How species in the wild are managing the risks and rewards of sharing space with humans

NOVEMBER 25, 2019 

by Elizabeth Allen, University of Lincoln

Endangered monkeys living in the wild are intelligently adapting their lifestyle to fit with their human neighbors, learning to avoid manmade risks and exploiting increased contact with people, new research has revealed. 

The study, which looks specifically at the behavior of an endangered monkey species, reveals that even in national parks where human presence is reduced and regulated, the animals carry out careful calculations and modify their natural behavior to balance the pros and cons of living in close proximity to humans. 

It reveals the negative impact that consuming human foods can have on the physical health of the monkeys, and highlights the need for new and sustainable conservation programs to save the growing number of endangered species in their natural habitats. 

Barbary macaques are an endangered species of monkeys restricted to the forests of Morocco and Algeria, with an introduced population also living on the Rock of Gibraltar. The wild population in North Africa has dramatically declined in the last decades. 

The new study, led by Dr. Bonaventura Majolo from the University of Lincoln, UK, involved a detailed examination of the effects of human activity on wild Barbary macaques in Ifrane National Park in Morocco. 

Dr. Majolo said: "When we observe animals in the wild we often talk about a 'landscape of fear.' This term refers to the decisions that animals make when they choose whether or not to avoid an area where the risk of predation is highest; weighing up the risk of attack against the possible rewards to be found there. 

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International Fund for Animal Welfare supports endangered wildlife art exhibition

An exhibition entitled Exposed by St Petersburg artist Katya Krasnaya, is open to the public at the Erarta Galleries London.

The gallery is dedicated to showcasing the work of Russian contemporary artists, and this exhibition is one of pop art and graffiti-inspired paintings of endangered animals.

The artist has used spray-painting coupled with fine art techniques to create animal portraits include the rare Amur tiger, beluga whale, hawksbill sea turtle, rhino and polar bear. 

Krasnaya says: “Almost everything inspires me. I divide my inspiration into types. The first one is natural, when you see all the shapes of our planet, from animals to hurricanes.”

The exhibition is supported by animal welfare charity, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), which has projects in more than 40 countries and rescues individual animals, works to prevent cruelty to animals and campaigns for the protection of wildlife and habitats.

Continued ...

Reality check in race to curb extinction as only five of 56 targets are seeing progress

Attempts to slow down the dramatic loss of wild animals and their habitats are failing, a United Nations reported has warned.

The Global Biodiversity Outlook 4, published on Monday as countries meeting in South Korea to discuss the problem, said there was little sign that the world would meet the target date of 2020 to curb the rate of extinction.

The number of species being lost because of human activity is one of the reasons why geologists are considering declaring a new epoch in time, called the Anthropocene. In the future, it is likely that the sudden change in flora and fauna will be noticeable in the fossil record.

The plight of the world’s most endangered animals, such as lemurs, the blue-tongued forest giraffe and the spoon-billed sandpiper, is getting worse despite the international effort by humans.

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A mammoth task: Scientists are reviving endangered animals, and awakening ethical questions

In the 1960s, the world population of the northern white rhinoceros‏ numbered more than 2,000. At present, there are only seven left in the world: two in the San Diego Zoo Safari Park; one in the Dvur Kralove Zoo in the Czech Republic; and four in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. The last birth of a northern white rhino occurred in the year 2000. Since then, none of the rhinos has...

http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/a-mammoth-task-scientists-are-reviving-endangered-animals-and-awakening-ethical-questions.premium-1.533731

Russia significantly tightens laws on wildlife trade and smuggling

Smuggling of valuable endangered animals became a crime in Russia

June 2013. The Russian State Duma has approved legal amendments that introduce tougher punishment for poaching and trafficking of rare species. WWF has been campaigning for these changes to take place since early 2000s.

When this law comes into force, it will introduce criminal penalties for smuggling of especially valuable animals. This category is expected to include endangered species such as Amur tiger, far-eastern leopard, polar bear, snow leopard and others.

Until this change in the law, only smugglers who were caught shipping rare animals worth more than 1 million roubles were prosecuted as criminals. However, Russian law does not provide a mechanism for determining the cost of rare animals. If, for example, a smuggler is caught with parts of captured animals, it is difficult to estimate the cost of the shipment, and, therefore, to initiate a criminal investigation.

