International Red Book: Animals. Who leads the international Red book?

Early XX century, the English scientist J. Darrell draws an analogy: the world is a cobweb, and if it is lightly touched, it will at the very least tremble, and at worst there will be a gap. So a person together with technical progress shakes the world, creating holes in it, which, most likely, will not close. First of all, this affects the flora and fauna of the whole planet: different species of animals, plants, mushrooms disappear, many of which the world community already recognizes only from paleontological excavations. And what will our descendants? They will have to study the former diversity of the animal world from pictures in encyclopedias and historical references?

Mankind sooner or later had to come to the understanding that the surrounding nature must be protected and protected. The International Red Book became the result of attempts to preserve the flora and fauna. The history of its creation is quite interesting.

How the Red Book was created

It is already far 1902. Paris, a congress of biologists from all over the world, a pressing issue - the protection of birds. After long reports, a decision is made for the first time on protecting the planet's biodiversity and the International Convention on the Protection of Birds is signed, which became the ancestor of the modern Red Book.

More than forty years have passed. The whole world is recovering from the Second World War. In 1948, a non-governmental organization, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), was established under the auspices of UNESCO. Already in 1949, IUCN established a "controlling body" - the Commission for Surviving Species.

Main tasks

The International Union for Conservation of Nature identified the main tasks of the Commission on Surviving Species:

• To study the status of rare plant species, fungi, and animals;
• Identify species with a high degree of risk of extinction;
• To draft international treaties, conventions;
• Compile lists of endangered species;
• To offer solutions for the conservation of endangered species.

Defined the goals, objectives, but what next? And, as is usually the case, their implementation has dragged on ... Almost 20 years have passed. 1963, the head of the commission Peter Scott proposes to make a list of endangered animals, the name of which is the International Red Book. The members of the commission asked the question: "Why red?", To which Scott replied: "Red is the color of danger, which means that we can lose even the smallness that we have."

Soon the first edition in two volumes, similar to the calendar, appears in the light. It includes 312 species of birds and 211 species of mammals. The book was sent to certain addressees - scientists and statesmen. Creators of the folio in advance provided that information about animals can change, so as the data was updated, new sheets were sent to the addressees in return for the old ones.

Changes and additions: chronology

Until 1980, the Red Book was reprinted three more times: the format changed, the number of volumes increased, information about species changed (in the 4th edition, 13 restored species of animals appeared), the structure changed.

From 1988 to 1998 The International Red Book is published - a list of animals called "Red List of Threatened Species". Within 5 years, five such lists were published. They are similar to the Red Book, but have a completely different format, a different classification of species. So, the list consists of two blocks, which are further divided into taxa. It is interesting that one of the taxa includes those species of animals that are preserved in captivity.

Both the lists and the International Red Data Book are maintained by IUCN and the World Conservation Monitoring Center (Cambridge, UK). Under the auspices of the IUCN, thousands of people from the Commission on Rare Species are engaged in analyzing information, taking into account data and publishing books. It is through their work that we know which animals need protection, and which of them, unfortunately, we will never see on our planet.

Appearance

What does the International Red Book look like? This is a rather interesting folio, which is somewhat like a rainbow: a cover of bright scarlet color, and sections of different colors (red, black, white, green, yellow, gray). Many people have a question about where the Red Book is kept. Fortunately, this is a public publication, so it can be found in any good library. Some nature lovers prefer to have it in their personal book-stock arsenal.

Now let's talk more about each section. Information on the animals of the International Red Book is conditionally divided into six parts:

• Extinct species;
• Disappearing and rare animals;
• Species that quickly disappear;
• Small species;
• Poorly studied species;
• Animals that do not need protection.

Due to this, it is easy to find information about this or that animal.

Encoding of Species

Representatives of each section of the Red Book have their own coding.

On the black pages of the folio, disappeared animals (EX) and disappeared animals in nature (EW) were placed; Red pages - Vulnerable (VU) and on the verge of extinction (CR); Yellow pages - species that are dying out (VN); White pages - species that are close to the vulnerable state (NT); Gray pages - poorly studied species (CD); Green pages - species with the least threat of extinction (LC).

What other information does the International Red Data Book contain? Photo of animals. Naturally, on the pages of the book next to the biological data there is a photograph of the species described (except for extinct animals, whose appearance is recreated either graphically or by means of computer graphics).

This is what the International Red Book looks like. Animals that are represented in it are diverse. In connection with scientific progress, information is constantly replenished, new species are added, and some animals change status due to environmental protection actions. And it can not but rejoice!

Regional editions of the Red Book

Speaking about the International Red Book, it is worth noting that it has analogues: for example, the International Red Data Book of Ukraine or the International Red Data Book of Russia. Animals, information about which such publications contain, live (or once lived) in the specified territories.

