No rhinos poached in Chitwan National Park in 2011

503 rhinos in Chitwan National Park 

January 2012. The Nepali Forest Ministry has decided to declare 2011 as ' Successful year in rhino conservation'.

Since January 3, 2011, no rhino has been poached in Chitwan National Park. In 2011 the only rhinos deaths recorded were due to old age. According to former warden Narendraman Babu Pradhan, there are 503 rhinos in Chitwan.

Courtesy of Wildlife Watch Group Nepal 

Kruger National Park to protect its rhinoceroses

Wildlife authorities in one of Africa's most popular national parks will no longer tell visitors where to find its rhinoceroses after an upsurge in poaching in recent months.


Previously, tourists staying at one of the Kruger National Park's rest camps were able to consult maps decorated with coloured pins telling them where the elusive beasts were last spotted, maximising their chances of finding one.


But camp managers have been told to remove any information about the rhinos' whereabouts amid fears that poachers could also be consulting the boards in the hunt for their prey.

In the past week, six rhino carcases have been found in the two million-hectare park. All of them had been shot and had their horns removed.

Rhino poaching has soared in southern Africa, driven by a demand for their horns from Asia, where they are erroneously believed to cure cancer and impotence.

Crime syndicates provide poachers with sophisticated weaponry including high-powered rifles, night-vision goggles and even helicopters to locate and kill the rhinos.

The trade has driven Africa's white and black rhinos onto the global list of endangered and critically endangered species.


The South African military has been deployed to work with game rangers to protect the animals, but the numbers killed continue to climb.

Recent figures released by the South African National Parks authority reveal that 405 rhinos have been killed in the country so far this year, compared to 333 last year. A total of 229 rhino were poached in Kruger this year – compared to 146 last year.

William Mabasa, a spokesman for Kruger, which welcomes 1.2m visitors a year, said that removing the rhino signposts was part of a continuous drive to stop the killings.

"We don't know who else is using these boards but we will do anything we believe might have a contribution," he said. "When you are in a war, there's no success until the end of the war."

He insisted that tourists are still likely to see rhino regardless, but added: "Part of the fun of coming to the Kruger is to be find your own animal."


By Aislinn Laing, Johannesburg

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/8940647/Kruger-National-Park-to-protect-its-rhinoceroses.html

Indonesian tiger smuggler could escape with light sentence

Light sentence is no deterrent
October 2011. The trial of a tiger skin smuggler on the Indonesian island of Sumatra has resulted in an immediate response from WWF and its partners after the prosecutor in the case recommended a very light sentence.

The smuggler was caught in West Sumatra in March 2011 with a tiger skin he purchased for US$3,000. Under current Indonesian law, the suspect could receive a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment and a IDR$100 million rupiah fine (US$11,200), but the prosecutor has recommend a mere three years imprisonment and an IDR$3 million (US$335) fine.

Retno Setiyaningrum, Legal and Policy Senior Officer for WWF-Indonesia, stated that while WWF applauds the efforts of law enforcement officers in the case, the prosecution's requested penalty is too low.

"Since 2004, punishments in illegal poaching cases have not been a deterrent," said Retno. "Just in 2009, judges in Riau Province gave punishment of only one year imprisonment and a fine of two million rupiahs for two poachers who killed three Sumatran tigers."

WWF supporters and celebrities have joined the call for the judge in the current case to impose stricter punishment on the perpetrator, following an earlier call to hand down a maximum sentence to the tiger smuggler.

"The Sumatran tiger is part of Indonesia's national identity," said Indonesian musician Nugie. "The illegal wildlife trade is a loss for the entire country, and maximum punishment in this case can set an example that the government is serious about law enforcement and tiger poaching," he added.

WWF-Indonesia Tiger Protection Unit Coordinator Osmantri stated that investigations of tiger poaching must touch the entire chain of the problem, from hunters to smugglers to consumers:

High levels of poaching
"The level of Sumatran tiger poaching, especially in Riau and West Sumatra Provinces, is heavily threatening the wild tiger population," said Osmantri. "Illegal poaching and trade involves a complex and extensive network, with law enforcement only partially having any impact. Today, we still consider this current poacher at large."

West Sumatra, where the current case originated, has one of the highest tiger populations on the island. There are less than 400 Sumatran tigers left, out of a total of only 3,200 and five other other subspecies, which are scattered in small pockets across Asia.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/tiger-smuggler.html

Baby Mountain Gorilla from Virunga National Park rescued from poachers

Baby gorilla will join other orphans

August 2011. An infant mountain gorilla has been confiscated from poachers by Rwandan police in the town of Gisenyi on the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Police arrested the Congolese poachers holding the infant as well as two Rwandans who were helping the poachers. The gorilla had been captured near the Bukima area of Virunga National Park, according to the poachers, indicating that it belongs to a critically endangered population. The poachers claimed they kept the gorilla for about six days, feeding him bananas and sugar cane until attempting to smuggle him to Rwanda.
8 month old gorilla
Veterinarians from Mountain Gorilla Veterinarian Project (MGVP), partners of Virunga National Park, took the infant gorilla, estimated at about 8-months-old, to the orphan care facility of Kinigi in Rwanda where they will perform a full health check. According to the veterinarians, the infant seems to be strong despite suffering from a bad cough and runny nose.

