Two endangered primates rescued in Vietnam

The Endangered Primate Rescue Center (EPRC) has received a yellow-cheeked gibbon and a black shanked douc langur in Vietnam, which were voluntarily handed over by locals on August 18.

According to EPRC’s Facebook page, the endangered yellow-cheeked gibbon, aged 4, was found stuck on a snare in the forest three years ago by Pham Thi Tu's family in the remote mountains of Kon Tum Province in the Central Highlands. The family decided to bring it home without knowing how endangered and rare this species was. She lost two fingers after that accident.

Since then, the gibbon has been raised like a member of the family, given human's food like rice, meat, fish or even coffee in the morning. She was showered every few days, lived together with the family under the same roof, and has become very used to walking bipedally like humans.

Tu voluntarily gave the endangered gibbon to the EPRC on the request from the district’s forest protection officials.

The black shanked douc langur, just six months old, weighs about 800 grams. A week ago, Doan Duc Loc, a man from Ho Chi Minh City paid VND5 million ($221) for the animal from a local in the southern province of Binh Phuoc.

The two threatened animals have been transported to EPRC in Cuc Phuong National Park in the northern province of Ninh Binh. They have shown signs of being stressed after a 40-hour trip.

It will take time for the center to adjust the eating habits of the two animals after they were fed with unsuitable food by locals, according to Elke Schwierz, an official from EPRC.

EPRC was established in 1993 and is a project of the Frankfurt Zoological Society. Currently it houses a lot of individuals of various species and sub-species, including some found nowhere else in captivity.

Logged forests are havens for endangered species in Southeast Asia

LONDON,  A logged forest isn't a lost forest, new research reveals. In recent surveys, scientists from Imperial College London found a surprising number of endangered species living in logged forests in Borneo.

The forests in question aren't clear cut, but "selectively logged." Only a specific tree species is removed. Often, conservationists labels these forests as "degraded." When agricultural interests lobby for more land, these forests are the first to be sacrificed.

The latest findings, detailed in the journal Ecological Applications, suggest these forests are tremendously undervalued.

Scientists surveyed biodiversity levels in both old growth and selectively logged forests using trap-and-release techniques as well as motion sensor cameras. Researchers monitored species numbers for three years.

The biologists found large predators like cloud leopards and civets were just as common in logged forests as protected old growth forests. Smaller animals like squirrels and rodents were actually more abundant in logged forests.

Scientists hypothesize that the higher biodiversity is enabled by the variety of habitat types in logged forests.

"The logging process creates a greater variation in habitat types in a smaller area, from untouched areas on steep slopes to completely denuded areas of open grassland," lead researcher Oliver Wearn said in a news release. "Old-growth forests would likely have the same diversity if we looked at them on a much larger scale."

Wearn says he and his research partners can't be sure the biodiversity found in logged forests is sustainable long-term.

"What we can say from this study is that protecting those large areas of forest that have already been logged could help conserve mammal species better than preserving fragmented pockets of forests inside oil palm landscapes," Wearn added.

Wearn says large portions of old growth forest should remain the top priority for conservationists, but that doesn't mean logged forests should be ignored. The new research is proof that conservationists should be thinking about protecting and rehabilitating logged forests, too, not giving up on them.

248 endangered animals in four bags seized

PADANG BESAR: Padang Besar Customs Department found 248 endangered animals worth about RM70,000 during checks on an express train from Bangkok, Thailand this morning.

Its director Kamarudin Jaafar said the exotic animals; 181 snakes of various species, six sugar gliders, 10 Sulcata tortoises, 29 Dhab lizards, two iguanas, 10 squirrels and 11 rabbits, were kept inside four bags on separate coaches of the train.

Two of the bags were found in the cargo coach while another two were found in one of the toilets during an inspection at the Padang Besar train station near the border at 9am.

He said the team had earlier detected some movement and animal-like images while using the scanning devices.

“No permit or import licences were found near the bags and the department is looking for the individual or group responsible for transporting these endangered animals into the country.

“The case will be handed over to the state Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) for further investigation under Customs Act 1967 and Wildlife Conservation Act 2010,” he said.

