Natural Environment Blog

Scientists are excited by the discovery of a new Tonkin snub-nosed monkey population in northwestern Vietnam. Photo: Tilo Nadler.

Fauna & Flora International (FFI) has discovered a new population of the critically endangered Tonkin snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus avunculus) in northwest Vietnam.

A team of biologists, led by FFI, observed between 15 and 20 individuals after a tip off from locals prompted them to visit the area.

The monkeys were found in forests near the Tung Vai Commune by the Chinese border. This makes it the first known population in Vietnam’s Quan Ba District.

FFI is excited by the fact that some of the monkeys were infants - indicating that the population is breeding, and therefore (hopefully) increasing.

Reviving the Species’ Population

“All recent indications suggest that we have a fantastic opportunity to secure this population and significantly increase the chances of survival of this species,” said Paul Insua-Cao, FFI’s Vietnam primate programme manager.

But conservation biologist Le Khac Quyet, who observed the monkeys, says urgent action is needed.

“When I saw the Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys in Tung Vai Commune I was overjoyed.” said Quyet, who is also credited with discovering another 70-strong population of the species in Khau Ca forest in 2002.

“This new discovery further underlines the importance of learning more about the Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys’ range and distribution. There is still time to save this unique species, but with just 200 or so left and threats still strong, we need to act now” 

Hopeful of More Sightings

And FFI would no doubt be hopeful to find more of this primate species in the area. Reports from locals suggest that there is also another, larger population of the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey yet to be seen by the FFI team.

Conservation Status

Until the late 1980s, the monkey was believed to be extinct. Since then, only around 200 Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys have been known to exist.

The monkey is currently listed as “Critically Endangered” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species since 1996 when it was upgraded from “Endangered”.

Video Footage

Below is rare video footage of the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey:

The 'alien-like' Magnapinna squid, captured on remote video camera by the Shell Oil Company.

An “alien-like” squid has been caught on camera, 2.5 kilometers underwater, in the Gulf of Mexico by the Shell Oil Company.

The video footage, recorded from a camera on a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), shows a rare Magnapinna squid with it’s long, shoulder-like arms dangling down below it. 

The footage, which had been circulating through the oil industry via email since November 2007 when it was taken, hadn’t been made public until National Geographic got hold of it earlier this week.

The squid has been dubbed the “Perdido squid” due to the fact that it was filmed at the Peridido drilling site. 

Species Unknown

Although it clearly belongs to the Magnapinna genus, it’s unclear which species the Peridido squid actually is. Both the M. M. atlantica and M. pacifica are known to inhabit the Gulf of Mexico so it is likely to be one of those.

This is the first time a Magnapinna squid has been sighted at an oil drilling site. 

Not much is known about the various Magnapinna species, as no intact adult specimen has ever been captured. 

Scientists speculate that their long arms are possibly used for feeding purposes. One theory is that the squid drags its arms along the seafloor to capture prey.  Another theory is that the squid simply waits for prey to get stuck on it’s long, dangly arms.

Due to the expense and difficulty in shooting underwater footage at these depths, some scientists have been entering formal partnerships with oil companies to share camera time on corporate ROVs.

Here’s the actual video footage taken from the ROV:

Tuna is at risk of extinction following ICCAT's decision to ignore advice from its own scientists, say conservation groups.

A decision by an international organization charged with protecting tuna has been slammed by conservation groups for doing the exact opposite.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), a fishery organization responsible for the conservation of tunas and tuna-like species, recently implemented a catch quota as much as 60% higher than its own scientists had recommended.

ICCAT’s own scientists had recommended a total allowable catch (TAC) of 8,500 to 15,000 tonnes per year. ICCAT ignored this advice and opted for a TAC of 22,000 for 2009.

The catch quota essentially places a restriction on how much the tuna industry is allowed to catch. Without a strict quota, tuna, known for fetching high prices, would almost certainly become extinct.

