animalphiles

New survival plan for world's rarest gorilla

A coalition of conservation groups is joining in a plan of action to save the world's rarest great ape - the Cross River gorilla - which is threatened by habitat destruction and poachers.

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group, and others have published recommendations for governmental agencies to protect the species - which is scattered in 11 locations along the mountainous border region between Cameroon and Nigeria.

“Although the situation looks dire for the Cross River gorilla, it is far from hopeless,” said Dr. James Deutsch, director of WCS’ Africa Program. “At first glance, the population seems to be fragmented, but we have evidence of occasional migrations between some of the locations, a finding that improves the prospects for saving these gorillas.”

Classified as Critically Endangered by IUCN’s Red List, the Cross River gorilla is the rarest of the four subspecies of gorilla, numbering under 300 individuals across its entire range. Gorilla gorilla diehli is one of two subspecies of western gorilla, the other being Gorilla gorilla gorilla, the western lowland gorilla. The eastern gorilla includes the eastern lowland gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri), and the famous mountain gorillas of the Virunga Mountains and southern Uganda (Gorilla beringei beringei).

The biggest threats to Cross River gorillas are from habitat destruction and hunting. Gorillas are occasionally targeted by hunters of bushmeat in the region, and genetic analysis of the population reveals a reduction in numbers over the last 200 years that is most likely due to hunting. The fragmentation of their forest habitat is caused by farming, road-building, and the burning of forests by pastoralists.

To counter these threats, authors of the report have compiled a series of recommendations that include: Cooperative, landscape-based planning between conservation managers across the Cameroon-Nigeria border; raising awareness of the uniqueness of the Cross River gorilla and conservation in general, involving government agencies, NGOs, and local people in community-based conservation activities, the formulation of an ecotourism program that both benefits conservation and minimizes potential impacts on the gorillas, improving both existing legislation and law enforcement in the Cross River gorilla’s range and upgrading the infrastructure and management of existing protected areas and establishing new protected areas, with a number of site-specific recommendations.

Rescued monkeys become parents

A pair of Schmidt’s spot-nose monkeys (Cercopithecus ascanius schmidti) that were rescued from bushmeat markets in Africa and later imported into the U.S. have given birth to their first offspring. The young parents were originally discovered for sale in bushmeat markets of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 2006, a coalition of zoos provided resources to secure several orphaned animals, arrange their care, and organize their ultimate importation into the U.S. before they were to be sold as pets in South Africa.

Wildlife World Zoo, in cooperation with five other zoos, each nationally accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), participated in the successful rescue of over 30 African primates representing five different species that are found in the DRC. Two of those species, several immature black mangabeys (Lophocebus albigena aterrimus) and a pair of Schmidt’s spot-nose monkeys (Cercopithecus ascanius schmidti) are currently on display at Wildlife World Zoo.  The juvenile mangabeys have benefited from the socialization provided by the zoo’s other adult mangabeys.  Keepers note the spot-nose monkeys have been attentive parents despite their youth, inexperience, and the fact this is their first infant.

Zoo Director, Mickey Ollson hopes the rescue of these young animals and the successful birth of future generations will help raise public awareness about the devastating effects the bushmeat and illegal pet trades are having on wild populations throughout Africa. “All of these animals will invigorate the genetic diversity and health of several species of primate under the care of AZA zoos—animal ambassadors that may someday help preserve dwindling wild populations from going extinct.”

Dog rescued from Kuwait may get prosthetic leg

From Associated Press:
A puppy found hobbling in the Kuwaiti desert has ended up at Colorado State University, where she might be a candidate for an experimental prosthesis that could one day help humans.

Sally, a Saluki, was spotted in the desert several months ago by a volunteer with animal welfare group PAWS and taken to a shelter in Kuwait City. It's unclear how the dog was injured.

Part of the dog's left hind leg had been severed and a veterinarian in Kuwait wanted to amputate the remaining leg. PAWS volunteer Steve Holden e-mailed his alma mater, CSU, and its veterinary hospital to ask whether that was sound advice.

