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How To Eat A Kangaroo
The question of how to eat an environmentally-conscious meal has a number of answers. For example, in Australia, researchers have suggested that kangaroo meat would be an ethical replacement for beef. The question of how to eat an environmentally-conscious meal has a number of answers. For example, in Australia, researchers have sugg... more
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Gorillas Caught in an Increase of Snares
Another Wire Snare (Part 1) | GorillaDoctors.wildlifedirect.org / Dr Lucy
"When I first read Benard’s e-mail, I didn’t want to believe it. A blackback in Nkuringo Group had a wire snare around his leg. The gorilla had continued to eat, but he’d begun to fall behind the group. One of us needed to cross the border to Uganda before closing time, stay in Kisoro for the evening, and leave for the forest early the next morning to deal with the snare. The drive would take two hours, followed by another hour’s trekking. I wondered why Bernard hadn’t called until I remembered the poor cellphone reception around the parks in Uganda. He must have gotten the message from the park warden and decided the best way to relay it quickly was via the nearest Internet Café. I wrote back asking him to call me as soon as possible to confirm the bad news. This case sounded a lot like the last three snares in Uganda: no chance that it would resolve on its own.
From the bit of information I had, I suspected that this was not a new snare. It takes a few days for lameness to occur, and that could explain why the gorilla was lagging behind his family. Much depends on how tight the snare is and on whether it is indeed made of wire. I think it’s been years since we had a case of a rope snare in Uganda. What was going on? This would be the fourth wire snare in Uganda in six months, the sixth in the past 13 months
Various questions collided in my mind. The most obvious and important one was: Where are the snares coming from? As I’ve explained before, the snares are set to catch game for food, especially small antelope, or duiker. Are more being set, or are the gorillas moving through snare-laden areas more often? If there are more snares in the parks in Rwanda and Uganda—we have no idea what’s going on in DR Congo—is it because there are more hungry people these days? Whatever the answer, many illegal hunters are still getting into the park. Is this because of the leaky and insecure border with Congo? Maybe the poaching patrols have simply not been doing their jobs, or maybe they lack the equipment to do them effectively.
I’d raised these questions during a recent community conservation meeting held by the chief park warden of the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. I asked them again after little Icyerecyezo’s snare injury. A month earlier, I’d also spoken with the chief park warden in Uganda’s Bwindi and Mgahinga parks and directed Benard to check with the patrols there. Each time the reply has been the same: the wardens have more rangers patrolling more of the parks than ever, and believe they’ve become more proficient at finding snares. That may be so, but given how many snared gorillas we’ve seen recently, there may also be an increased number of snares in the park." Another Wire Snare (Part 1) | GorillaDoctors.wildlifedirect.org / Dr Lucy ... more -
Who sanctioned the rape of a sanctuary?
On-the-spot report from Kumudini Hettiarachchi in Uda Walawe, Pix by M.A.Pushpa Kumara
Absolute stillness, the stillness of the jungle, accentuated only by the call of birds from the lotus-studded wewa. Suddenly a humming and whining begin, shattering the stillness. A bulldozer is at work………up and down, leaving a large swathe of land cleared of everything.
What is left is only a trail of destruction – giant trees such as weera and myla on their sides, the scrub jungle no more and the tall grasses cleared. Some of the trees and shrubs have been set ablaze, with patches of areas still smouldering.
This is the fate, since Monday, of part of the Dahaiyagala sanctuary and animal corridor, covering about 2,685 ha, on the northern border of the Uda Walawe National Park, in clear violation of the large green boards of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWLC). See pic of board.
For, this is where the elephants including four majestic tuskers (one being ‘Walawe Raja’) the sloth bear, the leopard and the sambhur roam. ‘Walawe Raja’, the tallest of the tuskers in the area graces the posters of the DWLC and has also been portrayed in a BBC documentary titled, ‘The Last Tusker’.
“People have been brazenly clearing the sanctuary in violation of the law,” lamented a wildlife official, pointing out that the culprits want to put up a barrier, blocking the animal corridor on the boundary of the Uda Walawe National Park.
The Dahaiyagala corridor links the National Park with Bogahapattiya described by conservationists as the “last remaining savannah (talawa) and intermediate zone forest to remain intact in the southern part of Sri Lanka”.