Obviously, the extinction of tuna would lead to the collapse of the tuna industry so, any ICCAT decision has a direct impact on the future of tuna fisheries, as well as the survival of the species itself.

Greenpeace’s Response

Greenpeace says ICCAT has lived up to it’s reputation as an “international disgrace” and has labelled the decision as “Shameless. Disastrous.” 

It says that this year’s annual meeting in Marrakech “looked more like a bazaar, in which buyers haggled over the last remaining tuna, than an international meeting”.

Greenpeace blames the decision on the European Union.

The European Union, representing the majority of Mediterranean countries with interests in the bluefin tuna fishery,  bullied other parties in the meeting into agreeing to management proposals which completely fail to follow the advice of ICCAT’s own scientific body to substantially reduce fishing and protect the species’ spawning grounds.

“The game is over – ICCAT has missed its last chance to save the bluefin tuna from stock collapse,” said Sebastian Losada, Greenpeace Spain Oceans Campaigner, who attended the Marrakech meeting. “Bluefin tuna has become an endangered species because of ICCAT mismanagement. It’s time to take the fishery out of their hands and look to Conventions like CITES to impose trade restrictions on the species.”

“These past seven days have demonstrated that ICCAT is a farce,” Losada concluded.

Further, Greenpeace has demanded a closure of the fishery until a proper recovery plan is in place. In particular, Greenpeace wants to see:

• a Total Allowed Catch (TAC) in line with the scientific advice
• a seasonal closure covering the months of May, June and July
• the establishment of marine reserves to protect the bluefin tuna spawning grounds

WWF’s Response

WWF has labelled the decision “a disgrace”.

“This is not a decision, it is a disgrace which leaves WWF little choice but to look elsewhere to save this fishery from itself,” said Dr Sergi Tudela, head of WWF Mediterranean’s fisheries programme.

“Any alternative is preferable to an organization which boasts of its respect for science but where in a decade catches have gone from twice to four times the scientific recommendations, with massive legal and illegal overfishing. It is clear that the only thing to slow the fishery with ICCAT at the helm is running out of fish.”

As with Greenpeace, WWF has been pushing for a suspension in the tuna fishery. This option has also been endorsed by the recent World Conservation Congress and recommended by ICCAT’s own internal high-level review. 

WWF has also been pushing for more protection of bluefin tuna.

“WWF will also actively push for a listing under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in the hope that stringent trade controls tied explicitly to the survival of the species will turn around the half-hearted attempt at fisheries management shown here by ICCAT and especially its European contingent.” says Dr Tudela.

An Ongoing Problem

This is not the first time ICCAT has ignored advice from its own scientists.

In 2006, ICCAT set a TAC of 29,500 tonnes, despite its own scientists recommending a sustainable limit of 15,000 tonnes. Since then, ICCAT’s scientists estimate that actual tuna catches in 2007 were 61,000 tonnes.

Following the concerns of the international community, ICCAT appointed a panel to conduct an independent review of ICCAT [PDF document].

The panel had the following to say about ICCAT’s performance:

• Fundamentally ICCAT’s performance to date does not meet its objectives for several of the species under its purview.
• ICCAT’s failure to meet its objectives is due in large part to the lack of compliance by many of its CPCs.
• CPCs have consistently failed to provide timely and accurate data and to implement monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) arrangements on nationals and national companies.
• The judgement of the international community will be based largely on how ICCAT manages fisheries on bluefin tuna (BFT). ICCAT CPCs’ performance in managing fisheries on bluefin tuna particularly in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea is widely regarded as an international disgrace and the international community which has entrusted the management of this iconic species to ICCAT deserve better performance from ICCAT than it has received to date.
• There are concerns about transparency within ICCAT both in decision making and in resource allocation. 
• Most of the problems and challenges ICCAT faces would be simple to fix if CPCs developed the political will to fully implement and adhere to the letter and spirit of the rules and recommendations of ICCAT.

The review found that ICCAT has failed to meet its objectives, but blames this on its members (CPCs).

