The Last Asian Unicorn?

You know how it feels when you discover a box of your favorite 

chocolate/cookies/chips/candy 

somewhere in the dim reaches of your cupboard, but then you open it ...

and discover that only a few crumbles remain?

That must be a very trivial comparison to how researchers felt when they discovered an animal called the saola in 1992.

The saola is a small relative of the cow that has two long, straight, sharp horns. It's profile has earned it the nickname "Asian unicorn." 

Photo by Silviculture at vi.wikipedia (GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0) / Wikimedia

Sadly, this interesting creature is so rare due to hunting and habitat loss that as few as 70 individuals are estimated to populate a small mountainous area between Vietnam and Laos. Take a look:

Geographic distribution of the rare saola. Photo courtesy of IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, species assessors and the authors of the spatial data / Wikimedia Commons

Learn more about the critically endangered saola here:

Saola: The Endangered Asian Unicorn

OMG! Kids Create a Conservation Movement

If the planetary problems of our generation are looming heavily over the next, then Carter and Olivia Ries are getting the jump on solving them. These two pre-teens from Georgia have started their own conservation non-profit, and it's more than mere child's play. OMG (One More Generation) is making serious strides to help cheetahs, rhinos, orangutans, marine ecosystems, and more. 

What started with caring for cheetahs became a full-fledged conservation effort by two motivated kids.

 

Get inspired by the work of these young go-getters here:

OMG: Kids Helping Endangered Species

 

 

 

It's almost time for ...

Taxes.

Yes, I said it. 

As much as we'd all like to bury our heads in the sand and forget our yearly tab for government services, it's one of those two things (you know the saying) that is certain to find us, wherever we are.

This year, as you're racking up your last minute deductions, consider donating to a charitable cause that benefits endangered species.

Make a tax-deductible donation to the California Sea Otter Fund.

Photo courtesy of USFWS

I've listed a few non-profit organizations that you may not be familiar with on the following page:

Tax Deductible Donations to Help Endangered Species