Loophole closed

"The new bill will close this gap. Now, regardless of the value and volume, the smuggler caught with parts of a tiger or other valuable species, will be prosecuted by criminal law", says WWF-Russia CEO Igor Chestin.

The amendments also introduced criminal punishment for storage and transportation of valuable species and considerably increased the responsibility for their poaching.

"Thanks to these legal changes, Russia now has a mechanism to combat the trade in rare animals and their derivatives. With efficient police involvement, we hope to reduce the demand for the Amur tiger on the internal black market down to zero", adds Igor Chestin.

More gaps in legislation 

However, the amendments do not correct all the deficiencies in the legislation regarding protection of species from poaching, and do not include all of changes proposed by WWF. WWF hopes that the rest of the gaps will be closed by further improvement of the legislation.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/russia-trade-wildlife.html

Beached 65ft-Long Whale Dies In Cornwall

A 65ft-long whale has died after being washed up on a Cornish beach on Monday evening.

Hundreds of holidaymakers flocked to the scene at Carlyon Bay in St Austell, which was cordoned off to prevent more distress to the female fin whale.

Vets from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) were unable to save the mammal, which had suffered injuries to its head and was severely undernourished.

The group scotched earlier reports that its vets had euthanised the endangered animal.

"Locals reported that it had already stranded earlier, so the prognosis was not good and the decision was taken by the attending vets that it would be more humane to euthanise the animal rather than let it suffer a slow and lingering death," said a spokesman.

"However, the whale died naturally and this was not necessary."

Continued:  http://news.sky.com/story/972354/beached-65ft-long-whale-dies-in-cornwall

Should We Have Cloned Lonesome George?

The recent death of Lonesome George, the famed Galapagos tortoise believed to be the last representative of his subspecies, has many experts wondering how we should try to save other endangered and at-risk animals.

Cloning is one option. While cloning methods for reptiles are not as advanced as those for mammals, scientists also say they face other incredible obstacles.

“At the most, I could envision one male turtle of this subspecies cloned in future or maybe two males, but where are you going to get a female?” asked Martha Gomez, a senior scientist with the Audubon Nature Institute, which has one of the world’s few “frozen zoos.”


Frozen Zoos stockpile biological materials from a wide variety of rare and critically endangered species. The biological material is usually composed of gametes (sperm and egg cells), embryos, tissue samples, serum and other items. Together, they represent a bank vault of irreplaceable genetic information that can be preserved for possibly hundreds of years or more. In most cases, the materials are stored in holding tanks filled with liquid nitrogen.


Oliver Ryder, director of genetics at the San Diego Zoo, spoke to Discovery News as his team was racing to the Galapagos Islands to help preserve the tissues of Lonesome George. The San Diego Zoo operates one of the other few frozen zoos.


Continued:  http://www.livescience.com/21272-lonesome-george-cloning.html

Rare birds, animals sold openly in Puducherry

Puducherry: Migratory birds and endangered animals protected by the Indian wildlife laws are being sold openly in a market in Puducherry. CNN-IBN has accessed images that expose the thriving lucrative business.

The images show ibis and purple moorhens, open billed storks being sold openly at roadside stalls.

These birds visit the Oussudu Wildlife Sanctuary in the winters for breeding where they are allegedly hunted. Jungle cats, palm civets, porcupine, monitor lizards and jackals are also being sold at roadside stalls.

The birds are reportedly being sold for Rs 100 per kg while the more endangered species are being sold for Rs 400 to Rs 500 per kg.

CNN-IBN also spoke to the Divisional Forest Officer, Puducherry, who expressed his helplessness in curtailing sale of endangered species in the region. He said that poaching was mainly done by a particular tribe here, the Narikowa.

"Poaching can be attributed to a particular tribe called Narikowa. We have tried several times to curtail this, but whenever we take any action, the community stops us, gheraoes us."

"They don't have any alternate means of livelihood," he adds.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/rare-birds-animals-sold-openly-in-puducherry/262915-3.html

Tackle Fungal Forces to Save Crops, Forests and Endangered Animals, Say Scientists

ScienceDaily (Apr. 11, 2012) — More than 600 million people could be fed each year by halting the spread of fungal diseases in the world's five most important crops, according to research published April 11 in the journal Nature.

