In pictures: Burma's undiscovered insects and spiders

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Burmese Long-Tailed Macaques' Use of Stone Tools Is Being Threatened by Human Activity in Thailand

Aug. 14, 2013 — Human farming and the introduction of domestic dogs are posing a threat to the ability of Burmese long-tailed macaques to use stone tools. This was found in a study led by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) carried out at Thailand's Laem Son National Park. The research team has advised Thailand's authorities that in the management of their marine national parks they should pay closer attention to macaques' use of stones as tools.

Burmese long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis aurea) are a rare variety of the common long-tailed macaques of Southeast Asia, found only in Myanmar and bordering areas of Thailand. In a few locations, these monkeys use stone tools along the coasts to crack hard-shelled invertebrate prey, such as rock oysters, sea snails, and crabs.

The research team, comprising Assistant Professor Michael D. Gumert from Nanyang Technological University's Division of Psychology, Professor Yuzuru Hamada of Kyoto University's Primate Research Institute, and Professor Suchinda Malaivijitnond of Chulalongkorn University' Primate Research Unit, discovered that human activities are showing signs that the persistence of the macaques' stone-use tradition may be in jeopardy at Laem Son National Park, a marine national park along the western coast of Thailand.

"Macaques easily change their feeding behaviour when influenced by humans, and we are concerned stone-using macaques will lose their traditional feeding behaviour if illegitimate development continues within the protected park," said Assistant Professor Gumert, who is based at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

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Elephants being poached in Burma

New 'open' Myanmar opening up to poachers too.

February 2013. Though not on the scale of poaching in Africa, a new and worrying development has occurred in Myanmar, where at least 11 elephants were killed by poachers in 2012. An estimated 3,000 wild elephants still live in Burma, but until very recently they had remained relatively untouched by elephant poaching.

However as Myanmar opens up to the world, and with its proximity to China with whom it shares a highly porous border, elephant and tiger poaching were bound to become more of a problem. In fact Wildlife Extra reported a few years ago that tiger parts were openly on sale in some markets.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/myanmar-elephants013.html

No, you haven’t had too much to drink… it really is a pink elephant

Pink elephants were on parade in a Burmese zoo today and they were causing quite a splash.

The mother and baby clearly loved having a good wallow and tooted with delight when their caretaker dowsed them with the hose. Usually their skin is a reddish brown colour but they turn a light pink when wet. They also have fair eyelashes and toenails.

Despite their unusual appearance, the rare jumbos, which are officially known as white elephants, are not a distinct species to grey elephants nor are they albinos.

Picture: Getty Images

The animals are treasured in Buddhist countries where their appearance is said to bring good fortune and can herald political change.

And in Burma, after decades of military rule, political change does gradually appear to be taking place with the release of iconic opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi last year and elections due to take place in the capital this weekend.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2121729/Pink-elephants-parade-makes-splash-Burmese-zoo-today.html#ixzz1qgwIwSHu

Burma officials seize 10,000 snakes bound for China (via Herp Digest)

More than 10,000 snakes bound for China were seized recently in Burma.
The Associated Press, 1/20/12

YANGON - Forestry officials in central Burma have seized nearly 10,000 snakes in 400 crates that were to be smuggled to China.

The weekly journal Modern reported Friday that 50 cobras were among the 9,176 snakes seized in Pyin Oo Lwin district near Mandalay on Jan. 12.

Wildlife smuggling is endemic in Asia, where exotic species are used for food and traditional medicine.
The report did not say how many people were arrested but said those involved would be charged under the Protection of Wildlife and Conservation of Natural Areas law, which carries a five-year prison sentence.

It said the 7,000 non-poisonous snakes were released into a wildlife reserve, while the vipers and cobras were sent to the state pharmaceutical company for their venom.

Scientists capture first images of rare Burmese monkey

Conor Duffy, Environment reporter

Burma's extremely rare and elusive species of snub-nosed monkey has been captured on camera for the first time.

The remote mountainous forests of Burma's north are home to the monkey, an animal so elusive it was not documented until 2010 when one of them fell to a hunter.

While researchers obtained a number of other deceased animals and observed them in the wild, the monkeys had never been photographed.

Now a joint team led by Fauna and Flora International (FFI), Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Association (BANCA) and People Resources and Conservation Foundation (PRCF) have captured images of the monkey.

