topic: Animal Rescue

topic: Animal Rescue

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Impunity for Cambodia’s exotic pet owners as trade outpaces legislation
- High-profile interventions by Cambodia’s former leader and weak legislation have allowed the illegal wildlife trade to persist largely in the open.
- The case of a gas station menagerie in western Cambodia is emblematic of the ease with which even endangered species can be bought and sold.
- The collection, owned by a police officer, includes cockatoos from Indonesia, marmosets and parakeets from South America, and a native gibbon.
- Authorities said they were aware of the collection, but were “following the format” set in the wake of their 2023 seizure of peacocks from a breeder, which culminated in them having to return the birds after then-prime minister Hun Sen criticized their actions.

Maluku farmer turns guardian of eastern Indonesia’s threatened parrots
- Jamal Adam, a former farmer, began volunteering with forest rangers on Indonesia’s Halmahera Island before joining the region’s largest bird sanctuary when the rehabilitation facility opened in 2019.
- The Halmahera center admits mostly parrots on site and rehabilitates numerous species before later releasing them back into the wild.
- Indonesia’s North Maluku province historically saw relatively low tree cover loss compared to the rest of the country, but groups have raised concerns that a local nickel mining boom will threaten bird habitat in the medium term.

Conservationists look to defy gloomy outlook for Borneo’s sun bears
- Sun bears are keystone species, helping sustain healthy tropical forests. Yet they’re facing relentless challenges to their survival from deforestation, habitat degradation, poaching and indiscriminate snaring; fewer than 10,000 are thought to remain across the species’ entire global range.
- A bear rehabilitation program in Malaysian Borneo cares for 44 sun bears rescued from captivity and the pet trade and has been releasing bears back into the wild since 2015. But with threats in the wild continuing unabated, success has been mixed.
- A recent study indicates that as few as half of the released bears are still alive, demonstrating that rehabilitation alone will never be enough to tackle the enormous threats and conservation issues facing the bears in the wild.
- Preventing bears from being poached from the wild in the first place should be the top priority, experts say, calling for a holistic approach centered on livelihood support for local communities through ecotourism to encourage lifestyles that don’t involve setting snares that can kill bears.

In Indonesia, ‘opportunistic’ whale shark fishery shows gap in species protection
- Indonesia has since 2013 banned the capture, trade and exploitation of whale sharks, a protected species.
- Yet scores of records from 2002-2022 shown whale sharks continue to be butchered and sold along the southeastern coast of Java Island after either beaching or being unintentionally caught by fishers, according to a new study.
- The continuing illegal exploitation shows the need for more awareness raising against it by conservation authorities and groups, experts say.
- Indonesia is home to the longest coastline in Asia, and its waters serve as both a habitat and an important migratory route for species of marine megafauna like whale sharks.

The ‘Sloth Lady of Suriname’: Q&A with Monique Pool
- Monique Pool and the Green Heritage Fund Suriname (GHFS) have rescued and rehabilitated more than 600 sloths. The Xenarthra Shelter and Rehabilitation Center is a sanctuary for sloths and other Xenarthra species.
- Sloths in Suriname face threats from deforestation — including in and around the capital, Paramaribo — as well as urban expansion and development and attacks from people’s pets.
- Pool and the GHFS also raise awareness about dolphins and marine life, collaborating with veterinarians and scientists to study these species and preserve their habitats.
- The GHFS promotes sustainable development of natural resources and biodiversity in Suriname, providing information and education to create a better understanding of the country’s wildlife and ecosystems; Pool says she believes protecting and preserving sloths, dolphins and their habitats contributes to the overall health of the planet.

Conservationists unite to tackle Latin America’s dog threat to wild cats
- Across Latin America, free-ranging and domestic dogs pose a threat to endangered wildlife, including several small cat species, conservationists say.
- Dogs entering forests or protected areas can disturb wildlife, directly prey upon them, decimate prey populations, and also spread disease.
- Last year, small-cat conservationists from Mexico to Chile united to vaccinate dogs in multiple countries to raise awareness of the problem and mitigate the threat.
- A second phase of this international campaign is planned this May, potentially focused on other threatened species.

In Sri Lanka, activists push for ban on using human contraceptive jabs on animals
- Sri Lankan authorities are considering banning the use of a human contraceptive injection for animals.
- A proposed pilot project to inject a human contraceptive on 50,000 dogs sparked outrage, prompting its immediate suspension.
- The contraceptive injection can lead to the accumulation of pus in a dog’s uterus, eventually causing its death, experts say.