A simple reading of the state of the stocks under ICCAT’s purview would suggest that ICCAT has failed in its mandate as a number of these key fish stocks are well below MSY. However, the Panel is of the view that rather than ICCAT failing in its mandate it is ICCAT that has been failed by its members (CPCs).

The review concluded that the members’ attitudes need to change.

…the problems of ICCAT would be readily fixed or considerably improved if CPCs changed their attitude towards implementation of and adherence to the rules and recommendations of ICCAT and the adoption of robust Monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) processes.

This dolphin is a new species of bottlenose dolphin, which was discovered off the coast of Australia. Photo: Kerstin Bilgmann.

Scientists have discovered a new species of bottlenose dolphin swimming in the southern waters of Australia.

Researchers from the Macquarie and Monash university made the discovery while collecting genetic samples from what they thought were coastal bottlenose dolphins. After DNA testing 200 dolphins, they realized that these weren’t coastal bottlenose dolphins after all. 

“They look alike but they are genetically quite different,” said Luciana Moller, of Macquarie University. ”We were surprised.”

The discovery, which was reported in Molecular Phylogenetics And Evolution, is quite significant. It’s not often that a new species of large mammal is discovered.

“Large mammals are not discovered very often. It shows we still have a lot to learn about how many marine species are out there.” said Dr Moller.

Special Protection

Dr Moller believes the new dolphin species will need protection because of its limited range.

“Due to their coastal habitat, these dolphins are also more likely to face threats such as pollution, overfishing and entanglement in nets” she said.

Previously Known Bottlenose Dolphin Species

Until now, only two species of bottlenose dolphins were known. These are:

• Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), also known as the Bottle-nosed Dolphin, Bottlenose Dolphin, Bottlenosed Dolphin. Lives in most tropical to temperate oceans. Its colour is grey, with the shade of grey varying among populations; can be bluish-grey, brownish-grey, or even nearly black; often darker on the back from the rostrum to behind the dorsal fin.
• Indo-pacific Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops aduncus), also known as the Indian Ocean Bottlenose Dolphin. Lives in the waters around India, northern Australia, South China, the Red Sea, and the eastern coast of Africa; back is dark-grey and belly is lighter grey or nearly white with grey spots.

The following dolphins are sometimes recognized as a subspecies of the T. truncatus:

• Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin (T. gillii or T. truncatus gillii), living in the Pacific; has a black line from the eye to the forehead
• Black Sea Bottlenose Dolphin (T. truncatus ponticus), living in the Black Sea.

The Researchers

The Macquarie University researchers are from the Marine Mammal Research Group, Graduate School of the Environment, and the Molecular Ecology Lab, Department of Biological Sciences.

The Monash University researchers are from the Centre for Environmental Stress and Adaptation Research (CESAR) and Australian Centre for Biodiversity: Analysis, Policy and Management, School of Biological Sciences.

The Waitaha penguin's extinction 500 years ago appears to have made way for the yellow-eyed penguin (above). Unfortunately, the yellow-eyed penguin is now an endangered species. Photo: Christian Mehlführer.

A species of penguin, previously unknown to science, has recently been identified in New Zealand more than 500 years since it became extinct. 

The species, called the Waitaha penguin (Megadyptes waitaha), is thought to have become extinct shortly after Polynesian settlement.

“It is estimated that the so-called Waitaha penguin became extinct between 1300 and 1500AD, soon after Polynesian settlement,” said Sanne Boessenkool, University of Otago PhD student and leader of the project.

Enter The Yellow Eyed Penguin

One of the most significant findings from the research is that, the penguin’s extinction appears to have made way for the yellow-eyed penguin (Megadyptes antipodes).

With an estimated 7000 remaining in New Zealand, the yellow eyed penguin is one of the most endangered penguin species on the planet.  

“Our findings demonstrate that yellow-eyed penguins on mainland New Zealand are not a declining remnant of a previous abundant population, but came from the sub-Antarctic relatively recently and replaced the extinct Waitaha Penguin,” said team member Dr Jeremy Austin, deputy director of the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA.