"The Myanmar snub-nosed monkey was described scientifically in 2010 from a dead specimen collected from a local hunter," Frank Momberg of FFI said.

"As yet no scientist has seen a live individual."

Ngwe Lin from Burma was with the 2010 team that first identified the monkey as a possible new species.

"These images are the first record of the animal in its natural habitat," Ngwe Lin said.

Much of what is known about it comes from information from locals.

Hunters have reported that the monkey's tiny, upturned nose means it constantly sneezes when it rains, sometimes giving away its location.

The animals are said to crouch down with their face to the ground to avoid rain.

Heavy rainfall and snow also made life hard for the team trying to track the species.

Jeremy Holden is based in Phnom Penh, but led the camera trapping expedition.

"We were dealing with very tough conditions in a remote and rugged area that contained perhaps fewer than 200 monkeys," he said.

"We didn't know where they lived and I didn't hold out much hope of short-term success with this work."

But in May a small group of monkeys walked past the camera trap and images were taken for the first time.

Encouragingly for the research team, some of the females were carrying babies.

Environment groups remain concerned about the future of the species and next month they plan on writing a conservation plan for the monkeys in Burma's largest city Rangoon.

"It is great to finally have photographs because they show us something about how and where it actually lives."

The photos were taken by camera traps set up in the forested mountains of Kachin State, bordering China.

The species is among the world's most threatened primates with estimates of its numbers ranging from 200 to about 330.

Photos: http://abcasiapacificnews.com/stories/201201/3406271.htm

Burma’s president calls halt on Myitsone dam

Conservation organisations delighted
October 2011: Burma's President Thein Sein has announced that the controversial Myitsone Dam on the Irrawaddy River would be halted. In a groundbreaking move, he says he has made the landmark decision to ‘to respect the will of the people'.

The £2.4 billion Myitsone hydropower project would have submerged the confluence of the Irrawaddy River in Kachin State and created a reservoir the size of Singapore. The project is the central part of a seven-dam cascade proposed to be built with £13 billion in Chinese investment. It is located in one of the world's top biodiversity hotspots, would displace 12,000 people, and would irreversibly affect Burma's central river system and rice-growing area.

Environmental and human rights organisation International Rivers says the decision as ‘a fantastic breakthrough' for civil society groups in Burma and their partners in China and around the world.

Dam builders can no longer rely on dictatorial governmentsGrace Mang, programme coordinator at International Rivers, said: ‘The suspension of the Myitsone Dam is a great success for civil society groups in Burma and throughout the world. The decision shows that dam builders can no longer rely on dictatorial governments to push through projects that are rejected by their populations.

‘China Power Investment Corporation and other dam builders should now reconsider other planned projects on the Irrawaddy and Salween rivers.'

The Myitsone Dam is strongly opposed by the Kachin People's Organization, Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, civil society organisations in Burma, and their partner groups in China, Thailand, and around the world.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/myitsone-dam2011.html

Taiwan to help build transitional refuge for turtles in Myanmar (Via HerpDigest)

Taiwan to help build transitional refuge for turtles in Myanmar

2011/02/28 21:44:44

Taiwan has donated US$10,000 to help set up a halfway house for Burmese star tortoises in Myanmar that will promote the conservation of the endangered species, the Taipei Zoo said Monday.The halfway house, which is scheduled to be built in Bagan in western Myanmar, will be used to help Burmese star tortoises smuggled into or bred in Taiwan make the transition back to their home country, according to the zoo.

The Taipei Zoo and the Council of Agriculture's Forestry Bureau presented the money to the Turtle Survival Alliance, a global organization dedicated to turtle protection and conservation, at a donation ceremony organized by the zoo Monday.According to the zoo, the habitats of the tortoises in the wild in Myanmar have been destroyed due to agricultural development.Because of their star pattern shells, the tortoises have also become popular pets and victims of rampant poaching in the Southeast Asian country, it said.

Zoo officials said they are currently raising 14 healthy adult Burmese star tortoises, some of which were smuggled into the country, found and sent to the zoo to be cared for seven years ago.The zoo also became the first in the world in 2003 to artificially breed a Burmese star tortoise.Officials said they plan to select suitable tortoises and send them back to Myanmar in the future.The Burmese star tortoise was listed as one of the five most endangered freshwater and land turtles and the second most endangered land turtle in the world in 2007, the zoo said.

