bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Endoscopic transnasal study of the infratemporal fossa: A new orientation
Authors: Herzallah Islam R. , Germani Ross , Casiano Roy R.
Published: April 2009

Introduction

The medial portion of the infratemporal fossa (ITF) is not infrequently involved in sinonasal and skull base pathologies. However, endoscopic view of the ITF remains unclear with lack of studies addressing this region from the endoscopic perspective.

Methods

Using an extended endoscopic approach, the pterygopalatine and infratemporal fossae were dissected in 10 sides of five adult cadaver heads. A plane of dissection along the pterygoid base and the infratemporal surface of the greater sphenoid wing was developed. High‐quality images were produced by coupling the video camera to a digital recording system.

Results

The foramen rotundum, ovale, and spinosum were accessed and new landmarks were described from the endoscopic point of view. The sphenomandibularis muscle was also highlighted. Maxillary and mandibular nerves and middle meningeal artery were all identified. Columellar measurements to the foramen rotundum and ovale ranged from 6.1 to 8.0 cm for the former and 7.0 to 9.1 cm for the latter, with a mean of 6.75 cm and 7.78 cm respectively.

Conclusion

The current study provides a novel endoscopic orientation to the medial ITF. Such knowledge should provide an anatomical basis for experienced surgeons to endoscopically address this region with more safety and efficacy.
Impf-Recall bei der Schuleingangsuntersuchung zur Steigerung der Durchimpfungsraten: Ergebnisse eines Pilotprojekts an fünf bayerischen Gesundheitsämtern
Authors: Angermayr Lucia , Sing Andreas
Published: April 2009

Einleitung

Erinnerungssysteme haben sich als nützlich für die Steigerung von Durchimpfungsraten gezeigt. Auch Impferinnerungen für Kinderschutzimpfungen erwiesen sich als effektiv. Vor dem Hintergrund des WHO-Zieles der weltweiten Masern-Elimination wurde ein Impferinnerungssystem (sog. Impf-Recall) bei der Schuleingangsuntersuchung als eine Möglichkeit zur Erhöhung der Durchimpfungsraten an fünf bayerischen Gesundheitsämtern erprobt.
Recently exposed vegetation reveals Holocene changes in the extent of the Quelccaya Ice Cap, Peru
Authors: Buffen Aron M. , Thompson Lonnie G. , Mosley-Thompson Ellen , Huh Kyung In
Published: April 2009

Radiocarbon dating of well-preserved, in-place vegetation exposed by the retreating Quelccaya Ice Cap of southeastern Peru constrains the last time the ice cap's extent was smaller than at present. Seventeen plant samples from two sites along the central western margin collectively date to 4700 and 5100 cal yr BP and strongly indicate that current ice cap retreat is unprecedented over the past ∼ 5 millennia. Seventeen vegetation samples interbedded in a nearby clastic sedimentary sequence suggest ice-free conditions at this site from ∼ 5200 to at least ∼ 7000 cal yr BP, and place minimum constraint on early- to mid-Holocene ice cap extent.
High yield fusion in a staged Z-pinch
Authors: RAHMAN H. U. , WESSEL F. J. , ROSTOKER N. , NEY P. H.
Published: April 2009

We simulate fusion in a Z-pinch, where the load is a xenon-plasma liner imploding onto a deuterium–tritium (DT) plasma target and the driver is a 2 MJ, 17 MA, 95 ns risetime pulser. The implosion system is modeled using the dynamic, 2D, radiation-magnetohydrodynamic code, MACH2. During implosion a shock forms in the Xe liner, transporting current and energy radially inward. After collision with the DT, a secondary shock forms pre-heating the DT to several hundred electronvolts. Adiabatic compression leads subsequently to a fusion burn, as the target is surrounded by a flux-compressed, intense, azimuthal-magnetic field. The intense-magnetic field confines fusion α-particles, providing an additional source of ion heating that leads to target ignition. The target remains stable up to the time of ignition. Predictions are for a neutron yield of 3.0 × 1019 and a thermonuclear energy of 84 MJ, that is, 42 times greater than the initial, capacitor-stored energy.
Some of the Wild Life Problems of Ceylon
Authors: Bere R. M.
Published: April 2009

Topographically Ceylon is a detached portion of the South Indian peninsula. It divides into two climatic regions, known as the Dry and Wet Zones; the latter occupies approximately the south-western quarter of the island. By African standards, dry and wet are relative terms and there may be over 80 inches of rain in the Dry Zone. Even so, rainfall tends to be concentrated and long periods without rain occur. The Wet Zone receives rain during both monsoons, the Dry Zone during the north-east monsoon only. Monsoons sometimes fail and serious droughts are not uncommon.
The Orang-Utan in North Borneo
Authors: Stott Ken , Selsor C. Jackson
Published: April 2009