Furthermore, data reviewed by scientists suggests that in 70% of cases where infectious disease causes the extinction of a type of animal or plant, an emerging species of fungus is behind the problem. Evidence suggests this figure is increasing.

The scientists behind the study, from the University of Oxford, Imperial College London, and institutions in the US, are calling for new solutions to prevent the proliferation of existing and emerging fungal infections in plants and animals in order to prevent further loss of biodiversity and food shortages in the future.

Fungal infections presently destroy at least 125 million tonnes of the top five food crops -- rice, wheat, maize, potatoes and soybeans -- each year, which could otherwise be used to feed those who do not get enough to eat. These crops provide the majority of calories consumed by people.


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120411132000.htm

Frankenstein taxidermist sentenced to 20 months

Endangered animals used in weird ‘art'March 2012. Enrique Gomez De Molina used parts of endangered birds and other animals to create bizarre "Frankenstein" hybrids. Between late 2009 and February 2011, Enrique Gomez De Molina had attempted to import a range of wildlife species into the US without the required permits. He used the parts to create bizarre "Frankenstein" hybrids he sold as art. 

The wildlife included a wide range of species including skins of kingfishers, birds-of-paradise, skulls of babirusa and orangutans, a King Cobra, a pangolin and hornbills. After receipt, De Molina would incorporate the various wildlife parts into taxidermy pieces at a studio in downtown Miami. He offered these pieces through galleries and on the Internet for prices ranging up to USD $80,000.

Shipments from China & Far EastDe Molina's trafficking included numerous species and shipments, involving contacts in Bali, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Canada and China. The imports were in contravention of both CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna) and federal laws. Despite the interception of two shipments in late 2009 that were ultimately forfeited by De Molina and abandoned, he continued to solicit protected wildlife from his suppliers via the Internet, and to select specific animals from photographs to be provided to him.

The parts or carcasses of the wildlife he selected would then be shipped to him without the permits or declarations required by law.

"Mr De Molina trafficked in highly endangered species in violation of the law, disguising commercial exploitation of endangered species as artwork," said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division. "Today, Mr. De Molina has been held fully accountable for his illegal actions, which are prohibited by both U.S. and international law."

FineDe Molina was also sentenced to one year of supervised release to follow his prison term, a USD $6,000 fine and ordered to forfeit all of the smuggled wildlife in his possession.

"The Department of Justice and US Fish & Wildlife Service are both to be congratulated for bringing this criminal to justice and for the severity of his sentence, which will send out a strong signal to others that trafficking in endangered species will not be tolerated," said Crawford Allan, Director of TRAFFIC North America.

"Using endangered wildlife to create hideous art pieces was a crime in every sense of the word."

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/frankenstein-taxidermy.html 

Probable ocelot sighting in Arizona

March 2012. The Arizona Game and Fish Department announced a highly probable, but not verifiable, sighting of a rare ocelot in Arizona.

The sighting is documented in trail camera photos provided to the department by a third party and posted on the Internet site, www.coueswhitetail.com. Analysis indicates that the ocelot is the same animal observed in February 2011 by Game and Fish officers and photographed by a hunter's trail camera in May 2011 in the Huachuca Mountains. The new photos show the ocelot on what appears to be a deer kill. The trail camera is owned by a hunter who wishes to remain anonymous and has provided no additional details.

Ocelots are small to medium-sized spotted cats with a long tail. These cats have been listed as endangered since 1982 under the federal Endangered Species Act. Since being listed, ocelots have only rarely been seen in Arizona. Only one other ocelot, an animal run over near Globe in April 2010, has been confirmed in Arizona since the mid-1960s. One other ocelot was reportedly captured on film in November of 2009; however, in a similar situation, the department has not been given the specific location of the photo and it has not been possible to fully verify the animal's location based on that photo. The record is therefore not included in our state's HDMS.

While the department agrees that both sets of photos from these sightings are of ocelots, without location and additional information, such as tracks, scat or hair analysis, recovered from the scene, they remain classified as "probable but not verifiable." It is the department's hope that additional information from either or both of these sightings would be brought forward to facilitate analysis and classification so that they could be included as an official record in the HDMS.

Ocelots tend to be smaller in size in the more northerly portions of their habitat range than those individuals in the central or southern habitat areas. The upper body colouring is highly variable, ranging from greyish to cinnamon or tawny to reddish brown. Dark markings form chainlike streaks down the sides of the ocelot's body. They have a fairly long tail, as long as the body, and short rounded ears. 

