It is a day of celebrating the many unique and ancient species of turtles and tortoises around the world, and bringing awareness to their need for protection. Of the 207 species of turtle and tortoise alive today, 129 of them are listed by IUCN as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered. That's an incredibly 62% of species!
The species listed here are only a few of the many critically endangered turtle and tortoise species. They illustrate that though these species wear a suit of armor, they are incredible fragile and in need of protection by humans, from humans.
Bycatch is the most critical extinction threat facing marine megafauna in coastal seas, including the world's most endangered dolphins, porpoises, seals, dugongs, sharks, and marine turtles. These vulnerable species share coastal waters with small-scale fisheries that employ 99% of the world's 50 million fishers. An estimate of global dolphin and porpoise bycatch indicates that more than 300,000 individuals are killed each year, with about 98% resulting from entanglement in gillnets and about 2% in trawlers and other gear, such as long lines.
A global review of marine mammal consumption by humans concluded that targeted hunts of small cetaceans have generally been reduced and capture
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The Vampire Bat is a small species of Bat, native to the tropics of Central and South America. There are three recognised sub-species of Vampire Bat, all of which are in a genus of their own despite their obvious similarities. The Common Vampire Bat, the Hairy-Legged Vampire Bat and the White-Winged Vampire Bat are all closely related and share the same unique feeding habits, as they are the only known mammals that feed entirely on blood. Over time, Vampire Bats have perfectly adapted to the consumption of their only food source, with a leaf-like heat sensor on the end of their nose which detects where the warm blood is flowing closest to the skin.