In October, 1959, Karl W. Kenyon, Research Biologist of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the writers, spent three weeks in North Borneo observing wild primates. During this brief period, we questioned both European and native residents of the Colony on the relative abundance of orang-utans (Pongo pygmaeus) in various sectors, and we carefully recorded such indications as we ourselves noted. Although our own encounters with wild orang-utans were limited, we saw numerous nests, many of recent construction. The results of our inquiries and observations were encouraging enough for us to conclude that the orang in North Borneo is, for the present, in no danger of extinction and that it survives in moderate numbers wherever suitable habitat exists. This in itself should offer sufficient inducement to afford every possible sort of protection to the North Bornean survivors of a species that, elsewhere within its comparatively limited range, is becoming scarce or has already disappeared altogether.
African Special Project: Stage Two—The Arusha Conference
Authors: Hillaby John
Published: April 2009

The International Wildlife Conference, held at Arusha in Tanganyika from 5th to 12th September, 1961, has been justly described as the most important gathering of conservationists and ecologists ever held in Africa. Members of the Fauna Preservation Society can take satisfaction from the fact that their Society contributed a very great deal to its success. The Society made a very substantial grant towards the cost of African Special Project, Stage 1, the survey which preceded the conference, and also provided funds to enable twelve Africans to attend the conference and one of the post-conference tours. Furthermore, the Society was well represented at all the sessions of the conference by members of a delegation led by its President, the Marquess of Willingdon. What characterized the Arusha discussions as a whole was a sense of unity of purpose in the common effort to conserve the wildlife of Africa. On some points of detail there was conflict of opinion vigorously expressed. The merits and dangers of the regular cropping or harvesting of wild animals was a notable example. Conference was divided between the advantages in theory and the snags in practice, especially the snag of setting up adequate marketing facilities, but on this debatable point, as in others, it was significant that everyone was united in the importance of game management, an expression in common use throughout the week.
The Japanese Cranes of Hokkaido
Authors: Bassett T. H.
Published: April 2009

In December, 1962, during a brief stay in Japan I visited the north island of Hokkaido in order to see the Japanese Cranes which are carefully preserved near the seaport of Kushiro. A forty minute bus ride takes you to the nature park where five cranes which have been pinioned are enclosed in an area of grass and brushwood enclosed by a high fence. Another forty minutes by bus takes you further up the river valley to the neighbourhood of the small town of Akan. On farms in this area I saw thirty-three of the wild cranes. A recent census put the total for the whole crane population at 186 birds for the whole island.
Report on a Brief Survey of the Wild Life Resources of Nepal, Including the Rhinoceros
Authors: Gee E. P.
Published: April 2009

This is the second report which Mr. E. P. Gee has made upon the situation of the wild life of Nepal. His first, restricted to the Great Indian Rhinoceros, was made in 1959 at the behest of the Survival Service Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
What is Happening to the Wildlife of South America
Authors: Crowe Philip K.
Published: April 2009

In 1964 Ambassador Philip K. Crowe, who is a member of the Board of the US section of the World Wildlife Fund, visited seven South American countries to survey the wildlife situation for the Fund. This article is compiled, with his kind permission, from the newsletters that he wrote on his journeys. All too often he found that if an animal is edible or useful it is shot. Even the guano birds of Peru have declined seriously with the discovery that it is more profitable to convert the fish on which they depend for food into fish meal. But there are some hopeful exceptions, notably in Venezuela. Chief among the problems in all the states is the enforcement of such protection laws as do exist, and the author sees in education the only hope for conservation in South America.
Catching and Carting White Rhino in Uganda
Authors: Savidge J. M.
Published: April 2009

In 1961 the Uganda National Parks captured ten white (squarelipped) rhinoceros in West Madi district, west of the Albert Nile, where (hey were being poached out of existence, and transferred them to the Murchison Falls National Park. The operation was financed partly by Anglia Television and described by John Savidge in ORYX, September 1961, vol. VI, 5. Unfortunately the six animals released in the park included only two cows and no mature bull, and the chances of their reproducing were small. So in 1964 a second operation was mounted, financed by the World Wildlife Fund. In this article the author, then Scientific Warden of the Murchison Falls Park, describes this operation which captured and released another five rhino, four of them cows. This greatly improves the chances of breeding, and with freedom from poaching in the park, the rhino now have a reasonable chance of building up the herd.
Tsetse Control by Game Destruction
Authors: Scott Walter N.
Published: April 2009

Dr Glover is a zoologist who has devoted the greater part of his scientific life to work on tsetse problems throughout Africa. He has been particularly concerned with the study and application of fly-control methods in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda and his knowledge of the tsetse situation in these parts is probably unrivalled. This scholarly, well-balanced review, presented at the First International Congress of Parasitology held in Rome in 1964, and now published by the FPS for IUCN, is the work of a scientist of wide experience, and fairly presents all the known facts. It leads one to the inevitable conclusion that there is no valid justification for using game-destruction as a practical or lasting means of tsetse control.
Grizzly Bear in Danger
Authors: Macpherson A. H.
Published: April 2009

From 1949 to 1960 the barren-ground grizzly bear was totally protected in the Northwest Territories of Canada, with the result that numbers increased and so did their range. But pressure from trappers led in 1960 to an amendment legalising die killing of grizzlies in defence of life or property, and in 1964, despite the views of wildlife biologists and organisations, another amendment deprived the bears of all protection from licensed native hunters. The author, who is Research Supervisor of the Eastern Region, Canadian Wildlife Service, and has visited the Canadian Arctic almost every year since 1949, points out that the grizzly bear population there is now so low that a relatively small amount of hunting could reduce the breeding population and lead to the extinction of this magnificent animal.
The Future for Wildlife in the Sudan
Authors: Happold D. C. D.
Published: April 2009

