Facts and Fitures Con't

According to the 2004 Red List of Threatened Species, a total of 15,589 species are currently at risk for extinction, with more than 3,330 new threatened plants and animals added to the roll since 2003. (Source: The World Conservation Union - IUCN)· One in three amphibians, one in four mammals and one in eight birds stand to disappear permanently. (Source: The World Conservation Union - IUCN)· Every 20 minutes, the world adds another 3,500 human lives, but loses one or more entire species of animal or plant life. (Source: PBS)· At the present rates of extinction, as many as 20 percent of the world's 7-15 million species could be gone in the next 30 years. This rate of extinction has been unprecedented since the disappearance of dinosaurs 65 million years ago. (Source: World Wildlife Fund)· In the United States alone, there are nearly 1,300 species on the endangered and threatened wildlife list. (Source: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service) · There were once more than 100,000 black rhinos on the plains of Africa. There are now only 2,700 on the entire continent. (Source: International Rhino Foundation)· At the turn of the Century there were 250,000 humpback whales and today there are less than 25,000 whales.· Leatherback turtles are over 100,000,000 years old and have only 10 years left before they go into extinction. In 1990 there were over 80,000 nesting turtles today there are less than 3,000. 95% loss.· On December 14th 2006 the white dolphin was declared extinct. Who will be next?· The staggering decimation of the rhino population is due to poaching, to satisfy the demand for the horn for use in Eastern traditional medicines and as dagger handles. (Source: International Rhino Foundation)· Demand for ivory combined with loss of habitat from human settlement led to the huge declines in the African elephant population. (Source: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES))· It is thought that around 100,000 Asian elephants may have existed at the start of the 20th Century, but today the figures have dwindled to some 35,000 to 50,000 in the wild. (Source: World Wildlife Fund (WWF))· Seven out of the 13 great whale species are still endangered or vulnerable after decades of protection. Despite a moratorium on commercial whaling and the declaration of virtually the whole of the Southern Ocean as a whale sanctuary, each year over 1,000 whales are killed for the commercial market. (Source: World Wildlife Fund (WWF))· There were between one and two million chimpanzees living in 25 African countries in 1960 when Dr. Jane Goodall began her famous research in Tanzania. Today, only some 150,000 are thought to remain, and they are nearing extinction in 13 countries in Equatorial Africa where they have a wide but discontinuous distribution. (Source: World Wildlife Fund (WWF))· Approximately 10,000 to 15,000 free-roaming African lions remain, down from 50,000 a decade ago. (Source: Enkosini Wildlife Sanctuary)· The gray wolf, puma and Indiana bat are three of the 29 endangered species listed in Indiana. (Source: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)· It is estimated that 80 percent of the decline in biological diversity is caused by habitat destruction. (Source: Animal Alliance)· The hourly destruction of an estimated 240 acres of natural habitat is directly attributable to the growth in human populations. (source: Animal Alliance)· Habitat loss and degradation affect 89 percent of all threatened birds, 83 percent of all mammals and 91 percent of threatened plants. (Source: The World Conservation Union - IUCN)· Rainforests cover less than two percent of the Earth's surface, yet they are home to some 40 to 50 percent of all life forms on our planet - as many as 30 million species of plants, animals and insects. (Source: the Rainforest Action Network)· The global rate of rainforest destruction is 2.4 acres (1 hectare) per second: equivalent to two U.S. football fields. (Source: the Rainforest Action Network)· Called the "rainforests of the sea," coral reefs are the greatest expression of ocean life, and the most biodiverse ecosystem on Earth outside of the rainforest. (Source: the Planetary Coral Reef Foundation)· An estimated 58 percent of the world's coral reefs are at risk today and an estimated 10 percent have already disappeared. (Source: the World Resources Institute - WRI)· An estimated 88 percent of the reefs in Southeast Asia - the most species-rich reefs on earth - are at risk. (Source: the World Resources Institute - WRI)· The number of critically endangered freshwater turtles has more than doubled in just the last four years. Three-fourths of Asia's freshwater turtles are now listed as threatened, and over half are considered endangered, primarily because these animals are heavily exploited in the region for food and traditional medicine. (Source: TRAFFIC, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Worldwide Fund For Nature (WWF)) · The Indianapolis Zoo is the site of the Polly H. Hix Institute for Conservation and Research, the country's largest endowed zoo initiative dedicated to conservation and research. · The Indianapolis Zoo, presenter of the Indianapolis Prize, has major conservation initiatives for African Elephants, Southern White Rhinos, Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins, Pacific Walrus, Rockhopper Penguins, and West Indies Rock Iguanas.