As it turned out, regional publications of the Red Book contain more detailed information about the species, in contrast to the international one. This fact is due to the fact that the regions primarily focus on the fauna inherent in the area, the number and variety of which is significantly different from the world scale. Therefore, the data are analyzed more thoroughly and regularly updated.

Regional books also differ from the international version by design, only the cover of red remains unchanged.

Let's now dwell on the most outstanding individuals of the animal kingdom, which are on the brink of extinction and are listed in the Red Book.

International Red Data Book: Amur Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica)

The Amur tiger (Ussuri) in the Red Book is designated as a small species (VU) in the territory of northern Russia. Even 100 years ago, the number of these animals was estimated in thousands, but because of hunting, the population began to decline sharply. Today the number of the Amur tiger barely reaches 500 individuals.

This species is one of the few representatives of the cat family that has adapted to the harsh climate of the taiga. A distinctive feature of this subspecies is the five-centimeter fatty layer on the abdomen, which allows the cat to tolerate excessively low temperatures.

International Red Data Book: Animals - Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia)

Snow leopard (snow leopard, snow leopard) is a large cat that lives in the mountainous regions of Central Asia. Until the beginning of the XX century, snow leopards were an important link in fur trade. To date, hunting for snow leopard is prohibited, information about the animal contains the International Red Book. Snow leopards are classified as an endangered species (EN).

Visayan warty pig (Sus cebifrons)

The Visayan warty pig lives in the world on only two islands - Panay and Negro (Philippine archipelago). Due to indiscriminate hunting, the population of these pigs in 60 years has decreased by as much as 80%! Since 1998, the Visayan warty pig has been guarded by the International Red Book. Animals are considered an endangered species (EN).

Spotted tail marten (Dasyurus maculatus)

Spotted marsupial marten (tiger cat) got its name due to its similarity with the marten and the cat. Today, this species of martens lives in two isolated populations of the Australian coast (northern - Queensland, eastern - from southern Queensland to Tasmania). Information on marsup martens contains the International Red Book. Animals of this species have a status close to a vulnerable position (NT).

Small-toothed sawtooth (Pristis microdon)

Small-toothed piloire (ramp-pylon) is an inhabitant of the coastal waters of the Pacific and Indian oceans. Life expectancy in captivity conditions is not more than 7 years. In the Red Data Book, sawfish has a status "on the brink of extinction" (CR).

Monkey Burmese snub-nosed (Rhinopithecus strykeri)

Monkey Burmese snub-nosed (rhinopitek Stryker) as a species became known to scientists only in 2010. This species of monkeys inhabits exclusively in the north of Burma. The primate received its name due to its discoverer and unusual nose structure - the nostrils of the rhinopithecus were turned upwards. Because of this anatomical feature, the Burmese monkey sneezes during the rain - drops of water fall into her nose. Already in 2012, the Burmese monkey was listed in the Red Book, the status - on the verge of extinction (CR). Today in the world there are about 300 individuals of Burmese snub-nosed monkey.

Our closest relative is Orangutan (Pongo)

Orangutan is a woody humanoid monkey, the structure of its DNA is the closest to human DNA. Isolate Sumatran and Kalimantan orangutans (the difference in size - the Kalimantan larger). The reason for the decline in the population is the deforestation of rain forests (the habitat of orangutans) and poaching.

The Sumatran orangutan is listed in the Red Book, the status is on the verge of extinction (CR); The Orangutan of Kalimantan is represented with the status of "vulnerable species" (VU). It remains a hope that this species will be preserved through zoos and nature reserves.

Nerpa Caspian (Phoca caspica)

Caspian Nerpa (the Caspian seal) migrates between the northern part of the Caspian Sea and the Urals. Still 100 years ago the number of seals was more than one million individuals, today their number is barely reaching 100 thousand. Causes: mass poaching, pollution of water bodies, climate change. Nerpa Caspian is listed in the Red Book as a species that is on the brink of extinction (EN).

As a conclusion

Man, it would seem, is a reasonable creature, but nevertheless he thoughtlessly destroys the fields, forests, "turns the rivers back", hunts, searches for poaching. The consequence of such frivolous behavior is the disappearance of representatives of flora and fauna.

The Red Book, having come out into the light, drew the public's attention to how much harm the person has brought to the surrounding nature. Of course, some species, unfortunately, will remain on the pages of history, but still there are those that can be saved for the next generations.

Thanks to all zoological parks and reserves that make an invaluable contribution to the conservation of species! But still I really want everyone on Earth to contribute to the preservation of the environment, and the Red Book is regularly replenished with green pages.

Earthlings! Remember: it is vitally important for us to protect the planet, which still tolerates, appreciates and preserves the nature that surrounds us, and does not forget for a moment that every creature on Earth needs and is important! Animals are our neighbors on the planet, not clothes and food!