Taipei Zoo Director Jason Yeh said the zoo took a close look at the conservation work being done in the area last year and decided to build the halfway house in the Lawkananda Wildlife Sanctuary in Bagan.The tortoises, mostly herbivorous, enjoy living in warm and dry areas and can grow up to 12 inches. (By Chen Hung-chin and Christie Chen) Enditem/ls

White elephant discovery 'a positive omen' for Burma

The seven foot tall beast was captured on Thursday in Rakhine state in the northwest, and is the fifth white elephant caught in a decade. The elephant is estimated to be 18 years old.   
Photo: AP

Burma's state-controlled media hailed the capture of a rare white elephant as a positive omen for forthcoming elections, the first balloting in two decades in the military-ruled country.

Published: 10:59AM BST 25 Sep 2010

The seven foot tall beast was captured on Thursday in Rakhine state in the northwest, and is the fifth white elephant caught in a decade. The elephant is estimated to be 18 years old.

The newspaper, a mouthpiece for the ruling junta, hailed the elephant's capture as a sign the country will be peaceful and free from all dangers, and its people will enjoy greater prosperity and progress.

"It is auspicious that a rare white elephant emerged at a time when Myanmar was going through a democratic transition and the elections will be held peacefully and successfully," it said.

White elephants, actually albinos, have for centuries been revered in Burma, Thailand, Laos and other Asian nations.
They were normally kept and pampered by monarchs and considered a symbol of royal power and prosperity.

Burma's military rulers, like many of the country's citizens, are said to be particularly superstitious.

The Nov 7 general elections will be the first in 20 years.

The National League for Democracy party of Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi won the last polls but was not allowed to take power by the military. It is boycotting this year's vote, charging that the election rules are unfair and undemocratic.

The New Light of Myanmar said the elephant's capture will ensure that peace, stability and prosperity will continue under the new elected government, explaining that white elephants only emerge in places where the practice of Buddhism flourishes and rulers govern justly.

It said that according to ancient treatises, it is hard to find even a single white elephant among a thousand, but five of the rare beasts have emerged from 2001 to 2010, and the latest discovery is a matter of "national pride."
The country's fourth white elephant, a 38-year-old female captured in the jungles of Rakhine state in June, was given a lavish welcome ceremony when it was taken to the administrative capital of Naypyitaw.

Three other white elephants caught earlier are kept in a special park in Yangon, where they live in an enclosure with spiralled pavilions, a man-made waterfall, ponds and trees.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/burmamyanmar/8024818/White-elephant-discovery-a-positive-omen-for-Burma.html

See also: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/Burma-finds-rare-white-elephant-in-western-forest-30138736.html

Rare 'white' elephant captured in Burma

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia_pacific/10452174.stm
A rare "white elephant", a traditional symbol of good fortune and power in south-east Asia, has been captured in Burma, state media reports.

Reports say the 2m (6.5ft) female elephant was tracked down in Maungdaw in the west of the country. White elephants are only nominally white - they often look reddish-brown in the sun, and light pink when wet.

Analysts say the animal is likely to be brought to the capital, Naypyidaw, for the military ruler, General Than Shwe.

With elections due this year under terms the country's opposition considers unacceptable, Burma's military rulers have been hunting for their good omen for some time now, says the BBC's Viv Marsh.

When locals sighted a white elephant earlier this year in the jungle in Rakhine state, a unit of the Ministry of Forestry was sent to scour the area and find it, the New Light of Myanmar reported.

'Great blessings'

Their prize - a female aged about 38, was captured on 26 June, said the news agency.

The Thailand-based charity Friends of the Asian Elephant Foundation said it would normally object to elephants being held in captivity, but made an exception for white elephants, which are traditionally kept in pampered conditions.

"The white elephant is a sign of great blessings and fortune for the land," spokeswoman Soraida Salwala told the Associated Press news agency.

White elephants have historically been owned and revered by Burmese leaders - Gen Than Shwe has never had one of his own, although Burma's leaders travel in aircraft called White Elephants 1 and 2.

In English and some other languages, a white elephant also means a useless structure, and a needlessly expensive burden.

The generals may hope their new trophy - and their own fortunes - are not blighted by linguistic association, says our correspondent.