Kaiser’s Spotted Newt, also called Luristan’s Newt, is Today’s Endangered All-Star, highlighting the terrible toll taken on wildlife by the international pet trade. The species is limited to four streams in one mountain range, and its tiny fragmented populations in the Zagros Mountains of Iran have been whittled away by eighty percent within the past decade, thanks to demand from international collectors.
iWild has been focussing on salt water, freshwater, and wetland species all week, inspired by World Water Day. Newts, salamanders, and other amphibians are exquisitely sensitive to pollution and temperature changes in their environment: To help them, don’t use fertilizers or pesticides, and never buy wild animals from pet stores or online.
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