bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Elephant Slaughter in Uganda
Authors: Eltringham S. K. , Malpas R. C.
Published: April 2009

In the 1920s elephants roamed nearly three-quarters of Uganda; by 1960 the area open to them was less than one-fifth. The survivors concentrated in national parks and reserves where they were protected, and where they were soon destroying the habitat. So two thousand were shot. But numbers remained high – until 1973. Counts in 1974 showed a dramatic reduction, and rotting carcases pointed to poaching as the cause. The destruction continued in 1975, and the authors believe that the outlook for Uganda's elephants is grim.
Mountain Mammals in Pakistan
Authors: Schaller George B.
Published: April 2009

The author spent eleven months between 1970 and 1975 studying the wildlife of the high mountains in northern Pakistan, especially the large mammals that are endangered in Pakistan. He describes the status of nine, of which the brown bear is on the verge of extinction there (although commonly seen in the form of performing bears in city streets), while the Kashmir markhor, snow leopard and Marco Polo sheep are in serious danger. Despite the protection laws and new reserves, including a new national park, the rule is still too often ‘if it moves shoot it, if it doesn't chop it down’.
Chimpanzees in Uganda
Authors: Albrecht Helmut
Published: April 2009

In Uganda chimpanzees and gorillas, two of the most spectacular living beings on earth, still survive in their natural state in some forests. Neither species can adapt for long to man-made changes in their environment; they will only survive if they are actively protected in untouched wilderness areas. In 1971–72, with the approval of the Uganda National Research Council, I made surveys in the Budongo and Bwindi forests to estimate chimpanzee numbers, and suggested two such areas, one of which, in the north-east Budongo forest, has since been created a nature reserve.
Mountain Gorillas and Bonobos
Authors: MacKinnon John
Published: April 2009

The author spent six weeks in Zaire early in 1975 to get first-hand experience both of mountain gorillas, in the Kahuzi Biega and Virunga national parks, and of bonobos (pygmy chimpanzees) in forests south of the Zaire river. As a result he believes that, Tor the mountain gorillas, the enlargement, already planned, of the Kahuzi Biega park is important to ensure that population's viability, and also that thought should be given to introducing new blood into the Virunga population, which may already be suifering from inbreeding. For the bonobos he suggests that, if investigation confirms the view that the Salonga National Park is not a good area for them, the Lomako-Bolombo region should be considered for a bonobo reserve. Dr MacKinnon is a member of the IUCN Survival Service Commission's Primate Group and has made major studies of the orang-utan.
Black Vultures in Mallorca
Authors: Richford Andrew S.
Published: April 2009

This report of the author's six-week study of the European black vulture in Mallorca suggests that this endangered species has declined still further in the island and now numbers about 40. He believes that disturbance and direct persecution could be having a serious effect on such a small population, but food may be a factor and needs closer study. The FPS aided this study with an Oryx 100% Fund grant.
The Lemurs of the Comoro Islands
Authors: Tattersall Ian
Published: April 2009

The Comoro lemurs, the only wild lemur populations outside Madagascar, are protected and seem secure. But after spending seven months in the islands the author believes that they could become threatened if forest destruction, particularly of the protected forest, continues at the present rate. He urges the need to enforce both forest protection and the hunting laws.
Woods as ‘Islands’
Authors: Moore Norman
Published: April 2009

How valuable as a nature reserve is a small wood? How much more valuable is a bigger wood, and why? The author shows how ecological considerations and the requirements of different species affect the value of particular areas and should be taken into account in selecting nature reserves.
Pygmy Chimpanzees
Authors: Alison  , Badrian Noel
Published: April 2009

Between August 1974 and July 1975 the authors spent eleven months in Zaire, six of them in an isolated tract of rain forest in the Equateur region studying the ecology and behaviour of bonobos, or pygmy chimpanzees. They urge the need to establish a reserve to protect bonobos, mainly because of threats to their habitat, and suggest an area in the Lomako Forest that is also rich in other wildlife.
New Parks and Reserves in Nepal
Authors: Bolton Melvin
Published: April 2009

Four new national parks are being created in Nepal, three in the Himalayas, including Sagarmatha (Everest), to protect the mountain ecosystems with their wildlife and a fourth, the Royal Chitwan National Park (already gazetted) to protect the rich wildlife of the Terai. This park includes a now thriving population of great Indian rhino as well as tiger and gaur, and may be extended to include areas where both marsh crocodile and the highly endangered gharial are found. This ambitious new conservation programme was described by John Blower in Oryx, October 1973. Melvin Bolton is FAO Ecologist with the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Project in Nepal.
Conserving Shells in Kenya
Authors: Evans Stewart M. , Knowles Graham , Pye-Smith Charlis , Scott Rachel
Published: April 2009

