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African rhino. Photo courtesy: flowcomm/CC BY 2.0
No one can say for certain when African rhinos first began to inhabit the forests and plains of Mozambique -- but we do know when their reign there ended. Conservationists say that the nation's remaining 15 rhinos were found dead last month, butchered by poachers and robbed of their horns.
The endangered animals were discovered on the grounds of Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a wildlife reserve along Mozambique's southern border where rhinos numbered in the hundreds just a decade ago. Authorities believe that park rangers, charged with protecting the rare rhinos, aided poachers in their demise.
According to The Telegraph, 30 rangers have been arrested and are due in court later this month.
To make matters worse, rhinos in neighboring South Africa appear headed towards an equally grim fate. So far this year, 180 of the endangered species have been killed by poachers -- leaving just 249 rhinos remaining.
For most of history, humans were wise to respect the powerful animals, but in recent decades poachers have cast aside reverence for greed, driven by the illicit trade in rhino horns. The demand for horns largely emanates from the Asian Black Market, where they're valued higher than gold for their supposed aphrodisiac properties.
Although a number of international conservation organization are working to slow the rhino slaughter, this sad milestone will likely not be the last.
Photo courtesy: Wikipedia
It was already bad enough that a Chinese boat crashed into the Tubbataha reef, a protected coral reef off the coast of the Philippines, but what the coast guard found inside increased massively the size of the environmental disaster: 400 boxes containing around 10,000 kg of frozen Pangolin meat, an endangered scaly anteater. All trade in the four Asian species of pangolin has been illegal since 2002 but the appetite of Chinese consumers for its meat, prized as a delicacy, and its scales, believed to benefit breast-feeding mothers, has virtually wiped out the creatures in China, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Pangolin traders, who use dogs or traps to capture the wild animals, have since moved into its last habitats in Java, Sumatra and the Malaysian peninsula, driving populations down but prices up. Poachers are now threatening it pretty much everywhere it still can be found... Too bad we can't seem to catch them unless they're so incompetent that they crash their ships.
Chris Shepherd, an expert at wildlife trade group Traffic and based in Malaysia, told the Guardian: "There is no way a slow-breeding species like the pangolin can withstand this huge pressure for long." He said the enforcement of laws had not kept pace with demand for the pangolin meat and scales, which can fetch hundreds of dollars per kilogramme in China: "We have seen a really obscene amount of seizures but very few people are arrested and even fewer convicted." (from: The Guardian)
The 12 Chinese crewmen from the wrecked vessel are being held on charges of poaching and attempted bribery, said Adelina Villena, the marine park's lawyer, and face further charges, including damaging coral reef and possessing pangolin meat. Tubbataha reef is a marine sanctuary and popular diving destination 640km south-west of Manila and had already been damaged by a US navy ship that got stuck in January and had to be dismantled.
The Philippine military quoted the fishermen as saying they accidentally wandered into Philippine waters from Malaysia. The fishermen face up to 12 years' imprisonment and fines of up to $300,000 (£196,000) for the poaching charge alone. For possessing pangolin meat, they can be imprisoned up to six years and fined, Villena said.
As for the Tubbataha coral reef, it is an extremely precious biodiversity hotspot: "Research of scientists visiting the reefs since the 1980s revealed that the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park contains no less than 600 fish species, 360 coral species, 11 shark species, 13 dolphin and whale species, and 100 bird species. The reefs also serve as a nesting ground for Hawksbill and Green sea turtles."
Photo courtesy: Sharon Gray/CC BY-ND 2.0
There still aren't many mountain gorillas left in their forest homes in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Rwanda, but WWF reports that a new tally from the Uganda Wildlife Authority shows that there are now 880 mountain gorillas, up from 786 in two years ago when the the last census was taken.
400 of mountain gorillas now live in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, with 480 in the Virunga Massif.
WWF cites successful conservation efforts as being behind the population increases. Mountain gorillas are the only great ape species increasing in population currently.
As for the continued threats to mountain gorillas, WWF says:The greatest current threats to mountain gorillas are entanglement in hunting snares, disease transfer from humans, and habitat loss. The prospect of oil exploration in Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Virunga National Park by petroleum companies is also cause for concern.
While oil drilling would not occur directly in gorilla habitat, industrial activity would compromise the integrity of Virunga National Park, Africa’s first national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. An influx of workers and heavy equipment could greatly threaten the park’s prized biodiversity, which also includes elephants, hippos and the rare okapi antelope.
Young gorillas disabling a poacher's trap. Photo courtesy: © Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund
Don't you just love it when the victim becomes the victor? Rwandan gorillas are turning the tables on poachers; and, I couldn't be more delighted.
For Rwanda's population of Mountain gorillas, poaching remains one of the biggest threats to their long-term survival. But after decades of being a prime target for unlawful hunters, these critically endangered gorillas have apparently learned to outsmart them -- and even the youngsters are getting in on the act.
This week, conservationists from Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund observed, for the first time ever, a pair of juvenile gorillas doing something remarkably clever: destroying sharp, wooden snares set out by poachers to trap them. Just days earlier, a gorilla had been killed in a similar snare nearby, which may have familiarized the youngsters with the workings of those cruel devices.
"We knew that gorillas do this but all of the reported cases in the past were carried out by adult gorillas, mostly silverbacks. Today, two juveniles and one blackback from Kuryama’s group worked together to deactivate two snares and how they did it demonstrated an impressive cognitive skill," said Veronica Vecellio, a program director from the Fund.
