Park Ranger on his Lunch Break Rediscovers Rare Species Last Seen 42 Years Ago (Guatemala) – via Herp Digest

November 14, 2017 CBS News 

A nature preserve guard in Guatemala made history while on his lunch break when he spotted a creature that biologists had lost track of for 42 years.

Ramos León-Tomás, a 27-year-old guard at the Finca San Isidro Amphibian Reserve, reportedly found the long-lost Jackson’s Climbing Salamander while on his break near the edge of the park in October. The rediscovered species has not been seen since a pair of salamanders was first found in western Guatemala by two American students in 1975.

“We had started to fear that the species was gone, and now it’s like it has come back from extinction. It’s a beautiful story, and marks a promised future for the conservation of this special region,” USAC University in Guatemala’s Carlos Vasquez said in a press release. “I explained to them how important this species is and I left a poster there so they could see a picture of the Jackson’s climbing salamander every single day.”

“This rediscovery can only be a good omen for the future of the Search for Lost Species campaign. It’s a sign that if we get out there and work at it, many of these species can be found and saved,” president of Global Wildlife Conservation, Don Church added.

The discovery was made even more amazing by the report that the amphibian was spotted nearly 1,000 feet higher than biologists had been looking for them. The original salamanders were discovered under tree bark in Guatemala’s Sierra de los Cuchumatanes. León-Tomás added that he hopes the historic find will bring added recognition and pay for the guards at the reserve.

Endangered salamander habitat saved in Guatemala

The last remaining forest home of two species of salamander, lost to science for nearly 40 years, has been saved following the completion of a land purchase supported by World Land Trust (WLT) and a consortium of funders.

The purchase of Finca San Isidro in the western highlands ofGuatemala was finalised by WLT’s Guatemalan partner, Fundación Para el Ecodesarrollo y la Conservación (FUNDAECO) in September 2015, following WLT’s donation towards the purchase earlier in 2015.

Among others, the species that are now protected are Finca Chiblac Salamander (Bradytriton silus), categorised by IUCN as Critically Endangered, and the Long-limbed Salamander (Nyctanolis pernix), categorised as Endangered.

High in Guatemala’s Cuchumatanes mountain range, the salamanders’ forest home had been slated for coffee production. Land clearance would have certainly gone ahead if it hadn’t been for the intervention of international funders.

Read more ...

New large-scale jaguar camera-trap study underway in Guatemala

Guatemala's jaguars: Capturing phantoms in photos

June 2013. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has released this photograph of a male jaguar taken by a remote camera trap in Guatemala's Maya Biosphere Reserve. Activated by motion or heat differentials, camera traps "capture" pictures of secretive and elusive animals in the wild. Because each jaguar's pattern of spots is unique, the photographs can be used to identify individuals and estimate abundance.

Integrating experience from more than 80 jaguar surveys, WCS has issued an updated version of its 2004 manual of methods to estimate jaguar population density using camera traps. The new manual - available in Spanish and English shares lessons learned and recommendations for design and analysis that can improve density estimates.

500 kilometre 2 study area

Because jaguars roam widely seeking prey, the manual notes that density estimates require huge sample areas. In keeping with that recommendation, WCS is leading a survey in Guatemala using 50 stations of paired camera traps to cover a 500-square kilometre area of community-managed forest to learn more about these elusive creatures, including how many exist in the region.

"By protecting jaguar populations in globally significant, strategically located strongholds, our program contributes to range wide conservation of this species," said WCS Jaguar Coordinator Dr. John Polisar. "The jaguar in this photo is secure because its home is defended against illegal encroachments that would clear its forest habitat, and uncontrolled hunting that would reduce its prey. The intent of the new manual is to share the knowledge we have gained, and it provides guidance on design and analysis for a next generation of jaguar population studies that are essential to informing conservation actions."

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/guatemala-jaguar013.html

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Announces Successful Recovery of Morelet’s Crocodile under the Endangered Species Act - via Herp Digest

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced removal of the Morelet’s crocodile from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) due to recovery of the species. The species is found in Mexico, Belize and Guatemala.

The Morelet’s crocodile was named after a French naturalist, P.M.A. Morelet, who discovered the species in Mexico in 1850. The species is smaller than other species, such as the American crocodile, with most wild

adults usually ranging in length from just 6 - 8 feet. It is generally found in freshwater environments such as lakes, swamps and slow-moving rivers. The majority of the Morelet’s crocodile population occurs in

Mexico and Belize (87 percent), and those two countries hold the majority of the potentially suitable habitat (81 percent) throughout the species’ range. Guatemala contains the remaining 13 percent of the wild Morelet’s crocodiles and the remaining 19 percent of the potentially suitable habitat throughout the species’ range.