CSU animal surgeon Erick Egger responded that it was, but that Sally, who he estimated was about a year old, might make a good candidate for new research on grafting prosthetics to bone, which would prevent her from losing more of her leg.

PAWS then flew Sally with Holden to Fort Collins, arriving Tuesday.

While humans can be fitted with a prosthetic limb to be strapped on, dogs don't take to them well. Egger wants to try an "ingrowth" prosthesis.

One concept involves inserting a metallic implant at the bone, attaching an artificial limb to the implant, and then allowing bone to grow around it.

"The real critical part that will make it work or not is whether we can get soft tissues like skin and muscle to grow into the metal that extends into the body," he said.

Veterinarian Robert Taylor in Denver has been working on the concept, which perhaps one day could be transferred to humans, Egger said.

It could be a month or two before Sally gets her new leg, he said. He is looking at ways to raise funds to pay for materials, which he estimates could cost about $5,000.

The origin of domestic house cats

A new genetic study shows house cats around the world can trace their origins to lybica, a wild cat that roamed the Middle East 100,000 years ago.

Stephen J. O'Brien of the National Cancer Institute says, "house cats -- which includes fancy breeds and feral cats -- those cats all form a genetic group that is virtually indistinguishable from ones in the Middle East."

"So, domestication, for sure, took place in the Middle East where those cats live today," added O'Brien, coauthor of a paper appearing in this week's online edition of the journal Science.

The research goes beyond mere curiosity about where Fluffy comes from. Cats are a model for some human genetic diseases, such as polycystic kidney disease and retinal atrophy.

The researchers found wildcats, with DNA identical to domestic cats, in Israel, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

By studying the mitochondrial DNA of 979 domestic and wildcats from Europe, Asia and Africa, the researchers concluded that the origins of the species -- what O'Brien calls a feline Adam and Eve -- developed between 130,000 and 160,000 years ago. Mitochondrial DNA is passed down from mother to offspring.

Sad ending to a short, significant life

A giant manta ray baby believed to be the first born in captivity died as the result of abuse by its father.

The female baby manta was born Saturday at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Japan. It was pronounced dead Thursday morning.

Keepers believe it died of bruises and cuts, apparently caused by its father. They say the male adult constantly chased after the baby, often slamming into it.

The reason for the father's violence was not immediately known, and the baby's death was still under investigation.

Gorillas surprise scientists by using "napkins"

Gorillas aren't just a bunch of big galoots. They have some very delicate table manners, according to  researchers for the Zoological Society of London.

Observers noticed gorillas in West Africa fashion "napkins" out of leaves to clean their fingers and faces after eating messy food. Researches say this adds to previous evidence that great apes behave in a similar manner to humans in many arenas.

Gorillas are actually far more gentle than their chimpanzee cousins and follow a vegetarian diet of leaves and fruit.  Unlike chimpanzees, which routinely use tools such as twigs and stones to hunt and gather food - gorillas are less technologically minded.

They have, however, been seen using sticks to find their way across swamps and pools.

And they take some pride in their appearance. Grooming - where fleas, bugs and mud are picked from each other's hair - is an essential part of their family life.

 

Bees favor certain colors

Buff-tailed bumblebees prefer purple. Violet to be more precise. And there might actually be a useful purpose for their favoritism - it could help them find more sweet nectar.

Researchers took captive-reared bees that had never seen real flowers and exposed them to artificial blooms in the lab. They discovered the bees were more attracted to purple than blue. When the bees were sent to forage for real flowers in their natural habitat, those favoring purple flowers harvested more nectar.

"If you talk with friends, everyone has favorite colors, and now we find these might actually be useful," said researcher Nigel Raine, a University of London evolutionary ecologist.

Past research has shown animals often have favorite colors, smells and other signals when it comes to choosing a mate, but little research has been carried out concerning how such sensory preferences affect searches for food. These new findings suggest the bumblebees developed their favorite color over time to coincide with the most nectar-rich flowers available.