Orangutan death in Sumatra points to human-wildlife conflict, illegal trade
- The case of an orangutan that died shortly after its capture by farmers in northern Sumatra has highlighted the persistent problem of human-wildlife conflict and possibly even the illegal wildlife trade in Indonesia.
- The coffee farmers who caught the adult male orangutan on Jan. 20 denied ever hitting it, but a post-mortem showed a backbone fracture, internal bleeding, and other indications of blunt force trauma.
- Watchdogs say it’s possible illegal wildlife traders may have tried to take the orangutan from the farmers, with such traders known to frequent farms during harvest season in search of the apes that are drawn there for food.
- Conservationists say the case is a setback in their efforts to raise awareness about the need to protect critically endangered orangutans.

Himalayan community takes initiative to help dogs, wildlife and itself
- Feral dogs have long proved problematic to people, livestock and wildlife in Nepal’s Annnapurna region.
- Studies have shown a high prevalence of canine distemper among the dogs, which are also suspected of carrying other diseases that could be passed on to domestic animals, wildlife or even people.
- A project to vaccinate and neuter the dogs helped slow their population growth, but was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Since then, however, locals have revived the initiative on their own, and the success of their efforts have drawn requests for assistance from other Himalayan communities dogged by dogs.

Indonesia’s orangutans declining amid ‘lax’ and ‘laissez-faire’ law enforcement
- The widespread failure by Indonesian law enforcers to crack down on crimes against orangutans is what’s allowing them to be killed at persistently high rates, a new study suggests.
- It characterizes as “remarkably lax” and “laissez-faire” the law enforcement approach when applied to crimes against orangutans as compared to the country’s other iconic wildlife species, such as tigers.
- Killing was the most prevalent crime against orangutans, the study found when analyzing 2,229 reports from 2007-2019, followed by capture, possession or sale of infants, harm or capture of wild adult orangutans due to conflicts, and attempted poaching not resulting in death.
- The study authors call for stronger deterrence and law enforcement rather than relying heavily on rescue, release and translocation strategies that don’t solve the core crisis of net loss of wild orangutans.

Thai zoos come under scrutiny again as tourism rebounds from COVID-19
- The welfare of rare and often threatened species in Thailand’s tourism and pet trades has long been a concern for animal rights activists.
- The conditions in which many of the animals are kept became even direr during the COVID-19 pandemic, when border shutdowns meant no visitor revenue to care for the animals.
- NGOs are working to rescue and rehabilitate some of the animals from zoos and private owners, but acknowledge that few, if any, of the animals can ever be released back into the wild.
- They add that rescue and rehabilitation is only part of the solution, and that more focus should go on protecting the natural environment and habitats of these animals over the long term.

Sumatran conservationist Rahmad Saleh Simbolon dies at 47
- The head of the conservation agency in Jambi province, Indonesia, died of a heart attack on Aug. 9.
- After working in protected forest areas in South and North Sumatra provinces, Rahmad oversaw several accomplishments in a province home to numerous threatened species.
- Jambi lost more than a third of its old-growth forest between 2002 and 2021.

Sri Lanka fuel shortage takes massive toll on efforts to save wildlife
- Sri Lanka continues to face the brunt of the worst economic crisis in the country’s history, with depleted foreign reserves resulting in acute fuel shortages nationwide.
- The shortages and limited rations are affecting conservation efforts, including the timely treatment of wild animals, regular patrolling to thwart poaching, and mitigation actions to limit human-elephant conflict.
- Fuel allocations for the wildlife conservation department have been halved, and both wildlife and forest officials say this has made operations extremely difficult.
- The threat of forest fires also looms as the dry season gets underway, which typically calls for more patrols to prevent burning by poachers and forest encroachers.

Nepal conservationists work to overturn ‘all snakes are venomous’ mindset
- Snake conservation in Nepal is hampered by both a lack of research and poor awareness among the public and the government about the country’s snake species.
- Only about 20 of the 70-odd snake species found in Nepal are venomous, but deaths from snakebites have fueled perceptions that most are dangerous.
- The government’s approach to the problem is to treat all snakebites as toxic, but conservationists say a better understanding of the snakes involved would be more effective.
- Organizations like the Nepal Toxinology Association use different media such as street plays, social media posts and videos to spread awareness about snake conservation in the country.

