Conservation Heroes

International Rhino Foundation: Protecting the Rhinos of the world

2011-08-05T12:41:00.000-07:00

The International Rhino Foundation (IRF) was founded over 20 years ago to combat black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis poaching. The foundation's black rhino work has been so successful (poaching was nearly eliminated) that the foundation soon expanded their activities towards all five species of rhinoceros. The foundation is and always has been run almost entirely by volunteer labor, composing field biologists, zoo employees, and conservation biologists, but also a handful of paid employees who manage any daily requirements. The foundation's partners include the American Association of Zoo Keepers, many zoos, and a mix of business interests, foundations and conservation organizations, which all protect all rhino species together.

Sumatran rhinoceros Dicerorhinus sumatrensis

This hairy rhino ( extinct woolly rhino's closest living relative) is now only found within Indonesia and Malaysia (and possibly Myanmar) and numbers only ~200 animals globally, scattered through four fragmented populations. Sumatran rhinos only exist inside areas supplying intensive management and active anti-poaching teams and rhino numbers are still dropping rapidly. The foundation supports 13 anti-poaching teams, which has essentially stopped all poaching where they are stationed. During patrols, the teams also collect data concerning the native animals they protect, which provides valuable research regarding these and other native endangered species.

Rare footage of Javan rhinos

Javan rhinoceros Rhinoceros sondaicus

Javan rhinos are the rarest rhino species; only 27-44 animals remaining and can currently only be found inside Indonesia's Ujung Kulon National Park. The foundation funds three anti-poaching teams, and since those teams have been present (1998) not a single rhino has been lost through poaching.

Charging greater one-horned rhino protecting her calf- what amazing speed for such a large animal!

Greater one-horned rhinoceros Rhinoceros unicornis
Although this rhino species numbered only ~200 individuals during the early 20th century, extensive protection efforts have brought greater one-horned rhino numbers up over 2,800 individuals today withinin India and Nepal. The IRF is currently increasing this rhino's numbers through translocating individuals which reintroduce new rhino populations.

White rhino footage

White rhinoceros Ceratotherium simum
The white rhino (not named because it is white; the Africaans word "weit", which = "wide", is the name's origin, because the white rhino has a wide mouth unlike the black rhino's pointed mouth. English folk misunderstood what the rhinos were called and the name stuck.) is the most abundant rhino species (although one white rhino subspecies, the Northern white rhino, also has the lowest numbers left of any rhino: the Northern white rhinoceros is extinct in the wild- the last ones were poached during the late 2000's- and only seven animals are left alive globally; 1 pair is at the San Diego Wild Animal Park, a single animal- its mate recently died- is at Dvůr Králové Zoo, and four at Kenya's Ol Pejeta Conservancy which live a semi-wild existence, but under continual surveillance and protection inside large enclosures). Southern black rhinoceros were ~200 animals around 1900, but they now number ~20,000 animals- more individuals than all other rhino species combined.

Black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis
Black rhinos are not the rarest rhino species, but have undergone the largest population decline. Between 1970 and 1992 the black rhino population dropped 96%- use the Thomas Knight Comparative Population Decimation Scale of Doom© and see that a 96% population reduction = all North & South American, African, Australian, Antarctic, and European humans die, including all people throughout Asia except Indonesia & Malaysia. Fortunately the IRF brought poaching levels down dramatically, and the population rebounded; a 2,300 animal low is now more than 4,200 animals today.

The IRF has done much crucial work over the years; they protect rhino populations, educate locals regarding rhinos' importance, fund research, coordinate conservation strategies, and so much more. Unfortunately, there has been a massive poaching increase the past few years since Asian crime syndicates have gotten heavily involved in the financially lucrative rhino horn poaching and smuggling trade. The crime syndicates are well financed and have provided helicopters, advanced weaponry, and other advanced technology to well-trained professional teams who enter the protected areas, locate and kill rhinos, evade or kill any rangers, and leave quickly. Rhino horn smuggling has become so lucrative that protected, secure European museums are reporting rhino horn thefts. Now more than ever rhinos needs help if they will survive. The International Rhino Foundation could use any help you can offer, before the Asian black market exterminates them all for aphrodisiacs and traditional fever reduction medicines. Do consider supporting the IRF any way you can- they have an uphill battle against poachers (if high security European museums inside major cities can't protect their rhino horns, imagine how hard protecting animals roaming through third world country wilderness is) but with your help the foundation can make a difference.

I have been incredibly fortunate, and have both worked among zoo rhinos and seen the wild Kenyan black rhinos to the left. Consider helping the International Rhino Foundation so similar experiences are available for future generations.

Want to see photos or videos of white rhinos?

Want to see photos or videos of black rhinos?

Want to see photos or videos of Javan rhinos?

Want to see photos or videos of Sumatran rhinos?

Want to learn more about rhinos? Check out the following links/books:

The IUCN has two excellent publications about the conservation plans for rhinos which can be found here: African Rhino: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan and Asian Rhinos: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan
The American Society of Mammalogists created accounts on the white rhinoceros, black rhinoceros, & Sumatran rhinoceros in their excellent ongoing Mammalian Species project.

The Handbook of the Mammals of the World, Volume 2 Hoofed Mammals. This volume will be released in August, and you can rest assured that it will be the top reference book for hoofed mammals as a whole in our lifetime. The previous volumes on mammals and birds are absolutely amazing. Pricey but well worth the cost.

The Chester Zoo: Another zoo leading the way in conservation

2011-07-27T16:24:00.000-07:00

England's Chester Zoo is another excellent zoo which makes a huge conservation difference globally. Originally opened in 1931, since its earliest days Chester's zoo technology and thinking has been cutting edge. Chester also has one of the most comprehensive and largest zoo conservation commitments globally. Chester trains and assists people who save endangered species in situ (within their native lands), captive breeds animals ex situ (not within their native lands; i.e. at Chester Zoo if non-native species), assists captive bred endangered species reintroductions, sponsors research regarding endangered species biology, and minimizes threats through educational program formulation.

The Chester Zoo runs so many conservation projects I do not have time to list them all, so I will instead highlight just a few programs here.

Chester Zoo Natural Vision from Rapport Creative on Vimeo.

Chester is extremely active within the Mascarene Islands (including Mauritius), and help with work which the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust began and which I went into more detail within another post. With Durrell Chester saves Echo (Mauritius) parakeet Psittacula eques, pink pigeon Columba/Neosonas mayeri, Mauritius kestrel Falco punctatus (also including the Peregrine Fund), Rodrigues fruit bat Pteropus rodricensis, Mauritius fody Foudia rubra, Mauritius olive white-eye Zosterops chloronothus, and other endangered local species. Chester Zoo is making a difference within the Mascarenes; they send zoo keepers and animal managers there to assist local conservation efforts, captive breed their endangered species at Chester Zoo, and release those captive bred animals back into their native habitat, .

Partnered to many Philippine conservation organizations (including the Cebu Biodiversity Conservation Foundation (CBCF), Katala, Negros Forests and Ecological Foundation Inc. (NFEFI), and the Philippines Biodiversity Conservation Foundation Inc. (PBCFI)), Chester Zoo saves endangered Philippine endemics. They captive rear animals for eventual release when threats have been reduced, sponsor rangers, support Philippine captive rearing facilities, and other vital regional conservation work. Chester Zoo also captive breeds critically endangered Philippine cockatoos (or red-vented cockatoo) Cacatua haematuropygia, a parrot which was once common but since large-sale deforestation throughout its range and the pet trade's impacts now only numbers ~1,000 individuals, an estimated 60-90% decrease. Synthesizing local conservation organizations' work and international organizations' (like Chester Zoo and BirdLife International) support hopefully their threats can be ended. Chester Zoo also breeds critically endangered Visayan warty pigs Sus cebifrons, which have been completely exterminated off half the islands where it formerly lived and which is disappearing rapidly due to continued habitat loss and high illegal hunting levels, endangered Philippine spotted deer Rusa alfredi which is threatened by habitat loss, illegal hunting, and the pet trade, critically endangered Philippine crocodiles Crocodylus mindorensis which have only ~100 wild adults left, and endangered Visayan tarictic hornbills Penelopides panini which are also threatened through large-scale deforestation and illegal hunting.

Frog by Ben, age 11

Finally, I will focus upon the frog conservation work upon which Chester Zoo is involved. Many conservation organizations focus on mammals or birds- fundraising is easier then because they are generally considered to be more appealing that frogs. It is wonderful seeing conservation organizations also saving less appreciated animal groups like frogs; this is not a group most conservation organizations focus on. Frogs are being hit particularly hard right now; habitat destruction, environmental toxins which frogs absorb through their skin, climate change affects them more strongly than many other species, and currently there is also a chytrid fungus which devastates frog populations globally. Chester Zoo has stepped up and sponsors endangered frog species field research and determines their wild status, causes for their declines, and their recovery requirements. Chester has also set up several critically endangered frogs' captive breeding programs: green-eyed frogs Lithobates vibicarius, black-eyed tree frogs (Morelet's treefrog) Agalychnis moreletii, and mountain chickens (chicken frog) Leptodactylus fallax. Green-eyed frogs were extremely common but became virtually extinct during the past decade- there are now only three small wild populations, and only one is breeding well. The only captive population is at Chester Zoo, which is developing captive population husbandry techniques while the tiny relict wild population continues its nose dive. Black-eyed tree frogs have also suffered a catastrophic (over 80%) decline over the last decade, and Chester Zoo will eventually repatriate these frogs using their captive population. Mountain chickens suffer habitat destruction, chytrid fungus, and their local culinary fame (hence their name) and are now only found inhabiting two of the seven islands they originally inhabited. A captive breeding program involving Chester Zoo and other zoos (including the Durrell Wildlife Park, which successfully bred them first during 2009) will ensure their captive survival until wild threats have been sorted.

Mountain chicken tadpoles hanging onto mom's back

The Chester Zoo does an excellent conservation job, but could use your support. If you like what you've read concerning them, do send them some money.

