Taiwan to help build transitional refuge for turtles in Myanmar (Via HerpDigest)

Taiwan to help build transitional refuge for turtles in Myanmar

2011/02/28 21:44:44

Taiwan has donated US$10,000 to help set up a halfway house for Burmese star tortoises in Myanmar that will promote the conservation of the endangered species, the Taipei Zoo said Monday.The halfway house, which is scheduled to be built in Bagan in western Myanmar, will be used to help Burmese star tortoises smuggled into or bred in Taiwan make the transition back to their home country, according to the zoo.

The Taipei Zoo and the Council of Agriculture's Forestry Bureau presented the money to the Turtle Survival Alliance, a global organization dedicated to turtle protection and conservation, at a donation ceremony organized by the zoo Monday.According to the zoo, the habitats of the tortoises in the wild in Myanmar have been destroyed due to agricultural development.Because of their star pattern shells, the tortoises have also become popular pets and victims of rampant poaching in the Southeast Asian country, it said.

Zoo officials said they are currently raising 14 healthy adult Burmese star tortoises, some of which were smuggled into the country, found and sent to the zoo to be cared for seven years ago.The zoo also became the first in the world in 2003 to artificially breed a Burmese star tortoise.Officials said they plan to select suitable tortoises and send them back to Myanmar in the future.The Burmese star tortoise was listed as one of the five most endangered freshwater and land turtles and the second most endangered land turtle in the world in 2007, the zoo said.

Taipei Zoo Director Jason Yeh said the zoo took a close look at the conservation work being done in the area last year and decided to build the halfway house in the Lawkananda Wildlife Sanctuary in Bagan.The tortoises, mostly herbivorous, enjoy living in warm and dry areas and can grow up to 12 inches. (By Chen Hung-chin and Christie Chen) Enditem/ls

New snub-nosed monkey discovered in Northern Myanmar (via Chad Arment)

An international team of primatologists have discovered a new species of monkey in Northern Myanmar (formerly Burma.) The research, published in the American Journal of Primatology, reveals how Rhinopithecus strykeri, a species of snub-nosed monkey, has an upturned nose which causes it to sneeze when it rains.


Field biologists led by Ngwe Lwin from the Myanmar Biodiversity And Nature Conservation Association and supported by an international team of primatologists from Fauna & Flora International (FFI) and the People Resources and Biodiversity Foundation, discovered the new species during the nationwide Hoolock Gibbon Status Review in early 2010. Hunters reported the presence of a monkey species with prominent lips and wide upturned nostrils.

Sightings were reported from the eastern Himalayas to the northeastern Kachin state leading the team to conduct field surveys which led to the discovery of a small population of a new species which displays characteristics unlike any other snub-nosed species previously described.

Thomas Geissmann, who is leading the taxonomic description, describes the monkey as having almost entirely blackish fur with white fur only on ear tufts, chin beard and perineal area. It also has a relatively long tail, approximately 140% of its body size.

The species has been named Rhinopithecus strykeri in honour of Jon Stryker, President and Founder of the Arcus Foundation who supported the project. However, in local dialects it is called mey nwoah, 'monkey with an upturned face.'

While the species is new to science the local people know it well and claim that it is very easy to find when it is raining because the monkeys often get rainwater in their upturned noses causing them to sneeze. To avoid getting rainwater in their noses they spend rainy days sitting with their heads tucked between their knees

Frank Momberg, FFI's Regional Programme Development Coordinator, Asia Pacific, who interviewed local hunters during the field surveys suggests that the species is limited to the Maw River area. The distribution area is believed to be 270 km (squared) with an approximate population of 260-330 individuals, meaning that it is classified as Critically Endangered by IUCN.

As this new species of snub-nosed monkey inhabits the Kachin State in northeastern Myanmar it is geographically isolated from other species by two major barriers, the Mekong and the Salween Rivers, which may explain why the species has not been discovered earlier.

According to local hunters the monkeys spend the summer months, between May and October, at higher altitudes in mixed temperate forests. In winter they descend closer to villages when snowfall makes food scarcer.

Species of snub-nosed monkeys are found in parts of China and Vietnam. Presently all species are considered endangered. Until now no species have been reported in Myanmar. However, this latest addition to the snub nosed family is already critically endangered due to increasing hunting pressure resulting from the building of logging roads by Chinese companies beginning to invade the previously isolated distribution area of this newly discovered monkey.

Mark Rose, Chief Executive of Fauna & Flora International said, "We are committed to taking immediate conservation action to safeguard the survival of this important new species together with our partners and local communities in Myanmar."

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-10/w-nsm102510.php

New snub-nosed monkey discovered in Northern Myanmar (via Chad Arment)

An international team of primatologists have discovered a new species of monkey in Northern Myanmar (formerly Burma.) The research, published in the American Journal of Primatology, reveals how Rhinopithecus strykeri, a species of snub-nosed monkey, has an upturned nose which causes it to sneeze when it rains.


Field biologists led by Ngwe Lwin from the Myanmar Biodiversity And Nature Conservation Association and supported by an international team of primatologists from Fauna & Flora International (FFI) and the People Resources and Biodiversity Foundation, discovered the new species during the nationwide Hoolock Gibbon Status Review in early 2010. Hunters reported the presence of a monkey species with prominent lips and wide upturned nostrils.

Sightings were reported from the eastern Himalayas to the northeastern Kachin state leading the team to conduct field surveys which led to the discovery of a small population of a new species which displays characteristics unlike any other snub-nosed species previously described.

Thomas Geissmann, who is leading the taxonomic description, describes the monkey as having almost entirely blackish fur with white fur only on ear tufts, chin beard and perineal area. It also has a relatively long tail, approximately 140% of its body size.

The species has been named Rhinopithecus strykeri in honour of Jon Stryker, President and Founder of the Arcus Foundation who supported the project. However, in local dialects it is called mey nwoah, 'monkey with an upturned face.'

While the species is new to science the local people know it well and claim that it is very easy to find when it is raining because the monkeys often get rainwater in their upturned noses causing them to sneeze. To avoid getting rainwater in their noses they spend rainy days sitting with their heads tucked between their knees

Frank Momberg, FFI's Regional Programme Development Coordinator, Asia Pacific, who interviewed local hunters during the field surveys suggests that the species is limited to the Maw River area. The distribution area is believed to be 270 km (squared) with an approximate population of 260-330 individuals, meaning that it is classified as Critically Endangered by IUCN.

As this new species of snub-nosed monkey inhabits the Kachin State in northeastern Myanmar it is geographically isolated from other species by two major barriers, the Mekong and the Salween Rivers, which may explain why the species has not been discovered earlier.

According to local hunters the monkeys spend the summer months, between May and October, at higher altitudes in mixed temperate forests. In winter they descend closer to villages when snowfall makes food scarcer.

Species of snub-nosed monkeys are found in parts of China and Vietnam. Presently all species are considered endangered. Until now no species have been reported in Myanmar. However, this latest addition to the snub nosed family is already critically endangered due to increasing hunting pressure resulting from the building of logging roads by Chinese companies beginning to invade the previously isolated distribution area of this newly discovered monkey.

Mark Rose, Chief Executive of Fauna & Flora International said, "We are committed to taking immediate conservation action to safeguard the survival of this important new species together with our partners and local communities in Myanmar."

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-10/w-nsm102510.php