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topic: Captive Breeding
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Spotted softshell turtle release boosts reptile conservation in Vietnam
- The rewilding of 50 captive-bred spotted softshell turtles has sparked hope among conservationists for the future of the rare and threatened species in Vietnam, a country where softshell turtles are widely considered a culinary delicacy.
- Described by scientists as recently as 2019, the species is considered critically endangered throughout its range in China and Southeast Asia due to hunting for human consumption and habitat loss.
- The reintroduction of the young turtles is the first rewilding of offspring reared at a dedicated turtle conservation breeding facility in northern Vietnam to safeguard Vietnam’s rare and threatened amphibian and reptile species.
- Turtle conservationists say that while it will be a long and perilous road to recovery for the species in Vietnam amid persistent threats, the work to preserve the species is a positive step toward changing people’s view of freshwater turtles as primarily a food item and curbing hunting pressure not only on this species, but many others as well.
Gharial conservation plan leaves Nepal fishing communities searching for new jobs
- Since the creation of Chitwan National Park, some Indigenous Bote people who have lost access to their ancestral lands and livelihoods have been employed by the park as gharial keepers to help conserve the critically endangered species.
- However, community members say the park’s restrictions on their fishing livelihoods to protect the reptile species is taking a toll on their economic needs and restricting their rights; the possibility of working as gharial keepers and other livelihood alternatives are insufficient, they say.
- Many parents are now encouraging their children to migrate to Persian Gulf countries to work as migrant laborers in order to lead a better material life.
- Conservationists say restricting fishing is an important step in protecting the species, which would struggle to survive if many economically dependent communities fished in the rivers.
Nepal’s gharial population rises, but threats to the crocs persist
- The population of critically endangered gharials in Chitwan National Park, Nepal’s stronghold for these crocodiles, increased by around 11% as of the start of 2024, totaling 265 individuals compared to 239 the previous year.
- While the increase is positive, a recently published study shows the critically endangered crocs are unevenly distributed throughout their range, with threats from fishing, changes in river flow, and infrastructure development deterring them from certain prime habitats.
- The study also flagged the low success rate of a raise-and-release program for captive-bred gharials: 404 gharials have been released under the program, but the overall population has increased by just 80.
- Juveniles released under the captive-breeding program are likely suffering high mortality rates in the wild or getting washed downstream to India; experts say a possible solution is to release them as far upstream as possible.
New calf brings new hope, and new concerns, for embattled Sumatran rhinos
- A male Sumatran rhino calf was born Nov. 25 at Indonesia’s Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Way Kambas National Park, marking the second birth at the facility in as many months.
- Independent estimates put the species’ wild population at no more than 47 individuals, so each new birth increases hopes the species can be saved from extinction; the new calf brings the captive population up to 11.
- However, the birth also highlights weaknesses of the captive-breeding program: the father and mother of the new calf are related, a consequence of all the male rhinos currently in captivity being descended from a single genetic line.
Video: A sanctuary for elephants and forests in Cambodia
- The Elephant Valley Project in eastern Cambodia is a sanctuary where aging captive elephants can live out their days amid the forested foothills of the Annamite Mountains supported by tourism.
- But tourists stopped coming when the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns began and the world ceased traveling in 2020, leaving the project searching for ways to continue its work with the elephants and the nearby communities.
- Leaders of the project said it has provided jobs, education and health care support, and protection for a key area of mature forest along the edge of Keo Seima, Cambodia’s most biodiverse wildlife sanctuary.
- One possible avenue for funding may be the nearby REDD+ forest conservation project in Keo Seima, based on the protection of the forest from threats like illegal logging and hunting that the presence of the elephants and their mahouts has provided.
For Vietnam’s rare reptiles, lack of captive populations may spell doom
- As an epicenter of biodiversity, Vietnam hosts a wide array of reptile species. But new research shows that many species that occur nowhere else on the planet are poorly known and lacking protection.
- The researchers also found that many of Vietnam’s rarest species are absent from the world’s zoo collections and conservation breeding programs, risking their disappearance forever should their wild populations collapse.
- They call on conservationists and authorities to focus on conservation measures to protect the country’s most vulnerable reptiles, including establishing assurance populations that could be used in the future to repopulate areas of wild habitat from which they have been lost.
A forest gave Cambodia’s captive elephants a new life. Now they’re paying it back
- Until 2020, the Elephant Valley Project in eastern Cambodia had developed into a self-sustaining sanctuary where aging captive elephants could live out their days amid the forested foothills of the Annamite Mountains.
- Leaders of the project say it provided jobs, education and health care support, and protection for a key area of mature forest along the edge of Keo Seima, Cambodia’s most biodiverse wildlife sanctuary.
- But tourists stopped coming when the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns began and the world ceased traveling in 2020, leaving the project searching for ways to continue its work with the elephants and the nearby communities. Visitors have begun to return, though not yet in the numbers prior to the pandemic.
- Site leaders say one possible avenue for funding may be the nearby REDD+ forest conservation project in Keo Seima. They argue that the sustained presence of elephants and their mahouts has helped protect the forest from threats like illegal logging and the deforestation that has pressed ever closer as the human population in the region has grown.
Sumatran tiger arrives at Tacoma captive-breeding program
- A male Sumatran tiger has arrived at a captive-breeding program in Tacoma, Washington state, where it’s hoped more of the critically endangered cats will be born.
- Fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers survive in the wilds of Sumatra today, where forest loss is pushing many of the island’s species, including tigers, into smaller pockets of habitat.
- This article was produced in collaboration with McClatchy News.
Rare turtles hatch from eggs rescued from flood-prone Nepal riverbank
- Conservationists in Nepal successfully rescued and hatched hundreds of Indian narrow-headed softshell turtles (Chitra indica) from a riverbank in Chitwan National Park.
- The nesting sites were hit by a flash flood three weeks after the eggs were removed; 375 of the 496 eggs hatched successfully at Chitwan’s gharial breeding center after nearly seven weeks.
- Narrow-headed softshell turtles are an endangered species, threatened by hunting for their meat and consumption of their eggs, as well as degradation of their habitat, but aren’t the subject of any dedicated conservation programs in Nepal.
- Conservationists have called on the government to focus more attention on the species, saying it wouldn’t cost much and would require only the will to act.
Raise-and-release program keeping Nepal’s gharials alive can be improved, study says
- A new study has recommended ways to improve the success rate of a program that releases captive-raised gharial crocodiles into the wild in Nepal.
- The study looked at the growth of gharials released under the program going back 10 years, and identified the first two years in the wild as the most critical for the animals’ chances at surviving.
- It recommended timing the releases with periods when fish are more abundant in rivers, allowing the crocodiles to pack on weight while minimizing their energy expenditure.
- The study authors also call for addressing threats to the critically endangered species from dams, riverbed mining and fishing, and for closer cross-border conservation efforts between Nepal and India, where some of the released gharials have ended up.
Return of the king? Pakistan moves to bring gharials from Nepal to its rivers
- Pakistani officials have requested the transfer of hundreds of gharial crocodiles from Nepal in an effort to reintroduce a species last seen in Pakistan in 1985.
- Wildlife conservation officials in Nepal have confirmed communications on the issue, but say a decision hasn’t been made yet.
- A key obstacle to any future transfer is the concern that Pakistan may not have done enough to change the conditions that led to the gharial’s local extinction there.
- The slender-snouted crocodile once ranged west from Pakistan to Bangladesh in the east, but is now almost entirely restricted to India and Nepal, both of which run captive-breeding programs to boost the species’ population.
Study casts doubt on sustainability of regulated blood python snakeskin trade
- There’s no evidence to show that the trade in blood pythons from Indonesia, coveted for their skins for making luxury fashion items, is sustainable, a new study shows.
- In fact, the evidence indicates that much of the trade, which involves slaughtering and skinning the snakes by the tens of thousands every year, may be illegal.
- The species isn’t considered threatened or protected in Indonesia, the main producer of blood python skins, and exports are governed by CITES, the convention on the international wildlife trade.
- The study’s author calls on the Indonesian government to enforce stricter monitoring and scrutiny of annual harvests, traders to abide by the regulations, and global buyers to shift away from exotic leather and use alternatives.
Year of the Tiger: Illegal trade thrives amid efforts to save wild tigers
- As the world celebrates the Year of the Tiger in 2022, humans continue to threaten the cat’s long-term survival in the wild: killing, buying and selling tigers and their prey, and encroaching into their last shreds of habitat. That’s why they are Earth’s most endangered big cat.
- Undercover video footage has revealed an enlarged tiger farm run by an organized criminal organization in Laos. It’s one of many captive-breeding facilities implicated in the black market trade — blatantly violating an international treaty on trade in endangered species.
- Under a 2007 CITES decision, tigers should be bred only for conservation purposes. Evidence shows that this decision is being disregarded by some Asian nations, including China, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand. But CITES has done little to enforce it, which could be done through sanctions, say critics.
- With the world’s second Global Tiger Summit and important international meetings on biodiversity and endangered species looming, it’s a crucial year for tigers. In the wild, some populations are increasing, some stable, and others shrinking: Bengal tigers in India are faring best, while Malayan tigers hover on extinction’s edge.
Podcast: She’s here! Rare Sumatran rhino calf born at rhino sanctuary
- Indonesia’s environment ministry in March reported the birth of a Sumatran rhino calf.
- This calf is the first one born in captivity in nearly six years, stoking optimism for the captive-breeding program in Sumatra’s Way Kambas National Park.
- This bonus episode of the Mongabay Explores podcast features senior staff writer Basten Gokkon on the still-unnamed female rhino calf, and what this means for the future of this critically endangered mammal.
It’s a girl: Super rare Sumatran rhino born in captive-breeding center
- Indonesia has reported the birth of a Sumatran rhinoceros in a captive-breeding program targeted to save the critically endangered species from extinction.
- The new calf is the first child of captive rhino Rosa at the Way Kambas Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary, and Andatu, a male who was himself born at the sanctuary in 2012.