For, this is where the elephants including four majestic tuskers (one being ‘Walawe Raja’) the sloth bear, the leopard and the sambhur roam. ‘Walawe Raja’, the tallest of the tuskers in the area graces the posters of the DWLC and has also been portrayed in a BBC documentary titled, ‘The Last Tusker’. “People have been brazenly clearing the sanctuary in violation of the law,” lamented a wildlife official, pointing out that the culprits want to put up a barrier, blocking the animal corridor on the boundary of the Uda Walawe National Park.
The Dahaiyagala corridor links the National Park with Bogahapattiya described by conservationists as the “last remaining savannah (talawa) and intermediate zone forest to remain intact in the southern part of Sri Lanka”.
The blocking of the Dahaiyagala opening into the National Park (see map) will prevent the elephants, the sloth bear, the leopard and the sambhur whose home range is Bogahapattiya, from accessing the National Park. Dahaiyagala also has many wewas including Pokunutenne which has water throughout the year, which the animals use. The smaller ones which are seasonal dry up during the drought
The other tanks which do not run dry are Uda Walawe and Mau-ara which are within the National Park itself.
The stories doing the rounds in Uda Walawe are that a few politicians in the area, along with some officials, have unlawfully taken the lead in efforts to shut the animal access point through Dahaiyagala into the National Park.
for the rest of this story, please follow link: http://www.sundaytimes.lk/080928/Plus/sundaytimesplus_0... On-the-spot report from Kumudini Hettiarachchi in Uda Walawe, Pix by M.A.Pushpa Kumara ... more -
Bushmeat trade "most significant" threat to Africa's wildlife says ...
Maverick conservationist, Richard Leakey, writes that "commercial bushmeat hunting has become the most significant immediate threat to the future of wildlife in Africa and around the world" in an article on Wildlife Direct. Founded by Leakey, Wildlife Direct is a nonprofit allowing researchers and wildlife organizations in Africa and Asia to connect directly with supporters through blogs.
A paper recently released by the Centre of International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biodiversity (CDB) argued that legalizing bushmeat trade is the only way to ensure species survival and provide protein needs to impoverished people. Leakey disagrees: "legalizing this multi-billion trade will not help the wildlife. It will instead exterminate what remains, species that we are working so hard to preserve." Leakey has spent two decades working to conserve wildlife in his native Kenya.
"CIFOR argues that since up to 80 percent of the rural households in central and western Africa already depend on bushmeat for their daily protein requirements, a blanket ban on the trade would endanger both humans and wildlife " Leakey writes. "They call for regulated but legal uptake of wildlife protein. Maybe, but just how can this be done? There are no mechanisms to regulate this even with the best legislation."
Leakey says that CIFOR and CDB's idea of legalizing the bushmeat trade "shows remarkable naïveté and totally fails to understand the realities on the ground. A hungry population is never going to practice conservation of food, especially where it can be had free from the forest."
Comparing legalizing the bushmeat trade to legalizing drugs, Leakey writes that there are other ways in which to provide poor communities with protein. "Why don't people encourage the rearing of chickens, fish or cane rats to alleviate their protein deficiency? This will bring development and a better and healthier existence."
According to Leakey a number of species that have experienced local extinctions or drastic declines due to the bushmeat trade in Africa, including elephants, chimpanzees, gorillas, pangolins, bush pigs, duikers, and monitor lizards. Numerous primate species are especially susceptible. The bushmeat trade is also a threat to many species in Asia.
Richard Leakey, son of famed anthropologist Louis Leakey, is known for his bold conservation views and his long career in politics, anthropology, and conservation in Kenya. Maverick conservationist, Richard Leakey, writes that "commercial bushmeat hunting has become the most significant immediate thre... more -
"Bushmeat" fuels wildlife debate
Sorry image so big and gross. That is all "bushmeat". I just ask why in a restraunt?
YAOUNDE (Reuters) - An acrid stench of burning hair hangs in the air as a whole monkey roasts over an open fire, a victim of the trade in tropical "bushmeat" that conservationists agree must be curbed, though they disagree how to do it.
Around 25 diners sit on bamboo chairs at this open air restaurant on the outskirts of Cameroon's capital Yaounde, waiting for a plate of monkey, pangolin or bush pig washed down with red wine, beer or aromatic freshly tapped palm wine.
