The spoon-billed sandpiper faces extinction. But a last-ditch breeding programme might just save this extraordinary-looking species
If prizes were awarded for the world's unluckiest bird, the spoon-billed sandpiper would be a leading contender. It breeds along the coast of Chukotka province, in easternmost Russia, where snow, floods and predators may foil its short window of opportunity to raise a family.
If any chicks do survive, they must undertake one of the most perilous journeys of any migratory bird: 8,000km (5,000 miles) to their wintering grounds in Myanmar and Bangladesh. On the way they pass through the world's industrial powerhouses – Japan, China and South Korea – where the reclamation of coastal wetlands for economic development is proceeding at a terrifying rate. To make matters worse, if the sandpipers do reach their wintering grounds, poor local communities trap them for food. It's hardly surprising the spoon-billed sandpiper is heading for extinction.
Never common – the world population in the late 1970s was estimated at 2,400 breeding pairs – the species declined to 1,000 pairs by 2000. Then the real nosedive began: it may now have dropped below 100 pairs, a fall of 90% in a single decade. Unless something can be done soon, extinction in the wild is virtually inevitable within 10 years. Hence the brave and controversial decision by the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT), along with conservation partners including the RSPB and Birds Russia, to take spoon-billed sandpiper chicks from the wild and raise them in captivity, at the trust's HQ at Slimbridge in Gloucestershire.
Brave, because although captive breeding works well with large, long-lived species such as ducks, geese and cranes, it is much harder to achieve with a small, migratory wader. Controversial, because some argue that scarce resources would be better spent on preserving wetland habitats for species more likely to survive in the long term.
Read on...
Showing posts with label captive breeding programme. Show all posts
Showing posts with label captive breeding programme. Show all posts
Monday, October 17, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Captive Breeding Could Transform the Saltwater Aquarium Trade and Save Coral Reefs, Biologists Say
ScienceDaily (Sep. 20, 2011) — Marine biologists at The University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute are developing means to efficiently breed saltwater aquarium fish, seahorses, plankton and invertebrates in captivity in order to preserve the biologically rich ecosystems of the world's coral reefs.
These scientists believe their efforts, and those of colleagues around the world, could help shift much of the $1 billion marine ornamental industry toward entrepreneurs who are working sustainably to raise fish for the aquarium trade.
"It's the kind of thing that could transform the industry in the way that the idea of 'organic' has changed the way people grow and buy fruits and vegetables," says Joan Holt, professor and associate chair of marine science at The University of Texas at Austin. "We want enthusiasts to be able to stock their saltwater tanks with sustainably-raised, coral-safe species."
Holt is a co-author of a recent article, "Advances in Breeding and Rearing Marine Ornamentals," published in the Journal of the World Aquaculture Society in April.
The paper is a complement to Holt's broad-ranging work over the past 10 years to promote captive breeding of ornamentals. She's been a pioneer in developing food sources and tank designs that enable fragile larvae to survive to adulthood.
Holt has also been a vocal critic of the extraordinarily wasteful methods currently used to bring sea creatures from the oceans to the tanks.
"One popular method is to use a cyanide solution," says Holt. "It's squirted into the holes and crevices of the reef and it anesthetizes the fish. They float to the surface. Then the collectors can just scoop them up, and the ones that wake up are shipped out."
This method, says Holt, has a number of unfortunate effects. It bleaches the coral. It kills or harms other species that make the coral their home, particularly those that can't swim away from the cyanide. It can deplete or distort the native populations of the species. And it contributes to 80 percent of traded animals dying before ever reaching a tank.
Unlike the freshwater ornamental market, which relies mostly on fish raised in captivity, the saltwater ornamental market is 99.9 percent wild caught. Holt says this is largely because there's less accumulated knowledge on breeding saltwater fish in captivity. Saltwater species also tend to spawn smaller, less robust larvae, which are harder to rear to maturity, and to rely on various foods, such as plankton, that are not readily available in mass quantities for breeders.
Yet all these difficulties, says Holt, are surmountable.
She and her colleagues in Port Aransas, where the Marine Science Institute is located, have successfully bred in captivity seven species of fish, seahorses and shrimp they've caught from the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, including species that other biologists had tried but failed to rear before. Others have successfully bred popular species like clownfish, gobies, dottybacks, and dragonets, as well as coral, clams, invertebrates, and algae.
Several big aquariums, including SeaWorld, have committed to assisting in the breeding and egg collection effort, and to integrating into their exhibits information about how the aquarium trade impacts the coral reefs.
Holt and her colleagues envision, ultimately, is a "coral-safe" movement. The science, the economics and the social awareness could together result in a sea change in how saltwater aquariums are populated and how saltwater tank enthusiasts think of themselves and their passion.
As more tank-raised ornamentals percolate into the market, Holt believes people will see another advantage to buying sustainably. The fish will simply do better. They'll live longer, be healthier and be easier to care for.
"Species that are bred in captivity should adapt much better to your tank than something that was just caught halfway across the world, in a different system," says Holt. "Good retailers will want to sell these species, and consumers will benefit from buying them."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110920121612.htm
These scientists believe their efforts, and those of colleagues around the world, could help shift much of the $1 billion marine ornamental industry toward entrepreneurs who are working sustainably to raise fish for the aquarium trade.
"It's the kind of thing that could transform the industry in the way that the idea of 'organic' has changed the way people grow and buy fruits and vegetables," says Joan Holt, professor and associate chair of marine science at The University of Texas at Austin. "We want enthusiasts to be able to stock their saltwater tanks with sustainably-raised, coral-safe species."
Holt is a co-author of a recent article, "Advances in Breeding and Rearing Marine Ornamentals," published in the Journal of the World Aquaculture Society in April.
The paper is a complement to Holt's broad-ranging work over the past 10 years to promote captive breeding of ornamentals. She's been a pioneer in developing food sources and tank designs that enable fragile larvae to survive to adulthood.
Holt has also been a vocal critic of the extraordinarily wasteful methods currently used to bring sea creatures from the oceans to the tanks.
"One popular method is to use a cyanide solution," says Holt. "It's squirted into the holes and crevices of the reef and it anesthetizes the fish. They float to the surface. Then the collectors can just scoop them up, and the ones that wake up are shipped out."
This method, says Holt, has a number of unfortunate effects. It bleaches the coral. It kills or harms other species that make the coral their home, particularly those that can't swim away from the cyanide. It can deplete or distort the native populations of the species. And it contributes to 80 percent of traded animals dying before ever reaching a tank.
Unlike the freshwater ornamental market, which relies mostly on fish raised in captivity, the saltwater ornamental market is 99.9 percent wild caught. Holt says this is largely because there's less accumulated knowledge on breeding saltwater fish in captivity. Saltwater species also tend to spawn smaller, less robust larvae, which are harder to rear to maturity, and to rely on various foods, such as plankton, that are not readily available in mass quantities for breeders.
Yet all these difficulties, says Holt, are surmountable.
She and her colleagues in Port Aransas, where the Marine Science Institute is located, have successfully bred in captivity seven species of fish, seahorses and shrimp they've caught from the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, including species that other biologists had tried but failed to rear before. Others have successfully bred popular species like clownfish, gobies, dottybacks, and dragonets, as well as coral, clams, invertebrates, and algae.
Several big aquariums, including SeaWorld, have committed to assisting in the breeding and egg collection effort, and to integrating into their exhibits information about how the aquarium trade impacts the coral reefs.
Holt and her colleagues envision, ultimately, is a "coral-safe" movement. The science, the economics and the social awareness could together result in a sea change in how saltwater aquariums are populated and how saltwater tank enthusiasts think of themselves and their passion.
As more tank-raised ornamentals percolate into the market, Holt believes people will see another advantage to buying sustainably. The fish will simply do better. They'll live longer, be healthier and be easier to care for.
"Species that are bred in captivity should adapt much better to your tank than something that was just caught halfway across the world, in a different system," says Holt. "Good retailers will want to sell these species, and consumers will benefit from buying them."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110920121612.htm
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Extinct in Wild, Tiny Tanzanian Toad Thrives in Lab (Via Herp Digest)
Extinct in Wild, Tiny Tanzanian Toad Thrives in Lab
Press Release 7/19/2011 Source: SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
A species of tiny toad, which quickly became extinct in the wild after it was discovered in Tanzania, is thriving in a laboratory at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) in Syracuse, N.Y.
ESF scientists are studying the Kihansi spray toads in an effort to find ways to safely reintroduce the animals to the Kihansi River Gorge in southeastern Tanzania.
"This is a species that's extinct in the wild but it's right here in Syracuse," said Dr. James Gibbs, an ESF conservation biologist. "This species, without the help of captive breeding, will go extinct. It's part of the natural heritage of Tanzania."