Ocelot rangeThe present range for ocelots is in the eastern and western lowlands of Mexico, from southern Mexico through Central America and in the lowland areas of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. On the fringes of their range, they occupy a very limited region in both the United States (a remnant population exists in southern Texas) and Argentina. Other animals such as bobcats and young mountain lions are sometimes misidentified as ocelots, which is why verification is so very important.

Ocelots are protected by the Endangered Species Act and should be left alone. If anyone encounters a cat believed to be an ocelot, the Game and Fish Department requests that photos along with observation information be reported immediately to the department. A phone number for reporting sightings is 1-800-352-0700. 

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/ocelot-arizona.html

Walter Kidd Loses Venomous Snakes And Exotic LIzards Worth Thousands In N.C.

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. -- A North Carolina man is losing his exotic reptile collection worth $49,000 after police found dozens of venomous lizards and snakes in his home.

Fifty-one-year-old Walter Kidd of Hendersonville pleaded guilty Friday to 30 misdemeanor charges of possessing endangered animals and failing to properly label containers of poisonous snakes.

Police seized the reptiles in August after Kidd was bitten by an exotic venomous snake and rushed to a hospital. Officers said his mobile home was packed with snakes in plastic containers.

Kidd's attorney says the reptiles were not a danger because they were kept inside his home.

The creatures were taken to the state natural sciences museum in Raleigh.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/27/walter-kidd-loses-snake-colleciton_n_1303599.html

Rattlesnake roundup in Georgia now a humane wildlife festival

Calls for final roundup to do the same

January 2012: Georgia could soon say goodbye to the outdated ‘rattlesnake roundups'. The Evans County Wildlife Club in Claxton, Georgia, have changed their annual round-up to a wildlife festival where snakes will be celebrated rather than collected in their hundreds and butchered for their meat and skin.

The Center for Biological Diversity, Coastal Plains Institute, Protect All Living Species and One More Generation have sent a letter to the club, congratulating them on the decision, and are also presenting a 5,000-strong petition to Whigham Coummunity Club, which hosts the state's last remaining rattlesnake roundup.

‘We're so happy the rattlesnake roundup in Claxton is being switched to a humane event that celebrates these great native animals and recognizes the importance of saving them,' said Collette Adkins Giese, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity who works to protect rare and vanishing reptiles and amphibians. ‘The Whigham Community Club needs to follow suit. It needs to recognize that massacres of endangered animals are just wrong, and clearly the wrong message to send to young people about our relationship to the natural world.'

'All wildlife has a valuable place in nature'The Evans County Wildlife Club is replacing its annual rattlesnake roundup with the Claxton Rattlesnake and Wildlife Festival, which will feature displays of the imperilled eastern diamondback rattlesnake and other native wildlife. Educational programmes, entertainment and a variety of other activities will be offered at the event, held during the second weekend in March.

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/rattlesnakes-roundup2012.html

Eco-toilets help save hippos and birds in Kenya

It may appear unintuitive that special toilets could benefit hippos and other wetland species, but the Center for Rural Empowerment and the Environment (CREE) has proven the unique benefits of new toilets in the Dunga Wetlands on Lake Victoria's Kenyan side. By building ecologically-sanitary (eco-san) toilets, CREE has managed to alleviate some of the conflict that has cropped up between hippos and humans for space.

With extreme population and land pressures in the region, people have moved into the Dunga Wetlands to exploit its rich, though quickly exhaustible, soils for agriculture. However the resulting habitat loss has hurt many native species, besides the common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius), which is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List, the wetlands are also home to the sitatunga (Tragelaphus spekii) and the spotted-necked otter (Lutra maculicollis). In addition the Dunga Wetlands are listed as an International Bird Area (IBA), including sporting populations of the papyrus gonolek (Laniarius mufumbiri), listed as Near Threatened, and the papyrus yellow warbler (Chloropeta gracilirostris), listed as Vulnerable, and a number of other key African wetland birds. Eco-san toilets are being used to stem the destruction of further habitat.

Read more:http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0104-hance_ecosan_cree.html#ixzz1isaeHp3e

Red-tailed phascogale population diminishing

FARMERS and locals in WA’s Wheatbelt are to helping to ensure the conservation of the endangered red-tailed phascogale (Phascogale calura).