Strengthen protection measures
The Director for Virunga National Park, Dr Emmanuel de Merode said today, "that the infant mountain gorilla was recovered and the suspected poachers arrested is a remarkable achievement by the Rwandan Authorities. Nevertheless, the incident is unacceptable and deeply worrying for us, and reflects the enormous pressures faced by our rangers, eleven of whom have been killed this year protecting the park. Efforts are underway to strengthen the protection measures through de-snaring, increased anti-poaching, and tight collaboration with the local community."

Rwandan police notified Volcanoes National Park Chief Warden Prosper Uwingeli following the poachers' arrest, not knowing the origin of the gorilla. MGVP vets were called, arriving at the jail in Gisenyi around 10 pm.

"When we walked into the jail, one of the poachers almost immediately sneezed right on the baby, who was asleep in a tight, tense ball on the bed," Dr. Jan Ramer said. "He will go through a 30 day quarantine period, and hopefully will return to DR Congo at Virunga National Park's Senkwekwe Center where he can join orphan gorillas Maisha, Kaboko, Ndeze and Ndakasi. We are cautiously optimistic for this little guy - he is tense, but accepting of people, and is eating. All good signs for his eventual recovery."

Virunga National Park, Africa’s oldest national park (established in 1925) and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, is home to 200 of the world’s mountain gorillas and a small population of eastern lowland gorillas. Formerly known as Albert National Park, Virunga lies in eastern DR Congo and covers 7,800 square kilometers. The park is managed by the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature, the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN).

Mountain Gorillas are critically endangered, with approximately 790 remaining in the world, about 480 in the Virunga Volcanoes Conservation Area (shared by DRC, Rwanda and Uganda) and 306 in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda. The results of a recent census conducted in the spring of 2010 show that the number of Mountain Gorillas living in the tri-national forested area of which Virunga forms a part, has increased by 26.3% over the last seven years - an average growth rate of 3.7% per annum.

The Congolese Wildlife Authority (ICCN) and its rangers work throughout the country to protect the National Parks of Congo and their wildlife from poachers, rebel groups, illegal miners and land invasions. Over 140 Rangers have been killed in the last 10 years protecting the 5 parks of eastern DRC, and Rangers worked throughout the civil war, rarely receiving a salary.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/baby-gorilla018.html#cr

Cops nab bizarre Prospect Park poachers

Cops have busted a group of oddball poachers in Prospect Park — a band of vagrants that was trapping and eating ducks, squirrels and pigeons.


Parks officers wrote four tickets — two for killing wildlife and two for illegal fishing — totaling $2,100 in fines during a two-day period last week.

The city would not immediately release details of the incidents, which occurred on July 17 and 18 — just days after park-goers told rangers about a “Beverly Hillbillies”-like scene on the southeast side of the lake, near the ice skating rink.

“This is a dodgy group,” said park-goer Peter Colon, who spotted one of the men catching a pigeon while his friend started a fire. “They are the most threatening people in the park.”


The disheveled — and possibly homeless — tribe in question uses “makeshift” fishing poles and traps to catch the critters, then grills them over the fire, according to park watchdogs.

“One woman uses a net to bag the ducks,” said wildlife advocate Johanna Clearfield.

Wildlife advocates have long pushed the Parks Department to crackdown on illegal hunting and fishing in Prospect Park — especially after a stunning array of cases in which geese and cygnets were injured by illegal barbed fishhooks and lure.

In the most-dramatic case, a plucky little goose who lost the top half of his beak to a fishhook earned him endless sympathy and the nickname, “Beaky.”

The fishing and hunting ticket blitz comes while park-goers collect and document large mounds of fishing wire, claiming waterfowl are frequently get tangled.

And it’s not the first time that poachers have been busted. Last year, park-goers confronted a man after spotting him catching fish and secreting them into a bag — a violation of the city’s “catch-and-release” rules.

After being confronted, the man dumped the dead fish back into the lake.

The new poaching busts bring to mind last year’s wave of animal murders by the so-called “Butcher of Prospect Park,” whose death toll included waterfowl, chickens, turtles and a goat.

For now, wildlife advocates were hailing this month’s busts.

“The fact that they’re ticketing is great — it’s so badly needed,” said goose lover Mary Beth Artz. “I hope they keep it up.”

by Natalie O'Neill


http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/34/31/dtg_poachersbusted_2011_08_06_bk.html

Thriving Snow leopard population discovered in Afghanistan

Snow leopards in Afghanistan

July 2011. The Wildlife Conservation Society has discovered a surprisingly healthy population of rare snow leopards living in the mountainous reaches of north-eastern Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor, according to a new study.

The discovery gives hope to the world's most elusive big cat, which calls home to some of the world's tallest mountains. Between 4,500 and 7,500 snow leopards remain in the wild scattered across a dozen countries in Central Asia.

16 camera traps
WCS-trained community rangers used camera traps to document the presence of snow leopards at 16 different locations across a wide landscape. The images represent the first camera trap records of snow leopards in Afghanistan. WCS has been conserving wildlife and improving local livelihoods in the region since 2006 with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

"This is a wonderful discovery - it shows that there is real hope for snow leopards in Afghanistan," said Peter Zahler, WCS Deputy Director for Asia Programs. "Now our goal is to ensure that these magnificent animals have a secure future as a key part of Afghanistan's natural heritage."