The Kihansi spray toad was discovered in 1996 in conjunction with the construction of a dam on the Kihansi River. A population of the toads was found living near the bottom of a waterfall where the river plunged more than 3,000 feet.
The toads lived in a nearly vertical wetland created by the forceful spray that came off the pounding water. Gibbs compared the environment to living next to an open fire hydrant.
"There was a unusual species of amphibian found there," he said. "And after much searching, it turned out to be a truly endemic and unique species. They have never been seen anywhere else. It might be the four-legged vertebrate species with the smallest range in the world."
Construction of the dam resulted in reduced spray in the toads' habitat and their numbers quickly declined. Some 500 of them were removed to the Bronx Zoo, where they continued to decline until some were transferred to the Toledo Zoo, where researchers stabilized them and got them to reproduce. After dwindling to about 50 individuals, the captive population has rebounded.
The Tanzanian government would like to reintroduce the animals but they want to be sure the environment has been stabilized enough to provide a suitable habitat. "That's where we come in," Gibbs said.
Scientists are concerned about how a returned toad population might be affected by pesticides in the river, particularly endosulfan from upriver agriculture, and the chytrid fungus that is harming amphibians worldwide. "Nobody wants to put lots of toads back if they're going to suffer and not succeed in the restored habitat," Gibbs said.
In an agreement with the National Environment Management Council of Tanzania, Gibbs and his team are researching the effect of the fungus and the pesticide, both together and separately, on the toads.
The lab work is done by ESF undergraduate Chelsae Radell of Camden, N.Y, and graduate student Brooke Reeve of Waverly, N.Y.
"I like doing this because I'm doing something important for conservation," Radell said. "We're making an impact. The results of our study will help determine if this species can go back into the wild."
"I was always interested in amphibians," Reeve said. "Amphibians are kind of unsung in that they're a big part of the food web."
The students are caring for about 580 toads in the ESF lab, where visitors quickly learn contamination from the chytrid fungus is a huge concern. Anything that touches the floor, including shoes, gets a bleach bath upon entering and leaving.
"The reason the Kihansi spray toad has gone extinct in the wild is because of human impact," Radell noted. "I think if humans are causing their extinction, then everyone should care a little bit."
All amphibians play an important role in the environment, according to Reeve. "They're a major prey item. They also take care of a lot of insects. They are really linked into that food chain."
The animals are unusual among amphibians in that they give birth to live young and carry their babies on their backs. Kihansi toads range from 1 to 1.5 inches in length and weigh no more than a few grams. They feed on insects and other small invertebrates.
The toads illustrate the need to preserve individual species, Gibbs said. He pointed out that in the same gorge, scientists found a wild species of coffee that had not been seen before.
"That makes people say, 'Aha! Maybe saving species is worthwhile after all,'" said. "Also we need to find ways to get the species back into the wild because we can't pay forever to keep this toad in captivity. We need people to look after it and feed it everyday. If we can bring it back in the wild, it will take care of itself."
Press Release 7/19/2011 Source: SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
A species of tiny toad, which quickly became extinct in the wild after it was discovered in Tanzania, is thriving in a laboratory at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) in Syracuse, N.Y.
ESF scientists are studying the Kihansi spray toads in an effort to find ways to safely reintroduce the animals to the Kihansi River Gorge in southeastern Tanzania.
"This is a species that's extinct in the wild but it's right here in Syracuse," said Dr. James Gibbs, an ESF conservation biologist. "This species, without the help of captive breeding, will go extinct. It's part of the natural heritage of Tanzania."
The Kihansi spray toad was discovered in 1996 in conjunction with the construction of a dam on the Kihansi River. A population of the toads was found living near the bottom of a waterfall where the river plunged more than 3,000 feet.
The toads lived in a nearly vertical wetland created by the forceful spray that came off the pounding water. Gibbs compared the environment to living next to an open fire hydrant.
"There was a unusual species of amphibian found there," he said. "And after much searching, it turned out to be a truly endemic and unique species. They have never been seen anywhere else. It might be the four-legged vertebrate species with the smallest range in the world."
Construction of the dam resulted in reduced spray in the toads' habitat and their numbers quickly declined. Some 500 of them were removed to the Bronx Zoo, where they continued to decline until some were transferred to the Toledo Zoo, where researchers stabilized them and got them to reproduce. After dwindling to about 50 individuals, the captive population has rebounded.
The Tanzanian government would like to reintroduce the animals but they want to be sure the environment has been stabilized enough to provide a suitable habitat. "That's where we come in," Gibbs said.
Scientists are concerned about how a returned toad population might be affected by pesticides in the river, particularly endosulfan from upriver agriculture, and the chytrid fungus that is harming amphibians worldwide. "Nobody wants to put lots of toads back if they're going to suffer and not succeed in the restored habitat," Gibbs said.
In an agreement with the National Environment Management Council of Tanzania, Gibbs and his team are researching the effect of the fungus and the pesticide, both together and separately, on the toads.
The lab work is done by ESF undergraduate Chelsae Radell of Camden, N.Y, and graduate student Brooke Reeve of Waverly, N.Y.
"I like doing this because I'm doing something important for conservation," Radell said. "We're making an impact. The results of our study will help determine if this species can go back into the wild."
"I was always interested in amphibians," Reeve said. "Amphibians are kind of unsung in that they're a big part of the food web."
The students are caring for about 580 toads in the ESF lab, where visitors quickly learn contamination from the chytrid fungus is a huge concern. Anything that touches the floor, including shoes, gets a bleach bath upon entering and leaving.
"The reason the Kihansi spray toad has gone extinct in the wild is because of human impact," Radell noted. "I think if humans are causing their extinction, then everyone should care a little bit."
All amphibians play an important role in the environment, according to Reeve. "They're a major prey item. They also take care of a lot of insects. They are really linked into that food chain."
The animals are unusual among amphibians in that they give birth to live young and carry their babies on their backs. Kihansi toads range from 1 to 1.5 inches in length and weigh no more than a few grams. They feed on insects and other small invertebrates.
The toads illustrate the need to preserve individual species, Gibbs said. He pointed out that in the same gorge, scientists found a wild species of coffee that had not been seen before.
"That makes people say, 'Aha! Maybe saving species is worthwhile after all,'" said. "Also we need to find ways to get the species back into the wild because we can't pay forever to keep this toad in captivity. We need people to look after it and feed it everyday. If we can bring it back in the wild, it will take care of itself."
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Threatened green snakes released in county preserve
Threatened green snakes released in county preserve
By Stefano Esposito sesposito@suntimes.com July 1, 2011 8:20PM
This green snake was one of six released Thursday into the wild at the Lake County Forest Preserve. It's emerald green, about as wide around as a pencil and it's in trouble.
On Thursday, in an effort to boost the population of the endangered smooth green snake, six of the little serpents raised at Lincoln Park Zoo were released at Old School Forest Preserve near Libertyville. According to officials with the Lake County Forest Preserve District, the release was part of a conservation effort with the zoo that aims to boost the snakes' population through scientific study, breeding, monitoring and reintroduction efforts.
The effort began last summer with Lake County officials reportedly finding a small number of adult snakes and more than 80 eggs in an area slated for development. The eggs were taken to the zoo for incubation, and 83 of them hatched.
The snake, which lives on insects and likes to slither through long green grass, has been declining in numbers in recent years, said Joanne Earnhardt, a population biologist at the zoo.
Half of the snakes brought to Old School this week were given a "hard release" directly into the wild, while the other half had a "soft release" into enclosures within the preserve. Officials report the enclosed snakes will "spend some time getting accustomed to being wild while still being contained in a controlled, managed environment designed to limit predators of the snake."
Throughout the summer, about a dozen more snakes will be released - some with tiny radio transmitters so scientists can track their movements.
Widespread use of pesticide and habitat loss have contributed to the decline in numbers, scientists say. Wildlife biologist Gary Glowacki said the district has spent more than a decade purchasing and restoring land containing suitable as new habitat for the smooth green snake.
"Despite this, the snake is still found only in a handful of isolated areas in Lake County that contain remnant grassland habitat," he said. "The remaining populations may not be viable in the long term due to small numbers and because habitat fragmentation, primarily due to roads and other physical barriers, makes re-colonization of restored sites improbable."
Earnhardt said the species has not been studied much, and it's uncertain what might be a healthy snake population.
"All we know is that people are seeing them less and there's less of their habitat available," she said.
By Stefano Esposito sesposito@suntimes.com July 1, 2011 8:20PM
This green snake was one of six released Thursday into the wild at the Lake County Forest Preserve. It's emerald green, about as wide around as a pencil and it's in trouble.
