Scientists have gone some way to explaining why kangaroos produce much less methane in their burps, flatus and manure than farm animals such as cows.
They identified a bacterium in the gut of the Tammar wallaby - a member of the kangaroo family - that processes their food without making methane.
Read on...
Showing posts with label marsupials. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marsupials. Show all posts
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
'Garden wallaby' caught in Lyme Regis town centre
 |
| Off-duty firefighter Virgil Turner said he grabbed the animal's legs and tail |
A wallaby, thought to be the same animal seen in a woman's Dorset garden earlier in the week, has been caught.
Off-duty firefighter Virgil Turner rugby-tackled the marsupial to the ground in Lyme Regis town centre.
Jan Cooper had filmed a wallaby hopping around her garden in Blue Waters Drive, Lyme Regis, on Tuesday morning, before it escaped over her fence.
Mr Turner said the wallaby, which has been taken to an animal park in Exminster, Devon, "kicked a bit".
The 45-year-old added: "My friend called me and he's a trickster so I thought it was a wind up. But I could hear he was serious.
'Subdued it'
"When I got there the wallaby was cornered by a couple of council workers and a local woman - but it could have got away still.
"It had already had a couple of near misses with cars and I didn't want a serious car accident on my hands.
"I must admit I was wary because I'd heard they can give quite a kick and can be very strong.
"But I used to play a bit of rugby so I just rugby tackled it - I grabbed its legs and tail and we managed to get a blanket over it which subdued it and then get it into a cage.
"I got a few scrapes and scratches from the concrete but the wallaby was fine - it was very calm really.
"It kicked a bit but totally calmed down when the blanket went on."
Eyewitness John King, who praised Mr Turner, said: "The wallaby had already caused a few problems hopping across roads in the town.
"It was bizarre really - not something you see every day in Lyme Regis."
The RSPCA, which had told the public not to approach the animal, was also called to the scene to help.
Mrs Cooper, who filmed the animal at her home on Tuesday, said: "I am just so happy it has been found safe.
"I've been told it has been taken to a sanctuary where there are another 14 wallabies so it should have a good time."
It is unclear where the animal came from but the RSPCA said a number of them live wild in the UK.
A spokeswoman said there had not been any reports of escaped animals in the area.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-13455634
(Submitted by Liz R)
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Wallaby filmed in Dorset woman's garden
17 May 2011
A wallaby has been filmed hopping around a garden in Dorset before it escaped over a neighbouring fence.
Jan Cooper said she was having a coffee when she spotted the marsupial at her home in Blue Waters Drive, Lyme Regis, just after 0700 BST.
She called the RSPCA but the wallaby fled after about 90 minutes.
It is unclear where the animal came from but the RSPCA said a number of them live wild in the UK. The charity told people not to approach the animal.
Mrs Cooper said: "I was having a coffee and first saw a fox and texted my husband, which he wasn't that impressed by, then five minutes later I texted him to say we had a wallaby bounding around.
'Call helpline'
"It was a big shock, I didn't know how close to get to it but it seemed happy enough.
"It looked healthy and cared for. A policeman arrived but the animal jumped over the fence before the RSPCA arrived and we haven't seen it since."
Dorset Police said a search was carried out but nothing was found.
The RSPCA said one of its officers was called to the incident but the animal had fled.
A spokeswoman said there has not been any reports of escaped animals in the area.
She added: "We've spoken to an expert and apparently there are a number of wallabies which live wild in the UK.
"If anyone sees it we would urge them to call our helpline on 0300 123 4999.
"We urge people not to approach the animal or touch it, not because it will necessarily become violent, but you may do it more harm than good."
See video at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-13433839
(Submitted by Joe DaStudd)
See also: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13436208
(Submitted by Max Blake)
A wallaby has been filmed hopping around a garden in Dorset before it escaped over a neighbouring fence.
Jan Cooper said she was having a coffee when she spotted the marsupial at her home in Blue Waters Drive, Lyme Regis, just after 0700 BST.
She called the RSPCA but the wallaby fled after about 90 minutes.
It is unclear where the animal came from but the RSPCA said a number of them live wild in the UK. The charity told people not to approach the animal.
Mrs Cooper said: "I was having a coffee and first saw a fox and texted my husband, which he wasn't that impressed by, then five minutes later I texted him to say we had a wallaby bounding around.
'Call helpline'
"It was a big shock, I didn't know how close to get to it but it seemed happy enough.
"It looked healthy and cared for. A policeman arrived but the animal jumped over the fence before the RSPCA arrived and we haven't seen it since."
Dorset Police said a search was carried out but nothing was found.
The RSPCA said one of its officers was called to the incident but the animal had fled.
A spokeswoman said there has not been any reports of escaped animals in the area.
She added: "We've spoken to an expert and apparently there are a number of wallabies which live wild in the UK.
"If anyone sees it we would urge them to call our helpline on 0300 123 4999.
"We urge people not to approach the animal or touch it, not because it will necessarily become violent, but you may do it more harm than good."
See video at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-13433839
(Submitted by Joe DaStudd)
See also: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13436208
(Submitted by Max Blake)
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Thylacine lives up to its tiger moniker
May 5, 2011
CLOSE study of thylacine leg bones has pointed to the lost marsupial's hunting technique, showing it probably behaved more like a tiger than a wolf.
Work on the thylacine's tell-tale elbow joint by US scientists found it was flexible enough to subdue prey after a surprise attack, indicating it was a sudden ambush predator.
The shape of the joint contrasts with those of dingoes and wolves, which have less foreleg movement, which is why they may rely on lengthy pack hunts, said biologists at Brown University, Rhode Island.
Scientists have been forced to forensically reconstruct the life of the unique striped marsupial, which was driven to extinction by hunters in Tasmania last century.
With a head like a large dog and a body striped like a cat, known as both the marsupial wolf and Tasmanian tiger, the animal's hunting habits were poorly documented.
In a study published in Biology Letters yesterday, Brown University researcher Borja Figueirido compared the bones of the thylacine with 31 other mammals.
Previous research pointed to the elbow joint as a clue to predatory habits because it showed whether the animal was built for flexibility and dexterity in handling prey, or for a chase.
''It's a very subtle thing,'' said Christine Janis, professor of biology in the department of ecology and evolutionary biology at Brown. ''You never would think that the shape of just one bone would mean so much.''
Examining the bones, the researchers found the thylacine's humerus, or upper ''arm'' bone, was oval and elongated at the end closest to the elbow, implying the foreleg bones, the radius and ulna, were separated. That meant the thylacine would have been able to rotate the lower leg so that the foot pad faced up like a cat's.
Professor Janis said the thylacine's hunting tactics appeared to be a unique mix. "I don't think there's anything like it around today," she said. "It's sort of like a cat-like fox."
David Owen, author of the 2003 natural history Thylacine, told The Age conflicting accounts of the animal's speed and agility meant its hunting behaviour was still subject to conjecture. ''This work lends weight to it being an ambush predator, but I'm not convinced that it's not a pursuit predator by any means.''
http://www.theage.com.au/national/thylacine-lives-up-to-its-tiger-moniker-20110504-1e8fh.html
What Exactly Was The Australian Thylacine?
 |
| Though highly similar in their skull anatomy, specialized for a carnivorous diet, the thylacine, front, and the dingo very likely had different hunting styles. Researchers analyzing skeletons of the forelimbs found important differences CREDIT: Carl Buell |
The thylacine had the head and body of a dog, but its striped coat resembled a cat and it carried its young in a pouch like a kangaroo. These enigmatic, iconic creatures of Australia and Tasmania have been given conflicting names such as the “marsupial wolf” and the “Tasmanian tiger.”
Researchers at Brown University may have discovered the answer as to what type of creature the extinct thylacine was.