- This new captive birth of a Sumatran rhino has rekindled hopes among experts and officials for more newborns in the future.
New study highlights hidden scale of U.S. illegal tiger trade
- A new study highlights the previously underestimated role of the U.S. in the illegal tiger trade: According to newly compiled seizure data, tiger trafficking in the U.S. from 2003 to 2012 corresponded to almost half of the global tiger trade reported for that period in prior studies.
- By analyzing hundreds of U.S. tiger trafficking incidents, the researchers uncovered noteworthy routes from China and Vietnam into the country, with the vast majority of seizures involving traditional medicines.
- They also found significant legal trade in captive-bred tigers into the country, mainly for use in roadside zoos and circuses; experts say the patchwork of U.S. federal, state and local laws that govern the roughly 5,000 captive tigers in the country is insufficient to safeguard them from the illegal trade.
- Experts are calling on U.S. legislators to pass the Big Cat Public Safety Act, a bill that would improve the welfare and protection of tigers in captivity and therefore strengthen the country’s integrity on international tiger conservation matters.
Greater Mekong primates struggle to cling on amid persistent threats: Report
- The Greater Mekong region is home to 44 species of non-human primates, including gibbons, lorises, langurs, macaques and snub-nosed monkeys, several of which were first described within the last few years.
- Habitat loss and hunting driven by the wildlife trade and consumption have driven many of the region’s primates to the brink of extinction, with many species now only existing as tiny populations in isolated, fragmented pockets of habitat.
- Experts say controlling the illegal wildlife trade is complicated by the presence of legal markets for primates, often for use in biomedical research.
- Despite the challenges, conservation action at local levels is achieving results for some primate species in the region while also enhancing livelihoods and ecosystem services for local communities.
Wild release marks return of giant forest tortoises to Bangladesh hills
- Researchers and villagers last month released 10 captive-bred Asian giant tortoises into Bangladesh’s Chattogram Hill Tracts to boost numbers of the threatened species in the wild, once thought to be extinct in the country.
- Asian giant tortoises are critically endangered throughout their range in South and Southeast Asia due to heavy hunting pressure and habitat loss.
- The rewilding of the batch of juvenile tortoises is the first wild release of offspring reared at a dedicated turtle conservation breeding center that was set up in the Chattogram Hills in 2017 to safeguard the future of several rare and threatened species.
- Through tortoise conservation, researchers are working with local hill tribes to monitor local wildlife, curb hunting, and protect community-managed forests.
Tiger farms doing little to end wild poaching, Vietnam consumer study shows
- More than 8,000 tigers are kept in captivity in China, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam in commercial facilities ranging from residential basements to licensed venues operating under the guise of tourism, and battery-farm operations holding hundreds of tigers.
- Evidence shows that captive tigers and their body parts enter the legal and illegal trade, where they perpetuate the demand for tiger-based traditional medicines and decorative curios, primarily in China and Vietnam.
- A new study that investigates the motivations of consumers of “tiger bone glue” in Vietnam reveals that consumers prefer products from wild tigers and would carry on purchasing illegal wild products even if a legal farmed trade existed.
- The findings back up calls from conservationists and wildlife trade experts to phase out tiger farming entirely since it doesn’t alleviate pressure on wild tigers, and only encourages the consumption of tiger parts.
Indonesia ranks high on legal wildlife trade, but experts warn it masks illegal trade
- Indonesia sits at No. 9 on a list of the 80 countries with the highest number of wildlife specimens legally exported abroad since 1975, new research shows.
- The legal international trade in wildlife is governed by CITES, whose trade database shows that Indonesia exported 7.7 million live animals over the past 46 years, more than a quarter of them arowana fish.
- While these trades are legal, experts say the government should try to minimize the practice and focus more on conserving wild populations of these species.
- Critics of the legal wildlife trade have long accused it of helping mask the illegal trade, primarily through the “laundering” of wild-caught animals through captive-breeding facilities.
Snapshot of hatchlings raises hopes for Siamese crocs in northeast Cambodia
- Researchers have found and photographed eight Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis) hatchlings in northeastern Cambodia — the first confirmed evidence that the critically endangered species is breeding in this area.
- The new breeding population significantly expands the known breeding range of the species in Cambodia; until now, most breeding was recorded around the Cardamom Mountains landscape in the southwest.
- With fewer than 1,000 adults remaining in the wild globally, the species is on the brink of extinction; threats include habitat loss, hydropower schemes, poaching, and entanglement in fishing gear.
- Wildlife experts say conservation measures, including community engagement, captive breeding and reintroduction programs, will help to ensure Siamese crocodiles’ long-term survival.
Low genetic diversity is part of rhinos’ long-term history, study says
- A new study that reconstructs the rhino family tree by analyzing the genomes of all five living rhino species and three extinct species has found that low genetic diversity is part of rhinos’ long-term history.
- The study also found evidence to support the geographic hypothesis of rhino evolution, which places the two African species in a separate group from the three Asian species.
- However, genetic diversity is lowest and inbreeding highest in present-day rhinos, suggesting that recent human-driven population declines have impacted rhino genetics.
- Nonetheless, the study says rhinos appear to have adapted well to low genetic diversity and small populations sizes and recommends conservation efforts focus on increasing rhino numbers.
Captive breeding of Sumatran rhinos: Where the program stands today
- In a series of video interviews, Mongabay speaks with Sumatran rhino experts to get up-to-date information on efforts to breed the species in captivity.
- The interviews focus on three locations that host the vast majority of Sumatran rhinos, whose entire population is believed to number no more than 80.
- The interviews reveal fears stemming from the dire state of the species, as well as optimism that officials and conservationists are finally working with united purpose to keep the species from sliding into extinction.
‘What’s your real footprint on the animal world?’: Q&A with author Henry Mance
- Henry Mance’s debut book, “How to Love Animals: In a Human-Shaped World,” considers humanity’s complex relationship with animals in terms of the food we put on our plates and the activities we partake in that directly affects animals’ lives.
- Much of the book explores the troubled relationship between humans and animals, but it also looks at the positive aspects of the human-animal relationship that manifests in our treatment of pets.
- The author grapples with some difficult questions, such as whether hunting can actually be an ethical activity and whether zoos have conservation value.
- He concludes that animals should be treated with more respect and kindness than we currently give them, and that we should look for ways to redefine our relationship with animalkind, not only for ethical reasons but for environmental reasons as well.
Philippine forest turtles stand a ‘good chance’ after first wild release
- Researchers released a pair of Philippine forest turtles (Siebenrockiella leytensis) on the island of Palawan in February, they announced this month, part of a batch of only 17 to have been successfully bred under human care in the Philippines since 2018.
- After tracking the turtles for three months following the release, the researchers say there are indications the animals can mature and reproduce if released within guarded and protected areas.
- The turtles are notoriously difficult to breed in human care and the conservation group that carried out the breeding program took 10 years before recording its first successful hatchling in 2018.
- Endemic to the Philippines, the forest turtle is threatened by poaching for the exotic pet trade, with wild-caught specimens often passed off as captive-born ones by private traders, despite the great difficulty in breeding this species in captivity.
Do we love elephants enough to let them live free? (commentary)
- A prime attraction for zoos and circuses, elephants make an impression with their playfulness, intelligence, and docile nature despite extraordinary strength.
- But a reluctance to retire elephants to sanctuaries, plus captive breeding efforts and importation of wild animals to places like the U.S. all reveal an industry devoted to keeping elephants captive permanently.
- At a time when the world has watched a herd of wild elephants wander across China looking for a new home, the question of whether we love elephants enough to let them live free gains added meaning.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
From common to captive, Javan pied starlings succumb to songbird trade
- The Javan pied starling (Gracupica jalla) was once common across the Indonesian island of Java, but has now disappeared from the wild, thanks in large part to the songbird trade.
- A new study that chronicles the bird’s decline points to historically unsustainable rates of harvest of starlings from the wild, including fledglings.
- The study authors recommend captive breeding to reestablish genetic diversity in the species for eventual reintroduction of starlings into the wild.
- Keeping songbirds is a culturally ingrained pastime in Indonesia, with even the country’s president partaking, which activists say must be addressed with awareness building.
CSI, but for parrots: Study applies criminological tool CRAAVED to wildlife trade
- Parrots as the most traded animal taxon have the potential to provide a primary source of data for investigating the causes and consequences of the animal trade.
- A new study applies the CRAAVED model analysis to shed new light on key drivers of the illegal parrot trade in Indonesia, home to the highest diversity of the birds and a thriving wildlife market.
- The analysis identified three main factors for which species were targeted by traffickers: how accessible parrot species are to people and traders; whether legal export of the species is possible; and whether the species is enjoyable through its color, size or mimicry.
- Other experts have welcomed the findings and their implications, but point to limitations in the CRAAVED model and the importance of considering other factors such as harvest quotas and the motivation behind wildlife crime.
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.
Sumatran rhinos show low inbreeding — but when it happens, collapse is quick
- Fewer than 100 Sumatran rhinos are believed to remain on Earth, and the species faces dire threats due to a low birth rate, habitat loss and fragmentation, and poaching.
- A new study finds that, despite its small size, the population retains significant genetic diversity, and likely has the genomic “toolkit” necessary to survive threats like climate change or disease.
- The findings are good news for conservationists, but also come with a warning: an analysis of a recently extinct subpopulation revealed that a rapid spike in inbreeding preceded their extinction.
- The research highlights dilemmas currently facing conservationists working to breed Sumatran rhinos in captivity: Should subspecies be mixed? And, when no alternatives exist, should captive rhinos be bred with their relatives?
Skin in the game? Reptile leather trade embroils conservation authority
- The reptile skin trade is a controversial issue, with some experts saying that harvesting programs help conserve species and provide livelihood benefits, while others say that the trade is fraught with issues and animal welfare concerns.
- From a conservation standpoint, there is evidence that the reptile skin trade is sustainable for some species and in some contexts, but other research suggests that the trade could be decimating wild populations and doing more harm than good.
