Amur Leopards

 

This wonderful footage of the terribly endangered Amur Leopard was shot in the Kedrovaya Pad nature reserve in Eastern Russia using a remote HD camera.

The Amur leopard is on the brink of extinction and footage like this can do a great deal to expose the fact and help its survival

BBC - Earth News - New carnivorous mammal species found in Madagascar

It feels good to be able to blog about the discovery of yet another unknown carnivore, this time from Madagascar - BBC - Earth News - New carnivorous mammal species found in Madagascar.

The importance of the discovery of new mammalian predators cannot be overestimated.  The existence of mammalian predators is indicative of a healthy ecology.  When a habitat starts to degrade the first species to go are the predators because the food chain “dries up”.

In this case the mammal is a vontsira (Salanoia durrelli), a little known animal of the family Eupleridae whose best known member is the Fossa, a type of true mongoose:

It has been given the common name Durrell’s vontsira in honour of Gerald Durrell, the founder of Jersey Zoo. It is thought that it lives in marshland and may prey on molluscs and crustaceans.

Texas Pumas Rescue Florida Panthers | Big Cat Endangered Species, Wild Cats & Inbreeding | LiveScience

WHAT’s IN A NAME? 

This LiveScience article ”Texas Pumas Rescue Florida Panthers | Big Cat Endangered Species, Wild Cats & Inbreeding | LiveScience” is quite interesting but for a while I was wondering which animal was being referred to.  The talk, as shown by the title, was of panthers.  But I didn’t think there were any wild panthers outside of Asia and Africa so the bit about panthers in Florida had me a bit bemused.  So some Wiki Work was called for.

Turns out there are (at least) three wild big cats that wear the label Panther:

• Melanistic leopards (Panthera pardus), found in Africa and Asia;
• Black Panthers which are melanistic Jaguars (Panthera onca), found in the Americas; and
• Florida Panthers which are a blue-eyed subspecies of of the Puma [also known as a Cougar] (Puma concolor), also found in the Americas.

The one thing they all have in common is being big black cats.  So when you say Panther it depends on who you are as to what you mean. That’s exactly why scientific names are so important because each one is specific and unique.

In any event all big cats, with the possible exception of lions, are in trouble so the substance of the article is good news.

Heart of Borneo emerges as home of world’s longest insect, lungless frog and “ninja” slug

WWF is carrying this article on newly discovered species in the Heart of Borneo rain forest. I have blogged before about the discovery of new species in rainforests and hence the very real possibility of species becoming extinct before we know about them.  This report is clear that we must get our skates on if we are to prevent this.

Heart of Borneo emerges as home of world’s longest insect, lungless frog and “ninja” slug: "Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei: A frog with no lungs, a “ninja” slug firing love darts at its mate, and the world’s longest insect are among new species discovered in the three years since the Heart of Borneo conservation plan was drawn up by the three governments with jurisdiction over the world’s third largest island.
New WWF report Borneo’s New World: Newly Discovered Species in the Heart of Borneo details 123 new species discovered since the February 2007 agreement by Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia to conserve 220,000 km2 of irreplaceable tropical rainforest, designated the Heart of Borneo (HoB).
“As the past three years of independent scientific discovery have proven, new forms of life are constantly being discovered in the Heart of Borneo,” said Adam Tomasek, leader of WWF’s HoB Initiative.
Explorers have been visiting the island of Borneo for centuries, but vast tracts of its interior are yet to be biologically explored, he said.
“If this stretch of irreplaceable rainforest can be conserved for our children, the promise of more discoveries must be a tantalising one for the next generation of researchers to contemplate,” he added.
The HoB, an “island within an island” is home to ten species of primate, more than 350 birds, 150 reptiles and amphibians and a staggering 10,000 plants that are found nowhere else in the world, the report says.
The rate of discovery since the foundation of the HoB is more than three new species per month, providing ample justification for the decision to protect the region.
Speaking at the launch of the report during a meeting of the three Heart of Borneo governments, Brunei Darussalam’s Minister of Industry & Primary Resources, the Honourable Pehin Dato Yahya, paid tribute to the dedicated scientists who spent countless hours in challenging conditions to uncover the staggering bio-diversity.
“These amazing new findings highlight the importance of our efforts to implement the HoB Declaration’s bold vision,” he said of the region which also contains the pygmy elephant, orangutan, rhinoceros, and clouded leopard.
With so many new species discovered every month, WWF has made the region a global priority through its Heart of Borneo Initiative. WWF offices in Malaysia and Indonesia support tri-government efforts to conserve and sustainably manage the HoB.
Under the 2007 agreement, the three governments have committed to enhance protected area and trans-boundary management, develop eco-tourism and support sustainable resource management.
“Three years on, the Heart of Borneo Declaration is proving to be an irreplaceable foundation for conservation and sustainable development by establishing a framework for action to protect Borneo’s globally outstanding biodiversity, eco-system services and livelihoods,” WWF’s Tomasek said.
“The discovery of these new species in the Heart of Borneo underlines the incredible diversity of this remarkable area and emphasizes the importance of the commitments already made by Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia to protect it,” he added.
The discoveries also highlight the need to increase financial and technical support to ensure their continued survival, he said."