Bones of the thylacines, along with other dog-like and cat-like animals such as pumas, jackals, wolves and Tasmania devils, were examined by the researchers. Their findings concluded that these creatures were Tasmanian tigers, which meant that they were more like cats than dogs, and were clearly a marsupial.
The thylacine was able to rotate its arm so that the palm faced upwards, similar to a cat, reports BBC News. This allowed the animal to increase the amount of arm and paw movement to help the Tasmanian tiger subdue its prey after an ambush.
Borja Figueirido, a postdoctoral researcher at Brown University and lead author says, "We provide quantitative support to the suspicions of earlier researchers that the thylacine was not a pursuit predator. Although there is no doubt that the thylacine diet was similar to that of living wolves, we find no compelling evidence that they hunted similarly."
The research, published in Biology Letters, shows that the extinct thylacine was a “solitary, ambush-style predator, with hunting skills that are unlike those of wolves or dog-like species that hunt in packs and pursue their prey over distances.
Dog-like animals such as wolves and dingos have a more restrictive arm-hand movement, which has their paws fixed at a palm-down position; therefore, showing that their hunting strategy is to pursue a prey in packs rather than by ambush.
But this in not all-encompassing, since cats like the cheetah use speed to catch its meal and dog-like foxes rely on ambushing their prey.
Christine Janis, co-author and professor of biology in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Brown, says that the thylacine’s hunting method seems to be a unique mix.
“I don’t think there’s anything like it around today. It’s sort of like a cat-like fox.”
After millions of years of existence in Australia, the Tasmanian tiger ended its species with the final thylacine named Benjamin, who died in Hobart Zoo, Tasmania in 1936.
The extinction of the thylacines probably began about 40,000 years ago when humans started to settle in Australia, and the dingo, a small, dog-like creature, was introduced into the environment around 4,000 years ago.
Humans most likely disrupted thylacine habitat and probably even its food sources, but the dingo’s role in the disappearance of the Tasmanian tiger is still debatable, say researchers, since the hunting habits of these two animals are different from one another.
"Dingoes were more like the final straw [to the Tasmanian tigers' demise in continental Australia]," Janis says, "Because they weren't in the same niche. It's not just that a dingo was a placental version of a thylacine."
Eventually, the dingo-free island of Tasmania became the thylacines final living environment, where there was an effort to eradicate the animals in the 19th and 20th centuries.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/2041005/what_exactly_was_the_australian_thylacine/index.html
See also: Thylacine hunting behavior - A Case of crying wolf
Monday, May 2, 2011
Weird marsupial fossils found
 |
| "An artist’s illustration of a forest at Riversleigh in prehistoric Miocene times." Image: Dorothy Dunphy |
The University of New South Wales
Fossils of bizarre lizard-like, snail-eating marsupials have been discovered by UNSW palaeontologists in an ancient fossil field in the Riversleigh World Heritage area in Queensland. The fossils date back 10 to 17 million years ago.
This ferret-size mammal - now formally named Malleodectes, meaning "hammer-biter "- had an enormous blunt tooth in each side of its upper jaw, says Dr Rick Arena, lead author of the study published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
"At first, the function of these teeth was a mystery because we were unaware of any other mammal that had hammer-teeth like this," says Dr Arena, of the UNSW Evolution of Earth & Life Systems Research Group.
That was until co-author Dr Scott Hocknull, of the Queensland Museum, noticed the striking similarities to a modern Australian lizard, the pink-tongued skink (Cyclodomorphus gerrardii).
“This rainforest skink has an almost identical giant, hammer-tooth in its dentition and in this case we know what it’s used for: crushing the hard shells of snails, one of the main foods of this rainforest skink,” says Dr Hocknull.
"It appears Malleodectes evolved millions of years ago to exploit the ecological niche occupied today by these specialised lizards," says Dr Arena.
The researchers say the similarity between the teeth of the fossil marsupials and the living skink is a remarkable example of evolutionary convergence. Although from very different groups of animals, these marsupials and this lizard have independently developed a similar solution to the same challenge - how to crush hard shells to be able to swallow tasty snails.
While many examples of evolutionary convergence between marsupials and placental mammals have been found on other continents – one of the most familiar being the recently extinct dog-like thylacines - this is the first time a marsupial has been found with dental adaptations most closely resembling those of a lizard.
Malleodectes eventually became extinct at some point after 10 million years ago, when the Australian continent began to respond to rapid climate change.
“It’s possible that species of Malleodectes may have survived for a bit longer in rainforest communities in eastern Australia and here found themselves in competition for snails with the similarly-specialised ancestors of the pink-tongued skinks," says Professor Mike Archer, a co-author. "If this did happen, clearly, for whatever reason, these extraordinary mammals lost out to the lizards.”
Editor's Note: Please refer to the University of New South Wales website for more details.
http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20112004-22092-2.html
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Remember the psychic octopus? No? Well here comes a psychic opossum anyways
Feb 13, 2011, 1:30 PM EST
Ah, the Germans. Never one to let a once-cute idea die, they’ve revived World Cup sensation Paul the Psychic Octopus (in spirit anyways) by introducing their newest ESP-laden animal– Heidi, a cross-eyed opossum. You can’t make this stuff up.
Heidi’s task? Picking the Oscars, a seemingly tougher task than Paul’s since he had a 50/50 chance on every match and she’ll have to pick a winner out of multiple choice. Nevertheless, Heidi isn’t nervous. Mainly because she’s an opossum.
I’m not exactly sure how an opossum gets cross-eyed (probably from staring at its laptop too long) but it’s admirable that Heidi hasn’t let this disability stop her from chasing her dreams of being a famous psychic marsupial, like so many before her.
In the meantime, let me submit my services a psychic blogger– Toy Story 3 wins Best Animated Film. Now where’s my check?
***
Germany’s cross-eyed opossum to pick Oscar winners [Associated Press]
Heidi’s task? Picking the Oscars, a seemingly tougher task than Paul’s since he had a 50/50 chance on every match and she’ll have to pick a winner out of multiple choice. Nevertheless, Heidi isn’t nervous. Mainly because she’s an opossum.
Leipzig Zoo Director Joerg Junghold told Germany’s RTL television on Friday that Heidi will be appearing on the “Jimmy Kimmel Show” alongside the Oscars on Feb. 27.What, Conan wasn’t available?
I’m not exactly sure how an opossum gets cross-eyed (probably from staring at its laptop too long) but it’s admirable that Heidi hasn’t let this disability stop her from chasing her dreams of being a famous psychic marsupial, like so many before her.
In the meantime, let me submit my services a psychic blogger– Toy Story 3 wins Best Animated Film. Now where’s my check?
***
Germany’s cross-eyed opossum to pick Oscar winners [Associated Press]
http://offthebench.nbcsports.com/2011/02/13/remember-the-psychic-octopus-no-well-here-comes-a-psychic-opossum-anyways/
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Cross-eyed opossum on diet to improve health and eye alignment
A cross-eyed opossum from Leipzig Zoo has been put on a diet which will not only make her slimmer and healthier – it may also help her eyes look in the same direction.
Heidi the cross-eyed opossum became an internet sensation after being moved from North Carolina, via Denmark to the east German zoo.
Someone set up a Facebook page for her which has as of Sunday morning, prompted 284,547 people to note that they ‘like this’, and thousands to leave comments on how sweet they think she is.
Click here for a Heidi photo gallery.
Yet her eye problem – likely caused by fatty deposits behind her eyes – is symptomatic of her general obesity which zookeepers in Leipzig now say they are tackling.
“She is making clear progress with mobility, and can now use her tail much better to hold onto things,” said Maria Saegebarth, spokeswoman for the zoo.
She said the opossum’s obesity is thought to have been responsible for her eye problem.
Saegebarth said Heidi is becoming more active as she loses weight out of sight of the public in a private area of the zoo. She will be put in the new giant tropical hall which is due to be opened in July.
