Rare shark caught off coast of Galway

LORNA SIGGINS, Marine Correspondent

A RARE deepwater shark and a “monster” mackerel have been landed by two Irish fishing vessels into Rossaveal, Co Galway.

The shark, which has been identified as a sharpback (Oxynotus Paradoxus), was caught by skipper Colin Reynolds and his crew of the Fragrant Cloud .

Reynolds had never seen anything like the dark-coloured 65cm fish with clearly visible claspers, very rough skin which was taken in a net at 500m.

Sea Fisheries Protection Agency officer Siubhán Ní Churraidhín said the flattened underside suggested that the shark crawled across the seafloor, and its clearly visible teeth resembled a lamprey.

Rare fish expert Dr Declan Quigley, who has kept records with fellow expert Kevin Flannery of Dingle, Co Kerry, noted that the first such sharpback identified was taken from the Labadie Bank off the southwest coast in May 1935.

A second was recorded off Sybil Head, Co Kerry, in June 1967, according to a paper by Quigley and Flannery in the Irish Naturalists’ Journa l. It would be another 21 years before a third was caught, in 1988 off Ballydavid, Co Kerry, and was donated to the National Museum of Ireland.

Ms Ní Churraidhín has also been presented with an oversized or “monster” mackerel (Scomber scombrus) which was caught by Kevin Dowd and Darren O’Sullivan of the Star of Hope .

The 1.3kg mackerel is about 50cm in length, and is among the dozen largest mackerel on record here.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0220/1224312052732.html

Deadly crayfish close in on rare pearl mussels

By NEIL POORAN
Published on Sunday 19 February 2012 00:27

THEY have dwelt in Scotland’s waterways since the last Ice Age and were, according to Roman historians, the reason why Julius Caesar invaded Britain.

But the freshwater pearl mussel, already critically endangered, is facing a potentially terminal threat from another foreign invader.

American signal crayfish released into the wild have spread through the nation’s rivers in recent decades and now directly threaten the remaining colonies of the rare molluscs.

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), the government’s countryside protection agency, says crayfish are now just 20 miles away from a prime colony of freshwater pearl mussels in the Tay.

Anglers are being encouraged to protect the mussel beds from being destroyed. The Tay Fisheries Board is urging fishermen and other river users to avoid anything which could help spread the crayfish, such as eggs which have attached to fishing gear. They also stress the need to kill any adult crayfish found and never return them to the water.

The warning follows SNH-supervised experiments which have demonstrated that crayfish will attack colonies when they eventually invade mussel habitat.

Scottish Natural Heritage’s freshwater adviser, Dr Colin Bean, said they now had evidence of a “mortal” threat to the mussel beds.

“Upstream in the River Earn, there are crayfish around Comrie,” he said. “You get mussels as far down as Perth. They haven’t clashed yet on the Tay, but there is a threat given how fast they spread. It’s not far away.”

Scotland is home to half the world’s population of freshwater pearl mussels. They have been harvested close to extinction on the off-chance they might contain a pearl, and are sensitive to pollution.

The precise location of surviving colonies is publicised as little as possible to give the mussel numbers a chance to recover.

But Bean said that after identifying the risk, SNH wanted to look into what would happen when the creatures met.

He said: “We put the two of them in tanks, looking at the behaviour of the crayfish.

Read on:  http://www.scotsman.com/news/environment/deadly_crayfish_close_in_on_rare_pearl_mussels_1_2125804

Rare species introduced to Karachi zoo

Some new inhabitants, some feathered and others furry, were introduced to the Karachi Zoological Garden and these rare species of animals immediately attracted the attention of visitors. 

The administration has inducted a pair of miniature horses to the zoo, which had a market value of Rs800,000. However, this pair was donated to the zoo management. The inducted Miniature Horse Pair were around four-years old and stood at a height of 28 inches. 

Likewise, a pair of white parrots, Moluccan Cockatoos to precise, were also welcomed to the garden. These birds came in from Australia and this species was also donated to the zoo. This particular parrot maintained a market value of around Rs260,000. The zoo has also been blessed with a marshal eagle as a donation. This is a very large bird with a length of 76–96 cm (30–38 in), a weight of 3–6.2 kg (6.6–14 lb) and a wingspan of 188–227 cm (6.17–7.45 ft). The eagle is most commonly found in Africa.