- Exotic leather is falling out of favor in the fashion industry: Numerous companies and brands have banned products made from reptile skin as well as fur, replacing them with products made from materials such as apple, grape or mushroom leather.
- Experts connected with the IUCN have written open letters and op-eds to lament the decisions of companies to ban exotic leather, arguing that these bans have damaged conservation efforts, but other experts question the IUCN’s unfailing support of an imperfect trade.
Captive lions kept in ‘stressful conditions’ create perfect recipe for disease, experts say
- Researchers have identified that captive and wild lions carry 63 pathogens that could result in about 83 diseases and clinical symptoms.
- Drawing on this research, conservationists have named five diseases that have the potential to spill over into the human population and impact public health: human ehrlichiosis, human babesiosis, toxocariasis, trichinosis, and African sleeping sickness.
- Animal welfare advocates say that captive lion facilities in South Africa tend to keep lions in unsanitary, stressful conditions that provide the perfect environment for disease.
- With this in mind, conservationists are advocating for the South African government to shut down the captive lion industry.
Conservation actions see Iberian lynx claw back from brink of extinction
- By 2002, the Iberian lynx was extinct in its native Portugal and down to fewer than 100 animals in Spain, well on track to becoming the first cat species to go extinct since the saber-toothed tiger 12,000 years ago.
- But a battery of conservation measures targeting the wide range of threats to the species has seen it bounce back from the brink, with a wild population today of around 1,000.
- Reintroduction of captive-bred lynx has been complemented by rewilding of historical lynx ranges, along with boosting of prey species and the creation of wildlife corridors and highway tunnels to reduce deaths from road collisions.
- The species is one of a handful highlighted in a study showing how targeted conservation solutions can save species from going extinct, although threats still remain, including climate change.
Video: Doomed or viable? Sumatran rhino captive breeding faces a dilemma
- A new animated short film from Mongabay, illustrated by artist Roger Peet, depicts one of the most urgent questions facing experts trying to save the Sumatran rhino from extinction.
- With no more than 80 Sumatran rhinos left on Earth, many of them isolated into groups too small to be viable, the species’ natural birthrate is so low that experts have reached a consensus that human intervention is necessary to stave off extinction.
- The question now is which rhinos to capture: Isolated ones are less likely to be healthy and fertile, but removing rhinos from populations that are still breeding in the wild could risk the survival of these last few viable groups.
Rarely seen Sumatran rhinos are now even more elusive as threats close in
- The wild Sumatran rhinos of Way Kambas National Park in Indonesia are becoming even more elusive in response to changes to their habitat, according to rhino expert Arief Rubianto.
- Fires and poaching of other species for bushmeat pose a serious threat to the critically endangered rhinos.
- Way Kambas is believed to be one of the last strongholds of the Sumatran rhino, with estimates of 12 to 33 wild rhinos, out of a global population of less than 80.
- Indonesian officials and conservationists are carrying out a census to get a better idea of the species’ true population to help inform conservation strategies.
Widodo Ramono, the man on a mission to save Sumatran rhinos
- Indonesian biologist Widodo Ramono has dedicated a lifetime to conserving the country’s Sumatran rhinos from extinction.
- A former government official, Widodo now leads a rhino conservation group that oversees a captive-breeding program at a sanctuary for Sumatran rhinos.
- To save the species, found only in Indonesia, Widodo says protecting its habitats from deforestation and poaching is the most important thing.
- Mongabay Indonesia recently spoke with Widodo about the country’s plans for rhinos and the challenges those plans face.
The rhino in the room: 3D scan brings near-extinct Sumatran species to virtual life
- Technologist Corey Jaskolski created the world’s first 3D digital copy of a Sumatran rhino to help educate the world about the critically endangered species.
- There are only about 80 Sumatran rhinos remaining in Indonesia, and the biggest threat to the species is being so isolated that they can’t find others to mate with.
- Jaskolski’s 3D scanning and AI technology can also be used for other purposes in conservation, such as species identification and anti-poaching efforts.
Back from the brink, baby Burmese roofed turtles make their debut
- Once considered extinct, the Burmese roofed turtle was brought back from the brink by an ambitious conservation program.
- The captive population is now approaching 1,000 turtles, and the species appears to be in little danger of biological extinction.
- Scientists have now published descriptions and photos of the hatchlings of this little-known river turtle.
Captive breeding helps New Zealand’s threatened black stilts take flight
- The black stilt or kakī is a critically endangered wading bird with fewer than 200 individuals living in the wild.
- The main threat to the kakī is introduced predators, such as stoats, ferrets, rats and cats, but the birds are also vulnerable to flooding in their habitat.
- The Kakī Recovery Programme, run by New Zealand’s Department of Conservation, runs a captive-breeding and reintroduction program, which has helped boost the wild kakī population by 30% over the past year.
- In August 2020, the program released 104 captive-bred individuals to help bolster wild populations.
Forest fires set by poachers threaten a refuge of the Sumatran rhino
- Fires set by poachers are a top cause of habitat degradation in Way Kambas National Park on Indonesia’s Sumatra Island.
- The park is home to critically endangered Sumatran rhinos, tigers and elephants, among hundreds of wildlife species.
- The burning on the fringes of the park spurs the growth of fresh grass, which draws the deer and boars that the poachers target.
- Park officials and conservationists are engaged with local communities to dissuade people from poaching, as well as replanting burned areas with hardier vegetation.
Brazilian Amazon drained of millions of wild animals by criminal networks: Report
- A new 140-page report is shining a bright light on illegal wildlife trafficking in the Brazilian Amazon. The study finds that millions of birds, tropical fish, turtles, and mammals are being plucked from the wild and traded domestically or exported to the U.S, EU, China, the Middle East and elsewhere. Many are endangered.
- This illicit international trade is facilitated by weak laws, weak penalties, inadequate government record keeping, poor law enforcement — as well as widespread corruption, bribery, fraud, forgery, money laundering and smuggling.
- While some animals are seized, and some low-level smugglers are caught, the organizers of this global criminal enterprise are rarely brought to justice.
- The report notes that this trafficking crisis needs urgent action, as the trade not only harms wildlife, but also decimates ecosystems and puts public health at risk. The researchers point out that COVID-19 likely was transmitted to humans by trafficked animals and that addressing the Brazilian Amazon wildlife trade could prevent the next pandemic.
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.
‘Every tool in the box’ to save Sumatran rhinos: Q&A with Nina Fascione of IRF
- In March 2020, Nina Fascione was named the new executive director of the International Rhino Foundation (IRF).
- The IRF works to protect all five rhino species, but none is as imperiled at the Sumatran rhino, which numbers fewer than 80.
- Mongabay spoke with Fascione about her background, her new job, and her organization’s plans to save the Sumatran rhino.
Indonesia identifies rhino to capture for breeding, but will have to wait until next year
- Indonesian officials have identified a wild Sumatran rhino they plan to catch in Borneo for a captive-breeding program, but have not said whether it’s a male or female.
- The planned capture will have to wait until next year at least, with officials citing the COVID-19 pandemic as an obstacle.
- Officials already have a female Sumatran rhino at the Kelian Lestari captive-breeding facility in Borneo, and hope to either find her a mate from the wild or fertilize her eggs with sperm from rhinos held at the Way Kambas facility in Sumatra.
- The Sumatran and Bornean populations are distinct subspecies of the Sumatran rhino, and conservationists agree on the need to interbreed them to boost the genetic diversity of a species that numbers fewer than 80.
For two rhino species on brink of extinction, it’s collaboration vs. stonewalling
- An ocean apart, and genetically separated into two distinct genera, the Sumatran and northern white rhinos have something in common: populations so small that researchers are looking to artificial reproductive technologies (ART) to ensure their survival.
- The situation is particularly dire for the northern white rhino, with just two known living individuals, both female. However, in 2019, a team of international experts successfully created northern white rhino embryos in a lab.
- With an estimated population of 80, Sumatran rhinos are more numerous, but ART efforts have been slowed by strict regulations imposed by the Indonesian government.
COVID-19 halts matchmaking attempt for female Sumatran rhino in Borneo
- Conservationists searching for a wild male Sumatran orangutan to join a lone female as part of a captive-breeding program have had to call off the search for the rest of the year.
- The field work by conservationists in Indonesia’s East Kalimantan province has been halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, along with other activities.
- The captive breeding programs is believed by experts to be the most viable means left to save the global population of the nearly extinct species.
- Indonesia is now the last refuge for Sumatran rhinos, with a population of fewer than 80 individuals.
Prized as pets, are ball pythons being traded out of wild existence?
- The ball python is the most commonly traded African species under CITES, with more than 3 million of these reptiles exported since 1975, mainly from Togo, Ghana and Benin.
- Listed under CITES Appendix II, ball pythons can be legally traded, but exporters require special permits and need to meet certain welfare requirements.
- Some experts say that wild ball python populations are in rapid decline, and that the trade needs to be better regulated or completely stopped; others say that ball pythons are not currently threatened, and that the trade can be maintained with the proper management and captive breeding programs.
- There is a growing body of evidence purporting that reptiles are sentient beings capable of emotions, and animal welfare advocates believe this is more reason to stop the trade.
Rare baby Chinese pangolin born to rescued mom makes surprise debut at Vietnam sanctuary [VIDEO]
- For the first time ever, a baby Chinese pangolin was born in a captive environment at the Save Vietnam’s Wildlife (SVW) facility near Cuc Phuong National Park, Vietnam.
- SVW released a video of the pangolin mother and her son this week leading up to World Pangolin Day on Feb. 15.
- Chinese pangolins are listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List; pangolins are the world’s most trafficked animals, a trade driven by demand from East Asia for their flesh and scales.
- The surprise baby is a huge win for SVW, indicating that its captive environment is suitable for its pangolins, rescued from traffickers, to have a healthy pregnancy, birth, and home to rear their young — all important steps for a successful breeding program.