‘Tis the season’ for cold-stunned sea turtles — and their rescue — on Cape Cod
- As cold weather sets in across New England each year, juvenile sea turtles, drawn to the globally warmed summer waters off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, are cold-stunned. If not rescued they die.
- Trained volunteers have already brought more than 100 turtles to the New England Aquarium Sea Turtle Rescue Center this autumn. The number of cold-stunned turtles at Cape Cod has been rising during the last decade, with some seasons logging more than 1,000 stranded turtles — many of them critically endangered Kemp’s ridleys.
- Globally, most cold-stunning events occur on the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts: especially in Massachusetts, North Carolina, Florida and Texas. Last year, more than 10,000 turtles were stranded in Texas alone. Cold-stun events have also been reported in Uruguay, Spain, Canada, Ireland, Denmark, France, and the UAE.
- On Cape Cod, the animals are stabilized at the New England Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Center, then transported to longer term care facilities across the U.S., often flown there by volunteer pilots working with Turtles Fly Too. As extreme weather events and ocean warming increase due to climate change, experts predict cold-stunning events will increase too.

Meet Magali, the conservation warrior rescuing Peru’s rainforest animals: Video
- A new, award-winning short film by Nick Werber follows wildlife rehabilitator and founder of Amazon Shelter, Magali Salinas, as she discusses her work in the Madre de Dios region of the Peruvian Amazon.
- Magali has dedicated the past 16 years of her life to rescuing animals in a region rife with illegal logging, mining, and wildlife trade. Her center cares for up to 80 animals at once (including sloths, tortoises, parrots, monkeys and more) and releases dozens back into the wild each year.
- Amazon shelter specializes in howler monkeys and Magali releases troops of rehabilitated howlers into protected reserves away from other howler troops’ territories. Finding these places can take days to weeks of searching.
- The film builds to the release of 14 howler monkeys into the wild. “It just goes to show the difference that one person can make,” Werber said. “That was what inspired me to make the film.”

Report: Orangutans and their habitat in Indonesia need full protection now
- A new report underscores the urgency of protecting Indonesia’s orangutans and conserving their remaining habitat, warning that Asia’s only great ape is in crisis.
- The report from the Environmental Investigation Agency says the Indonesian government has systematically failed to protect orangutan habitat, enforce existing wildlife laws, or reverse the decline of the three orangutan species.
- “For decades, Indonesia has prioritized industry and profit over environmental health and biodiversity protection, and orangutans have paid the price,” said EIA policy analyst Taylor Tench.
- The report calls for protecting all orangutan habitat (much of which occurs in oil palm and logging concessions), halting a dam project in the only habitat of the Tapanuli orangutan, and recognizing Indigenous claims to forests adjacent to orangutan habitat.

Beached whale shark in Indonesia reportedly cut up by locals to eat
- Locals in Indonesia’s West Java province reportedly cut up and ate a whale shark that washed up on a beach last week.
- Authorities have deplored the incident, noting that the species is protected under Indonesian law.
- Marine animal strandings are common in Indonesia as its waters serve as both a habitat and an important migratory route for dozens of species.

Stranded dugong in Indonesia reportedly cut up for traditional medicine
- Two dugongs stranded earlier this week on an island in eastern Indonesia, but only one survived and returned to the sea.
- With conservation authorities unable to go to the site due to COVID-19 restrictions, some locals reportedly cut up the dead dugong’s body and distributed the parts for use in traditional medicine.
- Dugongs are a protected species under Indonesian law, and possession of their body parts, even after a natural death, is a crime.
- Strandings of marine animals, particularly sea mammals, are common in Indonesia as its waters serve as both a habitat and an important migratory route for dozens of species.

‘Animal rights will be part of our DNA’: Q&A with Bogotá councilor Andrea Padilla
- After nearly two decades on the front lines of animal rights advocacy, Bogotá native Andrea Padilla won a seat on the Colombian capital’s City Council.
- Padilla was propelled to victory last October thanks to thousands of votes from Bogota’s animal rights activists, many of them also pet-owning vegetarians.
- Less than a year in office, Padilla has tallied a series of legislative victories, yet remains a lightning rod for criticism, including from conservationists.
- In a one-on-one interview with Mongabay, Padilla spoke about her origins as an activist, the moment she stopped eating meat, her journey to the City Council, what to do about Pablo Escobar’s hippos, and how she plans to deploy her political power.

Sri Lankans find a digital helping hand for baby birds fallen from nests
- Nesting season for Sri Lanka’s birds, which runs from February to May and coincides with the start of the monsoon, often sees chicks falling out of nests, being orphaned, or attacked.
- Sri Lanka also has a long and strong tradition of goodwill toward birds, with many households setting up feeders and bird boxes in their gardens.
- This year’s nesting season has seen people locked down at home by the COVID-19 pandemic turning to online sources for help caring for fallen, injured or displaced chicks.
- Bird-watching has also increased in popularity, aided by digital platforms and apps such as eBird and Merlin that help register bird sightings and identify different species.