Director of the Zoo, Bashir Saddozai, informed The News on Saturday that the administration has made 12 projects costs (PC-1) which would materialise in the current and coming fiscal year. He said the entire cost of all these PCs is around Rs170 million.

Saddozai said the management planned to renovate and reactivate the lake with system of rotating water. It spans over an area of half a kilometer and the director added that motorboats would operate in the lake. Each of these boats would have the capacity to carry eight children. He said Rs10 would be charged from each child to enjoy this facility. 

According to him, the entire project has a PC-1 of around Rs17 million. The boating facility had been abandoned some 25 years ago, but the management made a rowing boat operational again to provide entertainment for children. He said lights would also be installed inside the zoo on four kilometer-long roads, besides the construction of 30 new toilets. Fifteen of them would be for women and the same number for men. 

Saddozai said 10 to 15 close circuit surveillance cameras would be installed inside the zoo for security purposes. He said the management has also planned to construct a food court where some international fast food chains would be asked to open their outlets to maintain the quality of food.

“A gift shop for visitors has also been planned by the management,” he added. Besides these improvements, the zoo is also buying six new cages for large animals like lions and tigers. The director said the administrator of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) is very keen to uplift the standard of the zoo and all these measures are being taken on his directives. 

The secretary environment of the Government of Sindh has asked the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) to remove its hydrant which is situated at the main entrance of the zoo.


http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=93440&Cat=4&dt=2/19/2012

Rare white Dorcas gazelle and unusual birdlife spotted in Sahara

By John Newby of the  Sahara Conservation Fund  (SCF)

"In almost 40 years of travel throughout the Sahara and Sahel I have never seen a white dorcas gazelle before" summed up SCF's Director, John Newby, when presenting his team's findings on a recent survey of Chad's Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Game Reserve to ministry officials in Chad's capital city N'Djaména.

John and team-mates, Tim Wacher and Renata Molca-nova, were there as part of SCF's ground breaking Pan Sahara Wildlife Survey (PSWS); an outstanding initiative that continues to turn up new extremely valuable information on the fauna and flora of some of Africa's least studied countries. 

The project, funded most generously by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, through the Emirates Center for Wild-life Propagation, is nearing the end of a 2-year pilot phase in which it has to date surveyed 6 sites in Niger and Chad.

Chad survey
During the recent survey carried out in Chad in September, further sightings of the critically endangered Dama gazelle were made. Also present were many Dorcas gazelles, including the pale animal shown above.

Migrant birds
It is at this time of the year the reserve is also home to a large number of migrant birds, mostly from Europe but also inter-tropical mi-grants from within Africa. One very striking example is the magnificent Denham's bustard, one of the largest and most graceful of the entire group. The birds seem to arrive in pairs and only spend 2-3 months in the region before flying back to countries like the Central African Republic, Uganda and beyond. During their stay, the bustards inhabit areas of dense, seasonal grassland, gorging themselves on the abundant grasshoppers and locusts present.

Migrating wader hotspot!
Unlikely as it seems, the desert is also a hotspot for migrating waders and other waterbirds, that enjoy the abundant pondlife of the temporary pools and wetlands. These ephemeral waterholes also provide much-needed stopover and resting points to long-distance migrants, some of which, like the many thousands of swallows, swifts and martins, eventually head on to Southern Africa.

Demoiselle cranes
Whereas white storks are fairly often seen on migration, the sleek, grey Demoiselle crane (right) is a far less often observed bird. This year we were lucky and spotted several large groups of this flighty and increasingly rare species.

More articles about the work of the Sahara Conservation Fund 

Reports on PSWS surveys can be found in the Re-sources section of the SCF website.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/white-gazelle.html

Litter of Rare, Scruffy-Necked Wolf Pups Born in Virginia

A conservation effort to breed rare maned wolves has resulted in four fuzzy bundles of joy in Front Royal, Va.

The litter of pups, born to an 8-year-old mother wolf named Salina and her 4-year-old mate Nopal, is the first at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) in two years. The pups are part of an effort to breed these South American wolves under human care. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists maned wolves as "near threatened," due to human activities encroaching on their habitat in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Peru. There are about 20,000 maned wolves left in the wild, and only 20 percent of the animal's habitat remains.

“Every pup born here helps us understand more about the biology of this incredible species,” Nucharin Songsasen, an SCBI research biologist, said in a statement announcing the wolves' birth. “SCBI has a long history with the maned wolf, both in terms of studying the biology and maintaining the genetic diversity of individuals living under human care, as well as in conserving the animals in the wild.”

