OLL LOOKS AT AN ENDANGERED GIBBON

http://cfzindia2010.blogspot.com/2010/11/oll-lewis-disappearing-western-hoolock.html


Whilst we await news from India, here is another article from Oll about the wildlife of the area.

VU QUANG OX NEWS

The first vu quang ox or saola seen in 11 years has been caught in Laos. The animal was captured by villagers in the central province of Bolikhamxay who brought it back to their village. The Bolikhamxay Provincial Agriculture and Forestry Office immediately sent a technical team, advised by the IUCN Saola Working Group. Unfortunatly the animal died after several days in captivity.

"The death of this Saola is unfortunate," says the Provincial Conservation Unit of Bolikhamxay Province. "But at least it confirms an area where it still occurs and the government will immediately move to strengthen conservation efforts there."

The animal was reportedly found in the village's sacred forest in remote Xaychamphon District, but it is not clear why the villagers took it into captivity. After its death the technical team took the carcass to Pakxan, the provincial capital, where biologists from WCS and the Lao government preserved all parts for analysis, future study and reference. This is the first Saola specimen to be so completely preserved. But with probably only a few hundred vu-quang ox left the animal's death is a tragedy.

PAUL BITAKARA'MIRE: The Manx Loaghtan

Looking like some distant relative of the Golden Fleece out of Jason and the Argonauts, this curious four-horned ruminant known as the Manx Loaghtan has wound its way from its ancient origins in Scotland, the Hebrides and Shetland Islands only to find itself with an ‘at risk’ designation and sheltered under the Protected Designation of Origin scheme owing to its appetising flesh, which has attained the gourmet status of a delicacy. With its population having dwindled to less than 1500 registered breeding females it can’t be that long before the only place you may be able to catch sight of one of these Isle of Man natives will be at your local zoo.

A cursory search of the web, though, turns up a few sites dedicated to the propagation and protection of the species, which should provide some hope that its potential fate may yet be some way off.

RICHARD FREEMAN: NEW DAM MAY PUT AN END TO THE MEKONG'S GIANT FISH

The Three Gorges Dam in China is thought to have already forced the world's largest freshwater fish, the Chinese paddle fish, into functional extinction. Now a new scheme in Indo-China may spell the end for other species of giant fish.

The report River of Giants: Giant Fish of the Mekong, profiles four giant fish living in the Mekong that rank within the top 10 largest freshwater fish on the planet. These include the giant stingray (the size of a double bed) the Mekong giant catfish, (as large as a small car),the dog-eating catfish (named because it has been caught using dog meat as bait) and the giant barb, (the national fish of Cambodia, and largest barb in the world).

The hydropower dam planned on the Mekong River in Sayabouly Province, northern Laos, is a threat to the survival of the wild population of Mekong giant catfish. The Sayabouly dam is the first lower Mekong River mainstream dam to enter a critical stage of assessment before member countries of the Mekong River Commission advise on whether to approve its construction.

"A fish the size of a Mekong giant catfish simply will not be able to swim across a large barrier like a dam to reach its spawning grounds upstream," said Roger Mollot, Freshwater Biologist for WWF Laos. "This would lead to the collapse of the wild population of this iconic species."

"More giant fish live in the Mekong than any other river on Earth," said Ms Dang Thuy Trang, Mekong River Ecoregion Coordinator for the WWF Greater Mekong Programme. "Currently, the Lower Mekong remains free-flowing, which presents a rare opportunity for the conservation of these species. But the clock is ticking."

Building the Sayabouly dam would reduce sediment flowing downstream to the Mekong River delta, increasing the vulnerability of this area to the impacts of climate change like sea level rise.

LINDSAY SELBY: Breeding giant fish in Thailand

Many fish from other tropical countries thrive in Thai lakes, and in recent years the country has become a breeding centre for exotic species. Lake Monster's owner, Ittiporn Parnitpechedpong, says he began stocking it two years ago so his friends could fish for fun. But what started as a hobby has grown into an increasingly lucrative business.

"People want to come and fish for these big fish, especially because many of these exotic species are new for Asia," Parnitpechedpong said. Lake Monster is now a haven for the Mekong giant catfish, a southeast Asian beast that has seen its wild population drop by about 95 per cent over the past century. At 9 feet (2.7 metres) long and 646 pounds (293 kilograms), a Mekong giant catfish currently holds the record for the largest freshwater fish ever caught (see photos).

Lake Monster also hosts alligator gar, which can grow as long as 10 feet (3 metres) and weigh 300 pounds (135 kilograms). These North American giants are not listed as endangered, but habitat loss and overfishing have taken a toll on the species' preferred spawning habitats, contributing to significant population declines. Conservationists are also concerned about another giant inhabitant of Lake Monster, the arapaima, which is becoming increasingly rare in its native Amazonian habitat.

Arapaima can grow more than 10 feet (3 metres) long and 400 pounds (180 kilograms). As an air breather, the species is vulnerable to hunters with harpoons when it surfaces for air every 10 to 20 minutes.

Source with pics and more info:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/07/080715-monster-fish_2.html

Good News for World's rarest deer

The BBC have brought us good news for what is probably the rarest deer species in the world. The Visayan spotted dear is one of the rarest and most narrowly distributed mammals in the world, with only a few hundred wild animals thought to remain. Indeed, a survey in 1991 found that the species had already become extinct in over 95 percent of its former range, largely as a result of intensive hunting and extensive deforestation, with land having been cleared for agriculture and logging operations at a frightening pace. Hunting also poses a significant threat to this Endangered deer.