South Africa pulls the plug on controversial captive lion industry
- The South African government has made a critical decision to ban captive lion facilities in South Africa, and to halt the commercial use of captive lions and their derivatives, according to a new report.
- This move is being hailed by conservationists and animal welfare advocates who have worked for years to expose the myriad of welfare issues associated with this industry.
- The recommendations in the report still need to go through a legal ratification process, but experts are hopeful that things will move forward in a positive way.
- There are between 8,000 and 12,000 lions being held in captive facilities, many of which have historically offered canned hunting, lion petting and lion walking experiences.

Hunger, disorientation blamed for pilot whale mass stranding in Indonesia
- Indonesian officials have announced their findings into the cause of the mass stranding and death of 52 short-finned pilot whales earlier this year.
- They cited inflammation in the alpha whale’s echolocation organ as the cause of the stranding, and hunger and lung damage as the causes of death.
- The Indonesian fisheries ministry has called for more necropsies to be done more regularly after strandings to better understand these events and inform policies on how to handle them.
- Whale and dolphin strandings are common in Indonesia, which has the longest coastline in Asia and whose waters serve as both a habitat and an important migratory route for dozens of cetacean species.

Forest patches amid agriculture are key to orangutan survival: Study
- A recent study highlights the importance of small fragments of forest amid landscapes dominated by agriculture for the survival of orangutans in Southeast Asia.
- The research, drawing on several decades of ground and aerial surveys in Borneo, found that orangutans are adapting to the presence of oil palm plantations — if they have access to nearby patches of forest.
- The authors say agricultural plantations could serve as corridors allowing for better connectivity and gene flow within the broader orangutan population.

Only 1 of 52 pilot whales survives mass stranding in Indonesia
- Two of the three whales that initially survived later became stranded again and died.
- Researchers are trying to determine the cause of the mass stranding, just the latest one in Indonesia.

Rescue of rare white tarsier raises fears of habitat loss, illegal pet trade
- Conservation authorities in Indonesia have rescued a baby tarsier from a fruit garden in the island of Sulawesi.
- The Gursky’s spectral tarsier has been diagnosed with leucism, a condition similar to albinism, which gives it bright white fur.
- The discovery has prompted mounting calls from conservationists for the protection of the rescued tarsier against wildlife traffickers and its habitat against degradation.

Whale shark stranding points to silting of Indonesia’s Kendari Bay
- Volunteers and officials successfully pushed a whale shark back out to sea after it got stranded in shallow water in Indonesia’s Kendari Bay.
- The incident, which one rescuer said was a first, has highlighted the consequences of the rapid silting of the bay amid a spate of development projects in the area.
- The clearing of land allows dirt to run into waterways, with the accumulated sediment halving the depth of Kendari Bay and making flood prevention more difficult.
- Amid the silting, fishing catches have declined and there are indications of heavy-metal contamination of the water.

Sri Lankans save pilot whales in epic rescue after mass stranding
- Volunteers braved a pandemic lockdown, darkness and risk of personal injury to help push over 100 short-finned pilot whales out to sea after they beached in southwestern Sri Lanka.
- The rescue effort, which involved towing the whales out using Jet Skis, ran overnight as the exhausted animals kept being washed ashore by the waves.
- In all, the rescuers managed to push back more than 100 whales, although at least five of the animals died.
- It was one of the largest mass strandings in Sri Lanka. Pilot whales are the cetacean group most susceptible to mass strandings, although the cause for the latest incident is still unclear.

Video: Vets hail ‘victory’ as jaguar burned in Pantanal fires returns to wild
- This year, fires in the Pantanal, the world’s largest wetland region, burned through about 4.1 million hectares (10.1 million acres), which constitutes about 28% of the region.
- A 3-year-old jaguar caught in the fires suffered third-degree burns on all four of his paws as he ran across burning peat.
- In September, the jaguar was rescued by a group of veterinarians and delivered to a clinic that helped treat his wounds.
- A month later, rains had extinguished most of the fires, and the jaguar was released in the same spot from which he was rescued.

