Leopard Killed

[iJawn108]

April 23, 2007—An Amur leopardess has been found dead a mere two days after a new census reported that just 25 to 34 Amur leopards remain alive in the wild—only 7 of them female.

The 77-pound (35-kilogram) cat, seen in this newly released photograph, was discovered on April 20 in Russia's Barsovy National Wildlife Refuge.

The animal had been shot in the back and beaten with a heavy object, according to the international conservation group WWF.

The killing of a reproductively capable female puts the threatened carnivore even further from the hundred or more individuals scientists say are needed to sustain its wild population.

Now the world's rarest big cat, the Amur leopard once roamed across the Korean peninsula, in the Russian Far East, and in northeastern China. But human impacts have pulverized its population.

"This year's census showed a desperate situation, with just seven female Amur leopards left in the wild and four rearing cubs,' said Darron Collins, an expert in the species based at WWFs Washington, D.C., office.

"Now we've lost a mature, reproductive leopardess and her potential cubs in a senseless killing."

 

[mkrishnan]

That's sad.

I can't resist pointing out, though, that this is what one gets when one shifts resources away from the leopards and into touchscreen phones.

 

[Jasonbot]

This isn't a thread about OS X? I'm dissapointed, Bill Gates should stop trying to destroy the mac operating system. This has gone too far.

 

[johnee]

this shows people are really, really stupid. That's why I don't like many of them.

 

[twoodcc]

this is very sad. only 7 females left?

 

[phillipjfry]

I blame the iPhone...
and Vista

 

[iJawn108]

this is very sad. only 7 females left?

Apparently, I knew they were rare but not that rare.

 

[dmw007]

Whew...At first I thought that something had happened to Mac OS X 10.5.


Not that this is good news by any stretch of the imagination...

 

[AoWolf]

Its sad but in a case like this they really need to capture a female and start breeding them in a habitat somewhere. Better to have a few in captivity then to have 0.

 

[Legolamb]

Whew...At first I thought that something had happened to Mac OS X 10.5.


Not that this is good news by any stretch of the imagination...

Me, too. I've really got to start thinking differently.
Actually, this is really not good news.

 

[zap2]

Only 7!! Females, Apple should do something to save them, if not their going to be naming their OS after animals that are all dead, which wouldn't make a good metaphor for the OS, now would it?

Also who ever did this is one sick ****

 

[camomac]

how sad.

it would be really nice if apple did do something to help preserve these animals.
i mean come on, do you want an OS named after an extinct species?

 

[iSaint]

What sucks is the inability to educate human beings about the importance of NOT KILLING EVERYTHING IN SIGHT!

 

[AoWolf]

What sucks is the inability to educate human beings about the importance of NOT KILLING EVERYTHING IN SIGHT!

Yes but we don't know the motive. It could be a naive hunter who had no idea how rare the cats are, it could be some evil person just killing for fun, but at the same time it could have been done in self defense. I agree people need to know that these cats are out their and they need to not kill them needlessly. But its no less natural for a human to defend itself form a perceived threat then the leopard defending its territory.

 

[iJawn108]

I think it would be bad ass if Apple did something like product red for leopard presivation like... a spotted macbook limited edition. People would eat those up!

 

[BornAgainMac]

They need to work on breeding those leopards and increase their marketshare.

 

[Abstract]

Damn, only 7 females remaining? For the good of their species, I hope none of the females are gay.

 

[Eraserhead]

Surely there are some in zoos?

 

[FF_productions]

I blame the iPhone...
and Vista

LOL.

Post of the week.

 

[Mr. Gumby]

For those of you concerned that Apple's next OS will be named after an extinct animal, remember that it is the Panthera pardus orientalis or Amur subspecies of Leopards on the brink of extinction, not ALL leopards.

This is very sad though, yet another creature soon to be forever gone

 

[zap2]

. It could be a naive hunter who had no idea how rare the cats are,

seems kind of foolish to leave it there then...

 

[Lixivial]

Yes but we don't know the motive. It could be a naive hunter who had no idea how rare the cats are, it could be some evil person just killing for fun, but at the same time it could have been done in self defense.

It took place on a wildlife refuge, and the death was less than savory:

The animal had been shot in the back and beaten with a heavy object, according to the international conservation group WWF.

Of note here is the beaten with a heavy object, presumably after being shot in the back. I suppose it could be the other way around -- beaten with a heavy object and then shot in the back to put out of its misery, but if that were the case, it should be shot in the head or the heart. There's no reason a hunter should be there, and no reason someone should be in a position for "self defense."

EDIT: And here's the link to the original story...

 

[anti-microsoft]

If you really care about the Mac Operating System, visit British Mac
You can sign up to a petition to save big cats like: leopards, tigers, jaguars, panthers...

So Mac OS X preserve's it's BIG CAT name.
BritishMac is a podcast that you can find here

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Just to play devil's advocate here: while it's sad that this subspecies of leopard is nearing extinction, the most ironic part in my mind is that endagered species in third-world (or otherwise depressed) seem to get more attention than the millions of people living in those countries...

 

[Lovesong]

Bummer...

The way things are going, 10.5 might have to be called Mac OSX Caracal...or Serval.