The New Zealand government has banned tourists from swimming with bottlenose dolphins in an attempt to save the struggling species.

According to the department of conservation [DoC] research has shown that humans were “loving the dolphins too much” and human interaction was “having a signifiant impact on the populations resting and feeding behaviour”.

The ban on swimming with bottlenose dolphins applies to tour operators in the North Island’s Bay of Islands region, which is popular with tourists for its warm climate and golden beaches. Other dolphin tours that interact with different species of dolphin in other parts of the country are still permitted.

Bottlenose dolphins prefer to swim in coastal regions, making them vulnerable to human activity, and their numbers in the Bay of Islands have declined by 66% since 1990, according to DoC.

A core group of only 19 bottlenose dolphins visit the region regularly now, and the latest reports show a 75% mortality rate among their calves – the highest seen both in New Zealand, internationally and in captivity.

Alongside banning tourist swims with bottlenose dolphins, DoC have stipulated that tour operators may interact with the dolphins only for periods of 20 minutes (reduced from 30 minutes) at a time, and all tour operators will be restricted to visiting either morning or afternoon, in order to provide a block of time where the dolphins are left alone.

The possibility of creating a marine mammal sanctuary in the Bay of Islands is also being investigated by DoC, research partners and local Māori tribes.

Tour operators in the Bay of Plenty have raised concerns about the impact the new ban will have on tourism numbers, and said less tour operators on the water will mean fewer eyes watching out for how private boats interact with the vulnerable population.

Tourists can still swim with common or dusky dolphins in tours operated in the South Island. </s> Tourists are to be banned from swimming with charismatic dolphins in one of New Zealand’s most famous holiday destinations in a bid to protect the struggling species from too much attention.

Research shows people are "loving the dolphins too much" in the Bay of Islands, north of Auckland.

Boat trips offering passengers a chance to frolic with fast-moving, playful pods have been axed because of sharply falling numbers.

The population of bottlenose dolphins in a region known for its golden beaches and warm climate has crashed from 270 in 1999 to a current estimate of 31, a fall of almost 90 per cent.

A study by New Zealand’s Department of Conservation (DoC) has shown that human interaction was “having a significant impact on the population’s resting and feeding behaviour”.

A core group of only 19 bottlenose dolphins regularly visit the Bay of Islands, and the latest reports show a 75 percent mortality rate among their calves – the highest seen both in New Zealand and internationally, in the wild and in captivity.

Swimming with some of nature’s most intelligent creatures has been a thrill for many visitors to New Zealand’s subtropical North Island. Bottlenose dolphins travel in social groups and communicate by a complex system of squeaks and whistles. </s> Tourists have been banned from swimming with bottlenose dolphins in New Zealand in a bid to protect them from “being loved into extinction”.

The population of bottlenose dolphins in the Bay of Islands, on the country’s east coast, has fallen in recent years and the species is classified as endangered in New Zealand.

According to the country’s Department of Conservation (DOC), people are “simply loving them too much” as heavy boat traffic is causing dolphins to spend less time carrying out important biological behaviours such as “feeding, nursing their young and sleeping”, as they opt to spend time socialising with humans instead.

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A report published by Massey University in 2016, commissioned by the DOC, found a link between the high level of interaction between boats and dolphins and the decline in numbers.

Researchers discovered the dolphins spent 86 per cent of daylight hours near to at least one boat.