On Thursday, in an effort to boost the population of the endangered smooth green snake, six of the little serpents raised at Lincoln Park Zoo were released at Old School Forest Preserve near Libertyville. According to officials with the Lake County Forest Preserve District, the release was part of a conservation effort with the zoo that aims to boost the snakes' population through scientific study, breeding, monitoring and reintroduction efforts.
The effort began last summer with Lake County officials reportedly finding a small number of adult snakes and more than 80 eggs in an area slated for development. The eggs were taken to the zoo for incubation, and 83 of them hatched.
The snake, which lives on insects and likes to slither through long green grass, has been declining in numbers in recent years, said Joanne Earnhardt, a population biologist at the zoo.
Half of the snakes brought to Old School this week were given a "hard release" directly into the wild, while the other half had a "soft release" into enclosures within the preserve. Officials report the enclosed snakes will "spend some time getting accustomed to being wild while still being contained in a controlled, managed environment designed to limit predators of the snake."
Throughout the summer, about a dozen more snakes will be released - some with tiny radio transmitters so scientists can track their movements.
Widespread use of pesticide and habitat loss have contributed to the decline in numbers, scientists say. Wildlife biologist Gary Glowacki said the district has spent more than a decade purchasing and restoring land containing suitable as new habitat for the smooth green snake.
"Despite this, the snake is still found only in a handful of isolated areas in Lake County that contain remnant grassland habitat," he said. "The remaining populations may not be viable in the long term due to small numbers and because habitat fragmentation, primarily due to roads and other physical barriers, makes re-colonization of restored sites improbable."
Earnhardt said the species has not been studied much, and it's uncertain what might be a healthy snake population.
"All we know is that people are seeing them less and there's less of their habitat available," she said.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Egg collection last chance for Critically Endangered Spoon-billed sandpiper
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/spoon-billed-eggs.html#cr
June 2011. Under gruelling conditions and amid fears it might be too late, a conservation breeding team in the remote Russian Far East has collected a clutch of spoon-billed sandpiper eggs, signalling an incredible step towards safeguarding the species from extinction.
Read on...
June 2011. Under gruelling conditions and amid fears it might be too late, a conservation breeding team in the remote Russian Far East has collected a clutch of spoon-billed sandpiper eggs, signalling an incredible step towards safeguarding the species from extinction.
Read on...
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Happy orangutans live longer in zoos
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/13925983
Happier orangutans are more likely to live for longer, according to a study. A team of researchers in the UK and US devised a method to measure the happiness, or subjective well-being, of captive orangutans. In a follow-up study seven years later, the scientists found that happier primates were much more likely still to be alive. The findings are published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters.
Read on...
Happier orangutans are more likely to live for longer, according to a study. A team of researchers in the UK and US devised a method to measure the happiness, or subjective well-being, of captive orangutans. In a follow-up study seven years later, the scientists found that happier primates were much more likely still to be alive. The findings are published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters.
Read on...
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Captive Male Darwin's Frog Coughs up Babies (Via Herp Digest)
Captive Male Darwin's Frog Coughs up Babies
by John Roach, MSNBC, 6/3/11 (Cosmic Log on msnbc.com)
A captive male Darwin's frog coughed up ten babies Thursday at a zoo in Santiago, Chile, a milestone in a project to save the amphibians from extinction.
The vulnerable species is one of two members of the only genus on Earth that rears its young inside of its vocal sac, a job taken on by the males.
"They have a small opening below their tongue. . After [the eggs] hatch, he takes the tadpoles into his mouth and manipulates them through that opening and into his vocal sac," Danté Fenolio, a conservation scientist with the Atlanta Botanical Garden, explained to me today.
"For about 60 days, they go all the way through to development inside his vocal sac. At that point when they are ready, fully developed, he coughs up fully formed miniatures of the adult."
Fenolio is working on a captive breeding project with the National Zoo and Universidad Catolica in Santiago to build a so-called assurance population of the frogs that can be released into the wild once, or if, environmental threats to their natural habitat are thwarted.
The babies coughed up Thursday are the second batch produced by the frogs, a sign that the project is meeting success.
The frogs are native to the southern temperate forests of Chile and Argentina, which have been isolated from the rest of the world since the dinosaur age due to a surrounding geography of mountains, desert and ocean.
This region receives enough rainfall to classify as a rainforest, which makes it ideal for amphibians. But it's also ideal for vineyards and plantations of radiata pine, a fast-growing tree highly valued for the country's lumber and pulp and paper industries.
"Those two things have driven a lot of these southern Chilean amphibians close to extinction," Fenolio said.
In addition, the chyrtrid fungus, which has devastated amphibian populations around the world, recently arrived to southern Chile and could easily wipe out populations there as it has elsewhere.
Yet another threat to some species of frogs in the region are invasive trout introduced to rivers and streams to support Chile's rising status as a world-class fly fishing destination. The trout eat tadpoles, though not those of the Darwin's frogs since they are safely inside dad's vocal sac.
"It is a very complicated conservation landscape," said Fenolio, who hopes to secure funding to establish captive breeding populations for Chile's other endangered amphibians and build up assurance colonies.
"An assurance colony doesn't fix the problem in the wild. What you are trying to do is buy yourself some time," he explained.
While addressing some of the threats could be a decades-long process with tough battles against well-established industries, others are relatively simple and straightforward, albeit costly.
For example, populations of some amphibians such as the false mountain toad could be protected by eliminating invasive trout from a stream and putting in fish exclusion devices downstream from them.
"That's been done in before in various areas around the world and it would be a relatively simple effort," Fenolio said.
One more threat, though, looms on the horizon. The Chilean government recently approved the construction of a series of hydroelectric dams in the amphibian zone. The dams will bring inexpensive electricity, but they come at a cost.
"Whenever you put a dam in, the habitat behind it is flooded and destroyed," Fenolio noted.
"These construction projects will impact the amphibian populations of southern Chile negatively, there's no question."
by John Roach, MSNBC, 6/3/11 (Cosmic Log on msnbc.com)
A captive male Darwin's frog coughed up ten babies Thursday at a zoo in Santiago, Chile, a milestone in a project to save the amphibians from extinction.
The vulnerable species is one of two members of the only genus on Earth that rears its young inside of its vocal sac, a job taken on by the males.
"They have a small opening below their tongue. . After [the eggs] hatch, he takes the tadpoles into his mouth and manipulates them through that opening and into his vocal sac," Danté Fenolio, a conservation scientist with the Atlanta Botanical Garden, explained to me today.
"For about 60 days, they go all the way through to development inside his vocal sac. At that point when they are ready, fully developed, he coughs up fully formed miniatures of the adult."
Fenolio is working on a captive breeding project with the National Zoo and Universidad Catolica in Santiago to build a so-called assurance population of the frogs that can be released into the wild once, or if, environmental threats to their natural habitat are thwarted.
The babies coughed up Thursday are the second batch produced by the frogs, a sign that the project is meeting success.
The frogs are native to the southern temperate forests of Chile and Argentina, which have been isolated from the rest of the world since the dinosaur age due to a surrounding geography of mountains, desert and ocean.
This region receives enough rainfall to classify as a rainforest, which makes it ideal for amphibians. But it's also ideal for vineyards and plantations of radiata pine, a fast-growing tree highly valued for the country's lumber and pulp and paper industries.
"Those two things have driven a lot of these southern Chilean amphibians close to extinction," Fenolio said.
In addition, the chyrtrid fungus, which has devastated amphibian populations around the world, recently arrived to southern Chile and could easily wipe out populations there as it has elsewhere.
Yet another threat to some species of frogs in the region are invasive trout introduced to rivers and streams to support Chile's rising status as a world-class fly fishing destination. The trout eat tadpoles, though not those of the Darwin's frogs since they are safely inside dad's vocal sac.
"It is a very complicated conservation landscape," said Fenolio, who hopes to secure funding to establish captive breeding populations for Chile's other endangered amphibians and build up assurance colonies.
"An assurance colony doesn't fix the problem in the wild. What you are trying to do is buy yourself some time," he explained.
While addressing some of the threats could be a decades-long process with tough battles against well-established industries, others are relatively simple and straightforward, albeit costly.
For example, populations of some amphibians such as the false mountain toad could be protected by eliminating invasive trout from a stream and putting in fish exclusion devices downstream from them.
"That's been done in before in various areas around the world and it would be a relatively simple effort," Fenolio said.
One more threat, though, looms on the horizon. The Chilean government recently approved the construction of a series of hydroelectric dams in the amphibian zone. The dams will bring inexpensive electricity, but they come at a cost.
"Whenever you put a dam in, the habitat behind it is flooded and destroyed," Fenolio noted.
"These construction projects will impact the amphibian populations of southern Chile negatively, there's no question."
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Endangered species: Cull to be kind?
