Half of UK native plants in decline: major study
by AFP Staff Writers
London (AFP) March 8, 2023

Introduced species now make up the majority of plants growing in the wild in Britain, with more than half of natives estimated to be in decline, according to results of a 20-year study released Wednesday.

Change in land use, particularly "the intensification of arable cultivation," has been the main driver of change, according to the "Plant Atlas 2020" study undertaken by the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI).

The 20-year project is the most comprehensive ever undertaken on UK wild flora, with volunteers submitting over 26 million records including 3,445 different species.

Those included 1,692 that are native to the UK and 1,753 non-natives that have been deliberately or accidentally introduced into the wild by humans, the study said.

"This startling finding means that there are now more introduced plants growing in the wild in Britain than natives, with many originating from gardens and then spreading to establish self-sustaining populations," it added.

Comparison with similar studies from the 1950s showed that 53 percent of native plants species are estimated to have declined. In contrast, 58 percent of recently introduced species are estimated to have increased.

The intensification of arable farming had led to the "substantial declines of many plants" associated with such crops, the report noted.

"Likewise, grassland and heathland plants that grow on infertile soils have suffered marked declines due to the conversion of their habitats to arable or more productive agricultural grasslands," it said.

Drainage of wetland habitats has also had an impact while species growing around rivers and canals have also declined, mainly due to the effect of run-off from agricultural land.

"In comparison, the distributions of plants associated with woodlands have remained relatively unchanged," while "species of coniferous woodland have increased due to the massive expansion of commercial forestry," the report stated.

Some southern species have expanded their ranges northwards while some northern species have retreated at their southern limits, which correlates with "our warming climate".

"The overall message is clear -- our native flora is much diminished relative to the situation recorded by our predecessors in the 1950s," the report's authors warned.

"We need a holistic plan of action to reverse this decline so that our flora can be restored and flourish for the benefit of this and future generations."

The National Farmers' Union (NFU) environment forum chair Richard Bramley said farmers were "committed to enhancing and improving our landscapes".

"In recent decades, farmers have made huge improvements in several areas that this report highlights. For example, more than 10,000 football pitches of habitat have been planted to benefit wildlife such as pollinators," he added.

Rare West African lion cubs caught on camera in Senegal
Dakar (AFP) March 8, 2023 - At three months old, even future kings of the savannah like to play.

In Senegal, a video of three cubs that would have hardly been imaginable a few years ago, has given hope that the revered West African lion, which has been decimated over time, will be revived.

The US-based wild cat conservation organisation Panthera has released never-before-seen images of a lioness and three cubs spotted in February by remote cameras in the Niokolo-Koba National Park in southeastern Senegal.

In what Panthera describes as a "thrilling sign of recovery for the critically endangered West African lion", video footage shows the big cat eating an animal carcass while its three-month-old offspring try to imitate it.

They brandish their claws and fangs, testing them out on scraps of wood or their mother's hindquarters.

"This documentation of new lion life... indicates the remarkable recovery of a population on the brink of extinction", the organisation said in a statement.

Panthera has since 2011 been working with Senegal's Department of National Parks on conservation efforts in the Niokolo-Koba park.

In that time, the number of lions in the park has risen from 10 or 15 to around 30, the organisation said.

The West African lion is characterised by a thin mane and slender body and is genetically distinct from the African or Asian subspecies.

There are between 120 and 375 of them left, according to Panthera.

Revered to the point of being cited in the Senegalese national anthem, West African lions have been decimated by poaching and the gradual loss of their habitat.

Their historic range has shrunk by 99 percent, Panthera said, citing the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

- Protection works -

According to Philipp Henschel, Panthera's director for West and Central Africa, the high market value of lion skins and bones has attracted the interest of people connected to jihadist networks.

The spread of jihadism in West Africa is also complicating conservation in some parts of the region, such as the vast W-Arly-Pendjari nature complex between Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger, he said.

The impact of global warming remains to be seen, he said, but Niokolo-Koba is already subject to an "extreme climate".

However, Florence -- the lioness caught on camera, who is thought to be nine or 10 years old -- has contributed to the population's recovery.

The cubs -- two males and a female -- pictured with her are believed to be her third litter since 2021.

"This is a sign that protection has worked well," Henschel said.

Lions are classified as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.

It estimated in 2014 that there were between 23,000 and 39,000 individuals able to reproduce worldwide, a figure in decline.

White tiger cub found dumped on Greek street: animal park
Athens (AFP) March 8, 2023 - Greece's leading animal park on Wednesday said it had recovered a rare white tiger cub found abandoned on a nearby street earlier this week.

Attica Zoological Park outside Athens said the four-month-old female cub, which was found beneath a garbage bin near the premises, was paralysed from the waist down.

"No one knows where it came from or how it got here," park founder Jean Jacques Lesueur told Proto Thema daily, adding that the feline was likely abandoned on Monday.

"It's in terrible condition," he said.

Conservation group World Wildlife Fund (WWF) describes white tigers as "a genetic anomaly," with none known to exist in the wild.

They are often the result of inbreeding, exposing them to a host of health problems at birth.

The park says it hosts more than 2,000 animals from 290 different species.

It was criticised last year after an alpha male chimpanzee escaped its enclosure during operating hours, and was later shot dead for public safety reasons.

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