Shape Created with Sketch. World's most endangered animals Show all 17 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. World's most endangered animals 1/17 Amur Leopard Endemic to the far east of Russia, the Amur Leopard has a population of around 84 and is critically endangered. Here follows every species that the WWF lists as critically endangered. Getty 2/17 Yangtze Finless Porpoise Endemic to China's Yangtze River, the Yangtze finless porpoise has an estimated population of 1000-1800 Kenichi Nobusue 3/17 South China Tiger When discovered in the 1950s, the South China tiger population was estimated to be 4000, by 1996 it was estimated to be only 30-80. Scientists consider the tiger to be "functionally extinct" as one has not been sighted for over 25 years 4/17 Sumatran Orangutan The Sumatran orangutan was once found across the island of Sumatra and even further south on Java. Today it is found only in the island's north and its population stands at 14,613 Getty 5/17 Western Lowland Gorilla Though it is the most populous of all gorilla subspecies, the western lowland gorilla is still critically endangered and its population has declined by 60% in the last quarter century Getty 6/17 Sumatran Rhinoceros The Sumatran rhinoceros is the smallest of the surviving rhinoceros species. Only 80 are known to be living today. The last male Sumatran rhino in Malaysia died on 28 May 2019 Willem V Strien 7/17 Sumatran Tiger There are fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers left today. They are severely threatened by deforestation and poaching Getty 8/17 Eastern Lowland Gorilla Half of the rainforest of the Democratic Republic of Congo in which these gorillas live has been destroyed the past 50 years. There were 17,000 Eastern Lowland gorillas in the 1990s but scientists estimate their population has declined by over 50% since then Getty 9/17 Vaquita The world's rarest marine animal has a population of only 30. They were discovered in 1958 and are endemic to Mexico's Gulf of California Paula Olson / NOAA 10/17 Javan Rhino The most threatened of all rhino species, there are only an estimated 58-68 Javan rhino left Reuters 11/17 Saola The saola was first sighted in 1992, being the first large mammal to be discovered in over 50 years. Scientists have only sighted saola in the wild four times and it is considered critically endangered 12/17 Sumatran Elephant The Sumatran elephant population now stands at only 2400-2800 Getty 13/17 Malayan Tiger The Malayan Tiger population now stands at only 250-300 Getty 14/17 Hawksbill Turtle The population of the Hawksbill Turtle has declined by more than 80% in the last century. They are threatened by black market poachers who kill them for their shell Getty 15/17 Black Rhino The population of the black rhino dropped by 98% in the years 1960-1995 due to poaching, it stands today at around 5000 Getty 16/17 Cross River Gorilla The population of the Cross River gorilla has been damaged by deforestation and poaching, it now stands at 200-300 Julie Langford 17/17 Bornean Orangutan The population of the Bornean orangutan has been reduced by over 50% in the past 60 years, now standing at around 104,700. Their habitat has been reduced by at least 50% in the 21st century Getty 1/17 Amur Leopard Endemic to the far east of Russia, the Amur Leopard has a population of around 84 and is critically endangered. Here follows every species that the WWF lists as critically endangered. Getty 2/17 Yangtze Finless Porpoise Endemic to China's Yangtze River, the Yangtze finless porpoise has an estimated population of 1000-1800 Kenichi Nobusue 3/17 South China Tiger When discovered in the 1950s, the South China tiger population was estimated to be 4000, by 1996 it was estimated to be only 30-80. Scientists consider the tiger to be "functionally extinct" as one has not been sighted for over 25 years 4/17 Sumatran Orangutan The Sumatran orangutan was once found across the island of Sumatra and even further south on Java. Today it is found only in the island's north and its population stands at 14,613 Getty 5/17 Western Lowland Gorilla Though it is the most populous of all gorilla subspecies, the western lowland gorilla is still critically endangered and its population has declined by 60% in the last quarter century Getty 6/17 Sumatran Rhinoceros The Sumatran rhinoceros is the smallest of the surviving rhinoceros species. Only 80 are known to be living today. The last male Sumatran rhino in Malaysia died on 28 May 2019 Willem V Strien 7/17 Sumatran Tiger There are fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers left today. They are severely threatened by deforestation and poaching Getty 8/17 Eastern Lowland Gorilla Half of the rainforest of the Democratic Republic of Congo in which these gorillas live has been destroyed the past 50 years. There were 17,000 Eastern Lowland gorillas in the 1990s but scientists estimate their population has declined by over 50% since then Getty 9/17 Vaquita The world's rarest marine animal has a population of only 30. They were discovered in 1958 and are endemic to Mexico's Gulf of California Paula Olson / NOAA 10/17 Javan Rhino The most threatened of all rhino species, there are only an estimated 58-68 Javan rhino left Reuters 11/17 Saola The saola was first sighted in 1992, being the first large mammal to be discovered in over 50 years. Scientists have only sighted saola in the wild four times and it is considered critically endangered 12/17 Sumatran Elephant The Sumatran elephant population now stands at only 2400-2800 Getty 13/17 Malayan Tiger The Malayan Tiger population now stands at only 250-300 Getty 14/17 Hawksbill Turtle The population of the Hawksbill Turtle has declined by more than 80% in the last century. They are threatened by black market poachers who kill them for their shell Getty 15/17 Black Rhino The population of the black rhino dropped by 98% in the years 1960-1995 due to poaching, it stands today at around 5000 Getty 16/17 Cross River Gorilla The population of the Cross River gorilla has been damaged by deforestation and poaching, it now stands at 200-300 Julie Langford 17/17 Bornean Orangutan The population of the Bornean orangutan has been reduced by over 50% in the past 60 years, now standing at around 104,700. Their habitat has been reduced by at least 50% in the 21st century Getty