Want to see photos or videos of Rodrigues fruit bats?
Want to see photos or videos of pink pigeons?

Want to see photos or videos of Mauritius kestrels?

Want to see photos or videos of Echo parakeets?

Want to see a photo or videos of Mauritius fodies?

Want to see photos of Mauritius olive white-eyes?

Want to see photos or a video of Philippine cockatoos?

Want to see photos or videos of Visayan warty pigs?

Want to see photos or videos of Philippine spotted deer?

Want to see photos or videos of Philippine crocodiles?

Want to see photos or videos of Visayan tarictic hornbills?

Want to see photos of green-eyed frogs?

Want to see photos or videos of black-eyed tree frogs?

Want to see photos or videos of mountain chickens?

Want to learn more? Check out the following books:

Walker's Bats of the World is taken from Walker's Mammals of the World (which I also highly recommend getting if you love mammals- a brilliant set) and covers everything that is known of every species of bat on Earth. If you are really into bats, this is currently the best book out there covering the entire Chiroptera order.

Bat Ecology by Thomas Kunz & M. Brock Fenton will take you to the next level in understanding bats, their roles in their environments, and how they interact with them.

Ecological and Behavioral Methods for the Study of Bats by Thomas Kunz & Stuart Parsons is for the bat researcher and details everything you need to know about studying bats. This book would definitely be for you only if you have become completely fixated on bats (or, of course, if you're studying them.)

Pigeons and Doves: A Guide to the Pigeons and Doves of the World by David Gibbs, Eustace Barnes, & John Cox is superb- it covers the entire Columbiformes order magnificently.

The Handbook of the Birds of the World: Volume 4 Sandgrouse to Cuckoos. This amazing (and very pricey but very worth it) volume covers all of the known information on all of the sandgrouse, pigeons, parrots, turacos, and cuckoos of the world. If you have the money and love birds with a passion, get the entire set.

The Handbook of the Birds of the World: Volume 2 New World Vultures to Guineafowl. This volume covers the Falconiformes and the Galliformes. Again, simply astonishing.

The Handbook of the Birds of the World: Volume 13 Penduline-tits to Shrikes. This volume covers the White-eyes and 15 other passerine families. Again, the seminal work for these birds.

The Handbook of the Birds of the World: Volume 15 Weavers to New World Warblers. This volume covers the fodies and 6 other passerine families- again, simply amazing.

The Handbook of the Birds of the World: Volume 6 Mousebirds to Hornbills. This volume covers the hornbills and other Coraciiformes, the mousebirds, and the trogons.

The Hornbills by Alan Kemp is part of the incredible series on the bird families of the world by the Oxford University Press. Hard to find since it's out of print and not cheap, but the best summary of the family available.

The Ecology & Conservation of Asian Hornbills: Farmers of the Forest by Margaret Kinnaird and Timothy O'Brien is a very accessible book on Asian hornbill ecology and is well worth reading.

Manual to the Conservation of Asian Hornbills, edited by Pilai Poonswad and Alan Kemp (the two biggest names in hornbill research globally) is an excellent book and is definitely written for the scientist or extremely enthusiastic enthusiast.

The Asian Hornbills: Ecology and Conservation, edited by Pilai Poonswad is another excellent book written for scientists and chock full of magnificent information about Asian hornbills.

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Raptors of the World by James Ferguson-Lees and David Christie is an incredibly comprehensive collation of all of the raptors of the world. It comes in two forms: a small (320 pages) version that is essentially a field guide, and a larger (992 pages) version with everything you could ever want to know about each species. Be sure you are purchasing the one that you mean to get.

Parrots: A Guide to Parrots of the World by Tony Juniper and Mike Parr is a similarly wonderful book detailing all of our current knowledge about all of the world's parrots.

If you're interested in Parrot conservation, then you need to get a copy of the IUCN Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan for Parrots to see what the status of conservation plans for these species is.

Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme: Protecting the Most Endangered Dog in the World

2011-07-17T23:57:00.000-07:00

Researcher Claudio Sillero (who also helped found the Andean Cat Alliance) founded the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme (EWCP) during 1995 to reverse the Ethiopian wolf's Canis simensis headlong plummet towards extinction. The Ethiopian wolf is the most endangered canid (dog)- less than 450 are alive today. The Ethiopian wolf's greatest threats are human encroachment and all that brings: habitat loss, road building, domestic dogs' diseases, and human hunting which eliminates perceived threats to livestock.

EWCP uses a many-pronged strategy to reverse the Ethiopian wolf's decline. EWCP continue the research program which started the entire project, monitor population sizes, and research wolf requirements and natural history. EWCP also are protecting what remaining habitat they can along with the Frankfurt Zoological Society (especially the Bale Mountains National Park, which holds half the remaining Ethiopian wolves and half the mountain nyala Tragelaphus buxtoni). EWCP also manage a canid vaccination program, which vaccinates domestic dogs near Ethiopian wolf populations and prevents captive dogs' disease spread into Ethiopian wolf populations. This is like a similar project which was tried at the Serengeti (to protect other predator species) and proved successful. 93% of local domestic dogs are now vaccinated through EWCP, and they are also researching giving Ethiopian wolves oral vaccines through bait drops. Finally, EWCP convinces local populations that wolf protection is important. EWCP does this through various means: they provide many local jobs, support the community (like providing the schoolhouse's running water), educate locals concerning wolves, encourage conservation club establishment through local schools which initiate tree plantings and other activities which protect the environment, and attract ecotourism money which helps provide local jobs and community income.

The EWCP is run by extremely dedicated and knowledgeable people (I have met Claudio Sillero and he is very highly motivated and is also very highly regarded within the scientific community concerning his canid research) and your support will let EWCP continue their phenomenal Ethiopian wolf work. Do help EWCP save them, through generous donations.

Want to see photos or videos of Ethiopian wolves? Want to read more about them? Check out these links/books:

The American Society of Mammalogists has a Mammalian Species account concerning the Ethiopian wolf.

The Ethiopian Wolf: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan by Claudio Sillero and David Macdonald can be downloaded through the IUCN

Canids: Foxes, Wolves, Jackals and Dogs: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan by Claudio Sillero, Michael Hoffmann, and David Macdonald can also be downloaded through the IUCN download site

Biology and Conservation of Wild Canids by David Macdonald and Claudio Sillero is the most complete book concerning wild canids available.

The Handbook of the Mammals of the World, volume 1 Carnivores is an amazing book. It is extremely pricey, but if you want to know about all of the carnivores on the planet today there is currently no better book out there.

The Peregrine Fund: Saving the birds of prey of the world

2011-07-12T20:01:00.000-07:00

The Peregrine Fund was founded in 1970 by Tom Cade, an ornithology professor at Cornell University, to save the peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus, which had nearly disappeared through the western United States, and reintroduce it back into the eastern United States. A captive breeding program including offspring reintroduction was initiated and was wildly successful. Consequently, the Peregrine Fund now can focus their energies towards saving other birds of prey species and has helped save ~100 raptor species (and also some non-raptors, like the critically endangered Madagascar pochard Aythya innotata). The Peregrine Fund run the World Center for Birds of Prey (WCBP), a breeding center and a zoo which only has birds of prey (much like the International Crane Foundation has a breeding center and zoo which specializes just on crane species) and breed large numbers of species like California condors Gymnogyps californianus, Aplomado falcons Falco femoralis, bald eagles Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Mauritius kestrels Falco punctatus, and many more.

One current captive breeding program at the Peregrine Fund is the California condor program. During 1982 there were only 22 California condors left. They brought all condors into captivity so an intensive captive breeding program could build their numbers, and there are now 369 California condors, including 192 wild birds. At 66 birds, the condor flock at the Peregrine Fund's WCBP releases the most condors into the wild (the Oregon Zoo, San Diego Zoo, and LA Zoo also breed condors through the program).

Release of California condors into the wild

The Peregrine Fund's international field conservation projects are also very important. Over the past decade vulture populations over the Indian subcontinent have plummeted because a drug (diclofenac) which dying cattle are given poisons vultures when they eat the dead cattle (in particular Oriental white-backed or white-rumped vultures Gyps bengalensis, long-billed or Indian vultures Gyps indicus, and slender-billed vultures Gyps tenuirostris). The Peregrine Fund was vital in discovering the vulture population crash's source and subsequently getting the drug outlawed. Unfortunately, the population declines have continued, which suggests the drug is still used.

African fish eagle Haliaeetus vocifer and steppe eagle Aquila nipalensis at Lake Bogoria, Kenya

Over and above captive breeding raptors which will be released into the wild and wild raptor protection, the Peregrine Fund has an active research wing, especially concerning declining raptor populations. Their research into African fish eagle declines determine the best ways to focus conservation efforts to reverse declines before the situation reaches the point the California condor was at when the last few birds were brought into captivity.

The Peregrine Fund's African fish eagle project

I have been incredibly fortunate and have seen wild California condors and African fish eagles. Unfortunately, most birds of prey species' populations are decreasing, some precipitously so, and if we don't act soon many species will not be around long. Do investigate the various ways you can help them: support them financially, volunteer at the WCBP or through their international projects, or install an American kestrel nestbox.

Interested in learning more about birds of prey? Check out the following links/books:

The Peregrine Fund has an online database with information concerning 333 species of raptors from around the world.

The Handbook of the Birds of the World: Volume 2 New World Vultures to Guineafowl. This volume covers the Falconiformes and the Galliformes. This set of books is the most complete source of information concerning every species of bird in the world.

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BirdLife International: They speak for the birds

2011-07-07T17:10:00.000-07:00

The good people at BirdLife International (formerly the International Council for Bird Preservation) have been protecting endangered birds since 1922. BirdLife is an alliance(the largest conservation alliance globally) of many different conservation and scientific organizations (like the National Audubon Society and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) banded together so BirdLife can unite resources, determine important directions within research and conservation to pursue and give the bird conservation community a stronger lobbying position.