Lucky ducks: Once thought extinct, rare pochards take steps toward recovery
- 12 Madagascar pochard (Aythya innotata) ducklings were born in the wild in November.
- Conservationists had introduced 21 young adult pochards to Lake Sofia in northern Madagascar in December 2018, but did not expect them to reproduce so quickly.
- The pochard was once common in Madagascar’s highlands, but the population declined rapidly in the mid-20th century. Only a single pochard was spotted from 1970 until 2006.
- The new crop of ducklings marks a victory for conservation groups that have been working to save the species since then. However, the pochard’s future remains precarious due in part to a lack of food, with its total population measurable in the dozens.
Indonesia-WWF split puts rhino breeding project in Borneo in limbo
- A recent decision by Indonesia’s environment ministry to abruptly cut ties with WWF Indonesia has thrown a crucial effort to conserve Sumatran rhinos into limbo.
- WWF Indonesia had been deeply involved in an initiative to start a captive-breeding program for the species in Indonesian Borneo.
- Experts agree that captive-breeding of the species is the best way to boost a birth rate that has dropped below natural replacement levels, and the capture of wild rhinos from Borneo was seen as key to boosting the available genetic pool.
- It’s not clear how the program will now proceed, but WWF Indonesia says it remains open to supporting the government on the conservation cause.
Indonesian officials wield sharia law in defense of Sumatran rhinos
- Indonesia’s Aceh province is considering a sharia, or Islamic, bylaw to strengthen punishment for the illegal wildlife trade, in a move that could help protect the critically endangered Sumatran rhino.
- The bylaw, if passed, would prescribe up to 100 lashes of the cane for anyone convicted of hunting, killing or trading in protected species, including rhinos.
- The province’s Leuser Ecosystem is believed to hold up to 50 of the maximum 80 Sumatran rhinos estimated to be left on Earth.
- The Indonesian government also plans to set up its third Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Leuser, part of a network of captive-breeding centers aimed at boosting the species’ population.
Love triangle complicates efforts to breed Sumatran rhinos
- Efforts to breed the critically endangered Sumatran rhino in captivity have faced myriad challenges ranging from mysterious deaths and reproductive health problems to bureaucratic hurdles.
- Now, a sanctuary in Indonesia that has previously witnessed the birth of two healthy calves is facing a new, unexpected obstacle: relationship problems.
- One pair of rhinos, Andalas and Ratu, have successfully produced two calves. But after keepers attempted to mate Andalas with a second female, his previous mate now rejects him.
- Producing as many calves from the captive rhinos is a top priority in efforts to conserve the species, whose wild population is fewer than 80 individuals.
Indonesia to capture 3 wild Sumatran rhinos to add to breeding population
- Indonesia hopes to capture three Sumatran rhinos from the wild next year to stock up a captive-breeding sanctuary, in a bid to boost the population of the critically endangered species.
- The sanctuary, opened in 1996 to provide a heavily protected semi-wild habitat for captive rhinos to breed, is already home to seven rhinos, two of which were conceived and born there.
- Experts are also calling on the government to protect the last remaining wild habitats of the rhinos so that there’s somewhere to release them back into once the situation allows.
- Fewer than 80 Sumatran rhinos are believed to live in small populations scattered in the dwindling forests of Sumatra and Indonesian Borneo.
Indonesia plans IVF for recently captured Sumatran rhino
- In a bid to save the nearly extinct Sumatran rhino, Indonesia will attempt to harvest and fertilize an egg cell from a lone female at a captive-breeding center in Borneo.
- The sperm for the in vitro fertilization attempt will come from a male at a captive-breeding center in Sumatra; combining the Sumatran and Bornean lineages is expected to help boost the gene pool for an animal whose global population may be as low as 40.
- Conservationists anticipate obstacles, however: Pahu, the female, is quite old at about 25, and is possibly too small to be able to carry a regular-sized offspring to term.
- The planned attempt by Indonesia comes after conservationists in Malaysia tried and failed to carry out an IVF treatment there, with both the age of the female rhino and lack of access to quality sperm cited for the failure.
Malaysian attempt at Sumatran rhino IVF fails on low quality of sperm
- A recent effort to produce a Sumatran rhino embryo from egg and sperm samples taken from the last of the species in Malaysia has failed, officials said.
- The low quality of the sperm, extracted in 2015 and 2016 from an aging rhino that has since died, was cited as the main cause of the failure to fertilize the egg.
- Malaysian officials say they will continue to improve and attempt their in vitro fertilization attempts, and have called on Indonesia to send sperm samples from younger rhinos held in Sumatra.
- Indonesia has refused to send any samples, citing the need for a formal agreement, but conservationists say that captive-breeding of Sumatran rhinos is the only feasible solution to protect the species from extinction.
At India’s Assam Zoo, decades of experience lead to rhino-breeding success
- Assam State Zoo in northeastern India has been breeding greater one-horned rhinos in captivity since the 1960s.
- However, until 2011 the country lacked a formal, nationally coordinated program dedicated to maintaining a viable captive population of the species, which is considered by the IUCN to be vulnerable to extinction due to poaching.
- India launched an official captive-breeding initiative in 2011. One calf has already been born at the Assam Zoo as part of the program, and another is on the way. An additional six have been born in the Patna Zoo in India’s Bihar state.
Sumatra survey looks to identify at-risk rhinos for captive breeding
- The Leuser Ecosystem in northern Sumatra is home to as many as 50 Sumatran rhinos, out of no more than 80 believed to survive in the wild.
- Surveys in the area have identified some subpopulations large enough to breed naturally, as well as isolated individuals or small groups unlikely to find mates.
- Indonesia’s current plan calls for larger groups to be protected in situ, while more isolated rhinos are to be gathered into sanctuaries for a captive-breeding program.
- Both national and local officials back a plan to create a new sanctuary in the northern Sumatran province of Aceh.
Bid to breed Sumatran rhino is handicapped by bureaucratic ‘quibbling’
- A group of international scientists working in Malaysia have successfully extracted an egg cell from the country’s last Sumatran rhino and injected sperm into it, in a last-ditch attempt at breeding the world’s most threatened rhino species.
- However, the scientists say the prospects of a successful fertilization are “not bright,” given the poor quality of the genetic samples they had to work with.
- They blame a bureaucratic impasse between Malaysia and Indonesia for depriving them of high-quality sperm from rhinos held in captivity in Indonesia, which they say would have given a better chance of fertilization.
- An Indonesian official says no exchange of genetic material, including sperm and eggs, can proceed until the requisite paperwork is signed, but conservationists say this is “quibbling” at a time when the species faces extinction.
A lifeline for the last leopards (commentary)
- From being extinct in the wild, the Arabian oryx was reclassified in 1986 as “Endangered” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species after its reintroduction to Oman, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates. In 2011, with its global numbers increased to thousands, the Arabian oryx was the first animal ever to revert to “Vulnerable” status after having previously been listed as extinct in the wild.
- Today, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) aims to replicate this miraculous turnaround for the Arabian leopard – a little-studied, desert-dwelling subspecies listed as “Critically Endangered” on the IUCN’s Red List – and for leopard populations everywhere with a new $20 million commitment to the Global Alliance for Wild Cats.
- The Arabian Leopard Initiatives will support a holistic and urgent program to rigorously monitor the Arabian leopard’s population and distribution, as well as halt its decline through community conservation projects. The cornerstone will be a captive breeding program dedicated to shoring up Arabian leopard populations and reintroducing them into their former habitats.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
Big cat trade driven by demand for traditional Asian medicine, according to report
- Bones, blood, and other body parts of big cats are made into products such as balms, capsules, gels, and wines that practitioners of traditional Asian medicine believe to be able to cure ailments ranging from arthritis to meningitis, though in fact they’ve been found to have no provable health benefits.
- Even before farmed big cats are killed to feed the demand for traditional Asian medicine, however, they’re treated more like products than living, breathing creatures, according to a report released last month by the London-based NGO World Animal Protection.
- China and South Africa are the world’s biggest breeders of captive cats. China alone is estimated to have between 5,000 and 6,000 tigers in captive breeding facilities, while South African facilities are holding between 6,000 and 8,000 lions and another 300 tigers.
Indonesia agrees to attempt Sumatran rhino IVF with eggs from Malaysia
- Conservationists have welcomed a long-awaited agreement by Indonesia and Malaysia to move ahead with assisted reproductive technology for the captive breeding of the nearly extinct Sumatran rhino.
- Indonesia has long balked at sending rhino sperm to Malaysia for use in artificial insemination, but has now agreed to accept eggs from Malaysia to carry out in vitro fertilization.
- If successful, the program would give the species a much-needed boost in genetic diversity.
- Scientists in Germany last year used IVF to successfully produced embryos — though not a baby — of white rhinos, an African species.
Thousands of endangered snails raised in captivity returned to natural habitat in Bermuda
- Due mostly to predation by invasive species of carnivorous snails and flatworms, greater Bermuda land snails (Poecilozonites bermudensis) were driven nearly to extinction in their native habitat on the oceanic islands of Bermuda over the past several decades. In fact, the snails were believed to have disappeared altogether until 2014, when a small population was discovered.
- It’s believed that there are less than 200 of the snails remaining in the wild, but that population has now been joined by 4,000 individuals bred in captivity in the UK and reintroduced on Bermuda’s Nonsuch Island — a nature reserve with strict quarantine protocols designed to ensure that alien species detrimental to the snails will not be introduced to the island.
- Following the 2014 rediscovery of the greater Bermuda land snail, scientists at the UK’s Chester Zoo and the Zoological Society of London launched a collaborative captive breeding program for the snails at the request of the Bermudian government. Over the past three years, the breeding program has built up a population of the snails with sufficient numbers to begin reintroductions in the wild.
Great Indian bustard eggs being collected to kick-start captive breeding
- The critically endangered great Indian bustard is now down to just 160-odd individuals, most of them surviving in the Thar Desert in India’s Rajasthan state.