Threats
According to the study, snow leopards remain threatened in the region. Poaching for their pelts, persecution by shepherds, and the capture of live animals for the illegal pet trade have all been documented in the Wakhan Corridor. In response, WCS has developed a set of conservation initiatives to protect snow leopards. These include partnering with local communities, training of rangers, and education and outreach efforts.

The study was undertaken by WCS conservationists Anthony Simms, Zalmai Moheb, Salahudin, Hussain Ali, Inayat Ali and Timothy Wood.

Anthony Simms, lead author and the project's Technical Advisor, said, "By developing a community-led management approach, we believe snow leopards will be conserved in Afghanistan over the long term."

59 rangers trained - Guarding snow leopards, Ibex and Marco Polo sheep
WCS-led initiatives are already paying off. Conservation education is now occurring in every school in the Wakhan region. Fifty-nine rangers have been trained to date. They monitor not only snow leopards but other species including Marco Polo sheep and ibex while also enforcing laws against poaching. WCS has also initiated the construction of predator-proof livestock corrals and a livestock insurance program that compensates shepherds, though initial WCS research shows that surprisingly few livestock fall to predators in the region.

In Afghanistan, USAID has provided support to WCS to work in more than 55 communities across the country and is training local people to monitor and sustainably manage their wildlife and other resources. One of the many outputs of this project was the creation of Afghanistan's first national park - Band-e-Amir - which is now co-managed by the government and a committee consisting of all 14 communities living around the park.

Snow leopards have declined by as much as 20 percent over the past 16 years and are considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

WCS is a world leader in the care and conservation of snow leopards. WCS's Bronx Zoo became the first zoo in the Western Hemisphere to exhibit these rare spotted cats in 1903. In the past three decades, nearly 80 cubs have been born in the Bronx and have been sent to live at 30 zoos in the U.S. and eight countries in Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America.

The study appears in the June 29th issue of the Journal of Environmental Studies


http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/afghanistan-snow-leopards.html

Endangered gourmet sea snail could be doomed by increasing ocean acidity

Public release date: 25-May-2011

Increasing levels of ocean acidity could spell doom for British Columbia's already beleaguered northern abalone, according to the first study to provide direct experimental evidence that changing sea water chemistry is negatively affecting an endangered species.

The northern abalone--prized as a gourmet delicacy--has a range that extents along the North American west coast from Baja California to Alaska. Even though British Columbia's northern abalone commercial fisheries where closed in 1990 to protect dwindling populations, the species has continued to struggle, largely due to poaching.

To better understand the impact climate change — and specifically, increasing ocean acidity — has on this endangered species, UBC researchers exposed northern abalone larvae to water containing increased levels of CO2. Increases from 400 to 1,800 parts per million killed 40 per cent of larvae, decreased the size of larvae that did survive, and increased the rate of shell abnormalities.

"This is quite bad news, not only in terms of the endangered populations of abalone in the wild, but also the impact it might have on the prospects for aquaculture and coastal economics," says Christopher Harley, Associate Professor with the Department of Zoology and one of the authors of the study.

"And because the species is already thought to be limited by reproductive output and recruitment, these effects are likely to scale up to the population level, creating greater limits on population growth."

Average CO2 levels in the open ocean hover at 380 parts per million, a number which is excepted to increase slowly over the next century.

What concerns the researchers are the much higher spikes in dissolved CO2 that are already being observed along the BC coast, particularly in late spring and early summer when northern abalone populations are spawning.

The findings were published in the latest issue of the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology.

"While we're looking at a single species that is culturally important as a source of food and artistic inspiration for many coastal Pacific Northwest First Nations, this information may have implications for other abalone species in other parts of the world," says Ryan Crim, lead author on the paper who conducted the research while a graduate student with the UBC Department of Zoology.

Other species of abalone are farmed around the world, principally in China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea. The black, white and pink abalone are also endangered on the west coast--red abalone are still an economically viable food species.

The study was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and conducted in collaboration with the Bamfield-Huu-ay-aht Community Abalone Project, a small abalone hatchery in Bamfield which has subsequently gone out of business. The dual mission of the hatchery was to produce cultured abalone for high end restaurants, and to restore endangered abalone by culturing and releasing larvae and juveniles to the wild.

Harley and Crim will continue to work with the aquaculture industry to study the effects of acidification on oysters and other shellfish.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-05/uobc-egs052511.php

Zimbabwe Expert: The Truth About Killing 'Problem' Elephants

Apr 1, 2011 – 2:13 PM

Zimbabwe's premier conservationist, a 62-year-old man who says he's endured assassination attempts for trying to preserve wildlife in one of Africa's poorest and most repressive countries, can't watch the video showing Bob Parsons, the billionaire CEO of GoDaddy.com, shooting and killing an elephant.

"I've seen so many of the atrocities against elephants and other wildlife here that it sickens me to the bottom of my soul," Johnny Rodrigues, chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, told AOL News today on the telephone from Harare.

"But I have read what Parsons said, and he is totally misinformed about what is going on here. I wish he knew the truth."

