The fight to save ‘adorably odd' mammal from edge of extinction

US authorities are considering extending Endangered Species Act protections to the pangolin, often described as the "most trafficked mammal in the world", due to poaching.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service is looking to include four Asian species – the Chinese, Indian, Sunda, and Philippine pangolins – and three African species: the white-bellied, black-bellied, and giant pangolins, under the act.
According to the Center for Biological Diversity, seven pangolin species are nearing extinction. The World Wildlife Fund has reported that pangolins are heavily trafficked, largely because of demand for their scales in traditional Chinese medicine, as well as for their meat.
The Temminck's ground pangolin, another African species, is already protected under the law. Scientists believe that there may be two additional pangolin species yet to be recognised.
The Endangered Species Act, signed into law in 1973 with bipartisan backing, is vital for preserving global biodiversity and preventing the extinction of iconic species. It currently protects over 2,000 species.
Conservation and environmental groups say habitat loss from climate change is just one reason the act is especially critical today.
The endangerment listing, once finalised, would help strengthen trade and import restrictions of pangolin parts in the US, except in the case of scientific or other conservation purposes, according to the Center.
It is illegal to trade them; the pangolin received certain commercial trade protections under the 2017 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
But tons of poached scales representing thousands of pangolin have been found by authorities around the world in recent years.
'I'm delighted the United States is doing its part to save these adorably odd creatures,' Sarah Uhlemann, international program director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement.
' Pangolins are on the razor's edge of extinction, and we need to completely shut down any US market for their scales. There's no good reason for anybody to ingest any part of a pangolin.'
The pangolin eats insects and rolls into a ball when threatened by predators. The Fish and Wildlife Service said pangolin populations have declined due to targeting by poachers and criminal activity, noting 'proceeds from the illicit sale of pangolins and other imperiled species often fund serious crimes, including drug and arms trafficking.'
While the act requires endangered species listing regardless of their origin, the designation could also assist in prosecuting smugglers violating the protections.
Advocates, including from the International Fund for Animal Welfare and other national and international groups, have for years petitioned to list the pangolin. In 2020, these organisations and the Fish and Wildlife Service signed an agreement to enforce listing deadlines.
Polar bears, as well as penguins — similarly not found in the US — have also been in discussions for listing over the years.
Monday's move comes despite President Donald Trump's efforts to weaken the act, aligning with ongoing conservative criticism that it stifles economic growth. Trump's executive order declaring an 'energy emergency' in the US says the act can't stand in the way of energy development, signaling that protections could be rolled back.
The Trump administration already plans to cut habitat protections for endangered and threatened species, in an effort to redefine the long-standing meaning of what constitutes 'harm."

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The Sun

22 minutes ago

• The Sun

I talked dozens out of boarding doomed Titan sub over catastrophic safety risks – Brit victims were deceived, says diver

