Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Sumatran elephants could be extinct in 30 years
The Sumatran elephant could be extinct in the wild within three decades unless immediate steps are taken to slow the breakneck pace of deforestation, environmentalists warned Tuesday.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature recently listed the animals as "critically endangered" after their numbers dropped to between 2,400 and 2,800 from an estimated 5,000 in 1985.
Sumatra has some of the most significant populations of Asian elephants outside of India and Sri Lanka and is also home to tigers, orangutans and rhinos.
"The Sumatran elephant joins a growing list of Indonesian species that are critically endangered," Carlos Drews of the conservation group WWF said in a statement Tuesday. "Unless urgent and effective conservation action is taken these magnificent animals are likely to go extinct within our lifetime."
Indonesia's endangered elephants sometimes venture into populated areas searching for food and destroy crops or attack humans, making them unpopular with villagers.
Some are shot or poisoned with cyanide-laced fruit, while others are killed by poachers for their ivory.
[source]
Malaysia saves endangered pygmy elephant on Borneo
Malaysian wildlife authorities said they had rescued a pygmy elephant calf on Borneo island and expressed hope a planned sanctuary would provide protection for the endangered animals.
The male calf, which is less than a month old, was pulled out of a deep moat surrounding a palm oil plantation in remote Sabah state on Friday, said Sen Nathan, a senior official with the Sabah Wildlife Department.
There are fewer than 2,000 Borneo pygmy elephants left in the wild, according to authorities. A sub-species of the Asian elephant, the creatures have a rounded appearance and are smaller than mainland elephants.
Wildlife activists warn that pygmy elephants are fast losing their natural habitat to deforestation and human encroachment on Borneo, a vast island shared by Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.
[source]
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
How to deter train surfers Indonesian-style!
Indonesia has gone to imaginative extremes to try to stop commuters from illegally riding the roofs of trains. The images below are common sights in our region... train surfing!
...and the creative solution?
OMG! You kidding meeh?
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[source]
Monday, January 16, 2012
What "More Fun in the Philippines" really means...
It's not just about the non-creative, outright rip-off...
It's not just about ripping off fellow Filipino, using photographs without his permission or at least a notice...
It's not just about using other countries' images trying to get away with it...
Thailand's Songkran Festival read here.
It's not about millions of tax payer's money used to reasearch (for what?), campaign, broadcast, print. No, it's not just about that...
"It's More Fun in the Philippines"... is Filipino culture. "We are better than...", "Our country is better than....". Insinuations.
Is there a Siti Nurhaliza video in YouTube not bashed by Filipino critters? Is there a Miss Indonesia video in YouTube not bashed by Filipinos online? Is there a Thai tourism video on YouTube without any comments -- "In the Philippines we have this and that..."? Are there anything, in any forum or platform, not bashed by Filipinos?
It's more fun in the Philippines "than"....
It's their culture. I hate to admit but this slogan says a lot about them than WOW Philippines in my previous tourism rant.
I love the Philippines. Old friends of this blog knows it very well. And this post... is a reflection that nobody want to see.
"It's more fun in the Philippines than YOURS." It's their culture. Love it or hate it.
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