The Visayan spotted deer is afforded some degree of protection through its occurrence in Mt. Camlaon National Park, North Negros Forest Reserve, Mount Talinis/Lake Balinsasayao Reserve and the proposed West Panay Mountains National Park. Although Visayan spotted deer are legally protected, their distribution in remote, dense, inland forest makes the practicalities of guard patrolling very difficult, and hunting therefore continues. In 1990, the Philippine Spotted Deer Conservation Program was set up to initiate a captive breeding programme and a number of other conservation measures, including a public education campaign and an annual series of conservation workshops. Visayan spotted deer are currently held in captivity in Mari-it Conservation Centre in Panay, two breeding centres in Negros, and a dozen zoos in Europe.

However it has hardly ever been seen in the wild, and so the discovery by an expedition team led by Craig Turner and James Sawyer of tracks and scat, proving a small population survives in the wild, despite the ongoing threat to its survival from hunting and deforestation, is significant.

Well done guys, and thanks to Fleur for bringing this to my attention..

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8061000/8061899.stm

THE RIDDLE OF THE LAKE GUINAS TILAPIA

This is one of the most obscure - and rarest - fish in the world. It is found only in two small lakes in Namibia, and no-one knows exactly how they got there because there are are no other bodies of water for miles.

But arrive they did, and the little fish have adapted well to the rigours of the harsh desert environment.

However, changing environmental conditions and farming practises mean that both lakes are now rapidly losing water, with dire implications for the tilapia which are now considered to be `critically endangered`. These are from a captive colony at Farnham Birdworld in Surrey...

RICHARD FREEMAN: Between a rock and a hard place; the story of the Senaku Mole

The Senkaku Islands lie northeast of Taiwan, due west of Okinawa, and due north of the end of the Ryukyu Islands in the East China Sea. They are little known in the west and are uninhabited.

They were first mentioned in the Ming Dynasty book Voyage with the Tail Wind and appear on a map from the same period. The group consists of four main islands and three large, rocky outcrops. Their collective land area amounts to only 2.7 square miles.

In 1979 a single specimen of a mole was discovered on the largest of the island group, Uotsuri-jima. It was found to be a new species and named Mogera uchidai, the Senkaku mole. This type specimen is the only known example of the animal. A survey conducted in 1991 found no moles but did find a tunnel.

In 1978 a pair of goats, one of the most ecologically damaging species, was introduced to the island. These have bred and now the goats are a menace to the islands ecology including the moles who have one of the most restricted ranges of any animal in the world.

Most of Uotsuri-jima is covered with subtropical forest dominated by Livistona chinensis, and there are cloud forests at higher elevations it has only recently been described and very little is known about its ecology.

The island range is currently caught up in a dispute with China and Taiwan on one side and Japan on the other.

Unsurprisingly the dispute is down to the fact that two Japanese scientists said that there may be large reservoirs of oil off the islands, currently controlled by Japan.

In the 15th century the former Ming Dynasty general Zheng Chenggong drove Dutch from the whole area and set up the Kingdom of Chenggong, based on Taiwan but including the Senkaku Islands. The Kingdom remained faithful the defeated Ming Dynasty and existed from 1661 to 1683 when Zheng Chenggong’s grandson, Zheng Keshuang was defeated by Qing Dynasty who now ruled mainland China.

After the Chinese lost the first Sino-Japanese war in 1895 they were forced to hand over Taiwan

and related territories in the Treaty of Shimonoseki.

During WW2 the US controlled the area. After the war 1945, all "unequal treaties" forced on China were declared void, including the Treaty of Shimonoseki In 1972, however the US handed the Senkaku Islands back to Japan.

No one cared much until the possible discovery of oil off the islands.

The goat population on Uotsuri-jima needs to be wiped out as it may constitute a threat to the Senkaku mole who must be considered endangered by sheer dint of it’s restricted range (no to mention the fact that only one has ever been see). Also another dedicated expedition in search of the mole, to find out if it still exists and what kind of population it has, needs to be carried out. This may prove difficult, but far from imposable under the current political situation.

If China wins the dispute it will doubtless drill for oil and set up a base on the island. This will mean curtains for any surviving Senkaku moles.

The little animals are caught between a rock and a hard place. Currently with China held at bay oil drilling is unlikely. But so long as the goats remain on the island, he moles are under threat.

GOOD NEWS FOR AMERICA AND THE WORLD

I do not want to be perceived as getting involved in party politics either in the UK or abroad, but America's new president should be congratulated for one particular action of his. According to an article published yesterday in the Washington Post:

"Today President Obama will restore rules requiring U.S. agencies consult with independent federal experts to determine if their actions might harm threatened and endangered species, according to an administration official who asked not to be identified, marking yet another reversal of President Bush's environmental legacy".

For reasons known only to himself, President Bush changed a longstanding practice under the Endangered Species Act in the last days of his administration. He issued rules that allowed agencies to move ahead with projects and programs without seeking an independent review by either the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. God only knows why he did it, because this act of senseless stupidity, combined with Sarah Palin's sheer dumbness quite possibly cost the Republican Party the election.

Well done to Obama for showing the common sense, political acumen, and environmental compassion to restore common sense.