Three new chameleon species discovered from Democratic Republic of the Congo - via Herp Digest

PTI, 6/20/17, Washington, D.C. Scientists have identified three new species of chameleons, after studying a trio of reptiles earlier thought to belong to the same species.

The specimens were collected in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 2009 and 2014.

Researchers from University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) were able to describe the three new chameleon species after carefully analysing geographical, morphological, and DNA data.

The reptile trio, historically thought to be a single species, was found in different parts of the Albertine Rift in Central Africa.

“We had this really nice dataset with samples collected all throughout the range of a particular species which meant we could really figure out its true diversity,” said Daniel Hughes from UTEP.

“We took to the next step and ultimately described three new species,” Hughes said.

Two of the chameleons were named Rugege Highlands Forest Chameleon (Kinyongia rugegensis) and Itombwe Forest Chameleon (Kinyongia itombwensis) – after the mountain ranges in which they were found.

The third chameleon, Tolley’s Forest Chameleon (Kinyongia tolleyae), was named after herpetologist Krystal Tolley, principal scientist at the South African National Biodiversity Institute, who has contributed significantly to chameleon research.

There are 206 described species of chameleons on the planet and Hughes hopes to continue finding many more.

The research was published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.

Grauer’s gorilla: world's largest great ape being wiped out by war

Report reveals dramatic decline in numbers of Grauer’s gorilla in in war-torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Kylie Noble

Tuesday 5 April 201616.05 BSTLast modified on Tuesday 5 April 201622.00 BST

Numbers of the world’s largest great ape have dropped dramatically from a population of 17,000 in 1995 to 3,800 today, according to new research. 

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Fauna and Flora International believe their findings in a report published this week justify raising the status of the Grauer’s gorilla (G. b. graueri) to “critically endangered” on the IUCN’s red list of threatened species.

The subspecies of gorilla - also known as the Eastern lowland gorilla - is only found in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Weighing up to 180kg, they are closely related to mountain gorillas.

War in the region has affected wildlife through increased deforestation, and the area has seen an increase in the illegal bushmeat trade and illegal mining. Conservationists also blame the expansion in mining for coltan - a key mineral used in the manufacturing of mobile phones - for contributing to the gorilla’s decline.

There is a human cost too - WCS reports that on 31 March, a guard was killed by armed rebels in an ambush in Kahuzi-Biega national park, the only site where the study found the gorillas were increasing in number.

Radar Nishuli, the park’s chief warden and co-author of the report, said: “What we have found in the field is extremely worrying. We are urging a strong and targeted response that addresses the following: Train, support and equip eco-guards to tackle poaching more effectively; build intelligence networks, and support the close daily monitoring of gorilla families to ensure their protection; engage customary chiefs who hold traditional power in the region to educate their communities to stop hunting these apes.”

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Rembrandt's monkey: good news for Africa's newest primate

Camera traps in the Democratic Republic of Congo reveal that Africa’s lesula monkey is ‘one of the few good news stories in primatology’

Jeremy Hance

Friday 13 March 2015 10.15 GMTLast modified on Sunday 15 March 201513.11 GMT

It all started with Georgette’s pet monkey. Deep in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) rainforest, in the remote village of Opala, a team of researchers noticed a little girl with a strange-looking monkey on a leash in 2007. The girl, Georgette, told the scientists it was called ‘lesula,’ but no one had heard of it nor did the animal look like anything found in the DRC. They snapped a photo.

Five years – and tonnes of research – later, the world officially met Africa’s newest monkey via a paper published in the journal PLOS ONE. The news made headlines around the world, aided by a portrait so soulful the Guardian’s art critic compared it to a Rembrandt painting. The media soon moved on – as it is apt to do – but that was really only the beginning of the story.

Half-way across the world in Florida, prospective student Steven McPhee, then a bartender with a penchant for solo globe-trotting, met with anthropology professor, Kate Detwiler at Florida Atlantic University.

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Sir David Attenborough facing new battle to save the gorillas

It is more than 35 years since Sir David Attenborough was memorably prodded, poked and groomed by rare African mountain gorillas in front of television cameras. Now the 88-year-old naturalist is again fighting to save the endangered primates.

Yesterday, he launched a scathing attack on a British firm with a history of oil exploration in the gorillas' fragile habitat. Sir David, whose now famous scene from the Life on Earth series featured a family of mountain gorillas, called for Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the last bastions of the mountain gorilla, to be protected from oil exploration by SOCO International. The firm, which is registered on the London Stock Exchange, had been conducting studies on whether it is feasible to drill for oil at Lake Edward, on the border of the park and neighbouring Rwanda.

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Endangered Gorillas Protected from Oil Drilling in African Park

By Elizabeth Howell, Live Science Contributor | June 19, 2014 07:46am ET

A major oil and gas company has pledged to stop plumbing for oil in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, after the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and United States authorities pressured the firm to halt operations in the region.

Soco International Inc., an oil and gas production company headquartered in London, has agreed to cease development work in the area within 30 days, according to company representatives.

The African park — the oldest national park on the continent — is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and is home to a diverse array of animals, including hippopotamuses, "critically endangered" mountain gorillas and several species of birds that flock to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to escape the harsh winter season in Siberia, according to the WWF. The 3,000-square-mile (7,800 kilometers) park was originally created in 1925 as a sanctuary to protect the region's gorillas. 

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Modern military-style attacks in DRC result in 68 elephant deaths

African Parks has intensified its anti-poaching efforts in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to counter the poaching onslaught that has beset Garamba National Park in the past two months.

