"In one of Africa’s last great wildernesses, a remarkable thing has happened—the scimitar-horned oryx, once declared extinct in the wild, is now classified only as endangered.
It’s the first time the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the world’s largest conservation organization, has ever moved a species on its Red List from ‘Extinct in the Wild’ to ‘Endangered.’
The recovery was down to the conservation work of zoos around the world, but also from game breeders in the Texas hill country, who kept the oryx alive while the governments of Abu Dhabi and Chad worked together on a reintroduction program.
Chad... ranks second-lowest on the UN Development Index. Nevertheless, it is within this North African country that can be found the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Faunal Reserve, a piece of protected desert and savannah the size of Scotland—around 30,000 square miles, or 10 times the size of Yellowstone.
At a workshop in Chad’s capital of N’Djamena, in 2012, Environment Abu Dhabi, the government of Chad, the Sahara Conservation Fund, and the Zoological Society of London, all secured the support of local landowners and nomadic herders for the reintroduction of the scimitar-horned oryx to the reserve.
Environment Abu Dhabi started the project, assembling captive animals from zoos and private collections the world over to ensure genetic diversity. In March 2016, the first 21 animals from this “world herd” were released over time into a fenced-off part of the reserve where they could acclimatize. Ranging over 30 miles, one female gave birth—the first oryx born into its once-native habitat in over three decades.
In late January 2017, 14 more animals were flown to the reserve in Chad from Abu Dhabi.
In 2022, the rewilded species was officially assessed by the IUCN’s Red List, and determined them to be just ‘Endangered,’ and not ‘Critically Endangered,’ with a population of between 140 and 160 individuals that was increasing, not decreasing.
It’s a tremendous achievement of international scientific and governmental collaboration and a sign that zoological efforts to breed endangered and even extinct animals in captivity can truly work if suitable habitat remains for them to return to."
-via Good News Network, December 13, 2023
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list of GFMs for families trying to evacuate gaza
making a list of all of the fundraisers of people who have reached out to me directly on here in order to have them all in one place. all of them have either been vetted by other users or i verified them personally by checking their other social media accounts (like twitter or instagram) to confirm. everyone here definitely needs support, a lot of their family members are injured or in need of medical care that is not available in gaza. i am also linking their tumblr accounts so that you can follow them to keep up with their campaigns.
Ezzideen Shehab - his tumblr was banned but his close friend and campaign runner is @boshradaoud - €23,727/75,000
Haya Orouq - @haya-orouq19 - $55,180/70,000 (USD)
Nesma Ahmed - @nesmaahm - $41,310/60,000 (USD)
Hala - @hlabarka22 - $7,277/50,000 (CAD)
Sahar El Tibi - @eltibisahar - €8,925/30,000
Haneen Atya Altalla - @haneenatya - $31,661/70,000 (AUD)
Sujood Odeh - @sujoododeh - £27,691/70,000
Fatma Bassem - @fatmabassem - $18,515/40,000 (USD)
Donia Tanani - @doniatanani - €76,117/100,000
Nozha Emad - (Donia's sister) - €2,249/18,000
Said Tanani - (Donia's brother) - €33,759/50,000
Abdullah - @amhdes90 - $7,447/47,000 (USD)
Amal Abushaban - @amalshabn - €12,987/50,000
Mahmoud ElTibi - @mahmoodeltibi - €9,076/60,000
Heba Maqadma - @hebaalmaqadma - €60,915/80,000
Fadi Sharif - @fadisharif11 - $25,232/62,500 (USD)
Mohammed Bardaweel - @mohbardaweel - €3,948/37,000
Ahmed N. Abubaker - @ahmednabubaker - €25,868/85,000
Alaa Al Khateeb - @alaaalkhateeb - £20,457/26,000
Ahmad Shaban - @ahmd-iyd - £6,146/150,000
Omar - @omarsobhi - €4,253/20,000
Wesam Shorbaje - @wesamshorbaje-2 - $3,518/50,000 (USD)
Fahed Shehab - @fahedshehab - €5,416/50,000
Hani Alhajjar - @skatehani - €14,365/50,000
Amneh Sharif - @amnehsharif - $4,550/150,000 (USD)
Mohammed Talatene - @mohammedtalatene - €7,530/20,000
Bilal - @bilalhammadsblog - €21,938/70,000
Amjad Sido - @amjadsido - €1,333/30,000
Firas Salem - @firas-salem - €17,414/65,000
Mahmoud Balousha - @bba3lo - €5,654/50,000
Amal Abu Shammala - @amalisam - €46,170/50,000
Basel - @basel321 - $1,854/105,000 (CAD)
Madleen - @mado-o-on - $45,991/70,000 (USD)
Iman Eyad - @imaneyad - £1,787/60,000
Deaa - @daee571989 - $2,058/50,000 (USD)
Laila Shaqura - @lailashaqoura - €2,033/35,000
Wafaa Alnhl - @hebsnhel - €997/35,000
Shahed - @shahed-00 - $662/50,000 (USD)
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Graphic design artist Moataz Abu Sakran/ @moatazart has provided extensive documentation of the genocide against Gaza. His photos and videos have been used—often without credit—by major media outlets, and his posts are featured on this blog regularly.
Moataz and his wife and baby girl are trapped in the vicinity of Al-Shifa Hospital complex. The area has was under complete siege for 13 days, and made life even more difficult and dangerous than before. In addition to the physical violence of the siege, the occupation’s famine has made food extremely scarce—Moataz and Mariam can no longer find milk and nutritious food for baby Maria.
They were able to raise enough funds to begin the paperwork involved in evacuating to Egypt, but exorbitant processing fees have totally depleted the money they had reserved to find a place to stay in Egypt. They need funds to procure food and shelter while they rebuild their lives in Egypt (God willing), otherwise they will be homeless and destitute.
There was an increase in donations after we initially shared the link on this blog. We are hoping that will happen again. Please support Moataz’s family via this link so that they can reach safety. Even just a few dollars will help. If you can’t donate, please share the link on all your social media accounts.
This is the primary link to donate and share. You can copy and paste it onto other posts and social media sites.
If the primary link does not work, try this link
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I will not dox my neighbour and post pictures of his house because I am not an asshole, but he just put an addition on his already batshit insane house and I am dying to share.
He lives in a 1950 PanAm passenger plane. I have no fucking clue how he got it here, because we're nowhere near a runway and it still has its wings and its landing gear. The living space is a solid 15 feet off the ground and he has one of those old school staircase vans as his front step. I would assume its not terribly different from living in a trailer or other mobile home, but its way better insulated because its a plane.
Anyway, he just finished a glassed in porch that comes out of the pilots side of the cockpit and its so cool. This isn't some gimmicky airbnb, this is his house and the commitment to the bit is legendary.
His greenhouse is a fire engine.
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