They warned bottlenose dolphins could disappear from the Bay of Islands completely if the population continues to plummet.

In an attempt to tackle the decline, the government has banned boat tours which allow customers to swim with the marine mammals in the Bay of Islands.

New, stricter rules also limit the amount of time the tours can interact with the animals to 20 minutes. Tours can only visit in the morning and afternoon, to give the dolphins more time to themselves.

The Massey University study, carried out between December 2012 and April 2015, identified a population of 96 bottlenose dolphins in the Bay of Islands – a 66 per cent decline compared to previous research published in 2002.

There are now estimated to be just 31 of the dolphins in the area.

Researchers also found that 75 per cent of baby bottlenose dolphins were thought to have died before reaching independence – an increase of 52 per cent compared to a study in 2009.

At the time of the 2016 report, Sue Reed-Thomas, the DOC’s northern North Island director of operations, said: “It’s very difficult to manage a group of wild animals swimming freely.

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“The dolphins often swim towards boats themselves and you simply can’t put a barrier around them or monitor every interaction they have.

“Everyone who puts a boat on the water in the Bay of Islands needs to be aware of the problem so they play their part in protecting the local dolphin population.” </s> When plant and animal species go extinct, it's usually a clear sign that humans have messed up. We've over-hunted, destroyed habitats, polluted waterways, and altered the climate by burning fossil fuels, wiping species off the planet for good.

We tend to study extinctions to understand just how much we have disrupted the planet's ecosystems. But in a new scientific study published on Monday, scientists said we're not paying nearly enough attention to the "prelude" to global extinction — as in, the dwindling population sizes and ranges of existing species that can be a warning sign of a bigger extinction event to come.

SEE ALSO: 800 wildlife species at risk from Trump's 'beautiful' border wall

As with extinctions, these declines have serious consequences for the natural systems we all depend on for clean air and water, food, and shelter.

"This is the case of a biological annihilation occurring globally, even if the species these populations belong to are still present somewhere on Earth," Rodolfo Dirzo, the study's co-author and a biology professor at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, said in a press release.

For their analysis, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dirzo and his colleagues mapped the ranges of 27,600 species of birds, amphibians, mammals, and reptiles worldwide. The sample represents nearly half of all known land-based vertebrate species.

Scientists estimated that, of these species, nearly one-third of the vertebrates are declining in population size and range. Shrinking ranges mean animals — especially migratory species — have less room to hunt, breed, and hunker down.

As ranges decline, population numbers also dwindle, pushing a species closer to the edge of extinction.

Tropical regions saw the greatest number of decreasing species, particularly in south and southeast Asia. In Thailand and Myanmar, for instance, illegal hunting and logging of rosewood trees has drastically reduced the population of Indochinese tigers. Indonesia's Sumatran orangutan has lost roughly 60 percent of its habitat as farmers burn and drain swamp forests to produce palm oil.