BirdLife International's services are particularly important. BirdLife's ornithological data collection ability is unsurpassed, and the IUCN uses them when they determine bird species population statuses. Given their population database and their field biologist access (who conduct the population surveys), BirdLife can determine which areas are most important (Important Bird Areas, or IBAs) and will protect more endangered bird species. BirdLife can then focus their gathered scientific knowledge from all their different partners and formulate a plan which best ensures that the maximum IBA numbers are protected quickly. This effective coordination enables them to own or manage over one million hectares for bird preservation globally.

Because BirdLife International is global but also composed of many local organizations, it can collate and organize over a global scale while also being extremely effective over a local scale. That is probably their greatest strength and it serves them well. BirdLife can identify priority areas and species with the most urgent needs and how to best address those needs, and then usie their local networks which are already in place and act quickly and decisively among those partner organizations which are already a part of the local conservation fabric. Global strength and local expertise work hand in hand.

BirdLife runs so many projects I do not have time to cover them all. This is not a bad thing, and is a result of their large size. Although BirdLife International is a very large organization, since they cover all bird species globally they can always use more help, so take a look at their many international programs and help them if you can, either through money or more tangible ways. The birds will thank you.

Interested in Birds? Check out these links/books:

BirdLife International has an amazing database regarding every bird species globally (although much more data has been gathered regarding endangered species).

If you are completely crazy about birds and have a big wad of money burning a hole through your pocket, look into the Handbook of the Birds of the World (in 16 volumes, each volume is ~US$250-300); it's very expensive but extremely well done and covers every bird species, including beautiful color plates illustrating every species. It is currently the single most complete information source concerning all birds.

Wildlife Conservation Society: 5 zoos and 116 years as one of the largest conservation organizations on Earth

2011-07-05T17:51:00.000-07:00

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) was founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological Society with a mandate to promote wildlife conservation, promote zoological study, and create a zoo (the Bronx Zoo). WCS immediately heartily embraced all three goals. WCS runs the Bronx Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, and New York Aquarium, also manages protected wild lands (more than 200 million acres globally), is engaged among over 500 field projects through 60 countries, and employs over 200 scientists.

William Hornaday with a bison calf

The New York Zoological Society hit the ground running. A group of very prominent people formed it, including such famous personages as Theodore Roosevelt. Shortly after its founding the first director, William Hornaday, created the American Bison Society, reversing the American bison's Bison bison precipitous population crash through captive breeding bison at the Bronx Zoo following which they released their offspring in protected Western reserves. Obviously, their plan was a success, and we can largely thank bison preservation to this early vital WCS work.

Several factors have gone into WCS's massive successes. The incredible talent WCS attracts through their mission is unquestionably the main factor. WCS has too many great conservationists, field biologists, and other scientists under their employ to name them all, but I will name one example: George Schaller. George Schaller is among our generation's greatest conservation biologist, a field biologist who conducted the first detailed studies concerning the most secretive animals globally. He gave us our first information regarding the lives of African lions, snow leopards, mountain gorillas, Bengal tigers, and giant pandas. He has done more than just show us these animals' secret lives however. Through his beautiful writing style (I can highly recommend all his books; he is an excellent author) he forges an empathy between reader and animal, which has sparked a love which many people have for these animals inhabiting far-away lands. He has also been a tireless wildlife conservation advocate, and countless reserves formed globally have been partially his handiwork. Many other great scientists at WCS follow in his footsteps.

Since WCS has saved wildlife well over a century now and has over 500 current field projects (and that doesn't cover the many captive breeding conservation projects at their zoos, like the pink pigeon Columba/Nesoenas mayeri project which WCS participates in) through over 60 countries, it is impossible to summarize the kind of work WCS undertakes: they undertake everything- but only if it involves wildlife protection. Look at some animals and places where WCS works. Their reach is truly breathtaking. WCS has preserved many species and habitats which otherwise would have been lost long ago. However, although WCS is large, they still need help- the more WCS raises, the more habitat they can save. Do donate WCS your time or money and know your assistance will help save more animals and their habitat.

Interested in reading some of George Schaller's books? Here are some of his field biology classics:

The Serengeti Lion: A Study of Predator-Prey Relations is, obviously, about his research regarding African lions.

The Year of the Gorilla is, again obviously, about his time studying mountain gorillas.

Stones of Silence: Journeys in the Himalaya is about his studies on wildlife (including snow leopards) in the Himalayas.

The Last Panda is, finally very obviously, concerning giant pandas.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds: Over a century of saving birds

2011-07-03T22:30:00.000-07:00

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is extremely well known throughout the UK, but I include it because it is much less well known outside the UK although it is expanding more and more into international conservation projects, and also because it is an excellent example showing how a local conservation organization can be run extremely successfully. The RSPB has focused its efforts into three main arenas: protect habitat through their 200+ reserves scattered around the UK, initiate programs which build up endangered species numbers, and use their political clout (through their more than one million members) to effect positive change regarding wildlife and native habitats.

Over the past 122 years the RSPB has been protecting birds, originally from the feather trade but increasingly also habitat destruction, climate change, over-hunting, and many other causes. Consequently, the RSPB's mission has been continually expanding without ever losing sight of their original formation rationale. The RSPB now have more than 13,000 volunteers and over 1,300 employees who work towards their goals and exemplify how you can successfully coordinate large disparate groups into a cohesive, functional unit which can accomplish many different conservation projects. The RSPB no longer only advocates (although it is certainly still their major focus), but also protect endangered species habitat. The RSPB is very extensive, and their various foci are varied indeed.

Their refuge system is the RSPB's most visible part, so I will start there. I had the good fortune to have visited half a dozen RSPB refuges and was extremely impressed by them all given their public accessibility (well-maintained trails), their excellent facilities (impressive blinds/hides), and excellent educational messages throughout. My favorite RSPB refuge is Minsmere. Minsmere has seven excellent birdwatching blinds, an elevated viewing platform, and many birds which have become much less common throughout Great Britain, including great bittern Botaurus stellaris and bearded tit Panurus biarmicus, which Minsmere is intensively managed for (and I was pleased I saw both there). I saw numerous bird species there which I did not see anywhere else and I would unhesitatingly recommend Minsmere (and their other refuges, given the quality of those which I saw) as an excellent place to spend a day. I do not have anything bad to say about them- they are wonderful.

The RSPB understands the only way conservation projects will be successful is if you incorporate local people- this is the key. The RSPB educate farmers regarding ways which they can make their farms more wildlife-friendly and persuade the government to provide farmers incentives if they become wildlife-friendly, and have had great success through that endeavor.

The RSPB also reintroduces birds back into their former habitats after threats have been reduced, including Steller's sea eagles Haliaeetus albicilla, common cranes Grus grus, and cirl buntings Emberiza cirlus.

Just because the RSPB is much larger and better established than other conservation organizations I cover is not me suggesting the RSPB doesn't also need help. They do incredible work, their money is well spent, and their results are astonishing. The RSPB needs assistance, from monetary donations and goods through volunteers. If you enjoy wildlife and live within the UK (or possibly outside the UK), I can hardly imagine a better way to get involved than volunteering with this fantastic organization. Do help them if you are able so they can continue their amazing work.

Proyecto Titi: Saving small monkeys with crazy hair for over 25 years

2011-06-30T21:02:00.000-07:00

Proyecto Titi is an organization designed to save Colombia's critically endangered cotton-top tamarins Saguinus oedipus and preserve habitats and biodiversity within the forests where tamarins live. Cotton-top tamarins are a small primate species found only within Colombian tropical forests. Although there are no accurate estimates concerning their original population size, tamarins must have numbered at least within the tens of thousands since 20,000-30,000 were exported during the late 1960's for medical tests and the pet trade, and since at least 75% (but possibly 98%) of their original forest habitat has been cleared. The latest population estimate is there could be 7,400 animals left, presumably 20% or less than the original population. Unfortunately, habitat destruction continues unabated, and two hydroelectric dams being built will flood much remaining forest.

Proyecto Titi Video- English Subtitles from Federico Pardo Caicedo on Vimeo.

Anne Savage founded Proyecto Titi during 1985 to halt the devastation being wrought on the species, while she studied both wild and captive tamarins. A very few people form Proyecto Titi, but do amazing work given their size. Proyecto Titi run educational outreach programs within affected areas which stop hunting and forest destruction, run an inventive tamarins for slingshots program (trading local children stuffed tamarin dolls for slingshots which the children use when hunting the animals), designed and distribute special ovens which are extremely efficient (the ovens use 2/3 less wood than what the villagers use, so villagers will cut less of the forest's wood) and reduce health problems which villagers experience using their original cooking system, and conduct tamarin conservation research (using special techniques which they invented).

Cotton-top tamarin ©Trisha Shears

Proyecto Titi has done amazing work while using so few employees, but that is because their few employees are relentlessly driven and incredibly dedicated concerning cotton-top tamarins. I worked alongside Anne Savage over several years and saw firsthand how incredibly motivated she is concerning cotton-tops, sometimes risking her own safety. She is tremendously knowledgeable regarding tamarins, and is almost certainly the foremost cotton-top tamarin authority. I have also met Rosamira Guillen repeatedly and her enthusiasm over tamarins equals Anne's. It's no wonder this small team has made such a large difference against such overwhelming odds. But they need help saving the cotton-top tamarin (the cooperative captive breeding program ensures long-term zoo species survival is safe, but ideally there would be more wild tamarins living safely than captive ones). Help them save tamarins & the associated forest, and do donate what you can so they can continue their work and expand it into more communities. Through working together cotton-top tamarins can be saved.

Children performing a cotton-top dance during a festival to celebrate the cotton-top tamarin

Interested in learning more about cotton-top tamarins? Check out these great links/books on primates:

Here is a link to download the work on cotton-top tamarins by Patricia Neyman, who studies their wild ecology, social organization, and conservation status.

