MANATEES - From armchair environmentalist to swimming with the manatees

Nice article on The Royal Gazette about a HSBC bank employee who went to Belize to help scientists study the manatees there, in this case, the West Indian Manatee.

A local bank worker left his computer behind to spend some time plugged into the plight of manatees in South America.

Geoffrey Usher, a project manager in the information technology department at HSBC Bank of Bermuda recently went to Belize to help scientists study endangered manatees, as part of HSBC’s ongoing partnership with Earthwatch. "I am one of those armchair environmentalists, but, recently, I hadn’t been getting off my backside and getting involved in it," said Mr. Usher shortly after returning from Belize. "I thought this would be an ideal opportunity and would give me the kick I needed to actually get out and do something for the environment."

Here is HSBC's page about its Investing With Nature initiative.

NORTHERN WHITE RHINOS - Pride & preservation

Roger Highfield reports for the Telegraph on the efforts being made to preserve endangered animals, with the help of zoos and frozen DNA.

And in reference to the Northern White Rhino, the idea of using Southern White Rhinos as surrogate mothers makes a lot of sense....

Once ranging across north-central Africa, wild populations have fallen to as few as four individuals in Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

'The species is dying out as we speak, if it has not already,' said Mr Lawrence. 'But there is the means, thanks to modern science, to bring it back.'

Northern White Rhino semen has been frozen and could be used to reintroduce the species, said Mr Lawrence. 'We have their relative, the southern white rhino, and we are looking at the possibility of using them as surrogate mothers,' he added."

We've reported on the Frozen Ark previously.

NORTHERN WHITE RHINOS - 5 to 10 left, Garamba to lose World Heritage status

Of all the Last Chance To See endangered animals, the Northern White Rhino is most definately the closest to extinction. (We're making the unofficial assumption that the Baiji Dolphin is already extinct - See Sticky Post).

Several websites are reporting on the news that...

The World Heritage Committee is considering removing Garamba National Park from the World Heritage List in 2006 if the Northern White Rhino becomes extinct by then.

"No rhino, no World Heritage site" was the echoing comment of the World Heritage Committee meeting yesterday, 12 July 2005, during a long and heated debate about the situation of Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
[...]
"The Northern White Rhino is a flagship species for this site and every effort must be made to protect the remaining 5-10 individuals", commented David Sheppard, Head of the IUCN delegation in Durban.

Full story at Harold Doan, with more coverage at The Mercury.

TELEVISION - Madagascar: Out Of This World

In the USA, on the Animal Planet channel, an episode of Buggin' With Ruud, entitled Madagascar: Out Of This World - "The island of Madagascar is nature's time capsule of species found nowhere else in the world."
July 13: 8:00PM, 11:00PM
July 14: 3:00AM
July 15: 11:00AM
July 16: 4:00PM

All times ET

RIVER DOLPHINS - Australian Scientists Discover New Species, The Snubfin

ENN is reporting on a exciting new find by Australian scientists, a previously undiscovered species of shallow water dolphin, and most likely an endangered species.

Australian researchers have identified a new species of dolphin which was once thought to have been the same as an extremely rare mammal predominantly found in Asian coastal waters and rivers.

The Australian Snubfin Dolphin has been declared a separate species to the Irrawaddy dolphins of Southeast Asia, one of the rarest sea mammals on the planet, researchers at James Cook University and the Museum of Tropical Queensland said on Tuesday.

Researcher Isabel Beasley said the newly identified Australian Snubfin Dolphins, or Orcaella heinsohni, live in shallow waters off northern Australia and possibly in neighbouring Papua New Guinea.

MOUNTAIN GORILLAS - Respiratory diseases kill mountain gorillas

Reuters AlertNet is reporting on a new study that shows 25% of mountain gorilla deaths (dating back to 1968) can be attibuted to influenze or other viruses.

Mountain gorillas in Uganda and Rwanda, an endangered species, are dying from respiratory illnesses, according to study published on Wednesday.

Poaching is the biggest killer of the gorillas but new research shows that a quarter of 100 gorilla deaths dating back to 1968 were due to illnesses such as influenza and other viruses.

"In a bid to cut the risk of people passing these diseases on, eco-tourists who trek to see the gorillas in the wild already have to stay at least 7 metres (yards) away, and keep their visit to no more than an hour," New Scientist magazine noted on Wednesday.

KAKAPO PARROTS - Bird sanctuary set up in Fiordland

TVNZ has news on Coal Island, another island which is to be setup as a bird sanctuary for Kakapos and other endangered animals. The article includes a link to a video version of the report, which includes footage of kakapo chicks.

A new island sanctuary has been launched to protect endangered species in one of the most remote areas of New Zealand.

It is a community initiative and one thing they are not short of is volunteers.

Extreme isolation in Fiordland means Te Puka-Hereka, or Coal island, is pretty much as it was when settlers first arrived here - apart from one thing.

Kiwi and Kakapo abounded and the evening air was filled with their characteristic cries.

The Te Puka-Hereka Charitable Trust launched their bid to try to bring back what was lost all those years ago.