Forgotten Mozambique forest yields 3 new species of butterfly and a new snake!

Until just three years ago the vast area of forest was known only to villagers nearby. The team 'found' Mount Mabu after looking at Google Earth maps in 2005 while trying to finding a site for a conservation project, looking at land above 1,600m where higher rainfall means there is likely to be forest.

Julian Bayliss, a locally-based conservationist, investigated the unexpected patch of green and used satellite photos to identify a large, unexplored forest. In October and November 2008 an international team of 28 scientists and support staff from the UK, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Belgium and Switzerland hiked into it.
Expedition leader, RBG Kew botanist Jonathan Timberlake said "The phenomenal diversity is just mind-boggling: seeing how things are adapted to little niches, to me this is the incredible thing. Even today we cannot say we know all of the world's key areas for biodiversity - there are still new ones to discover."

They found a wealth of wildlife including pygmy chameleons, Swynnerton's robin, butterflies such as the Small Striped Swordtail and Emperor Swallowtail as well as three new species, a previously undiscovered species of adder and many exotic plants, including a rarely seen orchid. The team brought back over 500 plant specimens and are looking forward to finding out more about the species they collected.

2. Endangered Animal of the Week: 29th Dec-4th Jan 2009

African Wild Dog (Lycaon Pictus)

Status: Endangered

Population Trend: Decreasing

Found: Botswana; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; Ethiopia; Kenya; Malawi; Mozambique; Namibia; Senegal; South Africa; Sudan; Tanzania; Zambia; Zimbabwe

Range: Historical data indicate that African Wild Dogs were formerly distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa, from desert (Lhote 1946) to mountain summits (Thesiger 1970), and probably were absent only from lowland rainforest and the driest desert (Schaller 1972). They have disappeared from much of their former range – 25 of 39 former range states no longer support populations (Fanshawe et al. 1997). The species is virtually eradicated from West Africa, and greatly reduced in central Africa and north-east Africa. The largest populations remain in southern Africa (especially northern Botswana, western Zimbabwe, eastern Namibia, and Kruger National Park, South Africa) and the southern part of East Africa (especially Tanzania and northern Mozambique). Details of current distribution and status are in Woodroffe et al. (1997) and Sillero-Zubiri et al. (2004).

Population: African Wild Dogs are rarely seen, even where they are relatively common, and it appears that populations have always existed at very low densities. Ginsberg and Woodroffe (1997) used population densities in well-studied areas to estimate the size of remaining populations. These estimates suggest that between 3,000–5,500 free-ranging wild dogs remain in Africa.

Estimated sizes and trends of national wild dog populations in Africa, updated from Woodroffe et al. (1997), can be found in Sillero-Zubiri et al. (2004).



Habitat and Ecology: African Wild Dogs are generalist predators, occupying a range of habitats including short-grass plains, semi-desert, bushy savannas and upland forest. While early studies in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, led to a belief that wild dogs were primarily an open plains species, more recent data indicate that they reach their highest densities in thicker bush (e.g., Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania; Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe; and northern Botswana). Several relict populations occupy dense upland forest (e.g., Harenna Forest, Ethiopia: Malcolm and Sillero-Zubiri 2001; Ngare Ndare Forest, Kenya). African Wild Dogs have been recorded in desert (Lhotse 1946), although they appear unable to establish themselves in the southern Kalahari (M.G.L. Mills, unpubl.), and montane habitats (Thesiger 1970; Malcolm and Sillero-Zubiri 2001), although not in lowland forest. It appears that their current distribution is limited primarily by human activities and the availability of prey, rather than by the loss of a specific habitat type.

African Wild Dogs mostly hunt medium-sized antelope. Whereas they weigh 20–30 kg, their prey average around 50 kg, and may be as large as 200 kg. In most areas their principal prey are Impala (Aepyceros melampus), Greater Kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros), Thomson's Gazelle (Gazella thomsonii) and Common Wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus). They will give chase of larger species, such asCommon Eland (Tragelaphus oryx) and African Buffalo (Syncerus caffer), but rarely kill such prey. Small antelope, such as dik-dik (Madoqua spp.), Steenbok (Raphicerus campestris) and duiker (tribe Cephalophini) are important in some areas, and warthogs (Phacochoerus spp.) are also taken in some populations. Wild dogs also take very small prey such as hares, lizards and even eggs, but these make a very small contribution to their diet.