Living New World Monkeys (Platyrrhini) volume 1 (no more volumes were ever made, sadly) by Philip Hershkovitz is quite pricey but well worth the expense if you are excited by tamarins and other small New World monkeys.

Frankfurt Zoological Society: It's not ALL happening at the zoo

2011-06-25T16:07:00.000-07:00

The Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) was originally founded to support Zoo Frankfurt over 150 years ago but has grown far past that purpose alone. Progressive zoos today focus their energies not merely into entertainment, but also utilize their unique positions to improve the nature's state through research, education, species conservation through both captive breeding and habitat protection, animal welfare, and sustainability. FZS is among the global leaders within the zoo field through their outstanding work.

Bernhard Grzimek initiated much conservation at FZS when he was appointed the Frankfurt Zoo's director after WW2. After rebuilding the destroyed zoo, he somehow found some money for conservation work. Their conservation budget percentage has continued increasing, and now FZS participates through ~70 field conservation projects (including such varied species as vultures, bats, saiga, rhinos, Andean cats, & Serengeti work, especially stopping the proposed road) through Africa, Europe, South America, and Southeast Asia. Approximately 96% of their money goes towards funding conservation projects and only ~1% goes towards supporting zoo operations. A truly impressive conservation contribution.

A journey along FZS conservation areas, from the Andes to the Amazon

Peruse the FZS website & look at the conservation work support. FZS do extremely important work, and use minimal expense (96% of funding going directly towards projects is an impressively high number; most conservation organizations cannot reach such a high percentage even without also running a zoo). FZS keep their publicity and employee costs low and hire brilliant and driven people- this is how FZS succeeds so admirably while they spend so little money. I spent several weeks working around some FZS employees while at the Serengeti and I am extremely impressed regarding their enthusiasm, knowledge, and dedication towards animals and ecosystems there. Do help them: make a donation or join their zoo society- all money will go right back into conservation and will help FZS make a difference.

Conservationists from the ZSL, FZS, and WCS release cheetahs confiscated by a wildlife dealer

International Crane Foundation: Tall, lanky & in need of help

2011-06-23T17:33:00.000-07:00

I am incredibly lucky and have worked among 12 of the 15 crane species globally within zoos and have seen another species flying free occasionally. Given my tremendous love of cranes, I know the amazing crane work done at the International Crane Foundation (ICF) because they do most global crane conservation work. George Archibald and Ron Sauey formed ICF during the early 1970's to promote crane conservation through research, education, habitat protection, captive breeding, and releasing captive bred birds into protected wild areas. ICF have done an outstanding job through all those areas.

ICF started through crane procurement and researching captive breeding techniques. Many species having more permanent pair bonds between mates like cranes have proven difficult to breed at zoos. ICF brought large crane groups into their facility and researched crane breeding. Consequently, ICF was the first facility which bred certain crane species and are the only captive facility globally which has had success breeding all 15 crane species (no doubt partly because few if any zoos have held all 15 crane species; nobody else can match ICF's zeal towards cranes). ICF pioneered many techniques we now use concerning crane breeding, including furthering understanding regarding their captive requirements, successful pair formation, developing artificial insemination techniques, being first to hatch an endangered species from an egg fertilized using frozen semen, and designing chick raising protocols which prevent human imprinting.

Crane captive breeding is only a first step within ICF's strategy- this is so there will be a captive buffer population against extinction. ICF doesn't only want a large captive crane population however, but also wants large prospering wild populations. Towards this end ICF successfully increases crane protection globally at crane conservation hotspots. ICF is currently running more than 20 projects through over 40 countries, so their reach truly is global.

At their Baraboo, WI facility, ICF has a large center which has public crane viewing, and it is there where they do much public education (although ICF also does plenty off site, including through their website). If you love cranes and are anywhere near Wisconsin you should go see it. It is probably the only place globally holding all 15 crane species concurrently. It's a zoo just for cranes! If you are crane crazy (a craniac?) then this is a must-see.

Possibly ICF's most exciting aspect is their research into successfully releasing cranes back into the wild. Reintroduction is a main goal and ICF have done an amazing job there. But ICF could really use your help also, so do support them financially so the invaluable work they have done over almost 40 years can continue and expand. I do not have enough space here to say all the good things which need saying- their conservation work has been absolutely outstanding and deserves support.

Want to learn more about cranes? Check out these great books & links:

Cranes: Their Biology, Husbandry, and Conservation by David Ellis, George Gee, & Claire Mirande. The most current and complete book concerning cranes available.

Cranes of the World by Paul Johnsgard is an older book and getting harder to find but is full of great information still and is a must for all serious crane fanatics.

Cranes of the World by Lawrence Walkinshaw is also an older book and getting hard to find, but is similarly an excellent and useful source regarding information on cranes.

The Cranes: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan by Curt Meine & George Archibald will give you in-depth information concerning crane conservation globally and can be downloaded from the IUCN's publications page.

WildlifeDirect: Blogging for conservation

2011-06-19T14:03:00.000-07:00

Since Paula Kuhumbu is being presented a National Geographic/Buffett Conservation Leadership Award due to her work as WildlifeDirect and the Kenya Land Conservation Trust's Executive Director (and also being named a 2011 National Geographic Emerging Explorer), this seems like an excellent time to write a post concerning WildlifeDirect and the excellent work it does.

Richard Leakey describes his initial concept far better than I can

WildlifeDirect is not a conservation organization set up to aid a particular animal, habitat, or region. It is Richard Leakey's ingenious brainchild and it works like an umbrella organization. WildlifeDirect finds good local conservation organizations and individuals and gives them a home within their website, where they can blog regarding their experiences. The service is free and individuals can raise funds for their cause through the site and also provides them an information dissemination outlet concerning their work/situation. This marriage between the internet and conservation is brilliant: typically conservation organizations rely upon major donors providing large monetary sums which ensure continued operation but through WildlifeDirect these small conservation operations can collect small monetary sums from larger numbers of people, which helps them survive and prosper through times when philanthropy is reduced (like it has been during the recent economic downturn) and gives people who are not millionaires a way they can feel like they make a tangible difference with their donation, since they can see exactly how their money helped make a difference through the blogs. Since each conservation organization/group writes their own blogs, WildlifeDirect needs (and has) few employees, so it requires very little money and raises funds covering its own costs through its own fundraising efforts instead of extracting some funds which each promoted organization raises. All money donated through WildlifeDirect's website goes directly towards conservation, which is how it should be.

Paula Kuhumbu explains the concept really well at a Pop!Tech talk

The conservation organizations featured through WildlifeDirect span the globe (no longer just Africa, like originally conceived) and cover all types of animals and environments. Since WildlifeDirect represents many, many conservation organizations, I can't possibly cover them all, so will keep this post relatively short and instead suggest you visit their site and explore the diversity there yourself. WildlifeDirect's menus are set up well to search blogs through either geographic region or animal species, so do check it out and help ones which strike a chord! WildlifeDirect's individual organizations (listed within each site's blog) need donations, donations towards keeping WildlifeDirect running are needed, help with running individual blogs (note this all you blog-savvy folk who would like to make a difference but don't have that much money) is needed, help spreading news concerning the organizations through social networking (with which I imagine you are all familiar, since you are reading this) is needed, and people who can organize various causes' fundraisers are needed. I will close this blog while noting the amazing people behind WildlifeDirect: besides being founded by Richard Leakey, paleoanthropologist and conservation giant, influential folks fill the Board of Directors, so this is an extremely reputable, if new, organization, and it's a new organization because the technology required is new- this concept is cutting edge conservation. Concerning their employee quality, Paula Kuhumbu and I attended school together and I can personally vouch for her impressive knowledge, passion, and drive regarding wildlife, but you need not just take my word, since the National Geographic Society has also recognized her impressive abilities several times already this year.

Helping the rarest cat in the Americas: Alianza Gato Andino

2011-06-17T16:35:00.000-07:00

Now I will cover Alianza Gato Andino (AGA, the Andean Cat Alliance), which works to save the Andean cat Leopardus (Oreailurus) jacobita, the most endangered North & South America cat. Populations of this small high Andes cat (found above timberline) are very small and scattered, and densities are extremely low. The cats are also extremely secretive. This makes these cats extremely difficult to study, since field biologists have only spotted wild cats a few times and none are captive. Many Andean cat researchers study the cat many years without ever seing one alive, or if so only a rare and fleeting glimpse. That is a commitment beyond most people- I am not used to meeting researchers who have not seen their study species, yet remain so incredibly dedicated to their work. It is a rare person that works so diligently saving a species they have never seen and may not ever see just because the researchers know it is important. And so these researchers continue their work because it is more important the cat is safe than the cat is visible- the researchers labor on to save this cat (and one day maybe also catch a quick glimpse).

There are several reasons why the Andean cat is endangered. Primarily it is endangered due to hunting. It is also a sacred animal, which means it is used (dead) in various rituals. It is additionally considered a pest sometimes since it preys on small domesticated animals. The AGA works throughout the Andean cat's range to educate the local populace concerning the cat's importance and to protect and not kill them.

Andean cats are also rare because they eat mountain chinchillas preferentially. Humans have hunted mountain chinchilla species to near extinction. This situation forces Andean cats to hunt primarily mountain vizcachas. Vizcachas have a more patchy occurrence and live colonially, which isolates different Andean cat populations and individuals and interrupts gene flow, which further exacerbates their decline. Finally, like everywhere else, habitat destruction is a problem. AGA also works to protect crucial Andean cat habitat. These preserves will also protect Andean cats' prey species. Healthier prey species population sizes provide healthier predator population sizes also, and will provide corridors so Andean cats can move back and forth. The resultant gene flow increase will additionally help the cats' long-term survival probabilities.