Maned wolves are difficult to breed in captivity, likely because of gastrointestinal disorders that plague the species. Nopal and Salina are on a new trial diet that is heavily plant-based, which may better approximate the sort of food maned wolves eat in the wild. SCBI researchers also have learned that maned wolf females must be around a male of their species in order to ovulate.

Salina had her black-haired pups on Jan. 5. They're under close watch by zookeepers, because maned wolf pup mortality is high — 50 percent die in the first month of life. The birth of the pups brings the SCBI's number of wolves up to 12. [See pictures of the pups]

The pups provide hope for the species' future, as Nopal is a top-tier male when it comes to ensuring genetic diversity in the species.

“To keep a high level of gene diversity, it is important that every genetically valuable individual reproduce,” said Melissa Rodden, coordinator of the Maned Wolf Species Survival Plan. “SCBI is leading the research on innovative tools that will help us ensure that that will happen.”

http://www.livescience.com/18219-litter-maned-wolf-pups.html

Endangered monkey helped in China

BEIJING, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- China says its population of white-headed langurs, one of the world's rarest monkeys, has grown in the last decade with conservation efforts.

Government efforts to conserve the critically endangered species in southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region have resulted in the number of the white-headed monkeys living in the region growing from 598 in 2003 to 937 today, China's state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

The majority of the langurs live in a 30-square-mile nature reserve set up by the regional government in 2005 to protect the species, conservationists said.

The preserve was recently upgraded to a state-level reserve meaning more efforts will be devoted to conserving the species, officials said.

White-headed langurs ranks as one of the world's 12 most endangered species due to a sharp population decrease over the past half-century caused by poaching and increased human activity damaging their habitats, wildlife experts said.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2012/02/01/Endangered-monkey-helped-in-China/UPI-69401328132921/#ixzz1lDonfzNC

'Worm-Eating' Underground Leaves Discovered in Carnivorous Plant

Sticky underground leaves help a Brazilian plant to capture and digest worms, a hitherto unknown way for carnivorous plants to catch victims, scientists find.

The rare plant Philcoxia minensis is found in the tropical savannahs of Brazil, areas rich in biodiversity and highly in need of conservation. Although some of the plant's millimeter-wide leaves grow above ground as expected, strangely, most of its tiny,sticky leaves lie beneath the surface of the shallow white sands on which it grows.

"We usually think about leaves only as photosynthetic organs, so at first sight, it looks awkward that a plant would place its leaves underground where there is less sunlight," said researcher Rafael Silva Oliveira, a plant ecologist at the State University of Campinas in Brazil. "Why would evolution favor the persistence of this apparently unfavorable trait?"

Read more at:  http://www.livescience.com/17812-underground-leaves-carnivorous-plants.html

Researchers suspected the mysterious subterranean leaves ofPhilcoxia minensis and its relatives were used to capture animals. They share a number of traits with known carnivorous plants — for instance, Venus flytraps possess leaves covered in glands with protruding stalks that help the plant detect prey. Like P. minensis, Venus flytraps also live in nutrient-poor soils, which is apparently why they seek out prey in the first place.

Rare species of vulture found

A rare species of vulture was found in Bhansia village of the district, forest officials claimed today.


“This is a rare find. After its examination, we will declare the name of the species,” District Forest Officer Chandra Bhuvan said.

The wing-span of the vulture is about nine feet against normal size of eight feet. Its height is about three feet and weighs about 20 kg, Bhuvan said.

Villagers had spotted four vultures of this type but three of them flew away, he said.

It was handed over to forest deputy ranger T C Pant.

“We will send it either to Delhi National Zoo or Lucknow Zoo,” Pant said.

http://www.discoveryon.info/2011/11/rare-species-of-vulture-found.html

Norfolk Broads are wildlife hot spot for rare species

Britain's largest area of wetland is a haven for wildlife that shelters a quarter of Britain's rarest species, a new study of the Norfolk Broads has revealed.

The research, which was commissioned by the Broad's Authority, identified nearly 11,000 species in the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads, which covers an area of 322 square miles and accounts for just 0.4% of the UK.

The biological "stock-take", carried out by the University of East Anglia, showed that the Broads have 66 species unique to the area while they also boast another 31 species that are rarely seen elsewhere in Britain.

Among the species that are restricted to the area are the Broads Dolly Fly, the Slender Amber Snail and the Scarce Marsh neb, a rare type of moth.