The Government is unaware of the value of wild animals; the people mostly regard them as inferior sorts of cow to be eaten or got rid of; the Game Department struggles to guard them with inadequate staff: what should be done? The author, a zoologist who has spent three years at the University of Khartoum, surveys the situation, comments on the recommendations in the Fraser Darling Report, and concludes that, if the Sudan is to become one of the principal game countries in Africa, as it should be, some at least of these recommendations must be implemented in the next five to ten years.
The Pet Trade and Extermination
Authors: Lehmann Carlos F.
Published: April 2009

In Colombia, in South America, the biggest drain on some wildlife species is the international pet trade. For every quetzal or cock-of-the-rock that reaches its destination alive, fifty die, and whole populations are being exterminated, says Dr. Lehmann, who is Director General of the Valle State Museum of Natural History. The skin trade, urged on by the need for foreign exchange, is another serious drain. National Parks are the only hope in Colombia as elsewhere, but the importing countries, such as the USA and these of western Europe, could do much to reduce the trade in both pets and skins.
The Golden Langur and the Manas Sanctuaries
Authors: Wayre Philip
Published: April 2009

Although first noted by E. O. Shebbeare in 1907, the golden langur monkey Presbytis geei was only named and described after E. P. Gee had found and photographed it in 1953 on the east bank of the Manas River on the Bhutan–Assam border. Both India and Bhutan have declared a Manas sanctuary, one on each bank of the Manas River. The author and his wife, who went to the Bhutan sanctuary to photograph and study this rare langur in the spring of 1967, describe the area as still wonderfully unspoiled, a verdict fully endorsed by the members of the FPS tour to India in February this year who visited both sanctuaries.
The Large Mammals in Arabia
Authors: Harrison David L.
Published: April 2009

In this brief review of the status and conservation needs of the larger mammals of the Arabian peninsula, Dr Harrison, author of the standard work on the subject (volume 2 will be reviewed in the next ORYX) finds the situation not entirely depressing. Arabian oryx still probably number several hundred. The species that are in some danger include genet, lynx, leopard, cheetah, tahr, goat, red sheep, dorcas gazelle, Persian fallow deer and roe deer.
Tourists and Crocodiles in Uganda
Authors: Cott Hugh B.
Published: April 2009

Early in 1969, at the request of the Director of Uganda Nationa Parks, Dr. Cott made a third survey of the status and biology of the Nile crocodile on the Victoria Nile below Murchison Falls, continuing the field studies he made in 1967 and 1968. This report on his 1969 work supplements that on the earlier studies (see ORYX, September, 1968) and reinforces his previous findings and recommendations. In 1969 the crocodiles again lost many eggs to predators, and the main cause was still human disturbance—by poachers and tourist launches. Once again, Dr. Cott urges that tourist launches must be kept away. The FPS is supplying a leaf-let to be given to all tourists explaining why.
The Tsavo Research Project
Authors: Laws R. M.
Published: April 2009

Dr Laws was the first Director of the Tsavo Research Project. This was started in February 1967 to investigate the habitat destruction in the Tsavo National Park, in Kenya, and the part played by the elephants which had been increasing rapidly—the research team's estimate was 23,000 in the park with an additional 12,000 in the peripheral areas, a total of 35,000 ± 7,000. After nine months the research programme, which included sample kills of elephants, was interrupted by the National Parks. Dr Laws spent the next eight months trying to restart the work and to discuss his findings and proposals; no discussions took place and he resigned. The article here consists of part of a paper (slightly amended by Dr Laws) published in the Journal of Reproduction and Fertility, Supplement No 6, 1969, and reproduced by permission. It explains why he regards the sample cropping as essential to find out what is happening in the elephant populations, and whether they are regulating their numbers quickly enough to save the habitat. Since Dr Laws left the Tsavo in June 1968, the Research Project has been carried on under the direction of the Botanist Warden, Dr P. E. Glover, an article by whom appeared in the September ORYX, page 323; a comment on this by Dr Laws will appear in the next ORYX, May 1971.
The Parma Wallaby and its Future
Authors: Wodzicki K. , Flux J. E. C.
Published: April 2009

Until 1966 the parma or white-throated wallaby Macropus parma was believed to have been extinct in Australia for over thirty years. But in that year the authors discovered a considerable number on the New Zealand island of Kawau, where they had been introduced a century ago, as described in Oryx December 1969. Like other wallabies they had been shot and poisoned in considerable numbers because of the damage they do to tree seedlings and agricultural land, but the authors are hopeful that management plans now in hand will ensure their survival unmolested.
The Bokharan Deer in the USSR
Authors: Bannikov A. G. , Zhirnov L. V.
Published: April 2009