Parsons, whose video sparked outrage when it circulated Thursday, is shown shooting a bull elephant on a recent hunting trip in Zimbabwe and then posing triumphantly next to the carcass. He called the animal a "problem elephant" that was in a herd attacking local crops and houses.

Some villagers, sporting GoDaddy caps, are also shown in the video carving up the dead elephant and eating the meat, as AC/DC's "Hell's Bells" plays on the soundtrack.

Parsons brushed off criticism in interviews and said that only a few animal rights groups like PETA were upset.

The villagers "are on the brink of starvation," he told CBS News. "They need their crops and need to eat. Elephants are not endangered and probably there are too many of them. A lot of people are up in arms about this. Their hearts are in the right place, but they don't understand the situation. If they'd go on one of my trips to Zimbabwe, they'd understand."

But Rodrigues, who grew up on a farm in Zimbabwe, said hunters like Parsons don't understand the level of government corruption in the country, how it's led to the collapse of the economy and how it's affected the wildlife.

AOL News spoke with Rodrigues about the plight of elephants in a country that was once a top destination for tourists who could enjoy wildlife protected by strong environmental policies -- but has deteriorated under an increasingly lawless regime.

AOL News: Bob Parsons said killing the elephant was justified because there are too many of them in Zimbabwe and they're attacking farmers and their crops who have no way of getting rid of them. True?

Johnny Rodrigues: No. For one thing, the government deliberately inflates the number of elephants so they can allot a certain number to be killed. Last year they said 500 elephants could be killed. They say there are 100,000 elephants. From what I have found, the figure is more like between 30,000 and 35,000. They lie about the number so they can allow hunters to kill them. They use the income generated to pay the wages to the park staffers and to keep the parks running because they have no money. The villagers don't see a penny. [Park authorities] just sell them the meat.

Illegal poaching occurs all over Africa. How is the situation different in Zimbabwe?

The problem in Zimbabwe is the guardians of the wildlife are the perpetrators. We're the only country in Africa that shoots game to pay wages to national park guardians and ration meat to their staff. It's sick. You wouldn't tolerate it. Zimbabwe is the only country where some of the park guardians are politically connected and don't care about the animals. They're the ones benefiting economically from their killing, even though they are the ones who are supposed to protect them.

Are elephants actually killed in the national parks?

They are not supposed to be, but they are. The government uses claims that elephants are destroying crops and attacking villagers to allow them to be hunted in national parks and safari areas.

Why are the elephants coming into villages and threatening the farmers?

Elephants are the most traumatized animals in Zimbabwe. They are being shot even in supposedly safe areas. Elephants travel in family units, and when one of their loved ones are shot and killed, the rest of the family remembers and they are traumatized and they will attack. They are very intelligent animals with phenomenal memories. When they see humans now, they remember.

What do they remember?

They remember it is humans who have caused all their stress, who have taken away their family members. They either attack or run away when they see a vehicle. It's very sad because we could co-exist. But humans, especially in Africa, are encroaching on land reserved for the animals, and the animals are running out of land.

What would you say to Bob Parsons if you could speak to him?

I would tell him he is supporting a terrible system that is not helping the poor people on the ground. Coming here with all his wealth for these unethical hunts and killing elephants is not helping anyone. It's perpetuating a horrible cycle in this country of traumatized animals and desperate people. And by telling them to eat meat the way he did and giving them his caps is like treating them like slaves.

What would you tell him about the bull elephant he killed, based on what you know about them?

Elephants are all part of families. The bull elephant Parsons killed has a family. It's the same as a robber coming into Parsons' house and shooting him in front of one of his kids. Parsons should look at some of the incredible research on elephants and elephant family behavior. He'd be shocked. Elephants are among the smartest, most sensitive animals alive.

How many elephants were there, say 100 years ago in Zimbabwe. Do you even know?

There were at least 700,000 to 800,000, but there's no comparison to today. They roamed all over. Man has totally encroached on their territory.

Can you report illegal poaching crimes to officials in Zimbabwe?

You will see some illegal poaching in Zambia, say, but it is a country with law and order. The authorities will do something about it. Here when you bring in a dossier of documents about illegal poaching to the attorney general, nothing happens. Even if you get to see a police investigator once, you'll never see them again. They disappear. It's what happens when there is no democracy and a breakdown of law and order.

People get killed in Zimbabwe for speaking out. Why do you take the risk?

It's very dangerous, but I've been exposing what's going on in this country for 12 years. I have death threats and attempts on my life. Strange things happen here to people like me.

What kind of strange things?

People coming around, beatings, being locked up, disappearing for a few months. But somebody has to speak out. I fought for this country in the war, so I feel I have a right to be a voice for the voiceless. I am trying to preserve our wonderful wildlife in this beautiful country. That's more important than anything that happens to me.

Have international wildlife groups reached out to Zimbabwe?

Unfortunately not really. The political situation is so difficult that it keeps people away.

What about those who believe that man comes first and while it's unfortunate that animals suffer, we are more important and this is a bit of a non-issue?

Preserving our wildlife and our flora and fauna is not only part of our heritage in Zimbabwe -- it was also the biggest foreign currency earner. The government is destroying a self-sustaining industry that all the people here benefit from. The communities that live around the wildlife areas benefit from selling their wares. No tourists want to come here and see all this bloodletting and miserable animals. 