A LEADING deep sea diver who warned Stockton Rush over Titan sub's catastrophic safety risks says victims were "deceived". Titanic expedition leader Rob McCallum talked almost 40 people out of going on the doomed sub - which claimed five lives when it imploded two years ago. 9 9 9 9 McCallum, who has led seven dives to the Titanic, implored OceanGate boss Rush to let an independent agency test his vessel. But his warnings over the sub's critical safety failings fell on deaf ears and "intolerant" Rush simply brushed aside cautions from experts. The world was put in a chokehold when the unclassed sub vanished from radar during a 12,500ft dive down to the Titanic wreckage. Five days after it disappeared on June 18, 2023, a piece of debris was found on the ocean floor - confirming fears it had imploded. All five on board - Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, 58, French Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and son Suleman, 19 - were killed. Harrowing emails show McCallum tried to warn Rush over Titan's danger - but the OceanGate CEO replied he was "tired of industry players who try to use a safety argument to stop innovation". Rush wrote: "We have heard the baseless cries of 'you are going to kill someone' way too often. I take this as a serious personal insult." McCallum said their tense email exchange ended after OceanGate's lawyers threatened legal action, and so he focussed on limiting the number of people who boarded Titan. He told The Sun: "I'd written to him three or four times, and he wasn't going to change. "I'd run out of options. I thought the sub would not survive sea trials and so I just focused on trying to limit the number of people that got into that thing. 'What's that bang?' Chilling moment sound of doomed Titan sub imploding heard from support ship "I probably talked three dozen people out of going on Titan, and I wouldn't get melodramatic about it, because I didn't want to over dramatise it. "Both because I wanted them to keep listening to what I was saying, but also I didn't want to become a drama queen and sort of written off as hysterical. "And so my simple answer was always, I would never get in an unclassed vehicle and nor should you." McCallum said he spoke to both Harding and Nargeolet, who both decided to take the risk. But he said Dawood and his son Suleman would have had "no idea" about the danger they were putting themselves in on the £195,000 dive as OceanGate downplayed the risk. McCallum said: "Hamish and Paul-Henri knew it was risky, but not the level of risk that they were taking. "The other two had no idea at all. And the reason that there's that uncertainty is because I think there was a concerted effort of deception. 9 9 9 "If you look at the culture of OceanGate, they weren't willing to take outside commentary, and anyone inside the camp that spoke out got fired or worse. "And so you've got this diminishing group of people that are only listening to themselves and they just tuned out the talk of the risk. "The risk was still there. But they just weren't talking about it anymore." McCallum, who founded expedition company EYOS, said all of those who he successfully advised not to board Titan realise they had a "close call". He added: "Within 48 hours of the implosion one rang up in tears and said, 'I owe you my life. I was going to get into that sub, and I couldn't get your voice out of my head, and so I turned around and came home'. "He lost his deposit but he said 'I just couldn't get your voice out of my head', and he was in tears. "People are very conscious that they had a close call." McCallum said on the fateful day of the sub's disappearance from radar he "just felt sick". After the sub lost contact with its support ship Polar Prince rescue crews worked around the clock in what was thought to be a race against time to save the crew. But McCallum said it was clear the sub had imploded. 9 "I knew immediately what had happened," he said. "There were two or three days when everyone was going through the search and rescue. "I didn't understand that because we knew it had imploded. "I was sad to lose some friends and shipmates. But I was grateful for small mercies that it would have been instantaneous." Engineer Rush, who co-founded OceanGate in 2009, created Titan with an experimental design made up of a carbon-fiber pod with titanium rings bolted on. McCallum said carbon fiber material is not fit for submerging so deep underwater. But McCallum's warning that carbon fiber would not withstand such pressure, Rush informed him he was "going to carry on regardless". In 2018, OceanGate's then chief pilot David Lochridge was fired after his inspection report laid bare a series of safety risks. A report from the Marine Board of Investigation is expected to be released in the coming weeks. McCallum said: "The report will be comprehensive and should cover all of the attributing elements that led to the disaster. "It will also indicate who is responsible and who might be subject to prosecution." 9 How the Titan tragedy unfolded By Katie Davis, Chief Foreign Reporter (Digital) FIVE men plunged beneath the surface of the North Atlantic in a homemade sub in a bid to explore the Titanic wreckage. Four passengers paid £195,000 each to go on the sub, with the fifth member of the trip being a crew member. But what was supposed to be a short trip spiralled into days of agony as the doomed Titan vanished without a trace on June 18, 2023. The daring mission had been months in the making - and almost didn't happen at the hands of harsh weather conditions in Newfoundland, Canada. In a now chilling Facebook post, passenger Hamish Harding wrote: "Due to the worst winter in Newfoundland in 40 years, this mission is likely to be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023. "A weather window has just opened up and we are going to attempt a dive tomorrow." It would be his final Facebook post. The following morning, he and four others - led by Stockton Rush - began the 12,5000ft descent towards the bottom of the Atlantic. But as it made its way down into the depths, the vessel lost all contact with its mother ship on the surface, the Polar Prince. It sparked a frantic four-day search for signs of life, with the hunt gripping the entire world. There was hope that by some miracle, the crew was alive and desperately waiting to be saved. But that sparked fears rescue teams faced a race against time as the passengers only had a 96-hour oxygen supply when they set out, which would be quickly dwindling. Then, when audio of banging sounds was detected under the water, it inspired hope that the victims were trapped and signalling to be rescued. It heartbreakingly turned out that the banging noises were likely either ocean noises or from other search ships, the US Navy determined. Countries around the world deployed their resources to aid the search, and within days the Odysseus remote-operated vehicle (ROV) was sent down to where the ghostly wreck of the Titanic sits. The plan was for the ROV to hook onto the sub and bring it up 10,000ft, where it would meet another ROV before heading to the surface. But any hopes of a phenomenal rescue were dashed when Odysseus came across a piece of debris from the sub around 1,600ft from the Titanic. The rescue mission tragically turned into a salvage task, and the heartbroken families of those on board were told the devastating news. It was confirmed by the US Coast Guard that the sub had suffered a "catastrophic implosion".

Daily Mail​

24 minutes ago

• Daily Mail​

Harvard professor who studied love for 25 years reveals the one sign that your relationship will last a lifetime - and it's nothing to do with romantic passion