Temperate regions had similar or higher proportions of decreasing species compared to tropical regions, according to the study.

Dirzo and his co-authors also looked at 177 well-analyzed mammal species and examined population losses between 1990 and 2015. Within this group, all have lost 30 percent or more of their geographic ranges. Some had been hit especially hard: more than 40 percent of the species have lost over 80 percent of their ranges. "It is a prelude to the disappearance of many more species and the decline of natural systems that make civilization possible," Gerardo Ceballos, the study's lead author and an ecology professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said in the press release. Monday's research adds to the broader scientific debate about the " " — which is likely happening to the planet right now, and might be the biggest mass extinction since the dinosaurs disappeared 66 million years ago. During Earth's 4.5-billion-year history, five major extinction events have wiped out nearly all the species on the planet, the geological record shows. Asteroid strikes, volcanic eruptions, and natural climate shifts were likely to blame for those past events. However, this sixth mass die-off is largely due to human activities, such as population growth, habitat destruction, pollution, and climate change. In their paper, Dirzo, Ceballos, and Stanford professor Paul Ehrlich suggested that billions of animal populations that once roamed the Earth are gone. A separate 2016 study by World Wildlife Fund said global populations of vertebrates have declined by 58 percent between 1970 and 2012. The authors of Monday's paper said their research shows "Earth's sixth mass extinction has proceeded further than most assume." They added that the steep population declines amount to a "massive erosion of the greatest biological diversity" in Earth's history. </s> Two vertebrate species go extinct every year on average, but few people notice, perhaps because the rate seems relatively slow - not a clear and present threat to the natural systems we depend on. This view overlooks trends of extreme decline in animal populations, which tell a more dire story with cascading consequences, according to a new study that provides the first global evaluation of these population trends.

"This is the case of a biological annihilation occurring globally, even if the species these populations belong to are still present somewhere on Earth," said co-author Rodolfo Dirzo, a professor of biology.

A 2015 study co-authored by Paul Ehrlich, professor emeritus of biology, and colleagues showed that Earth has entered an era of mass extinction unparalleled since the dinosaurs died out 66 million years ago. The specter of extinction hangs over about 41 percent of all amphibian species and 26 percent of all mammals, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which maintains a list of threatened and extinct species. This global disaster scene has the fingerprints of habitat loss, overexploitation, invasive organisms, pollution, toxification and climate change.

The new analysis, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, looks beyond species extinctions to provide a clear picture of dwindling populations and ranges. The researchers mapped the ranges of 27,600 species of birds, amphibians, mammals and reptiles - a sample representing nearly half of known terrestrial vertebrate species - and analyzed population losses in a sample of 177 well-studied mammal species between 1990 and 2015.

Using range reduction as a proxy for population loss, the study finds more than 30 percent of vertebrate species are declining in population size and range. Of the 177 mammals for which the researchers had detailed data, all have lost 30 percent or more of their geographic ranges and more than 40 percent have lost more than 80 percent of their ranges. Tropical regions have had the greatest number of decreasing species while temperate regions have seen similar or higher proportions of decreasing species. Particularly hard hit have been the mammals of south and southeast Asia, where all the large-bodied species of mammals analyzed have lost more than 80 percent of their geographic ranges.

The study's maps suggest that as much as 50 percent of the number of animal individuals that once shared Earth have disappeared, as have billions of animal populations. This amounts to "a massive erosion of the greatest biological diversity in the history of Earth," the authors write.

"The massive loss of populations and species reflects our lack of empathy to all the wild species that have been our companions since our origins," said the new study's lead author, Gerardo Ceballos of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. "It is a prelude to the disappearance of many more species and the decline of natural systems that make civilization possible."

Why does the loss of populations and biological diversity matter? Aside from being what the scientists call a prelude to species extinction, the losses rob us of crucial ecosystem services such as honeybees' crop pollination, pest control and wetlands' water purification. We also lose intricate ecological networks involving animals, plants and microorganisms - leading to less resilient ecosystems and pools of genetic information that may prove vital to species' survival in a rapidly changing global environment.

