Pakistan Whale Shark's Death a Mystery

Video of a dead whale shark being pulled from the sea off of Pakistan raises more questions about the school-bus-size fish's demise than it answers, scientists say.

Pakistani newspaper The Express Tribune posted video on Tuesday (Feb. 7) of a crane hauling a whale shark carcass onto a pier in Karachi. According to the newspaper, the owner of the nearby Charai Fishery, spotted the animal floating "unconscious" 10 days earlier, 93 miles (150 kilometers) from the fishery. 

But sharks don't fall unconscious, said Bob Hueter, the director of the Center for Shark Research at Mote Marine Laboratory in Florida. And if they stop swimming for any reason, they aren't likely to bob along with the currents.

"If and when they die, they don't float, they sink," Hueter told LiveScience. "So to have one just kind of wash up is very rare. I can only think of a few cases over the years around the world where this is happened."

Continued:  http://www.livescience.com/18376-pakistan-whale-shark.html

25 permits issued to hunt Houbara bustards in Pakistan

Permits issued to members of Middle East royal families - Courtesy of Dawn.com

December 2011. At least 25 special permits have been issued to dignitaries belonging to the Arabian peninsula allowing them to hunt the internationally protected Houbara bustard during the hunting season 2011-2012.

Sources said almost half of the 25 permits - 12 to be precise - had been issued to men from the United Arab Emirates, which, ironically, has recently launched a Houbara bustard conservation programme at The National Avian Research Centre of the International Fund for Houbara Conservation, under the auspices of the royal families of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Royalty given permits
Hunters from the State of Qatar and the Kingdom of Bahrain received seven and five permits, respectively, Saudi Arabia just one. The permit holders include at least three rulers, many crown princes, and other members of royal families. A few commoners have also been granted the special hunting permits.

Only the person specified in the permit could hunt the houbara for 10 days through falconry only and the bag limit being 100 birds, says the code of conduct issued with the hunting permits by the foreign ministry.

Houbara bustards
The Houbara bustard is widely prized in Arabia as a quarry for falconers, particularly because its meat is valued an aphrodisiac. Widespread hunting and loss of habitat have greatly reduced numbers.


To see the full list of those given permits, go to Dawn.com


http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/houbara-hunt.html