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/04/01/zimbabwe-conservationist-responds-to-godaddy-ceos-elephant-hunt/

Royal Bengal Tigers Get GPS Treatment, New Plans to Save the Endangered Species

BY Jenara Nerenberg
Fri Jan 28, 2011

Poachers beware--the World Wildlife Fund is armed with GPS tracking devices and far-reaching plans to help tigers re-produce.

Tigers in the Himalayas were a big issue this week, as a study co-authored by WWF scientists was published by Conservation Letters, detailing how the world's endangered tigers--many of which are in Nepal, Bhutan, and India--could triple with proper land management. News also came directly out of Nepal that it had successfully installed a GPS tracking kit on a Royal Bengal tiger and then transported the tiger from Chitwan National Park to Bardia National Park. The goal of the tracking is to place the tiger in a safer, breeding-friendly environment. (At right, WWF-US president and CEO Carter Roberts fits a GLOBALSTAR-3 satellite collar on the wild tiger 'Namobuddha' in preparation for translocation.)


"We have one of the highest densities of tigers. If our landscapes are properly managed, then our number of tigers can triple," WWF Nepal Conservation Program Director, Ghana Gurung, tells Fast Company. "We're committed to doubling our number of tigers by 2022."

The global tiger population has decreased from 100,000 to 3,200 in just a century, due to profit-seeking poachers as well as, in the case of Nepal, war-inflicted habitat destruction.

"Therefore, habitat management is essential," says Gurung. And the most important finding to come out of the study is that by preserving corridors that link breeding areas, tigers will more freely roam and breed.

If, however, they are confined to small areas--and areas that are disconnected from each other--the population begins to decrease.

Of course protecting those breeding grounds is also essential. Poachers throughout Asia hunt in search of high profits from sales to China for use in traditional Chinese medicine.

"We absolutely need to stop the bleeding, the poaching of tigers and their prey in core breeding areas," says co-author Eric Dinerstein, chief scientist at WWF. "But we need to go much further and secure larger tiger landscapes before it is too late."

Follow me, Jenara Nerenberg, on Twitter.

[Image: Carter Roberts, President and CEO, World Wildlife Fund, with Minister of Forest and Soil Conservation of Nepal, Deepak Bohara (standing, left), fitting a GPS plus GLOBALSTAR-3 satellite collar on the wild tiger 'Namobuddha' before it was translocated to Bardia National Park from Chitwan National Park, Nepal. Courtesy WWF/Min Bajracharya]

http://www.fastcompany.com/1721342/tigers-get-gps-treatment-and-increased-breeding-grounds-in-wwf-push-to-save-endangered-speci

Royal Bengal Tigers Get GPS Treatment, New Plans to Save the Endangered Species

BY Jenara Nerenberg
Fri Jan 28, 2011

Poachers beware--the World Wildlife Fund is armed with GPS tracking devices and far-reaching plans to help tigers re-produce.

Tigers in the Himalayas were a big issue this week, as a study co-authored by WWF scientists was published by Conservation Letters, detailing how the world's endangered tigers--many of which are in Nepal, Bhutan, and India--could triple with proper land management. News also came directly out of Nepal that it had successfully installed a GPS tracking kit on a Royal Bengal tiger and then transported the tiger from Chitwan National Park to Bardia National Park. The goal of the tracking is to place the tiger in a safer, breeding-friendly environment. (At right, WWF-US president and CEO Carter Roberts fits a GLOBALSTAR-3 satellite collar on the wild tiger 'Namobuddha' in preparation for translocation.)


"We have one of the highest densities of tigers. If our landscapes are properly managed, then our number of tigers can triple," WWF Nepal Conservation Program Director, Ghana Gurung, tells Fast Company. "We're committed to doubling our number of tigers by 2022."

The global tiger population has decreased from 100,000 to 3,200 in just a century, due to profit-seeking poachers as well as, in the case of Nepal, war-inflicted habitat destruction.

"Therefore, habitat management is essential," says Gurung. And the most important finding to come out of the study is that by preserving corridors that link breeding areas, tigers will more freely roam and breed.

If, however, they are confined to small areas--and areas that are disconnected from each other--the population begins to decrease.

Of course protecting those breeding grounds is also essential. Poachers throughout Asia hunt in search of high profits from sales to China for use in traditional Chinese medicine.

"We absolutely need to stop the bleeding, the poaching of tigers and their prey in core breeding areas," says co-author Eric Dinerstein, chief scientist at WWF. "But we need to go much further and secure larger tiger landscapes before it is too late."

Follow me, Jenara Nerenberg, on Twitter.

[Image: Carter Roberts, President and CEO, World Wildlife Fund, with Minister of Forest and Soil Conservation of Nepal, Deepak Bohara (standing, left), fitting a GPS plus GLOBALSTAR-3 satellite collar on the wild tiger 'Namobuddha' before it was translocated to Bardia National Park from Chitwan National Park, Nepal. Courtesy WWF/Min Bajracharya]

http://www.fastcompany.com/1721342/tigers-get-gps-treatment-and-increased-breeding-grounds-in-wwf-push-to-save-endangered-speci

Three suspected poachers killed in Kenya

Elephant poaching in Kenya

November 2010. Three suspected poachers have been shot dead in Kenya in two separate incidents after the killing of five elephants, the Kenyan Wildlife Service (KWS) has revealed. Kenya Wildlife Service rangers shot two poachers and arrested another in the southeast of Kenya, as well as recovering two assault rifles and seven elephant tusks.