“Previous analysis of fossil records and anecdotal evidence suggested that the yellow-eyed penguin was more abundant and widespread in the past, but it now appears they have only been around for 500 years,” he continued.

The presence of the Waitaha penguin appears to have limited the yellow eyed penguin’s population to the South Island of New Zealand.

“Competition between the two species previously prevented the yellow-eyed penguin from expanding northwards but environmental changes in the predator population, such as the severe decline of sea lions, may have facilitated their colonisation in the South Island” Dr Austin said. 

Relevance To Climate Change

The research has reiterated the idea that some species are more adaptable to major changes, such as climate change, than others.

“What these unexpected results highlight is the dynamic nature of ecosystem change, where the loss of one species may open up opportunities for the expansion of another.” said Dr Phil Seddon, Director of the Wildlife Management Programme at University of Otago.

Dr David Penny of the Allan Wilson Center for Molecular Ecology and Evolution at Massey University said ”…it is vitally important to know how species, such as the yellow-eyed penguin, are able to respond to new opportunities.”

“It is becoming apparent that some species can respond to things like climate change, and others cannot. The more we know, the more we can help.”

Findings of the research have been published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

More than 7,000 live monitor lizards were seized during recent raids in southern Malaysia. In this photo, Wildlife and National Parks department personnel Othman Mohammad Yatim and deputy director Celescoriano Razond (right) hold up the seized monitor lizards, while the frozen parts are in the plastic bags. Photo: The Star Online.

More than 8,000 animals have been seized by authorities after a raid on two houses in the southern Malaysian state of Johar. 

The raids, which were carried out by eight members of Malaysia’s Wildlife and National Parks Department (commonly known as PERHILITAN), resulted in both live and dead animals being found. 

Animals Found

Between the two raids, the Wildlife Crime Unit seized the following animals. 

First Raid
During the first raid in Muar on November 4, the Wildlife Crime Unit seized 13 species of protected wildlife. The dead animals were found in freezers, the live animals were found in the back yard.

The seizure included the following:

• Barred eagle owl
• Spotted wood owl
• Buffy fish owl
• Crested serpent eagle
• Reticulated python
• Greater mousedeer
• Malayan porcupine
• Pangolin 
• Wild boar meat
• Bones
• Scales

Second Raid
The second raid took place three days after the first raid. The officials raided another location, this time in Segamat, where they found 7,093 clouded monitor lizards - mostly alive. The total weight of the lizards came to 35 tonnes.

Mr Rashid said that the live monitor lizards would be released into the wild.

Protected Species Destined For Restaurants

Illegal wildlife trade has been keeping authorities busy. A recent survey of restaurants and markets in southern China revealed that wildlife consumption is on the rise.

Wildlife typically fetches high prices at restaurants and markets in Vietnam, Hong Kong and China. 

“Most of these animals are sold to restaurants serving exotic animals as delicacies and some are also used for making traditional medicines,” said Mr Rashid.

One Man Arrested

Following the seizures, a 49-year-old man was charged in a magistrate’s court in Tangkak on Nov 7. The man, who is a repeat offender, is currently out on RM19,000 bail.

Datuk Abd Rasid Samsudin, PERHILITAN director general said this is the second time the man had been detained. In 2004, he was fined RM7,500 for having 182 pangolins and 1.3kg of pangolin scales.

The court hearing is due for February 20 next year.

Caspian Seal numbers have plummeted 90% over the last 100 years. The species is now officially classified as Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

The Caspian Seal was recently reclassified from “Vulnerable” to “Endangered” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

The reclassification occurred after scientists found that the Caspian Seal population had dropped 90 percent in the past 100 years. 

The scientists, from the University of Leeds, worked together with international partners to discover that the seal’s population has plummeted from 1 million at the start of the 20th century, to approximately 100,000 today.  