Once recorded across much of arid and semi-arid Australia, populations have contracted to the Wheatbelt and even there, its range is shrinking.

Now largely confined to the far western Wheatbelt, the small, squirrel-like, carnivorous marsupial has been threatened historically by feral and domestic cats and more recently by intensive agriculture.

Wildlife Research and Management director and principal research scientist Dr Jeff Short was part of the group trying to work out where the species still occurs.

“We were engaged by the South West Catchments Council and in partnership with local landcare group the Wagin Woodanilling Landcare Zone [to do the research] so we could provide advice to farmers on what sort of tree planting they could do that might benefit the species,” Dr Short says.

Generally regarded as confined to the Wandoo (Eucalyptus wandoo) vegetation, the group found the species to be more broadly distributed than was previously thought.

“[We found that] the species occurred in lowland habitat in York gum (Eucalyptus loxophleba) and a lot of that habitat was along riverine corridors or around lake margins.

Much of this habitat exists on private agricultural land.

“Unfortunately a lot of that habitat is increasingly affected by salinity and many of the mature trees with hollows for nesting are now dead or dying. A lot of that habitat will probably become less suitable over time, so it’s on a continued downward trajectory over the longer term,” he says.

However, increased awareness by farmers and the community has led to action on conservation efforts.

“Part of the problem is that in the Wheatbelt there are small areas of habitat which are fragmented and separated,” Dr Short says.

Whilst numbers of the species appear to be on a slow decline, Dr Short says populations in the Wheatbelt seem stable thanks to conservation efforts.

“The positive side is that a lot of farmers are much more aware and willing to construct corridors to allow crossing between habitats…that’s facilitating movement of phascogales between the remnants,” he says.

“Many farmers are doing a lot more to plant or replant trees along fence lines.”

Dr Short says whilst too small themselves to support a population, movement between the remnants often provides adequate habitat.

“It’s on a continued downward trajectory over the longer term but the phascogale does seem secure in what remains in the Wandoo belt. So even though that’s even a very small fraction of its former range, it seems reasonably secure there.”

http://www.sciencewa.net.au/3765.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 ...

Sabah's proboscis monkeys in crisis

Habitat is being destroyed to make way for oil palm plantations

December 2011: Sabah's proboscis monkeys are suffering as the riparian forest on which they depend are destroyed to plant oil palm, and mangrove areas reclaimed for development.

‘The proboscis monkey is declining in numbers because we have oil palm plantations planting all the way down to the river edge and in areas closer to towns we have seen their habitat lost as the mangrove areas they occupy are reclaimed and built upon,' said director of the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD), Dr Laurentius Ambu.

Only 6,000 proboscis monkeys are left
‘The oil palm industry does not have to plant all the way down to the river edge, they should leave the riparian forest with a buffer of preferably 1km for wildlife and also as a measure to protect our waterways for as the water is also ultimately used for human consumption,' he added.

Sabah had given much for oil palm production and, said Laurentius, it was now time for the industry to give back by replanting riparian areas in particular.

He also expressed his frustration that many areas unsuitable for oil palm plantation due to regular flooding were being planted with the crop then destroyed as they become submerged by water.

We need to create forest corridors

The SWD estimates that there are only 6,000 proboscis monkeys left, with five viable populations in Sabah .

‘We have one population on the West Coast, one in the South and three on the East Coast including the Lower Kinabatangan where oil palm has had a dramatic effect on a variety of Sabah wildlife including this large nosed monkey,' said Laurentius.

Conversion of small patches of forest for oil palm in the area has also seen the orang-utan population decline. Without these small patches of forest, wildlife is unable to disperse and mate nor have access to adequate food sources at times.

‘This is why we have been continuously pushing for forest corridors particularly along the riparian areas. They are crucial not just for primates but all wildlife particularly in the Lower Kinabatangan , which is heavily broken up between protected areas and non-protected areas,' said Laurentius.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/proboscis-monkey.html

Iceland exports 131 tonnes whale meat, despite sanction threat

The Icelandic killing of Fin whales is illegal'
September 2011: More than 100 tonnes of whale products from Iceland's endangered Fin whales was exported in July - despite the pending threat of US trade sanctions.