The Norfolk Hawker Dragonfly, which is the symbol of the Broads Authority, and the Swallowtail Butterfly are among the better known species to be restricted to the area.

The study, however, also reveals that 67 species have become extinct in the past 23 years.

Read more here ...

Glossy ibis in Derbyshire

Rare ‘Glossy' ibis seen at former coking works
November 2011. A very rare visitor to British shores has been seen at a nature reserve that only five years ago was part of the most contaminated site in Europe.

The glossy ibis, which gets its name from the iridescent sheen on its wings, was recorded by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust volunteers Alan Watts and Ron Turner at The Avenue Washlands Nature Reserve near Chesterfield. The bird has only been recorded around a hundred times in the country since 1954 and only three times in Derbyshire. The reserve, owned by the Land Trust and managed by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, is on part of the former Avenue Coking Works.

Richard Spowage, the Reserves Manager commented: "It is extremely rare for this bird to turn up in Derbyshire as it's usually found in southern Europe. The Washlands reserve has areas of reedbed and marsh which provide good feeding habitat for the glossy ibis."

Growing bird list
The glossy Ibis is the latest rare visitor to the reserve, which now has recorded an amazing 118 species since recording started in 2007. Included in this impressive list are bittern, little egret, dipper and barn owl.

Most contaminated site in Europe
Euan Hall, chief executive of the Land Trust, comments, "Amazingly only six years ago this reserve was part of what was reckoned to be the most contaminated site in Europe. Thanks to a restoration programme funded by the Homes and Communities Agency's National Coalfield Programme it is now a haven for wildlife as well as a place where people can experience the great outdoors and gain a multitude of benefits while doing so. A lot of credit has to go to the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust who have mobilised people to get involved in enhancing the wildlife value of this special space."

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/glossy-ibis-uk.html

Wales is home to 13 new sea sponge species

Skomer is now known as a sponge haven
October 2011: Thirteen of the UK's 30 newly discovered species of sea sponge have been found in Welsh waters.

The focus of the search in Wales was Skomer Island Marine Nature Reserve and the north Pembrokeshire coast, which are known to be sponge havens. A total of 132 species were found here.

Led by researchers from National Museums Northern Ireland, this ambitious three-year survey of the UK's sea sponges was completed in June 2011.

The scientists studied sponges from Wales, Scotland, The Scilly Isles and the Channel Islands by scuba diving and taking in-situ photographs of specimens before collecting samples.

'There is still much to learn and discover about our seas'As well as the new species found, 17 rare species of sponge were recorded in UK waters. Wales seems to be the northern limit for several sponge species including Homaxinella subdola – a conspicuous branching species which is common in Pembrokeshire.

Marine biologist Dr Claire Goodwin who works for the National Museums Northern Ireland's Department of Natural Sciences said: ‘By diving, we were able to sample bedrock habitats and encrusting species which have been overlooked to date. This might be one reason for the large number of new species discovered.'

The Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) manages Skomer Marine Nature Reserve and Phil Newman, Senior Manager said: ‘We regularly survey and monitor marine life within the reserve, but it was great to be part of a UK survey of sea sponges. The information gathered shows that there is still so much to discover and learn about our seas. The data provides us with a good baseline for future studies.'

During the study, 218 dives were made. The scientists collected a total of 2,027 sponge specimens, representing 166 species.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/sponges-wales.html

Rare seahorse found in River Thames

Evidence of a colony of rare seahorses has been discovered in the Thames, the Environment Agency said.

The short-snouted seahorse (Hippocampus hippocampus), which grows up to 15cm (6 inches) is more commonly found in the waters of the Mediterranean and Canary Islands.

It has often been a visitor to coastal waters around Britain but the agency said it had never been found so far upriver.

The sightings during a routine fisheries survey at Greenwich suggest there may be permanent populations in the UK and that the seahorses, which mate for life after elaborate courtship rituals, may be breeding in the Thames.

Emma Barton, Environment Agency fisheries officer, said: "The seahorse we found was only 5cm (2 inches) long, a juvenile, suggesting that they may be breeding nearby.

"This is a really good sign that seahorse populations are not only increasing but spreading to locations where they haven't been seen before. We routinely survey the Thames at this time of year and this is a really exciting discovery."

The last sighting of seahorses in the Thames was much further down the river in Dagenham in 2008. They have not seen since.