Since virtually nothing was known concerning this endangered cat until recently, AGA coordinates required research programs determining baseline data, including Andean cat abundances, what the cats eat, where the cats are found, and what major threats to cat survival are. Without this data we would never have known what their wild status is or how to aid their recovery. AGA continually increase our knowledge regarding these endangered cats through ongoing studies coordinated with their conservation goals, but AGA need your help to continue their desperately needed Andean cat preservation work . If you find this little cat endearing like I do and would like to support AGA, do not hesitate to go here and send a donation their way. AGA are doing vital work within challenging environments and always put any funds to extremely good use.

Want to see photos of Andean cats?

Want to learn more about Andean Cats? Check out these links/books:

The American Society of Mammalogists has a Mammalian Species account on Andean cats.

The Andean Cat: A Conservation Action Plan by Villalba et al. was published by the AGA and is available for free download here.

The Handbook of the Mammals of the World, volume 1 Carnivores is an amazing book. It is extremely pricey, but if you want to know anything concerning all the carnivores there is currently no better book.

The Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids by David Macdonald and Andrew Loveridge is a must have if you are interested in cat conservation or biology.

King of the Mountain: The Snow Leopard Conservancy

2011-06-15T12:50:00.000-07:00

Some conservation organizations like the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust start because someone sees how human devastation affects flora/fauna globally. Other organizations were founded by people who are extremely familiar with one species (often researchers who study the species) who discover they cannot watch impassively while their study species plummets towards extinction. Snow Leopard Conservancy (SLC) is the latter type. Rodney Jackson is a head snow leopard Panthera (Uncia) uncia researcher so he knows better than anyone how precarious their continued existence is and how many threats face them. Fortunately, Rodney understands those threats and has unlimited drive. Rodney founded SLC and has devoted himself to alleviating threats against snow leopards.

Snow leopard habitat is among the most inaccessible terrain globally: towering Himalayan mountainsides. This habitat preference makes finding and studying them incredibly difficult, because humans are much less agile upon sheer mountain faces than snow leopards and snow leopard camouflage also helps them disappear against their natural rocky home's backdrop. I do not have any idea how the researchers manage so successfully given the arduous conditions but they do. The terrain also makes it harder for civilization to encroach and the area where snow leopards live is among the least densely populated globally. It is not entirely unpopulated however, and sheep/goat herders comprise most human populations within areas overlapping snow leopards. Since snow leopards predate herd mammals, there are conflicts between snow leopards and local herders. SLC helps local people make their night corrals predator-proof, which eliminates the snow leopards' threat to their livestock, which then eliminates the reason locals want them gone.

But SLC doesn't just build livestock corrals; they determine snow leopards' biggest threats (which also include native prey loss & illegal leopard trade) and their solutions through scientific surveys. SLC promoting ecotourism potential among local groups, boosting the local economy through local wildlife diversity. This is something which further encourages local populations to preserve snow leopards and their natural prey. They also provide local people education concerning snow leopards, children particularly. SLC knows that only through getting local people pro snow leopard can there be success saving snow leopards, and there is no reason why snow leopards can't help the local populace while people simultaneously help them. People living in harmony among wildlife is possible, and should be all conservation efforts' end goal.

SLC does great work, but need help to continue their work and expand their reach. The people who run SLC are an extremely dedicated group who are very serious about spending every penny raised saving the snow leopards. I have worked among zoo snow leopards myself so can understand their dedication- snow leopards are absolutely amazing animals. Do send a donation, purchase some snow leopard wine, books, cards, or posters, or even take a trip and see snow leopards yourself! It will be money well spent and won't be regretted. This is not a hopeless task and SLC is winning, but need help making it happen. Every little bit makes the planet a better place.

Want to see photos or videos of snow leopards? Want to read more about them? Check out these links/books:

The American Society of Mammalogists has a Mammalian Species account on the snow leopard.

Written by the Snow Leopard Conservancy's Education, Administration, & Development Director, Darla Hillard's Vanishing Tracks: Four Years Among the Snow Leopards of Nepal details being involved in the field work of some of the folks at the Trust.

The Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids by David Macdonald and Andrew Loveridge is a must have if you are interested in cat conservation or biology.

You can download the IUCN report Fading Footprints: The Killing and Trade of Snow Leopards by Stephanie Theile and TRAFFIC from their publications site.

Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust: It all started with a zoo

2011-06-12T22:30:00.000-07:00

Conservationist, nature documentarian, and author Gerald Durrell founded the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust during 1963 (although 1959 saw the zoo open) to create captive breeding groups of endangered animals and plants. Since that time the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (formerly the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust) has driven much endangered species protection, often through captive breeding at the zoo (the Durrell Wildlife Park, formerly the Jersey Zoo). The trust made the dodo Raphus cucullatus their symbol, highlighting their conservation work's importance and demonstrating what happens among endangered species when conservation enterprises are not taken or are not strong enough.

Among the many ways that the trust helps endangered species is through its original mission: captive breeding endangered species and returning them into the wild. Since its founding more than 13,000 animals have been born at the Durrell Wildlife Park, many later returned into the wild. Captive breeding for release is still a major conservation strategy today.

Training conservation biologists is another major strategy. The trust created a school during 1984 which trains people regarding vital techniques they will need when conducting successful conservation programs back home and have trained more than 2,700 conservationists from 128 countries. Courses are based at Jersey but are also held among various locales overseas, aiding people who cannot afford global air fare prices. Training local people to conduct conservation programs within their own countries is an absolutely brilliant way to provide conservation support. Local people must manage conservation projects or they will not be successful, but local people need training or they will not understand what needs doing and how. The trust recognized that need when nobody else had and then filled the need, and have filled it admirably. I know some people who have gone through their program and all speak extremely highly regarding their program and the knowledge that they took away. The former students are particularly pleased concerning the continuing information stream and international connections within the conservation community that the course provides them after completion.

In addition to their captive breeding programs and their conservation biologists' training programs, the trust also protects/restores endangered species' natural habitats, so captive plants and animals will have a safe home when reintroduction becomes possible. A crucial aspect is their involvement regarding research into local flora and fauna which determines threats concerning local endangered species populations and responses.

Discussing all the trust's projects over the past half century is impossible- the trust is currently conducting 45 conservation projects globally and this is not including the many more which they finished over the years- so I will instead present a few examples of their Mauritius work:

Mauritius:

Pink pigeon with nest and eggs
by Casey, age 4

The dodo's home is a place where the trust has focused much energy ensuring that extinctions through the Mascarene Islands halt. Like dodos, several decades ago another Mauritius pigeon (the dodo was a large flightless pigeon) was near extinction. The pink pigeon Nesoenas/Columba mayeri is a species that experienced a severe population crash: during the 1970's only 10-20 individuals were left and when 1991 rolled around only 10 wild individuals remained. Without the Trust's intervention this species would definitely have become extinct. During 1977 five wild birds were captured, forming the trust's captive flock. Two years later these captive birds' offspring started returning to Mauritius, both through return into the wild and adding into the Mauritius in situ captive propagation center. Today through their captive propagation efforts, their researches into causes concerning their declines, and then addressing problems which they discovered, captive pink pigeon numbers stand at ~140, and ~350 pink pigeons now flying free.

A population having only 10 remaining birds may sound pretty low, but pink pigeons were positively numerous compared to the Mauritius kestrel Falco punctatus when the Trust targeted them. During 1974 there were only 4 individuals left, and only one breeding pair, making the Mauritius kestrel the rarest bird on Earth at the time. Look up now at the first 3 people that you see. Now imagine that you and those 3 people are the last human beings. Not 3 people that you want, but the 3 that you just saw, chosen at random. That was the Mauritius kestrel's status. What a seriously bleak outlook. The trust, and several other conservation organizations like the Peregrine Fund, initiated a captive breeding program and intensive wild management. This breeding program succeeded so well that there are now over 800 wild Mauritius kestrels flying around the island. What an absolutely amazing recovery given the bird was so near extinction.

The Mauritius (Echo) parakeet Psittacula eques was experiencing similarly dire straits when the trust targeted them. During 1986 less than a dozen wild birds were left, and only three were females. Through captive breeding and intensive wild management the population has since increased past 300 individuals. Help for the Mauritius parakeet could not have come later; its close relative, neighboring Rodrigues Island's Newton's parakeet Psittacula exsul, went extinct ~1876, like its Reunion island relative which went extinct before that. Three fewer females and the Mauritius parakeet would have followed them into extinction, but work through the trust and their partners has ensured these three species and many more like them are still around, and extensive habitat tracts have been protected that would otherwise not be.

Mauritius is certainly not the only place where the Trust saves endangered species however. Peruse their wonderful website and investigate other trust projects. But all this good work doesn't come cheap and the trust really needs help financially when saving endangered species. Do send some money their way, it will be extremely well spent. I do not have any idea how many species would be extinct today without the trust's activities, but they have definitely made a spectacular difference throughout both conservation and zoos. The trust has redefined how zoos look at their role, and how people look at zoos. The trust has been a main force driving positive change throughout conservation during the past century, without a doubt. This is how all zoos should be run, but sadly this is not yet the case, but with gentle pressure more zoos are becoming like their model every year. It was a book that Gerald Durrell wrote that I read while a wee small child that initially convinced me concerning zoos' potential and got me onto my current zoo keeper career track. I can highly recommend all Gerald Durrell's books, as can almost everyone else since the books were/are all insanely popular.

Want to see photos or videos of pink pigeons?

Want to see photos or videos of Mauritius kestrels?

Want to see photos or videos of Mauritius parakeets?

Want to learn more? Check out the following links/books:

I can't recommend A Zoo in my Luggage by Gerald Durrell strongly enough. It was the first book of his that I read so I may be biased, but it is the book that got me interested in zoo keeping as a career. Try it- you won't be disappointed.

Pigeons and Doves: A Guide to the Pigeons and Doves of the World by David Gibbs, Eustace Barnes, & John Cox is superb- it covers the entire Columbiformes order magnificently.