America had warned Iceland it was considering the sanctions because it had violated a global ban on commercial whaling - but this has failed to prevent the export of a further 133 metric tonnes of whale meat.

The meat, worth more than $1.2million was exported to Japan in July.

Only US sanctions will stop this crime‘There is a line in the sand that Iceland has just crossed,' said Allan Thornton, president of America's Environmental Investigation Agency.

‘The Icelandic killing of Fin whales is illegal and its illegal export of whale meat will lead to further illegal killing of Fin whales. Only US sanctions against fish imports by the seafood company linked to Iceland's whaling company will stop this environmental crime.'

Since 2006, 280 endangered Fin whales, the second largest animal on the planet, have been killed by the Icelandic whaling company Hvalur, and earlier this year America confirmed that Iceland was undermining the effectiveness of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) by permitting commercial whaling and international trade in endangered Fin whale meat.

Iceland has exported almost 1400 metric tonnes of Fin whale meat and blubber to Japan , worth around $18 million, since it began killing Fin whales.

Meat shipped to Japan, Norway and LatviaAs well as the shipments of whale meat and blubber to Japan, Iceland has exported whale products including whale oil to Norway, the Faroes Islands and Latvia, despite a ban on such international trade in products of great whale species by the Convention on International trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

Conservationists are now pressing for action. Sue Fisher, policy director for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society said: ‘Not only is Iceland abusing two international conservation agreements, it is setting Fin whale quotas that are three times higher than sustainable levels according to the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), the world's foremost authority on whale science.

‘American citizens overwhelmingly oppose commercial whaling, and nothing less than economic sanctions will fulfill President Obama's promise to strengthen the commercial ban on whale hunting.'

Susan Millward, executive director of the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) said: ‘This recent export demonstrates the urgent need for President Obama to immediately impose economic measures including trade sanctions against Iceland.'
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/iceland-sanctions.html

New species of dolphin discovered

Researchers have determined that dolphins found in southeastern Australia represent a previously unknown species.

Around 150 of the dolphins live around the Melbourne area and had until now been assumed to be one of the known bottlenose dolphins.

But detailed DNA studies and analysis of skulls in museums showed the two populations are in fact a new species.

The new classification as Tursiops australis is described in PLoS One.

The common name of Burrunan dolphins derives from the Aboriginal Australian for "large sea fish of the porpoise kind".

Previous research had shown that the DNA found in the dolphins differed from that of the known bottlenose species Tursiops truncatus and Tursiops aduncus.

But in order to define a new species, more evidence is needed. Kate Charlton-Robb of Monash University in Melbourne and her colleagues studied dolphin skulls found in a number of museums, as well as more detailed analysis of DNA, to show that T. australis is clearly a different animal.

"This is an incredibly fascinating discovery as there have only been three new dolphin species formally described and recognised since the late 1800s," Ms Charlton-Robb said.

"What makes this even more exciting is this dolphin species has been living right under our noses, with only two known resident populations living in Port Phillip Bay and the Gippsland Lakes in Victoria state."

In fact, now that it is recognised as a separate species it may immediately qualify under Australia's criteria for endangered animals.

"The formal recognition of this new species is of great importance to correctly manage and protect this species, and has significant bearing on the prioritisation of conservation efforts," the authors wrote.

"This is especially crucial given its endemism to a small region of the world, with only two small known resident populations."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14921665

Chinese doctors to call for ‘cruel’ bear farms to be closed

China’s bear farms, where for decades bile has been extracted from the endangered animals in horrific conditions, have been condemned by eminent Chinese scientists.

At a conference in London on Friday, the experts will say there is no justification for the farms because their latest research has shown that that herbal substitutes have greater health benefits than those claimed for bear bile which is used in traditional Chinese medicine.

The rare public criticism of ‘bile farms’ by traditional Chinese medicine experts will be led by Dr Yibin Feng, an associate professor and assistant director at the School of Chinese Medicine at the University of Hong Kong.

He will unveil new research showing that the bears’ suffering on the farms is “unnecessary” and will call for the farms to be closed down.

“Bears are being inhumanely treated and bear farming must end in the near future,” Dr Feng will tell the conference in Westminster.

“Our research provides evidence that other easily available animal bile and plants can be used as bear bile substitutes.”

His conclusions will delight campaigners who for years have fought against the farms and freed hundreds of bears from captivity.

