Over the past 9 years Prairie Wildlife Research has counted, captured, and conserved more than 1,000 black-footed ferrets in the wild. It works on the prairies to save black-footed ferrets from deadly diseases and works with our many conservation partners to reintroduce black-footed ferrets across North America. In the past 3 years alone it has moved wild black-footed ferrets to start new populations or enhance populations in 6 US states. It also works with many projects to learn more about black-footed ferrets and restore this beautiful species.

Check out Prairie Wildlife Research and support its on-the-ground conservation efforts.

The conservation world has a lost a true hero in Dr. Devra Kleiman, who passed away from cancer on April 29. Please read on for a personal note from Dr. Goodall.

It was on a sunny spring morning in 2007 at the National Zoo that I met Devra for the first (and last) time. I felt so honored when she let me go with her into the newly constructed enclosure of a family group of golden lion tamarins. They are, of course, exquisite. Like jewels, improbable. And as I watched them, leaping easily from branch to branch, I felt a rush of gratitude to Devra for all the hard work and sheer determination that had prevented these glorious little beings from joining the dodo, and a growing number of other creatures, on the list of extinct species.

Now as I write this, in my home in faraway Bournemouth, I think back to that April day when Devra introduced me to that little family. I remember how the adult male approached Devra, paused, then reached out to take a piece of fruit. It was, for me, a magical moment, symbolizing the trust of a very small primate for the woman who has worked so passionately to prevent his enchanting species from vanishing forever from Planet Earth.

During our discussion afterwards Devra recalled, with a smile, some advice she was given at the start of her work: “Don’t get involved with tamarins. They are going extinct – it will be bad for your career.” It was fortunate for all of us, especially the golden lion tamarins, that she chose to ignore that advice and take the path her heart dictated.

Her untimely death is shocking, and I was incredibly saddened when I heard the news. Conservation has lost a real giant and her family and friends have lost a warm, dynamic and courageous human being. But her legacy lives on deep in the Brazilian rain forest and the mysterious stands of bamboo in the mountains of China. She will not be forgotten.

Jane Goodall Ph.D., DBE

To read more about Devra’s amazing work please see the article in The Washington Post. Memorial contributions in Devra’s honor may be made to the Devra Kleiman Fund to Save the Golden Lion Tamarin. Donations for the fund can be made online (www.savetheliontamarin.org), or can be mailed to:

Save the Golden Lion Tamarin
9604 Garwood St.
Silver Spring, MD 20901

A group of crane chicks that has hatched in Gloucestershire, part of a reintroduction program. See the chicks in the BBC video.

Dr. John Thorbjarnarson with a wild Chinese Alligator (Photo: John Thorbjarnarson)

We are very sad to learn that Dr. John Thorbjarnarson – champion of the endangered Chinese Alligator – passed away on February 14^th.  Dr. Thorbjarnarson was a Senior Conservation Scientist with the Wildlife Conservation Society and a world-renowned expert on crocodiles, alligators, anacondas, turtles and other species  of reptile.  He worked tirelessly throughout Latin America, Africa and Asia to ensure their protection and conservation.  Dr. Jane Goodall had the opportunity to speak with John a few times and has described him as a wonderful person and staunch advocate for crocodilians.

You can learn more about John in a posting by the New York Times and read Jane’s chapter on the Chinese Alligator here .

With the generous support of John Thorbjarnarson’s family, WCS has established a memorial fund in John’s honor to promote the conservation of the world’s endangered crocodilians.  Donations for the fund can be made online (https://secure3.convio.net/wcs/site/Donation2?df_id=1883&1883.donation=form1), or can be mailed to:

Wildlife Conservation Society
John Thorbjarnarson Memorial Fund
Global Conservation Department
2300 Southern Blvd.
Bronx, NY 10460

By Alan Mowbray and Felipe Cano

Puerto Rican Parrot (USFWS)

HISTORY
On his second voyage to the New World in 1493, Christopher Columbus dropped anchor off the Caribbean island he named San Juan Bautista. He and his crew of Spanish explorers saw white sand beaches bordered by high mountains covered with lush forests. They were warmly greeted by the native Taino people who gave them gifts of gold nuggets plucked from the island’s rivers. During their two-day stay, Columbus most likely saw hundreds of noisy bright-green parrots with beautiful white-ringed eyes swooping overhead. The Taino called these birds “Iguaca.”

At the beginning of the sixteenth century, Spanish colonists estimated that there were nearly a million of these beautiful birds living in the island’s remaining forests. Today there are estimated to be less than fifty Amazona vittata living in the wild on the island we now know as Puerto Rico. Although the wild Puerto Rican parrot population has expanded to other locations on the island, at the moment, the 28,000 acre (19,650 hectare) El Yunque National Forest is the genesis of the renowned cooperative effort to save one of the 10 most endangered birds in the world.

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“This is a story about a waterfall, the World Bank and 4,000 homeless toads.”

Read the New York Times story.

Watch spray toad video from Toledo Zoo.

The world’s smallest parrot has been filmed in the wild for the first time.

The tiny bird, which is not much bigger than an adult person’s thumb, is smaller than some of the insects with which it shares the forest.

Read the BBC article and watch the video.

Two New York teens armed with DNA kits may have discovered a new cockroach species.

NPR’s Scott Hensley blogged about it.

Recently, Dr. Jane Goodall met Jim Thomas at the Wildlife Conservation Network Expo, where she gave the keynote address to an audience of over 1,000 people.  Jim is the Director of the Tenkile Conservation Alliance and is working to save the Scotts’ Tree Kangaroo from extinction.

The Tenkile or Scotts’ Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus scottae) is only found in the Torricelli Mountain Range of Papua New Guinea (PNG). Discovered in 1989 Tenkile is one of the most endangered marsupials in the world with a population of approximately three hundred. Being a kangaroo they have a pouch but tree kangaroos can walk bi-pedally (like people) and can hop as well. They have a flexible tail to help them balance and strong claws for climbing in the rainforest.

Tenkile is critically endangered because the human population has tripled in the last 50 years and the people depend on the rainforest for food. Tenkile has been hunted to the brink of extinction. More recently logging, mining and oil palm projects have increased the risk of all flora and fauna within the Torricelli Mountain Range and the surrounding areas in PNG.

The Tenkile Conservation Alliance (TCA) was established in 2001 to save the Tenkile and its habitat. Their work focuses on education, research and sustainable community development such as rabbit and chicken farms as alternative food sources to wild animals. TCA is working closely with local people to help establish a legally protected conservation area in the Torricelli Mountain Range.

After meeting Dr. Goodall, Jim is now planning to start a TCA chapter of Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots program. Roots & Shoots encourages youth to make positive change happen for people, animals, and the environment through service-learning projects.

To learn more please about TCA please visit their website: www.tenkile.com.