The Morelet’s crocodile was listed as endangered throughout its entire range on June 2, 1970, under the predecessor of the ESA. It was listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) on July 1, 1975. CITES in an international treaty that aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. CITES Appendix I includes species threatened with extinction that are or may be affected by trade. Trade in specimens of these species is permitted only in exceptional circumstances. The overharvest for commercial purposes was the primary reason for the Morelet’s crocodile being listed under the ESA and its inclusion in CITES.

As a result of the species’ improved status, on March 18, 2010, at the Conference of the Parties (CoP), the Morelet’s crocodile populations in Mexico and Belize were transferred to CITES Appendix II while prohibiting trade in wild specimens for commercial purposes. Appendix II includes species not necessarily threatened with extinction, but where trade must be controlled in order to avoid use incompatible with their survival. The new CITES Appendix II designation became effective on June 23, 2010. At the request of Guatemala, however, those populations of Morelet’s crocodiles in Guatemala will remain in CITES Appendix I.

Because trade in wild specimens is prohibited, international commercial trade in Morelet’s crocodiles under CITES is limited to individuals from sources other than the wild (e.g. captive-breeding operations). After the
effective date of this final rule, Morelet’s crocodile parts and products originating from Mexico (and Belize, if any) captive-breeding operations may be imported into the United States for commercial purposes, as long as the exporting country finds that the export will not be detrimental to the species, the specimen was lawfully acquired and the required CITES export permit or re-export certificate has been issued.

The final rule to remove Morelet’s crocodile from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife will publish in the Federal Register on May 23, 2012, and become effective on June 22, 2012. A copy of the final rule is available at http://www.fws.gov/policy/frsystem/default.cfm by clicking on the 2012 Final Rules under Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants.

New reserve declared in Guatemala to protect indigenous frogs and Endangered birds

Sierra Caral Amphibian Reserve in Guatemala

May 2012. Conservationists are celebrating the establishment of the new 6,000-acre Sierra Caral Amphibian Reserve in Guatemala, which will protect some of the country's most endangered wildlife. The reserve is home to a dozen globally threatened frogs and salamanders, five found nowhere else in the world, three species of threatened birds, and the recently discovered Merendon Palm-pitviper (Bothriechis thalassinus), an arboreal, blue-toned viper.

Isolated mountain range
Tucked away in the eastern corner of Guatemala near the Caribbean Sea, and running along the Honduran border, the Sierra Caral is an isolated mountain range that is home to numerous rare and endangered animals and plants. 

New species
Exploration of these mountains has yielded several new discoveries of beetles, salamanders, frogs, and snakes over the past two decades.

Threatened birds 
The site will offer protections for many birds including threatened species such as: the Highland Guan, Great Curassow and Keel-billed Motmot. Furthermore, the site is known as a haven for an abundance of migratory birds including the Canada Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Wood Thrush, Painted Bunting, Worm-eating Warbler, and Louisiana Waterthrush.

Major stop for migratory birds
"The new Sierra Caral Reserve safeguards key stopover habitat for perhaps millions of migrating U.S. birds, making it an invaluable addition to Central America's roster of protected areas and a real benefit to U.S. bird conservation efforts," said Dr. George Fenwick, President of American Bird Conservancy (ABC).

The Sierra Caral forests are especially diverse due to the convergence of floras and faunas from North and South America, as well as many species unique to the region. Only a few Merendon Palm Pit Vipers have been found, most often in a palm native to the Sierra Caral. Guatemalan biologist Carlos Vasquez Almazan, one of the few individuals to find a Merendon Palm-pitviper in the wild, drew international scientific attention to the conservation importance of the Sierra Caral in recent years. He was recently awarded the prestigious Whitley Award for Conservation that recognizes outstanding nature conservationists around the world.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/guatemala-reserve.html#cr

Mural Found On Walls a First for a Maya Dwelling; Painted Numbers Reflect Calendar Reaching Well Beyond 2012

ScienceDaily (May 10, 2012) — A vast city built by the ancient Maya and discovered nearly a century ago is finally starting to yield its secrets.

Excavating for the first time in the sprawling complex of Xultún in Guatemala's Petén region, archaeologists have uncovered a structure that contains what appears to be a work space for the town's scribe, its walls adorned with unique paintings -- one depicting a lineup of men in black uniforms -- and hundreds of scrawled numbers. Many are calculations relating to the Maya calendar.