When breeding programs are successful, endangered species are saved from extinction. But if too many animals are born, zoos have to take drastic steps
By Gillian Orr
Tuesday, 8 February 2011
A debate was sparked last week when stories emerged that Edinburgh Zoo was planning to cull three of its red river hog piglets because they were "surplus to requirement". While the zoo has since stressed that it has no current plans to euthanise the animals and that the story was inaccurately reported, it did cull two other piglets last August.
While we are familiar with culling animals in the wild, the idea that this also goes on in zoos has proved much more controversial, it seeming at odds with the premise of breeding programmes. So why do zoos ever make the unusual decision of killing their animals?
The European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) is a type of population management for rarer species of animals that are found in zoos. One person is assigned a species and is in charge of producing a plan for the future management of it and co-ordinating its breeding through a process called "recommendation".
Recommendations are made each year on which animals should breed or not breed, and which individual animals should go from one zoo to another or on breeding loans. When faced with more animals, the EEP can recommend that the zoo cull the surplus, as happened last year.
A spokesperson for Edinburgh Zoo explains why animals are allowed to breed even if they don't want any more: "While the red river hog is not currently classed as endangered, it is conservation-dependent due to excessive hunting in its natural habitat in West Central Africa. The category status of any animal, however, always has the potential to worsen in the future. Therefore, all zoos are advised that their animals should remain able to breed, as restricting natural breeding activity or administering contraception can prove detrimental to health and future reproduction. Of course, this often leads to new introductions to the zoo population."
As money can be scarce, rehousing is not always an option. "As a registered charity, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland has to remain mindful of the resources it has available," the zoo says. "When we are unable to accommodate new additions to our facilities, rehoming is always our top priority, but there are various restrictions involved that make it easier said than done. Animals within the EEP zoo structure must be rehomed within it, or similar bodies within the developed world, to maintain control over their location and welfare. Many facilities within the EEP structure share a similar range of species and, therefore, are not in a position to accommodate more of the same."
However, animal charities have questioned zoo culls and the reasoning behind them. Libby Anderson, a director at animal protection charity OneKind, has said: "Each animal is an individual and I don't think they can possibly justify killing hogs simply because they are deemed surplus to the requirements of a breeding programme."
Population management of animals remains a complex and sensitive subject, but, happily for the three piglets, they are safe for the time being.
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/endangered-species-cull-to-be-kind-2207350.html
 |
| Three little pigs: the red river hogs that were supposed to be at risk of being put down |
Tuesday, 8 February 2011
A debate was sparked last week when stories emerged that Edinburgh Zoo was planning to cull three of its red river hog piglets because they were "surplus to requirement". While the zoo has since stressed that it has no current plans to euthanise the animals and that the story was inaccurately reported, it did cull two other piglets last August.
While we are familiar with culling animals in the wild, the idea that this also goes on in zoos has proved much more controversial, it seeming at odds with the premise of breeding programmes. So why do zoos ever make the unusual decision of killing their animals?
The European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) is a type of population management for rarer species of animals that are found in zoos. One person is assigned a species and is in charge of producing a plan for the future management of it and co-ordinating its breeding through a process called "recommendation".
Recommendations are made each year on which animals should breed or not breed, and which individual animals should go from one zoo to another or on breeding loans. When faced with more animals, the EEP can recommend that the zoo cull the surplus, as happened last year.
A spokesperson for Edinburgh Zoo explains why animals are allowed to breed even if they don't want any more: "While the red river hog is not currently classed as endangered, it is conservation-dependent due to excessive hunting in its natural habitat in West Central Africa. The category status of any animal, however, always has the potential to worsen in the future. Therefore, all zoos are advised that their animals should remain able to breed, as restricting natural breeding activity or administering contraception can prove detrimental to health and future reproduction. Of course, this often leads to new introductions to the zoo population."
As money can be scarce, rehousing is not always an option. "As a registered charity, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland has to remain mindful of the resources it has available," the zoo says. "When we are unable to accommodate new additions to our facilities, rehoming is always our top priority, but there are various restrictions involved that make it easier said than done. Animals within the EEP zoo structure must be rehomed within it, or similar bodies within the developed world, to maintain control over their location and welfare. Many facilities within the EEP structure share a similar range of species and, therefore, are not in a position to accommodate more of the same."
However, animal charities have questioned zoo culls and the reasoning behind them. Libby Anderson, a director at animal protection charity OneKind, has said: "Each animal is an individual and I don't think they can possibly justify killing hogs simply because they are deemed surplus to the requirements of a breeding programme."
Population management of animals remains a complex and sensitive subject, but, happily for the three piglets, they are safe for the time being.
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/endangered-species-cull-to-be-kind-2207350.html
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Giant panda breeding breakthrough in China (via Dawn Holloway)
A critical breakthrough has been made in efforts to save the giant panda, one that could kick-start attempts to reintroduce the animals to the wild.
Conservationists say they have perfected the difficult task of reproducing pandas, having reached their target of successfully raising 300 of the bears in captivity.
The breakthrough, mainly by scientists at the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Centre, China, should lead to the first panda being reintroduced into the wild within 15 years.
The revelation comes after documentary makers were given unprecedented access to the research centre to film captive breeding activity over two years.
Just a few thousand wild pandas survive at best, and the species is classified as being Endangered.
In a bid to protect the animal, scientists have attempted to breed captive pandas since the first such cub was born in 1963.
But many obstacles stood in the way of achieving a stable captive panda population.
The first was the very short window of opportunity provided in the panda's natural reproductive cycle.
Female pandas are only on heat for 72 hours a year, and can only actually become pregnant during a 12 to 24 hour window during this time.
In order to correctly interpret the bears' breeding potential, caring for captive female pandas required close observation including daily urine samples to monitor hormone levels.
Understanding the giant panda's natural patterns of reproduction was only the start of the challenge.
'Turned off'
Despite conservationists' best efforts to encourage mating, pandas were seemingly "turned off" by captivity.
In Chengdu, the world's most successful panda breeding centre, researchers attempted to entice male pandas with the scent of suitable females on bamboo poles, mimicking wild scent-marking behaviour.
Rare interactions between aroused pairs often ended in disappointment, however.
Male pandas have proportionately short penises meaning pairs must adopt a very exact position in order to mate.
During their observations, researchers found that pandas demonstrated poor knowledge of this position.
Researchers then employed methods ranging from sex education videos to viagra in order to stimulate natural behaviour.
Most techniques failed, and many encounters between pandas turned aggressive and violent.
Scientists therefore had to rely upon artificial insemination, but their efforts were again subject to the pandas' peculiar reproductive cycle.
Panda pregnancies can last anything from 11 weeks to 11 months and can remain undetected until shortly before birth.
So researchers had to pay close attention to pandas following insemination procedures, ready to perform a crucial intervention whenever cubs were born.
Crucial intervention
The boon in panda numbers at the Chengdu centre has largely been attributed to the innovative "twin swapping" technique.
More than half of pandas give birth to two cubs at a time but only care for one.
It is assumed that as pandas cannot store fat, they lack the milk or energy to care for more than one cub at a time.
Whenever a cub was abandoned after birth, keepers at the Chengdu centre swiftly moved it to an incubator.
Panda mothers were tricked into caring for twins as staff stealthily rotated them between their mother and the incubators.
The survival rate of cubs rose to 98% through this combination of maternal care and artificial support.
By the end of last year, the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Centre alone had raised 168 cubs since its inception in 1987.
Hopes of reintroduction
Conservationists now believe captive numbers are strong enough to seriously consider wild reintroduction programmes.
Using the profits made from loaning their pandas to zoos worldwide, pioneers have purchased precious panda habitat in the Sichuan mountains, southwestern China.
With the goal of 300 captive pandas achieved, construction has started on the country's first dedicated panda reintroduction facility.
Panda Makers is broadcast on BBC TWO at 2000 GMT, Tuesday December 7th.
By Ella Davies
Earth News reporter
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9225000/9225918.stm
Conservationists say they have perfected the difficult task of reproducing pandas, having reached their target of successfully raising 300 of the bears in captivity.
The breakthrough, mainly by scientists at the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Centre, China, should lead to the first panda being reintroduced into the wild within 15 years.
The revelation comes after documentary makers were given unprecedented access to the research centre to film captive breeding activity over two years.
Just a few thousand wild pandas survive at best, and the species is classified as being Endangered.
In a bid to protect the animal, scientists have attempted to breed captive pandas since the first such cub was born in 1963.
But many obstacles stood in the way of achieving a stable captive panda population.
The first was the very short window of opportunity provided in the panda's natural reproductive cycle.
Female pandas are only on heat for 72 hours a year, and can only actually become pregnant during a 12 to 24 hour window during this time.
In order to correctly interpret the bears' breeding potential, caring for captive female pandas required close observation including daily urine samples to monitor hormone levels.
Understanding the giant panda's natural patterns of reproduction was only the start of the challenge.