The Thames has been reformed from a "biologically dead" river in the 1950s, as a result of sewage and industrial pollution, to a much cleaner waterway today.

Ms Barton added: "We hope that further improvements to water quality and habitat in the Thames will encourage more of these rare species to take up residence in the river."

http://news.uk.msn.com/environment/rare-seahorse-found-in-river-thames

Arabian leopard – The world’s second rarest big cat needs your help

'Unless drastic action is taken across their range, I'm afraid that the Arabian leopard is not going to make it.' - Dr. Urs Breitenmoser, Co-chair of the IUCN Cat Specialist GroupSeptember 2011. The Arabian leopard (Panthera pardus nimr), the second most highly endangered large cat on Earth, is up to 30 times rarer than the Bengal tiger. There are probably fewer than 100 wild Arabian leopards left in widely scattered populations in Oman and Yemen. These beautiful cats are also the smallest and most genetically distinct of all leopard subspecies. Adult females can weigh less than 20 kg and even a "big" male is smaller than the average German shepherd.

Until January 11, 2011 when the Foundation for the Protection of the Arabian Leopard in Yemen (FPALY) proved the existence of a leopard population in eastern Yemen with trail cameras, sceptics doubted that the leopard persisted in Yemen at all. So scarce and secretive are these creatures that so far only four photographs of two individuals have been taken. Following this success in eastern Yemen, FPALY plan on using camera traps to establish the existence of leopard populations in other parts of Yemen. This project will focus on Wada'a, Amran, a tribal area to the north of Yemen's capital Sana'a, where FPALY have good reason to believe that the Arabian leopard still roams. FPALY have trained Ibrahim Al Wada'i, a former leopard trapper from Wada'a, in the use of trail cameras, now all they have to do is provide Ibrahim and an assistant with equipment, salaries, and logistical support.
$15,000 will enable FPALY to purchase 10 high output trail cameras with security cases, batteries and charger, a GPS, netbook, external backup drive, and solar charging panels, and provide Ibrahim and his assistant with all the support that they will need to keep this project going for a full year. In addition to Arabian leopards, FPALY expect Ibrahim's team to capture candid photographs of the rare Arabian Wolf, Arabian Caracal, Striped Hyena, Honey Badger and other endangered Arabian wildlife. All of these images and associated data will be used to lobby the Yemen Government to establish the Wada'a Wildlife Sanctuary as a haven for imperilled wildlife.

Wada'a is not the only area in Yemen where FPALY have good reason to believe that small populations of Arabian leopards hang on. As funding allows, they will equip and hire additional teams to document leopards and other wildlife at Wadi Sharis, Hajjah...Jebel Bura', Hodeidah...Wadi Bana, Lahej and Abyan...Jebel Kharaz, Taiz...Wadi Hajr, Shabwa...Wadi Masilah, Hadhramawt..., etc. In the absence of this and similar projects and the resulting conservation action that they will inspire, Dr. Breitenmoser's sad prediction is likely to come true. With your help FPALY can ensure that it doesn't.
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/leopards-yemen.html

Bechstein's bats found in Trench Wood in Worcestershire (via Chad Arment)

A rare bat has been found in a Worcestershire woodland by volunteers working for the Bat Conservation Trust.
Two Bechstein's bats have been discovered in Trench Wood, between Worcester and Droitwich Spa.

James Hitchcock, from Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, said: "A breeding colony has never been known this far north before."

He said Bechstein's bats are one of the country's rarest mammals and are a priority species for conservation.

The bats found in Trench Wood were a male and a young female born earlier this summer.

The Trust says this indicates that there is most likely a breeding roost in the wood.

Conifers have been cleared from the wood by the trust to allow broad-leafed trees to grow and provides a more favourable habitat for bats and other native wildlife.

Volunteers from the Worcestershire Bat Group received special training as normal survey methods have not been successful in locating Bechstein's bats.

The Bat Conservation Trust estimates that there are only 1500 Bechstein's bats in the UK

It feeds on spiders and insects picked from branches and leaves

It is most common in southern England and parts of South Wales

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-14530602

Sei whale spotted off Scotland

Mystery sighting intrigues international Scientists

July 2011. Aerial photos taken by a Scottish paramedic of a large whale between Islay and Gigha off the west coast of Scotland have intrigued international scientists on both sides of the Atlantic. On balance they believe the sighting is most likely to be of a very rare Sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis).

