Gold medalists of the natural world

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Gold medalists of the natural world

Gland, Switzerland, 27 July, 2012 (IUCN) – Running, jumping and diving is on everyone’s mind these days as the London 2012 Olympic Games kick off and the world watches the best human athletes compete. But humans aren’t the only ones that display incredible feats of athleticism - today IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) offers up the gold medalists of the animal kingdom.

These animal athletes, some of which are listed as threatened on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, are the fastest sprinters, the highest jumpers and the most graceful gymnasts in the natural world. The Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus),would take gold in the 100m—reaching speeds of up to 70mph in short bursts. In field events, the Common Froghopper (Philaenus spumarius) could win the high jump as it can jump 115 times its own height! In the gymnastics events, the graceful Agile Gibbon (Hylobates agilis) and dancing birds-of-paradise would wow us with their moves. While celebrating the achievements of talented athletes across the world this summer, we should also take the time to appreciate these incredible species.

Archery - Smallscale Archerfish (Toxotes microlepis) Archerfish shoot down land based insects (flying insects or insects on branches) and other small animals with water shot from their specialized mouths. The Smallscale Archerfish is listed as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List.

Boxing - European Hare (Lepus europaeus) The European Hare mating season peaks in spring during a time called “March Madness.” Females choose their partners according to their strength by “boxing” with them—when females and males stand on their hind legs and hit each other with their paws. As females are slightly larger than males, only strong males impress the females and get the chance to mate. The European Hare is listed as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List.

Shooting - Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) The fruits of the Himalayan Balsam open explosively with a popping sound, ‘shooting’ the seeds to some distance. A prolific seed producer, each plant produces about 2,500 seeds and its dispersal technique helps the plant colonize new areas. Native to the Himalayas, but naturalized in Europe and elsewhere, it tends to become an invasive species and out-compete other plants. It has not yet been assessed for The IUCN Red List.

Shot Put - Lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus) The Lammergeier, also known as a Bearded Vulture, is one of the largest of the old world vultures. This bird wins the prize for shot put because it drops large bones from great heights in order to shatter them and eat the nutritious marrow inside. The Lammergeier is listed as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List.

Weightlifting - Rhinoceros Beetle (Xyloryctes thestalus) This beetle is able to carry loads of more than 30 times its body mass and is among the strongest animals on earth. In comparison, the heaviest individual weight lifted by a human in an Olympic competition was 263.5kg by Hossein Rezazadeh, a weight that was about one and a half times his own bodyweight and equivalent to lifting four average-sized people. Found in Arizona, New Mexico and Mexico, this species has not yet been assessed for The IUCN Red List.

From the mythical home of the Olympian Greek Gods - Zeus olympius Zeus olympius is a species of fungus that until this year was only found on Mount Olympus, the mythical home of the Twelve Olympians of the ancient Greek world. This fungus is found growing on dead branches of the pine tree Pinus leucodermis and was recently discovered in a second location in south-west Bulgaria near the Greek border. This species has not yet been assessed for The IUCN Red List.

Issues involving species survival and conservation will be discussed at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Jeju, Republic of Korea, from 6 to 15 September 2012.

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For more Olympic animal athletes please visit: http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/species/?10555/Gold-medalists-of-the-natural-world

Images can be downloaded from: https://www.yousendit.com/download/QlVoQndLa0Q1bml4djlVag
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Material for the Media:
• The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™: http://www.iucnredlist.org/
• IUCN Species Survival Commissions Specialist Groups directory: http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/species/who_we_are/ssc_specialist_groups_and_red_list_authorities_directory/
• IUCN World Conservation Congress: http://www.iucnworldconservationcongress.org/

About IUCN
IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, helps the world find pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges.

IUCN works on biodiversity, climate change, energy, human livelihoods and greening the world economy by supporting scientific research, managing field projects all over the world, and bringing governments, NGOs, the UN and companies together to develop policy, laws and best practice.

IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental organization, with more than 1,200 government and NGO members and almost 11,000 volunteer experts in some 160 countries. IUCN’s work is supported by over 1,000 staff in 45 offices and hundreds of partners in public, NGO and private sectors around the world.
www.iucn.org

About The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (or the IUCN Red List) is the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of plant and animal species. It is based on an objective system for assessing the risk of extinction of a species should no conservation action be taken. Species are assigned to one of eight categories of threat based on whether they meet criteria linked to population trend, population size and structure and geographic range. Species listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable are collectively described as ‘Threatened’. The IUCN Red List is not just a register of names and associated threat categories. It is a rich compendium of information on the threats to the species, their ecological requirements, where they live, and information on conservation actions that can be used to reduce or prevent extinctions.
The IUCN Red List is a joint effort between IUCN and its Species Survival Commission, working with its Red List partners BirdLife International; Botanic Gardens Conservation International; Conservation International; NatureServe; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Sapienza University of Rome; Texas A&M University; Wildscreen; and Zoological Society of London. www.iucnredlist.org www.facebook.com/iucn.red.list https://www.twitter.com/AmazingSpecies

About the Species Survival Commission
The Species Survival Commission (SSC) is the largest of IUCN’s six volunteer commissions with a global membership of around 7500 experts. SSC advises IUCN and its members on the wide range of technical and scientific aspects of species conservation, and is dedicated to securing a future for biodiversity. SSC has significant input into the international agreements dealing with biodiversity conservation.

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