The world's oddest animals are to be protected under a new program aimed at saving some of the most unique species on earth, species which—until now—have received little or no conservation attention.
The new conservation program, EDGE (Evolutionarily Distinct & Globally Endangered), was launched by the Zoological Society of London. Its aims are to protect what are know as 'edge' species:
"EDGE species are truly one of a kind. If they disappear there will be nothing similar left on the planet. Two-thirds are receiving little or no conservation attention. Help save these remarkable species." ~ EDGE website.
Conservationists with the EDGE program assign endangered species a score or 'evolutionary distictness' number that reflects the amount of unique evolutionary history the species represents. Based on this evaluation, the top 5 edge species in need of conservation are:
- Yangtze River dolphin (Lipotes vexillifer)
- Long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus bruijni)
- Riverine rabbit (Bunolagus monticularis)
- Cuban solenodon (Solenodon cubanus)
- Hispaniolan solenodon (Solenodon paradoxus)
What do you think: Has the 'evolutionary uniqueness' of endangered species been overlooked in past conservation efforts?
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Photo © Jaganath. Western Long-beaked Echidna (Zaglossus bruijni).
Comments
I think animals are often protected if they are appealing to look at or well-know (such as tigers, pandas, elephants).
There aren’t many conservation programs I know of for insects or other animals that aren’t furry and cute.
Charismatic megafauna seem to be the most attractive subjects to study, but there is also something attractive about the less well known species, such as this solenodon, which I’ve never heard of until now. But most of the time the importance lies in what we don’t know… the other 98% of species on Earth.