- In a last-ditch effort, wildlife researchers along with the forest department have started a hunt for the birds’ eggs to begin the process of captive breeding of the species. Last week, they managed to collect two bustard eggs from the wild; they have permission to collect up to six a year.
- Two captive breeding facilities for the bustard are being built: a main, bigger facility in the south of Rajasthan, and a second, smaller facility in the west, close to where many of the wild birds breed.
- This is the first time that great Indian bustard eggs have ever been collected from the wild for the purpose of captive breeding, and protocols are still being figured out, says Rajasthan’s chief wildlife warden.
Canada passes ‘Free Willy’ bill to ban captivity of all whales, dolphins
- On June 10, Canada’s House of Commons passed a bill that bans the practice of keeping cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) in captivity in the country.
- Bill S-203 also prohibits breeding of the animals and collecting reproductive materials from them. The only exceptions to these provisions will be in cases of rescues and rehabilitation, licensed scientific research, or “in the best interests of the cetacean’s welfare.”
- The legislation, also known as the “Free Willy” bill, allows Vancouver Aquarium and Marineland in Niagara Falls, the only two facilities in Canada that still house cetaceans, to continue to keep their animals as long as they do not breed or bring in any new individuals.
Malaysia’s last male rhino is fading fast, officials say
- Malaysia’s last male Sumatran rhino, Tam, has experienced an abrupt decline in health due to old age, authorities say.
- Veterinarians and rhino keepers at the Tabin Wildlife Reserve in Sabah state are providing round-the-clock palliative care, but say Tam appears to have suffered multiple organ failure.
- If he dies, Malaysia would be left with one last Sumatran rhino, a female, Iman, whose own health has weakened due to a ruptured tumor in her uterus.
- Conservationists say stakeholders, including the government of Indonesia, home to most of the remaining Sumatran rhinos on Earth, have been far too slow to work together on efforts to save the species.
Better than sex? For hard-to-breed rhinos, technology strives for a solution
- Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) are being developed to improve the outcomes of captive-breeding programs for rhinos.
- If successful, these efforts could help create a self-sustaining reserve population and help diversify the gene pool of wild populations.
- ARTs have been successfully used in both humans and livestock since the 1970s, but have not been as effective in wildlife species such as rhinos.
- Experts say they believe ART could play an important role in rhino conservation, but caution that these technologies are only one part of the solution.
Indonesia investigates mass shark deaths at captive-breeding facility
- An investigation is underway after 127 sharks died at a captive-breeding facility in a marine national park in Indonesia.
- Experts suspect poor water quality may have triggered the die-off.
- The breeding facility, operating since 1960 and a key attraction inside Karimunjawa National Park, was shut in June 2018 after a visitor swimming in one of the floating cages was bitten by a shark.
Romeo finally found his Juliet, and an endangered frog has new prospects for survival
- When Valentine’s Day rolled around last year, Romeo found himself without a date. That’s because Romeo is a Sehuencas water frog and, as far as scientists knew at the time, he was the last surviving member of his species. The last time he even bothered calling for a mate was apparently some time in late 2017.
- So last year, the teams at the Museo de Historia Natural Alcide d’Orbigny and the NGO Global Wildlife Conservation set up a dating profile for Romeo on Match.com as a means of raising money to fund an expedition into Bolivia’s cloud forests in search of a Juliet.
- That expedition led to the rediscovery of the Sehuencas water frog in the wild and the collection of three males and two females, all of whom were taken to the Museo de Historia Natural Alcide d’Orbigny’s K’ayra Center for Research and Conservation of Threatened Amphibians. Once the quarantine period is over, Romeo will finally meet his Juliet — and the species just might make a comeback from the brink of extinction.
Is captive breeding the answer to Indonesia’s songbird crisis?
- In Indonesia, singing contests for songbirds have skyrocketed in popularity. Even the president is a fan.
- Demand for some species has made them extremely valuable. Poaching has risen accordingly, and some birds have been driven to the brink of extinction.
- The government is pushing captive breeding as a solution to the crisis. But some conservationists warn the policy may do more harm than good.
- A prime concern is that breeding licenses are easily exploited by “wildlife launderers” who pass of wild-caught animals as captive-bred. This only increases poaching.
The long journey to saving the Sumatran rhino, via Borneo (commentary)
- The presence of near-extinct Sumatran rhinos in Indonesian Borneo was for a long time the stuff of legend, with no hard evidence to support it. Still, wildlife experts spared no effort to investigate every scrap of information.
- Those rumors eventually bore fruit with the capture of two individuals by conservationists in the past two years. The first rhino, however, died of injuries sustained before its capture.
- Today, a facility in eastern Borneo holds the other rhino, a female, with around-the-clock care from vets and experts, as part of a wider effort to kick-start a captive-breeding program.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
First wild Sumatran rhino in Borneo captured for breeding campaign
- A female Sumatran rhinoceros has been captured in Indonesian Borneo and moved to a local sanctuary as part of an initiative to conserve the near-extinct species through captive breeding.
- A team of veterinarians and rhino experts is now caring for the rhino around the clock, and will seek to establish whether she is viable for breeding.
- Conservationists and government officials have welcomed news of the capture and rescue, a key step toward replenishing a species whose total population may be as low as 30 individuals.
- The capture comes two years after another female rhino was trapped in the same district, only to die less than a month later.
Face-to-face with what may be the last of the world’s smallest rhino, the Bornean rhinoceros (insider)
- Jeremy Hance writes about his experience of meeting Tam, one of the last surviving Bornean rhinos, in Malaysia.
- “Nothing can really prepare a person for coming face-to-face with what may be the last of a species,” he writes.
- This is an insider story. To read, please become a member.
Indonesian government puts off Sumatran rhino IVF program
- Indonesia says a long-awaited program to breed Sumatran rhinos through IVF has been postponed, citing the lack of viable eggs from a female rhino in Malaysia.
- The news becomes the latest setback in the years-long saga between the two countries, with some conservationists in Malaysia blaming the Indonesian government inaction for the dwindling odds of a successful artificial insemination attempt.
- There are only an estimated 40 to 100 Sumatran rhinos left in the world, scattered on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo.
The rhino reckoning
- The Sumatran rhino captive-breeding program caught 40 rhinos from 1984 to 1995. To date, the program has produced five calves.
- Some view these figures as evidence of a colossal failure. Others point to the births achieved as proof of the program’s eventual success.
- Momentum has been growing to relaunch efforts to capture wild rhinos. The most significant step yet was the September announcement of a new initiative dubbed the Sumatran Rhino Rescue.
The great rhino U-turn
- As the 20th century drew to a close the Sumatran rhino captive breeding program, launched in 1984, had yet to produce a single calf.
- Home to the last two Sumatran rhinos in the United States, the Cincinnati Zoo made several key discoveries about the species’ reproductive behavior, including the fact that females only ovulate when they have contact with males.
- Andalas, the first Sumatran rhino bred in captivity in more than a century, was born in Cincinnati in 2001. This success, and the subsequent birth of four other calves, has led to a re-evaluation of the program as a whole.
- Now, attention is turned to breeding centers in the rhinos’ original habitat as the future of captive breeding efforts.
A herd of dead rhinos
- An agreement to launch a captive breeding program was brokered in 1984. By 1985, key participants began pulling out, including the Malaysian state of Sabah.
- Despite the setbacks, efforts to capture rhinos quickly got up and running. Keeping the animals healthy proved to be a much greater challenge.
- By 1995, nearly half of the 40 rhinos caught were dead, and none of them had successfully bred in captivity.
1984: the meeting that changed everything for Sumatran rhinos
- A 1984 agreement between zoos, conservationists and government officials marked the formal beginning of an international program that brought 40 Sumatran rhinos into captivity in an attempt to ward off extinction. Within 11 years, the program collapsed.
- The program was long viewed as an epic failure due to high mortality rates and the lack of live births for over a decade; it also paved the way for later breeding successes that just may offer the Sumatran rhino hope for the future.
- As conservationists mull a new plan to capture more rhinos, what lessons do past efforts offer?
Pangolins on the brink as Africa-China trafficking persists unabated
- Pangolins are the most trafficked mammal in the world, with more than a million snatched from the wild in the past decade, according to IUCN estimates. The four Asian species have been hunted nearly to extinction, while the four African species are being poached in record numbers.
- The illegal trade largely goes to China and other East Asian nations, where pangolin meat is an expensive delicacy served to flaunt wealth and influence. Pangolin is also a preferred ingredient in traditional medicine in Asia and Africa. Traditional healers in Sierra Leone use pangolin to treat 59 medical conditions, though there is no evidence of efficacy.
- In 2016, pangolins were given the highest level of protection under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), a multilateral treaty signed by 183 nations. But laws and enforcement in African nations, along illegal trade routes, and in Asia continue to be weak, with conservationists working hard to strengthen them.
- Pangolins don’t thrive in captivity, but the Tikki Hywood Foundation in Zimbabwe and Save Vietnam’s Wildlife have succeeded in rescuing confiscated pangolins and restoring them to the wild. Six U.S. zoos are trying to raise pangolins as part of the controversial Pangolin Consortium project — only 29 of 45 imported individuals remain alive.
Animal trainers are teaching wildlife to conserve themselves
- Positive training helps pets and their owners bond. But animal trainers working to conserve wildlife often have the opposite goal: teaching animals in the wild to avoid human beings — people often being the most dangerous creatures in the jungle.
- Wildlife kept in zoos have been trained with rewards to accept unnatural processes, procedures that previously might have required restraint or even anesthesia: allowing tooth brushing, hoof trimming, injections and blood draws — turning once alien actions into positive experiences for the captive animals.
- Animal trainers decades ago learned to train dolphins without having physical contact with the animals. More recently, a chimpanzee troop in Sierra Leone was taught to scream alarm in unison when poachers approached, alerting nearby rangers to come to the rescue — achieving an 80 percent decrease in poaching.