Threats: The principal threats to African Wild Dogs are conflict with human activities and infectious disease. Both of these are mediated by habitat fragmentation, which increases contact between wild dogs, people and domestic dogs. The important role played by human-induced mortality has two long-term implications. First, it makes it likely that, outside protected areas, wild dogs may well be unable to co-exist with the increasing human population unless better protection and local education programmes are implemented. This will be a serious problem for wild dog populations outside protected areas. Second, wild dog ranging behaviour leads to a very substantial "edge effect", even in large reserves. Simple geometry dictates that a reserve of 5,000 km² contains no point more than 40 m from its borders – a distance well within the range of distances travelled by a pack of wild dogs in their usual ranging behaviour. Thus, from a wild dog's perspective, a reserve of this size (fairly large by most standards) would be all edge. As human populations rise around reserve borders, the risks to wild dogs venturing outside are also likely to increase. Under these conditions, only the very largest unfenced reserves will be able to provide any level of protection for wild dogs. In South Africa, proper fencing around quite small reserves has proved effective in keeping dogs confined to the reserve (although fencing has costs, as well as benefits, in conservation terms).

Even in large, well-protected reserves, or in stable populations remaining largely independent of protected areas (as in northern Botswana), wild dogs live at low population densities. Predation by lions, and perhaps competition with hyaenas, contribute to keeping wild dog numbers below the level that their prey base could support. Such low population density brings its own problems. The largest areas contain only relatively small wild dog populations; for example, the Selous Game Reserve, with an area of 43,000 km² (about the size of Switzerland), contains about 800 wild dogs. Most reserves, and probably most wild dog populations, are smaller. For example, the wild dog population in Niokolo-Koba National Park and buffer zones (about 25,000 km², larger than the state of Israel) is likely to be not more than 50–100 dogs. Such small populations are vulnerable to extinction. "Catastrophic" events such as outbreaks of epidemic disease may drive them to extinction when larger populations have a greater probability of recovery – such an event seems to have led to the extinction of the small wild dog population in the Serengeti ecosystem on the Kenya-Tanzania border. Problems of small population size will be exacerbated if, as seems likely, small populations occur in small reserves or habitat patches. As discussed above, animals inhabiting such areas suffer a strong "edge effect". Thus, small populations might be expected to suffer disproportionately high mortality as a result of their contact with humans and human activity.

There are no commercial uses for wild dogs, other than non-consumptive ecotourism.

Conservation Actions: Wild dogs are legally protected across much of their range. However, this protection is rarely enforced and wild dogs are extinct in several countries despite stringent legal protection. Outside reserves, legal protection may have questionable value when it concerns a species that comes into conflict with people, often in remote areas with poor infrastructure. Under such circumstances, legal protection may serve only to alienate people from conservation activities.

The occurrence of wild dogs in protected areas is described in detail in Fanshawe et al. (1997). The largest populations inside protected areas occur in Tanzania: Selous Game Reserve and Ruaha National Park; South Africa: Kruger National Park; Botswana: Chobe National Park and Moremi Wildlife Reserve; and Zimbabwe: Hwange National Park.

Virtually no conservation measures have been implemented specifically for wild dogs. The establishment of very large protected areas (e.g., Selous Game Reserve, Kruger National Park), as well as conservancies on private and communal land, has ensured wild dogs' persistence in parts of eastern and southern Africa, and maintenance of such areas remains the highest priority for wild dog conservation. Attempts are underway to re-establish wild dogs in a network of very small reserves in South Africa, but this approach will demand intensive management in perpetuity and need not, at present, be used as a model for wild dog conservation elsewhere.