DPA/hc
http://www.thelocal.de/national/20110130-32759.html
Cross-eyed opossum on diet to improve health and eye alignment
A cross-eyed opossum from Leipzig Zoo has been put on a diet which will not only make her slimmer and healthier – it may also help her eyes look in the same direction.
Heidi the cross-eyed opossum became an internet sensation after being moved from North Carolina, via Denmark to the east German zoo.
Someone set up a Facebook page for her which has as of Sunday morning, prompted 284,547 people to note that they ‘like this’, and thousands to leave comments on how sweet they think she is.
Click here for a Heidi photo gallery.
Yet her eye problem – likely caused by fatty deposits behind her eyes – is symptomatic of her general obesity which zookeepers in Leipzig now say they are tackling.
“She is making clear progress with mobility, and can now use her tail much better to hold onto things,” said Maria Saegebarth, spokeswoman for the zoo.
She said the opossum’s obesity is thought to have been responsible for her eye problem.
Saegebarth said Heidi is becoming more active as she loses weight out of sight of the public in a private area of the zoo. She will be put in the new giant tropical hall which is due to be opened in July.
DPA/hc
http://www.thelocal.de/national/20110130-32759.html
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Kangaroos invade Hanging Rock races
# AAP
# January 26, 2011 2:59PM
KANGAROOS have forced organisers to abandon the Hanging Rock Australia Day races in Victoria.
The first race was delayed twice and finally cancelled, along with the rest of the day's meeting, after a mob of kangaroos invaded the track.
One roo reportedly bounded down the home straight during the second attempt to run the race.
The Hanging Rock Racing Club holds only two race meetings a year - on New Year's Day and Australia Day - in a tradition going back more than 125 years.
The race track is at the foot of the famous Hanging Rock formation in the Macedon Ranges.
The area is famed as the setting of Picnic At Hanging Rock, a novel and subsequent film about the mysterious disappearance of three schoolgirls and a teacher on an outing at Hanging Rock on Valentine's Day 1900.
# January 26, 2011 2:59PM
KANGAROOS have forced organisers to abandon the Hanging Rock Australia Day races in Victoria.
The first race was delayed twice and finally cancelled, along with the rest of the day's meeting, after a mob of kangaroos invaded the track.
One roo reportedly bounded down the home straight during the second attempt to run the race.
The Hanging Rock Racing Club holds only two race meetings a year - on New Year's Day and Australia Day - in a tradition going back more than 125 years.
The race track is at the foot of the famous Hanging Rock formation in the Macedon Ranges.
The area is famed as the setting of Picnic At Hanging Rock, a novel and subsequent film about the mysterious disappearance of three schoolgirls and a teacher on an outing at Hanging Rock on Valentine's Day 1900.
Kangaroos invade Hanging Rock races
# AAP
# January 26, 2011 2:59PM
KANGAROOS have forced organisers to abandon the Hanging Rock Australia Day races in Victoria.
The first race was delayed twice and finally cancelled, along with the rest of the day's meeting, after a mob of kangaroos invaded the track.
One roo reportedly bounded down the home straight during the second attempt to run the race.
The Hanging Rock Racing Club holds only two race meetings a year - on New Year's Day and Australia Day - in a tradition going back more than 125 years.
The race track is at the foot of the famous Hanging Rock formation in the Macedon Ranges.
The area is famed as the setting of Picnic At Hanging Rock, a novel and subsequent film about the mysterious disappearance of three schoolgirls and a teacher on an outing at Hanging Rock on Valentine's Day 1900.
# January 26, 2011 2:59PM
KANGAROOS have forced organisers to abandon the Hanging Rock Australia Day races in Victoria.
The first race was delayed twice and finally cancelled, along with the rest of the day's meeting, after a mob of kangaroos invaded the track.
One roo reportedly bounded down the home straight during the second attempt to run the race.
The Hanging Rock Racing Club holds only two race meetings a year - on New Year's Day and Australia Day - in a tradition going back more than 125 years.
The race track is at the foot of the famous Hanging Rock formation in the Macedon Ranges.
The area is famed as the setting of Picnic At Hanging Rock, a novel and subsequent film about the mysterious disappearance of three schoolgirls and a teacher on an outing at Hanging Rock on Valentine's Day 1900.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Mystery kangaroo put down after car collision ... in Germany
Published: 30 Sep 10 14:40 CET
Veterinarians in Lower Saxony were forced to euthanise a kangaroo on Wednesday after the mystery animal bounced in front of a car and suffered a severe broken leg.
A 53-year-old driver in the Lower Saxony town of Haren was startled when the kangaroo bounced into the path of his car on Wednesday. Despite slamming on his brakes, he hit and injured the animal.
With the help of a local resident, the man captured the kangaroo and took it to the nearby Nordhorn zoo. Vets at the zoo established that the animal had a serious leg fracture they were unable to mend. They therefore put the animal down.
Police announced on Thursday that it was still unclear where the iconic Australian animal had come from.
“So far, no kangaroo from a zoo or animal park has been reported as missing,” a police spokesman said.
However, there had been several reports of sightings of a kangaroo in recent weeks.
Oddly enough, it is not the only escaped kangaroo to have made headlines in Germany in the past couple of years. An escaped kangaroo named Toto was caught after being “on the hop” for 15 days from the Serengeti Park Hodenhagen in Hannover.
Zoo staff in that case lured the kangaroo with his favourite food: peanut butter.
DAPD/The Local/dw
http://www.thelocal.de/society/20100930-30191.html
(Via CFZ Australia)
Veterinarians in Lower Saxony were forced to euthanise a kangaroo on Wednesday after the mystery animal bounced in front of a car and suffered a severe broken leg.
A 53-year-old driver in the Lower Saxony town of Haren was startled when the kangaroo bounced into the path of his car on Wednesday. Despite slamming on his brakes, he hit and injured the animal.
With the help of a local resident, the man captured the kangaroo and took it to the nearby Nordhorn zoo. Vets at the zoo established that the animal had a serious leg fracture they were unable to mend. They therefore put the animal down.
Police announced on Thursday that it was still unclear where the iconic Australian animal had come from.
“So far, no kangaroo from a zoo or animal park has been reported as missing,” a police spokesman said.
However, there had been several reports of sightings of a kangaroo in recent weeks.
Oddly enough, it is not the only escaped kangaroo to have made headlines in Germany in the past couple of years. An escaped kangaroo named Toto was caught after being “on the hop” for 15 days from the Serengeti Park Hodenhagen in Hannover.
Zoo staff in that case lured the kangaroo with his favourite food: peanut butter.
DAPD/The Local/dw
http://www.thelocal.de/society/20100930-30191.html
(Via CFZ Australia)
Mystery kangaroo put down after car collision ... in Germany
Published: 30 Sep 10 14:40 CET
Veterinarians in Lower Saxony were forced to euthanise a kangaroo on Wednesday after the mystery animal bounced in front of a car and suffered a severe broken leg.
A 53-year-old driver in the Lower Saxony town of Haren was startled when the kangaroo bounced into the path of his car on Wednesday. Despite slamming on his brakes, he hit and injured the animal.
With the help of a local resident, the man captured the kangaroo and took it to the nearby Nordhorn zoo. Vets at the zoo established that the animal had a serious leg fracture they were unable to mend. They therefore put the animal down.
Police announced on Thursday that it was still unclear where the iconic Australian animal had come from.
“So far, no kangaroo from a zoo or animal park has been reported as missing,” a police spokesman said.
However, there had been several reports of sightings of a kangaroo in recent weeks.
Oddly enough, it is not the only escaped kangaroo to have made headlines in Germany in the past couple of years. An escaped kangaroo named Toto was caught after being “on the hop” for 15 days from the Serengeti Park Hodenhagen in Hannover.
Zoo staff in that case lured the kangaroo with his favourite food: peanut butter.
