A team led by the Zoological Society of London found out that the rare and elusive pygmy hippos have not been wiped out yet in the wild, contrary to the popular belief.

The mammal has been dwindling in number ever since Liberia's two civil wars and the continued deforestation. The full article awaits after the jump!

"So long and thanks for all the fish," said a dolphin in a memorable scene in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. This was the final farewell of dolphins as they left the planet, because man failed to listen to their warning of impending doom.

This may not be the appropriate epitaph for the Yangtze River Dolphin, but it states clearly how mankind fails to listen as yet another great species is wiped off the face of the Earth.

After scouring the Yangtze river for six weeks in search of the dolphin, called the Baiji, marine biologists found not even a single one. The expedition's goal was to find and place the dolphins within a sanctuary and breeding program but was unfortunately too late.

A year after failing to find a single specimen, the Baiji was officially declared extinct, and its demise was laid on the hands of the great number of container ships and fisherman in the river, whose nets and hooks were the cause of more than half of the dead Baiji in the river.  Pollution and the creation of the dam blocked off most of their food supply. All of these factors could have been avoided with the proper precautions but instead man is again responsible for the extinction of another species.

The Yangtze river dolphin's extinction marks the first of the cetacean family (the same family of whales and dolphins) to be wiped off because of human activity. The dolphin was special in its own way and had its own family branch. Sam Turvey of the Zoological Society of London, who led the expedition to find the dolphin, said:

The loss of such a unique and charismatic species is a shocking tragedy. This extinction represents the disappearance of a complete branch of the evolutionary tree of life and emphasises we have yet to take full responsibility in our role as guardians of the planet. [...] There is a lot of interest now in the baiji - but it has come too late. Why does no one pay attention to a species until there are none left? We really have to use the baiji as a wake-up call to act immediately to prevent it happening again.

The Baiji's death marks the fourth mammal family to become extinct because of humans. There would come a time when there are too many extinctions to mourn and too little left to protect, and all of it weighs on the shoulders of mankind. If not for other species, perhaps man should reconsider its priorities before it starts threatening itself.

New research into cheetah mating habits reveal that when it comes to ensuring a good genetic mix for their offspring (with the dangers of being inbred and all), female cheetahs do the best they can. Research shows that half of Serengeti cheetah litters are composed of cubs with different fathers.

However, as beneficial as this genetic mix may be for the offspring, it may not be as beneficial for the mothers, as they put themselves at great risk. Dada Gottelli, the Zoological Society of London's lead scientist for the research explains:

Mating with more than one male poses a serious threat to females, increasing the risk of exposure to parasites and diseases...

Females also have to travel over large distances to find new males, making them more vulnerable to predation, so infidelity is a heavy burden.

As dangerous as this is for the mother cheetahs, this revealed genetic diversity adds hope to the welfare of future generations of cheetah.

Reuters informs that it is currently estimated that there are below 10,000 individuals in the species' breeding population. The danger of inbreeding is always there as the cheetah is a threatened species and the numbers of these great cats are in decline in the areas they inhabit. Will infidelity ultimately save their species? Cat lovers certainly hope.