'Turned off'
Despite conservationists' best efforts to encourage mating, pandas were seemingly "turned off" by captivity.
In Chengdu, the world's most successful panda breeding centre, researchers attempted to entice male pandas with the scent of suitable females on bamboo poles, mimicking wild scent-marking behaviour.
Rare interactions between aroused pairs often ended in disappointment, however.
Male pandas have proportionately short penises meaning pairs must adopt a very exact position in order to mate.
During their observations, researchers found that pandas demonstrated poor knowledge of this position.
Researchers then employed methods ranging from sex education videos to viagra in order to stimulate natural behaviour.
Most techniques failed, and many encounters between pandas turned aggressive and violent.
Scientists therefore had to rely upon artificial insemination, but their efforts were again subject to the pandas' peculiar reproductive cycle.
Panda pregnancies can last anything from 11 weeks to 11 months and can remain undetected until shortly before birth.
So researchers had to pay close attention to pandas following insemination procedures, ready to perform a crucial intervention whenever cubs were born.
Crucial intervention
The boon in panda numbers at the Chengdu centre has largely been attributed to the innovative "twin swapping" technique.
More than half of pandas give birth to two cubs at a time but only care for one.
It is assumed that as pandas cannot store fat, they lack the milk or energy to care for more than one cub at a time.
Whenever a cub was abandoned after birth, keepers at the Chengdu centre swiftly moved it to an incubator.
Panda mothers were tricked into caring for twins as staff stealthily rotated them between their mother and the incubators.
The survival rate of cubs rose to 98% through this combination of maternal care and artificial support.
By the end of last year, the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Centre alone had raised 168 cubs since its inception in 1987.
Hopes of reintroduction
Conservationists now believe captive numbers are strong enough to seriously consider wild reintroduction programmes.
Using the profits made from loaning their pandas to zoos worldwide, pioneers have purchased precious panda habitat in the Sichuan mountains, southwestern China.
With the goal of 300 captive pandas achieved, construction has started on the country's first dedicated panda reintroduction facility.
Panda Makers is broadcast on BBC TWO at 2000 GMT, Tuesday December 7th.
By Ella Davies
Earth News reporter
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9225000/9225918.stm
Giant panda breeding breakthrough in China (via Dawn Holloway)
A critical breakthrough has been made in efforts to save the giant panda, one that could kick-start attempts to reintroduce the animals to the wild.
Conservationists say they have perfected the difficult task of reproducing pandas, having reached their target of successfully raising 300 of the bears in captivity.
The breakthrough, mainly by scientists at the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Centre, China, should lead to the first panda being reintroduced into the wild within 15 years.
The revelation comes after documentary makers were given unprecedented access to the research centre to film captive breeding activity over two years.
Just a few thousand wild pandas survive at best, and the species is classified as being Endangered.
In a bid to protect the animal, scientists have attempted to breed captive pandas since the first such cub was born in 1963.
But many obstacles stood in the way of achieving a stable captive panda population.
The first was the very short window of opportunity provided in the panda's natural reproductive cycle.
Female pandas are only on heat for 72 hours a year, and can only actually become pregnant during a 12 to 24 hour window during this time.
In order to correctly interpret the bears' breeding potential, caring for captive female pandas required close observation including daily urine samples to monitor hormone levels.
Understanding the giant panda's natural patterns of reproduction was only the start of the challenge.
'Turned off'
Despite conservationists' best efforts to encourage mating, pandas were seemingly "turned off" by captivity.
In Chengdu, the world's most successful panda breeding centre, researchers attempted to entice male pandas with the scent of suitable females on bamboo poles, mimicking wild scent-marking behaviour.
Rare interactions between aroused pairs often ended in disappointment, however.
Male pandas have proportionately short penises meaning pairs must adopt a very exact position in order to mate.
During their observations, researchers found that pandas demonstrated poor knowledge of this position.
Researchers then employed methods ranging from sex education videos to viagra in order to stimulate natural behaviour.
Most techniques failed, and many encounters between pandas turned aggressive and violent.
Scientists therefore had to rely upon artificial insemination, but their efforts were again subject to the pandas' peculiar reproductive cycle.
Panda pregnancies can last anything from 11 weeks to 11 months and can remain undetected until shortly before birth.
So researchers had to pay close attention to pandas following insemination procedures, ready to perform a crucial intervention whenever cubs were born.
Crucial intervention
The boon in panda numbers at the Chengdu centre has largely been attributed to the innovative "twin swapping" technique.
More than half of pandas give birth to two cubs at a time but only care for one.
It is assumed that as pandas cannot store fat, they lack the milk or energy to care for more than one cub at a time.
Whenever a cub was abandoned after birth, keepers at the Chengdu centre swiftly moved it to an incubator.
Panda mothers were tricked into caring for twins as staff stealthily rotated them between their mother and the incubators.
The survival rate of cubs rose to 98% through this combination of maternal care and artificial support.
By the end of last year, the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Centre alone had raised 168 cubs since its inception in 1987.
Hopes of reintroduction
Conservationists now believe captive numbers are strong enough to seriously consider wild reintroduction programmes.
Using the profits made from loaning their pandas to zoos worldwide, pioneers have purchased precious panda habitat in the Sichuan mountains, southwestern China.
With the goal of 300 captive pandas achieved, construction has started on the country's first dedicated panda reintroduction facility.
Panda Makers is broadcast on BBC TWO at 2000 GMT, Tuesday December 7th.
By Ella Davies
Earth News reporter
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9225000/9225918.stm
Conservationists say they have perfected the difficult task of reproducing pandas, having reached their target of successfully raising 300 of the bears in captivity.
The breakthrough, mainly by scientists at the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Centre, China, should lead to the first panda being reintroduced into the wild within 15 years.
The revelation comes after documentary makers were given unprecedented access to the research centre to film captive breeding activity over two years.
Just a few thousand wild pandas survive at best, and the species is classified as being Endangered.
In a bid to protect the animal, scientists have attempted to breed captive pandas since the first such cub was born in 1963.
But many obstacles stood in the way of achieving a stable captive panda population.
The first was the very short window of opportunity provided in the panda's natural reproductive cycle.
Female pandas are only on heat for 72 hours a year, and can only actually become pregnant during a 12 to 24 hour window during this time.
In order to correctly interpret the bears' breeding potential, caring for captive female pandas required close observation including daily urine samples to monitor hormone levels.
Understanding the giant panda's natural patterns of reproduction was only the start of the challenge.
'Turned off'
Despite conservationists' best efforts to encourage mating, pandas were seemingly "turned off" by captivity.
In Chengdu, the world's most successful panda breeding centre, researchers attempted to entice male pandas with the scent of suitable females on bamboo poles, mimicking wild scent-marking behaviour.
Rare interactions between aroused pairs often ended in disappointment, however.
Male pandas have proportionately short penises meaning pairs must adopt a very exact position in order to mate.
During their observations, researchers found that pandas demonstrated poor knowledge of this position.
Researchers then employed methods ranging from sex education videos to viagra in order to stimulate natural behaviour.
Most techniques failed, and many encounters between pandas turned aggressive and violent.
Scientists therefore had to rely upon artificial insemination, but their efforts were again subject to the pandas' peculiar reproductive cycle.
Panda pregnancies can last anything from 11 weeks to 11 months and can remain undetected until shortly before birth.
So researchers had to pay close attention to pandas following insemination procedures, ready to perform a crucial intervention whenever cubs were born.
Crucial intervention
The boon in panda numbers at the Chengdu centre has largely been attributed to the innovative "twin swapping" technique.
More than half of pandas give birth to two cubs at a time but only care for one.
It is assumed that as pandas cannot store fat, they lack the milk or energy to care for more than one cub at a time.
Whenever a cub was abandoned after birth, keepers at the Chengdu centre swiftly moved it to an incubator.
Panda mothers were tricked into caring for twins as staff stealthily rotated them between their mother and the incubators.
The survival rate of cubs rose to 98% through this combination of maternal care and artificial support.
By the end of last year, the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Centre alone had raised 168 cubs since its inception in 1987.
Hopes of reintroduction
Conservationists now believe captive numbers are strong enough to seriously consider wild reintroduction programmes.
Using the profits made from loaning their pandas to zoos worldwide, pioneers have purchased precious panda habitat in the Sichuan mountains, southwestern China.
With the goal of 300 captive pandas achieved, construction has started on the country's first dedicated panda reintroduction facility.
Panda Makers is broadcast on BBC TWO at 2000 GMT, Tuesday December 7th.
By Ella Davies
Earth News reporter
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9225000/9225918.stm
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Poached egg? No, it's a rare jellyfish that looks just like it should be on your breakfast plate
By Daily Mail Reporter
They might look tasty but you probably wouldn't want one of these on your toast in the morning.