- Trainers have taught captive bred condors how to be more like wild condors, seeking food within their natural habitat and not congregating in towns. They’ve also taught polar bears to avoid anything associated with humans, preventing the bears from raiding trash cans and significantly decreasing wildlife conflicts.
Baby photos of 10 of the world’s rarest turtles from the zoo trying to save them
- This photo essay comes via Mongabay’s partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Wild View blog.
- Once a month we’ll publish a contribution from Wild View that highlights an animal species or group.
- This month, the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Don Boyer, Avishai Shuter, and Julie Larsen Maher write about endangered turtles and tortoises WCS is trying to save.
- All photos by Julie Larsen Maher, head photographer for WCS.
U.S. zoos learn how to keep captive pangolins alive, helping wild ones
- The Pangolin Consortium, a partnership between six U.S. zoos and Pangolin Conservation, an NGO, launched a project in 2014 which today houses fifty White-bellied tree pangolins (Phataginus tricuspis).
- Common knowledge says that pangolins are almost impossible to keep alive in captivity, but the consortium has done basic research to boost survival rates, traveling to Africa and working with a company, EnviroFlight, to develop a natural nutritious insect-derived diet for pangolins in captivity.
- While some conservationists are critical of the project, actions by the Pangolin Consortium have resulted in high captive survival rates, and even in the successful breeding of pangolins in captivity.
- The Pangolin Consortium is able to conduct basic research under controlled conditions at zoos on pangolin behavior and health – research that can’t be done in the wild. Zoos can also present pangolins to the public, educating about their endangered status, improving conservation funding.
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.
Malaysia’s last female Sumatran rhino falls ill
- Malaysia’s last female Sumatran rhino, which was captured from the wild for a captive-breeding program to save the species, has fallen ill from a ruptured tumor in her uterus.
- Veterinarians have been unable to provide the necessary medical treatment because of the rhino’s behavior and adverse conditions on the ground.
- The captive-breeding program was dashed by the death of the only other female Sumatran rhino in Malaysia earlier this year and the refusal of the Indonesian government to share a frozen sperm sample for artificial insemination.
Worst-case scenario: There could be only 30 wild Sumatran rhinos left
- In 1986, scientists estimated there could be as many as 800 Sumatran rhinos left. That fell to 400 in 1996, then 275 in 2008.
- Today the official estimate is 100 rhinos, but almost all experts believe that figure is overly optimistic.
- Adding up the minimum estimate for each of the four known wild populations yields a total of just 30 wild Sumatran rhinos left on earth, plus another nine in captivity.
Booming legal Amazon wildlife trade documented in new report
- Wildlife trade attention has recently focused on Africa. But a new report spotlights the brisk legal international trade in plants and animals from eight Amazon nations. The report did not look at the illegal trade, whose scope is largely unknown.
- The US$128 million industry exports 14 million animals and plants annually, plus one million kilograms by weight, including caiman and peccary skins for the fashion industry, live turtles and parrots for the pet trade, and arapaima for the food industry.
- The report authors note that such trade, conducted properly, can have benefits for national economies, for livelihoods, and even for wildlife — animals bred in captivity, for example, can provide scientists with vital data for sustaining wild populations.
- The report strongly emphasizes the need for monitoring, regulating and enforcing sustainable harvest levels of wild animals and plants if the legal trade is to continue to thrive, and if Amazonian forests and rivers are not to be emptied of their wildlife.
China sends first pandas to Indonesia under captive-breeding agreement
- Two giant pandas from China arrived in Indonesia on a mission to increase the species’ population.
- The couple, a male and a female, will live in a special enclosure at a zoo outside Jakarta for the next decade.
- Zoo officials are open to trying every possible breeding technique to help the bears reproduce.
Apply Animal Welfare Act rules to recreational hunting, says advocacy group
- The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) says captive hunt ranches are operating in a legal loophole, and need a stricter standard over treatment of their animals.
- Ranches should abide by the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), the organization’s senior staff attorney, Anthony Eliseuson, argues in a letter to the USDA’s animal care unit.
- Ranchers keep certain breeds of animals and allow them to be culled via hunting for a price.
Inflated quotas for captive-bred wildlife in Indonesia may aid traffickers: report
- Indonesia’s captive breeding plan is meant to enable the legal wildlife trade while protecting the country’s natural riches, including its incredible biodiversity.
- But “unrealistically high” quotas for the maximum production of certain species in the plan are likely being taken advantage of by wildlife traffickers, according to a new study.
- The Indonesian environment ministry official in charge of setting the quotas says his department has audited the country’s breeding centers to ensure their professionalism and quality.
Footprints in the forest: The future of the Sumatran rhino
- Fewer than 100 Sumatran rhinos (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) remain in the wild, a number many biologists say is too low to ensure the survival of the species.
- Several organizations have begun to build momentum toward a single program that pools resources and know-how in Malaysia and Indonesia, the last places in Southeast Asia where captive and wild rhinos still live.
- Advocates for intensive efforts to breed animals in captivity fear that an emphasis on the protection of the remaining wild animals may divert attention and funding away from such projects.
- They worry that if they don’t act now, the Sumatran rhino may pass a point of no return from which it cannot recover.
Field Notes: Reinvigorating wild parrot populations with captive birds
- Bolivia is home to 12 species of macaws, and most are thriving. Not among these healthy parrot populations, however, is the Critically Endangered Blue-throated macaw (Ara glaucogularis), with less than 15 breeding pairs known to be nesting in a remote, widely dispersed range in the north of the country.
- Years of intensive effort using traditional conservation methods to protect wild Blue-throated macaws from predators, raise chick survival rates, and engage local human communities have not significantly boosted the wild population nor have new breeding pairs been discovered.
- Rethinking a long-held view that captive-bred parrots released to the wild have little hope of surviving there, James Gilardi is working with local and international partners to select and prepare captive, pet trade and confiscated macaws to join their wild counterparts.
- Although there haven’t been any releases of captive Blue-throated macaws as yet, Gilardi is confident that wild populations of the species can recover if the captive birds are carefully chosen, health screened, and fully prepared for the wild.
Controversial policy could spur tiger trade in China
- In China, around 6,000 captive tigers are raised on “farms,” often under inhumane conditions, and their pelts sold for hefty sums in a poorly regulated market upheld through legal loopholes by the Chinese government. Breeding tigers on these farms is legal, but sale of their parts is not — something that may be about to change.
- The State Forestry Administration, tasked with protecting wildlife and overseeing China’s tiger farms, is now deciding whether to commercialize tigers by adding them to a list of legally farmed wildlife, paving the way for tiger parts to be sold to supply a growing Chinese luxury market.
- Long used in Chinese medicine, tiger products are now a status purchase for China’s wealthiest and most powerful. Collectors stockpile tiger bone wine; tiger skins are regularly gifted to seal business deals. Some wealthy Chinese hold “visual feasts” where guests watch a tiger be killed and cooked — then eat it.
- Breeding tigers for trade in their parts contravenes a 2007 decision by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), a treaty signed by 183 nations, including China. There is pressure in China and abroad to shut down tiger farms, even as Chinese business interests lobby to expand a lucrative industry.
Poachers kill rhino at French zoo
- Poachers killed four-year-old rhino named Vince at the Thoiry Zoo and Wildlife Park near Paris.
- Vince’s keeper found him the next morning, with one of his horns hacked off, probably with a chainsaw, the zoo said in a statement.
- Two other white rhinoceros living in the Thoiry zoo — Gracie aged 37 and Bruno aged 5 years — have “escaped the massacre” and are safe, the zoo said.
A Christmas Miracle? Perhaps someday
- In the 1990s most of Christmas Island’s lizard species began plummeting. The cause remains a mystery.
- Scientists began a captive breeding program in 2009 – saving two species – but one species had already gone extinct and another is extirpated from the island, but can still be found elsewhere.
- Researchers will not be able to reintroduce the captive species until the cause of the decline is uncovered.
Scimitar-horned oryx return to the Sahara nearly two decades after going extinct in the wild
- This is the second group to be returned to the wild since the species was listed as Extinct in the Wild on the IUCN Red List in 2000.
- Eight female and six male scimitar-horned oryx were released on January 21 in the hopes that they would join the herd of 21 oryx that were reintroduced to Chad’s Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Reserve on August 14, 2016.
- The initial group of oryx — 13 females and 8 males — have reportedly thrived in their new habitat. In fact, on September 21, 2016, the herd welcomed what is believed to be the first scimitar-horned oryx born in the wild in more than 20 years.
The clouded leopard: conserving Asia’s elusive arboreal acrobat
- The clouded leopard is not closely related to the leopard, but has its own genus (Neofelis), separate from the big cats (Panthera). In 2006, the single species of clouded leopard was split in two: Neofelis nebulosa is found on the Asian mainland, while Neofelis diardi, the Sunda clouded leopard, occurs only on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo.
- Another subspecies native to Taiwan (Neofelis nebulosa brachyura) is believed to be extinct, after none were found in a camera trapping survey conducted between 1997 and 2012.
- Originally, researchers found it difficult to breed the animals in captivity, since mates tended to kill each other. A variety of breeding techniques have however allowed zoos around the world to begin mating the animals successfully, to create and maintain a genetically viable captive population.
- Clouded leopards are incredibly elusive, and only with the advent of new technology, including camera traps and radio collars, have scientists been able to begin defining clouded leopard ranges, distribution, populations and threats. Public outreach is also helping build awareness around the plight of these Vulnerable wild cats.
Bright lights, big city, tiny frog: Romer’s tree frog survives Hong Kong
- Discovered in the 1950s, Romer’s tree frog has so far been declared extinct, rediscovered, immediately declared Critically Endangered, been seriously threatened by an international airport, and become the focus of one of the first ever successful, wholesale population relocation projects conducted for an amphibian.
- At just 1.5 to 2.5 centimeters (0.6 to 1 inch) in length, this little brown frog lives at just a few locations within the sprawl of Hong Kong Island, as well as on a few outlying islands. It lives in moist forest leaf litter on the forest floor, and depends on temporary fish-free pools of water for breeding.