In the Horn of Africa, conflict and illegal trade create a ‘cheetah hell’
- Wild cheetahs are under intense pressure in the Horn of Africa due to human-wildlife conflicts and illegal trade, which takes about 300 cubs from the region each year, conservationists say.
- In Somaliland, a country ravaged by climate change-induced drought, nomadic farmers will often kill or chase away cheetahs threatening their livestock, and either keep their cubs as pets or attempt to sell them to traders.
- While the international trade of cheetahs is banned under CITES, animals continue to be smuggled from the Horn of Africa to the Middle East, via a well-established trade route between Somaliland and Yemen.
- In addition to rescuing and providing long-term care for wild cheetahs, the Cheetah Conservation Fund and Somaliland’s Ministry of Environment and Rural Development are working to develop an education program that promotes coexistence between farmers and cheetahs.

‘We are all ecstatic’: Rescued wild pangolin gives birth to healthy pup
- In April 2020, conservation authorities in South Africa rescued a pregnant Temminck’s pangolin from the wildlife trade, and placed her in the African Pangolin Working Group’s release program after an extensive rehabilitation process.
- There is a paucity of information about pangolin reproduction biology, so it was difficult for veterinary staff to ascertain when the rescued pangolin would eventually give birth.
- In August 2020, camera trap footage revealed that the rescued pangolin had given birth to a healthy pup.

The other Corona: Rescued pangolin is a rehabilitation success story
- In February, a 2-year-old female pangolin named Cory was rescued in a sting operation led by the African Pangolin Working Group.
- Cory was in poor condition immediately after her rescue, but she responded well to rehabilitation, likely due to her young age.
- She was released on Manyoni Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa, where pangolins have been ecologically extinct for the past 30 to 40 years.

Illegal trade of Philippine pangolins is surging, report shows
- A new report published by TRAFFIC found that the illegal pangolin trade in the Philippines increased nine-fold in the last two years, with the authorities confiscating an estimated 6,894 pangolins between 2018 and 2019.
- Data included seizures of pangolin scales and retrievals of live pangolins that escaped from wildlife traffickers.
- TRAFFIC researchers also conducted ad hoc surveys around Manila to discover pangolin meat being served at restaurants and shops selling pills made from pangolin derivatives.
- It’s estimated that Philippine pangolins, a critically endangered species of the pangolin, have declined up to 95% in the last 40 years.

Saved from poisoning, these rare African vultures take wing again
- Three white-backed vultures rehabilitated at a specialist center after being poisoned late last year have been released back into the wild in South Africa.
- The birds were among those rescued from mass poisonings that killed 51 others across northern KwaZulu-Natal province late last year.
- Many vulture populations across Africa are in steep decline; poisoning by farmers aimed at other predators is a leading cause.
- Swift reporting of poisoning enables sites to be decontaminated, limiting the number of vultures and other species affected.

Sumatran rhino planned for capture is another female, Indonesian officials say
- Conservation officials in Indonesia have revealed that a wild Sumatran rhino planned for capture for a breeding program is a female, not a male.
- The rhino, named Pari, will join another female already at a breeding center in the Indonesian province on East Kalimantan.
- Female rhinos in captivity have been found to develop reproductive problems and infertility as a result of prolonged absence from a male, and conservationists fear this could happen to the rhino currently in captivity
- The Sumatran rhino is critically endangered, with fewer than 80 believed to be remaining in the wild.

After canoe chase, Madagascar authorities seize 144 endangered tortoises
- Authorities in Madagascar have seized 144 radiated tortoises from poachers in the country’s south, in the biggest tortoise trafficking bust in the country since 2018.
- Radiated tortoises (Astrochelys radiata), a critically endangered species, are illegal to collect or trade; most of the 144 were adults targeted for their meat.
- The tortoises are being cared for at a recovery facility, but may not be returned to the wild anytime soon; trafficking has increased so much in recent years that conservation groups engaged in the rescue of tortoises have stopped all wild releases.
- Experts warn of a likely increase in poaching in Madagascar’s south, where radiated tortoises are found, as a result of the economic slump triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.

‘It’s a success’: Pangolins return to a region where they were once extinct
- Temminck’s pangolins have been “ecologically extinct” in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province Africa for the past 30 or 40 years, but a new program managed by the African Pangolin Working Group is reintroducing the scaly anteaters back into this region.
- Pangolins rescued from the illegal wildlife trade tend to be physically ill and mentally stressed, and need to go through a lengthy rehabilitation process before they can be released.
- Instead of simply releasing pangolins back into the wild, the African Pangolin Working Group puts the animals through a “soft release” program, and continues to closely monitor them through GPS satellite and VHF radio tracking tags.
- In 2019, seven pangolins were released at Phinda Private Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal; two died of natural causes, but the remaining five are doing well.

