New species of stiletto snake capable of sideways strikes discovered in West Africa

Date:  March 11, 2019

Source:  Pensoft Publishers

Following a series of recent surveys in north-western Liberia and south-eastern Guinea, an international team of researchers found three stiletto snakes which were later identified as a species previously unknown to science.

The discovery, published in the open-access journal Zoosystematics and Evolution by the team of Dr Mark-Oliver Roedel from the Natural History Museum, Berlin, provides further evidence for the status of the western part of the Upper Guinea forest zone as a center of rich and endemic biodiversity.

Curiously, stiletto snakes have unusual skulls and venom delivery system, allowing them to attack and stab sideways with a fang sticking out of the corner of their mouths. While most of these burrowing snakes are not venomous enough to kill a human -- even though some are able to inflict serious tissue necrosis -- this behaviour makes them impossible to handle using the standard approach of holding them with fingers behind the head. In fact, they can even stab with their mouths closed.

The new species, called Atractaspis branchi or Branch's Stiletto Snake, was named to honor to the recently deceased South African herpetologist Prof. William Roy (Bill) Branch, a world leading expert on African reptiles.

The new species lives in primary rainforest and rainforest edges in the western part of the Upper Guinea forests. Branch's Stiletto Snake is most likely endemic to this area, a threatened biogeographic region already known for its unique and diverse fauna.

Read on

Liberian camera trap survey captures rare footage of forest elephants

Camera traps in Liberia have captured footage of chimps, pygmy hippos and elephants. This is the country’s only footage of elephants filmed outside a designated protected area and includes scenes of a forest elephant heaving its massive body up a steep slope with surprising agility.

The cameras are part of a biodiversity baseline study carried out by Fauna & Flora International (FFI) in Wonegizi Proposed Protected Area, which aimed to gain a better understanding of the current health of the ecosystem and its wildlife.

“The initial surveys found at least three elephants in the area, but we have barely scratched the surface – we suspect that a more intensive, elephant-focused survey might reveal many more,” explained FFI’s Project Adviser, Josh Kempinski.

Read on ...

Liberia caterpillar plague causes mass evacuation and crop destruction

A plague of caterpillars has forced thousands of people to flee their homes in northern Liberia, as well destroying crops, contaminating water and forcing schools to close.

Residents of at least 25 villages and towns in Lofa and Gbarpolu counties have joined a mass exodus so far this month to escape the trail of caterpillar excrement, according to the Voice of America (VOA).

It is the second such invasion in five years. A state of emergency was declared in 2009 after tens of millions of caterpillars swept through at least 80 towns and villages in the centre and north of the country.

Dr Sizi Subah, deputy agriculture minister for technical services, told Liberia's The Inquirer that the caterpillars, which travel in huge numbers, have the capacity to destroy large areas since they feed on the leaves of cash crops such as coffee, cocoa and vegetables during the larva stage before developing into butterflies.

Subah linked the latest infestation to "climate change", the Inquirer reported.

Continued

Massive survey aims to save Liberia’s precious chimpanzee population

Liberia's chimpanzees urgently need more protected areas

April 2014: An international research team has been conducting a census of chimpanzees and other large mammals living in Liberia, West Africa. This has revealed that the country is home to 7000 chimpanzees and, therefore, has the second largest known population of the western subspecies of chimpanzees.

When Liberia enters the news it is usually in the context of civil war, economic crisis, poverty or a disease outbreak such as the recent emergence of Ebola in West Africa. Many years of violent conflict in the country, from 1989 to 1997 and from 2002 to 2003, have thwarted efforts of biologists to conduct such biological surveys in this biodiversity hotspot. An urgency need for reliable wildlife data arose, however, with the decision by the Liberian government to fuel economic growth following the complete war-time collapse of the country’s economy, by selling large amounts of its rich natural resources, including rubber, timber and minerals. Accurate data on the distribution and abundance of wildlife populations like chimpanzees is needed so that key decision-makers in the country can balance economic and conservation priorities.

read on

Pygmy hippo shot in NT

A PYGMY hippopotamus has been shot dead during a pig hunting expedition in the Territory.

The hippo is normally native to the swamps of west Africa, in particular Liberia.