For these bizarre fried eggs are actually a peculiar type of jellyfish that has just been successfully born in captivity.
The odd jellyfish are found naturally in the Mediterranean, because they require a huge amount of sunlight to survive.
When captive they are incredibly difficult to breed - but staff at Basel Zoo, Switzerland, have managed to imitate their natural conditions and a new batch of tiny jellyfish have been born.
A staff member said: 'Breeding is a real challenge because they're only found in far-off ocean fisheries and transportation is so difficult.
'So we have to mimic the natural environment with special daylight lamps to illuminate the aquarium as well as making sure there are lots of meals a day.
'The young jellyfish are tiny, just a few centimetres but they take the egg shape right away - we have to keep them away from the lights at first in case they toast.'
The fried egg jellyfish, also known as medusa, produce eggs that are fertilised in sea water, which then develop into a tiny larva fixed to sea bed organisms.
They can measure up to 35cm in diameter when fully grown, and in contrast to most jellyfish they move on their own by moving the 'white' of the egg in a waving motion.
He said: 'They're beautiful creatures - but they are very unusual looking.'
They might look tasty but you probably wouldn't want one of these on your toast in the morning.
For these bizarre fried eggs are actually a peculiar type of jellyfish that has just been successfully born in captivity.
The odd jellyfish are found naturally in the Mediterranean, because they require a huge amount of sunlight to survive.
When captive they are incredibly difficult to breed - but staff at Basel Zoo, Switzerland, have managed to imitate their natural conditions and a new batch of tiny jellyfish have been born.
A staff member said: 'Breeding is a real challenge because they're only found in far-off ocean fisheries and transportation is so difficult.
'So we have to mimic the natural environment with special daylight lamps to illuminate the aquarium as well as making sure there are lots of meals a day.
'The young jellyfish are tiny, just a few centimetres but they take the egg shape right away - we have to keep them away from the lights at first in case they toast.'
The fried egg jellyfish, also known as medusa, produce eggs that are fertilised in sea water, which then develop into a tiny larva fixed to sea bed organisms.
They can measure up to 35cm in diameter when fully grown, and in contrast to most jellyfish they move on their own by moving the 'white' of the egg in a waving motion.
He said: 'They're beautiful creatures - but they are very unusual looking.'
Poached egg? No, it's a rare jellyfish that looks just like it should be on your breakfast plate
By Daily Mail Reporter
They might look tasty but you probably wouldn't want one of these on your toast in the morning.
For these bizarre fried eggs are actually a peculiar type of jellyfish that has just been successfully born in captivity.
The odd jellyfish are found naturally in the Mediterranean, because they require a huge amount of sunlight to survive.
When captive they are incredibly difficult to breed - but staff at Basel Zoo, Switzerland, have managed to imitate their natural conditions and a new batch of tiny jellyfish have been born.
A staff member said: 'Breeding is a real challenge because they're only found in far-off ocean fisheries and transportation is so difficult.
'So we have to mimic the natural environment with special daylight lamps to illuminate the aquarium as well as making sure there are lots of meals a day.
'The young jellyfish are tiny, just a few centimetres but they take the egg shape right away - we have to keep them away from the lights at first in case they toast.'
The fried egg jellyfish, also known as medusa, produce eggs that are fertilised in sea water, which then develop into a tiny larva fixed to sea bed organisms.
They can measure up to 35cm in diameter when fully grown, and in contrast to most jellyfish they move on their own by moving the 'white' of the egg in a waving motion.
He said: 'They're beautiful creatures - but they are very unusual looking.'
They might look tasty but you probably wouldn't want one of these on your toast in the morning.
For these bizarre fried eggs are actually a peculiar type of jellyfish that has just been successfully born in captivity.
The odd jellyfish are found naturally in the Mediterranean, because they require a huge amount of sunlight to survive.
When captive they are incredibly difficult to breed - but staff at Basel Zoo, Switzerland, have managed to imitate their natural conditions and a new batch of tiny jellyfish have been born.
A staff member said: 'Breeding is a real challenge because they're only found in far-off ocean fisheries and transportation is so difficult.
'So we have to mimic the natural environment with special daylight lamps to illuminate the aquarium as well as making sure there are lots of meals a day.
'The young jellyfish are tiny, just a few centimetres but they take the egg shape right away - we have to keep them away from the lights at first in case they toast.'
The fried egg jellyfish, also known as medusa, produce eggs that are fertilised in sea water, which then develop into a tiny larva fixed to sea bed organisms.
They can measure up to 35cm in diameter when fully grown, and in contrast to most jellyfish they move on their own by moving the 'white' of the egg in a waving motion.
He said: 'They're beautiful creatures - but they are very unusual looking.'
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Zoo opens 'honeymoon suite' for rhinos
Nepal officials hope to persuade the endangered pair to breed for the first time
By AFP
Published Friday, August 13, 2010
Nepal's only zoo has opened a new "honeymoon suite" for its two one-horned rhinos in the hope of persuading the endangered pair to breed for the first time.
Kancha, 20, and 22-year-old Kanchi have lived together in captivity for most of their adult lives, but have never bred - something the zoo's manager Sarita Jnawali attributes to the quality of their enclosure.
She hopes that their new, much larger home, which features mud rather than concrete floors and two large ponds for them to wallow in, will persuade them to finally start mating.
"As far as we can tell, Kancha and Kanchi have never mated," Jnawali told AFP on Friday.
"Before, we didn't have the proper facilities for the rhinos to breed, and we hope this new enclosure will help us to increase species numbers."
Thousands of one-horned rhinos once roamed the plains of Nepal and northern India, but their numbers have dwindled in recent decades as they have fallen victim to poaching and human encroachment on their habitat.
The animal's horn is highly valued as an aphrodisiac in China, and a single one can fetch as much as $14,000 on the international black market.
Experts say Nepal's rhino population fell dramatically during the 10-year Maoist rebellion that ended in 2006, as army guards stationed in wildlife reserves to deter poachers left to fight the rebels.
Only around 435 remain in Nepal, Jnawali said.
Nepal's zoo relies solely on a 50-rupee (67-cent) entry charge for funding, and a local bank that uses the one-horned rhino as its logo covered the 1.5 million rupee cost of the new enclosure.
Ace Development Bank chief executive Siddhant Raj Pandey has dubbed the new enclosure the rhino "honeymoon suite".
"We learned that the reason these two had not bred was their environment so we decided to build them a new enclosure," he told AFP. "We understand there are signs of them becoming quite amorous."
http://www.emirates247.com/offbeat/crazy-world/zoo-opens-honeymoon-suite-for-rhinos-2010-08-13-1.278523
By AFP
Published Friday, August 13, 2010
Nepal's only zoo has opened a new "honeymoon suite" for its two one-horned rhinos in the hope of persuading the endangered pair to breed for the first time.
Kancha, 20, and 22-year-old Kanchi have lived together in captivity for most of their adult lives, but have never bred - something the zoo's manager Sarita Jnawali attributes to the quality of their enclosure.
She hopes that their new, much larger home, which features mud rather than concrete floors and two large ponds for them to wallow in, will persuade them to finally start mating.
"As far as we can tell, Kancha and Kanchi have never mated," Jnawali told AFP on Friday.
"Before, we didn't have the proper facilities for the rhinos to breed, and we hope this new enclosure will help us to increase species numbers."
Thousands of one-horned rhinos once roamed the plains of Nepal and northern India, but their numbers have dwindled in recent decades as they have fallen victim to poaching and human encroachment on their habitat.
The animal's horn is highly valued as an aphrodisiac in China, and a single one can fetch as much as $14,000 on the international black market.
Experts say Nepal's rhino population fell dramatically during the 10-year Maoist rebellion that ended in 2006, as army guards stationed in wildlife reserves to deter poachers left to fight the rebels.
Only around 435 remain in Nepal, Jnawali said.
Nepal's zoo relies solely on a 50-rupee (67-cent) entry charge for funding, and a local bank that uses the one-horned rhino as its logo covered the 1.5 million rupee cost of the new enclosure.
Ace Development Bank chief executive Siddhant Raj Pandey has dubbed the new enclosure the rhino "honeymoon suite".
"We learned that the reason these two had not bred was their environment so we decided to build them a new enclosure," he told AFP. "We understand there are signs of them becoming quite amorous."
http://www.emirates247.com/offbeat/crazy-world/zoo-opens-honeymoon-suite-for-rhinos-2010-08-13-1.278523
Friday, July 9, 2010
Wildwood has mounted a "24 hour love patrol" to watch Britain's most dangerous & energetic lovers.
Conservationists and members of Wildwood's "24 hour Love Patrol" will wait with bated breath as a tunnel of love will bring together two pairs of pine martens.The pine marten is a solitary and fiercely territorial creature and will often attack a potential mate. This behaviour is often made worse in captive situations, making the pine marten Britain's most dangerous lover.
