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Several of the world's leading wildlife conservation organizations came together this year to create a report on wild cats and canids, "The Fading Call of the Wild." The report highlights fifteen species of wild cats and canids (which include wild dogs, wolves, foxes, and jackals) in dire need of protection. According to the report, an unacceptably high number of wild cats and dogs are experiencing population declines: 80% of wild cat species and 25% of wild canids.
The report features fifteen amazing species, from the familiar yet rare Snow Leopard and the Gray Wolf to less familiar species such as the Iberian Lynx and Darwin's Fox. These "umbrella species," so called because effective protection in the wild will also protect other organisms that share their ecosystems, are severely threatened by human activity, from encroachment and habitat destruction to direct poaching. They, and others like them, are in desperate need of protection.
An act introduced to Congress in 2004 could help, but the last major action in House and Senate took place over a year ago, in 2009. The Great Cats and Rare Canids Conservation Act supports "the conservation of species deemed by the American people to be of special global value." It creates a fund to assist the preservation of these species in their native habitat.
"The Fading Call of the Wild" details the reason those funds are desperately needed. Without effective human protection, the threats these species face could drive them to extinction. You can learn more and read the report here.