Mysterious mammal caught on film

[Simon]

From BBC: Mysterious mammal caught on film

An "extraordinary" desert creature has been caught on camera for what scientists believe is the first time.

The long-eared jerboa, a tiny nocturnal mammal that is dwarfed by its enormous ears, can be found in deserts in Mongolia and China.

Zoological Society of London (ZSL) scientist Jonathan Baillie said the footage was helping researchers to learn more about the mysterious animal.

The species is classified as endangered on the IUCN Red list.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7130484.stm

[armadillo]

It's so cute!

Another proof that we know less than we think about the planet.

I hope they will do something to prevent its extinction

[Galactica]

I wouldn't want one as a pet!

[mountainhiker]

It's so cute!

Another proof that we know less than we think about the planet.

I hope they will do something to prevent its extinction

Part of the problem is they really don't know enough about it to know if it is going extinct or not, let alone what it would take to save it if it was .

[Bobby]

I am sure there are animals out there that we have never seen before, and may not be endangered... This is where research comes into it - makes for a really interesting subject for a Masters Thesis!

[Simon]

I am sure there are animals out there that we have never seen before, and may not be endangered... This is where research comes into it - makes for a really interesting subject for a Masters Thesis!

True, but if they've never been seen before they cant be in large numbers... So... :blink:

[only_green_no_gray]

True, but if they've never been seen before they cant be in large numbers... So...

It depends of their location. In the deeps waters of the oceans no one knows for sure what animals are there. So we can still find a new specie there and it still be in a larger number

[Patrick]

True, but if they've never been seen before they cant be in large numbers... So...

Are you kidding? We don't even have names for half of the animals on this planet. Given, most of them are insects, but yet animals. Each day hundreds of animals we've never seen before (and who might be able to produce stuff needed for medicine) die and are gone forever. Also as previously stated the oceans are the home of another world full of animals we have never seen because they live so deep under the water.

[Bobby]

Well small numbers doesn't always mean endangered - I guess it boils down to the carrying capacity of that particular ecosystem. But nobody will really know if the species is endangered until proper research is done...

[Simon]

Are you kidding? We don't even have names for half of the animals on this planet. Given, most of them are insects, but yet animals. Each day hundreds of animals we've never seen before (and who might be able to produce stuff needed for medicine) die and are gone forever. Also as previously stated the oceans are the home of another world full of animals we have never seen because they live so deep under the water.

I thought we were talking about animals a bit larger than insects and who lived on land.. In the size of that "desert creature" above. But sure.

How can you be so sure there is hundreds of animals (insects etc) dying each day? On what do you base that number on?

Well small numbers doesn't always mean endangered - I guess it boils down to the carrying capacity of that particular ecosystem. But nobody will really know if the species is endangered until proper research is done...

True. But if they only lived in small numbers in one special place/eco system. Wouldn't that make them endangered, or at least very vulnerable?

[Bobby]

Yes, that would make them vulnerable. It is essential that the proper research gets done as soon as possible in cases such as this, to monitor any kind of negative impact we might be contributing to - and take the steps to change it.

As for the organisms we can't see with the naked eye, in the bottom of the ocean - I guess we'll never know...