- When Hong Kong planned a major new international airport within the shrinking habitat of the Romer’s tree frog, scientists responded quickly, studying the animal’s lifestyle, eating and breeding habits; they then instituted a captive breeding program at the Melbourne Zoo, and launched a restoration program. It worked.
- While some restoration site populations have since failed, others continue to thrive. And with new protections now in place, scientists hold out some hope that Romer’s tree frog may be a Hong Kong resident for many years to come.
‘Grandpa’ Pan Pan, world’s oldest male giant panda, dies in China
- Pan Pan, believes to be the world’s oldest male giant panda, died aged 31, on December 28.
- He was diagnosed with cancer in June 2016, and his health had been deteriorating.
- Giant pandas are notoriously difficult to breed in captivity, but Pan Pan sired over 130 children and grandchildren over his lifetime.
Mongabay Newscast episode 5: UN Climate talks and the impending Trump presidency, conserving salamanders in Mexico, and more
- Catanoso wrote a piece for Mongabay, published last Friday, about the response from delegates at the UN climate talks when they learned of Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election. Delegates were “aghast and shaken, with emotions ranging from defiance to wishful encouragement,” Catanoso writes.
- Mongabay Newscast producer Erik Hoffner also joins us to answer a reader question about efforts to protect critically endangered Ambystoma salamanders in the state of Michoacan, Mexico.
- All that, plus the top news and inspiration from nature’s frontline!
From Ohio to Indonesia: captive-bred Sumatran rhinos may be the species’ only hope for a future
- Andalas, the first rhino born at the Cincinnati Zoo, has already fathered two calves with a female at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Indonesia. Hopes are now pinned on his brother successfully breeding there too.
- Researchers in Malaysian Borneo, where the last three rhinos surviving in captivity all have fertility problems, have turned to in vitro fertilization to try and produce a calf.
- Experts say they have to be optimistic about the future, but Sumatran rhinos face daunting challenges: small numbers, low fertility, bureaucratic obstacles and questions over the wisdom of expending so many resources on so few animals.
Discovery of baby Chinese alligators boosts hope for rare species
- Fewer than 150 alligators remain in the wild in China.
- To boost their dwindling numbers, researchers began reintroducing captive bred Chinese alligators to China’s wetlands in 2007.
- The discovery of alligator hatchlings indicates that the reintroductions have been successful so far, but the population size in the wild is still very small, scientists say.
From Indonesia to Ohio: the struggle to breed Sumatran rhinos in captivity
- Sumatran rhinos were once widespread across southern Asia; today, fewer than 100 are believed to be left in the wild.
- An international captive breeding program was launched in 1984, sending rhinos to the United States and United Kingdom.
- The first calf wasn’t born until 2001, because maintaining and breeding these rare rhinos turned out to be an unusual challenge.
TripAdvisor bans ticket sales to wild animal attractions
- Travel website TripAdvisor, and its booking service Viator, will no longer sell tickets to tourism experiences that allow petting or touching of wild animals, the company announced on October 12.
- In addition to the booking ban, TripAdvisor also plans to develop and launch an education portal that will provide links and information on animal welfare practices involved at the various attractions.
- TripAdvisor’s new policy comes after more than a year of campaigning by animal welfare groups, which claim that the internet giant has been profiting from selling tickets to attractions that involve wildlife abuse and cruelty.
Efforts to conserve Asia’s rhinos meet successes, setbacks
- Asia is home to three of the world’s five surviving rhino species
- Rhino populations in India and Nepal are growing, but Javan and Sumatran rhinoceroses remain critically endangered
- Their survival likely depends on successful collaboration between governments and conservation organizations
Manatees to make a comeback in Guadeloupe for the first time in over a century
- Kai and Junior, two male manatees, will be sent to the Grand Cul-de-sac Marin, a protected bay in Guadeloupe that will keep the manatees away from boating traffic.
- They will soon be joined by 13 more manatees from various zoological institutions, forming the founding group.
- This group’s future offspring will then be reintroduced to the wild, Singapore’s River Safari team says.
Grim reality behind tiger selfie tourism: speed breeding, cruelty
- Around 830 tigers are estimated to occur in captivity in Thailand’s tiger entertainment venues, the WAP team found, up from 623 tigers in 2010.
- Tourists are encouraged to get close to tigers at tiger entertainment venues and take selfies with tiger cubs separated from their mothers just two to three weeks after birth, the report claims.
- These young cubs are “mishandled hundreds of times a day”, leading to stress and injury.
It’s a girl: rare rhino gives birth to second calf in Sumatra
- The father, Andalas, was born in captivity in the Cincinnati Zoo before being transferred to Indonesia.
- An uncle, Harapan, was the last Sumatran rhino in the Western hemisphere before following his brother to Indonesia earlier this year.
- The mother, Ratu, has now given birth twice, raising the population of Indonesia’s Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary to seven.
Controversial tiger temple in Thailand gets zoo license
- Last Tuesday, Thailand’s Department of National Parks granted the controversial tiger temple a license to operate a zoo, angering several activists and conservationists.
- The license, effective until 18 April 2021, will allow the Tiger Temple Co to use wild animals, including tigers, for show.
- Activists say that instead of penalizing the temple for its crimes, the department has granted them a license so that they can continue uncontrolled breeding of more tigers.
Do we really want to save the Sumatran rhinoceros? (commentary)
- The Sumatran rhino is on the verge of extinction.
- Nardelli says that despite the recent death of a Sumatran rhino after capture in Indonesian Borneo, past efforts have demonstrated that safe capture is possible.
- Nardelli argues that captive breeding efforts are critical to save the species from extinction.
- The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s own.
Cincinnati-born Harapan the rhino adjusting well to life in Sumatra
- The last Sumatran rhino at the Cincinnati Zoo has been relocated to Indonesia’s Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary.
- Harapan’s parents were sent overseas in the 1990s as part of a captive breeding program meant to rejuvenate the critically endangered species.
- With Sumatran rhinos on the brink of extinction, scientists hope Harapan will help produce a new generation of Indoensian rhinos.
Cupid’s syringe: A love potion for troubled amphibians
- Many of the world’s amphibian species are in trouble.
- Conservationists are attempting to breed some of them as a way to replenish wild populations, but many are reluctant to breed in captivity.
- Captive-breeding programs are turning to an injectable compound called Amphiplex, which can cause amphibians to mate or to release their eggs or sperm.
Tasmanian Devil vaccine trial suffers setback: 4 of 19 vaccinated devils killed on road
- Scientists have been striving to establish populations of Tasmanian devils in the wild that are immune to the contagious and fatal devil facial tumor disease.
- In September, researchers released 19 immunized Tasmanian devils into the Narawntapu National Park in northern Tasmania.
- A few days after the immunized devils were released, four were killed in road accidents.
Adorable echidna babies boost hope for critically endangered cousins
- Echidna captive breeding partnership between the University of Queensland and Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary in Australia has produced 14 short-beaked echidna puggles (or babies) in the last five years.
- This is by far the most successful captive breeding program for echidnas, scientists say.
- Increased understanding of the short-beaked echidna reproduction can help save their critically endangered cousins, the long-beaked echidnas, scientists add.
Photos: new zoo exhibit dramatically displays real threat to Asian turtle
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The new Annam leaf turtle exhibit at the London Zoo. Photo by: Ben Tapley/ZSL. Usually animal pens in zoos are designed to resemble a species’ native habitat: lions in sprawling savanna, pandas in bamboo forests, and crocodiles in mangroves. But a new pen at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL)’s London Zoo is meant to […]
Officials: Sumatran rhino is extinct in the wild in Sabah
Malaysian officials admit the Bornean rhino may only be represented by three surviving captive animals Tam, here at Borneo Rhino Sanctuary in Sabah, may be the world’s last male Bornean rhino and one of the last Sumatran rhinos. Photo by: Jeremy Hance. There are no Sumatran rhinos left in the wild in the Malaysian state […]
Is captive breeding the final resort for the Sumatran rhino?
No more than 75 Sumatran rhinos remaining in wild Nearing extinction, the Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) is running out of options. A native of Indonesia and Malaysia, the Sumatran rhino has declined in the past 30 years from an estimated 800 individuals to no more than 75 remaining today. So far there have been three […]
Perched on the precipice: India’s vultures threatened by E.U. sale of killer drug
Poisoned by cattle carcasses treated with Diclofenac, India’s vultures died by the millions in the 1990s. A captive breeding program is helping to save the once-ubiquitous birds, but the very drug that drove India’s vultures to the precipice of extinction has been given a green light in Italy and Spain. Driving through an idyllic piece […]
Riddled with tumors: another blow to the Sumatran rhino species
Conservation for Sumatran rhinos suffered another blow last week, only days after Suci—one of only ten rhinos in captive breeding efforts—died at Cincinnati Zoo. Scientists in the Malaysian state of Sabah revealed that a newly captured female, Iman, suffers from an assortment of tumors in her uterus, hugely complicating reproduction efforts. Conservationists believe less than […]
Death of young Sumatran rhino shouldn’t discourage captive breeding efforts say conservationists
Just over two weeks ago, conservationists in the Malaysian state of Sabah managed to finally catch a wild Sumatran rhino female after months of failed attempts; the female, named Iman, was quickly helicoptered to a semi-wild rhino reserve in hopes that she may breed with the resident male, Tam. But following such hopeful events, comes […]
Meet Iman: the Sumatran rhino’s newest hope for survival
Iman wallowing in the mud. Photo by: John Payne/BORA. Hopes for one of the world’s most imperiled megafauna rose this month when wildlife conservationists succeeded in catching a female Sumatran rhino named Iman in the Malaysian state of Sabah. The female, which experts believe to be fertile, has since been successfully transferred via helicopter to […]
Conservationists catch wild Sumatran rhino, raising hope for world’s most endangered rhinoceros
Conservationists have succeeded in catching a wild Sumatran rhino in the Malaysia state of Sabah in Borneo, according to local media reports. Officials are currently transferring the rhino, an unnamed female, to a rhino sanctuary in Tabin National Park where experts will attempt to mate her with the resident male, Tam. The Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus […]
Requiem or recovery?: the Sumatran rhino 200 years after its description
Conservation Hail Mary works: Mate for near-extinct fish found!
