Hello all

For the last few months I have been thinking of doing a new photo project and I have decided it will start on this coming weekend. For the next 26 weeks I will post one photo a week featuring an endangered species, Starting with A and travelling through the alphabet all the way to Z. My hope is that I am going to bring awareness to some of those not so well known endangered species around the world, maybe there will be some that you didnt even know were threatened and there will be some that you didnt even know existed.

As I did for Twisted Cinema I will post the photos on Balloon Chat first, they will appear here on the Friday and then everywhere else on Saturday.

so to start us off, my first species is obviously something that begins with A and happens to be an Amphibian from Mexico.

This is yet another brilliant idea from you Rob.  

I am looking forward to seeing which animals are going to be balloonified. Good luck!  

Looking forward to it too

Thanks to both of you

Here is the front cover I have made for the project.

Looking good Rob.

Looks good to me Rob


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

A is for Axolotl
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You may well recognise this little amphibian as they can been seen in zoos, aquariums, laboratories and as pets all around the world, in the wild however they can only be found in the lakes and canals of a small area in central Mexico.
If you are wondering how to pronounce the name then try this - "Ax-oh-lot-ul.". Most wild Axolotl are actually brown or black, the pinky white variety with black eyes all descend from a mutant male Axolotl back in 1863.

Here we have a male adult axolotl, those pink frills behind his head are not just for show, they are his gills helping him to breath. Axolotl like to eat any small creatures they can fit into their mouths and they have the incredible ability to regenerate many parts of their body, including limbs, their spines, jaws and even their brains.

Due to pollution and the introduction of invasive species these little Axolotl may disappear from the wild very soon. in 2014 a survey failed to find any of the Axolotl in the wild, some have since been found in the area so hopefully they can survive. Although not ideal Axolotl thrive in captivity and so the species should survive in aquariums around the world, maybe one day we can successfully re introduce them into the wild.

For more information on this incredible creature visit - //http://a-z-animals.com/animals/axolotl/

My main focus of this project is to bring awareness to the many species under threat however if you would like to make a donation towards the WWF-UK then I have set up a donations page with Just giving - //https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/EndangeredSpecies

100% of the monies raised on the Just Giving page will go directly to the WWF-UK

Next week I will be featuring one of the most endangered animals in North America.

Fantastic Rob, with the info about the actual animal it raises great awareness of the nature we may loose. Such a great project.

Quote from: "Woblee"Fantastic Rob, with the info about the actual animal it raises great awareness of the nature we may loose. Such a great project.

Thanks Woblee

This little chap is the Black Footed Ferret, you wouldn't think of a ferret as being endangered however these cute little ferrets have really suffered in the past.
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Found only in the northern great plains of north America they rely on prairie dogs and their colonies for food. As early as the 1800s prairie dog numbers have declined due to control programs and in more recent years plagues have affected both the prairie dog and ferret populations, for a while it was thought that the Black Footed Ferret was extinct in the wild.

Due to careful management of the prairie dogs and the reintroduction of ferrets things are now starting to look up, there are now around 300 living in the wild, it does not sound like many however it is a good sign.

The WWF are working hard to save this little ferret and you can find out more about the animal and the efforts of the WWF  by visiting the Black-footed ferret page on the WWF website here – //http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/black-footed-ferret

My main focus of this project is to bring awareness to the many species under threat however if you would like to make a donation towards the WWF-UK then I have set up a donations page with Just giving – //https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/EndangeredSpecies

100% of the monies raised on the Just Giving page will go directly to the WWF-UK

Next week I am heading down under for the letter C, any guesses?

Ah Rob the black footed ferret is so cute! great likeness! can i share it in a ferret lovers group i am part of?

Quote from: "Clareg182"Ah Rob the black footed ferret is so cute! great likeness! can i share it in a ferret lovers group i am part of?

Oh please do if you send me a message on facebook or an email then I will send you a full sized version of the picture

mailto:robbieaibm@gmail.com">robbieaibm@gmail.com

//https://www.facebook.com/rob.driscoll.773

Looks great Rob.

Although I would call it a chocolate brown footed ferret!  

Quote from: "Danny the Idiot"Looks great Rob.

Although I would call it a chocolate brown footed ferret!  

I agree with you and I think he has actually been miss-named by the International Association of animal names (I made that up)