Over-collecting of shells on the Kenya coast, mainly for sale to tourists, has almost denuded some popular and accessible sites. In some formerly rich areas few molluscs can now be found, and collecting has shifted to more inaccessible sites. The authors describe an investigation they made in 1972 and 1974 into stocks held by dealers and the effects on the wild populations. They emphasise the importance of the marine national parks at Malindi and Watamu, where regular patrolling effectively prevents collecting and there are signs that cowries at least may now be re-establishing themselves. The creation of a third and much larger marine national park, near Shimoni, will protect another area rich in shells.
Rhinos in Thailand
Authors: McNeely J. , Laurie A.
Published: April 2009

In a paper published in Oryx in 1972 McNeely and Cronin concluded that small numbers of Javan and Sumatran rhinoceros Rhinoceros sondaicus and Dicerorhinus sumatrensis still occurred in Thailand, in three main areas: the Malayan border, the Tenasserim range, and Chaiyaphum province. Since then new information has come from several areas, and the present authors have re-surveyed Phu Khio Reserve in Chaiyaphum.
The Plight of Swayne's Hartebeest
Authors: Lewis J. G. , Wilson R. T.
Published: April 2009

Swayne's hartebeest, a race found only in Ethiopia, has declined seriously in recent years, and there are now thought to be fewer than 700 left. The main population at Senkele – under 400 in May, 1976 – has to compete for grazing with the domestic animals of the Galla people – 13,000 in the same month. Translocation experiments have not been successful, and the authors, who in late 1975 and 1976 made a study of the situation, believe that, while every effort to establish a reserve in the wild should be made, the threat of extinction is so great that a captive breeding group should be established immediately in a European or North American Zoo.
Barasingha in the Dudhwa Sanctuary
Authors: Schaaf Dietrich , Singh Arjan
Published: April 2009

The largest remaining and probably the best protected population of the endangered northern barasingha or swamp deer Cervus duvauceli duvauceli occurs in the Dudhwa Sanctuary of Kheri District, in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. In April 1975 the authors made a count of the deer in this sanctuary, following up Dr Colin Holloway's 1972 survey. Their estimate of the population as a result is 1200–1600, compared with ‘about’ 1200 in 1972. This article presents the results of their survey along with a description of the habitat.
Wildlife and Parks in Senegal
Authors: Dupuy A. R. , Verschuren J.
Published: April 2009

The Director of National Parks in Senegal and a well-known European conservationist survey the wildlife, especially mammals, of this conservation-conscious West African country, where three new national parks have been declared in the last eighteen months. One of the highlights of the enormous Niokolo-Koba park is the giant Lord Derby's eland Taurotragus derbianus of which there are now over 400.
Pampas Deer Project
Authors: Jackson John
Published: April 2009

Commercial hunting, habitat destruction, poaching, competition with domestic livestock and infection by their diseases, especially foot-and-mouth, have all contributed to reduce the once extremely abundant venado to an estimated wild population today of about 80 animals. The author with other Argentinian scientists is making a study, financed by WWF, in preparation for management plans that it is hoped will save this endangered deer.
China's Back Door
Authors: Webster Michael
Published: April 2009

A resident in Hong Kong describes this British colony's trade in wild animals, as reported by a group of interested observers who kept a watch on markets and shops, coupled with the inadequate government statistics. The bulk of the trade is with China, but imports also include rhino horn and enormous quantities of ivory from Africa.
Forestry and Wildlife in Morocco
Authors: Mills S. P.
Published: April 2009

Morocco still has wild areas and wildlife to save. But conservation is linked with forestry and where there is conflict forestry takes priority, says the author, who spent six months there in 1975 on a WWF commission. Destruction of birds as well as their habitat was widespread. The need for outside help to provide conservation education particularly in the forest service is urgent.
Hot Habitats in Britain
Authors: Beebee T. J. C.
Published: April 2009

Britain has a mainly temperate climate, but there are some hot habitats, such as sand dunes, heathlands and shallow-water areas, which may be vital to the survival of certain species – Dartford warbler, sand lizard, natterjack toad are examples. The author suggests it is therefore vital to conserve extensive examples of these habitats to preserve the wildlife that depends on them. Unfortunately they are habitats that have suffered considerable destruction.
The Simien Fox in the Balé Mountains
Authors: Morris P. A. , Malcolm J. R.
Published: April 2009