Mangarahara cichlid (Ptychochromis Insolitus). (c) ZSL Researchers are celebrating after an urgent global search turned up a female mate for a fish that is on the brink of extinction. In May, aquarists at ZSL London Zoo launched a worldwide appeal to find a female Mangarahara cichlid (Ptychochromis Insolitus), a fish that was feared to be […]
Journalists win environmental news reporting prizes
Mongabay announces its first annual top contributor prizes for 2013. Mongabay’s internship program has benefited from the hard work and great environmental reporting of more than 30 writing interns since the program’s inception in July 2012. This year, Mongabay asked this pool of contributing authors to submit their most compelling piece out of over 150 […]
Reversing local extinction: scientists bring the northern bald ibis back to Europe after 300 years
The unmistakable northern bald ibis (Geronticus eremita). Photo by: Waldrappteam. The northern bald ibis (Geronticus eremita), also called the hermit ibis or waldrapp, is a migratory bird. Once, the bald ibis lived in the Middle East, northern Africa and southern and central Europe, but due to hunting, loss of habitat and pesticide-use, the birds disappeared […]
Zoo races to save extreme butterfly from extinction
In a large room that used to house aquatic mammals at the Minnesota Zoo, Erik Runquist holds up a vial and says, “Here are its eggs.” I peer inside and see small specks, pale with a dot of brown at the top; they look like a single grain of cous cous or quinoa. Runquist explains […]
Syrian bald ibis may be down to a single bird
The eastern population of northern bald ibises (Geronticus eremita) has likely fallen to a single breeding bird, reports conservationists monitoring the dwindling flock. The population had believed to be obliterated starting from 1989 until a small group was discovered in 2002 in Syria. However, it now appears that this last group is vanishing one-by-one despite […]
The comeback kids: the role of zoos in saving species from oblivion (photos)
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The 2013 Zoos and Aquariums: Committing to Conservation (ZACC) conference runs from July 8th – July 12th in Des Moines, Iowa, hosted by the Blank Park Zoo. Ahead of the event, Mongabay.com is running a series of Q&As with presenters. For more interviews, please see our ZACC feed. Red wolf: after going extinct in the […]
Rhino populations in Sumatra, Borneo should be combined to save Sumatran rhino from extinction
A new study argues for treating endangered Sumatran populations in Borneo and Sumatra as “a single conservation unit”, lending academic support to a controversial proposal to move wild rhinos from Malaysia to Indonesia. The paper, authored by an international team of rhino experts and published in the journal Oryx, says that genetic differences between the […]
World’s rarest duck on the rebound in Madagascar
After a final sighting in 1991, the Madagascar pochard was thought to have vanished for good. But this diving duck was rediscovered in 2006 when a flock of 22 individuals was found on Lake Matsaborimena in northern Madagascar by conservationists during an expedition. Soon after Madagascar pochard eggs were taken and incubated in a joint […]
Sumatran rhino population plunges, down to 100 animals
Less than 100 Sumatran rhinos survive in the world today, according to a bleak new population estimate by experts. The last survey in 2008 estimated that around 250 Sumatran rhinos survived, but that estimate now appears optimistic and has been slashed by 60 percent. However conservationists are responding with a major new agreement between the […]
Sumatran rhino found in Kalimantan after unseen in region for 20 years
Conservationists working to save the Sumatran rhino—one of the world’s most imperiled mammals—heard good news this week as WWF-Indonesia has found evidence of at least one Sumatran rhino persisting in the Indonesian state of Kalimantan, located on the island of Borneo. Small populations of Sumatran rhinos (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) survive on Sumatra and on Borneo (in […]
Forging zoos into global conservation centers, an interview with Cristian Samper, head of WCS
For the Wildlife Conservation Society’s new CEO, scientific principles and working partnerships are key to conservation. A Man of Science: Dr Cristian Samper, CEO of the WCS. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is one of the world’s leading environmental organizations. Founded in 1895 (originally as the New York Zoological Society), the WCS manages 200 million […]
Scientists successfully freeze Barbary sheep embryos for conservation purposes
Barbary sheep in Tennoji Zoo. Photo by: Kuribo. The Barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia), or aoudad, is a goat-antelope found in northern Africa. It is currently listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List, with populations imperiled by hunting, habitat loss, and competition with livestock. Still little is known about its remaining population, prompting scientists in […]
Chinese government creating secret demand for tiger trade alleges NGO (warning: graphic images)
Tiger bodies in freezer in Guilin Tiger Bear Farm. Photo by: Belinda Wright/WPSI. The number of tigers being captive bred in China for consumption exceed those surviving in the wild—across 13 countries—by over a third, according to a new report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). The report, Hidden in Plain Sight, alleges that while […]
Pity the pangolin: little-known mammal most common victim of the wildlife trade
World Pangolin Day is celebrated this weekend: Saturday, February 16th, 2013 Last year tens-of-thousands of elephants and hundreds of rhinos were butchered to feed the growing appetite of the illegal wildlife trade. This black market, largely centered in East Asia, also devoured tigers, sharks, leopards, turtles, snakes, and hundreds of other animals. Estimated at $19 […]
Geneticists discover distinct lion group in squalid conditions
Behind bars and waiting for science: the power of genetic testing for the Addis Fifteen. Male and female Addis lions in the Addis Ababa Lion Zoo. Photo courtesy of: Klaus Eulenberger. They languished behind bars in squalid conditions, their very survival in jeopardy. Outside, an international team of advocates strove to bring worldwide attention to […]
New Guinea singing dog photographed in the wild for the first time
Cropped close-up of New Guinea singing dog. This is arguably the first time the dingo-like canine has been photographed in the wild. Photo by: Tom Hewitt. A rarely seen canine has been photographed in the wild, likely for the first time. Tom Hewitt, director of Adventure Alternative Borneo, photographed the New Guinea singing dog during […]
Artificial ‘misting system’ allows vanished toad to be released back into the wild
A captive Kihansi spray toad at the WCS Bronx Zoo. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. In 1996 scientists discovered a new species of dwarf toad: the Kihansi spray toad (Nectophrynoides asperginis). Although surviving on only two hectares near the Kihansi Gorge in Tanzania, the toads proved populous: around 17,000 individuals crowded the smallest known habitat […]
Animal picture of the day: Critically Endangered macaws
Two blue-throated macaws perch on a branch in the historic aviary at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Queens Zoo. Photo by: Julie Larsen Maher. Found in only one location in northern Bolivia, the blue-throated macaw (Ara glaucogularis) is thought to number little more than 100 individuals in the wild. However the species is protected from utter […]
Featured video: a Sumatran rhino love story
Efforts to save the Sumatran rhino in Borneo have sped up ever since the capture of Puntung last Christmas. A female rhino, who lost one foot to a snare, Puntung represents the first viable mate for Tam, a male rhino who has been kept in a large rainforest enclosure since his rescue in an oil […]
Animal pictures of the day: booming captive breeding for Mauritius skinks
Orange-tailed skink hatchlings meet their match in a matchstick. Photo courtesy of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (DWCT). Three female orange-tailed skinks skinks have produced 16 skink babies in just four months, according to the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (DWCT), which is captive breeding the Critically Endangered species. The breeding efforts are all the more […]
Solomon Islands’ export of ‘captive-bred’ birds deemed to be a farce
Over 68,000 birds listed on CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) were exported from the Solomon Islands during 2000-2010 according to a recent report by wildlife-monitoring NGO, TRAFFIC. Although the majority of birds were listed as ‘captive-bred,’ the report raises the question of whether these species were not […]
Cute animal picture of the day: baby bamboo lemur
A newborn greater bamboo lemur baby at the Port Lympne Wild Animal Park. Photo by: Dave Rolfe. Greater bamboo lemurs (Prolemur simus) are one of over a hundred lemur species found only on the island of Madagascar. Listed as Critically Endangered, there are only around 150 individuals known in the wild, making them one of […]
Historic birth for the Sumatran rhino
Ratu (above) and the baby male are doing well. Photo by: International Rhino Foundation. After two miscarriages and a pregnancy that lasted 15 months, Ratu, a female Sumatra rhino, has given birth to a healthy male calf, conservationists happily announced this weekend. The birth at a rhino sanctuary in Way Kambas National Park in Sumatra […]
Island bat goes extinct after Australian officials hesitate
Now extinct: the Christmas Island pipistrelle. Photo by: Lindy Lumsden. Nights on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean will never again be the same. The last echolocation call of a tiny bat native to the island, the Christmas Island pipistrelle (Pipistrellus murrayi), was recorded on August 26th 2009, and since then there has been only […]
Hail Mary effort aims to save the world’s most endangered turtles
Roti snake island turtle, which is number 12 of the world’s most endangered turtles, are being captive bred at the WCS’s Bronx Zoo. Photo by: Julie Larsen Maher/WCS. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has pledged to work with all of its institutions to save at least half of the world’s most 25 endangered turtles as […]
How a crippled rhino may save a species
An interview with John Payne Puntung, a female Sumatran rhino, is captured safely in a pit trap after years of monitoring and planning in Malaysian Borneo. Photo by: Dr Zainal Zahari Zainuddin/BORA. On December 18th, 2011, a female Sumatran rhino took a sudden plunge. Falling into a manmade pit trap, the rhino may have feared […]
Sumatran rhino pregnant: conservationists hope third time’s the charm
Conservationists hope Ratu, pictured above, has a successful third pregnancy. Photo by: International Rhino Foundation. Ratu, a female Sumatra rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), is in the eleventh month of her third pregnancy raising hopes for a successful birth of one of the world’s most imperiled big mammals. Ratu suffered two prior miscarriages, but researchers believe the […]
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