The Main Causes

The main causes of the Caspian Seal population decline is:

• Commercial hunting
• Habitat degradation
• Disease
• Pollution
• Drowning in fishing nets

Low Breeding Cycle 

Seals are known for their long breeding cycle, which will not help with reviving the population of the species.

“Each female has just one pup a year, so with numbers at such a low levels, every fertile female that dies is a nail in the coffin of the species,” said Dr Simon Goodman of Leeds’ Faculty of Biological Sciences.

He added, “We’re hoping that the seal’s change in Red List status will help raise awareness about their plight, and the many important conservation issues facing the whole Caspian ecosystem.”

Furthermore, results of 2005 and 2006 surveys published recently in the scientific journal Ambio, reveal that there are only 17,000 breeding females. Given the low survival rate of pups, this is barely enough to keep the Caspian Seal population alive.  

Also, more recent surveys in 2007 and 2008 show that since 2005, the number of pups being born has dropped 60 percent to between 6,000 or 7,000. And as if that isn’t bad enough, the surveys found that there were 30 percent less adults on the breeding ground than in 2005.

Commercial Hunters Killing Pups

Caspian Seal Pup. Commercial hunters continue to slaughter pups like this evey year. Photo: Caspian Seal Conservation Network.

The team say that commercial hunters from Dagestan in the Russian Federation are responsible for the killing of 8,000 Caspian Seal pups in recent years.

“Without a suite of conservation measures there is a very high risk the species will become extinct, and possibly within our lifetime,” says Dr Goodman.

The team is developing a conservation action plan, which will prioritise a ban on hunting the seal and establish protected areas with the countries bordering the Caspian Sea.

Is this a new species of cat? Or is it the rare Andean Cat or the Pampas Cat?

World Land Trust (WLT) has reported a possible new species of cat in Fundación Jocotoco (FJ), Ecuador.

The cat is thought to be of the same (yet to be described) species as one seen two years ago in Peru. 

The cat was seen and photographed by Aldo Sornoza of FJ, who was helping with the construction of a new visitors’ lodge on the Jorupe Reserve. 

If this is the same cat as seen in Peru, it would be the first known sighting in Ecuador.

It’s quite possible however, that it is not a new species. 

Andean Cat?

One possibility is that it’s an Andean Cat (Oreailurus jacobita), which is one of the most endangered wild cats on Earth. Also known as the “Andean Mountain Cat” and “Mountain Cat”, this species has been listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) since 2002.  

Lou Jost of Fundación EcoMinga, an Ecuadorian partner of the WLT has seen the Andean Cat twice. When presented with Sornoza’s photo of the new cat, Jost commented:

“The ground color is very similar. However I didn’t see any strong patterns on the legs, like this one has, though I would not have seen that from the angles I had (just the back and sides of the animal running through dense vegetation, both times). The elevations of my sightings were very high, around 2800-3000 m, and very wet, completely different from Jorupe. I could easily imagine that there is a new species of cat endemic to the Tumbesian zone of SW Ecuador and NW Peru.”

Pampas Cat?

But according to Mongabay.com, ecologist Jim Sanderson, who has spent years studying the Andean Cat, doesn’t think this is one. Instead, Sanderson believes that it is a Pampas Cat (Leopardus colocolo), another cat species he has studied for years.

“The cat shown in the photograph…is the lovely Pampas cat found in this region. Pampas cats show a variety of morphs depending upon where they occur. In Brazil they are all brown for instance and in the Andes they are spotted, have a pink nose, and striking black lines across the forelegs” he said.

The Pampas Cat, also known as the Chilean Pampa Cat, has been listed by IUCN as “Near Threatened” by IUCN since 2002.

Regardless, it’s Still a Significant Find

Whether it’s the Andean Cat, the Pampas Cat, or a new species, this is still a significant find. So, as WLT said… “we are awaiting with anticipation further news on this sighting.”

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) launched its first ever holiday gift catalog on Thursday, enabling us to choose gifts that will support WWF conservation projects around the world. 