The Handbook of the Birds of the World: Volume 2 New World Vultures to Guineafowl. This volume covers the Falconiformes and the Galliformes. Again, simply astonishing.

small version

large version

Parrots: A Guide to Parrots of the World by Tony Juniper and Mike Parr is a similarly wonderful book detailing all of our current knowledge about all of the world's parrots.

I am going to end this post with a quote from Gerald Durrell to future generations that I absolutely love:

We hope that there will be fireflies and glow-worms at night to guide you and butterflies in hedges and forests to greet you.

We hope that your dawns will have an orchestra of bird song and that the sound of their wings and the opalescence of their colouring will dazzle you.

We hope that there will still be the extraordinary varieties of creatures sharing the land of the planet with you to enchant you and enrich your lives as they have done for us.

We hope that you will be grateful for having been born into such a magical world.

The Xerces Society: Helping those without backbones for 40 years

2011-06-11T23:52:00.000-07:00

The Xerces Society was formed 40 years ago to protect insects and other invertebrates and their habitats. The Xerces Society was named after the Xerces blue Glaucopsyche xerces, the first North American butterfly species we made go extinct. Exact reasons behind the Xerces blue's extinction are not known because its ecology was poorly understood before it went extinct, but current best guess is the butterfly and a local ant species had a symbiotic relationship and when invasive Argentine ants displaced most local ant species the butterfly lost a vital life cycle requirement. Which just shows that little unloved species like ants should be saved just like glamorous mega-vertebrates like giant pandas, because all those little invertebrate species form the food webs' bases and every time a base species is removed it will likely have a disproportionately large response higher up the trophic pyramid. While most conservation organizations save adorable fluffy animals, the Xerces Society fights the good fight for the little guy, quite literally, saving animals which you would be hard pressed to call cute but are still equally deserving.

Darwin's hawk moth

Initially the Xerces Society spent much energy saving butterflies, which many find the most attractive invertebrates. Their butterfly conservation work is still ongoing but other invertebrate groups also get much more focus now. Pertinently, Xerces protects many freshwater mussel species (a more unadorable a group you can't get- we mammals struggle finding animals cute when we can't identify if they have a head), a group where 71% of North American species are at risk. Xerces also protect native bees (a group which usually first makes us think, " Aah- it's a bee! Run!") and other pollinators, without which many food crops would not produce fruit or reproduce. Xerces also protects myriad other endangered invertebrate species through many means: they primarily protect their habitats, but also research their needs since so little natural history information is known concerning most rare invertebrate species, drive species at risk advocacy, and promote education so they can change people's attitudes and behaviors and fewer species will need protection, giving currently endangered species will have a better chance.

Longhorn beetle

Most people think invertebrates are "lower" life forms which stopped evolving long ago. This is just not the case. Their body plans may not have undergone such massive changes over the years, but invertebrates have been evolving exactly the same time we have been (starting the moment our common ancestors diverged we have both been evolving our own special ways). Consequently, invertebrates are (roughly) equally well adapted to their environments. Invertebrates' evolutionary staying power and ubiquity demonstrate their adaptation ability particularly well. We also usually think vertebrates are more intelligent than invertebrates. While this is often true, octopuses (even ones which can't predict football outcomes) are certainly intelligent animals, much more intelligent than many vertebrates I have worked among. One octopus which I worked among unscrewed and removed a door's bolt which separated a female inside the next aquarium. You will certainly never see a chicken attempt something comparable.

Mantis shrimp

Concerning invertebrate species which aren't braniacs, intelligence is not the be-all, end-all. We usually think intelligence is the most important adaptation around, and all species should evolve higher intelligence because higher intelligence is the 'more advanced' state. We think like this because we are so intelligent and we define ourselves through our intelligence. Among many species, however, intelligence is costly but does not substantially help them survive, so it is not developed or can actually become reduced. Ostriches show the fallacy concerning thinking this way regarding evolution (all evolution is a natural progression towards more complex, 'fancier' features). Ostrich ancestors could fly, but discovered through growing much larger and running they could exploit a niche which they couldn't while flying and so abandoned flight, something we would think is a 'backwards' choice evolutionarily, flight (since it's so darn cool) being the more advanced adaptation. But like all things, flight has both advantages and disadvantages; so too has intelligence.

Signal crayfish

Ostriches also do not have a particularly high intelligence (I have worked among many ostriches and I love them dearly but underestimating their intelligence is nearly impossible). Their heads only have so much room, and eyes (each is larger than its brain) see over long distances extremely well, which is far more important regarding their continued survival and increased reproductive output than a huge brain is. If is minimal brain requirements are met (e.g. the ostrich can run away when their keen eyes spot a predator) then an ostrich is fine- more brain would increase head weight, which would require a much thicker neck which supports its heavier head at a height which can spot predators and also conveniently reach the ground. And if you asked an ostrich what the most highly evolved animal traits, which all animals are moving towards, are, unlike us it would likely answer, "Large eyes, long necks, long & strong running legs and tiny little brains." It's all dependent upon your own perspective. Ultimately, evolution's pinnacle is represented through each species which has evolved to survive most efficiently in its environment, and this mindset shows invertebrates are definitely at the pinnacle and have been a very, very long time. So just because certain animal species and us are more closely related does not make them 'better' or more 'worthy' of survival. Give invertebrates some love too!

Very cool bee from my yard

That said (in an extremely simplified manner- I do not have time here to go more more deeply into all evolution's complexities; this is not the time and this is not the place), while invertebrates overall have done extremely well, many species have become extremely specialized and consequently (since specialist species are often those which become endangered) those species need some help to survive their habitats' ravages which we have wrought. The good news is 1) The Xerces Society helps endangered invertebrates, and 2) while the Xerces Society protects invertebrate habitats, they simultaneously protect all other plants, fungi, and animals which live there. So if you, like me, believe either 1) distantly related tiny little animals should survive although they aren't our close relatives, 2) if we don't save little tiny guys which form the food webs' bases, the big, cute mammals which you do value will have some serious survival problems, or 3) you like that cute furry animal habitat is protected although ostensibly to save creepy little crawly things, then do help the Xerces Society continue their invaluable and unappreciated work, saving the planet's least glamorous animals. Ugly animals need love too!

Opalescent nudibranch

Although zoos usually have a more vertebrate focus (because people prefer them), I have fortunately worked among many invertebrates at some zoos and I have been astonished by their different behaviors and abilities. When I was a child I spent countless awe-filled hours lying flat, watching invertebrates in grass or a pond edge or puddle, living their little lives their own peculiar ways. My earliest connections among nature involved watching invertebrates, and this is a passion which has never left me.

If you would like to learn more concerning invertebrates, check out the following links/books:

The Xerces Society has a veritable cornucopia of downloadable data concerning how to interact positively with or how to identify your local native invertebrates.

The Xerces Society has also produced this excellent book regarding attracting native pollinators so you can help your own local native species.

Insect Diversity Conservation by Michael Samways is an excellent book concerning insect conservation.

Interested in identifying and learning more about your local invertebrates? There are likely to be local field guides for at least some of your local invertebrate taxa available. Sadly, many will be only partially complete, but that is usually because even in heavily populated areas there are undescribed species still waiting to be discovered and described. Interested in naming a new species? Get really involved in invertebrates and you will be able to!

Don't believe me that invertebrates have cool and complex behaviors? Check out this easy to read book about Communication and Noncommunication by Cephalopods by Martin Moynihan to see how incredibly complex the behaviors of invertebrates are as well!

Getting really into insect conservation now? Go to your local university and check out the Journal of Insect Conservation. And while you're there, check out their references on invertebrates and be amazed at the diversity of animals out there!

Out of sight ≠ out of mind for the good folks at Bat Conservation International

2011-06-06T23:55:00.000-07:00

Bat Conservation International (BCI) is a conservation organization which has been around since 1982 conducting crucial work saving bat species globally. In 2006 white-nose syndrome was first discovered among North American b ats . Scientists were not sure what it was at the time and it has unfortunately swept westward over the continent since then, killing nearly every bat it contact while progressing towards the Pacific. This is a devastating catastrophe; nearly the worstNorth American wildlife disaster ever. Consequently, BCI's work the past several years has brought a new urgency. White-nose syndrome is currently found within nine of North America's forty-seven bat species already. BCI funds research into white-nose syndrome's causes and cures, but they need your financial help.

Before white-nose syndrome hit North American bat populations, BCI still had their hands full. Bats are not the most universally beloved animals. Bats get abundant bad press, and BCI does much combating the bad press through presenting the truth concerning bats (e.g. bats are extremely beneficial since they eat massive insect quantities every night, bats are not particularly dangerous, & facts regarding bats and rabies), helps people find ways to remove and exclude bats which get into buildings, and shows them how boxes attract bats and what benefits having local bats would be. BCI really understand the need to have people interact with nature, do an absolutely amazing job regarding dispelling bat myths and turning fears into an appreciation, and have done so over the past twenty nine years.

Besides white-nose syndrome and education, BCI is pursuing many other projects saving bats also. BCI makes sure when public protection concerns mandate mine shafts/caves must be closed up, the shafts do not harbor active bat colonies. If the shafts do house bat colonies, BCI adds barriers which will keep people away but will allow bats free access. But bats don't only roost inside caves; bats also often roost under bridges and BCI provides recommended conflict minimization methods between people and bats when this occurs and fosters the situation like the positive interaction which it is. BCI also promotes research around the planet concerning all bat biology aspects.

BCI gets my kudos. I do not fully understand how their organization has turned around such a universally reviled creature's public image over less than three decades, but it is a monumental feat and BCI has done it brilliantly. Their success is partly through amazing bat photographs taken by BCI's founder, Merlin Tuttle. His photographs are phenomenal and capture their beauty perfectly. Sometimes it just takes one person who can show others beauty like he sees it to eventually convince a whole country. Or, like Merlin Tuttle, the people of many countries. Bat education is not likely to be very popular, but BCI never wavers. Hats off to Merlin Tuttle, whose bat dedication dramatically changed the way people think about bats- no mean feat. How many of us can say we have changed the planet for the better so spectacularly? This is definitely something BCI can claim. But BCI needs funds and volunteers, so do help them. And don't forget: spread the word concerning the good work BCI does also!