Environmentalists say the hunting and trade of endangered animals from the world's tropical forests must be reduced if rare primates and other species are to be saved from extinction.
Some campaigners want a total ban on bushmeat or at least on its commercial trade. This would allow local people to hunt only fast-breeding, non-endangered species to feed their families.
But a report published on Tuesday said such blanket bans would fail and, if enforced, deprive poor families living in forest regions of much-needed nutrition and cash earnings.
The report by the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity said legalizing parts of the bushmeat trade could dispel the stigma attached to it, aid regulation and help efforts to save endangered species.
"Bushmeat, in particular, offers a number of benefits to forest-dwelling populations. It is an easily traded resource as it is transportable, has a high value/weight ratio and is easily preserved at low cost," the report said.
A survey a few years ago estimated 70-90 tons of bushmeat a month were being sold in Yaounde's four main markets. Across West and central Africa, the trade is worth as much as $200 million, and $175 million in Latin America's Amazon basin. Continued... Sorry image so big and gross. That is all "bushmeat". I just ask why in a restraunt? ... more -
Eaten into Extinction?
Elephants, gorillas and other large forest mammals may become extinct in central Africa within 50 years if hunting meat to feed starving populations continues at the current pace. Each year, rural peoples consume some 2.2 billion pounds (one million metric tons) of so-called bushmeat from wildlife, the equivalent of four million cattle; the flesh accounts for 80 percent of the protein and fat in their diet.
"If current levels of hunting persist in central Africa, the most vulnerable species will become extinct in the near future," cautions Nathalie Van Vliet, a researcher at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) based in Indonesia. The problem is, she adds, that "if the people that currently rely on bushmeat as a source of protein in central Africa had to rely on livestock, we would see the same catastrophe that is destroying the Amazon Basin: deforestation for pasture land and livestock raising."
In fact, there is no simple solution to this problem. CIFOR, in a report released today, argues that a hunting ban would not work, as evidenced by the failure of antipoaching programs, among other things. But it also says that forest species such as elephants, buffalo and apes that are slow to reproduce need to be protected or they will disappear entirely. Already, roughly 40 percent of jungle species are killed in greater numbers than can be regained through reproduction, according to the report "The Bushmeat Crisis."
The report calls for local agreements that allow hunting of species that can rebound quickly (such as various species of duikers, a type of forest antelope) while nixing kills of species with long gestation periods (such as elephants who give birth after 22 months). This is "hunting that can satisfy the demand from the poorest in future generations as well as ensure the stability in the long-term of hunted animal populations," Van Vliet says. But she notes the "success" of such pacts will depend on local communities' willingness to abide by them.
The only examples of such sustainable hunting, however, are either among people who have almost no contact with other human beings, such as the indigenous Aché people in the forests of eastern Paraguay, or those who have already killed off local populations of slow-breeding animals as is evidenced in the bushmeat market in Takoradi, Ghana.
Further exacerbating the problem: illegal and even legal activities in central African forests, such as logging and mining, that carve out new access as well as attract new people who also crave meat. And laws against the wildlife trade have failed to prevent supplies of everything from rhinoceros horns to tiger bones from reaching the estimated $3.9-billion global market.
That suggests that even granting ownership of the common resource represented by a duikers herd might not solve the problem, as some experts suggest. But it also shows that blanket bans are not working either. "In the tropics, they have genuine needs," says entomologist Paul Ehrlich of Stanford University's Center for Conservation Biology, who was not involved with this study but has been assessing the problems presented by expanding human population since the 1960s. "There are desperately poor people surrounding reserves. If I was there, I would shoot the hippo and eat it, too." Elephants, gorillas and other large forest mammals may become extinct in central Africa within 50 years if hunting meat to feed starvi... more -
Endangered Mountain Gorillas Featured on Morris Animal Foundation
Endangered Mountain Gorillas Featured on Morris Animal Foundation Web Exclusive, MAF Responded to Dian Fossey's Request for Veterinary Care--
DENVER, Sept 15, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Morris Animal Foundation (MAF) has posted a Web exclusive, http://www.morrisanimalfoundation.org/gorilla/index.htm..., featuring an up close and personal visit with the magnificent, though highly endangered, mountain gorillas of Rwanda. In the exclusive video, MAF visits the site of the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project (MGVP), an innovative gorilla health initiative first established in 1985 when Dian Fossey asked MAF for help in response to a crisis situation for these gorillas. Their very survival was at stake. MAF accepted the daunting challenge and established veterinary care and health resources in the Rwanda jungles. Thousands of loyal MAF donors and friends also stepped up to answer the call for help. The MGVP is a testament to the kindness, generosity and commitment of people to saving a species.