Meru National Park
KWS rangers in Meru National Park shot dead one poacher. "The suspects had shot dead an elephant and were hacking off the tusks with axes when the KWS rangers ambushed them," KWS said. "A major operation is underway to arrest other suspects who escaped. They are believed to have sustained gunshot injuries."

One ranger was wounded in the firefight and is now recovering in hospital.


http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/kenya-poachers018.html

Three suspected poachers killed in Kenya

Elephant poaching in Kenya

November 2010. Three suspected poachers have been shot dead in Kenya in two separate incidents after the killing of five elephants, the Kenyan Wildlife Service (KWS) has revealed. Kenya Wildlife Service rangers shot two poachers and arrested another in the southeast of Kenya, as well as recovering two assault rifles and seven elephant tusks.

Meru National Park
KWS rangers in Meru National Park shot dead one poacher. "The suspects had shot dead an elephant and were hacking off the tusks with axes when the KWS rangers ambushed them," KWS said. "A major operation is underway to arrest other suspects who escaped. They are believed to have sustained gunshot injuries."

One ranger was wounded in the firefight and is now recovering in hospital.


http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/kenya-poachers018.html

Russia’s logging rights auction derailed after public outcry

Logging would have threatened few remaining Amur tigers

November 2010: Public outcry has derailed an auction planned for the end of last month by the forestry administration of Primorsky Province in the Russian Far East that would have opened up critical Amur tiger habitats for logging.

The Forest Management Department said that its director Pyotr Diuk departed Tuesday on holiday, and the commission responsible for conducting the auction, highlighted by Wildlife Extra last month - Amur tiger habitat threatened by Russian auctions - was a no-show.


The Forest Management Agency of Primorsky Province had announced that it would conduct an auction on October 26 for logging rights for 16 harvest sites in the Bikinsky and Pozharsky Korean Pine Nut Harvesting Zones, and the proposed Middle Ussuri wildlife refuge, by making them available for so-called intermediate harvesting.

The failed auction comes after WWF-Russia alerted the press to the auction and demanded the exemption of protected forests in the Bikin River Basin of northern Primorsky Province from a timber auction authorised by the provincial Forest Management Department.

Public reaction was universally negative
WWF experts and representative to the Legislative Assembly Aleksandr Ermolayev spoke out against the proposed auction. Their testimony then was sent to the Forest Management Department and Primorsky Province Ecological Prosecutor's office for review.

Public reaction to the auction, in Russia and abroad, was universally negative, especially because Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has invited all heads of government from tiger range states to participate next month in the Tiger Summit in St. Petersburg.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Putin said that a full public statement was pending an investigation of the circumstances surrounding the auction, according to WWF-Russia. Also, the Russian Federal Forest Agency sent a telegram to Primorskii Province's governor with a request to investigate within ten days the legality of the proposed logging of Korean pine stands.

Logging would increase access for poachers
Intermediate harvesting is a widely abused legal loophole which allows loggers to cut valuable Korean pine, oak and ash timber in protected forests. This practice greatly increases poaching access to remote tiger territories (through forest road building), destroys key breeding, feeding and overwintering habitat for tigers and their prey, and significantly reduces the supply of pine nuts and acorns on which tiger prey species survive.

The logging rights up for auction would have allowed loggers to cut down forests that protect salmon breeding grounds and are crucial habitats for Amur tigers.

The endangered Amur tiger, numbering fewer than 500 in the wild, is found primarily in southeastern Russia and northern China.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/logging-russia02.html

Russia’s logging rights auction derailed after public outcry

Logging would have threatened few remaining Amur tigers

November 2010: Public outcry has derailed an auction planned for the end of last month by the forestry administration of Primorsky Province in the Russian Far East that would have opened up critical Amur tiger habitats for logging.

The Forest Management Department said that its director Pyotr Diuk departed Tuesday on holiday, and the commission responsible for conducting the auction, highlighted by Wildlife Extra last month - Amur tiger habitat threatened by Russian auctions - was a no-show.


The Forest Management Agency of Primorsky Province had announced that it would conduct an auction on October 26 for logging rights for 16 harvest sites in the Bikinsky and Pozharsky Korean Pine Nut Harvesting Zones, and the proposed Middle Ussuri wildlife refuge, by making them available for so-called intermediate harvesting.

The failed auction comes after WWF-Russia alerted the press to the auction and demanded the exemption of protected forests in the Bikin River Basin of northern Primorsky Province from a timber auction authorised by the provincial Forest Management Department.

Public reaction was universally negative
WWF experts and representative to the Legislative Assembly Aleksandr Ermolayev spoke out against the proposed auction. Their testimony then was sent to the Forest Management Department and Primorsky Province Ecological Prosecutor's office for review.

Public reaction to the auction, in Russia and abroad, was universally negative, especially because Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has invited all heads of government from tiger range states to participate next month in the Tiger Summit in St. Petersburg.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Putin said that a full public statement was pending an investigation of the circumstances surrounding the auction, according to WWF-Russia. Also, the Russian Federal Forest Agency sent a telegram to Primorskii Province's governor with a request to investigate within ten days the legality of the proposed logging of Korean pine stands.