· The Indianapolis Zoo is the only zoo in the world to have successfully bred the Grand Cayman Island Blue Iguanas - the world's most endangered lizard, with fewer than 25 individuals remaining in the wild. Beach Worshipers love their coast and ocean - nine out of ten will visit the beach at least once this year and coastal tourism is a $9.9 billion industry. When they arrive at the beach, they are finding a lot more than sand and surf. Last summer, Orange County collected enough garbage from six miles of beach to fill ten garbage trucks full of trash every week, costing taxpayers $350,000In 1975, the National Academy of Sciences estimated that ocean-based sources, such as cargo ships and cruise liners, dumped 14 billion pounds of garbage into the ocean. In 1988, the U.S. signed onto MARPOL Annex V, joining 64 other countries that signed the international protocol regulating ocean dumping that made dump plastic into the ocean illegal. Laws like MARPOL have reduced the amount of trash on our beaches and in our ocean. Even so, it is estimated that there is over 46,000 pieces of plastic debris floating on every square mile of ocean today. Roughly 60 to 80 percent of that debris comes from land-based sources. And debris in the marine environment means hazards for animals and humans.How Marine Debris Harms Wildlife Entanglement Common items like fishing line, strapping bands and six-pack rings can hamper the mobility of marine animals. Once entangled, animals have trouble eating, breathing or swimming, all of which can have fatal results. Plastics take hundreds of years to breakdown and may continue to trap and kill animals year after year.Ingestion Birds, fish and mammals often mistake plastic for food. Some birds even feed it to their young. With plastic filling their stomachs, animals have a false feeling of being full, and may die of starvation. Sea turtles mistake plastic bags for jellyfish, one of their favorite foods. Even gray whales have been found dead with plastic bags and sheeting in their stomachs.How Marine Debris Harms PeopleBeachgoers can cut themselves on glass and metal left on the beach. Marine debris also endangers the safety and livelihood of fishermen and recreational boaters. Nets and monofilament fishing line can obstruct propellers and plastic sheeting and bags can block cooling intakes. Such damage is hazardous and costly in terms of repair and lost fishing time. In one Oregon port, a survey revealed that 58 percent of fishermen had experienced equipment damage due to marine debris. Their average repair cost was $2,725.Highlights in the Fight Against Marine Debris1985: Ocean Conservancy conducts a study of plastic marine garbage for EPA. The report, Plastics in the Ocean: More Than a Litter Problem, identifies plastics as the number one marine debris hazard. 1986: A Conservancy staff member organizes the first beach cleanup in South Padre Island, Texas. In the three-hour Texas Coastal Cleanup, 2,800 volunteers collect 124 tons of trash from 122 miles of coastline. 1988: The Cleanup expands to include 25 coastal U.S. states and territories. Ocean Conservancy establishes the National Beach Cleanup Marine Debris Database to create awareness, involve citizens, and collect standardized information on the problem of marine debris. 1989: Canada and Mexico participate, officially making the event the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC). Plywood that entered the ocean in 1986 is decomposing this year. 1991: A cigarette butt that entered the ocean in 1986 is decomposing this year. 1992: 33 countries participate in the Cleanup. 1995: Ocean Conservancy produces a report on ship waste and discharge at sea, to serve as an industry reference guide in preventing ship-borne marine debris. 1996: Ocean Conservancy works with the International Maritime Organization to raise awareness of the importance of good stewardship and the marine debris problem in the Caribbean. 1997: 75 countries participate in the Cleanup. 2003: 91 countries participate in the Cleanup. 2004: Despite several cancellations due to Hurricane Isabel, which pushed many East Coast cleanups into October, ICC volunteers are still able to collect 7.7 million pounds of debris. A Styrofoam cup that entered the ocean in 1986 is decomposing this year. 2036: A tin can that entered the ocean in 1986 is decomposing this year. 2436: A plastic bottle that entered the ocean in 1986 is decomposing this year. 1,001,986: A glass bottle that entered the ocean in 1986 is decomposing this year.