A total of 68 elephants have been poached since mid-April, representing about 4 per cent of the total population.

In mid-May, African Parks reported that 33 elephants had been killed in the five weeks prior, indicating a concerted attack on the park’s elephant population.

Despite intensified anti-poaching efforts since then, the total has risen to 68 elephants in the past two months, at least nine of which were shot from a helicopter.

On one occasion hand grenades were used against the Park’s rangers by Sudanese poachers. For the first time the brains of elephants have also been removed, together with tusks and genitals.

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Virunga Park oil hunt in DR Congo halted

11 June 2014 Last updated at 13:32

The hunt for oil is to be halted in Africa's oldest national park in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a UK-based oil firm has said.

Virunga National Park is a Unesco World Heritage site and home to more than 200 endangered mountain gorillas.

Soco International made the concession after the WWF filed a complaint that the company was violating good business practice guidelines.

The world conservation group has now agreed to drop its case against Soco.

In a joint statement, Soco and the WWF said they looked forward "to working responsibly with the Democratic Republic of Congo and its people to ensure that future development benefits both people and the environment".

Continued and video

Notorious okapi poacher killed in Congo

The notorious poacher and rebel leader known as Morgan, has been killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo by Congolese army soldiers. The majority of his followers, according to news agency Reuters, are under guard in a nearby village.

Morgan has been a problem for the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, its staff, and local people for years. In June 2012, an attack by Morgan and his armies on the Reserve, the headquarters of the country’s wildlife authority, and the nearby village of Epulu killed six people and fourteen okapi (also known as forest giraffes). The vicious slaughter was intended to serve as a retaliation against crackdowns on elephant poaching and illegal gold mining.

The Okapi Conservation Project hopes that this news will mean a brighter future for the okapi, as well as the people who call the Reserve home.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/okapi-poacher-killed.html

Death threats for WWF employee in DRC

Death threats have been received by WWF employees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The threats arelinked to the organisation’s opposition to oil exploration in Virunga National Park.

Unidentified callers have threatened the personal safety of two employees working in the city of Goma, angered by a staff member’s public statements about the negative impacts of oil. one caller said: “We want his head.” 

Reports of intimidation have increased in the weeks sinceVirunga Chief Warden Emmanuel de Merode was shot while driving alone in a park vehicle. The callers threatened that allthough they had missed killing de Merode, they would not miss WWF’s employee. 

The WWF insists that authorities in DRC do everything in their power to bring the perpetrators of these threats and de Merode’s attack to justice. 

Tensions are high in Virunga National Park as UK oil company Soco International PLC conducts seismic tests in Lake Edward. WWF condemns the testing and all exploratory activities in the protected World Heritage Site. 

The park is found along the equator on the western edge of Democratic Republic of the Congo and is Africa’s oldest national park, a World Heritage Site and a Ramsar wetland of international importance.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/wwf-death-threat.html

Mountain gorilla population grows

Some good news at last, but the threats are ever present and the huge conservation effort must continue

November 2012. The total world population of mountain gorillas has risen to 880, according to census data released by the Uganda Wildlife Authority. The number of mountain gorillas has increased from the 2010 estimate of 786 after a count in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The critically endangered animals live only in two locations, Bwindi and the Virunga Massif area, which spans parts of Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Rwanda.

Growing population for 10 years

A total of 400 mountain gorillas have been confirmed to be living in Bwindi and 480 were counted in the Virunga Massif in 2010. Both populations have had positive trends in population growth over the last decade.

"Mountain gorillas are the only great ape experiencing a population increase. This is largely due to intensive conservation efforts and successful community engagement," said David Greer, WWF's African Great Ape Programme Manager.

Major tourist attraction
Many mountain gorilla groups have been habituated to human presence and are a major tourist draw. In addition to supporting the important surveillance activities of park staff, visitor revenue has been reinvested into community projects such as wells and schools.

Threats - Snares, disease and habitat loss
The greatest current threats to mountain gorillas are entanglement in hunting snares, disease transfer from humans, and habitat loss. The prospect of oil exploration in Democratic Republic of the Congo's Virunga National Park by petroleum companies is also cause for concern.

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/gorilla-population012.html

Virunga deforestation revealed by NASA photos

Satellite photos reveal forest destruction in DRC

October 2012. Flying hundreds of kilometres above the Earth, satellites rarely see the human suffering from war and poverty. But decades of unrest have left a very visible impact on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The DRC contains half of Africa's tropical forest and the second largest continuous tropical forest in the world. Because of unrest and economic instability, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has mostly escaped the industrial-scale deforestation that has taken place in other tropical countries such as Brazil and Indonesia. The exception is near the country's eastern border, around Virunga National Park.

Mountain gorillas under threat
Home to critically endangered mountain gorillas, the forests have been disappearing quickly as population growth and violence have driven people into the resource-rich forest in and around the park. Subsistence slash-and-burn agriculture and charcoal production have eaten away at the trees, transforming deep green forests into pale savannah grasslands.

1999 - 2008 deforestation images
The Landsat 5 satellite obtained the top image on February 13, 1999, and the lower image on September 1, 2008. (More recent images of the region were cloudy.) The city of Beni is tan and grey, while the forested Virunga National Park is dark green. The blue Semlike River meanders northeast through the park. The rate of forest loss shown in these two images is the highest among all national parks in the country.

Read on:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/virunga-forest.html