MAF Chief Operating Officer John Taylor takes viewers to the MGVP headquarters and into the mountains where these gorillas live, explains how the project came about and allows the audience to enjoy these inspiring creatures at very close range. In fact, in one segment Taylor explains how one of the gorillas harmlessly reached out and grabbed one of the human members of the group.
In recent years the program was transitioned from MAF to MGVP, Inc., but MAF remains the primary funding source. Today, ecotourism plays a crucial role in the gorillas' survival and protection, inasmuch as they represent an important economic asset to the nation's economy. Information on how to visit the gorillas is provided as well as some good tips on making the trip.
About Morris Animal Foundation:
Morris Animal Foundation, established in 1948, is dedicated to funding animal health research that protects, treats and cures companion animals and wildlife. MAF has been at the forefront of funding breakthrough research studies benefiting animals in some 100 countries, spanning all seven continents. MAF has its headquarters in Denver. The Foundation has funded more than 1,500 humane animal health studies. Charity Navigator ranks MAF as a four-star charity, the highest rating.
For more information, call 800.243.2345, or visit http://www.MorrisAnimalFoundation.org.
SOURCE Morris Animal Foundation
http://www.morrisanimalfoundation.org Endangered Mountain Gorillas Featured on Morris Animal Foundation Web Exclusive, MAF Responded to Dian Fossey's Request for Veter... more -
Humans Suffer from 1,415 EID's, Over 60 Percent Zoonotic; Bushmeat
The average man living in forest-prone areas and who depends on meat from endangered apes and other wildlife for his proteins plays the role of a carrying agent for the hundreds of infectious diseases that humanity is suffering from.
Now experts are warning of the danger to humanity this lifestyle may be posing. Most of these diseases, identified in medical terms as zoonotic because of their ability to jump from animal to man, have been labeled as “emerging infectious diseases” or EIDs.
Over 60 percent of the 1,415 infectious diseases currently known to modern medicine are capable of infecting both humans and animals. Most of these diseases originated in animals and now infect people and include viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa and helminths, with 175 pathogenic species associated with diseases considered to be ‘emerging’.
Between 1972 and 1999, 35 new agents of disease were discovered and since then many more have re-emerged with renewed vengeance after long periods of inactivity, or are expanding into areas where they have not previously been reported, according to World Health Organization (WHO). These include tuberculosis, malaria, and cholera.
Public health professionals from across the globe met in Atlanta in March for the sixth International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases, to discuss these and other emerging pathogens and current work on surveillance, epidemiology, research, bioterrorism and more.
Wildlife Conservation Society reports that as humans progress ever further into the forest, the risk of disease transmission between humans and wildlife becomes greater. Many diseases can move back and forth between species, mutating into more virulent, resistant forms.
Myths aside, it has been claimed that the HIV/ AIDS virus may be such a case, as it is thought that it entered human populations through the consumption of non-human primates. The origin of HIV has been found in wild chimpanzees living in southern Cameroon.
Dr William Karesh, a WCS veterinary expert, believes the threat of potential pandemics such as Ebola, SARS, and avian influenza demands a more holistic approach to disease control, one that prevents diseases from crossing the divide between humans, their livestock, and wildlife.
But this may not be good news to a good number of Africans necessitated by poverty and high food prices to rely on bush meat, including gorilla and other great apes meat, and who may be courting, among others, various new encephalitis and hemorrhagic viruses, Lassa fever, and Ebola virus.
A recent WCS survey in a remote village on the border between Gabon and Congo revealed that about 18 tons of bush meat were sold and consumed in a particular period of time. As wildlife conservationists and medical experts bite their teeth, an average 17 species are killed per day, corresponding to a biomass of 65kg per day. The average man living in forest-prone areas and who depends on meat from endangered apes and other wildlife for his proteins plays th... more -
125,000 Gorillas Find Haven in Mud Swamp But Still Face Extinction : EcoWorldly
Conservationists were thrilled last month that thousands of African Western Lowland gorillas - 125,000 by head count estimates - may have found a safe haven in a mud swamp and probably escaped predators.
