to 7th)
SCI booth # 5297 (January 31st to February 3rd)

quote:

Originally posted by Victor Watson:
I question the drop in mountain reedbuck numbers. I've seen their numbers increase in the Eastern Cape over the last 10 years and would guess the opposite. None of the private landowners to my knowledge have submitted data so wonder where they get their numbers from.

I'm with you Victor. Mountain Reedbuck numbers have definitely not been declining up here in Limpopo - nor have they anywhere else where we hunt them - on the contrary...

Utter BS if you ask me!

The Mtn reed buck was a specially protected species in some provinces 35 years ago.

And whatever happened to the Lord Derby's eland that were captured from CAR in the '80s for shipment to the 'States? Busch Gardens I think. There were concerns even then.

http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/19391/0


Link to IUCN regarding the listing of mountain reedbuck.

quote:

Originally posted by ChrisTroskie:

quote:

Originally posted by Victor Watson:
I question the drop in mountain reedbuck numbers. I've seen their numbers increase in the Eastern Cape over the last 10 years and would guess the opposite. None of the private landowners to my knowledge have submitted data so wonder where they get their numbers from.

I'm with you Victor. Mountain Reedbuck numbers have definitely not been declining up here in Limpopo - nor have they anywhere else where we hunt them - on the contrary...

Utter BS if you ask me!

No shortage of Mountain Reedbuck at Victor's place.

That was a good hunt!

Got to remember there are more than one species of mountain reedbuck too.

Typical stuff... in the hunting areas where I was there was no shortage of either lord derby eland (or reedbuck) but the hunting areas are few and getting fewer with human encroachment. That's the elephant in the room for the antis.

I didn't see any forest game in Cameroon in the parks...in their natural habitat, Bongo and all are rarely seen, and even then for a split second.... no wonder there are next to no ecotourists in the rain forest. In a poor nation like Cameroon, hunting is the only hope for wildlife.

quote:

Originally posted by crbutler:
Got to remember there are more than one species of mountain reedbuck too.

Typical stuff... in the hunting areas where I was there was no shortage of either lord derby eland (or reedbuck) but the hunting areas are few and getting fewer with human encroachment. That's the elephant in the room for the antis.

I didn't see any forest game in Cameroon in the parks...in their natural habitat, Bongo and all are rarely seen, and even then for a split second.... no wonder there are next to no ecotourists in the rain forest. In a poor nation like Cameroon, hunting is the only hope for wildlife.

That's true and I agree with you regarding some of the animals and the impact of loss of habitat but the article specifically said mountain reedbuck in South Africa has dropped by 55 percent and there's only one type of mountain reedbuck in South Africa. The southern mountain reedbuck. And in the case of SA, their habitat would have increased over the past 15 years

Maybe they are referring to Chanler's in East Africa?

That's what I thought, but if they specify South Africa then it's probably southern mountain reedbuck.

I would like to have seen a break down of how they do their estimates on population, as frankly I doubt too many folks were willing to perform a survey in the CAR with the violence there lately.

Not that I would doubt that there are problems there, just that the methodology would be suspect.

Southern mountain reedbuck and Vaal rhebok seemed doing well in the limited areas I saw in the eastern cape, but that is not a scientific survey either.

quote:

Originally posted by crbutler:
That's what I thought, but if they specify South Africa then it's probably southern mountain reedbuck.

I would like to have seen a break down of how they do their estimates on population, as frankly I doubt too many folks were willing to perform a survey in the CAR with the violence there lately.

Not that I would doubt that there are problems there, just that the methodology would be suspect.

Southern mountain reedbuck and Vaal rhebok seemed doing well in the limited areas I saw in the eastern cape, but that is not a scientific survey either.

As to the comment about CAR and the LDE. I agree, I just cannot see how any type of accurate population survey could be performed.

The land is so vast, largely road-less. That said, I saw wandering herds of cattle out in the bush, far from roads being herded by Sudanese cattlemen. I'm sure the LDE numbers are less, but what can be done if the governments turn a blind eye to it.

Bongo would be 100% impossible to survey.

Africa will never survive the Africans.

Steve

MOst of the game in RSA is under high fence and well managed, The larger unfenced privately owned ranches still have good populations of MT. Reedbuck and Eland. Not sure what or where they get there information or if they even care if its factual..I suspect the Lord Derbys have taken a hit for no other reason than where they are, most game in those war torn countries and poor government are suspect of declining..

Guinea fowl and Yellow neck next on the list.

Mountain reedbuck in much of the Eastern Cape have definitely seen a decline in numbers. My property had hundreds and the population dropped to about a third. (Unfenced.)
They seem to be on the up again and I suspect that the worst is over.
That said, some areas have seen no decline, probably due to an environment-related disease.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Ahrenberg:

Africa will never survive the Africans.

Steve

I see the white foreign "do-gooders" who are trying to remove the economic value from African wildlife as being the greatest threat to the animals. JMO