"Their droppings can no longer be found there. There is no clear reason for its extinction, but rampant poaching of deer and wild boar, its main prey, and encroaching habitat due to forest conversion and wild fires are strongly believed to be among the causes."
Padar Island was teeming with Komodo dragons in the 1980s, but bush fires sparked by poachers have gradually restricted their habitat and foraging areas and might have burned dozens of them alive, he said.
He has spent his life studying wild animals in more than twenty-five countries. Those animals have included mountain gorillas, snow leopards, alligators and caribou.
This year, Mister Schaller received the Indianapolis Prize -- the world's top award for animal protection and conservation. The prize is worth one hundred thousand dollars.
An important breeding kakapo who had the misfortune of injuring her “private parts” when she unintentionally sat on a sharp stick, has been successfully rehabilitated at Auckland Zoo, and is to return to her home on Codfish Island.The article goes onto say that the conservation team are confident of a good 2009 breeding season, due to the bumper crop of Rimu already growing. With six surviving chicks from 2008, keep your fingers crossed and we could make the magic 100 next year!
[...]
Sarah, who is being flown home tomorrow morning, is one of the original founder kakapo birds from Stewart Island. Discovered there in 1989 and relocated to Codfish Island, she has produced two offspring in the past six years – six-year-old male Ariki, and three-year-old female, Pounamu.
Breeding seasons in successive years is a very unusual event. The last large breeding season was in 2002, when 24 chicks were produced.
scientists must undergo endless searching to prove that any individual species has gone the way of the dodo.
"If there's one thing in my career I'd like to be proved wrong about, it's the baiji," said Sam Turvey of the Zoological Society of London, using another name for the Yangtze River dolphin.
Turvey interviewed Chinese fishermen for almost 3 months earlier this year, hoping to record sightings of the long-snouted dolphin, which has not been seen since 2002. Some colleagues in China are still looking.
In 2006, the baiji was almost declared extinct after an acoustic and visual survey of the river turned up nothing. Yet a blurry video forced experts to rate it "possibly extinct."
With the successful release into the wild of 2008's six surviving chicks, we now stand at 90 living Kakapo Parrots.FEMALES - Total 44AliceAparima (Born 2002, Mother of a 2008 chick) Aranga Bella Boomer Cyndy (Three chicks in 2008) Ellie Esperance Flossie Fuchsia Hananui Hauturu Heather Hine taumai Hoki Jane Jean JEM (Hatched: 2008) Konini Kuia Kuihi Lisa Maggie Marama Margaret-Maree "Marmar" Mila Monoa Nora Pearl Pounamu Pura Rakiura (Mother of two 2008 chicks) Ruth Sandra Sara Solstice Sue (Mother of one 2008 chick) Suzanne Toitiiti (Hatched: 2008) Tumeke Weheruatanga o te po (Hatched: 2008) Wendy Yasmin Zephyr --- Recently deceased John-Girl (Died: September, 1991) Aroha (died: July 2004) Aurora (died: July 2004) Vollie (died: July 2004) | MALES - Total 46AlArab Ariki Barnard Basil (2008 Father of...) Ben Blades Blake Bonus Boss Dobbie Doc Elwin (Unofficial name - Hatched: 2008) Felix Gulliver Gumboots Horton Jester (Hatched: 2008) Jimmy (2008 Father of...) Joe Kumi Lionel Luke Manu Merty Merv Morehu Nog Ox (2008 Father of...) Palmer-san Piripi Ralph Richard Henry Robbie Rooster (Unofficial name - Hatched: 2008) Sass Sinbad Sirocco Smoko Stumpy Takitimu Te Kingi Tiwai Trevor Waynebo Whiskas --- Recently deceased Gerry (Died: 1991) Pegasus (Died: 1993) Rob (Died: February 1994) Ken (Died: July 1998) Gunner (died: winter 2005) Bill (died: March 2008, 2008: father of:...) Mokopuna (died: April 2008, 2008 Chick #7) Lee (died: October 28, 2008) |
Sarah is also in hospital at Auckland Zoo at the moment. When she was caught for her transmitter change she had a large infected wound on her cloaca and was extremely light. She has made a good recovery and all going well looks set to return to the island in a few weeks. We all feel relieved that she is doing well but sad that a reliable breeder won't be in good enough condition to nest this summer.The chicks have now asserted their independence and are bouncing around all over the island and it’s a constant surprise to see where they pop up next. Their weights are all stable or increasing so we feel confident now that they have made a successful transition to being wild kakapo. On the names front the three girls are now called Weheruatanga o te po, JEM, and Toitiiti. For the boys Jester has retained his name and Rooster and Elwin are awaiting new names from Murihiku iwi.
The Natural World is coming up for its 25th birthday but Titus, above, has been around a good deal longer, and at 33 years of age he is still king of the jungle in his mountain retreat in Rwanda.BBC page.
It's rare for any wild animal's life to be chronicled over decades but Titus and his forbears were among the gorillas first studied in the wild by pioneering wildlife researcher Dian Fossey, of Gorillas in the Mist fame, and his whole life has been conducted in front of cameras.
The kakapo won the avian electoral race with 578 votes, well ahead of its closest rival, the takahe, which scored 322 votes - a landslide victory for the world’s heaviest parrot.
In what was a tense electoral race in which the feathers often flew, the kakapo struggled to find support in the early weeks of the month-long polling period, but flew past the opposition in the final two weeks of the campaign.
You have to be slightly crazy to be in this business. The Mauritian Wildlife Foundation has been very successful in restoring animals, plants and forests, and people from all around the world come to volunteer on the programme every year. I oversee the conservation of Mauritius kestrels, pink pigeons (distant relatives of the Dodo), seabirds, reptiles and Mauritian fruit bats.For more information, visit the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation website, where they are currently recruiting for a Round Island warden, although the webpage with the details is currently blank.
The Mauritius kestrel used to be the most endangered bird in the world. In 2004 there were only four kestrels known to be in the wild – now there are over 800. I’m proud to say that Mauritius and the neighbouring island of Rodrigues have saved more bird species than any other country in the world.
It was worth every sobbing, gasping, aching step of horror, sweat, wheezing, frankly humiliaton to get here. Unbelievable, its a wonderful wonderful thing...Stephen and the team are now in Mananara and Nosy Antafana - Aye Aye Island...