This could have doubled the number of the endangered primates thought to survive worldwide.
But it never dimmed the fact that the great apes are still heading toward extinction if the activities of mad rebel groups operating with abandon in the forests and mountainous regions of Africa continue unchecked.
Mountain gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei) are the worst hit among the three subspecies according to their habitant in different parts of Africa. Others are the Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and the Eastern
The Congolese government has consented to remove its forces from the Virunga National Park, an enclave of about 72 mountain gorillas out of a total of 700 worldwide, in spite of an ongoing conflict to help protect the park’s valuable natural resources.
Yet gorillas still have more enemies. They are food to many communities within Equatorial Africa despite the inherent heath risks.
The Ebola virus, among other diseases, is also bearing its toll on them. Conservationists think the disease that causes massive hemorrhaging and organ failure resulting in death in a number of species, including humans, has killed up to 95% of the gorillas in some areas.
Human commercial activity that endanger these animals are the timber trade and the bush meat trade, both of which feed markets in Europe and other parts of the world. But habitat loss due to land clearance for subsistence farming that drives the gorillas further to areas where they are susceptible to numerous physical risks is also to blame.
Ironically, researchers who found the gorillas in their swamp haven were tipped off to their sight by hunters and trekked through mud for three days to reach them.
This does not, however, change the bad news that almost 50% of the world’s primates, including colobus and bonobo monkeys, chimpanzees and orangutans, are in danger of extinction. Conservationists were thrilled last month that thousands of African Western Lowland gorillas - 125,000 by head count estimates - may h... more -
TAIPING FOUR GORILLA ADOPTS INFANT GORILLA AS HER OWN
Abbey, one of the ‘Taiping Four’ gorillas, has found new meaning to life as she became surrogate mother to a newly arrived orphan gorilla at the Limbe Wildlife Centre in Cameroon.
The following update is provided by The Pan-African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA) and IFAW’s partner the Limbe Wildlife Centre in Cameroon.
Abbey recently became the surrogate mother to Bolo, a one-year old orphan, at the Limbe Wildlife Center in Cameroon.
Bolo arrived after being confiscated from poachers in December, and it was feared she might be too young to ever integrate safely into Limbe’s 14-member gorilla social group.
But another adult female, Brighter, showed interest and seemed willing to take on the role of caring for Bolo.
Abbey had other ideas, however.
“Very surprisingly, Abbey, who is not a dominant female, went up to Brighter and gently took Bolo off her and placed her on her chest,” said Felix Lankester, manager of the Limbe Wildlife Center. “What was surprising was that Brighter didn’t try to take Bolo back. It was obvious to everyone that Abbey was much more protective than Brighter ever was, and that was the kind of protection we were looking for.”
The Limbe staff had spent months patiently developing the relationship between Brighter and Bolo, and even separated the pair temporarily from the other gorillas in order to foster the bonds of care. But Abbey’s willingness to take responsibility for Bolo proved irresistible.
Snatched from their mothers when they were just babies, the ‘Taiping Four’ gorillas were smuggled from the forests of the Cameroon and taken to a zoo in neighboring Nigeria. From there they became pawns in the murky world of the illegal trade in endangered species. As wild-caught animals they could not be traded legally, so forged documentation described them as “captive bred” allowing them to be sold to a zoo in Malaysia.
But the sudden arrival of four young gorillas on the international zoo scene was bound to raise suspicion, and it didn’t take long for animal welfare investigators to uncover and make public the illegality of their capture and export.
CITES regulations clearly state that, wherever possible, confiscated animals are to be returned to their native land, and so they did, thanks to IFAW’s supporters, the Taiping Four Gorillas arrived to their new home in Limbe, Cameroon on November 30, 2007. Abbey, one of the ‘Taiping Four’ gorillas, has found new meaning to life as she became surrogate mother to a newly arrived orphan gori... more -
Gorilla Protection
Gorilla Silverback Filmed at Gatovu!
"This is Innocent. Yesterday I got a call from our rangers at the Gatovu Patrol Post. They told me that they had seen a solitary gorilla in the forest nearby. I immediately went over there to identify which individual it was.