DAPD/The Local/dw
http://www.thelocal.de/society/20100930-30191.html
(Via CFZ Australia)
Veterinarians in Lower Saxony were forced to euthanise a kangaroo on Wednesday after the mystery animal bounced in front of a car and suffered a severe broken leg.
A 53-year-old driver in the Lower Saxony town of Haren was startled when the kangaroo bounced into the path of his car on Wednesday. Despite slamming on his brakes, he hit and injured the animal.
With the help of a local resident, the man captured the kangaroo and took it to the nearby Nordhorn zoo. Vets at the zoo established that the animal had a serious leg fracture they were unable to mend. They therefore put the animal down.
Police announced on Thursday that it was still unclear where the iconic Australian animal had come from.
“So far, no kangaroo from a zoo or animal park has been reported as missing,” a police spokesman said.
However, there had been several reports of sightings of a kangaroo in recent weeks.
Oddly enough, it is not the only escaped kangaroo to have made headlines in Germany in the past couple of years. An escaped kangaroo named Toto was caught after being “on the hop” for 15 days from the Serengeti Park Hodenhagen in Hannover.
Zoo staff in that case lured the kangaroo with his favourite food: peanut butter.
DAPD/The Local/dw
http://www.thelocal.de/society/20100930-30191.html
(Via CFZ Australia)
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
This seal was declared extinct in 1892. So what is it doing alive and well today?
Good news for Guadelupe fur seal, Bahian tree rat and bridled nailtail wallaby – but survey warns rate of extinctions still accelerating
Ian Sample, science correspondent
The Guardian, Wednesday 29 September 2010
The Guadalupe fur seal was feared extinct, gone the way of the dodo after being slaughtered by Russian and American hunters for their skins. None could be found at breeding grounds and as sightings elsewhere tailed off the species was consigned to history.
So why are there thousands of Guadalupe fur seals swimming off the coast of Mexico now? As naturalists gladly admit, reports of the species' demise at the end of the 19th century were premature. Small numbers of the animals clung on in island caves and were rediscovered only decades later. The population is now thriving, with the latest estimate putting their number at 15,000 or more.
But the case of the Guadalupe fur seal is far from unique – and more animals feared extinct could be waiting to be rediscovered. A survey of the world's mammals published today reveals that more than a third of species once feared extinct have since been spotted in the wild, in one case 180 years after the last confirmed sighting. Rare mammals that were considered dead but later rediscovered were typically missing for 52 years.
The Guadalupe seal was hunted to apparent extinction in 1892, but a tiny colony was spotted on the island by two fishermen in 1926. After a failed attempt to sell two of the animals to San Diego zoo, one of the fishermen went back to slaughter the colony out of spite. He later turned up in Panama to sell the skins, but was killed in a bar brawl. The seals were only rediscovered and protected when a zoologist tracked down the second fisherman, who revealed their location on his deathbed in 1950.
One rodent, the Bahian tree rat, which lives in forests on the Brazilian coast, went missing in 1824. Despite efforts by conservationists, the animal was not rediscovered until 2004. The bridled nailtail wallaby was once common in eastern Australia but seemed to die out in the 1930s. It was spotted in 1973 by a contractor who was preparing to clear an area of land. After he raised the alarm, the habitat was bought by the local parks service to save the animal. Another creature, a small marsupial called Gilbert's potoroo, was missing for 115 years before it was rediscovered in the south of Western Australia in 1994.
Diana Fisher, who led the survey at the University of Queensland, said the number of mammals going extinct was still accelerating despite large numbers of lost animals being found.
Conservation experts have already warned that the world is in the grip of the "sixth great extinction", as imported species and diseases, hunting and the destruction of natural habitats deal a fatal blow to plants and animals.
Writing in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Fisher lists 180 mammals reported as extinct, feared extinct, or missing since the year 1500. Of these, 67 were later found to be alive and well. Animals that were picked off by new predators were rarely rediscovered, while those threatened by a loss of habitat or hunting by humans were more likely to be holding on in small colonies, she found.
The survey highlights the uncertainties in lists of extinct species, but Fisher said it should help conservationists target their searches for missing species by focusing on those most likely to be alive.
More than 25 large-scale searches have failed to find thylacines, the carnivorous, dog-like marsupials that have not been seen in Australia for nearly 80 years.
Fisher said her analysis puts the chance of the species surviving at "virtually zero". Mammals that were hunted to extinction before the 20th century, such as Steller's sea cow, the Falkland Islands wolf, sea mink and the large Palau flying fox are also unlikely to be found now, Fisher said.
"Conservation resources are wasted searching for species that have no chance of rediscovery, while most missing species receive no attention," Fisher told the Guardian. "Rather than searching ever more for charismatic missing species, such as thylacines in Australia, it would be a better use of resources to look for species that are most likely to be alive, find out where they are, and protect their habitats," she added.
According to Fisher's survey, the most likely missing mammals to be found alive are the Montane monkey-faced bat in the Solomon Islands, Alcorn's pocket gopher, which was last seen in the high forests of Mexico, and the lesser stick-nest rat, a large, soft-furred desert animal from Australia.
Four other 'extinct' species
Bahian tree rat
A small rodent that lives in the coastal forests of Brazil. Was missing and presumed extinct for 180 years from 1824. A year-long search of the area in 2004 found only one of the animals living in the region. The species is critically endangered and is considered at threat from ongoing deforestation.
Bridled nailtail wallaby
Once common in eastern Australia, this nocturnal species was thought to have died out in 1930. The animal was rediscovered in Queensland after a contractor recognised it from a picture of extinct creatures published in a women's magazine. It gets its name from the horny, pointed tip on its tail. It was hunted for its fur, but more recent threats include foxes and habitat loss. It remains endangered.
Gilbert's potoroo
A small, silky-coated marsupial that was missing in Australia from 1879 to 1994, when conservationists found a tiny population of the animals in the Two People's Bay park area in the west of the country. The animal is likely to have survived because the reserve was already protected to save the habitat of a rare bird. The potoroo suffered from predation by cats and foxes that were introduced to the area. Those that remain are genetically very similar, leaving them vulnerable to diseases. It is one of Australia's rarest animals.
Leadbeater's possum
A grey marsupial with black markings. Leadbeater's possum was known from only four specimens collected around 1900. It was considered extinct in 1920 when its habitat was destroyed, but was rediscovered in 1961 during a survey of a mountain forest in Victoria. The population stands at around 2,000 adults, a number that is expected to fall by 90% in 30 years as den trees and nesting habitat are lost.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/sep/29/third-of-extinct-species-alive
Ian Sample, science correspondent
The Guardian, Wednesday 29 September 2010
The Guadalupe fur seal was feared extinct, gone the way of the dodo after being slaughtered by Russian and American hunters for their skins. None could be found at breeding grounds and as sightings elsewhere tailed off the species was consigned to history.
So why are there thousands of Guadalupe fur seals swimming off the coast of Mexico now? As naturalists gladly admit, reports of the species' demise at the end of the 19th century were premature. Small numbers of the animals clung on in island caves and were rediscovered only decades later. The population is now thriving, with the latest estimate putting their number at 15,000 or more.
But the case of the Guadalupe fur seal is far from unique – and more animals feared extinct could be waiting to be rediscovered. A survey of the world's mammals published today reveals that more than a third of species once feared extinct have since been spotted in the wild, in one case 180 years after the last confirmed sighting. Rare mammals that were considered dead but later rediscovered were typically missing for 52 years.
The Guadalupe seal was hunted to apparent extinction in 1892, but a tiny colony was spotted on the island by two fishermen in 1926. After a failed attempt to sell two of the animals to San Diego zoo, one of the fishermen went back to slaughter the colony out of spite. He later turned up in Panama to sell the skins, but was killed in a bar brawl. The seals were only rediscovered and protected when a zoologist tracked down the second fisherman, who revealed their location on his deathbed in 1950.