Logging would increase access for poachers
Intermediate harvesting is a widely abused legal loophole which allows loggers to cut valuable Korean pine, oak and ash timber in protected forests. This practice greatly increases poaching access to remote tiger territories (through forest road building), destroys key breeding, feeding and overwintering habitat for tigers and their prey, and significantly reduces the supply of pine nuts and acorns on which tiger prey species survive.

The logging rights up for auction would have allowed loggers to cut down forests that protect salmon breeding grounds and are crucial habitats for Amur tigers.

The endangered Amur tiger, numbering fewer than 500 in the wild, is found primarily in southeastern Russia and northern China.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/logging-russia02.html

Medical aid for injured elephant

Aug 23 - Timely intervention by forest rangers and veterinarians save the life of a badly injured wild elephant at the Kaziranga National Park in India's northeastern state of Assam. Tara Cleary reports.

http://uk.reuters.com/news/video?rpc=401&videoId=143346237&feedType=VideoRSS&feedName=OddlyEnough&rpc=401&videoChannel=4

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

The owner of a South African game reserve is planning to inject the horns of his rhinos with poison. (Via Richard Freeman)

The owner of a South African game reserve is planning to inject the horns of his rhinos with poison.

Ed Hern, owner of the Rhino and Lion Reserve near Johannesburg, hopes the drastic measure will deter poachers who have killed more than 150 of the animals since the start of the year. Making the horns deadly to humans is the only way to halt the booming black market trade, he says.

"The aim would be to kill, or make seriously ill anyone who consumes the horn," he said. "If someone in China eats it and gets violently sick, they are not going to buy it again," Mr Hern said.

Demand from China for powdered rhino horn - erroneously believed to be an aphrodisiac - is blamed for a wave of rhino poaching across South Africa's private and public game reserves. The animals, including rare black rhino, are being slaughtered at the rate of two or three a week for their horns which can fetch up to £45,000 on the black market.

The poaching gangs are well funded, using helicopters and night vision equipment to target their prey. Mr Hern's plan to poison the horns of his herd of white rhino has caused consternation among some conservationists but, he says, the animals will not be harmed.

"We are experimenting by injecting a little of the substance every day into one of the rhino, and monitoring him carefully for any effects," he said. "It may seem outrageous, but what's really outrageous is the sight of a dead rhino with its horn sawn off," he added. That fate befell the last adult rhino in the nearby Krugersdorp reserve, whose orphaned calf was found hungry and bewildered on July 16th.

The nine-month-old, named Vuma, is now being hand reared at Ed Hern's park, along with two other calves who were also orphaned by poachers. The calves only survived the attacks because their horns were too small to interest the poachers. Small game reserves are increasingly being targeted by the criminal gangs after the Kruger park stepped up its security following a spate of rhino poaching.

So far this year, 152 animals have been killed so far this year, a significant increase on previous years.

Scientific research has proved that the keratin in rhino horns, the same substance as human hair and nails, has no medicinal value. But the myth of its properties continues to drive the trade.

Now Someone Is Trying To Poach Turtles In Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NYC (Via HerpDigest)

Now Someone Is Trying To Poach Turtles In Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NYC
By Stephen Brown
The Brooklyn Paper, May 28, 2010

Turtles better hide in their shells - it appears someone is poaching the precious creatures from the lake in Prospect Park!

Two regular parkgoers, Anne-Katrin Titze and Ed Bahlman, discovered the shocking trap in the water last Tuesday while cleaning the area around the nest of one of their beloved swans.

The trap, which is slightly bigger than a shoebox, had a long line tethered to it, which was secured under a fallen tree. Titze snared the line with a stick after noticing that Sedna, a mother swan, was nibbling at some odd debris - turned out to be a shirt - near the bank of the lake.

"It was like she wanted us to clean up," said Bahlman, explaining how they stumbled upon the shocking find.

Bahlman and Titze even said they found another trap the day before.

But park officials were hesitant to declare the traps a clear sign of poaching.

"I can't say [if that is] a turtle trap or what kind of trap it is or what animals someone was trying to trap with it," said Eugene Patron, a spokesman for the Prospect Park Alliance, who was shown a photograph of the apparent trap. But regardless, he added, "Trapping or capturing of wildlife is absolutely prohibited."

It is hard to imagine what other purpose the trap could have served. The basket is not meant to capture fish, and the area where it was found is preferred among turtles, which bask on the many fallen trees on the edge of the lake.

"It's clearly not a fish trap, because no fish could get caught in it," said Max Gaspeny, a lifelong fisherman familiar with Prospect Park. "A turtle was not blessed with the grace of a fish, so it wouldn't be able to get out of there quickly - it's a crude trap, but I can't imagine what else [someone] would be going after with that thing."

Gaspeny added that it's not uncommon for people to eat the meat of turtles and or use the shells as decorations.

The latest discovery only reinforced Bahlman and Titze's concerns about the safety of the lake for the diverse wildlife that call it home.

Last week, a cygnet met its demise after it became entangled in fishing line. Sedna was wrapped and up and wounded by a stray hook and line as well.

Subsequent reports revealed that the swans' violent nature was rearing its feathered head again, as a cygnet mets its demise after running afowl of Jaws - a swan notorious for his short fuse.