We found the gorilla at about 10 minutes from the patrol post. I was amazed to see that it was Buhanga, the solitary silverback that had once belonged to the group now led by Kabirizi.
It was fantastic to once again see a gorilla in the wild- it was the first time since last year when the rebels took over the Mikeno Sector of the park. As you can see from the video, Buhanga has grown a lot bigger since last time I saw him!"
*Innocent & Diddy are Congolese rangers that protect the Mountain Gorillas. They monitor and carry out protection activities on the ground. Congolese rangers risk their lives to save mountain gorillas of the Virunga National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
To see how you can help, please visit: http://gorilla.wildlifedirect.org/2008/08/21/gorilla-si...
GorillaProtection.org Gorilla Silverback Filmed at Gatovu! ... more -
Protect Gorillas From Deforestation!
http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/844698
PLEASE sign, forward & X-POST this petition.
Protect Gorillas From Deforestation - The Petition Site:
Target: Congo's Ministry of Environment
Sponsored by: Care2.com
Great news for one of the world's most endangered animals: researchers have discovered some 125,000 western lowland gorillas that were previously uncounted in the Congo Basin. Until now, scientists believed there were only about 50,000 of these endangered gorillas left.
But this exciting new population estimate does not mean gorilla numbers in the wild are now safe. The western lowland gorilla continues to come under threat as timber companies move into the Congo Basin, home to more than a quarter of the world's tropical forest. Without careful management of the forest resources, western lowland gorillas and other gorilla subspecies will remain severely endangered.
Now more than ever authorities need to stem rampant deforestation, to preserve the habitats of the great apes and to support long-term sustainability of the region's natural resources.
Please urge Congo's Ministry of Environment to deny all deals that were signed illegally under the country's moratorium on new logging contracts.
ACTUAL PETITION:
"We are happy about recent news that researchers have discovered some 125,000 western lowland gorillas that were previously uncounted in the Congo basin. Until now, scientists believed there were only about 50,000 of these endangered gorillas left.
But this exciting new population estimate does not mean gorilla numbers in the wild are now safe. The western lowland gorilla continues to come under threat as timber companies move into the region. Logging and land clearance for farming are eating away the Congo Basin, home to more than a quarter of the world's tropical forest. Without careful management of the forest resources and strict enforcement of protected areas, the western lowland gorillas and other subspecies of gorillas will remain severely endangered.
Now more than ever it is essential to preserve the habitats of the great apes and support reforestation.
In 2002, with the Democratic Republic of Congo partially under the control of rebels, the country issued a five-year moratorium on new logging contracts to try and stem rampant deforestation. But the measure went largely unheeded and companies continued to sign new deals.
We ask that officials review the government-sponsored working group's recommendation on August 6, 2008 to cancel more than three quarters of its logging deals for not meeting necessary standards. But we are concerned that these recommendations did not go far enough. Sixteen of the 29 titles received a favorable opinion from the working group, despite being obtained in clear violation of the five-year moratorium on new logging contracts.
We urge you to comply with the five-year moratorium, and deny all logging contracts that were signed under moratorium.
Thank you for protecting the future of endangered gorillas and the biological diversity of the Congo basin."
http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/844698
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/269086042 http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/844698 PLEASE sign, forward & X-POST this petition. ... more -
14 Tons of Frozen Scaly Anteaters Headed to China, Seized
From the report: Last week Indonesian police seized 14 tons of frozen Malayan pangolins—a kind of scaly anteater—bound for China and arrested more than a dozen suspected smugglers, conservationists announced Tuesday. From the report: Last week Indonesian police seized 14 tons of frozen Malayan pangolins—a kind of scaly anteater—bound for China and a... more
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125,000 gorillas found in African zone
Wildlife researchers said Tuesday that they've discovered 125,000 western lowland gorillas deep in the forests of the Republic of Congo, calling it a major increase in the animal's estimated population.
The Wildlife Conservation Society, based at New York's Bronx Zoo, and the Republic of Congo said their census counted the newly discovered gorillas in two areas of the northern part of the country covering 18,000 square miles.
Previous estimates, dating to the 1980s, put the number of western lowland gorillas at less than 100,000. But the animal's numbers were believed to have fallen by at least 50 percent since then due to hunting and disease, researchers said. The newly discovered gorilla population now puts their estimated numbers at between 175,000 to 225,000.
