Race to save Ecuador's 'lungs of the world'

The Yasuni National Park, known as "the lungs of the world" and one of the most bio-diverse places on earth, is under threat from oil drilling. The race is on to find the funds required to develop new sustainable energy programmes that would leave the oil - and the forest - untouched. In the early light of dawn, the Napo River, running swiftly from its headwaters in the high Andes, swirled powerfully past the bow of our motorised canoe. Suddenly, a dense cloud of green parrots swooped down from the canopy of the jungle and in a cackling din started scooping tiny beakfuls from the exposed muddy bank. The heavy mineral rich clay, the birds seem to know, is an antidote to the toxins present in the seeds of the forest which are a major part of their daily diets.

Big Cat Species Facing Extinction 2010 was supposed to be the Year of the Tiger. Unfortunately, tigers, lynx, jaguars, leopards, lions, pumas, cheetahs, and every species of Big Cat in the world is in decline. How long these magnificent species can evade extinction is up to us. Big Cats are part of the Family Felidae (or feline), and are a rich addition to our natural world. However, the Big Cats are in severe decline throughout the planet. The Anthropocene Extinction, also known as the Holocene Extinction event, is the world’s 6th great sudden loss of life. We are currently in the third wave of this, and man-made ecological effects such as an overexploitation of species, pollution, the introduction of alien species, and habitat encroachment are directly responsible for the decline and extinction of thousands of species of life.