An endemic species in Ethiopia, the Simien fox survives in only four areas, and is in danger of extinction in three of them, including the mountains from which it is named. Its only predator is man, and the chief causes of its decline are habitat destruction and the unfounded belief that it takes domestic stock. The Balé Mountains now hold the largest Simien fox population, which the authors estimate at between 350 and 475 animals. The urgent need is for the Balé Mountains National Park, proposed in 1970, to be gazetted.
Man Pressure Again
Authors: Bertram G. C. L.
Published: April 2009

In 1963 Oryx published an article by Dr Bertram called Man Pressure. This second article returns to the theme, the argument being now reinforced by the addition in the interval of another 1000 million people to the world's population. At this rate what hope have we of conserving the other species that share the planet, and without them what hope is there for human survival?
How Liberia Uses Wildlife
Authors: Jeffrey Sonia
Published: April 2009

Food is the main use for wildlife in Liberia, but trade in ivory, skins and live animals is also considerable. Unfortunately Liberia has neither national parks nor wildlife refuges. There are still vast areas of tropical forest, but timber companies are now opening up some areas with their new roads. The author made this survey while living in Liberia between July 1974 and August 1975.
South America's River Turtles: Saving Them by Use
Authors: Mittermeier Russell A.
Published: April 2009

The seven species ofPodocnemisriver turtles, in northern South America, have long been important sources of meat for local people; as such they have many advantages over both native mammals and imported domestic species. But most of the populations are now severely depleted, and several species are endangered. The author suggests that if nesting beaches were effectively protected these turtles would recover their numbers, and this, combined with careful management and sustained-yield cropping, would ensure their survival as a valuable resource.
Burundi and Wildlife: Problems of an Overcrowded Country
Authors: Verschuren Jacques
Published: April 2009

Despite its dense population Burundi still has a wildlife remnant that includes hippopotamus, buffalo, waterbuck and bushbuck, crocodiles, monkeys and many birds, especially water birds. But there are no nature reserves, and there is no legal protection. Now the Government has commissioned wildlife surveys, including one by the author, and there are plans to create a 50,000-hectare national park in the Ruvubu Valley, as well as some smaller reserves, and to preserve the surviving forest on the Zaire–Nile watershed.
Gorillas – a Survey
Authors: Cousins Don
Published: April 2009

This survey of the status of the three gorilla races was made in 1974. Part One, below, covers the western lowland race, and Part Two, to be published in the next Oryx, will discuss eastern lowland and volcano gorillas.
Teaching Chimps to be Chimps
Authors: Brambell Michael
Published: April 2009

I cannot claim to be dispassionate or unbiased about Stella Brewer's lovely book The Forest Dwellers. I played a part, albeit a small one, in the tale it has to tell. It is the story of Stella Brewer’s life from the age of seventeen until her middle twenties; of the lives of several chimpanzees from early childhood until young adulthood; of one orphan chimpanzee that Stella found in pitiful circumstances in the Banjul market in the Gambia and resolved to save, and of how it comes to be not so much life itself that must be saved but the chance for the chimpanzees to live their lives to the full in the wild. Several of the animals die or get lost in the course of the book, but there is no feeling of failure in this story of a very brave and, in the end, successful attempt to do something useful in man's relations with this close relative. It is gently written, but the story is full of bite, with plenty of amusing incident.
A Monitor Lizard in the Philippines
Authors: Auffenberg Walter
Published: April 2009

Until 1976 Gray's monitor lizard was known to science only by two museum specimens, neither of which gave any data more precise than ‘Luzon’. In 1975 the author discovered a third which identified an area on Luzon, and in 1976 he went to the Philippines and found this large monitor, which some scientists had thought might be extinct, widely distributed in forests in southern Luzon. But large areas of these forests have been and continue to be destroyed, and with them go the monitor’s habitat. Also local people hunt it for meat. The author discusses the ecology and distribution of the monitor and urges that a new national park be created.
Capybara Ranching for Amazonia?
Authors: Vasey Daniel E.
Published: April 2009

Cattle ranching for beef is slowly spreading in the Amazonian flood-plains and could lead to a serious loss of wildlife habitats. The author suggests that the indigenous capybara could be a satisfactory alternative for ranching, and one that would not require swamps or areas that are flooded seasonally to be drained.
A Glimmer of Hope for Sulawesi
Authors: MacKinnon John
Published: April 2009