One rodent, the Bahian tree rat, which lives in forests on the Brazilian coast, went missing in 1824. Despite efforts by conservationists, the animal was not rediscovered until 2004. The bridled nailtail wallaby was once common in eastern Australia but seemed to die out in the 1930s. It was spotted in 1973 by a contractor who was preparing to clear an area of land. After he raised the alarm, the habitat was bought by the local parks service to save the animal. Another creature, a small marsupial called Gilbert's potoroo, was missing for 115 years before it was rediscovered in the south of Western Australia in 1994.
Diana Fisher, who led the survey at the University of Queensland, said the number of mammals going extinct was still accelerating despite large numbers of lost animals being found.
Conservation experts have already warned that the world is in the grip of the "sixth great extinction", as imported species and diseases, hunting and the destruction of natural habitats deal a fatal blow to plants and animals.
Writing in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Fisher lists 180 mammals reported as extinct, feared extinct, or missing since the year 1500. Of these, 67 were later found to be alive and well. Animals that were picked off by new predators were rarely rediscovered, while those threatened by a loss of habitat or hunting by humans were more likely to be holding on in small colonies, she found.
The survey highlights the uncertainties in lists of extinct species, but Fisher said it should help conservationists target their searches for missing species by focusing on those most likely to be alive.
More than 25 large-scale searches have failed to find thylacines, the carnivorous, dog-like marsupials that have not been seen in Australia for nearly 80 years.
Fisher said her analysis puts the chance of the species surviving at "virtually zero". Mammals that were hunted to extinction before the 20th century, such as Steller's sea cow, the Falkland Islands wolf, sea mink and the large Palau flying fox are also unlikely to be found now, Fisher said.
"Conservation resources are wasted searching for species that have no chance of rediscovery, while most missing species receive no attention," Fisher told the Guardian. "Rather than searching ever more for charismatic missing species, such as thylacines in Australia, it would be a better use of resources to look for species that are most likely to be alive, find out where they are, and protect their habitats," she added.
According to Fisher's survey, the most likely missing mammals to be found alive are the Montane monkey-faced bat in the Solomon Islands, Alcorn's pocket gopher, which was last seen in the high forests of Mexico, and the lesser stick-nest rat, a large, soft-furred desert animal from Australia.
Four other 'extinct' species
Bahian tree rat
A small rodent that lives in the coastal forests of Brazil. Was missing and presumed extinct for 180 years from 1824. A year-long search of the area in 2004 found only one of the animals living in the region. The species is critically endangered and is considered at threat from ongoing deforestation.
Bridled nailtail wallaby
Once common in eastern Australia, this nocturnal species was thought to have died out in 1930. The animal was rediscovered in Queensland after a contractor recognised it from a picture of extinct creatures published in a women's magazine. It gets its name from the horny, pointed tip on its tail. It was hunted for its fur, but more recent threats include foxes and habitat loss. It remains endangered.
Gilbert's potoroo
A small, silky-coated marsupial that was missing in Australia from 1879 to 1994, when conservationists found a tiny population of the animals in the Two People's Bay park area in the west of the country. The animal is likely to have survived because the reserve was already protected to save the habitat of a rare bird. The potoroo suffered from predation by cats and foxes that were introduced to the area. Those that remain are genetically very similar, leaving them vulnerable to diseases. It is one of Australia's rarest animals.
Leadbeater's possum
A grey marsupial with black markings. Leadbeater's possum was known from only four specimens collected around 1900. It was considered extinct in 1920 when its habitat was destroyed, but was rediscovered in 1961 during a survey of a mountain forest in Victoria. The population stands at around 2,000 adults, a number that is expected to fall by 90% in 30 years as den trees and nesting habitat are lost.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/sep/29/third-of-extinct-species-alive
This seal was declared extinct in 1892. So what is it doing alive and well today?
Good news for Guadelupe fur seal, Bahian tree rat and bridled nailtail wallaby – but survey warns rate of extinctions still accelerating
Ian Sample, science correspondent
The Guardian, Wednesday 29 September 2010
The Guadalupe fur seal was feared extinct, gone the way of the dodo after being slaughtered by Russian and American hunters for their skins. None could be found at breeding grounds and as sightings elsewhere tailed off the species was consigned to history.
So why are there thousands of Guadalupe fur seals swimming off the coast of Mexico now? As naturalists gladly admit, reports of the species' demise at the end of the 19th century were premature. Small numbers of the animals clung on in island caves and were rediscovered only decades later. The population is now thriving, with the latest estimate putting their number at 15,000 or more.
But the case of the Guadalupe fur seal is far from unique – and more animals feared extinct could be waiting to be rediscovered. A survey of the world's mammals published today reveals that more than a third of species once feared extinct have since been spotted in the wild, in one case 180 years after the last confirmed sighting. Rare mammals that were considered dead but later rediscovered were typically missing for 52 years.
The Guadalupe seal was hunted to apparent extinction in 1892, but a tiny colony was spotted on the island by two fishermen in 1926. After a failed attempt to sell two of the animals to San Diego zoo, one of the fishermen went back to slaughter the colony out of spite. He later turned up in Panama to sell the skins, but was killed in a bar brawl. The seals were only rediscovered and protected when a zoologist tracked down the second fisherman, who revealed their location on his deathbed in 1950.
One rodent, the Bahian tree rat, which lives in forests on the Brazilian coast, went missing in 1824. Despite efforts by conservationists, the animal was not rediscovered until 2004. The bridled nailtail wallaby was once common in eastern Australia but seemed to die out in the 1930s. It was spotted in 1973 by a contractor who was preparing to clear an area of land. After he raised the alarm, the habitat was bought by the local parks service to save the animal. Another creature, a small marsupial called Gilbert's potoroo, was missing for 115 years before it was rediscovered in the south of Western Australia in 1994.
Diana Fisher, who led the survey at the University of Queensland, said the number of mammals going extinct was still accelerating despite large numbers of lost animals being found.
Conservation experts have already warned that the world is in the grip of the "sixth great extinction", as imported species and diseases, hunting and the destruction of natural habitats deal a fatal blow to plants and animals.
Writing in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Fisher lists 180 mammals reported as extinct, feared extinct, or missing since the year 1500. Of these, 67 were later found to be alive and well. Animals that were picked off by new predators were rarely rediscovered, while those threatened by a loss of habitat or hunting by humans were more likely to be holding on in small colonies, she found.
The survey highlights the uncertainties in lists of extinct species, but Fisher said it should help conservationists target their searches for missing species by focusing on those most likely to be alive.
More than 25 large-scale searches have failed to find thylacines, the carnivorous, dog-like marsupials that have not been seen in Australia for nearly 80 years.
Fisher said her analysis puts the chance of the species surviving at "virtually zero". Mammals that were hunted to extinction before the 20th century, such as Steller's sea cow, the Falkland Islands wolf, sea mink and the large Palau flying fox are also unlikely to be found now, Fisher said.
"Conservation resources are wasted searching for species that have no chance of rediscovery, while most missing species receive no attention," Fisher told the Guardian. "Rather than searching ever more for charismatic missing species, such as thylacines in Australia, it would be a better use of resources to look for species that are most likely to be alive, find out where they are, and protect their habitats," she added.
According to Fisher's survey, the most likely missing mammals to be found alive are the Montane monkey-faced bat in the Solomon Islands, Alcorn's pocket gopher, which was last seen in the high forests of Mexico, and the lesser stick-nest rat, a large, soft-furred desert animal from Australia.
Four other 'extinct' species
Bahian tree rat
A small rodent that lives in the coastal forests of Brazil. Was missing and presumed extinct for 180 years from 1824. A year-long search of the area in 2004 found only one of the animals living in the region. The species is critically endangered and is considered at threat from ongoing deforestation.