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South Atlantic becomes more seabird-friendly

Great progress has been made in ensuring the safety and survival of seabirds in the south-east Atlantic.  As BirdLife International reports changes in fishing practices have helped to curb the decline of seabirds such as the Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophrys:


South Atlantic becomes more seabird-friendly: "BirdLife International and WWF South Africa recently achieved a major conservation success by improving the methods used by commercial fishermen in the south-east Atlantic Ocean to avoid killing seabirds."

These very positive developments auger well for similar ventures in other parts of the world.  Albatrosses are magnificent birds that are in great peril and every step in ensuring their survival is vital.

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Giant lizard species discovered

The BBC is carrying this story:

Giant lizard species discovered: "A spectacular 2m-long, brightly coloured new species of monitor lizard is found in forests of the Philippines."

Fantastic news!  This is not a small and not easily seen bird but a whopping great 2m coloured lizard!  So how many more undiscovered species await us or will they be gone before we find them?

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Squirrels

Britain has a native squirrel, the Red Squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris,  which was fairly widespread until the introduction of the American Grey Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis at the turn of the 19th century.  The larger Grey Squirrel outcompeted the more timid Red Squirrel by being more aggressive, more omnivorous and probably more fecund.  So now the Red Squirrel, once widespread is relatively uncommon.  Because this invasion was so dramatic and extensive a number of "Squirrel Myths" have arisen:

1. Grey Squirrels give Red Squirrels the Pox (Squirrel Pox that is!).  Probably true but the science is probably not as conclusive as some might think it is.
2. Grey Squirrels have a terrible effect on indigenous woodland bird populations.  Not so apparently. A new survey by the British Trust for Ornithology concludes  "Grey squirrels do not have a significant impact on the populations of many of England's woodland bird species"
3. Red Squirrels are now extremely rare and secretive, surviving only on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour and in the remote Scottish Highlands.  Not so as the picture below taken from my study window in suburban Dunblane shows.

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Birdlife International is carrying an item on a model for wildlife-friendly energy development in Wyoming.  We would do well to study this carefully here in Scotland.  The main direction for future energy production in Scotland is renewables; particularly wind farms which have drawn many objectors owing to the assertion that such installations are detrimental to wildlife, notably birds. The Wyoming situation involves an even more damaging modus operandi - oil and gas production and its impact on near-threatened species such as Sage Grouse.  Let us hope that we can learn from the changes made by the Federal Bureau of Land Management  and not dismiss them, as we so often do, as being NDH (not designed here).

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Saving the Albatross

Three albatrosses have been added to Annex 1 of the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP), thus ensuring that the Agreement covers all of the species of albatross. This very welcome move ensures that albatrosses now have full legal protection in International Law.
Albatrosses are generally thought of as Southern Hemisphere birds but these three, the North Pacific species of albatross, Short-tailed Albatross Phoebastria albatrus, Laysan Albatross Phoebastria immutabilis and Black-footed Albatross Phoebastria nigripes are all found in the Northern Hemisphere.  There is now a real chance of arresting the decline in population across all species of albatross thus helping to conserve these magnificent birds.

Photo by Matt Knoth / Flickr 

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Want to Work in the Greater Mekong?

If you have ever wanted to work in conservation in the Greater Mekong region WWF are advertising for a programme manager based in Phnom Penh.

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Birds of the Kakadu

Being an Australian (that will come as a surprise to some of you!) I have always thought that one of the natural jewels of Australia is its avifauna which is rich and extensive.  One of the best places to see birds in Australia is the Kakadu National Park - a World Heritage site.  There are so many different birds to see in this amazing wetlands situated in the northern part of the Northern Territory.  Some of the more unusual highlights include Brolga (a species of crane), Jabiru (a species of stork), Magpie Goose, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Great Egret and a myriad of smaller birds.  Here is a small collection:

Magpie Goose (Anseranus semipalmata)

Magpie Geese in flight

Jabiru (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus)

White-bellied Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster)





To see more pictures of the Kakadu go to Flickr

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Rare tongue-eating parasite

Rare tongue-eating parasite: "A rare louse which eats fish tongues is found off Jersey."

This is the isopod I wrote about yesterday.

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Extinction is Forever

It's ironic isn't it that at a time when the loss of species of living creatures is great, we seem to be discovering new species, previously unknown to science at a great rate.

New species discovered in the last twelve or so months include:

• a new type of Clouded Leopard in Borneo and Sumatra
• a new type of Malaria (not a new strain) in the Far East
• an isopod (a sort of louse) that survives on eating fish tongues
• a parrot no bigger than a man's thumb in Papua and New Guinea (PNG)
• a rat bigger than a man's arm - in fact the World's largest - in PNG
• a new species of song bird with a bald head in Laos

And there are many others.  The one thing that links all these new species is rainforest.  That is not to say that new species are only found in rainforests, they are not, but rainforests do host a disproportionate number of the new discoveries, with no signs that the pot is exhausted. If the rainforests of the World are squandered not only will we succeed in destroying a myriad of known species, but in all likelihood a host of species we don't even know about.  And humanity will be the poorer for it.

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