They claim that opposition to the industry is growing as China’s burgeoning middle class become increasingly opposed to such cruelty.

Dr Feng will warn the World Traditional Chinese Medicine Congress conference, however, that opponents face a hard battle with traditionalists who remain convinced that real bear bile can help cure many ailments including stomach and digestive disorders and kidney problems. Many people, including government officials, will refuse to accept substitutes, he will say.

On the farms, the bears - mostly Asiatic black bears - are kept in tiny, cramped cages and milked for their bile through crude holes cut into the abdomen wall and the gall bladder.

The wounds are deliberately left open, leaving the bears exposed to infection and disease. They are kept hungry and denied free access to water because this helps produce more bile.

The farms are still found in many parts of China and other Asian countries, fuelling poaching and illegal trade in the animals.

Dr Feng’s research shows that herbal alternatives and bile from other animals such as cattle - which can be collected cheaply at abbatoirs - can be more effective than bear bile.

He will argue that growing opposition to animal substitutes will mean that, eventually, only plant substitutes will be acceptable. “The final choice will have to be to use plants to substitute bear bile,” he will tell the conference at Central Hall.

“Completely replacing the real one in chemical compositions is really difficult, but it is possible and we are close to proving the reality which is that the pharmacological effects of the substitute are better than those of the real one.”

Animal welfare campaigners point to growing opposition to the farms inside China. Earlier this year the owner of one of the biggest bear bile farms in China - who also owns a large pharmaceutical company - sparked protests in China when he applied for approval to list his company on a stock exchange.

Another speaker at the conference, Toby Zhang, of the charity Animals Asia, said: “There has been a groundswell of public opinion against bear bile farming which shows that the Chinese people are increasingly concerned about animal welfare issues. Now even tradtional medicine doctors are advising against the use of bear bile.”

Jill Robinson, the English founder and chief executive of the charity, which has a sanctuary for rescued bears in China, said: “Bears are dying in droves across the country in conditions that are just as horrendous as they were when we began rescuing bears in 1995. This appalling trade has to end.

“There are over 54 different herbal alternatives and man-made synthetics that can take their place. No one is going to die from a lack of bear bile.”

In December 2009, 19 of China’s mainland provinces committed to becoming bear farm free. Another province, Shandong, closed its last bear farm in 2010.

But there is growing concern that the bear bile trade is still widespread throughout Asia.

The Chinese government estimates that there are currently between 7,000 and 10,000 bears kept for their bile in China. There are an estimated 16,000 Asiatic bears living in the wild.

A report in May by TRAFFIC, the wildlife monitoring network, found that poaching and illegal trade of bears, “continues unabated”, and on a large scale, mostly in China, but also in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam.

The most common products on sale were pills and whole bear gall bladders where the bile secreted by the liver is stored.

International trade in the bears, and their parts and derivatives, is prohibited under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The report found that the ban was widely flouted. Domestic trade of bear bile is legal but regulated in China and Japan and illegal in other countries.

Bear bile has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for more than 3,000 years.

Until about 30 years ago, the only way to acquire bear bile was by killing a wild animal and removing its gall bladder. In the early 1980s bear farms began appearing in North Korea and quickly spread to China.

Bears rescued from farms by Animals Asia are found to be suffering from liver cancer, blindness, shattered teeth and ulcerated gums. Contaminated bile from sick bears poses a threat to human health.
The campaign has won support from celebrities including Joanna Lumley, the actress. “Bear farming is a cruel and unnecessary practice,” she said.

“The bears are suffering and dying from liver cancers - and doctors in Asia are now urgently highlighting concerns for those who consume the diseased bile.”

Karen Mok, China’s biggest music star, said: “Animals deserve to live in a world without fear or suffering. We must all help the thousands of bears suffering terrible cruelty.”

Dr Jidong Wu, president of the UK association of traditional chinese medicine at Middlesex university, which prohibits the use of bear bile by its practitioners, said extracting bear bile was “inhumane and unethical” and “against the general principle and law of traditional Chinese medicine which emphasises keeping the balance between mankind and nature.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/laos/7950161/Inside-a-bear-bile-farm-in-Laos.html


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/1414897/More-bears-face-torment-on-Chinas-bile-farms.html

By David Harrison
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/8727071/Chinese-doctors-to-call-for-cruel-bear-farms-to-be-closed.html