Endangered Florida Panther Kitten Rescued by Biologists in Collier County

Endangered Florida Panther Kitten Rescued by Biologists in Collier County: FWC (Photo : Facebook/ Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo)

A young male Florida panther kitten was rescued by biologists from the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge in Collier County.

The week-old endangered feline was discovered during a research mission in January. The biologists immediately rescued the 1 pound kitten who was suffering from extremely low body temperature. The panther kitten was then transferred to the Animal specialty Hospital of Florida, Naples, where veterinarians worked hard to save the animal. The kitten was kept under observation for 24 hours, though his conditions improved.

"We want to give any panther kitten the best opportunity to survive in the wild," said FWC veterinarian Dr. Mark Cunningham. "But clearly this kitten was in poor condition and almost certainly would have died without intervention."

After 24 hours of observations, it was shifted to Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo for neonatal care and rearing. After initial tests the zoo officials announced that the four-week old kitten was healthy and active with an excellent appetite.

When the kitten was introduced at the zoo, it weighed just 2.8 pounds. But with efforts from the vets and the zoo attendants, the kitten's health improved and it currently weighs 4.1 pounds and is growing every day.

Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo functions in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to provide strong veterinary services to the wild Florida panther population, which is the most endangered mammal in eastern United States. The population of these slender cats is less than 100. The young male kitten is the fourth kitten and eighth panther to be rehabilitated at the zoo.

"This kitten exemplifies how joint efforts of the FWC, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and our partners are helping recover imperiled species in Florida," said Kevin Godsea, manager of the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge for the USFWS. "We are certainly pulling for him and hope he leads a long, healthy life."

The panther kitten is receiving 24-hour care from the veterinary team that is led by Dr. Ray Ball, director of medical sciences. Next the team will work to wean the kitten from the bottle and introduce some solid food.

Before being transferred to the Elli Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, the kitten's new home, he will be vaccinated. During his stay at Tampa, the unnamed kitten will not be kept for public viewing due to his young age and health conditions. But he will be kept for public display at his new home.

The kitten is too young to beat the odds of surviving in the wild. The officials have no plans of returning the panther kitten to the wild.

Apart from providing rehab services, Tampa Zoo is an active member of the field team for the FWC that monitors panthers with the help of radio collars. They also work on collecting biomedical data.

Source: http://www.scienceworldreport.com/articles/13034/20140221/endangered-florida-panther-kitten-rescued-by-biologists-in-collier-county-fwc.htm

Forest in danger

America's most endangered rivers

Source CBS News

The Colorado River was today named the Most Endangered River in an annual American Rivers report. It doesn't call pollution the problem. It instead cites drought and demand. The Colorado River is endangered by outdated water management that is inadequate to respond to the pressures of over-allocation and persistent drought. 

American Rivers is calling on Congress to fund programs that encourage 21st century water management, while protecting rivers and the people, communities, and wildlife they support across the Colorado Basin. 

Pictured here with ring marking the high water line, a recreational boat approaches Hoover Dam as it makes its way along Black Canyon on Lake Mead, the Colorado River's largest reservoir. 

Endangered Sumatran elephant born in captivity

Source AFP

A baby Sumatran elephant peeps out timidly from between the legs of its mother at an Indonesian zoo, where her birth has given a boost to the critically endangered animal.

Kartini, named after the country's most celebrated feminist, Raden Ajeng Kartini, was born on Friday under a captive breeding programme and is in good health.

"Her birth is the result of conservation efforts at the zoo, and we're all happy to welcome her," Taman Safari zoo spokesman Yulius Suprihardo told AFP.

The zoo said that she seemed happy, and was feeding from her mother every 30 minutes.

The 105 kilogram (231 pound) elephant was born just south of the capital Jakarta, but the animal is native to Sumatra island, where its population has halved in one generation, according to environmental group WWF.

There are fewer than 3,000 Sumatran elephants remaining in the wild, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Rampant expansion of palm oil, paper plantations, and mines, has destroyed nearly 70 percent of the Sumatran elephant's forest habitat over 25 years, the WWF says, and the animals remain a target of poaching.

Three of the elephants were found dead in Riau province in November last year, with officials saying they were probably poisoned in a revenge attack by palm oil plantation workers who suspected the animals had destroyed their huts.