Aerial photo
The story began when Danny Kerr and a team from the Scottish Ambulance Service based at Clyde Heliport were flying to Islay to pick up a patient. The pilot spotted a whale and Danny, an HEMS Paramedic, was able to pick up a camera and take a photograph of the surfacing animal as they went past. They were flying at about 500ft.

Unable to identify the animal himself, Danny contacted Sea Watch whose Research Director Dr Peter Evans was also puzzled by his description and the only picture of it from above the surface. He sought independent views from two other experts in species identification, both from the US - Dr Phil Clapham, co-author of Sea Mammals of the World, published in 2002, and Dr Tom Jefferson, co-author of another identification guide Marine Mammals of the World, published in 2008.

Danny said: "There is always excitement on board when the team spots a school of dolphins or other marine animals. This time I was lucky, there were no patients on board and I had a camera to hand and was able to get some shots. When I got home I looked at the pictures and my first impression was a humpback because I thought the pectoral fins were white but due to its body shape and broad tail, I then thought it looked more like a fin whale which is when I contacted Sea Watch."

Sei, Fin or Minke?

Dr Evans said: "This was a very important sighting and the picture has proved vital. We ruled out humpback whale because of the slim body shape and smooth back but I didn't understand how its pectoral fins could be white until Tom mentioned that from above these can appear very light. We then considered whether it could have been a fin whale (its large size - 20 metres or more ruled out Minke whale), which would itself have been unusual for the waters, but the picture showed that the dorsal fin curved backwards and was relatively large, two features that fit Sei whales but not fin whales. The three of us independently concluded it was most likely to be a Sei whale."

Not only are Sei whales extremely rare, and protected internationally, but they are one of the species that scientists know least about. They are usually spotted singly or in pairs and feed on schooling fishes, small crustaceans, other invertebrates, including squid.

8 sightings in 50 years
There have been only eight confirmed sightings in Scotland in the last 50 years, some of which may have been of the same individual: in July 1980 there was a report off Handa Island; in Aug 1993 off Out Skerries in Shetland; in Sept 2006 off Greenstone Point at the entrance to Loch Ewe; in June 2007 at St Kilda; in June and October 2008 near Gairloch; in July 2008 east of Stronsay and in July 2010 off Auskerry, Orkney. All but the July 2010 Auskerry sighting have involved single animals, the latter being a sighting of two.

13,500 Sei whales alive
It is thought there may be only around 13,500 Sei whales in all of the North Atlantic. Those in the eastern North Atlantic winter off North-west Africa, Spain and Portugal and in the Bay of Biscay, and then migrate northwards primarily to summering grounds north of Shetland, and around the Faroes, northern Norway, Bear Island and Svalbard. Their numbers were severely depleted by whaling and fishing.

National Whale and Dolphin Watch - August 5th to 7th
Sea Watch is appealing for members of the public to send in their sightings of all whales, dolphins and porpoises, particularly during National Whale and Dolphin Watch that takes place from August 5- 7. Details of how to take part in the national watch, which will occur across the Scottish, English Welsh and Northern Ireland coastlines and coastal waters, are on their web site www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk Sightings and photos can also be sent to sightings@seawatchfoundation.org.uk

Sea Watch is a marine conservation research and education charity that works to help develop effective conservation policies with the UK Government and other national and international bodies. Understanding the distribution, strength and diversity of cetacean populations is vital to their work.
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/sei-whale.html

Large population of rare Bechstein’s bats found on proposed HS2 train route

Rare bats in the path of HS2 are nationally significant

July 2011. A significant population of rare Bechstein's bats has been discovered in Buckinghamshire - in ancient woodland either side of the proposed HS2 route and adjacent to the proposed site of a waste incinerator. Until 2010, only a single Bechstein's bat had been found in Bucks - in the far south of the county, at Cliveden.

65 Bechstein's bats in 1 tree
In one woodland alone, (Grendon & Doddershall Woods) an amazing count of 65 Bechstein's bats were observed emerging at dusk from their roost inside a tree. Several tree roosts have been found and Bechstein's bats are now known to occur in 10 woods within the Bernwood Forest area of Buckinghamshire.

Bechstein's bats are one of the rarest mammals in the UK and they, their roosts and their breeding sites are strictly protected under UK and European law.

The discoveries have been made by volunteers undertaking the Bernwood Forest Bechstein's Project. The Project was set up in 2011 to expand on work undertaken by the North Bucks Bat Group and the Bat Conservation Trust in 2010. Bechstein's bats were discovered in three North Bucks woodlands in 2010, with a further incidental discovery in 2011 at Finemere Wood, a Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust nature reserve.