"Sadly, our descendants will also have to do without the aesthetic pleasures and sources of imagination provided by our only known living counterparts in the universe," said Ehrlich.

In the meantime, the overall scope of population losses makes clear the world cannot wait to address biodiversity damage, according to the authors. They call for curbs on the basic drivers of extinction - human overpopulation and overconsumption - and challenge society to move away from "the fiction that perpetual growth can occur on a finite planet."

Dirzo is also the Bing Professor in Environmental Science. Dirzo and Ehrlich are senior fellows at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.

More information: Gerardo Ceballos el al., "Biological annihilation via the ongoing sixth mass extinction signaled by vertebrate population losses and declines," PNAS (2017). www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1704949114 </s> PARIS: The sixth mass extinction of life on Earth is unfolding more quickly than feared, and amounts to a "biological annihilation" of the planet's wildlife, scientists have warned.

More than 30 per cent of animals with a backbone - fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals - are declining in both range and population, according to the first global analysis of these trends.

"This is the case of a biological annihilation occurring globally," said Stanford professor Rodolfo Dirzo, co-author of a study published in the peer-reviewed journal PNAS.

Mammals have lost at least a third of their original habitat, the researchers found.

Forty per cent of those mammals - among them rhinos, orangutans, gorillas and many big cats - are surviving on 20 per cent or less of the land they once roamed.

The loss of biodiversity has recently accelerated, the study found.

"Several species of mammals that were relatively safe one or two decades ago are now endangered," including cheetahs, lions and giraffes, it said.

Globally, the mass die-off - the sixth in the last half-billion years - is the worst since three-quarters of life on Earth, including the non-avian dinosaurs, were wiped out 66 million years ago by a giant meteor impact.

On average, two vertebrate species disappear every year.

The study goes beyond extinction to map the dwindling ranges and populations of 27,600 species of animals, including 177 mammal types, between 1990 and 2015.

Tropical regions have seen the highest number of declining species. While fewer species are disappearing in temperate zones, the percentage is just as high or higher.

As much as half of the number of animals that once shared our planet are no longer here, a loss the authors described as "a massive erosion of the greatest biological diversity in the history of Earth."

There is no mystery as to why: our own ever-expanding species - which has more than doubled in number since 1960 to 7.4 billion - is eating, crowding and poisoning its planetary cohabitants out of existence.

The main drivers of wildlife decline are habitat loss, overconsumption, pollution, invasive species and disease.

Climate change is poised to become a major threat in the coming decades, with some animals - most famously polar bears - already in decline due to rising temperatures and changing weather patterns. </s> France on Saturday banned the breeding in captivity of dolphins and killer whales under tighter rules that campaigners hope will eventually herald the end of shows involving the animals.

Environment Minister Segolene Royal had on Wednesday signed a version of the legislation introducing "tight controls on the reproduction of dolphins", her ministry said in a statement.

But she has since decided the rules need to be "more radical", her ministry told AFP on Saturday, particularly after learning that "some animals were drugged" in aquariums.

The new rules ban the captivity of all whales, dolphins and porpoises, except for orcas and bottlenose dolphins already held in authorised aquariums. </s> The disappearance of entire species is not the only factor that contributes to mass extinction, it is also the reduction of populations within species, a new study argues, and calls the current rate of loss of terrestrial vertebrate populations a prelude to the sixth mass extinction.

The study by Gerardo Ceballos, from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Mexico City, and Paul R. Ehrlich and Rodolfo Dirzo, from Stanford University, looked at about half of all known terrestrial vertebrate species — 27,600 birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. From within those, the researchers looked at detailed data of 177 mammals that have been well-studied between 1990 and 2015.

Read: 60% Of Primates, Closest Human Relatives, Could Be Extinct In 25 Years

“Using range reduction as a proxy for population loss, the study finds 32 percent of vertebrate species are declining in population size and range. Of the 177 mammals for which the researchers had detailed data, all have lost 30 percent or more of their geographic ranges and more than 40 percent have lost more than 80 percent of their ranges,” a statement on the Stanford site said.