"This is a very significant discovery because of the terrible decline in population of these magnificent creatures to Ebola and bush meat," said Emma Stokes, one of the research team.
The researchers in the central African nation of Republic of Congo _ neighbor of the much larger Congo _ worked out the population figures by counting the sleeping "nests" gorillas make. The creatures are too reclusive and shy to count individually.
The researchers in the central African nation of Republic of Congo _ neighbor of the much larger Congo _ worked out the population figures by counting the sleeping "nests" gorillas make. The creatures are too reclusive and shy to count individually.
Craig Stanford, professor of anthropology and biology at the University of Southern California, said he is aware of the new study. "If these new census results are confirmed, they are incredibly important and exciting, the kind of good news we rarely find in the conservation of highly endangered animals." He added that independent confirmation will be valuable because nest counts vary depending on the specific census method used.
Western lowland gorillas are one of four gorilla subspecies, which also include mountain gorillas, eastern lowland gorillas and Cross River gorillas. All are labeled either endangered or critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. --Stokes said it does not mean gorilla numbers in the wild are now safe.
"Far from being safe, the gorillas are still under threat from Ebola and hunting for bush meat. We must not become complacent about this. Ebola can wipe out thousands in a short period of time," she said.
The report was released as primatologists in Edinburgh, Scotland warned that nearly half of the world's 634 types of primates are in danger of becoming extinct due to human activity. That figure, carried in a comprehensive review of the planet's apes, monkeys, and lemurs, included primate species and subspecies.
Scientists meeting at the International Primatological Society Congress in Edinburgh said they hoped the report will help spur global action to defend mankind's nearest relatives from deforestation and hunting.
Primatologists warned that species from the giant mountain gorillas of central Africa to the tiny mouse lemurs of Madagascar are on the "Red List" for threatened species maintained by the IUCN.
The review was funded by Conservation International, the Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation, Disney's Animal Kingdom and the IUCN. It is part of an examination of the state of the world's mammals due to be released at the 4th IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona, Spain, in October.
"It is not too late for our close cousins the primates, and what we have now is a challenge to turn this around," said Russell A. Mittermeier, president of Conservation International and the chairman of the IUCN Species Survival Commission's primate specialist group.
"The review paints a bleak picture. Some primates are quite literally being eaten to extinction. But it is by no means a doomsday scenario. There is a lot of will here among these scientists in Edinburgh and in the countries where primates live." Wildlife researchers said Tuesday that they've discovered 125,000 western lowland gorillas deep in the forests of the Republic of... more -
Diary: Protecting mountain gorillas
In July 2007, armed men entered the Democratic Republic of Congo's Virunga National Park and killed five critically endangered mountain gorillas at point-blank range, leaving the bodies where they fell.
Since September, rebel forces have controlled the area, threatening to kill any conservationists or gorilla rangers who attempted to enter the area.
Diddy and Innocent are long-serving rangers who have spent their working lives protecting the remaining gorillas in the war-torn region.
In this weekly diary, they describe life on conservation's frontline and the frustration of how recent events are hampering their efforts.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7110093.stm In July 2007, armed men entered the Democratic Republic of Congo's Virunga National Park and killed five critically endangered mo... more -
Half of all primate species face extinction
A new study warns that 48% of the world's primates species face extinction.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species says the main threats are habitat loss, primarily through the burning and clearing of tropical forests, hunting of primates for food and illegal wildlife trade.
The survey showed that out of 634 recognised species and subspecies, 11% were Critically Endangered, 22% were Endangered, while a further 15% were listed as Vulnerable.
With 71% considered at risk of extinction, Asia had the greatest proportion of threatened primates. The five nations with the highest percentage of endangered species were all within Asia. A new study warns that 48% of the world's primates species face extinction. ... more -
Black Market - Darkness of the Animal Trade
Wildlife trade's dark side:
What do elephants, rhinos, great apes, bears, big cats, sharks, parrots and marine turtles have in common? They're all threatened by the illegal wildlife trade.
View images of the trade in bushmeat that international conservationists are hoping to curb. WARNING: SOME ANIMAL IMAGES ARE GRAPHIC. http://www.msnbc.com/modules/interactive.aspx?id=Wildli...
Great Apes:
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/interactive.aspx?id=Wildli...