With a total population estimated at under 500, mostly living in forests that are constantly under threat of felling, the Bokharan deer or hangu1 is in serious danger of extinction. This is a red deer subspecies confined to the Turkmenistan —Afghanistan frontier region, and closely akin to the Kashmir hangul described in Oryx, December 1970. In this survey Professor Bannikov and Dr Zhirnov summarise what is known about it and its present status, and point to the rgent need for active protection measures.
Black Rhinoceros in Rhodesia
Authors: Kerr Michael A. , Fothergill Rupert
Published: April 2009

Two members of the Rhodesia National Parks Department make a preliminary reassessment of the status of the black rhinoceros Diceros bicomis in Rhodesia, and examine the techniques for estimating numbers used by Dr. H. H. Roth in his paper on White and Black Rhinoceros in Rhodesia, in ORYX, December 1967 and which, they believe, led him to overestimate the situation. They call the black rhino the hook-lipped rhino, but the more usual name has been retained in the title as being more widely understood.
Conservation by Utilisation
Authors: Crawford Michael
Published: April 2009

The African continent is so productive it could have doubled the world's meat production today if there had been proper wildlife management over the last fifty years. But European man has brought the wild animals to the verge of extinction for the sake of his own unsuitable domestic animals, notably the cow. Today there are signs of change, with farmers looking to the ranching of wild animals, and national parks selling meat from animals that have to be culled. But time is short. The increasing human population is leading rapidly to the complete disappearance of wildlife outside national parks, and the author believes that today every large mammal species is in danger. The only hope for wildlife lies in its utilisation, and the implications of this will be the subject of a second article in the next Oryx.
National Parks in Colombia
Authors: Hunsaker Don
Published: April 2009

Colombia has one of the largest bird faunas in the world – over 1550 species, over 300 mammals, including the endangered spectacled bear and mountain tapir, 350 reptiles and over 1000 fish, and a vast range of habitats, from the tropical rain forest of the Pacific coast and lowland swamps to the spectacular peaks of the high Andes, 20,000 feet and more. In recent years Colombia has set aside over 3½ million acres for national parks and reserves, which are described here by Dr Hunsaker, Conservation Co-ordinator with INDERENA (the Government department concerned) for the Peace-Corps-Smithsonian Program in Bogotá. Colombia's conservation efforts began in 1919 with the passing of the first laws protecting the fauna and flora. In 1941 the Government introduced hunting regulations, and in 1948 the first biological reserve, La Macarena, was set aside. A law passed in 1954 made the condor the first fully protected species. Since then government, universities and interested people have worked to coordinate, in so far as possible, the national park system, the wildlife service and university projects to protect wilderness and wildlife in this extremely critical region of South America.
Rhinos in Thailand
Authors: McNeely Jeffrey A. , Cronin Edward W.
Published: April 2009

Of the two rhinos formerly found in Thailand, the Javan is believed now to be extinct there, although the authors of this survey report that some villagers in southern Thailand insist that the rhinos in their area are Javan. The Sumatran rhino is in desperate straits, with poaching a major threat – not surprisingly when a dead animal can be sold for die equivalent of up to twenty years' wages for a farmer.
Ghana's Progress
Authors: Asibey E. O. A.
Published: April 2009

In Ghana wildlife is valued especially as a source of meat. But overhunting has led to serious depletion of nearly all game species, in some cases almost to the point of extermination. However, the Government is now concerned that the country's wildlife should be conserved and used on a sustained yield basis, and recently new national parks have been created, existing reserves enlarged and government spending on wildlife substantially increased. The author, who is head of the Wildlife Department and FPS correspondent in Ghana, describes the difficulties of making conservation effective in a country where ignorance about wildlife, other than its value for the pot, is the rule.
Squeezing Out the Mountain Gorilla
Authors: Groom A. F. G.
Published: April 2009

The author's 1972 census, following one the previous year, of the mountain gorillas in the Virunga Volcanoes, which straddle the Zaire–Rwanda–Uganda borders, shows a small but still declining population. All the signs, including the behaviour of the gorillas, one of which fled screaming at the sight of one of the observers, suggests that the decline is due largely to human interference. As the entire area has national park or game reserve status the urgent need is to enforce the law.
25 Years On: a Look at Endangered Species
Authors: Fitter Richard
Published: April 2009

What has happened to the animals and birds listed as endangered species 25 years ago at IUCN's first technical meeting? The FPS Hon. Secretary investigates their present status and looks at the conservation methods that have proved most effective.
Were They the Last Arabian Oryx?
Authors: Henderson D. S.
Published: April 2009

In this account of a safari to look for Arabian oryx in Oman—home of probably the last survivors in the wild—the author found remains of three dead animals and evidence for the chasing and capture alive of four more. These, he believes, were the last wild Arabian oryx. Other observers think that it is too soon to say, and emphasise the vastness of the area, but certainly, in the interval since this safari in October 1972, no reports of wild Arabian oryx have been received by the FPS.
Giant Rats for Meat—and some Taboos
Authors: Ajayi S. S.
Published: April 2009

Meat is short in southern Nigeria. Wild animal meat is popular, but the wildlife is seriously depleted. To help supply the demand for meat and also ease the pressure on the wildlife, a quick-breeding species, the giant or pouched rat, is being domesticated. The author describes some of the widely held taboos about this meat, which nevertheless is in considerable demand.
Floods in Kaziranga
Authors: Islam M. M.
Published: April 2009