Taylor and Tate: Canine-human teams rescue Australia’s fire-ravaged koalas
- Specially-trained koala detection dogs joined rescue teams during and after the catastrophic Australian bushfires to help find the injured marsupials quickly and increase their chance of survival.
- Koalas had a hard time escaping the fires. Because they are slow moving and their first instinct is to climb into the canopy, curl into a ball, and wait, they were often killed or injured by the incredibly intense bushfires.
- Koalas numbers had already dropped significantly in New South Wales due to habitat loss, climate change, drought and disease. The fires exacerbated what was already a precarious situation.
- Eventually, surviving koalas will be released back into the wild, but it will take great care due to their specialized diets, need for social cohorts, and time required to recover from their burns.

Thailand’s captive elephants face starvation amid COVID-19 tourism freeze
- The COVID-19 crisis has brought tourism in Thailand to a halt, forcing at least 85 elephant camps in northern Thailand to close and lay off more than 5,000 staff.
- Captive elephants used in the tourism industry are at high risk of starvation and neglect, animal advocates say.
- Organizations like Save Elephant Foundation and World Animal Protection are working to bring food and other resources to as many needy elephants as possible.
- Sanctuaries are also facing difficult times without revenue from paying volunteers and day guests.

‘Titanic challenge’ for an Italian hospital rescuing sea turtles from plastic
- A sea turtle hospital in Brancaleone, Italy saves around 50 sea turtles every year.
- One out of every two of the turtles they save has ingested plastic, the team says.
- Every year, an estimated 5 million to 13 million tons of plastic end up in the oceans.

Coronavirus outbreak may spur Southeast Asian action on wildlife trafficking
- Illegal wildlife trafficking remains a perennial problem in Southeast Asia, but with the ongoing spread of the new coronavirus, there’s added impetus for governments in the region to clamp down on the illicit trade.
- The coronavirus disease, or COVID-19, has infected more than 90,000 people worldwide and killed more than 3,000, according to the World Health Organization.
- Initial findings, though not conclusive, have linked the virus to pangolins, the most trafficked mammal on Earth and one of the mainstays of the illegal wildlife trade in Southeast Asia that feeds the Chinese market.
- Despite having a regional cooperation framework designed to curb wildlife trafficking, Southeast Asian governments have yet to agree on and finance a sustainability plan to strengthen efforts against the illegal trade.

Indonesia trains its citizens to deal with sea-mammal strandings
- The waters around Indonesia serve as both a habitat and an important migratory route for dozens of species of whales, dolphins and porpoises.
- These cetaceans, however, are often found dead on Indonesian beaches, or alive but unable to return to deeper waters themselves.
- To prevent the deaths of marine mammals that strand themselves on its shores, the government has sought to establish a network of first responders equipped with the knowledge and training to deal with problem.
- Experts say what’s more important than providing an adequate response is to reduce the threats that lead to the strandings, including by improving the management of marine habitats and tackling pollution in the sea.

Rise in crocodile sightings linked to habitat degradation in Indonesia
- The capture of a saltwater crocodile by Indonesian villagers last February was the latest in a series of increasingly frequent — and occasionally deadly — sightings of the reptiles near human settlements.
- The animal was eventually released by the local conservation agency into an unsettled area.
- Conservation officials say the destruction of the crocodiles’ habitat by blast fishing and conversion of coastal areas into farms may be driving the animals out of the wild and closer to villages.
- Officials have called on villagers not to harm the animals if they catch them, given that they’re a protected species under Indonesian law.

Indonesia arrests 7 for allegedly selling Komodo dragons over Facebook
- Indonesian officials have arrested seven suspected members of a trafficking network that sold at least 40 Komodo dragons, along with other rare species, through Facebook and other social media platforms.
- Komodo dragons are found only in Indonesia and are a protected species, which means the suspects could face up to five years in prison and up to $7,000 each in fines for trading the animals.
- Six baby Komodo dragons were seized from the suspects, and are now being cared for by conservation officials ahead of a possible release back into the wild.
- The arrests have highlighted the dominant role of social media platforms in facilitating the illegal trade in Indonesia’s protected wildlife, with up to 98 percent of transactions believed to be carried out online.

Indonesia rescues captive orangutans, but leaves their owners untouched
- Authorities in Indonesia have confiscated two juvenile Sumatran orangutans, a critically endangered species, being kept as pets.
- Possession of an orangutan is punishable by up to five years in prison in Indonesia, but authorities have never prosecuted any pet owners, who tend to be powerful and influential figures, and instead go after the poachers and traders.
- Conservationists say there need to be legal consequences for keeping orangutans as pets, in order to discourage the illegal trade, which involves poachers killing mother apes to capture babies and juveniles.

