The Mundari: The tribe dying for their cows About 350,000 cattle are stolen and more than 2000 people killed each year by cattle rustlers. Soda ash mining threatens the entire speciesĪ Mundari man guards his precious Ankole-Watusi herd with a rifle. Populations of cyanobacteria can explode and the birds end up consuming new species which can poison them and cause mass deaths. If humans take too much water from a lake, or climate change causes excess evaporation, then salinity levels will become unstable. Wetland habitats have been polluted by agricultural chemicals and sewage, feeding and breeding grounds have been disturbed, and declining algal blooms mean some populations are starving to death.Įven a diet of toxic algae can’t save flamingos from ecological disturbances. Indeed, the number of lesser flamingos in the wild is already decreasing each year. With most of their eggs in one toxic basket, the lesser flamingo is unusually vulnerable for a species with millions of individuals. Having evolved in such a hostile environment with few rivals, they would have trouble adapting to a more competitive lifestyle elsewhere. Unlike many other species that can still breed in smaller populations as their habitats become damaged, these birds cannot easily survive in small groups. 'The Ivory Game': Exposing the illegal trade pushing elephants to extinction What if something happens to one of their highly-specialized breeding sites? Across the six flamingo species there are only 30 or so regularly used breeding sites worldwide and, while the global population of around 3.2m lesser flamingos is impressive, it is largely reliant on a few huge groups (about 75% nest at Lake Natron alone). The species is happiest in huge gatherings, and these won’t occur around any old lake – the lesser flamingo specifically needs its toxic, salty paradise.īut these places are rare. Sheer numbers also make it harder for predators like hyenas or jackals to identify individual victims.Īs such, a single flamingo is not a happy flamingo. Mass synchronized nesting gives flamingos the best possible chance to raise the maximum number of chicks, while on choppy days a dense mass of birds swimming together also helps create the optimal feeding environment (still water) within the center of the group.

Million-strong gatherings provide several benefits. With few other animals able to cope in such conditions, there is minimal competition for food, and these toxic wetlands are home to massive flocks.

South African ranchers are dehorning rhinos. AFP / MUJAHID SAFODIEN (Photo credit should read MUJAHID SAFODIEN/AFP/Getty Images) MUJAHID SAFODIEN/AFP/AFP/Getty Images Figures compiled by the South African Department of Environmental affairs show the dramatic escalation in poaching over recent years. However, rhino poaching has reached a crisis point, and if the killing continues at this rate, we could see rhino deaths overtaking births in 2016-2018, meaning rhinos could go extinct in the very near future. South Africa has by far the largest population of rhinos in the world and is an incredibly important country for rhino conservation. His private game ranch, started in 1992, has approximately 1000 rhinos, all of whom have been dehorned. Millionaire, John Hume is a private rhino owner/breeder in South Africa, who strongly advocates for legalising trade. A de-horned rhino roams on the field at John Hume's Rhino Ranch in Klerksdorp, in the North Western Province of South Africa, on February 3, 2016.

Lake natron human deaths