Conservation priorities include: (i) to maintain and expand connectivity of habitat available to wild dogs, particularly in northern Botswana/eastern Namibia/western Zimbabwe, South Africa/western Mozambique/south-east Zimbabwe, northern South Africa/south-east Botswana/south-west Zimbabwe and southern Tanzania/northern Mozambique; (ii) to work with local people to reduce deliberate killing of wild dogs in and around these areas, and also in smaller populations in Senegal, Cameroon and Kenya; (iii) to establish effective techniques for protecting small wild dog populations from serious infections such as rabies and distemper; (iv) to carry out surveys to establish the status of other potentially important populations, particularly in Algeria, Angola, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Mozambique and Sudan, and (v) to continue long-term monitoring of 'sentinel' populations to identify emerging threats. Re-establishment of extinct populations through reintroduction currently has a low priority in most areas, although natural recolonizations should be encouraged.

Occurrence in captivity
There are more than 300 wild dogs in captivity in 55 zoos, as listed on ISIS and as many as 200 additional animals occur in zoos and private collections, particularly in South Africa.

Early attempts to reintroduce captive-bred animals to the wild were hampered by the dogs' poor hunting skills and naive attitudes to larger predators. However, recent reintroductions have overcome this problem by mixing captive-bred dogs with wild-caught animals and releasing them together. This approach has been very valuable in re-establishing packs in several fenced reserves in South Africa, but is not considered a priority in other parts of Africa at present. Nevertheless, captive populations have important roles to play in developing conservation strategies for wild populations, through research (e.g., testing of vaccination protocols), outreach and education.

Gaps in knowledge
Several pieces of information are needed to enable more effective conservation of African wild dogs. These include: 1) establishing which techniques will be most effective and sustainable for protecting wild dogs from disease, including whether vaccinating wild dogs against rabies and distemper can ever be safe and effective, and whether other methods (including control or vaccination of domestic dogs) can reduce the risks to wild dogs; 2) determining the true impact of wild dogs on livestock under different conditions of husbandry, and the effectiveness of techniques to reduce this; 3) establishing the true impact of wild dogs on managed wild game and the effectiveness of techniques to resolve conflicts with game ranchers; 4) surveys of wild dog distribution and status are also required, particularly in Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Mozambique and Sudan; 5) genetic research would be valuable to establish the distinctiveness of wild dog populations remaining in west, central and north-east Africa; and 6) the reasons for and degree of fluctuation in packs and populations need to be better understood. In addition, several aspects of wild dogs' basic biology require further study, particularly: 1) mechanisms of ranging and dispersal; 2) causes of increased mortality among dispersers; 3) reasons for large home range; 4) mechanisms of sex-ratio biasing; 5) paternity; and 6) communication.

1. Endangered Animal of the Week: 22nd-28th Dec 2008

Orangutan (Pongo Abelii)

Status: Critically Endangered

Population Trend: Decreasing

Found: Indonesia (Sumatra)

Range: Pongo abelii is endemic to the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. It is generally restricted to the north of the island, north of the Batang Toru river on the west coast of North Sumatra province (Wich et al. 2003). It was once far more widespread and populations occurred as far south as Jambi and Padang up until at least the mid 1800s (see Rijksen 1978). There were reports of its existence in some parts of West Sumatra province as recently as the 1960s. However, surveys by Wich et al. (2003) found no evidence of their continuing survival south of the Batang Toru river.

The majority of wild Sumatran orangutans survive in the province of Aceh (more formally known as Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, or NAD), at the northernmost tip of the island. There are populations within North Sumatra province, but the largest of these also straddles the border with Aceh. Only two potentially viable populations lie entirely within North Sumatra province: West Batang Toru and East Sarulla, both near, but south-west of lake Toba (for precise locations see Singleton et al. 2004).

Within Aceh, almost all remaining forest patches of any size still harbour orangutans at the lower altitudes, but there are few, if any reproducing populations in the large tracts of forest above 1,000 m asl.

Population: The most recent estimate for Pongo abelii is around 7,300 (Singleton et al. 2004), occupying forests that cover 20,552 km², but of which only those regions below 1,000 m asl (circa 8,992 km²) harbour permanent orangutan populations. Each population listed in Table 1 is considered to comprise a single contiguous population, but increasing fragmentation may result in further subdivisions in the near future. All except Seulawah have been adopted by the UNEP/UNESCO GRASP (Great Ape Survival Programme: see Caldecott and Miles 2005) initiative as priority populations for conservation. A few small fragments of forest outside of those listed may still contain small numbers of orangutans but none are considered viable in the long term.