Asiatic black bear cubs rescued from illegal wildlife trade in Vietnam
- Vietnamese authorities confiscated the two female bear cubs from wildlife smugglers in Hai Phong province on January 9, according to Vienna, Austria-based animal welfare NGO Four Paws.
- After spending a night in a hotel, the cubs were taken to a Four Paws bear sanctuary in Ninh Binh on January 10, where they are receiving intensive medical care.
- Authorities do not know who was meant to buy the bear cubs or where their ultimate destination was. It’s likely that the bears were imported from Laos, though they could also have come from a bear farm in Vietnam.

Indonesia confiscated some 200 pet cockatoos. What happened to them?
- As Indonesia cracks down on the illegal wildlife trade, it is struggling to deal with the influx of animals confiscated from traffickers.
- Birds are among the most trafficked creatures. Due to a lack of rehabilitation centers, where they would slowly be prepared for life in the wild, many birds are released prematurely.
- That seems to have been the case with a group of cockatoos that were handed into the state after the infamous “water bottle bust” of 2015, in which a smuggler was caught with 23 yellow-crested cockatoos stuffed into plastic water bottles in his luggage.

A Zambian sanctuary finds caring for chimps is a lifetime commitment
- Home to more than 130 apes, Zambia’s Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage is one of the world’s oldest and largest chimpanzee sanctuaries.
- Chimpanzees can live for 50 years or more, so each new animal the center takes in will require decades of care and financial support.
- With an ever-growing number of chimps in need of a home, simply financing daily operations is a challenge for this award-winning facility.

Thousands of radiated tortoises seized from traffickers in Madagascar
- More than 7,000 critically endangered radiated tortoises were confiscated by authorities from suspected wildlife traffickers in Madagascar on Oct. 24.
- The seizure happened in the same area where a similar bust, involving nearly 10,000 tortoises of the same species, took place in April.
- The NGO Turtle Survival Alliance is working with the Madagascar environment ministry to care for the surviving tortoises.

How a better understanding of psychopathology in captive primates can aid in conservation efforts
- Maya Kummrow, a doctor of veterinary medicine, writes in a paper recently published in the Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine that non-human primates have been used as models of human psychopathology — the study of mental illness — for decades. But, she notes, “the acquired knowledge has only hesitantly been applied to primates themselves.”
- In the paper, Kummrow states that she is seeking to raise awareness among her fellow veterinarians about the wealth of information on NHP psychopathology that is available in human medicine and anthropology literature and calls for “mental health assessments and professionally structured treatment approaches” in NHP medicine, as well.
- In this Q&A, Mongabay spoke with Kummrow about how her review of the literature on NHP psychopathology and treatment might apply to primate conservation efforts.

Sumatran tiger blamed for killing two people is captured alive after marathon hunt
- Authorities in Indonesia have captured alive a critically endangered Sumatran tiger blamed for the deaths of two people in an oil palm plantation.
- The tiger has been moved to a wildlife rehabilitation center, where it will undergo medical tests ahead of being released back into the wild.
- The capture averts a repeat of a near-identical case in March, in which villagers killed and mutilated a tiger blamed for attacking two members of a hunting party.
- The whole incident, which an official described as the longest ever search-and-rescue operation for a Sumatran tiger, has highlighted the importance of protecting wildlife habitats, which often are lost to plantations or human settlements, driving the animals into conflict with people.

Indonesia races to catch tiger alive as villagers threaten to ‘kill the beast’
- A conservation agency in Indonesia’s Sumatra Island has deployed two teams to capture alive a wild tiger that has reportedly killed two people at an oil palm plantation.
- The incidents prompted villagers living near the plantation to threaten to kill the tiger themselves if it was not caught.
- Authorities are keen to take the animal alive, following the killing of a tiger earlier this month under similar circumstances.

Glimmer of hope as Malaysia’s last female Sumatran rhino shows signs of recovery
- The worst appears to be over for Iman, Malaysia’s last female Sumatran rhino, after she suffered massive bleeding from a ruptured tumor in her uterus earlier this month.
- Veterinarians and rhino experts are hopeful but cautious about Iman’s recovery prospects, and continue to provide around-the-clock care.
- The rhino is Malaysia’s last hope for saving the nearly extinct species, which is thought to number as few as 30 individuals in the world.