A wildlife guard in the Kaziranga National Park, in Assam, describes what happens to the wildlife in the floods that inundate large areas every year, and the need for powered boats for rescue operations.
Ceylon and Rwanda
Authors: Richard  , Fitter Maisie
Published: April 2009

Chance took us within the short space of three months to two rather different small countries, Rwanda in December 1973 and Sri Lanka (Ceylon) in January and February 1974, each for about a fortnight. Each country naturally has its wildlife conservation problems, and the differences between these cover such a large part of the spectrum of such problems that it seemed worth while comparing them.
Future for Whales
Authors: Fitter Richard
Published: April 2009

Pie still remains in the sky as far as the hard-pressed fin whale is concerned, following the 26th meeting of the International Whaling Commission in London in June. But the sky has got perceptibly nearer. After the 1973 IWC meeting fin whaling stood to end in 1976; now it should end in 1975—provided the outcome of an Australian resolution is not denounced by Japan and Russia under the 90-day rule that makes the IWC so ineffective. The Australian resolution provided for a total moratorium on all protection stocks, defined as stocks whose annual increment does not maintain the population, so that the fin whale seems bound to be included. The other whales currently being hunted, the sei, minke and sperm whales, are still within the maximum sustainable yield, but there is every reason to fear that, if whaling continues, they too will have to be classed as protection stocks.
Operation Swayne's Hartebeest
Authors: Berhanu Lealem
Published: April 2009

The largest concentration of Swayne's hartebeest, a race found only in Ethiopia, of which not more than 1000 animals are believed to survive, is threatened by spreading cultivation and the introduction of mechanised farming. The Wildlife Conservation Organisation of Ethiopia decided to translocate as many as possible to safer areas, and this year succeeded in taking 203 to the Awash National Park and to Nachisar where a park is projected. In this article the Deputy Chief Game Warden describes the operation.
Elephants in Aceh, Sumatra
Authors: Poniran S.
Published: April 2009

Elephants still occur in the large Indonesian island of Sumatra, but mostly in small groups of up to seven animals. In the northern province of Aceh the author, after a two-year study, estimates that numbers are now less than a third of what they were 35 years ago. He sees the best hope for their future in scientific management geared to culling the wild populations for working animals, as is done in India.
Conserving Britain's Reptiles
Authors: Spellerberg Ian F.
Published: April 2009

This abstract of a paper read at the 10th International Symposium on the Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles, in Frankfurt last year, points to the endangered status of three of Britain's six reptiles, the lack of knowledge about them, and suggests measures that should be taken to protect them.
The Radiated Tortoise of Madagascar
Authors: Juvik J. O.
Published: April 2009

After a preliminary survey in 1974 the author suggests that the outlook for the radiated tortoise in southern Madagascar is not entirely gloomy, thanks to traditional taboos on eating its flesh, improved government controls on exports, and import restrictions in other countries. Its future depends on the survival of some natural habitat; at the same time, he suggests, modern agricultural developments may be indirectly beneficial.
A Partridge in Danger
Authors: Lovari Sandro
Published: April 2009

The Italian grey partridge Perdix p. italica is in danger of extinction. It has been overhunted and stocks have been polluted by the importing and release of other subspecies. The author urges that the few small flocks of the pure native bird known to survive should be located and given strict protection.
Rajah Brooke's Birdwing
Authors: Owen D. F.
Published: April 2009

The growing trade in rare butterflies threatens some relatively common species as well as rare ones, notably the conspicuous Rajah Brooke's birdwing. The author describes some of the traders’ activities and asks for information.
The Red-billed Curassow
Authors: Gochfeld Michael , Keith Stuart
Published: April 2009

The red-billed curassow, or mutum, Crax blumbachii formerly occurred from southern Bahia to Rio de Janeiro in south-east Brazil, although only a few specimens were ever obtained. Europeans settled this region early, and it was feared that hunting pressure and, later, habitat destruction had brought the species to the verge of extinction when in 1970 Sick discovered a population about 60 km north of Linhares, Espirito Santo, in and near what is now the Reserva de Sooretama. This forest reserve is now the only place where the bird is known. A few may survive in relict forest tracts in southern Bahia, although the last record, a specimen, was collected in 1944. The specimen from eastern Bolivia which Gyldenstolpe assigned to this species was certainly a variant of C. globulosa. On a recent trip to Brazil we found that almost all the forest in north-east Espirito Santo, where this curassow formerly occurred, had been cleared, much of it within the year. Dr Augusto Ruschi (pers. comm.) confirms that the rate of forest destruction, mainly for charcoal, has accelerated markedly in the past decade. The main sources for information on the species are Prince Maximilian of Wied and Sick.
Turkish Dolphin Fisheries
Authors: Berkes Fikret
Published: April 2009

In 1966 the USSR and Bulgarian governments prohibited dolphin fishing in the Black Sea after a population crash. Turkey, however, continues to catch dolphins (mainly for the oil) and is the only nation in the world to have such a fishery. Little is known about the stocks of the three dolphin species involved, and the author urges the importance of accurate catch records.
Tourists and the Seabirds in Galapagos
Authors: Tindle R.W.
Published: April 2009

