Orangutan: How 70,000 years of human interaction have shaped an icon of wild nature

Date:  June 27, 2018

Source:  Cardiff University

Summary:

The evolution of the orangutan has been more heavily influenced by humans than was previously thought, new research reveals.

Professor Mike Bruford, of Cardiff University, was part of the team of scientists shedding light on the development of the critically endangered species. Their findings offer new possibilities for orangutan conservation.

One of humans' closet living relatives, the orangutan has become a symbol of nature's vulnerability in the face of human actions and an icon of rainforest conservation.

But in the research paper published in the journal Science Advances, the team argues this view overlooks how humans, over thousands of years, have shaped the orangutan known today.

Continued  

Beware Bullwinkle! Alaska Woman Pets Moose

A woman who made friends with a moose in Alaska this weekend is now a rising YouTube star, although the state's Fish and Game Department is warning the public about the dangers of petting "Bullwinkle."

Chantelle Hernandez, 24, told the Anchorage Daily News that since she'd moved to Anchorage from Miami in September, she'd wanted to connect with a moose.

She got her wish Sunday after she and her husband parked outside their apartment complex.  Under a tree, an adult moose was lounging in the snow.

Hernandez walked over to the moose but her husband kept his distance. "He thought I was going to get my head kicked in," she told the newspaper.

She managed to pet the moose on its nose before it rose and walked off. Meanwhile, Jason Blake, who works for the newspaper's website, and his 2-year-old son were catching the moment on tape as they watched from their apartment window.

Blake shared his video on YouTube and Facebook Monday. As of today, it had more than 12,600 views.

Although Hernandez walked away unscathed, the Fish and Game Department's Gino Del Frate told the Anchorage Daily News that she could have been kicked or stomped.

"It could easily have been a moose that was less tolerant," he said. "People don't understand how fast and hard a moose can kick."

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/video-beware-bullwinkle-alaska-woman-pets-moose-165537730--abc-news-topstories.html;_ylt=AljvtUYJ9xHH0TeSTXAHtOl2hMgF;_ylu=X3oDMTRhOXBrY2ppBG1pdANUb3BTdG9yeSBTY2llbmNlU0YgQW5pbWFsUGV0c1NTRgRwa2cDN2M0YTRjYmEtNDY5MC0zZDNlLTg2N2YtMzhjMGRiNDFlYTUyBHBvcwM2BHNlYwN0b3Bfc3RvcnkEdmVyA2NmZGJlN2QwLTc5YzEtMTFlMS1iYmE3LWVmYjUwNWYxYjU3MQ--;_ylg=X3oDMTFrM25vcXFyBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdAMEcHQDc2VjdGlvbnMEdGVzdAM-;_ylv=3

Back from the brink: endangered species successes

Human interaction with endangered species isn't always a death sentence for the animals. With careful coaxing and vigilance, some species have been brought back from the edge of extinction to thrive once again.

KNOWN LOCALLY AS 'AL MAHA', the Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) is a regal-looking beast that features in Arabic poetry and paintings. Once common, this large antelope has wide hooves that allow it to move across shifting sands, and the reputed ability to smell water from many kilometres away. During the 20th century, hunting took a heavy toll and when the last wild individual was shot in 1972, the species was declared 'extinct in the wild'.

That could have been the final chapter of the oryx's story, but the species was of symbolic significance to many in the Arabian peninsula. A few animals, caught as wild numbers dwindled, were brought together with oryxes from royal collections in Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Successful breeding programs saw the captive herd grow. In Oman in 1982, the first oryx were reintroduced to their traditional lands.

In June 2011 the International Conservation Union, IUCN, announced that the number of wild oryx had hit the 1,000 mark and that the species was well on the way to recovery. It has been reclassified from 'endangered' to 'vulnerable' - the biggest success ever for an animal that was once classified as 'extinct in the wild'.

"To have brought the Arabian oryx back from the brink of extinction is a major feat and a true conservation success story," said Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, director general of the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi. "One which we hope will be repeated many times over for other threatened species."

Captive breeding programs have had notable successes in many parts of the world. In the US a private captive breeding program brought another large, iconic beast, the American bison (Bison bison), back from the edge of extinction in the late 1800s. Today around 30,000 live in the wild, while another 30,000 are found on commercial ranching operations.

In Australia the helmeted honeyeater (Lichenostomus melanops), a beautiful yellow and black creature that is the bird emblem of Victoria, dwindled to as few as 50 individuals in 1990. A captive breeding program at the Healesville Sanctuary has seen this bird saved from going over the brink. Although it only numbers 80 even now, the 20 or so birds released each year are keeping this species alive, and volunteers are working around the clock to help this number climb.

Read on...

By John Pickrell
ABC Environment