Lake Oku clawed frog saved from brink of extinction

The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) has successfully bred the rare Lake Oku clawed frog

By Sarah Knapton, Science Editor

12:01AM BST 13 Apr 2015

One of the world’s most critically endangered frogs, which lives in just one African lake, has been bred for the first time in captivity.

The Lake Oku clawed frog is 35th on the list of the world’s most at risk animals and was in danger of becoming extinct within the next decade because of invasive fish and disease.

However the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) said it had successfully bred the frogs for the first time, which should ensure the future survival of the species.

Ben Tapley, head of the reptile and amphibian team at London Zoo said: “These critically endangered amphibians represent a unique branch of the evolutionary tree of life.

“Due to their restriction in the wild to just a single and relatively small site, they’re incredibly vulnerable to threats of invasive species or disease, which would be catastrophic if introduced to Lake Oku.”

Native only to the single high altitude freshwater lake in Western Cameroon, the small, totally aquatic frogs are some of the most genetically unusual creatures in the world, having developed extra chromosomes during their evolution.

Continued ...

China releases 'survival trained' second panda into the wild

China has released a second giant panda bred in captivity into the wild after giving it special survival training, state-run media say.

The release of male panda Taotao, from a nature reserve in Sichuan province, follows that of Xiang Xiang in 2006, says Xinhua news agency.

Scientists are hoping that the two-year-old has enough skills to survive and help increase the panda population.

Xiang Xiang died in 2007 after he got into a fight with wild pandas.

Taotao's mother fed him and taught him basic skills. But scientists at the Wolong Nature Reserve also drew up a survival training schedule for Taotao.

Part of this involved handlers wearing panda suits to prevent familiarity with humans.

Zhang Hemin, a director at China's giant panda conservation centre, told Xinhua that Taotao "has lived and grown in semi-wild conditions since he was very little", compared to Xiang Xiang.

"This means its fighting capability and survival skills both improved significantly," he said.

However he said that nothing was certain, as Taotao would be facing natural enemies like other wild animals.

Continued:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-19920462