Bridled nailtail wallaby
Once common in eastern Australia, this nocturnal species was thought to have died out in 1930. The animal was rediscovered in Queensland after a contractor recognised it from a picture of extinct creatures published in a women's magazine. It gets its name from the horny, pointed tip on its tail. It was hunted for its fur, but more recent threats include foxes and habitat loss. It remains endangered.
Gilbert's potoroo
A small, silky-coated marsupial that was missing in Australia from 1879 to 1994, when conservationists found a tiny population of the animals in the Two People's Bay park area in the west of the country. The animal is likely to have survived because the reserve was already protected to save the habitat of a rare bird. The potoroo suffered from predation by cats and foxes that were introduced to the area. Those that remain are genetically very similar, leaving them vulnerable to diseases. It is one of Australia's rarest animals.
Leadbeater's possum
A grey marsupial with black markings. Leadbeater's possum was known from only four specimens collected around 1900. It was considered extinct in 1920 when its habitat was destroyed, but was rediscovered in 1961 during a survey of a mountain forest in Victoria. The population stands at around 2,000 adults, a number that is expected to fall by 90% in 30 years as den trees and nesting habitat are lost.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/sep/29/third-of-extinct-species-alive
Ian Sample, science correspondent
The Guardian, Wednesday 29 September 2010
The Guadalupe fur seal was feared extinct, gone the way of the dodo after being slaughtered by Russian and American hunters for their skins. None could be found at breeding grounds and as sightings elsewhere tailed off the species was consigned to history.
So why are there thousands of Guadalupe fur seals swimming off the coast of Mexico now? As naturalists gladly admit, reports of the species' demise at the end of the 19th century were premature. Small numbers of the animals clung on in island caves and were rediscovered only decades later. The population is now thriving, with the latest estimate putting their number at 15,000 or more.
But the case of the Guadalupe fur seal is far from unique – and more animals feared extinct could be waiting to be rediscovered. A survey of the world's mammals published today reveals that more than a third of species once feared extinct have since been spotted in the wild, in one case 180 years after the last confirmed sighting. Rare mammals that were considered dead but later rediscovered were typically missing for 52 years.
The Guadalupe seal was hunted to apparent extinction in 1892, but a tiny colony was spotted on the island by two fishermen in 1926. After a failed attempt to sell two of the animals to San Diego zoo, one of the fishermen went back to slaughter the colony out of spite. He later turned up in Panama to sell the skins, but was killed in a bar brawl. The seals were only rediscovered and protected when a zoologist tracked down the second fisherman, who revealed their location on his deathbed in 1950.
One rodent, the Bahian tree rat, which lives in forests on the Brazilian coast, went missing in 1824. Despite efforts by conservationists, the animal was not rediscovered until 2004. The bridled nailtail wallaby was once common in eastern Australia but seemed to die out in the 1930s. It was spotted in 1973 by a contractor who was preparing to clear an area of land. After he raised the alarm, the habitat was bought by the local parks service to save the animal. Another creature, a small marsupial called Gilbert's potoroo, was missing for 115 years before it was rediscovered in the south of Western Australia in 1994.
Diana Fisher, who led the survey at the University of Queensland, said the number of mammals going extinct was still accelerating despite large numbers of lost animals being found.
Conservation experts have already warned that the world is in the grip of the "sixth great extinction", as imported species and diseases, hunting and the destruction of natural habitats deal a fatal blow to plants and animals.
Writing in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Fisher lists 180 mammals reported as extinct, feared extinct, or missing since the year 1500. Of these, 67 were later found to be alive and well. Animals that were picked off by new predators were rarely rediscovered, while those threatened by a loss of habitat or hunting by humans were more likely to be holding on in small colonies, she found.
The survey highlights the uncertainties in lists of extinct species, but Fisher said it should help conservationists target their searches for missing species by focusing on those most likely to be alive.
More than 25 large-scale searches have failed to find thylacines, the carnivorous, dog-like marsupials that have not been seen in Australia for nearly 80 years.
Fisher said her analysis puts the chance of the species surviving at "virtually zero". Mammals that were hunted to extinction before the 20th century, such as Steller's sea cow, the Falkland Islands wolf, sea mink and the large Palau flying fox are also unlikely to be found now, Fisher said.
"Conservation resources are wasted searching for species that have no chance of rediscovery, while most missing species receive no attention," Fisher told the Guardian. "Rather than searching ever more for charismatic missing species, such as thylacines in Australia, it would be a better use of resources to look for species that are most likely to be alive, find out where they are, and protect their habitats," she added.
According to Fisher's survey, the most likely missing mammals to be found alive are the Montane monkey-faced bat in the Solomon Islands, Alcorn's pocket gopher, which was last seen in the high forests of Mexico, and the lesser stick-nest rat, a large, soft-furred desert animal from Australia.
Four other 'extinct' species
Bahian tree rat
A small rodent that lives in the coastal forests of Brazil. Was missing and presumed extinct for 180 years from 1824. A year-long search of the area in 2004 found only one of the animals living in the region. The species is critically endangered and is considered at threat from ongoing deforestation.
Bridled nailtail wallaby
Once common in eastern Australia, this nocturnal species was thought to have died out in 1930. The animal was rediscovered in Queensland after a contractor recognised it from a picture of extinct creatures published in a women's magazine. It gets its name from the horny, pointed tip on its tail. It was hunted for its fur, but more recent threats include foxes and habitat loss. It remains endangered.
Gilbert's potoroo
A small, silky-coated marsupial that was missing in Australia from 1879 to 1994, when conservationists found a tiny population of the animals in the Two People's Bay park area in the west of the country. The animal is likely to have survived because the reserve was already protected to save the habitat of a rare bird. The potoroo suffered from predation by cats and foxes that were introduced to the area. Those that remain are genetically very similar, leaving them vulnerable to diseases. It is one of Australia's rarest animals.
Leadbeater's possum
A grey marsupial with black markings. Leadbeater's possum was known from only four specimens collected around 1900. It was considered extinct in 1920 when its habitat was destroyed, but was rediscovered in 1961 during a survey of a mountain forest in Victoria. The population stands at around 2,000 adults, a number that is expected to fall by 90% in 30 years as den trees and nesting habitat are lost.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/sep/29/third-of-extinct-species-alive
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Mouse-eating opossums run amok in Brooklyn
September 19, 2010
The city played possum -- and Brooklyn residents lost.
In a bizarre attempt to outwit Mother Nature, city officials introduced beady-eyed opossums in Brooklyn years ago to scarf down rats running amok in the borough, according to local officials.
Surprise: Operation opossum didn't work.
Not only do wily rats continue to thrive, but the opossums have become their own epidemic, with bands of the conniving creatures sauntering through yards, plundering garbage cans and noshing on fruit trees.
They've even taken up golf, with two sightings of the whiskered marsupials at the Dyker Heights municipal course in the past week, local officials said.
"They are everywhere," said Theresa Scavo, chairwoman for Community Board 15, which represents Sheepshead Bay and surrounding south Brooklyn neighborhoods.
"Didn't any of those brain surgeons realize that the opossums were going to multiply?"
A city Sanitation spokeswoman said they were not involved with the Brooklyn opossum drop, and the Health Department didn't have any record of it. But Scavo and two city councilmen said city officials spoke about the effort at a 2007 Brooklyn forum.
"City brought possums in to take care of rats," read Community Board 15 notes from the meeting.
The opossums were set free in local parks and underneath the Coney Island boardwalk, with the theory being they would die off once the rats were gobbled up, said Councilman Domenic Recchia (D-Brooklyn).
Instead, the critters have been populating, spreading to Park Slope and Manhattan.
"The population has boomed in recent years," said Josephine Beckmann, district manager for Community Board 10, which represents Bay Ridge. "They climb up in the tree and have a good meal."
