Archive for the ‘China & Far East’ Category

Species has lost half its population and 69% of its habitat through deforestation in the past 25 years

The Sumatran elephant has been placed on the list of critically endangered species after losing half of its population in a single generation, prompting calls from conservation groups for emergency measures to halt the destruction of its habitat.

Deforestation is seen as the primary reason for the collapse in numbers in Indonesia, which until recently was seen alongside India and Sri Lanka as one of the last great refuges for elephants in Asia. The animal is now at risk of becoming extinct within decades. Read the rest of this entry »

China began Wednesday streaming live video footage of its pandas around the world via webcam in an attempt to boost awareness of conservation efforts for its beloved but endangered animal ambassadors.

High-definition cameras are set to feature pandas in two reserves at the Bifengxia Panda Center near Ya’an city in China’s southwestern Sichuan province, the media non-profit Explore.org and China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda said in a statement. Read the rest of this entry »

Drought and new Three Gorges Dam blamed as fishers forced to seek other work and freight trade comes to a halt
For visitors expecting to see China’s largest freshwater lake, Poyang is a desolate spectacle. Under normal circumstances it covers 3,500 sq km, but last month only 200 sq km were underwater. A dried-out plain stretches as far as the eye can see, leaving a pagoda perched on top of a hillock that is usually a little island. Wrapped in the mist characteristic of the lower reaches of the Yangtze river, the barges are moored close to the quayside beside a pitiful trickle of water. There is no work for the fisheries. Read the rest of this entry »

Threatened surge in coal emissions

With countries abandoning nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima disaster there is likely to be a massive increase in coal use that could have devastating consequences for the fight against climate change.

That was the stark message delivered today at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi by Fatih Birol, chief economist at the International Energy Agency (IEA), who warned that those countries now committed to phasing out nuclear power are likely to see greenhouse gas emissions rise in the short to medium term Read the rest of this entry »

Twelve panda cubs in captivity in in south-west China have left their mothers to live together as a group for the first time.

Their first step towards independence attracted a large number of visitors at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan province Read the rest of this entry »

First Dogs Came from East Asia, Genetic Study Confirms

Researchers at Sweden’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology say they have found further proof that the wolf ancestors of today’s domesticated dogs can be traced to southern East Asia — findings that run counter to theories placing the cradle of the canine line in the Middle East.

Dr Peter Savolainen, KTH researcher in evolutionary genetics, says a new study released Nov. 23 confirms that an Asian region south of the Yangtze River was the principal and probably sole region where wolves were domesticated by humans. Read the rest of this entry »

Facebook has made a major commitment to renewable energy, pledging to work with Greenpeace to source more clean energy to power its giant data centres.

The social networking giant announced this afternoon that it will work closely with Greenpeace to enhance the energy efficiency of its IT infrastructure, switch from coal to renewable energy where possible, and promote clean energy to its millions of users.

The agreement represents a major victory for the green NGO, which has run a high-profile, two-year campaign dubbed Unfriend Coal, designed to encourage Facebook to reduce its reliance on the coal-fired power stations it often uses to run its giant server farms. Read the rest of this entry »

As Tian Tian and Yang Guang settle into their new homes at Edinbrough Zoo we thought readers might like to learn more about this univerally loved species.

The giant panda, or panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca, literally meaning “black and white cat-foot”) is a bear native to central-western and south western China. It is easily recognized by its large, distinctive black patches around the eyes, over the ears, and across its round body. Though it belongs to the order Carnivora, the panda’s diet is 99% bamboo. Pandas in the wild will occasionally eat other grasses, wild tubers, or even meat in the form of birds, rodents or carrion. In captivity they may receive honey, eggs, fish, yams, shrub leaves, oranges, or bananas along with specially prepared feed Read the rest of this entry »