“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.

"Emi" and 14 month old son "Harapan" at Cincinnati Zoo

The United States has agreed to cut what Indonesia owes Uncle Sam by nearly $30 million over eight years in exchange for increased protection of Sumatran forests that are home to endangered rhinos, tigers and orangutans.

This debt-for-nature deal, orchestrated by Conservation International and the Indonesian Biodiversity Foundation, creates a trust to preserve 18.29 million acres, including Way Kambas National Park.

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Click here for a musical message about the plight of seabirds, from Nicholas Carlile, a conservation biologist in New South Wales.

Spix's Macaw

The Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation in Qatar has developed a captive breeding program for the Spix’s Macaw, extinct in the wild. In an interview by Mark Szotek for mongabay.com, Dr. Sven Hammer, the Director of Wildlife and Veterinary Services at Al Wabra, spoke of the facility’s history:

“It is quite common for wealthy Sheikhs in the gulf region to keep wild animals, most of which are acquired illegally from unstable parts of the world such as the Horn of Africa region. Rarely do these animals receive proper care and are simply replaced if and when they die. Just prior to the turn of the 21st century Sheikh Saoud made the decision that this practice was no longer personally acceptable and that if he was going to continue keep exotic animals at Al Wabra farm, conditions had to improve. From this point, professional zoo management practices were implemented through the hiring of qualified and experienced staff to manage the animals at Al Wabra. Sheikh Saoud went from “Collector” to “Protector” and Al Wabra went from your typical Arabian hobby farm to a world class wildlife preserve.”

Image is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 Germany License.

Read full article

Arakan forest turtle, thought to be extinct, rediscovered in Myanmar. (AP)

By MICHAEL CASEY (AP) – Sep 7, 2009

BANGKOK — The rare Arakan forest turtle, once though to be extinct, has been rediscovered in a remote forest in Myanmar, boosting chances of saving the reptile after hunting almost destroyed its population, researchers said Monday.

Texas researcher Steven Platt and staff from the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society discovered five of the brown-and-tan-spotted turtles in May during a survey of wildlife in the Rakhine Yoma Elephant Sanctuary.

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The video you’re viewing is taking place at the Canfield Training Site located on the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Central Wisconsin. Through the CraneCam, you will be able to view the young cranes go through their aircraft conditioning and training as they prepare for their first ever southward migration this coming Autumn. (Video courtesy: Operation Migration)