Instead, this one - estimated to be about 250kg - was shot while roaming the bush of the Douglas Daly, 200km south of Darwin.

This is about 16,000km away from Liberia.

It is believed the female hippo is an old escapee from Tipperary Station, from when it used to be an exotic animal reserve.

This means it has been poking about the Douglas Daly for the past five years.

Nico Courtney, 27, was out spotlighting for pigs with his mate Rusty on a station in the Douglas Daly district on Saturday night.

"It was about 1am and running away from us - from the tail end it just looked like a big pig," the station worker said.

"We got out, had a look at it, and thought 'that's not a pig, it's a hippo'.

"Then we thought 'you don't get hippos in Australia'."

The pair thought it might be a baby hippo - and then naturally started wondering, as they stood in the middle of dark scrub, "where the hell" its mum and dad might be.

Continued:  http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2009/11/16/101241_ntnews.html

Pygmy hippo caught on camera in Liberia

Scientists have caught a rare glimpse of the elusive pygmy hippo in Liberia.

The team from Fauna and Flora International, the Zoological Society of London and the Forestry Development Authority of Liberia has been using camera traps to study the endangered animal.

Approximately 2,000 pygmy hippos are thought to be left in the wild, and they are found in the Upper Guinea forest, which extends through the Ivory Coast, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Little is known about these nocturnal animals, and the researchers are hoping to learn more about the hippos so they can develop a conservation action plan.

See video here ...

Illegal fishing trawler seized off Liberia

Stealing fish from West Africa
September 2011: A fishing boat believed to be illegally catching and supplying fish stolen from West Africa to the European Union has been seized by Liberian authorities.

The Liberian Coastguard, backed by the Bureau for National Fisheries and US Coastguard, has made its first fishing vessel seizure following the dramatic chase of Korean-flagged trawler the Seta 70, fishing illegally within their waters.

Chased down The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), which has been investigating illegal fishing activities of the Seta 70 since 2008, has received reports from Liberian authorities that the Liberian Coastguard (LCG) chased down and seized the trawler at the end of July after it was caught fishing illegally in inshore areas reserved for local fishermen.

The Seta 70, owned by a Korean multinational company which has offices in the Canary Islands and owns a luxury golf resort on the Spanish mainland, tried to avoid capture by steering erratically and turning off its lights during the night. A Liberian government fisheries observer on board was reportedly stopped from using communication equipment by the vessel's captain. He was reportedly able to raise the alarm by making a call on his mobile phone while hidden in a toilet.

Catching fish for lucrative European marketThe pursuit came to an end when Liberian authorities fired warning shots before boarding the vessel and bringing it to the country's capital Monrovia. Earlier this year, the Environmental Justice Foundation documented several vessels, including the Seta 70, fishing illegally in neighbouring Sierra Leone.

The vessels were catching fish for the highly lucrative European and Asian seafood markets and their illegal activities included fishing in inshore areas, destroying local fishermen's nets, concealing their markings and attacking a local fisherman.

Evidence collected by EJF on these vessels' activities was provided to European authorities, leading in April 2011 to the seizure of an estimated £4 million worth of fish in the Spanish port of Las Palmas. This was the largest seizure since the EU introduced a new regulation to end illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in January 2010.

Investigations underwayThe consignment of suspected illegally caught fish was released to the market by Spanish authorities, following months of meetings between port authorities, fishing companies and fish processors. In Spanish media, Korean fishing companies were reported to have threatened to leave the port of Las Palmas if controls on imports of fish from West Africa were not loosened. So far, Spanish authorities and the European Commission have not commented on the release of the illegal fish, which is now circulating within EU markets.

The Seta 70 is still under arrest in Monrovia while investigations of the vessel's activities are ongoing. Meanwhile, the Liberian government has requested that European authorities ensure that none of the illegal vessels' catch is able to enter the European seafood market.

Steve Trent, executive director of EJF says: ‘The Spanish government must urgently review its decision to allow the import of fish from the Seta 70 and other vessels that are stealing fish from some of the poorest people on the planet. Weak port controls in Las Palmas mean that European consumers are unwittingly fuelling pirate fishing, a practice that devastates coastal communities, compromises food security and destroys marine environments.'
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/illegal-fishing.html