40 animals were granted special protections Including giant river otter

The 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) took place in Brazil this March, where 40 animals were granted special protections under one of the UN’s premier wildlife conservation treaties. Protections were provided for animals of the seas, skies, and lands, from as small as a godwit bird to as large as the hammerhead shark.

Among the animals that were listed in the treaty’s appendices include two species of hammerheads, the thresher shark, two species of migratory Amazonian fish, the jaguar, striped hyena, giant river otter, snowy owl, manta rays, and Hudsonian godwit.

The CMS lists animals under Appendix I for migratory species threatened with extinction that require protections wherever they roam. Appendix II are those species that quality for protections under Appendix I, but which require specialized international collaboration to help facilitate or guarantee their movement across borders.