Saving weird and wonderful animals from extinction
Crossing the borders of Paraguay, Bolivia, and Argentina lie the hot, semi-arid lowlands of the Gran Chaco. The huge area, of over 250,000 sq miles of low dry-forest and savannah, is home to 3,400 species of plant, 500 birds, 150 mammals and 220 reptiles and amphibians. The characteristics of life here vary as greatly as the regions they cover, boasting …
The Hispaniolan Solenodon is a shrew-like mammal that has been around since the age of the dinosaurs. They are found only on the island of Hispaniola in the Dominican Republic and also in parts of southern Haiti. They tend to live in moist forest areas.
On top of being adorable, these animals are quite unique in many aspects. All four species of echidna, along with their close relatives, the platypus, are known as monotremes, and they are the only mammals to lay eggs rather than give birth to live young.
The entirely aquatic salamander, known as the olm (Proteus anguinus), is Europe’s most impressive cave-dwelling vertebrate. Or, more accurately, it is Europe’s only cave-dwelling vertebrate.
Biodiversity is crucial for healthy ecosystems, so we must protect wildlife based on their needs, not our values
Wildlife populations have declined by a shocking 68% since 1970, and we are running out of time to stop this trend.