Chris Damant, who has been co-ordinating the Bernwood study says "The discoveries in 2010 were very exciting, but we realised we knew very little about how the bats were using the woodlands and which other woods they might also be in. Three of us who had been involved in the 2010 surveys, decided to find out more and we designed and sought funding for an independent research project. Local landowners have been very supportive and allowed us access for the study."

Significant breeding population
Toby Thorne, another bat expert on the Project continues "We never expected to find Bechstein's bats in North Bucks last year; let alone the significant breeding population we've identified this year. It just goes to show you don't need to go abroad to discover rare wildlife - we've done it at home!"

Radio tracking bats
The team has also undertaken radio-tracking studies of individual bats. Tiny radio transmitters were attached to 4 female Bechstein's bats, which were then followed for up to 11 days and nights. Two bats stayed close to their tree roost in one woodland, whilst the other two were found to move up to 3km between woodlands in the area, including crossing the proposed route of HS2.

Jo Hodgkins, ecologist on the Project team says "The bats appear to be using a network of woodlands in the area and some are moving between woods. It's really important that we understand how they are using the landscape, before major infrastructure projects change it. If we don't, how can the impact of such developments be assessed? The radio-tracking work is in its early days and we plan to follow more bats in the coming months. We've still got more woods to survey as well - we're only a quarter of the way through our initial research - who knows what else we'll discover!"

10 species of bats
And it's not just Bechstein's bats being found; the Project team have so far recorded a total of 10 species of bat in these woodlands, with some species such as the protected Brown Long-eared bat being recorded in large numbers. The Bernwood Forest area appears to be an important ‘hotspot' for bats!


http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/bechsteins-bats011.html#cr

They didn't croak after all! World's rarest toads found in area less than half the size of a football pitch

The world's rarest toad has been found by scientists living in an area of just 300 square metres in the wild.


Living in a section of a forest reserve less than half the size of a football pitch in Tanzania, East Africa, the discovery that the population of Wendy's forest toad is still in existence has delighted zoologists who thought the species was dying out.

The toads are thought to be hyper-endemic - found in one very small area and nowhere else in the world.

Scientists from a project run by the the Whiteley Wildlife Conservation Trust - based at Paignton Zoo, Devon - and the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group have been carrying out a rapid ecological assessment of key sites along the Uzungwa Scarp forest reserve - a biodiversity hotspot threatened by deforestation and climate change.


Hamidu Seki, the project's team leader, found several critically endangered Wendy's forest toads while walking throughout the area. The species is thought to live in a range no bigger than 300 square metres in the Uzungwa mountains.


Mike Bungard, Paignton Zoo's curator of lower vertebrates and invertebrates, said: 'This project is already paying off. These species are thought to be hyper-endemic, which means they are found in one very small area and nowhere else in the world.


'Sadly, there is no sign of the Poynton's forest toad in the area where it was seen ten years ago, though we are still searching.

'Small populations in small areas are so vulnerable to disease or disaster.'

Mike and Andy Bowkett, overseas conservation officer for the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust, spent a month working in Tanzania before Christmas.

Andy, who returns to Tanzania in June, said: 'There are species recorded in one spot in the world. 'That may be because no-one has bothered to look again, or they have become extinct.


'It is very strange for multiple species - our three target species - to be observed many times over the years in the same spot but never anywhere else.

'Having said that, we still need to find out for sure whether they are hyper-endemic, or whether they are found elsewhere.'

The target species are Nectophrynoides wendyae - Wendy's forest toad - and Nectophrynoides poyntoni - Poynton's forest toad (both listed as Critically Endangered) and Hyperolius kihangensis, the Kihanga reed frog, which is classed as Endangered.

Mike Bungard added: 'This project is already providing new information on which we can base our long-term conservation efforts.'



By Daily Mail Reporter

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1390244/Worlds-rarest-toad-area-half-size-football-pitch-Tanzania.html#ixzz1NYENyQFL

Rare Moth Thrives in "Last Refuge" on the Island

Thursday, January 27th 2011 07:00

The Isle of Wight is the last refuge for a rare moth.

A report by Natural England, called Protecting England's Natural Treasures, shows the reddish buff species is now confined to a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) at Cranmore, one of the three most important sites for rare wildlife in the country.