Not only are pine martens Britain's most dangerous lovers but they are also its most energetic. These creatures mate 3 or 4 times a day for up to a staggering 2 hours at a time.
Efforts to breed them have been helped by the creation of a 'Tunnel of Love' allowing two of the Wildwood Trust's pine martens to start a romance, the barriers have been brought down over the past few days.
In an effort to mimic the ideal natural breeding environment the Kent-based wildlife charity have created the 'Tunnels of Love' which winds around both the female enclosures which was used last year for the third time. The system was a great success and two pine marten young were produced this year.
Wildwood's six pine martens each have to be kept in their own enclosure. They regard this as their territory and would defend it against intruding other pine martens of either sex. However, this summer two pairs of Wildwood's pine martens will be introduced to each other in the hope that they may breed in captivity.
Wildwood's Keepers are mounting a "24hr love patrol" to make sure the pine martens play fair and can separate them in an instant by the use of special sliding panels.
Leading the "24 Hour love patrol" is Wildwood Keeper, Karen Price:
"For the last week our male pine martens, have been investigating the tunnel. The females have has also been allowed to explore the tunnel, although not at the same time as the males!"
"We have learnt a lot over the past three years and this year we are keeping our fingers crossed that we will can repeat our success of last year with more pine marten young born at Wildwood."
The pine martens at Wildwood Trust are helping scientists to discover more about this secretive and endangered mammal in the forests of Ireland.
Our martens are testing out special tubes attached to tree branches, which will be baited with food and sticky tabs on which the martens leave their fur. DNA can be extracted from the hair follicles to help scientists at the Institute of Technology in Waterford to identify individual pine martens. Then they can estimate how many martens are using local forests, if there are differences in the areas of forest martens use and, if so, how to manage the rest of the forests to make them more hospitable for martens.Pine Martens are just one of the huge range of British animals that can be seen at the Wildwood Discovery Park, for more information visit the website at www.wildwoodtrust.org or telephone 0871 7820087.
Wildwood's 'Wildlife Conservation Park' is an ideal day out for all the family where you can come 'nose to nose' with British Wildlife. Wildwood offers its members and visitors a truly inspirational way to learn about the natural history of Britain by actually seeing the wildlife that once lived here, like the wolf, beaver, red squirrel, wild boar and many more.
Wildwood is situated close to Canterbury, just off the A291 between Herne Bay and Canterbury.
PINE MARTEN BACKGROUND INFORMATIONUntil about 1800, the pine marten was widespread throughout Britain, but today it is confined mainly to remote, forested areas in the north and west of Scotland, with a few small isolated populations surviving in north Wales and northern England. Its range reached a minimum at the beginning of the 20th century, as a result of habitat loss through deforestation and conversion of the land to agriculture, hunting for its fur and persecution for predation on game birds and chickens.
Since then, its range in Scotland has increased due to the expansion of commercial forestry plantations, and more recently, the regeneration of native woodlands. The pine marten prefers well-wooded areas with plenty of cover, but it lives in more open habitats as well. There is a captive breeding programme underway in Kent, and suggestions have been made for the pine marten to be reintroduced to parts of southern England.
CONSERVATION STATUS
The pine marten is listed as a protected species in Appendix III of the 1979 Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats. It is also included in Annex V of the European Community's Habitat and Species Directive of 1992, as a species 'of Community interest whose taking in the wild and exploitation may be subject to management measures'.
In the UK, the pine marten is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981, and it cannot be trapped, disturbed or sold without a specific licence from the relevant government conservation agency - in Scotland this is Scottish Natural Heritage. However, despite this legal protection, martens are still killed inadvertently each year by traps or poisoned bait set out for crows or foxes.
PHYSICAL CHARECTERISTICS
The pine marten adult is the size of a small domestic cat; it is slender with dense, chocolate-brown fur and a long bushy tail. It has a cream-coloured bib on the throat. The male measures on average 68 cm from nose to tip of tail. The female is slightly smaller. It is a member of the weasel family. In continental Europe another species, the beech or stone marten (Martes foina) is also found. In North America there are two species of the marten, the fisher (Martes pennanti) and the American marten (Martes American) which are very similar to the pine marten.
They move quickly along the ground, rarely emerging into open spaces. They are expert at climbing trees. They are mostly likely to be seen in the evening or at night, although they do come out during the daytime in summer months. They have an alert and timid presence.
Pine martens hunt in trees and on the ground. They like to roam in broad-leafed or conifer woodlands, and the destruction of these is a threat to the species. They find most of their food on the ground, and they hunt for small mammals, birds, insects, fungi, berries, birds' eggs and carrion (dead animals). Contrary to some opinions, they do not eat significant quantities of squirrels, red or grey. Pine martens avoid areas away from woodland or scrub, probably because other predators (especially foxes) can catch and kill them in the open.
Martens have territories that vary in size according to the availability of food. For males, the territory is about 10-25 square kilometers, and for females, about 5 - 15 kilometers. They are not aggressively territorial, some animals' territories overlapping those of others. Sometimes, however, they mark their trail with faeces ("scats"). Even in places where they are at their most numerous, pine martens are thin on the ground compared with other carnivores like foxes, stoats and badgers. They can be very playful and curious in their behaviour.
Pine martens breed only once a year. Mating takes place in July or August, but the female's pregnancy does not begin until January. (This delayed implantation also occurs in the badger.) A litter of about three babies is born in late March or April. At birth, the young are blind and covered in a coat of yellow-white hair which changes to grey, and then to brown as they mature. The babies spend at least six weeks in the den before they venture out, and the family stays together until they are six months old. They may live to 11 years old, but the normal lifespan is three to four years.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Grin and bear it
The hot weather has got many of us panting - but there's not many people who could quite match the tongue length shown by this bear.Somnang, one of two rare sun bears, shows off his long tongue at Edinburgh Zoo yesterday.
The bears, who were rescued from Cambodia where they were kept in tiny cages, are at the zoo on a breeding loan.
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/834464-grin-and-bear-it
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
VIP treatment for jet-setting sharks
By Penny Timms
29 June 2009
There will be two unusual additions to the passenger list of a flight from North Queensland to Melbourne next week.
The final preparations are being made to fly two leopard sharks from Townsville to the Melbourne aquarium.
They will be driven from the Townsville aquarium to Cairns and then put on a flight to Victoria next week.
Stephen Menzies from Reef HQ says there is a lot of work to do before then, including completing a self-sustaining tank.
He says to maintain water quality the sharks will not be fed for about two days before the flight.
"That's always fun when you unload some sharks after a long transport; that first feed, because they do feed with a bit of passion," he said.
The sharks are part of a captive breeding program designed to cut the number of animals taken from the wild.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/06/29/2939672.htm
29 June 2009
There will be two unusual additions to the passenger list of a flight from North Queensland to Melbourne next week.
The final preparations are being made to fly two leopard sharks from Townsville to the Melbourne aquarium.
They will be driven from the Townsville aquarium to Cairns and then put on a flight to Victoria next week.
Stephen Menzies from Reef HQ says there is a lot of work to do before then, including completing a self-sustaining tank.
He says to maintain water quality the sharks will not be fed for about two days before the flight.
"That's always fun when you unload some sharks after a long transport; that first feed, because they do feed with a bit of passion," he said.
The sharks are part of a captive breeding program designed to cut the number of animals taken from the wild.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/06/29/2939672.htm
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Singapore Zoo breeds rare Komodo dragon
December 7, 2009Singapore Zoo has successfully bred the highly-endangered Komodo dragon, officials say, reporting that the rare baby reptile is in good health.
The 40-centimetre hatchling is the first Komodo dragon born in an Asian zoo outside Indonesia, the native home of the world's largest lizard species, a spokeswoman told Agence France-Presse on Monday.
Assistant director of zoology Biswajit Guha said the hatching of the Komodo dragon, whose gender has not been confirmed, "is one of the most significant moments" for the zoo, one of Singapore's top attractions.
The breeding of Komodo dragons in captivity "is fraught with difficulties due to incompatible pairings, dearth of experience in egg incubation and over-representation of males in zoos," he said.
The reptiles are considered one of Indonesia's national treasures. Komodos can grow up to three metres in length and weigh up to 140 kilograms.
They are listed as "vulnerable" in the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.
Only 3,000 of the poisonous lizards, native to Komodo and a few other islands in eastern Indonesia, remain in the wild, according to another campaign group, The Nature Conservancy, which does field work in the area.
The reptiles live on a diet of large mammals, reptiles and birds but have been known to attack humans.