The critters have a mouth full of 50 sharp teeth, tend to exude a foul odor, and can occasionally contract rabies, said Stuart Mitchell, an entomologist.
They are nocturnal, and some Brooklynites have become terrified to go into their yards at night.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/rat_bastards_f5onjzgcqxm0fu3RFz3ySL#ixzz10eZuBwrX
Mouse-eating opossums run amok in Brooklyn
September 19, 2010
The city played possum -- and Brooklyn residents lost.
In a bizarre attempt to outwit Mother Nature, city officials introduced beady-eyed opossums in Brooklyn years ago to scarf down rats running amok in the borough, according to local officials.
Surprise: Operation opossum didn't work.
Not only do wily rats continue to thrive, but the opossums have become their own epidemic, with bands of the conniving creatures sauntering through yards, plundering garbage cans and noshing on fruit trees.
They've even taken up golf, with two sightings of the whiskered marsupials at the Dyker Heights municipal course in the past week, local officials said.
"They are everywhere," said Theresa Scavo, chairwoman for Community Board 15, which represents Sheepshead Bay and surrounding south Brooklyn neighborhoods.
"Didn't any of those brain surgeons realize that the opossums were going to multiply?"
A city Sanitation spokeswoman said they were not involved with the Brooklyn opossum drop, and the Health Department didn't have any record of it. But Scavo and two city councilmen said city officials spoke about the effort at a 2007 Brooklyn forum.
"City brought possums in to take care of rats," read Community Board 15 notes from the meeting.
The opossums were set free in local parks and underneath the Coney Island boardwalk, with the theory being they would die off once the rats were gobbled up, said Councilman Domenic Recchia (D-Brooklyn).
Instead, the critters have been populating, spreading to Park Slope and Manhattan.
"The population has boomed in recent years," said Josephine Beckmann, district manager for Community Board 10, which represents Bay Ridge. "They climb up in the tree and have a good meal."
The critters have a mouth full of 50 sharp teeth, tend to exude a foul odor, and can occasionally contract rabies, said Stuart Mitchell, an entomologist.
They are nocturnal, and some Brooklynites have become terrified to go into their yards at night.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/rat_bastards_f5onjzgcqxm0fu3RFz3ySL#ixzz10eZuBwrX
Monday, September 20, 2010
Sad demise of Cedric the Tasmanian devil sets back fight to save species
In spite of their ferocious reputation, Tasmanian devils have a timid nature. Australia Zoo / EPAPhil Mercer, Foreign Correspondent
September 18. 2010
SYDNEY // With a spine-chilling scream that terrified Australia’s early European settlers, the carnivorous Tasmanian devil has a fearsome reputation. But in recent years it has been humans, in the form of scientists, who have been trying to save the animals from extinction.
An aggressive cancer is slowly wiping out the species, with its population falling by 60 per cent in the past decade.
Last week scientists said they had made a breakthrough in the fight to save the animals by mapping its genome for the first time. There is hope that charting the devils’ full DNA sequence will open new paths to understanding and combating the mysterious cancer that causes disfiguring facial tumours.
“This sequence is invaluable and comes at a crucial time,”said the lead researcher Elizabeth Murchison. “By comparing our draft sequence with samples taken from many hundreds of devils suffering from this cancer, we can begin to look at the spread of the disease.”
Ms Murchison, from the Australian National University, said the information would allow scientists to identify which mutations had actually caused the devils’ cancer “and perhaps allow us to target those mutant genes with particular drugs”.
The breakthrough comes after researchers suffered a setback last month when a Tasmanian devil that showed rare signs of resistance to the cancer died.
For several years the animal, named Cedric, was a beacon of hope for researchers after showing signs of immunity to the tumours.
The unique marsupials exist in the wild only in Tasmania, Australia’s rugged southern island state, where they are listed as endangered. The size of a small dog, the stocky, dark-furred marsupials have powerful jaws and a scream that led to their demonic name.
For scientists working to unlock the secrets of the virus that threatens to render devils extinct within 25 years, the untimely death of Cedric was a blow.
“He had genetic differences that we thought might lead us to find a solution to the facial tumour disease,” said Dr Barrie Wells, a veterinarian and animal welfare officer at the University of Tasmania. “It looked like Cedric might have special properties. He was a valuable animal and he did resist this disease in a way that other devils did not.”
Cedric was born in captivity and spent his whole life in research facilities, where over six years he was subjected to various tests and injected with malignant cells. He was euthanised by Dr Wells’s team at the end of August after finally succumbing to cancer.
“His death has set us back because when we thought we were close to an answer, we were not,” Dr Wells said.
The highly contagious cancer, which first emerged in the mid- 1990s and has never been seen in nature before, is transmitted between animals during rowdy communal squabbles over food or aggressive mating rituals. The search for a cure has been hampered by the contagion’s ability to mutate into several different strains.
While science struggles to find an effective treatment, breeding centres have been set up across the Australian mainland to establish “insurance” populations of healthy devils. Sydney’s Taronga Zoo is home to a small group of six adults and four juveniles, which could hold the key to the long-term survival of a species in peril.
“They have big personalities. They are very outgoing and get up to a lot of mischief,” explains Lisa Cavanagh, a keeper at the zoo, as two energetic juveniles tear into an early-morning meal of raw rabbit meat, emitting the occasional growl and squeal, while their father soaks up the sun in a nearby enclosure.
Bunyip, aged 18 months, and Devitt are unlikely to ever be released into the wild and are part of a 50-year “Noah’s ark” project to protect vulnerable captive specimens from the seemingly unstoppable sickness.
“It is an amazing disease when you see what it can do to an animal. It affects their mouth and their eyes. It is an open wound once it gets to the final stages. They live with it for about three to six months. They die not only from the cancer but from starvation. It is just the most devastating disease,” Ms Cavanagh said.
The image of the endangered Tasmanian devil has been given a makeover at a new exhibition at Taronga Zoo to raise awareness of the plight of a flesh-eating marsupial that has a fearsome reputation.
Portrayed as crazed by the Warner Brothers cartoon character Taz, the animal has never attracted the sort of public sympathy afforded to Australia’s koalas or kangaroos.
The idea is that if visitors to the zoo see how endearing and unassuming the devil usually is, they will be encouraged to support breeding programmes.
“They’ve got massive teeth and can open their mouths very wide and if there’s a bit of sun behind them their ears actually appear to glow red because of how thin the skin is, so there are a few things that do fit the name.
“However, their behaviour doesn’t quite match it,” said Nick de Vos, manager of the devil breeding programme at Taronga Zoo. “They are actually quite shy and retiring.”
Kerry Addison, a tourist from Melbourne, and her 10-year-old daughter, Rosemary, were among those happy to see one of Australia’s most distinctive mammals at such close quarters.
“They are so cute. I want one,” enthused Rosemary, while her mother said: “I think preserving as many animals as we can is important. Using the zoo to tell children about how to look after animals is a great thing. They look sweet but because they are called devils you might think they are an aggressive animal but they are obviously not and bound around quite happily.”
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100919/FOREIGN/709189890/1002/rss
Sad demise of Cedric the Tasmanian devil sets back fight to save species
In spite of their ferocious reputation, Tasmanian devils have a timid nature. Australia Zoo / EPAPhil Mercer, Foreign Correspondent
September 18. 2010
SYDNEY // With a spine-chilling scream that terrified Australia’s early European settlers, the carnivorous Tasmanian devil has a fearsome reputation. But in recent years it has been humans, in the form of scientists, who have been trying to save the animals from extinction.
An aggressive cancer is slowly wiping out the species, with its population falling by 60 per cent in the past decade.
Last week scientists said they had made a breakthrough in the fight to save the animals by mapping its genome for the first time. There is hope that charting the devils’ full DNA sequence will open new paths to understanding and combating the mysterious cancer that causes disfiguring facial tumours.