Are the seabird colonies in the Galapagos Islands harmed by the ever increasing numbers of tourists? So far the National Park authorities have been able to safeguard the main nesting grounds from trampling by keeping visitors to prescribed paths, but the birds could be harmed in other ways and these need to be investigated. The author describes the research he is doing to find out the facts. This work has been aided by a grant from the Oryx 100% Fund.
Disappearing African Crocodiles
Authors: Pooley A.C.
Published: April 2009

In the last thirty years at least three million crocodiles have been killed in Africa for their skins – and the figure may be much higher. As a result the Nile crocodile has declined seriously almost everywhere, and hunters are now turning to other species, none of which are anywhere abundant, to supply the trade. Only Zimbabwe has established viable crocodile farms, but even these were able to cull only 2253 animals for hides in the three years 1978–80.
Spectacled Bears in Peru
Authors: Peyton Bernard
Published: April 2009

Land nationalisation, starting in 1963, brought settlers and cultivation into mountain areas of Peru where hitherto spectacled bears had been disturbed only by occasional hunting. This greatly reduced the numbers of bears, and also habituated those that survived to eating the farm crops and farm animals that replaced their natural foods, thus incurring the wrath of the farmers who replied with guns. Moreover, bears are becoming isolated from each other, in some cases confined to high ridges surrounded by cultivated land. The author, who spent two years studying the spectacled bear in Peru, believes that as a result, fewer bears will be able to breed and that genetic variation will be reduced.
Black Rhino Disaster in Tanzania
Authors: Borner Markus
Published: April 2009

The black rhino will be exterminated soon in northern Tanzania if poaching is not stopped, says the author, after surveying eight national parks and game reserves, either from the air or on the ground, or both. Tanzania is making great efforts to stop the poaching, but essential equipment is desperately short, and much more outside help is needed.
Apes on The Rock
Authors: Emmanuel Fa John
Published: April 2009

Barbary macaques have been on Gibraltar continuously for 240 years, maybe longer. Today they are a major tourist attraction – 1000 people may visit them in a day. But they have caused much trouble in the past, raiding gardens, damaging houses, biting people. Since 1913, with few breaks, they have been fed regularly on the top of the Rock by the British Army. Numbers have fluctuated – in 1900 there were 130, in 1943 only four, which on Mr Churchill's instructions were increased by imports to 24. Today they are kept at between 30 and 40, and controlled by exports to zoos and culling, which the author, who is studying their adaptation to living with man, considers unacceptably wasteful.
Story of a Sedge
Authors: Brookes Brian S.
Published: April 2009

In 1884 the brown bog-rush Schoenus ferrugineus, a European member of the Sedge Family, was discovered for the first time in Britain on the shore of Loch Tummel in Perthshire, in the Scottish Highlands. The discoverer was James Brebner, Rector of the Harris Academy in Dundee. The author tells how the plant was exterminated on this site but successfully established 90 years later in a nearby site with plants propagated in a botanic garden from a single plant taken from the original site. The story, he suggests, poses a number of questions for plant conservationists.
Plants and Man
Authors: Mittermeier Russell A. , Plotkin Mark J.
Published: April 2009

Many governments of developing countries consider that croplands and pastures are more valuable than forest, so they harvest the most valuable timber, turn the smaller trees into charcoal, and burn the rest. Often the whole forest is razed to the ground and burned. Not only does the timber thus become a non-renewable resource, but many other valuable species are lost, for only a handful of scientists know what these valuable non-timber species are, and only rarely has the information been made available to governments.
The Burros in Death Valley
Authors: Mills Stephen
Published: April 2009

In California’s Death Valley burros, the introduced wild donkeys, are driving out the native desert bighorn sheep, as well as destroying the vegetation. A sentimental public has so far ensured their protection and prevented the Park Service solving the problem. Now the Service is proposing to remove the burros completely by giving away those they can trap and shooting the rest.
Threats to the Serengeti Herds
Authors: Makacha Stephen , Msingwa Michael J. , Frame George W.
Published: April 2009

The Serengeti National Park in Tanzania is famous for its huge herds of migrating wildebeest, zebras and other ungulates. But these herds spend much of the year in neighbouring reserves where their survival depends on preserving the right conditions. The authors made a study of two of these reserves with disturbing results. The Maswa Game Reserve they found was seriously threatened by invading (illegal) settlement with a fast-growing population cultivating land and felling trees; in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area they report that the Maasai have taken to poaching, both for subsistence meat and for trophies to sell – skins, ivory and rhino horn. In both places the guards are so poorly equipped they can do little to stop poaching.
Marine iguanas in Galapagos
Authors: Laurie Andrew
Published: April 2009

The endemic marine iguanas of Galapagos are in severe danger of extinction on some islands. Predation by introduced cats, dogs, pigs and rats is one cause but the first findings of Andrew Laurie's three-year field study, which started in 1981, show that the situation is more complicated.
A riverside count in Africa's Selous Game Reserve
Authors: Ghiglieri Michael P.
Published: April 2009