Leaving the scene of the crime. Photo courtesy: © Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund
Here's an account of the event, from the Fund's blog:John Ndayambaje, our field data coordinator, reported that he saw one snare very close to the group; since the gorillas were moving in that direction, he decided to deactivate it. Silverback Vuba pig-grunted at him (a vocalization of warning) and at the same time juveniles Dukore and Rwema together with blackback Tetero ran toward the snare and together pulled the branch used to hold the rope. They saw another snare nearby and as quickly as before they destroyed the second branch and pulled the rope out of the ground.
John and his team were able to dismantle several other snares in the area, but they're quick to point out that poaching of gorillas is far from quelled. However, with a greater push towards conservation and some much needed international awareness, Rwanda's mountain gorilla numbers have grown by 17 percent in the last 15 years, proving that such in the field efforts really pay off -- though it's not just humans helping to keep the jungle a safer place for the species, says the Fund:
"Today we can proudly confirm that gorillas are doing their part too!"
The Hoary-throated Spinetail is predicted to lose more than 80% of its habitat in the Amazon, according to the latest survey of the world's birds. Photo courtesy: IUCN
Birds in the Amazon are under increasing threat from deforestation, while large populations of duck have disappeared from northern Europe, and vultures are under intensifying attack in Africa, according to the latest survey of the world's birds.
The Rio Branco antbird has been singled out for particular concern – it lives in the Amazon, but its relatively long lifespan makes it more vulnerable than some other species to even moderate deforestation. The hoary-throated spinetail is predicted to lose more than 80% of its habitat in the same region, putting it on the "critically endangered" list, meaning the species faces serious risk of extinction.
According to BirdLife International's update for 2012 of the IUCN red list of threatened species, close to 100 species of birds across the Amazon region are now at a greatly increased threat of extinction.
"We have previously underestimated the risk of extinction that many of Amazonia's bird species are facing," said Leon Bennun, director of science, policy and information at BirdLife. "However, given the recent weakening of Brazilian forest law, the situation may be even worse than recent studies have predicted."
In Africa, the white-backed and Rueppell's vultures have been classified as "endangered", after their numbers have declined rapidly. Vultures have been suffering across the globe, particularly in areas such as India and south-east Asia, because of poisoning from pesticides, loss of habitat and harassment from farmers. The decline in their numbers has raised fears for the future of other species, as vultures play a key role in the food chain by feeding on dead animals.
But this year's list – based on a review that takes place every four years – shows that it is not just tropical species that are facing serious threats. In northern Europe, more than one million long-tailed ducks have mysteriously disappeared from the Baltic region over the past two decades. No one is sure why this has happened, and the species is now classified as "vulnerable", while another northern European sea duck, the Velvet Scoter, has been listed as "endangered".
BirdLife called for conservation efforts to be increased, as birds across the globe face mounting threats from habitat loss, hunting and predation, pollution, and other environmental problems.
Stuart Butchart, global research coordinator for BirdLife, pointed to the success of some conservation programmes as a guide to future efforts to ensure the survival of some of the world's rarest species. For instance, in the Pacific, the Raratonga Monarch of the Cook Islands has returned from the brink of extinction, owing to a concerted attempt to control predators such as black rats, which are not native to the islands and the proliferation of which created havoc for nesting birds. In Brazil, the restinga antwren, which lives in the coastal south-east of the country, has been found to be more widespread than previously thought, while a new protected area covering some of its key habitat should help to ensure its long term survival.
Butchart said: "Such successes show the remarkable achievements that are possible where effort and dedication by conservationists and local communities are backed up with political support and adequate resources." But he said more efforts were needed, and on a wider scale, to ensure more species stay off the critically endangered list.
Photo courtesy: © prb10111 - awol
In 2006, there were possibly as many as 15 northern white rhino left in the wild; and, spearheaded by renowned conservationist Lawrence Anthony, a strong movement to protect the species. Today, the white rhino is thought to be extinct in the wild. What happened in those six years is a tragic example of the challenges conservation initiatives face around the world.
Anthony managed to secure the required experts and even funding to launch a full-scale conservation mission for the rhinos. This included equipment like helicopters and dart guns, and conservationists and officers to oversee the plans. The Ambassador of the Democratic Republic of Congo to South Africa supported the project. The Environmental Minister in the DRC was also onboard. So, too, was a non-profit group called African Parks, which effectively was responsible for the management of Garamba National Park were the rhinos lived.
Everything seemed to be in place, but when the proposal was officially submitted, it found resistance from an unlikely source. The ICCN — oddly enough, the Congolese government agency responsible for conservation — cautiously waylaid the project, asking for confirmation that African Parks had agreed to the plan.
"We immediately contacted the ICCN and informed them of African Parks' decision. A few days later we received a response saying that they agreed to the rescue provided African Parks agreed," Anthony explains in his new book The Last Rhinos, "But they have agreed, we replied. And with that the ridiculous merry-go-round started again and we were unable to make any more progress."
The end result, unfortunately, was that the subspecies reached a point of likely extinction in the wild. The sad story offers some insight into the delicate nature of conservation projects — and how, with so many moving pieces, it's very easy for the whole thing to fail.
Tragically, Lawrence Anthony died in March of this year after suffering a heart attack.
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