Shepherd looking for a job :p

Rugby World Cup : The United States Vs. Italy. The match was held today

Italy - United States (27-10): the Italians win !!!

To represent the United States, the red wolf (Canis lupus rufus) and for Italy, the gray wolf (Canis lupus italicus).

The red wolf (Canis lupus rufus) is currently considered as a subspecies of gray wolf (Canis lupus). This canine has long been classified as a separate species. The controversy is not over yet. Especially since some genetic studies revealed that the red wolf is a hybrid between the coyote and gray wolf. Anyway, the red wolf is endemic in the United States and especially in the Southeast. The red wolf was reintroduced recently after its complete eradication in 1975. This wolf is currently present in North Carolina and in the mountains of Tennessee.

The Italian wolf (Canis lupus italicus) is a subspecies in its own right, Canis lupus italicus. Strange as it may seem, the occurrence of Canis lupus italicus is due to man. Indeed, hunting forced the population into isolation in Italy, cut off from its congeners. This geographical isolation is the cause of endemism of species, separated from their origin population and for various reasons have evolved independently and differently. In the case of this wolf, it’s a creation of a new subspecies, which developed its specifical characteristics.

France ranks eighth among the countries hosting the largest number ofendangered plant and animal species worldwide.
With 778 globally threatened species on its territory, France is among the 10 countries most affected by this phenomenon with Ecuador, the United States, Malaysia, Indonesia, Mexico, China, Australia, Brazil and India.

The main threats to the species are :

- Degradation of natural environments,
- Overfishing,
- The introduction of invasive species,
- Pollution and climate.

C’est mon deuxième post. Ce blog aura pour thème les espèces endémiques à travers l’actualité. Aujourd’hui : La coupe du monde de Rugby : Le Canada contre le Japon. J’ai choisi pour emblème du Japon, le Pic d’Okinawa , et pour le Canada le Bruant à face noire.

Here is my second post. This blog will focus on the endemic species through the news. Today…The Rugby World Cup: Canada vs. Japan. To represent Japan I chose the Okinawa Woodpecker, and for Canada, the Harris’s Sparrow.

The Okinawa Woodpecker - “le Pic d’Okinawa”, (Sapheopipo noguchii), (ノグチゲラ/野口啄木鳥 Noguchigera) is a woodpecker endemic to the island of Okinawa in Japan. It is the only member of the genus Sapheopipo. This is a medium-sized (31 cm), dark woodpecker. It is dark brown in color with red-tipped feathers. It has white spots on the primaries. The head is a paler brown, with a dark red crown on the male and a blackish-brown one on the female. The call is a sharp whit call and a variable kyu-kyu kup kup kup or kyu kyu kup.

The Harris’s Sparrow - “le Bruant à face noire”, Zonotrichia querula, is a large sparrow. Their breeding habitat is the north part of central Canada (primarily the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, ranging slightly into northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan). In fact, this bird is Canada’s only endemic breeder. In the winter they migrate to the Great Plains states of the United States, from lower South Dakota to upper Texas.

For this first post, may I introduce you an endemic bird of New Caledonia : The cagou (Rhynochetos jubatus). It measures about 55 cm, greyish, long occipital feathers, adorned with white feathers at the bars on the wings. The cagou is endangered and totally protected since 1977. This bird doesn’t fly. The female lays a few eggs each year. It feeds snails, insects and various invertebrates. This bird is the emblem of New Caledonia.