The Selous contains a wealth of animals but monitoring the populations is difficult because motorable tracks are few and aerial surveys are expensive. The author gained access to the heart of the reserve along its rivers and during a 12-day raft journey he recorded the large animals he saw. He was impressed by the pristine condition of the riverside habitat and he found no evidence of poaching there.
African wild ass
Authors: Clark Bill
Published: April 2009

The African wild ass is endangered. Its habitat is a drought-stricken war zone; its flesh is eaten and is believed to cure hepatitis; it is eagerly sought by dealers and collectors. The author, Chief Curator at Israel's Hai-Bar reserve, examines the problems hindering the conservation of this animal and explains why it is urgently necessary to list it on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora at its meeting in April 1983.
Project Tiger: a review
Authors: Mountfort Guy
Published: April 2009

Project Tiger was launched by the World Wildlife Fund in 1972. The author, who was closely involved in the project, examines the progress ten years later.
The park that protects the Panama Canal
Authors: Smythe Nicholas
Published: April 2009

The forests flanking the Panama Canal were protected in its early days for military reasons. Today the forest is seen to be essential to protect water supplies both for people and for the operation of the canal, and Panama has wisely created a national park. The Parque Nacional Soberania preserves 22,000 hectares of Neotropical forest and its wildlife. The author, who has been working in the area for the past 15 years, points out some of the park's advantages and difficulties.
A new locality for the lion-tailed macaque
Authors: Groombridge Brian
Published: April 2009

The author, who initiated a recent search that led to the rediscovery of the rare cane turtle in south-west India (see Oryx, July 1983), recently returned to the Anaimalai area. With the help of Kadar tribal people he found a group of lion-tailed macaques little outside their known range—a discovery that assumes significance when one considers that it is one of the world's most endangered primate species.
The ‘lily of birds’: the success story of the Siberian white crane
Authors: Stewart John Massey
Published: April 2009

In 1985 the Worldlife Fund's Gold Medal, its highest honour, was awarded to George Archibald, Director and co-founder with Ron Sauey of the International Crane Foundation at Baraboo, Wisconsin, which has achieved so much for the world's endangered cranes. Their most remarkable success story—and an outstanding example of international conservation efforts across political boundaries—is surely that of the beautiful Siberian white crane Grus leucogeranus. It is a story, too, of astonishingly recent discovery, as they told this writer on a recent visit to Baraboo.
Sustainability of harvest of culpeo foxes in Patagonia
Authors: Novaro Andres J.
Published: April 2009

Wildlife hunting, for meat and skins, is an important component of the rural economy in Argentinian Patagonia. Every year thousands of fur-bearing mammals are killed and the impact of this on their populations is unknown. This paper reports on the results of a preliminary investigation into the sustainability of the harvest of culpeo foxes Dusicyon culpaeus in a 1000-sq-km area of Neuquen Province. Monitoring of fox densities and harvest rates over 5 years on six ranches revealed that, despite intense hunting, the numbers of foxes remained little changed. On the other hand, life-table analysis suggested that the levels of hunting pressure on four ranches were too high to allow fox populations to persist unless they were boosted by immigration. The findings have applications for wildlife managers in establishing sustainable harvest rates and optimal spatial distribution of those rates.
Small-mammal hunting by two ethnic groups in north-western Ecuador
Authors: Suárez E. , Stallings J. , Suárez L.
Published: April 2009

A small-mammal hunting study was carried out in north-western Ecuador from October 1992 to October 1993, employing interview and trapping methods to document rodent and marsupial hunting by Chachi Indian and Afroecuadorian families. Based on 109 family interviews in 28 communities, it was determined that log-fall traps were used around family gardens and along forest trails. Afroecuadorian families used more than twice the number of traps than Chachis and trap lines of both ethnic groups were left open for approximately 6 days per trapping session. Chachi families left trap lines closed twice sas long as Afroecuadorian families. There were 857 individuals of seven rodent and four marsupial species trapped during the study, with Proechimys semispinosus representing more than 50 per cent of the small mammals trapped.
A survey to assess the status of Sumatran rhinoceros and other large mammal species in Tamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary, Myanmar
Authors: Rabinowitz Alan , Schaller George B. , Uga U
Published: April 2009

Tamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary in the Upper Chindwin district of Myanmar could be one of the most important remaining sites for wildlife in the country. Until recently, insurgency problems prevented officials of the Myanmar Forest Department visiting the area or carrying out any form of management. Yet the sanctuary is essentially intact and, with the exception of rhino, appears to contain viable populations of most large mammal species known from that part of Myanmar. However, hunting and the collection of forest products in the sanctuary are having negative impacts on the wildlife community. The future survival of the Sumatran rhino in the Upper Chindwin area is doubtful. Other large mammal species, such as the tiger and gaur, may follow the rhino towards extinction in the near future. Tamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary will need to be actively protected and managed to ensure that much of Myanmar's wildlife continues to survive in this area, well into the future.
Threatened mammals of the Cordillera de Colán, Peru
Authors: Butchart Stuart H.M. , Barnes Roger , Davies Charles W.N. , Fernandez Mirko , Seddon Nathalie
Published: April 2009