The insect was previously found in Hampshire and Dorset, but attempts to reintroduce the moth to the mainland have failed.

The report highlights the hard work of landowners, farmers and volunteers who have transformed the fortunes of England's SSSIs, halting or reversing the long process of decline experienced by many SSSIs over recent decades.

Without these wildlife havens, the report says, a number of fragile species clinging to survival would disappear from the UK and some would become globally extinct.

Richard Grogan, from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, told IW Radio: "Cranmore has a number of small areas of land that have not been improved by chemicals or application of fertilizer or ploughing, and so they are very old grasslands. And it is in those grasslands that a plant called saw-wort lives and it's the food plant for this very rare moth.

"We have to keep the grassland open and sunny so we have spent a long time removing small, scrubby thorn trees from the site where the food plant grows. The residents are very keen to help and we call it [the moth] the Giant Panda of the Isle of Wight."

Work to enhance the moth's habitat at Cranmore has been funded by the West Wight Landscape Partnership, of which Natural England is a partner, and Higher Level Stewardship agreements.

http://www.iwradio.co.uk/newscentre/iw-radio-news/rare-moth-thrives-in-last-refuge-on-the-island-1923

Rare Moth Thrives in "Last Refuge" on the Island

Thursday, January 27th 2011 07:00

The Isle of Wight is the last refuge for a rare moth.

A report by Natural England, called Protecting England's Natural Treasures, shows the reddish buff species is now confined to a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) at Cranmore, one of the three most important sites for rare wildlife in the country.

The insect was previously found in Hampshire and Dorset, but attempts to reintroduce the moth to the mainland have failed.

The report highlights the hard work of landowners, farmers and volunteers who have transformed the fortunes of England's SSSIs, halting or reversing the long process of decline experienced by many SSSIs over recent decades.

Without these wildlife havens, the report says, a number of fragile species clinging to survival would disappear from the UK and some would become globally extinct.

Richard Grogan, from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, told IW Radio: "Cranmore has a number of small areas of land that have not been improved by chemicals or application of fertilizer or ploughing, and so they are very old grasslands. And it is in those grasslands that a plant called saw-wort lives and it's the food plant for this very rare moth.

"We have to keep the grassland open and sunny so we have spent a long time removing small, scrubby thorn trees from the site where the food plant grows. The residents are very keen to help and we call it [the moth] the Giant Panda of the Isle of Wight."

Work to enhance the moth's habitat at Cranmore has been funded by the West Wight Landscape Partnership, of which Natural England is a partner, and Higher Level Stewardship agreements.

http://www.iwradio.co.uk/newscentre/iw-radio-news/rare-moth-thrives-in-last-refuge-on-the-island-1923

Rare bay cat spotted in Pulong Tau national park

KUCHING: One of the rarest cats in the world, the Bornean bay cat (Catopuma badia) has been recorded in Pulong Tau National Park (PTNP)’s extended areas of Batu Lawi and Long Repung in the state’s northern region.


A statement by PTNP’s project manager Dr Paul Chai Pang Kiong said three images of the cat had been captured via camera traps by the Forest Department Sarawak and Sarawak Forestry Corporation.

The camera traps were sponsored by Sarawak Timber Association (STA), while PTNP’s Phase II project is supported by International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO).

“The presence of the bay cat further heightens the importance of PTNP as a reservoir of the highlands’ rich biodiversity, of which many species are endemic, rare and/or threatened,” said Dr Chai in the statement. He said the bay cat is an endemic species categorised as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List.

The bay cat is also listed in Appendix II of Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and is totally protected in Sarawak.

“A mature bay cat is normally the size of a large domesticated cat albeit with an extra long tail. It has two colour morphs, with the reds much more common than the greys.

“The last photograph of the wild bay cat in Sarawak was also captured by camera traps in Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary in a joint study initiated by Unimas in 2003. Other than that, most other information consists of historical records, morphological descriptions and anecdotes from various sources,” he said. PTNP is located in Sarawak’s northern highlands in Miri and Limbang Divisions, northeast of Sarawak.

The park was gazetted in 2005 to protect an area of about 60,000 ha of pristine rainforests. It includes Mount Murud, Sarawak’s highest peak at 2,424m and the Tama Abu Range.

“It is the site for the transboundary biodiversity conservation project with the Kayan Mentarang National Park in East Kalimantan. The project is supported by the ITTO with Forest Department Sarawak as the Implementing Agency,” he said.

http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=84401