Aren't bats cool? I have worked among four captive bat species (insectivorous, frugivorous, and vampire bats Desmodus rotundus!) and have found them incredibly interesting little animals, not at all like bats are portrayed within movies/television. Working among captive bats has sent me pursuing wild bats more. I remember my joy while watching a bat colony which lives underneath the pachyderm building at the San Francisco Zoo, the thrill when I saw pipistrelles flutter through the forest at night, and my awe when I found a roosting Kenyan bat sporting the largest ears I have ever seen. You should experience it yourself; bat contact is an enlightening and magical experience. This is the sort of experience which makes life vibrant.

Want to learn more about bats? Check out these links/books:

BCI has a nice bat intro, a part about North American bats, and a part shows you where you can see bats around the planet yourself.

America's Neighborhood Bats by Merlin Tuttle himself is an excellent bat intro and is filled with his astonishing photographs.

The Bat Builder's Handbook by Merlin Tuttle, Mark Kiser, & Selena Kiser and published by BCI is an excellent book if you have become completely enamored by bats and now want to provide bat homes. It provides everything you will need to get started. If you would rather buy one already built, BCI still has you covered (it should be noted that not all bat houses which are sold will be likely to attract bats- check the Bat Builder's Handbook and see what you should look for before you buy, although ones BCI sell will obviously work well.)

If you have moved past bat boxes and are completely head over heels, the next stage would be bat detectors, which pick up their calls (the calls are outside frequencies human ears can hear) and translate them into sounds which we can hear so you can identify flying bats through their distinctive calls. Be warned however- this is not cheap.

Walker's Bats of the World is taken from Walker's Mammals of the World (which I also highly recommend getting if you love mammals- a brilliant set) and covers everything known regarding every bat species. If you are really into bats, this is currently the best book covering the entire Chiroptera order.

Got all those books and want to get REALLY into bats? Check these out:

Bat Ecology by Thomas Kunz & M. Brock Fenton will take you up a level in understanding bats, their roles among their environments, and how the bats interact with their environments.

The Vampire Bat: A Field Study in Behavior and Ecology by Dennis Turner goes deep into the feared vampire bat's life, by a man who studied them and gives details concerning what these near-mythic animals are really like.

The Short-tailed Fruit Bat: A Study in Plant-Animal Interactions by Theodore Fleming gives a similar treatment concerning one bat which eats fruit, not blood.

Ecological and Behavioral Methods for the Study of Bats by Thomas Kunz & Stuart Parsons is for the bat researcher and details everything you need to know regarding studying bats. This book would definitely be for you only if you have become completely fixated on bats (or, obviously, if you're studying them.)

Highway to Hell: Serengeti Watch

2011-06-05T20:45:00.000-07:00

While Serengeti Watch is not a long established conservation organization and does not have many huge successes under their belt, I include it because although it is extremely new, its goal is crucial and time sensitive: stop a government-mandated highway's construction straight through the Serengeti, through its most sensitive part. The plan is to build the highway next year, although Frankfurt Zoological Society researchers working in the Serengeti, other scientists globally, travel agents (and the tourism industry in toto), and concerned individuals have been requesting the government rethink their decision and instead reroute the highway outside the Serengeti. I do not have any idea why the government doesn't reroute the highway, since rerouting it would increase economic growth within those villages along its path. If the highway is built the way it is currently being proposed, it is not going to make anyone happy. Estimates are at least 3/4 of wildebeest which migrate will be decimated and may stop being migratory. There will be incalculable roadkill wildlife losses and rhino poaching will increase substantially with increased access inside more sensitive reserve areas. Cost over-runs will also eclipse the projected highway cost (wildlife barriers are needed which the current budget has not included).

Several years ago, while visiting researchers inside the Tanzanian Serengeti, the speed at which some vehicles would travel through the park unfavorably impressed me. Several road-killed carnivores were brought during my stay there (and I was only there ~2 weeks) and I myself witnessed a guineafowl which a speeding lorry ran down by at one point. This is a high roadkill rate along such a poorly maintained road. If it were a highway running through the Serengeti instead of a potholed dirt road like the current road is, and in the sensitive Serengeti areas where the highway is planned instead of areas designated 'high use' where I largely was, the damage upon wildlife clearly will be devastating.

Do help Serengeti Watch prevent the highway cutting the Serengeti in twain. Although it is a new organization, some well known conservation biologists are heading it. Two I have met several times and you may well know them also. Jim Fowler ("As Jim wrestles the anaconda" Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom fame, and additionally regularly featuring on Johnny Carson, Conan O'Brien, etc.) is an incredibly nice guy and has a strong animal ethic, an early nature documentary star, and unlike several other nature media stars (who shall remain unnamed) he is not a huge arrogant ego, but just someone who loves nature and wildlife. Richard Estes (from the Smithsonian Institution's Conservation Research Center, Harvard's Museum of Natural History, & the IUCN Species Survival Commission) is an African mammal expert (perhaps the foremost hoofed mammal expert). He amazed me when we have spoken previously- his ability to remember facts and details is unlike anything I have ever seen before. He has a passion for African mammals and is almost certainly the most knowledgeable person regarding the hoofstock species which will be affected most. If Richard Estes and Jim Fowler are involved, I feel sure this is in good hands. So do join Serengeti Watch so you can be kept informed, donate if you can, and spread the word regarding the highway's current status among your friends and family to raise awareness concerning this pristine wildlife habitat. My Serengeti visit at the migration's beginning topped my amazing life experiences list. It would be beyond tragic if a short-sighted road construction ended future opportunities to have this experience. If you do nothing else regarding this situation, send information about it among your friends and family. The more global awareness there is concerning what is happening, the more likely it is that it will be stopped.

UPDATE: The Tanzanian government has just published a letter announcing they will not build the road after all. Unfortunately, it appears it might just be a distracting ploy, especially since the Tanzanian government has used the same ploy already several times.

The following two books were both written by Richard Estes and are must-have books if you are visiting Africa or are just interested in the wildlife:

The Safari Companion: A Guide to Watching African Animals

The Behavior Guide to African Mammals

Why a duck? The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT)

2011-06-03T23:51:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love a duck? Their rounded, rubbery bills, their endearing waddling gait, their happy tail-waggling, their wonderful calls- it's hard to hate ducks. Waterfowl have always been my personal favorites, and are also the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust's (WWT) personal favorites. WWT is a British nonprofit which Sir Peter Scott (among the greatest conservation biologists, who also helped found the World Wildlife Fund and create the IUCN Red Data Books)founded in 1946 and protects, expands, and creates wetlands and researches and protects wetland species. WWT has nine wetland visitor centers scatted around the country which are all spectacular (Martin Mere is the only one I have visited so far during my UK trips, but it blew me away and I have heard the other centers are equally beautiful and amazing), but WWT does not work only throughout Great Britain. WWT also saves many endangered species globally. Following are a few examples:

Nene goose Branta sandvicensis This Hawaiian goose species had undergone precipitous declines until 1949- when there were only 13 captive birds and no more than 30 wild birds- when it hit its lowest point. During 1950 Sir Peter Scott brought several birds Hawaiian to their Slimbridge facility. Captive breeding the species became a top priority. WWT and a Hawaiian captive breeding program have steadily increased nene numbers ever since. Including continued captive-raised releases, the wild population currently numbers more than 1,700 birds.

Red-breasted geese Branta ruficollis 56% of global red-breasted geese numbers have been lost over the past 10 years- use the Thomas Knight Comparative Population Decimation Scale of Doom© and we see that = all North & South American, African, Australian, Antarctic, and European humans die. Also all Asians except those within China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, & Iran. That would be many, many dead people, and it has been many, many dead red-breasted geese.

Madagascar pochard Aythya innotata Since they are so endangered, I won't show you a Madagascar pochard comparative map- a common species now only has ~20 individuals remaining. This critically endangered duck was assumed extinct until 2006 when several birds were resighted. WWT, the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, and the Peregrine Fund work together on this species and Madagascar pochard eggs were taken into captivity to slow the species' decline and ensure a single catastrophe doesn't destroy the entire species, while also restoring wetlands where the pochards originated and reintroducing them into their native habitat.

Brazilian merganser Mergus octosetaceus This critically endangered duck has also had a catastrophic population decline; currently there are only 100-300 left globally. It lives only around fast flowing rivers and requires rapids within its territory, so river changes affect them disproportionately. WWT supports conservation and research work concerning this species and conducted many initial ecological studies.

European water vole Arvicola amphibius Although WWT started working with waterfowl and are waterfowl world authorities, you should not assume they restrict themselves just to ducks, or even just birds. Although water vole populations are healthy globally, after Great Britain's American mink Neovision vision introduction, farming & waterway management technique changes, and intensive development, water vole numbers since the 1950's plummeted to only ~3-6% the size. WWT has worked intensively and successfully at increasing water vole population sizes within their reserves.

Eurasian crane Grus grus This species also is not globally endangered but had been functionally extinct (a few continental birds would occasionally fly over briefly during winter months) within Great Britain during the past ~400 years. During 1979 a few remained behind, and their numbers were supplemented later through other migrants which also remained among the newly resident birds. WWT, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the Pensthorpe Conservation Trust (PCT), and several other conservation agencies and funding agencies have coordinated a captive rearing & release program designed to boost Britain's wild numbers much more quickly than would happen without assistance.

The WWT does incredible work but needs your help. Do send them some love through money, have money directly drawn from your payroll (saving both you and WWT money), become a member, or volunteer your time.

Want to see photos or videos of nene?
Want to see photos or videos of red-breasted geese?
Want to see photos or videos (1, 2, 3, 4) of Madagascar pochards?
Want to see photos or videos of Brazilian mergansers?
Want to see photos or videos of European water voles?
Want to see photos or videos of European cranes?