During recent surveys in the Cordillera de Coldn, a semi-isolated mountain range in northern Peru, observations were made and information collected on three species of mammals considered globally threatened with extinction – yellow-tailed woolly monkeyLagothrix flavicauda,Andean night monkeyAotus miconaxand spectacled bearTremarctos ornatus.The yellow-tailed woolly monkey has an extremely restricted range, in which extensive deforestation is occurring, and the species is also heavily hunted. The urgent establishment of an effectively protected area in the Cordillera de Colán is strongly recommended in order to help secure the future for this poorly known primate and other mammal and bird species of conservation importance.
Primates of the Cantanhez Forest and the Cacine Basin, Guinea-Bissau
Authors: Gippoliti Spartaco , Dell'Omo Giacomo
Published: April 2009

In a 4-week field study of the primates of Guinea-Bissau, a 10-day survey was carried out along the Cacine River and in the Cantanhez Forest to collect information about the presence of primates and other mammals. No biological information was available for these areas. The survey revealed the presence of at least seven primate species, four of which are included in the current IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. Of particular interest was the West African chimpanzee Pan troglodytes verus. This was considered to be possibly extinct in Guinea-Bissau, but was found to be locally common. All primate species are particularly vulnerable because of uncontrolled exploitation of the forest, while hunting is responsible for the decline of game species in the area. Other rare species occur in the area and make the Cacine Basin and Cantanhez Forest a priority area for wildlife conservation at national and regional levels.
The rule of law and African game – a review of some recent trends and concerns
Authors: Spinage Clive
Published: April 2009

Increasing denouncement of African game legislation as inappropriate law imposed by the former colonial authorities is viewed with concern and condemned as mistaken. The necessity for the rule of law is argued and the good intent behind the institution of game laws. Abrogation of such laws will not lead to a lessening of the increasing destruction of African wildlife. The author was consultant to the Government of Botswana for the drafting of its new Wildlife Conservation and National Parks Act, 1992.
Conservation and ecology of a new blind fish Glossogobius ankaranensis from the Ankárana Caves, Madagascar
Authors: Wilson Jane M.
Published: April 2009

In 1981 Fauna & Flora International's 100% Fund assisted an expedition to study the biology of the Ankárana Caves in Madagascar. A follow-up expedition collected examples of a fish that was subsequently found to be a new species. Its restricted distribution as well as existing and potential threats to its habitat mean that it must be considered as endangered.
Gorilla conservation in Zaire
Authors: Aveling Conrad , Aveling Rosaland
Published: April 2009

The Zaire Gorilla Conservation Project was launched in 1984 after the 1981 census of mountain gorillas in the Virungas showed how the Mountain Gorilla Project in Rwanda, in which FFPS was closely involved, had helped to swell numbers. Over the past few years the Zaire project has made encouraging progress. The 1986 census counted the highest number of gorillas since the early 1970s and some of that increase can be attributed to improved protection in Zaire. In addition, the park is benefiting from income from tourists visiting habituated gorilla groups. The project continues to extend, taking in eastern lowland gorillas and chimpanzees, as well as developing an overall education programme for the region around the park.
Somalia's threatened forests
Authors: Madgwick Jane
Published: April 2009

In 1986 the FFPS contributed £750 from its Oryx 100% Fund towards a study of riparian forest in Somalia. Only small fragments remain. The local and national importance of these forests demands that urgent action is taken to conserve them, as the author explains.
The Peruvian Diving Petrel in Peru
Authors: Hays Coppelia
Published: April 2009

The Peruvian diving petrel Pelecanoides garnotii is endemic to the Peruvian or Humboldt Current. Descriptions of past colonies suggest that the species was once abundant in Peru, but harvesting guano on its nesting islands and killing the birds for their meat caused a drastic decline in the population. Fishing activities and direct exploitation threaten the only two remaining breeding colonies in Peru. There are an estimated 4000 breeding individuals left, but unless they are protected the species will continue to decline.
Phulchowki—hill of flowers
Authors: Inskipp Carol , Inskipp Tim
Published: April 2009

The forests that clad Phulchowki mountain in Nepal are internationally renowned for their fauna and flora but they are unprotected. The subtropical forests on the lower slopes are particularly valuable, being one of the last remnants of such forest left in Nepal and probably the only one still worth protecting. Currently very little of this forest type is included in the country's extensive protected area system. If it is to be saved action is needed soon: marble quarrying and the removal of trees for firewood, foliage and timber are destroying the forests, which are also vital for the protection of water supplies. The authors, whose recent study of Nepal's forest birds reinforced the importance of the mountain, suggest ways in which protection could benefit both the forests and the people.
A new nature reserve in the Eastern Arc mountains, Tanzania
Authors: Lovett Jon C. , Moyer David C.
Published: April 2009

A small area of forest on Luisenga tea estate has been declared a nature reserve by Brooke Bond Tanzania Limited. Luisenga is at the southern end of the endemic-rich Eastern Arc mountains of Tanzania and contains a number of plant and animal species of restricted distribution and conservation importance.