The work could have implications for other species, "with inbuilt sensory biases helping out inexperienced animals," Raine suggested. "We might expect monkey species living in thick forest to  prefer reddish colors to help them to find ripe fruits against the predominantly green background."
Credit: Nicole Milligan

Prey loses fear when predators disappear

Are Asian elk hard-wired to fear the Siberian tigers who stalk them?  When wolves disappear from the landscape, are moose still afraid of them?

No, according to a study by Wildlife Conservation Society scientist Dr. Joel Berger, who says that several large prey species, including moose, caribou and elk, only fear predators they regularly encounter.  If you take away wolves, you take away fear.  That is a critical piece of knowledge as biologists and public agencies increase efforts to re-introduce large carnivores to places where they have been exterminated. Berger’s study is published in the latest issue of the journal Conservation Biology.

The study compared the behaviors of four species of prey animals in three different prey situations:  Locations where native predators still exist. (Eastern Siberia, Boreal Canada and Alaska), locations where the top predators no longer exist. (the polar islands of Greenland and Svalbard, Norway) and locations where native predators have been re-established after once being extinguished. (Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks).

To test reactions of animals living without their traditional predators, Berger played recordings of wolves and tigers and chronicled their reactions.  As expected, in the absence of predators, the elk, moose, bison and caribou did not show the kind of vigilance, clustering behavior and flight observed in the same species living with wolves, bears or tigers.   For example, elk in the mountains of Siberia -- who subsist alongside tigers, wolves and bears -- responded five times faster to the recordings than did elk in Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado) where major predators have been absent for some 90 years.

The goal of predator re-introduction isn’t simply to save a species; it is to restore the natural functions of wild places.  When the predator-prey relationship comes back into balance, impacts ripple through the system.  For example, when wolves returned to the Yellowstone region, they caused a cascade of events including a change in elk distribution, more wariness in moose, and a change in coyote densities.  By contrast, where wolves and grizzly bears were lost, migratory birds including warblers and hummingbirds were less abundant because moose over-browsed vegetation used by these migrants.            

“It is not just changes in climate or disease may alter our big remote wild landscapes, but so do the actions of conservationists and public agencies by restoring ecosystems to bring native carnivores back to where they once thrived.” said Dr. Berger.These findings come at a time when, after more than $23 million was spent to re-establish wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains, the animals are to be down-listed from federal protection.  The states of Wyoming and Idaho have already proposed plans that would allow for as much as 85 percent of these once-protected wolves to be killed.  So even as the goal of re-instilling fear of predators in prey species has been successful, the question remains whether enough wolves will be left to maintain the larger goals of natural function and balance, according to Dr. Berger.

Baby boom at tiger conservation center

84 Siberian tiger cubs have been born since March at a breeding center in China, and dozens more are expected in the coming months.

The Hengdaohezi Feline Breeding Center says the cubs are all doing well.

Fewer than 400 Siberian tigers — also known as Amur, Manchurian or Ussuri tiger — are believed to survive in the wild, about 20 of them in China and the rest in Russia.

Human settlements have encroached on the cats' habitat, and they also are in danger from poachers who want hides and bones for traditional Chinese medicine.

The breeding center plans to train some of the cubs for life in the wild and release them in the future.
photo:AP/Xinhua

Manta ray born at Japanese aquarium

A baby giant manta ray born at a Japanese aquarium is believed to be the first of the born in captivity.

The female manta was born at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium more than a year after its parents mated.

Biologists say its rare for aquariums to have manta rays because they get so big (some large specimens can span 25 feet. The newborn at Okinawa is already more than six feet across.

The mother manta was pregnant for 374 days. Aquarium official Minoru Toda said little has been known about the life of manta rays, and the record of pregnancy and the birth would provide valuable scientific data to the studies of the species.

"We unfolded some of the mysteries about the life of manta rays, including the length of their pregnancy," Toda said. "Now we have to make sure the baby grows in good health."