A Harvard professor who studied love for more than two decades has revealed the secret behind a long-lasting relationship - and it's nothing to do with romantic passion. Arthur Brooks, a social science expert, appeared on The Drive podcast with Peter Attia MD and the pair shared the signs that a relationship will last a lifetime. During their chat, the pro explained that the key is finding a partner who is also your best friend - as the bond will remain even as the initial chemistry sizzles. 'One of the most important things for a happy life is a partnership with somebody who will be the last person who you set eyes on as you take your last dying breath, that is really, really important,' he explained. 'The goal of your marriage is not passion, it's friendship. This is the goal, you must be close friends, ideally best friends, with your spouse. 'I'm going to be with my wife Ester until death do us part, that has to be the juice of the relationship where the love actually makes happiness and love is truly the great secret to happiness.' He said that there are also a couple of indicators that a marriage may end in divorce - including people who feel lonely in their relationship. Arthur used the example of 'empty nest syndrome' which refers to parents experiencing sadness or distress when their children have grown into adults and moved out of the family home. He said: 'The people who suffer the most from empty nest syndrome is not the empty nest it's the fact that they are with one other bird and they don't really like that bird.' Arthur said that when two people have been together for a long time it can be normal - and even 'advisable' - that their passion levels are not as high as when they were fresh into their relationship. He described lacking intimacy levels as 'healthy, normal and actually advisable because it's more sustainable in the long run'. 'But some people are very happy and don't have that. What do they have in common? Very, very close personal lifelong friends,' the professor continued. 'Here is the key, if you don't have a spouse you need real friends. These are people who know your secrets, take your 2am phone call and that you talk to a lot.' However, Arthur also said that it is still very important to ensure that you upkeep friendships with others even if you are in a marriage; adding that men are usually worse at keeping in touch with their pals. 'You've got to work on these things for sure for a lot of reasons besides the fact that it's just healthy and good. You might, at some point, be left alone if you're widowed. You don't want to be alone under those circumstances. 'That is one of the reasons why men do so poorly when they lose their wives because a lot of them don't have real friendships.' The expert added that one of the red flags a marriage will end in separation is when a couple only have their children in common and nothing else. 'A companion in love that is your wife that turns out to be much more indicative of your happiness than actually having a relationship with your kids because your kids are turning into different people every year - that's super fun and interesting but that is not the key,' Arthur said. 'One of the greatest predictors of divorce is partners who are lonely while living together and this [means] that the only thing you have in common is your kids. '[When] that one point of commonality disappears and you're sitting across the table blinking at each other during dinner and not talking because you literally have nothing to talk about.' To prevent this from happening, Arthur said that it is important for married couples to partake in activities together, whether that is reading the same book, playing the same sports or even practicing the same religion to keep their bond strong and allow them to have things in common. He remarked: 'They should develop philosophical interests in common, they're talking about deep things. 'There's got to be something bigger than "Did you change his diaper?" because that's not going to be in common forever and you're going to be lonely in your relationship.' This comes as dating coach Paige Moyce, from the south east of England, also revealed the five signs that your relationship is doomed. She said the first sign that things are coming to an end is that you are staying together for a whole list of reasons - but your happiness is not one of them. 'Maybe you're staying for the kids, maybe you're staying because you fear being alone or you don't want them with anyone else,' she said. 'Maybe you're staying because you are scared of what it would look like to leave, or you don't want to hurt that person.' Whatever the reason, your own happiness does not come anywhere near the top of the list, or even on it at all. The second sign is when communication turns into a conflict. Even when you watch your tone or pick the 'right time' to talk it seems to end up in an argument. She said: 'All this does is drive a bigger and larger wedge between you and this person. If our needs are not being met, then how long is this relationship going to last for?' Paige added that loneliness is another indicator that the relationship is doomed, saying that people can actually feel more lonely in a relationship than out of one. She added: 'Just because we are physically with someone, doesn't mean we are emotionally with someone. If you're honest, when was the last time you felt special in this relationship? When was the last time you felt valued?' The fourth sign that your relationship is over is that you have lost your sense of individuality because you have put your partner first. 'You have put this person before you so many times that it is now normal to do so, but now you don't know what you want,' she said. 'Because you have prioritised the other person, you are now left wondering what it is that you want, which can leave you feeling overwhelmed. Lastly, Paige said that if you were given a magic wand with the option to leave, you would take the opportunity. She said: 'If someone could guarantee that you could get through it, that it wouldn't be hell, that you would be happy again, that you would meet someone else and that would be confident again, you would take it.'

BBC News

34 minutes ago

• BBC News

Brown spider money and red panda arrive at Paignton Zoo

Two new animals have arrived at Paignton Zoo as part of a conservation breeding programme.A female red panda, an endangered species, and a female brown spider monkey, a critically endangered species, have been transported from zoos in France to the Devon spider monkeys were added to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List in 2020 because their populations in Columbia and Venezuela were declining due to the pet trade and habitat IUCN said it believed there were fewer than 10,000 mature red pandas in the wild after their habitats in China had been destroyed. The panda will join a female called Ember while the spider monkey will join a troop consisting of females Luna and Lena and male said the monkey would initially remain off-show to visitors while the primates were keeper at Paignton Zoo James Shora said: "The red pandas offer those quieter, more contemplative moments, while the spider monkeys bring incredible dynamic energy from the forest canopies of South America. "It's like having two completely different worlds side by side."The red panda came from Les Terres de Natae, Pont-Scorff and the brown spider monkey from Zoo Amiens Métropole.