“This sequence is invaluable and comes at a crucial time,”said the lead researcher Elizabeth Murchison. “By comparing our draft sequence with samples taken from many hundreds of devils suffering from this cancer, we can begin to look at the spread of the disease.”
Ms Murchison, from the Australian National University, said the information would allow scientists to identify which mutations had actually caused the devils’ cancer “and perhaps allow us to target those mutant genes with particular drugs”.
The breakthrough comes after researchers suffered a setback last month when a Tasmanian devil that showed rare signs of resistance to the cancer died.
For several years the animal, named Cedric, was a beacon of hope for researchers after showing signs of immunity to the tumours.
The unique marsupials exist in the wild only in Tasmania, Australia’s rugged southern island state, where they are listed as endangered. The size of a small dog, the stocky, dark-furred marsupials have powerful jaws and a scream that led to their demonic name.
For scientists working to unlock the secrets of the virus that threatens to render devils extinct within 25 years, the untimely death of Cedric was a blow.
“He had genetic differences that we thought might lead us to find a solution to the facial tumour disease,” said Dr Barrie Wells, a veterinarian and animal welfare officer at the University of Tasmania. “It looked like Cedric might have special properties. He was a valuable animal and he did resist this disease in a way that other devils did not.”
Cedric was born in captivity and spent his whole life in research facilities, where over six years he was subjected to various tests and injected with malignant cells. He was euthanised by Dr Wells’s team at the end of August after finally succumbing to cancer.
“His death has set us back because when we thought we were close to an answer, we were not,” Dr Wells said.
The highly contagious cancer, which first emerged in the mid- 1990s and has never been seen in nature before, is transmitted between animals during rowdy communal squabbles over food or aggressive mating rituals. The search for a cure has been hampered by the contagion’s ability to mutate into several different strains.
While science struggles to find an effective treatment, breeding centres have been set up across the Australian mainland to establish “insurance” populations of healthy devils. Sydney’s Taronga Zoo is home to a small group of six adults and four juveniles, which could hold the key to the long-term survival of a species in peril.
“They have big personalities. They are very outgoing and get up to a lot of mischief,” explains Lisa Cavanagh, a keeper at the zoo, as two energetic juveniles tear into an early-morning meal of raw rabbit meat, emitting the occasional growl and squeal, while their father soaks up the sun in a nearby enclosure.
Bunyip, aged 18 months, and Devitt are unlikely to ever be released into the wild and are part of a 50-year “Noah’s ark” project to protect vulnerable captive specimens from the seemingly unstoppable sickness.
“It is an amazing disease when you see what it can do to an animal. It affects their mouth and their eyes. It is an open wound once it gets to the final stages. They live with it for about three to six months. They die not only from the cancer but from starvation. It is just the most devastating disease,” Ms Cavanagh said.
The image of the endangered Tasmanian devil has been given a makeover at a new exhibition at Taronga Zoo to raise awareness of the plight of a flesh-eating marsupial that has a fearsome reputation.
Portrayed as crazed by the Warner Brothers cartoon character Taz, the animal has never attracted the sort of public sympathy afforded to Australia’s koalas or kangaroos.
The idea is that if visitors to the zoo see how endearing and unassuming the devil usually is, they will be encouraged to support breeding programmes.
“They’ve got massive teeth and can open their mouths very wide and if there’s a bit of sun behind them their ears actually appear to glow red because of how thin the skin is, so there are a few things that do fit the name.
“However, their behaviour doesn’t quite match it,” said Nick de Vos, manager of the devil breeding programme at Taronga Zoo. “They are actually quite shy and retiring.”
Kerry Addison, a tourist from Melbourne, and her 10-year-old daughter, Rosemary, were among those happy to see one of Australia’s most distinctive mammals at such close quarters.
“They are so cute. I want one,” enthused Rosemary, while her mother said: “I think preserving as many animals as we can is important. Using the zoo to tell children about how to look after animals is a great thing. They look sweet but because they are called devils you might think they are an aggressive animal but they are obviously not and bound around quite happily.”
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100919/FOREIGN/709189890/1002/rss
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Efforts to save world’s rarest marsupial are paying off
August 2010: Two tiny populations of the world's rarest marsupial - the Gilbert's potoroo - are thriving, with conservation efforts to save the critically endangered animal paying off.
Gilbert's potoroos are small rat kangaroos, which bear some resemblance to bandicoots. They have a densely furred body, and long hind feet with long, curved claws on the front feet that they use to dig for food. Since the discovery of the only known wild population, which was about 40-strong, at Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve near Albany in 1995, the Gilbert's potoroo has been the subject of a recovery.
Translocation to predator-free island
Between 2005 and 2007, DEC translocated ten potoroos from the original colony at Two Peoples Bay to predator-free Bald Island, as insurance against the loss of the tiny mainland population.
Earlier this year, nine potoroos were released into a specially built 380ha enclosure in Waychinicup National Park, 25km east of Albany, with six of the animals coming from Bald Island and three from Two Peoples Bay.
Dr Tony Friend, the principal research scientist at Western Australia's Department of Environment and Conservation, said the latest monitoring trip to Bald Island had revealed a thriving population of potoroos.
‘During the two-week trip, we captured 49 adult or young independent potoroos, nine of which were original founder animals, which is a big increase over the previous record in November last year, when 29 independent potoroos were captured,' Dr Friend said. ‘The condition of the animals was good and 12 of the 19 females captured were carrying pouch young, while three others were suckling young out of the pouch.'
Breeding is an 'extremely positive sign'
Dr Friend said a survey in mid-May revealed eight of the nine animals introduced into the predator-proof fenced enclosure at Waychinicup National Park had survived. ‘Unfortunately, we lost one young male, which had been rescued at Two Peoples Bay and hand-reared after becoming separated from his mother, as he apparently had trouble finding food,' he said.
‘One of the recaptured Bald Island females at Waychinicup had a young animal in its pouch, which would have been conceived in the fenced enclosure, and this is an extremely positive sign that the animals are adapting well to their new environment.
‘Over the next few weeks we will be trapping extensively inside the enclosure to locate the potoroos and record the vegetation types they have settled in, to help us gain a better idea of the range of habitat types that Gilbert's potoroos can live in and help us select future release areas on the mainland.'
Translocation to predator-free island
Between 2005 and 2007, DEC translocated ten potoroos from the original colony at Two Peoples Bay to predator-free Bald Island, as insurance against the loss of the tiny mainland population.
Earlier this year, nine potoroos were released into a specially built 380ha enclosure in Waychinicup National Park, 25km east of Albany, with six of the animals coming from Bald Island and three from Two Peoples Bay.
Dr Tony Friend, the principal research scientist at Western Australia's Department of Environment and Conservation, said the latest monitoring trip to Bald Island had revealed a thriving population of potoroos.
‘During the two-week trip, we captured 49 adult or young independent potoroos, nine of which were original founder animals, which is a big increase over the previous record in November last year, when 29 independent potoroos were captured,' Dr Friend said. ‘The condition of the animals was good and 12 of the 19 females captured were carrying pouch young, while three others were suckling young out of the pouch.'
Breeding is an 'extremely positive sign'
Dr Friend said a survey in mid-May revealed eight of the nine animals introduced into the predator-proof fenced enclosure at Waychinicup National Park had survived. ‘Unfortunately, we lost one young male, which had been rescued at Two Peoples Bay and hand-reared after becoming separated from his mother, as he apparently had trouble finding food,' he said.
‘One of the recaptured Bald Island females at Waychinicup had a young animal in its pouch, which would have been conceived in the fenced enclosure, and this is an extremely positive sign that the animals are adapting well to their new environment.
‘Over the next few weeks we will be trapping extensively inside the enclosure to locate the potoroos and record the vegetation types they have settled in, to help us gain a better idea of the range of habitat types that Gilbert's potoroos can live in and help us select future release areas on the mainland.'
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