One wall of the structure, thought to be a house, is covered with tiny, millimeter-thick, red and black glyphs unlike any seen before at other Maya sites. Some appear to represent the various calendrical cycles charted by the Maya -- the 260-day ceremonial calendar, the 365-day solar calendar, the 584-day cycle of the planet Venus and the 780-day cycle of Mars, reports archaeologist William Saturno of Boston University, who led the exploration and excavation.

"For the first time we get to see what may be actual records kept by a scribe, whose job was to be official record keeper of a Maya community," Saturno said. "It's like an episode of TV's 'Big Bang Theory,' a geek math problem and they're painting it on the wall. They seem to be using it like a blackboard."

The discovery is reported in the June issue of National Geographic magazine and in the May 11 issue of the journal Science.

Read on:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120510141953.htm

New agreement protects 80,000 acres of Guatemala forest

Agreement will provide education, health, economic development, and fire prevention for local people in exchange for conservation measures

March 2012. The Wildlife Conservation Society and partners have signed an agreement that will safeguard some 80,000 acres of intact forest in Guatemala in the heart of the sprawling Maya Biosphere Reserve.

Hunting ban
The agreement will help reduce deforestation and degradation of the region while providing education, health, and fire prevention measures for the community of Carmelita. The community is located in the centre of the reserve at the gateway of the renowned archaeological site of El Mirador. The agreement includes the enforcement of bans on hunting of jaguar, puma, ocelot, margay, tapir, howler monkey, spider monkey, scarlet macaw, ocellated turkey, harpy eagle, and other endangered wildlife.

Growing threatsIn the past few decades, the Maya Biosphere Reserve has faced growing threats from human activities including illegal logging, slash and burn agriculture, and ranching in protected areas, along with drug trafficking, poaching, and looting of Maya artifacts.

In 2009, WCS and Conservation International (CI) formed a partnership with Guatemala`s Protected Areas Council in order to implement Guatemala's first community-based conservation incentives payment system. Known as "Conservation Agreements," it provided a clear contract between local communities, the Guatemalan government, NGO partners, and donors to help stem deforestation and provide annual economic incentives designed and managed by local communities.

The Carmelita agreement is the third such agreement in the Maya Biosphere Reserve with other successful examples in the Uaxactun Community Forest Concession and the community of Paso Caballos in Laguna del Tigre National Park.

"Conservation Agreements are a win-win for both the people and wildlife of the Maya Biosphere Reserve," said Julie Kunen, Director of WCS's Latin America and Caribbean Program. "The agreements address pressing development needs and provide real incentives for the people living in and around the reserve to protect its animals and conserve its forests."

Spanning nearly five million acres, the Maya Biosphere Reserve in Petén, Guatemala is home to not only some of the world's most important archaeological sites but also diverse ecosystems with a vast array of flora and fauna.

WCS has worked in the Maya Biosphere Reserve for the past two decades. It has established a legacy of improving the management effectiveness and economic sustainability of core protected zones and multiple-use zone forest concessions that are co-administered by communities and the Guatemalan National Protected Areas Council. WCS's work in this region has been made possible through the generous support of The Prospect Hill Foundation, the Governance and Transparency Fund of the UK Department for International Development (DFID), and other key supporters.

Signatories include: Carmelita Cooperative, the Carmelita Community Development Council, PACUNAM, and Asociación BALAM with the support of the Guatemalan Protected Areas Council, the Association of Forest Communities of Peten (ACOFOP), Rainforest Alliance, and Foundation Albert II of Monaco.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/maya-biosphere.html

Guatemala pig 'alien' born with mutant head after UFOs seen in the sky

Aliens have been blamed for the freakish appearance of a pig born in the remote village of Santa Cruz El Chol in Guatemala.

Residents of the South American village have decided that the pig's odd human-shaped head is the doing of visitors from outer space, after strange bright lights were spotted hovering in the sky on the night of its birth.

The poor pig, which is one of a litter of 11, has been described as looking like a cross between a human and something from the Alien movies.

Farmer Laureano Escobar Arias said: 'I was shocked - it was a really terrifying experience.
'It looked like some kind of alien creature.'

However, local health officials have suggested that there are more earthly reasons for the pig's appearance.

'We don't know for certain but it could have been caused by a genetic problem or by environmental pollution,' one commented.

A bit closer to home, pathologists are investigating a series of animal mutilations in Wales, with aliens once again the suspected culprits.

It is thought that the surgical-style injuries are too sophisticated for other animals to cause and, once again, bright lights were seen near the scene.

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/874187-guatemala-pig-alien-born-after-ufos-seen-in-the-sky#ixzz1X4qWKrtU