An Indonesian fisherman was mauled to death by a Komodo dragon in March after he ventured into a remote island sanctuary.
http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/6558305/singapore-zoo-breeds-rare-komodo-dragon/
(Submitted by Richard Freeman)
Singapore Zoo breeds rare Komodo dragon
December 7, 2009Singapore Zoo has successfully bred the highly-endangered Komodo dragon, officials say, reporting that the rare baby reptile is in good health.
The 40-centimetre hatchling is the first Komodo dragon born in an Asian zoo outside Indonesia, the native home of the world's largest lizard species, a spokeswoman told Agence France-Presse on Monday.
Assistant director of zoology Biswajit Guha said the hatching of the Komodo dragon, whose gender has not been confirmed, "is one of the most significant moments" for the zoo, one of Singapore's top attractions.
The breeding of Komodo dragons in captivity "is fraught with difficulties due to incompatible pairings, dearth of experience in egg incubation and over-representation of males in zoos," he said.
The reptiles are considered one of Indonesia's national treasures. Komodos can grow up to three metres in length and weigh up to 140 kilograms.
They are listed as "vulnerable" in the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.
Only 3,000 of the poisonous lizards, native to Komodo and a few other islands in eastern Indonesia, remain in the wild, according to another campaign group, The Nature Conservancy, which does field work in the area.
The reptiles live on a diet of large mammals, reptiles and birds but have been known to attack humans.
An Indonesian fisherman was mauled to death by a Komodo dragon in March after he ventured into a remote island sanctuary.
http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/6558305/singapore-zoo-breeds-rare-komodo-dragon/
(Submitted by Richard Freeman)
Friday, December 4, 2009
Plan to breed lab monkeys splits Guayama residents
December 1, 2009By JILL LASTER
The Associated Press
GUAYAMA
Puerto Rico has such a bad history with research monkeys running amok that some residents are stunned that its government has tentatively approved a plan to import and breed thousands of primates for sale to U.S. researchers.
Bioculture Ltd., with facilities at 19 sites around the world, has secured construction permits and hopes to begin operating next summer in Guayama.
They want to turn the island into a major supplier of primates, much to the dismay of residents already dealing with a plague of patas monkeys — descendants of lab escapees — that run though backyards, stop traffic and destroy crops.
The company, based in the African island nation of Mauritius, says the operation will employ at least 50 people and buy fruit from local farmers, an important consideration on an island where unemployment is nearly 16 percent.
“This will help many people in the community,” said Olga Colón, a local school principal who has collected 300 signatures in support of the facility. She said Bioculture has pledged to buy supplies for her school.
But the project is opposed by many — from Guayama Mayor Glorimari Jaime to actor Benicio del Toro, who says it’s unethical to breed monkeys for research, and renowned primatologist Jane Goodall.
“We know now that monkeys have minds, personalities, and, above all, they have feelings,” Goodall said during a recent visit to Puerto Rico. “What we do for monkeys in medical research — if you were a monkey, it would be torture.”
Local residents have filed a lawsuit supported by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals that says Bioculture failed to submit a full environmental impact statement or hold public hearings.
They say Bioculture allegedly paid fees for a $2 million project, when the project costs $12 million. The company denies the allegations.
A judge could decide as early as this week whether to order an injunction to halt construction. Either side could appeal the ruling to the state Court of Appeals.
The company expects to soon apply for permits to import monkeys to Puerto Rico.
Bioculture’s facility, the first in a U.S. jurisdiction, plans to start with 1,000 Macaques, natives of Southeast Asia, and eventually hold up to 3,000.
Puerto Rico has long struggled to control hundreds of patas monkeys, descendants of primates that escaped in recent decades from research projects and now thrive in the lush tropical environment.
No labs want the patas monkeys because they’re no longer right for research, and many are diseased. There isn’t much demand from zoos, either. So rangers from the island’s Department of Natural and Environmental Resources trap and kill them.
Wilson Nazario Torres fears the people of Guayama will suffer like those in his hometown, Lajas, which has been overrun by patas monkeys.
The three that live in his back yard are so used to humans, he can’t scare them away.
“If this project was offered in any state in the United States, they wouldn’t allow it,” said Roberto Cintrón, a 46-year-old resident of Carmen, a Guayama neighborhood close to the facility site. “So they come to an isolated community, a neglected community, and offer jobs, and people buy it.”
Bioculture Vice President Moses Mark Bushmitz said some groups are just trying to stir up panic. It happens at all new facilities.
The Guayama facility is one of many already in the United States, he said, where about 70,000 research monkeys were used in 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The company assures people in Carmen and all of the Guayama district that its monkeys can’t escape multiple levels of security.
“You have monkeys in MIT, you have monkeys in Harvard,” Bushmitz said.
“So why isn’t it an issue if the monkey will escape in Harvard, but it is an issue if a monkey will escape in Carmen?”
Bushmitz called the protesters a small minority.
“This area was neglected for so many years,” he said. “The people here have no chance. The young guys have no work.”
But Carla Cappalli, a local animal rights activist, says opponents will keep fighting, no matter what the judge rules.
“This is going to be a long case,” she said. “We’re going to fight this to the end.”
http://www.prdailysun.com/news/Plan-to-breed-lab-monkeys-splits-Guayama-residents
(Submitted by Sally Tully-Figueroa)
Plan to breed lab monkeys splits Guayama residents
December 1, 2009By JILL LASTER
The Associated Press
GUAYAMA
Puerto Rico has such a bad history with research monkeys running amok that some residents are stunned that its government has tentatively approved a plan to import and breed thousands of primates for sale to U.S. researchers.
Bioculture Ltd., with facilities at 19 sites around the world, has secured construction permits and hopes to begin operating next summer in Guayama.
They want to turn the island into a major supplier of primates, much to the dismay of residents already dealing with a plague of patas monkeys — descendants of lab escapees — that run though backyards, stop traffic and destroy crops.
The company, based in the African island nation of Mauritius, says the operation will employ at least 50 people and buy fruit from local farmers, an important consideration on an island where unemployment is nearly 16 percent.
“This will help many people in the community,” said Olga Colón, a local school principal who has collected 300 signatures in support of the facility. She said Bioculture has pledged to buy supplies for her school.
But the project is opposed by many — from Guayama Mayor Glorimari Jaime to actor Benicio del Toro, who says it’s unethical to breed monkeys for research, and renowned primatologist Jane Goodall.
“We know now that monkeys have minds, personalities, and, above all, they have feelings,” Goodall said during a recent visit to Puerto Rico. “What we do for monkeys in medical research — if you were a monkey, it would be torture.”
Local residents have filed a lawsuit supported by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals that says Bioculture failed to submit a full environmental impact statement or hold public hearings.
They say Bioculture allegedly paid fees for a $2 million project, when the project costs $12 million. The company denies the allegations.
A judge could decide as early as this week whether to order an injunction to halt construction. Either side could appeal the ruling to the state Court of Appeals.
The company expects to soon apply for permits to import monkeys to Puerto Rico.
Bioculture’s facility, the first in a U.S. jurisdiction, plans to start with 1,000 Macaques, natives of Southeast Asia, and eventually hold up to 3,000.
Puerto Rico has long struggled to control hundreds of patas monkeys, descendants of primates that escaped in recent decades from research projects and now thrive in the lush tropical environment.
No labs want the patas monkeys because they’re no longer right for research, and many are diseased. There isn’t much demand from zoos, either. So rangers from the island’s Department of Natural and Environmental Resources trap and kill them.
Wilson Nazario Torres fears the people of Guayama will suffer like those in his hometown, Lajas, which has been overrun by patas monkeys.
The three that live in his back yard are so used to humans, he can’t scare them away.
“If this project was offered in any state in the United States, they wouldn’t allow it,” said Roberto Cintrón, a 46-year-old resident of Carmen, a Guayama neighborhood close to the facility site. “So they come to an isolated community, a neglected community, and offer jobs, and people buy it.”
Bioculture Vice President Moses Mark Bushmitz said some groups are just trying to stir up panic. It happens at all new facilities.
The Guayama facility is one of many already in the United States, he said, where about 70,000 research monkeys were used in 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The company assures people in Carmen and all of the Guayama district that its monkeys can’t escape multiple levels of security.
“You have monkeys in MIT, you have monkeys in Harvard,” Bushmitz said.
“So why isn’t it an issue if the monkey will escape in Harvard, but it is an issue if a monkey will escape in Carmen?”
Bushmitz called the protesters a small minority.
“This area was neglected for so many years,” he said. “The people here have no chance. The young guys have no work.”
But Carla Cappalli, a local animal rights activist, says opponents will keep fighting, no matter what the judge rules.
“This is going to be a long case,” she said. “We’re going to fight this to the end.”
http://www.prdailysun.com/news/Plan-to-breed-lab-monkeys-splits-Guayama-residents
(Submitted by Sally Tully-Figueroa)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)