4 sperm whales dead after mass stranding in Sumatra
- A pod of 10 sperm whales beached earlier this week in shallow waters in western Indonesia.
- Despite attempts by authorities and residents to push the animals back out into deeper water, four of the whales died after being stranded overnight.
- Experts are looking into what caused the whales to swim so close to shore.

Two Indonesian soldiers found to be smuggling dozens of porcupines
- The Indonesian conservation agency caught a pair of army officers trying to smuggle dozens of porcupines across provincial borders in Sumatra.
- The animal’s stomach produces a stone used in traditional Chinese medicine.
- The soldiers were questioned by civilian authorities, and then turned over to the military.

Indonesia is running out of places to put rescued animals
- The head of the state conservation agency in North Sumatra says both of her rescue centers are over capacity. She is having to send animals to zoos.
- The glut is due to an increase of people handing over protected species to the government, in line with efforts by authorities and NGOs to raise awareness of the law.
- Dedicated facilities exist to receive some species, but for others, authorities have had to improvise.

Scientists mull risks of freeing rare albino orangutan in Borneo
- Caregivers are nursing the animal back to health at a rescue center in Central Kalimantan.
- Biologists worry that releasing it into the wild will introduce its genetic defect into the population at large.
- No data exists on the prevalence of albinoism among orangutans.

Documenting the fight to save Borneo’s animals
- After graduating from school, Aaron ‘Bertie’ Gekoski was on a fairly conventional career path for a young businessman.
- But the more successful his agency became, the more Gekoski felt like something was missing.
- So he quit the business and embarked on a totally new adventure: wildlife filmmaking.
- Gekoski spoke about his unusual career path, his passion, and filmmaking during an April 2017 interview with Mongabay.com.

27 critically endangered Javan slow lorises rescued from online traders in Indonesia
- The Javan slow loris (Nycticebus javanicus) is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and is considered one of the most endangered primate species in the world due mainly to habitat loss and the illegal wildlife trade.
- Mortality rates of confiscated lorises is typically quite high, according to Christine Rattel, a program advisor at International Animal Rescue Indonesia, because traders load them into small, cramped crates, which can cause wounds, stress, and more serious medical problems that can result in death.
- Perpetrators of wildlife crime can be prosecuted under Indonesia’s Natural Protection Law and face up to five years in prison as well as fines of 100 million Indonesian Rupiah (about $7,400).

Video: Two rescued pet orangutans return to the wild
- Before their release, Johnny and Desi spent four years being rehabilitated.
- Both had spent several years confined in a cage, so they had to learn how to climb, forage, make nests and acquire a variety of other survival skills.
- Johnny and Desi were released into Baka Bukit Raya National Park on November 23.

Orangutan reintroductions could risk population survival, study warns
- 1,500 orangutans now live in rescue centers located across Sumatra and Borneo, and many conservationists, along with the Indonesian government, want to return them to the wild as soon as possible. However, a new study poses a serious concern.
- Borneo’s three recognized orangutan subspecies — from three distinct regions — are thought to have diverged from each other 176,000 years ago, meaning that hybridization between them may result in negative genetic effects.
- If hybrid offspring reproduce, gene combinations beneficial to one lineage can be disrupted, causing poor health and reduced reproductive success. This “outbreeding depression” could threaten the survival of individuals and populations long-term.
- Some scientists do not agree with orangutan subspecies designations, and would rather see the animals returned to the wild quickly, no matter where. Others say genetic testing of rescued animals and reintroduction to a matching subspecies region will prevent hybridization, and would be the prudent approach.

Zimbabwe selling baby elephant calves to China, says environmental group

Frightened and malnourished female elephant calf in an enclosure in Zimbabwe prior to exportation to China. Photo courtesy of ELEPHANTS DC. A hundred thousand African elephants were killed by poachers for their ivory between 2010 and 2012. Now a new threat looms: a growing wildlife trade in baby animals to satisfy international tourism. Zimbabwe has […]
Kala: the face of tigers in peril

In 1864, Walter Campbell was an officer in the British Army, stationed in India when he penned these words in his journal: “Never attack a tiger on foot—if you can help it. There are cases in which you must do so. Then face him like a Briton, and kill him if you can; for if […]
Cute koalas have become ‘urban refugees’

The 3rd Annual New York Wildlife Conservation Film Festival (WFCC.org) runs from January 30 – February 2, 2013. Ahead of the event, Mongabay.com is running a series of Q&As with filmmakers and presenters. For more interviews, please see our WCFF feed. Jimmy, an orphan whose mother was rundown by a car, is the star of […]

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