And it was only in December that a careless fisherman was considered the likely culprit for the plight of "Beaky," the deformed goose missing the top half of its beak.

The dog advocacy group, FIDO, has donated four fishing line recycling bins that are being installed around the lake - a measure that should help prevent wildlife entanglements.

The discovery of the turtle trap is just the latest bizarre happening in Prospect Park so far this year - a year that has seen wounded ducks, the dumping of animal parts, the spilling of blood, and the death of beloved swan, John Boy, in an alleged act of swan-on-swan violence.

Gorillas Could Disappear in 15 Years, UN Agency Warns

24 March 2010

Gorillas could disappear from large parts of the Greater Congo Basin in central Africa by the mid-2020s unless urgent action is taken to safeguard their habitats and counter poaching, a new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and INTERPOL warned today.

Projections in 2002 had suggested that only 10 per cent of the original gorilla ranges would remain by 2030, but the report found that those estimates were too optimistic given the intensification of pressures including illegal logging, mining, charcoal production and increased demand for bush meat, of which an increasing proportion is ape meat.

Outbreaks of the Ebola haemorrhagic fever virus are adding to concerns. These epidemics have killed thousands of great apes, including gorillas, and by some estimates up to 90 per cent of animals infected by the virus will die.

The report, launched at the meeting of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) currently taking place in Qatar, said the situation is especially critical in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where a great deal of the escalating damage is linked with militias operating in the region.

It stated that the militias are behind much of the illegal trade, which may be worth several hundred million dollars a year.

"This is a tragedy for the great apes and one also for countless other species being impacted by this intensifying and all too often illegal trade," said Achim Steiner, UNEP's executive director.

"Ultimately it is also a tragedy for the people living in the communities and countries concerned. These natural assets are their assets: ones underpinning lives and livelihoods for millions of people. In short it is environmental crime and theft by the few and the powerful at the expense of the poor and the vulnerable," he added.

Mr. Steiner welcomed the involvement of INTERPOL and called on the international community to step up support for the agency's environmental crime programme.

Christian Nellemann, a senior officer at UNEP who was lead author of the 2002 report and headed up the new one, said the original assessment had underestimated the scale of the bush meat trade, the rise in logging and the impact of the Ebola virus on great ape populations.

"With the current and accelerated rate of poaching for bush meat and habitat loss, the gorillas of the Greater Congo Basin may now disappear from most of their present range within 10 to 15 years," said Mr. Nellemann.

"We are observing a decline in wildlife across many parts of the region, and also side-effects on poaching outside the region and on poaching for ivory and rhino horn, often involving poachers and smugglers operating from the Congo Basin, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda, to buyers in Asia and beyond," he added.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201003250006.html

Boost ivory trade monitoring and enforcement before allowing one-off sales: UBC researcher

11-Mar-2010

Recent petitions from several African nations to 'downlist' the conservation status of elephants should be denied because no adequate monitoring of the impact of ivory sales or enforcement of the ivory trade exists, according to recommendations published today by an international group of researchers including UBC zoologist Rene Beyers.

In 2008, a one-off sale of stockpiled ivory from South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe was brokered by the European Union in exchange for a nine-year moratorium on future sales from those nations. Tanzania and Zambia are currently petitioning the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to downlist the conservation status of their elephants, which would enable the two nations to sell existing stockpiles generated by the legal culling of herds.

"The immediate fear is that down-listing elephants or allowing one-off sales in any African nation will stimulate the market for illegal ivory everywhere, particularly in those countries where law enforcement is inadequate," says Beyers, a post doctoral fellow with the department of Zoology.

"We've seen a huge increase in poaching in Central Africa in recent years. In large areas, including many national parks, elephants have become scarce or disappeared altogether. We're concerned that as elephant populations become depleted in one region, poaching will spread to areas where populations are still healthy."

The recommendations were published today in the journal Science. Spearheaded by Samuel Wasser at the University of Washington, the paper includes researchers from the United States, Norway, Kenya, Cameroon, the United Kingdom, Tanzania and Canada.

"None of the countries involved in this petition are adequately controlling their country's illegal ivory trade," says Wasser, lead author of the paper and director of the the University of Washington's Centre for Conservation Biology. "Allowing these sales to occur sets the wrong precedent at the risk of irreparable harm to Africa's ecosystems."

The 2008 sale was in part contingent on strengthening the systems that track poaching and seizures of illegal ivory across the continent.

"A program was put in place to monitor the impact of legal ivory sales on the illegal killing of elephants, but hasn't yet been able to do so, due to major logistical and scientific challenges and a lack of adequate funding," says Beyers. "But recent analysis of elephant deaths attributed to illegal killing has demonstrated an increase in poached elephants in several countries in Central Africa, but also in Zambia and parts of Tanzania."

Also noted by the paper's authors is DNA-based research that indicates that Tanzania and Zambia, the two countries petitioning to downlist their elephants, are among the most significant sources of, and conduits for, illegal ivory in Africa.

The authors estimate proceeds from the sale of stockpiles of ivory held by Tanzania and Zambia would total less that $20 million--approximately one per cent of those nations' tourism revenue. China and Japan are among the largest importers of illegal ivory.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-03/uobc-bit031110.php