In addition to the above, original wild populations, a new population is being established in the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park (Jambi and Riau Provinces) via the re-introduction of confiscated illegal pets. This population currently numbers around 70 individuals and is reproducing.



Habitat and Ecology: The Sumatran orangutan is almost exclusively arboreal. Females virtually never travel on the ground and adult males do so only rarely. This is in contrast to Bornean orangutans (especially adult males) which more often descend to the ground. While both species depend on high-quality primary forests, Bornean orangutans appear better able to tolerate habitat disturbance. In Sumatra densities plummet by up to 60% with even selective logging (see Rao and van Schaik 1997).

Sumatran orangutans are primarily frugivores, but also eat leaves, insects (termites and ants) and on occasion, the meat of slow loris (Fox et al. 2004, Wich et al. 2006). Female home ranges are 800 to 1,500 ha. The true extent of male home range size is not fully known, although ranges in excess of 3,000 ha are inferred (Singleton and van Schaik 2001).

Females first give birth at about 15 years of age (Wich et al. 2004). Interbirth intervals are 8.2 to 9.3 years (compared with 6.1 to 7.7 years for P. pygmaeus; Wich et al. 2004, van Noordwijk and van Schaik 2005) and gestation lasts approximately 254 days (Kingsley 1981). Males exhibit bimaturism, whereby fully flanged adult males and the smaller unflanged males are both capable of reproducing, but employ differing mating strategies to do so (see Utami Atmoko et al. 2002). Longevity in the wild has been estimated at 58 years for males and 53 years for females (Wich et al. 2004).

Threats: This species is seriously threatened by logging (both legal and illegal), wholesale conversion of forest to agricultural land and oil palm plantations, and fragmentation by roads. Animals are also illegally hunted and captured for the international pet trade but this appears to be more a symptom of habitat conversion, as orangutans are killed as pests when they raid fruit crops at the forest edge.

A new threat is the Ladia Galaska road network in Aceh province, which if legitimized by the government will rapidly fragment most of the populations listed above. Another major concern is the re-issuing of logging permits for large tracts of forest in Aceh.

An assessment of forest loss in the 1990s concluded that forests supporting at least 1,000 orangutans were lost each year within the Leuser Ecosystem alone (van Schaik et al. 2001). These loss rates subsequently dropped dramatically during major civil conflict in the province, and the imposition of a moratorium on logging in Aceh. A peace deal negotiated in 2005 led to political stability and many new applications to open up logging concessions and palm oil estates in orangutan habitat.

In parts of North Sumatra orangutans are also still hunted on occasions for food.

Conservation Actions: Pongo abelii is listed on Appendix I of CITES and is strictly protected under Indonesian domestic legislation (UU No 5/1990). Protection of large areas of primary forest below 1,000 m asl is needed to secure their long term future.

A major stronghold is the Leuser Ecosystem conservation area: 2.6 million ha supporting circa 75% of remaining Sumatran orangutans. The Leuser Ecosystem was inaugurated by Presidential Decree in 1998 and its conservation is called for in the Act of Parliament No 11/2006 concerning Governance in Aceh. Management of the Ecosystem does not exclude non-forest uses, but stresses the importance of sustainable management with conservation of natural resources as the primary goal. Within the Leuser Ecosystem is the designated 900,000 ha Gunung Leuser National Park, but this mountainous area supports only 25% of the orangutans. The Gunung Leuser National Park is also a Man and Biosphere reserve and part of the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra World Heritage Cluster Site. Outside of the Leuser Ecosystem there are no other notable large conservation areas harbouring this species.

In the wake of the December 2004 tsunami, efforts are also underway to establish a second “Ulu Masen” ecosystem along similar lines to Leuser, incorporating the North East and North West Aceh populations. However, this process is in its early stages and there are already threats to open at least four large logging concessions in this area.

Very unusual species of frog discovered in Cambodia: Green-blood and turquoise bones!

A new species of frog, with green blood and turquoise-coloured bones, has been found in Cambodia's remote Cardamom Mountains by international conservation organisation Fauna & Flora International (FFI).

