"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.
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.
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.
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)
By Steven McKenzie
Highlands and Islands reporter, BBC Scotland news website
A tiny creature no bigger than 1mm in length found in the Scottish hills has been confirmed as the first recorded member of its species found in the UK.
The springtail Bourletiella viridescens was photographed in the Cairngorms by Tim Ransom.
(more…)
Robert Booth
Monday September 7 2009
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/sep/07/discovery-species-papua-new-guinea
A lost world populated by fanged frogs, grunting fish and tiny bear-like creatures has been discovered in a remote volcanic crater on the Pacific island of Papua New Guinea.
A team of scientists from Britain, the United States and Papua New Guinea found more than 40 previously unidentified species when they climbed into the kilometre-deep crater of Mount Bosavi and explored a pristine jungle habitat teeming with life that has evolved in isolation since the volcano last erupted 200,000 years ago. In a remarkably rich haul from just five weeks of exploration, the biologists discovered 16 frogs which have never before been recorded by science, at least three new fish, a new bat and a giant rat, which may turn out to be the biggest in the world.
The discoveries are being seen as fresh evidence of the richness of the world’s rainforests and the explorers hope their finds will add weight to calls for international action to prevent the demise of similar ecosystems. They said Papua New Guinea’s rainforest is currently being destroyed at the rate of 3.5% a year.
“It was mind-blowing to be there and it is clearly time we pulled our finger out and decided these habitats are worth us saving,” said Dr George McGavin who headed the expedition.
The team of biologists included experts from Oxford University, the London Zoo and the Smithsonian Institution and are believed to be the first scientists to enter the mountainous Bosavi crater. They were joined by members of the BBC Natural History Unit which filmed the expedition for a three-part documentary which starts tomorrow night.
They found the three-kilometre wide crater populated by spectacular birds of paradise and in the absence of big cats and monkeys, which are found in the remote jungles of the Amazon and Sumatra, the main predators are giant monitor lizards while kangaroos have evolved to live in trees. New species include a camouflaged gecko, a fanged frog and a fish called the Henamo grunter, named because it makes grunting noises from its swim bladder.
“These discoveries are really significant,” said Steve Backshall, a climber and naturalist who became so friendly with the never-before seen Bosavi silky cuscus, a marsupial that lives up trees and feeds on fruits and leaves, that it sat on his shoulder.
“The world is getting an awful lot smaller and it is getting very hard to find places that are so far off the beaten track.”
The official release of Hope for Animals and Their World Wednesday, Sept. 2 also marks the start of a series of media and public appearances by Jane.
She will appear at the 92nd Street Y with Howard Gardner in a dialogue titled “How to Change the World.” This series is part of Professor Gardner’s quest to identify the intellectual and personal qualities that can transform our world. Dr. Goodall also will speak about the programs of the Jane Goodall Institute, including Roots & Shoots, her international youth service program.
The following evening, Dr. Goodall will do a book signing at Barnes & Noble in NYC.
Friday morning, she’ll appear on ABC’s Good Morning America, in a live interview scheduled for 8:30am.
Finally, look for a Time magazine article about Jane in the coming weeks! (She heads to their offices for an interview on Thursday.)
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Jane Goodall is the world’s foremost authority on chimpanzees. An internationally renowned conservationist, she is the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and has received many distinguished awards in science. Dr. Goodall is also the author of many acclaimed books, including the bestseller Reason for Hope.