An appetite in China for traditional medicines, and hunger in Africa for protein from apes and other wildlife, dubbed bushmeat.
There’s heavy bushmeat hunting in Central and West Africa, says Russ Mitermeier of Conservation International, and heavy poaching for meat and medicinal uses in Southeast Asia and China.
"In Central Africa alone, about one million tons of wild meat is hunted every year," estimates Liz Bennett of the Wildlife Conservation Society. "That is equivalent to 9 billion 1/4 pound hamburgers each year. It has been estimated that that includes some 28 million bay duikers; 16 million blue duikers; 7.5 million red colobus; 1.8 million red river hogs; 34,000 leopards; 15,000 chimps; and 6,250 lowland gorillas."
A 2008 report by the wildlife monitoring group TRAFFIC found that the lack of meat in refugee rations in Tanzania is causing a flourishing illegal trade in bushmeat, including chimpanzees.
Two dozen refugee camps are near wildlife areas, making it easy for poachers. The bushmeat is covertly traded and cooked after dark -- and referred to as 'night time spinach' inside many refugee camps.
'BLACK MARKET' : A Multimedia Interactive: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25677681/ Wildlife trade's dark side: ... more -
Virunga Gorillas: How to Help
PHOTO: An orphaned gorilla curls up with her caregiver.
After the July 2007 killings of endangered mountain gorillas, possibly by people involved in the illegal charcoal trade, a mobile antipoaching force stayed close to gorillas in Virunga National Park. But the Democratic Republic of the Congo's parks authority, ICCN, must keep the animals safe when these guards are needed elsewhere.
Many groups are working to protect the gorillas and support the people fighting for their survival.
WildlifeDirect
Nairobi-based WildlifeDirect, founded by anthropologist Richard Leakey, helps outfit wildlife rangers in Virunga National Park and supplement their government salaries. The group's website hosts blogs where rangers and others post news and pictures from the field. Online donors can specify where their funds go—for patrol rations, medical kits, or support for the families of rangers killed on duty.
Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International
Founded by the gorilla researcher murdered in 1985, this organization helps care for young gorillas like the one whose mother was killed in July.
Frankfurt Zoological Society
FZS has trained and equipped hundreds of rangers; it also provides aircraft to help the ICCN monitor gorillas and direct antipoaching forces from the air.
International Gorilla Conservation Program
This coalition works with the governments of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda.
Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project
Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project field vets make routine health visits to habituated gorilla groups in Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in partnership with park rangers, guides, patrols, monitoring agents, and scientists from various organizations.
Wildlife Conservation Society
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is one of the only organizations in the world working to protect all four gorilla subspecies—each of which is threatened by extinction. For nearly half a century the WCS has initiated and supported gorilla research and conservation projects throughout Africa.
Zoological Society of London
In addition to helping supplement rangers' salaries, the ZSL works with D.R. Congo's park authority to help manage Virunga National Park as a whole. PHOTO: An orphaned gorilla curls up with her caregiver. ... more -
2 Women Killed in Gorilla Reserve
TWO women were killed and three people injured when a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) vehicle was attacked in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The WWF vehicle was travelling with 11 people in the Nord-Kivu sector of the vast territory - famed for sheltering more than half the world's 700 remaining wild mountain gorillas - when it was ambushed by armed men, the United Nations-sponsored radio Okapi said.
An 18-year-old girl and her mother, the wife of a park warden, were shot dead, while two conservationists and the wife of another park warden were injured.
Members of the Congolese conservation institute ICCN were also travelling on board with WWF agents.
The attackers stole GPS devices and other personal belongings.
Okapi radio quoted local officials who attributed the attack to Mai-Mai resistance fighters.
Militia in this region have frequently carried out attacks, violating a January ceasefire signed by all Congolese armed groups.
The Virunga park spreads across the DR Congo-Rwanda border. TWO women were killed and three people injured when a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) vehicle was attacked in Virunga National Park in the D... more -
Gorillas: Sights & Sounds
With just 700 mountain gorillas left on earth, CNN's Anderson Cooper finds some high in the African jungles and reports on why they have become so endangered on this Sunday's 60 Minutes.
*VIDEO*
http://video.aol.com/partner/cbs/sights-and-sounds-gori... With just 700 mountain gorillas left on earth, CNN's Anderson Cooper finds some high in the African jungles and reports on why th... more
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