New whale species discovered along the coast of Hokkaido

Date:  September 3, 2019

Source: Hokkaido University

A new beaked whale species Berardius minimus, which has been long postulated by local whalers in Hokkaido, Japan, has been confirmed.

In a collaboration between the National Museum of Nature and Science, Hokkaido University, Iwate University, and the United States National Museum of Natural History, a beaked whale species which has long been called Kurotsuchikujira (black Baird's beaked whale) by local Hokkaido whalers has been confirmed as the new cetacean species Berardius minimus (B. minimus).

Beaked whales prefer deep ocean waters and have a long diving capacity, making them hard to see and inadequately understood. The Stranding Network Hokkaido, a research group founded and managed by Professor Takashi F. Matsuishi of Hokkaido University, collected six stranded un-identified beaked whales along the coasts of the Okhotsk Sea.

The whales shared characteristics of B. bairdii (Baird's beaked whale) and were classified as belonging to the same genus Berardius. However, a number of distinguishable external characteristics, such as body proportions and color, led the researchers to investigate whether these beaked whales belong to a currently unclassified species.

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Hunters turn gamekeepers to help C. Africa's threatened wildlife

AUGUST 30, 2019

by Florent Vergnes

Jean moves deftly through the tangle of roots and branches before waiting for the rainforest to give him a clue.

In the heart of the Dzanga-Sangha wildlife reserve in western Central African Republic, the Pygmy hunter is looking for the tracks of a large female elephant he has been following for the last three hours.

The elephant is not Jean's prey, but rather the opposite.

He is part of a force of local hunters who have trained to become rangers. Their mission: to protect the park's precious animals from ruthless poachers.

Lying on the flanks of the Sangha River, the 4,000-square-kilometre (1,500-square-mile) park, created in 1990, is the CAR's last haven for elephants and Central African gorillas.

Luis Arranz of the environment group WWF, which runs the park in partnership with the CAR government, is worried that this precious refuge will also fall one day.

"It won't last," he predicts sadly.

He points to the potential booty for poachers from ivory tusks, giraffe skins, pangolin scales and gorilla meat.

Scientists, with the help of the Pygmy rangers, are moving through the park to draw up an inventory of the major species.

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Indonesia to close giant lizard island leaving guides, villagers in the lurch (Komodo Dragon) - via Herp Digest

KOMODO, Indonesia by Tommy Ardiansyan,(Reuters) 8/26/19 - Almost every day 20-year-old Rizaldian Syahputra puts on his blue uniform, laces up his high boots and leaves his wooden house on stilts for a job many nature-lovers would envy.

But by next year, he may no longer be employed.

Syahputra works as a wildlife guide at Komodo National Park on the eastern Indonesian island of Komodo, taking visitors around the park on foot to get up close to the leathery Komodo dragons, the world’s largest living lizard species.

The Indonesian government plans to close the island to the public from January next year in a bid to conserve the rare reptiles.

The scheme also involves moving about 2,000 villagers off the island. Authorities are holding talks with community leaders on how to relocate the residents, Josef Nae Soi, deputy governor of the province of East Nusa Tenggara, told Reuters recently.

It is hoped that closing the island to tourists will cut the risk of poaching and allow a recovery in the numbers of the animals’ preferred prey, such as deer, buffalo and wild boar.

The island could reopen after a year, but the plan is to make it a premium tourist destination, Soi said.

Syahputra, who says he enjoys his job because of his passion for nature and conservation, shares the fears of many others on the island who rely on tourism for a living.

“The closure is definitely something that makes us unhappy,” he said.

“If we really have to do it, I hope we can find a middle ground on the solution, not closing the whole island but just a certain area.”

More than 176,000 tourists visited Komodo National Park, a conservation area between the islands of Sumbawa and Flores, in 2018. The whole area was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991.

About 1,700 Komodo dragons are estimated to live on Komodo island. Other islands in the national park that are home to more than 1,400 of the giant lizards, such as nearby Rinca and Padar, will remain open to tourists.

Villagers who have lived on Komodo island for generations are unsurprisingly opposed to the idea of having to leave.

We have been living as one for years with this village,” said resident Dahlia, who gave only one name.

Ancient die-off greater than the dinosaur extinction

AUGUST 29, 2019

by Danielle Torrent Tucker, Stanford University

Clues from Canadian rocks formed billions of year ago reveal a previously unknown loss of life even greater than that of the mass extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, when Earth lost nearly three-quarters of its plant and animal species.

Rather than prowling animals, this die-off involved miniscule microorganisms that shaped the Earth's atmosphere and ultimately paved the way for those larger animals to thrive.

"This shows that even when biology on Earth is comprised entirely of microbes, you can still have what could be considered an enormous die-off event that otherwise is not recorded in the fossil record," said Malcolm Hodgskiss, co-lead author of a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Invisible clues

Because this time period preceded complex life, researchers cannot simply dig up fossils to learn what was living 2 billion years ago. Even clues left behind in mud and rocks can be difficult to uncover and analyze.

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Banning trophy hunting can have a detrimental impact, experts say

AUGUST 30, 2019

by University of Stirling

Experts have outlined "compelling evidence" that suggests banning trophy hunting can negatively affect conservation—arguing that unregulated killings are far more prevalent in non-hunting zones.

More than 130 international scientists—including two from the University of Stirling—say that certain species, such as lions, do not fare well in areas where bans are enforced.

In a letter published in the journal Science, they say that, in African countries that do allow trophy hunting, "more land has been conserved than under National Parks"; and that regulated hunting has boosted wildlife populations globally, including those of rhinos, markhor, argali, bighorn sheep, and many African ungulates.

The authors acknowledge that, if poorly managed, trophy hunting can cause local population declines and admit that there is "considerable room for improvement." However, they add: "Unless better land-use alternatives exist, hunting reforms—which have proved effective—should be prioritized over bans."

Professor Nils Bunnefeld and Dr. Jeremy Cusack, both of Stirling's Faculty of Natural Sciences, are signatories on the letter. Stirling has been involved in interdisciplinary research related to trophy hunting for more than 10 years, with a focus on the complex link between social, economic and ecological dynamics and drivers when aiming to achieve sustainable trophy hunting.

Professor Bunnefeld said: "In order to make decisions on trophy hunting, we need to have a holistic view and assess the evidence from a variety of angles including social, economic and ecosystem perspective. Trophy hunting, when well managed, can have positive effects on both wildlife populations and people's livelihoods."

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