The Samkos bush frog (scientific name Chiromantis samkosensis) is thought to be extremely rare. Its strange coloured bones and blood are caused by the pigment biliverdin, a waste product usually processed in the liver. In this species, the biliverdin is passed back into the blood giving it a green colour; a phenomenon also seen in some lizards. The green biliverdin is visible through the frog's thin, translucent skin, making it even better camouflaged and possibly even causing it to taste unpalatable to predators.

The new frog is just one of four new-to-science frog species discovered by FFI in Cambodia. The Cardamom bush frog (Philautus cardamonus) and Smith's frog (Rana faber) are named after the cardamom plant and in honour of the British herpetologist Malcolm Smith, respectively. The Aural horned frog (Megophrys auralensis) is so named due to the short horn-like protrusions above its eyes. These species have only ever been seen in the peaks of the Cardamom Mountains.

Fauna & Flora International consultant naturalist and photographer Jeremy Holden, who discovered the Samkos bush frog, said: ‘When I found the frog, I had a thrilling suspicion that we were looking at an entirely new species of amphibian. Photographing these frogs has been a challenge. They were extremely difficult to find, but thanks to their distinctive calls we managed to get some excellent shots and record them for posterity.'

More than 1000 new species have been discovered in the rivers, jungles, markets and restaurants of the Greater Mekong in the last 10 years!

1068 new species have been discovered in the Greater Mekong Region of Southeast Asia in the last decade including the Laotian rock rat (thought extinct for 11 million years), the world's largest spider, a striped rabbit and a hot-pink, cyanide-producing dragon millipede according to a new report launched by World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

The region comprises the six countries through which the Mekong River flows including Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the southern Chinese province of Yunnan.

2 Species Per Week
First Contact in the Greater Mekong reports that 1068 species were discovered or newly identified by science between 1997 and 2007 - which averages two new species a week. While most species were discovered in the largely unexplored jungles and wetlands, some were first found in the most surprising places. The Laotian rock rat, for example, thought to be extinct 11 million years ago, was first encountered by scientists in a local food market, while the Siamese Peninsula pit viper was found slithering through the rafters of a restaurant in Khao Yai National Park in Thailand.

Discoveries in the last 10 years include:
519 plants
279 fish
88 frogs
88 spiders
46 lizards
22 snakes
15 mammals
4 birds
4 turtles
2 salamanders
1 toad

'Extinct' Pygmy tarsier rediscovered in Indonesia!

A team led by a Texas A&M University anthropologist has discovered a group of primates that have not been seen alive in 85 years. The pygmy tarsiers, covered in fur and weighing less than 2 ounces, the size of a small mouse, have not been observed alive since 1921 when they were collected for a museum. Several scientists believed they were extinct until one was accidentally trapped and killed in the highlands of Sulawesi in 2000. The pygmy tarsiers unique feature is that they have claws instead of nails, unlike most other primates. The two males and single female were captured using nets on Mount Rore Katimbo in Lore Lindu National Park. They were then radio collared to track their movements. These captures dispelled the belief among some primatologists that the species is extinct.

Huge new population of Irrawaddy dolphins discovered in Bangladesh!

Current population figures of the Irrawaddy dolphin are unknown, although experts estimate that some of the critically endangered sub-populations may number less than 100 individuals and that there may only be 45 left in the Philippines. Accurate estimates are unknown but a previously un-studied population that was studied recently in Bangladesh revealed to have as many as 5,800 individuals. These findings really provide hope for the future of the species,with several populations of Irrawaddy dolphins already critically endangered. Also,the Irrawaddy dolphin has been moved to CMS Appendix I, the highest level of protection awarded by the Convention for species that are endangered and require countries to take urgent action to protect them from all threats they face across their range. The future looks bright for this species!

New Population of one of the world's rarest primates discovered: The Tonkin Snub-Nosed Monkey!

A new population of the extremely rare Tonkin snub-nosed monkey has recently been discovered in a remote forested area of northern Vietnam. The monkey was believed to be extinct until the 1980's. Only around 200 individuals are known to still exist. The primate, which is unique to Vietnam, is listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conversation of Nature Red List of Endangered Species. About 15-20 individuals were observed by a group of biologists in a small forest patch in Quan Ba District, Ha Giang province, near the Chinese border. This population provides hope for the future of the species, with there now being 5 known populations.