I have worked among many waterfowl species at zoos, and I adore them. Waterfowl conservation has also been an activity within which I have intensively involved myself. Many waterfowl species readily captive breed, which makes captive breeding & release projects a good strategy when their populations are imperiled. But watching waterfowl doesn't require a zoo- almost everywhere globally has several common waterfowl species, so go outside and watch them yourselves! Waterfowl are usually nearly the most easily found wild animals so duck watching is an absolute pleasure. I have also been very fortunate and have not only seen several different wild crane species but also have worked among most crane species in zoos, including artificial insemination and hand-rearing, ensuring that captive populations maximize genetic material. Finding cranes is trickier than waterfowl, but if you look into it you may find there are some near you! It is worth researching whether local opportunities exist- cranes are majestic birds, large flocks are a natural wonder, and the sound flocks produce is mind-blowing.

Want to learn more about these animals? Check out the following links/books:

The Swans by Sir Peter Scott himself- older but still quite good.

Ducks, Geese, and Swans by Janet Kear. Janet Kear also used to work for WWT, as the curator at Martin Mere, and was the president of the British Ornithologists' Union as well as editor of their prestigious ornithological journal, Ibis. This two volume set is expensive and worth every penny if you want the best reference book on waterfowl currently available.

Waterfowl by Steven Madge is a much cheaper alternative and is still extremely good.

Handbook of the Birds of the World, volume 1: Ostrich to Ducks. Amazing book, and amazingly expensive. If you have the money and you love birds this set covers every species on the planet with a summary of what is known about them.

Cranes: Their Biology, Husbandry, and Conservation by David Ellis, George Gee, & Claire Mirande. The most current and complete book on cranes available.

Why would you bowl for a rhinoceros? AAZK's Bowling For Rhinos

2011-05-31T23:41:00.000-07:00

Bowling for Rhinos (BFR) is an annual event organized through the American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK) and run locally through ~55 groups of zoo keeper volunteers around North America. Each AAZK local chapter which participates sets up a bowl-a-thon (or similar event) which usually also involves an auction. Donated auction items and ticket/donation proceeds (~ a quarter million dollars each year) are split between 3 different rhinoceros refuges: the Kenyan Lewa Wildlife Conservancy (who have white rhinos Ceratotherium simum and black rhinos Diceros bicornis), Indonesian Ujung Kulon National Park (who have Javan rhinos Rhinoceros sondaicus), & the Indonesian Bukit Barisan Selatan & Way Kambas National Parks (who have Sumatran rhinos Dicerorhinus sumatrensis). The entire enterprise is run by volunteers and all administrative costs are covered through local chapters from other funds, so all proceeds go directly towards funding parks.

Although there are hundreds or thousands of people involved each year, two people are particularly responsible for its success. Andy Lodge, a rhino keeper, initially started BFR in 1990, and Patty Pearthree has since taken up the baton and driven it forward unceasingly. Two people's hard work, enthusiasm, & vision have raised more than $3.7 million dollars to protect rhinos (and all other species which live in those habitats also), so never think one or two people can't substantially change the planet.

Black rhinoceros by Kyra, age 7

Interested in getting involved? Everyone can come bowl, not just zoo keepers, and BFR would love your donations of items or services for their auctions or just a straight monetary donation. How often can you bowl among zoo keepers, plus this is a good cause. This is not a bad way to spend an evening. Let me know in a comment where you are located and I will tell you when & where the closest bowl-a-thon will be held.

Want to see photos or videos of white rhinos?

Want to see photos or videos of black rhinos?

Want to see photos or videos of Javan rhinos?
Want to see photos or videos of Sumatran rhinos?

I am incredibly fortunate; I have both worked among zoo rhinos and seen the Lewa (where some BFR funds are sent each year) black rhinos on the left. Without the BFR funds, I and many people like me would never have seen these wild rhinos, so do come bowling. It's a great way to have fun and save an endangered species.

Want to learn more about rhinos? Check out the following links/books:

The IUCN has two excellent publications about the conservation plans for rhinos which can be found here: African Rhino: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan and Asian Rhinos: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan
The American Society of Mammalogists created accounts on the white rhinoceros, black rhinoceros, & Sumatran rhinoceros as part of their excellent ongoing Mammalian Species project.

And the winner for Coolest Nose On An Antelope... Saiga Conservation Alliance

2011-05-30T23:59:00.000-07:00

I will start off my conservation blogging efforts spotlighting a group which protects a species which was once extremely common throughout grassland & semi-arid deserts within central Asia. The saiga Saiga tatarica is an antelope species which looks like something inside a Star Wars film, and has become critically endangered through poachers, who harvest horns for the Chinese medicine trade and meat. The population has plummeted- it is only 4% of its size during the 1970's. Since saiga sporting horns are targeted, most animals killed are males. Consequently, the saiga's situation is much worse than just having 4% remaining; since the sex ratio is so strongly skewed towards females, there are not enough males around to breed all remaining females, so the population's effective size is far smaller regarding breeding potential. This is a serious issue concerning recovery potential. Use the Thomas Knight Comparative Population Decimation Scale of Doom© and we see that losing 96% of the population = having all humans die through the North & South American, African, Australian, Antarctic, and European continents, and all people throughout Asia except those inhabiting Indonesia & Malaysia. Seriously- 96%. I do not have words... And that's only the population decline since the 1970's- long before then the saiga's range contraction was already substantial. It is not possible to get much worse and still be tenable for the saiga.

Fortunately, the population plummet alarmed some concerned scientists who formed the Saiga Conservation Alliance to arrest and reverse crashing populations. I have met the executive secretary, Elena Bykova, repeatedly and her knowledge, enthusiasm, and commitment have impressed me. But don't take my word, let David Attenborough tell you about her and her project instead:

Isn't it a great project? Want to follow them on Facebook? Interested in helping? You can donate money or time to save this amazing species.

Maybe you want to see more photos or videos of these incredible animals?

Want to learn much more about saiga? Check out the following links/books:

The American Society of Mammalogists created an account on the saiga in 1974 for their excellent ongoing Mammalian Species project.
The IUCN has a downloadable publication that you can download here: Saiga Antelope Trade: Global Trends With A Focus On South-East Asia.

The Handbook of the Mammals of the World, Volume 2 Hoofed Mammals. This volume will be released in August, and you can rest assured it will be the top reference book for hoofed mammals in our lifetime. The previous volumes on mammals and birds are absolutely amazing. Pricey but well worth the cost.

2011-05-30T18:10:00.000-07:00

“Why start a blog about conservation?” you may well ask. “Hasn't enough been said concerning conservation? Aren't you just sullying the already murky internet's depths with something which has already been done?” Perhaps, we will see. This may be useful, or it may not be, but I feel there is a need and I will see if I can help fill that need. If not, then at least I have tried, and you can't fault a person for trying (except, I suppose poor little Rebecca Black shows that isn't necessarily true) and in a worst case scenario at least I won't actually harm any conservation efforts. If only one person motivated through this blog does something, anything at all, then I feel like my labors here will not have been for naught.

One way which I hope to add something is through providing a desperately needed scale. Species population collapses around the globe are happening on scales which we simply can't visualize because our little primate brains (which originally evolved so we could determine how to escape predators & find food & mates, not process numbers in the hundreds, never mind millions or billions) cannot grasp numbers so large. Consequently, when I look at population declines among animal species, I will demonstrate what would happen among the human population if we lost a similar percentage of our species.

As an example, when we hear the white-rumped vulture Gyps bengalensis, formerly possibly the most abundant large bird of prey globally, has experienced a 99.9% population decrease over the past 10-15 years, it sounds horrible, but it is impossible to visualize what that really means. When we use the Thomas Knight Comparative Population Decimation Scale of Doom© we can grasp the scale a bit better, because we are looking at how many humans would be exterminated while create a similar disaster within our own species. Regarding this particular case, all North Americans would be dead. So would South America, Australia, Africa, and Europe's entire populations. The Antarctic scientists - also all gone. Which leaves Asia. Exterminate them all also, all except the few people who live within teeny tiny (zoom until you see it- then look at the scale) Hong Kong. This is what would be left: people who currently live within Hong Kong. Everyone else would be dead. Visualization is still hard, but it helps make what has happened regarding white-rumped vultures over the past 10-15 years a little more real. The astoundingly, mind-blowingly horrific genocides and wars which humans have committed against other humans have been horrible, but those pale through comparison when you see how we treat other species which share our planet. But this blog's purpose is not to condemn people who destroy those species, but celebrate people who stop the declines and help them do their work. So join with me and help give these people & organizations some love/publicity/money/support!

Conservation Heroes

International Rhino Foundation: Protecting the Rhinos of the world

The Chester Zoo: Another zoo leading the way in conservation

Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme: Protecting the Most Endangered Dog in the World

The Peregrine Fund: Saving the birds of prey of the world

BirdLife International: They speak for the birds

Wildlife Conservation Society: 5 zoos and 116 years as one of the largest conservation organizations on Earth

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds: Over a century of saving birds

Proyecto Titi: Saving small monkeys with crazy hair for over 25 years

Frankfurt Zoological Society: It's not ALL happening at the zoo

International Crane Foundation: Tall, lanky & in need of help

WildlifeDirect: Blogging for conservation

Helping the rarest cat in the Americas: Alianza Gato Andino

King of the Mountain: The Snow Leopard Conservancy

Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust: It all started with a zoo

The Xerces Society: Helping those without backbones for 40 years

Out of sight ≠ out of mind for the good folks at Bat Conservation International

Highway to Hell: Serengeti Watch

Why a duck? The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT)

Why would you bowl for a rhinoceros? AAZK's Bowling For Rhinos

And the winner for Coolest Nose On An Antelope... Saiga Conservation Alliance

What I hope to accomplish, and the Thomas Knight Comparative Population Decimation Scale of Doom©