The catalog, which is available online and in full color brochure, includes gifts such as:

• crafts
• apparel and accessories
• animal adoptions
• gift adoption cards  

All animal adoptions come with a formal adoption certificate, a color photo of the adopted animal and a species description card. In addition to these items, adoptions of $100 or more come with a soft animal plush representative of the species adopted, a WWF gift box and a custom frame which displays the adoption certificate and photo.

In addition to the gift package sent in the mail, all online donations of any amount come with a free online premium package, which includes a personalized electronic adoption certificate, screensavers, wallpaper and AIM icons all customized to the animal adopted

Prices for most gifts range from between $25 and $250. But if you’re feeling extra generous you could purchase an “extraordinary gift”… 

Extraordinary Gifts

Feeling generous? Extraordinary gifts range from between $1,000 and $3,500,000 (yes, that’s 3.5 million dollars!) 

Extraordinary gifts enable you to contribute directly to a WWF program or project. For example, you could choose to: 

• endow a long-term solution to protecting endangered tigers in key tiger protection areas around the world
• relocate bison or rhinos to a wildlife protected area 
• purchase a set of sea turtle or pygmy elephant tracking collars to monitor their populations 
• outfit anti-poaching patrols 
• provide turtle-friendly fishing gear
• help indigenous communities develop sustainable livelihoods
• and much more

Terry Macko, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of World Wildlife Fund said ”Supporting WWF this holiday season by giving the gift of nature conservation is a unique and meaningful way to demonstrate compassion and thoughtfulness into next year and for years to come,”

“WWF donations through the holiday gift program help address urgent conservation needs.”

By purchasing a gift from the WWF holiday catalog, you can help save some of the most endangered species from extinction.

You can access the WWF holiday catalog at www.worldwildlife.org/gifts

CITES (which stands for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between the world’s governments. It was established to ensure that international trade does not threaten the survival of specimens. This includes wild animals and plants.

CITES exists because so many plants and animals are traded internationally. Without an international agreement to protect each species, many of these plants and animals could become extinct. Therefore, co-operation between each country is required in order to safeguard each species from over-exploitation.

The full text of the CITES convention was agreed to by 80 countries in 1973. Then in 1975 it was put in place. Back when CITES was first being considered, general public awareness of environmental issues barely existed. Nowadays, it’s an essential part of wildlife protection.

Today, over 5,000 species of animals and 28,000 species of plants are protected by CITES.

Which Species are Protected by CITES?

To see which plants an animals are protected by CITES, you can do one of the following:

• Search the CITES database. You can search by common name, species name, country, and more.
• Read the CITES appendices.

About the CITES Appendices

You’ll notice that there are three appendices. This is done because there are three different levels of protection. Here’s CITES’ explanation of the three appendices:

• Appendix I lists species that are the most endangered among CITES-listed animals and plants. They are threatened with extinction and CITES prohibits international trade in specimens of these species except when the purpose of the import is not commercial, for instance for scientific research. In these exceptional cases, trade may take place provided it is authorized by the granting of both an import permit and an export permit (or re-export certificate). Article VII of the Convention provides for a number of exemptions to this general prohibition.
• Appendix II lists species that are not necessarily now threatened with extinction but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled. It also includes so-called “look-alike species”, i.e. species of which the specimens in trade look like those of species listed for conservation reason. International trade in specimens of Appendix-II species may be authorized by the granting of an export permit or re-export certificate. No import permit is necessary for these species under CITES (although a permit is needed in some countries that have taken stricter measures than CITES requires). Permits or certificates should only be granted if the relevant authorities are satisfied that certain conditions are met, above all that trade will not be detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild.
• Appendix III is a list of species included at the request of a Party that already regulates trade in the species and that needs the cooperation of other countries to prevent unsustainable or illegal exploitation. nternational trade in specimens of species listed in this Appendix is allowed only on presentation of the appropriate permits or certificates.

For more information on CITES, check out the official CITES website.