“This is the case of a biological annihilation occurring globally, even if the species these populations belong to are still present somewhere on Earth,” Dirzo said in the statement.

Ehrlich had been part of another study in 2015 that “showed that Earth has entered an era of mass extinction unparalleled since the dinosaurs died out 66 million years ago.” Further, according to data maintained by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, about 41 percent of all amphibian species and 26 percent of all mammals were threatened by extinction, as of March 2016.

The new study, titled “Biological annihilation via the ongoing sixth mass extinction signaled by vertebrate population losses and declines,” seems to substantiate those fears. Much of the blame is ascribed to anthropogenic causes which lead to large scale depletion of habitat for a number of the affected species. The areas worst affected are south and southeast Asia, where all the large mammals have lost over 80 percent of their geographical ranges.

“Anthropogenic population extinctions amount to a massive erosion of the greatest biological diversity in the history of Earth and that population losses and declines are especially important, because it is populations of organisms that primarily supply the ecosystem services so critical to humanity at local and regional levels,” the study says.

Read: First Mass Extinction 450 Million Years Ago Likely Caused By Volcano Eruption

The study’s lead author Ceballos said in the statement: “The massive loss of populations and species reflects our lack of empathy to all the wild species that have been our companions since our origins. It is a prelude to the disappearance of many more species and the decline of natural systems that make civilization possible.”

Giving examples of the importance of animals in any healthy ecosystem and even to humans, such as the pollination of crops by honeybees, Ehrlich said in the statement: “Sadly, our descendants will also have to do without the aesthetic pleasures and sources of imagination provided by our only known living counterparts in the universe.”

The authors cite human overpopulation and overconsumption in their study as the primary reasons driving the loss of individual members of various species, as well as the loss of species (two vertebrate species go extinct every year, on average), and call to undo “the fiction that perpetual growth can occur on a finite planet.” “We emphasize that the sixth mass extinction is already here and the window for effective action is very short, probably two or three decades at most. All signs point to ever more powerful assaults on biodiversity in the next two decades, painting a dismal picture of the future of life, including human life,” the authors conclude. The study appears in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
• 5 Animals On The Brink Of Extinction Today </s> PARIS, France – France on Saturday, May 6, banned the breeding in captivity of dolphins and killer whales under tighter rules that campaigners hope will eventually herald the end of shows involving the animals.

Environment Minister Segolene Royal had on Wednesday, May 3, signed a version of the legislation introducing "tight controls on the reproduction of dolphins," her ministry said in a statement.

But she has since decided the rules need to be "more radical," her ministry told AFP on Saturday, particularly after learning that "some animals were drugged" in aquariums.

The new rules ban the captivity of all whales, dolphins, and porpoises, except for orcas and bottlenose dolphins already held in authorized aquariums.

"In plain terms, this means the end of breeding, exchange, and import programs," 5 conservation groups including One Voice and Sea Shepherd said in a joint statement.

"Without possible replenishment, this quite simply means the scheduled end of marine circuses on our territory."

But the move sparked anger from Jon Kershaw, head of the Marineland Antibes dolphin show park in southern France, who told the Var-Matin newspaper it was a "bombshell" for establishments like his.

The new rules notably also require "an increase of at least 150% of pools to allow the animals to live in less proximity from visitors and other animals," the ministry said, as well as banning chlorine in treating the water.

Direct contact between the animals and the public is also now forbidden.

Water parks and aquariums have 6 months to conform to the new rules, and a 3-year deadline for expanding their pools.

Parks such as Marineland Antibes – the biggest attraction of its kind in Europe – have faced growing criticism in recent years over their animals' living conditions. – Rappler.com
New Zealand bans tourists from swimming with bottlenose dolphins, saying dwindling numbers are linked to excessive interaction with tourists, as the animals choose socialising with people over necessary biological functions. Authorities say the species risks "being loved into extinction".