The wildlife of the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia is a remarkable mixture of Asian and Australasian forms, with many endemic species. But it is being rapidly destroyed as a result of timber logging, hunting and agriculture. However, Dr MacKinnon, who is manager for two World Wildlife Fund projects in North Sulawesi, believes that action now could save most of the larger animals. With Indonesia's new interest in conservation he is optimistic that this will be achieved.
A Look at Wildlife Management in India
Authors: Coe Malcolm
Published: April 2009

The author, who has studied and advised on wildlife management and park problems in Africa, describes some of the differences he noted in India. He looks at the effects of management in Kanha National Park, where the bans on stock grazing and tree felling and the removal of villages have benefited two endangered species—tiger and barasingha—and shows the need for more study and understanding of the large herbivores in order to manage the park successfully.
Trade and the Mediterranean Tortoises
Authors: Lambert M. R. K.
Published: April 2009

In 1969 an investigation supported by the FPS/WWF Revolving Fund established that there had been wholesale collecting of tortoises Testudo graeca throughout Morocco. The three exporting dealers reported that tortoises were very sparse in the Casablanca region, their exporting centre; only in the Oued Souss valley of south-west Morocco were they to be found in any numbers. The total Moroccan population in 1969 was estimated to be about five million, occupying an area of approximately 162,000 sq km at a mean density of around 30 per sq km. Because so few were found (only 23), comparisons in abundance between different regions were made only in relative terms; the effects of bulk trade collection on population size and structure could not be pinpointed. Routine size/weight measurements were made in relation to age, sex and maturity; air temperature measurements were recorded in relation to activity and time of year.
Malaysia's Last Seabird Refuge
Authors: Langham Nigel
Published: April 2009

The only breeding colony of the brown booby Sula leucogaster in Malaysia is declining steadily due to predation, mainly by fishermen who take eggs and young birds for food. However, if the predation could be controlled, a crop could be taken each year without endangering the colony.
Elephant Losses in Uganda – and Some Gains
Authors: Malpas Robert
Published: April 2009

In the eight years of Idi Amin's rule, law enforcement in the national parks and reserves completely collapsed, and poaching and human encroachment increased. Last year, Robert Malpas, working for the New York Zoological Society and World Wildlife Fund/IUCN, and with some help from ffPS, spent nine months on a survey of Uganda's national parks and reserves to determine just how bad the situation really was. He found the elephant situation so desperate in both the Rwenzori and Kabalega Falls National Parks, except in one area, that there is no certainty of their survival in either even if the poaching can be controlled.
ffPS Overseas Tours
Authors: Jolly Alison , Perry Roger , Fitter Richard
Published: April 2009

Two ffPS African tours have been arranged for August and September this year. The first comprises two weeks in Zambia, including six days at Norman Carr's Chibembe Camp, and an optional week in Zimbabwe: August 11–29. The second also spends two weeks in Zambia (Luangwa Valley and Kafue National Park), preceded by an optional week in Botswana on the Okavango Delta: September 3–24. Full details from the ffPS.
The Chinese Alligator
Authors: Zhujian Huang
Published: April 2009

The author, who is a scientist at the Zoological Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, describes the serious plight of China's endemic alligator. This last summer he was joined by an American research scientist, Dr Myrna E. Watanabe, in a further study of the alligator, and we hope to carry their report in a later issue.
Wildlife Log on the Omo River
Authors: Ghiglieri M. P.
Published: April 2009

After a canoe journey down the Omo River in southern Ethiopia, the author concludes that the river canyon is ‘a viable ecosystem with a rich natural assemblage of large mammals’. But it is only the canyon's inaccessibility that protects the animals, and he wonders how long it will do so.
The Ox-Pasture
Authors: Rees Jennifer
Published: April 2009

Old ‘unimproved’ meadowland is increasingly scarce in Britain’s intensively farmed land. Dr Jennifer Rees, an Open University tutor married to a farmer who breeds pedigree cattle on 100 acres in the Wye Valley, recently won the Sunday Times Kenneth Allsop Memorial Essay Competition with an essay that pinpoints the value of a ‘great natural re-usable resource that can be replenished year after year at minimal cost’.
Last Endemic Mammals in Hispaniola
Authors: Woods Charles A.
Published: April 2009

After searching many remote regions in the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, the author discovered that the island's last two endemic mammals, formerly believed to be rare, are in fact common in some areas. But human pressures on the hutia Plagiodonria aedium and the solenodon S. paradoxus are such that, unless the Governments of Haiti and the Dominican Republic take effective steps both could soon become extinct.
What Has Happened to the Atlantic Salmon?
Authors: Wheeler Alwyne
Published: April 2009

Because they must migrate up to the headwaters of rivers to spawn, salmon were badly affected when man developed the rivers for navigation and industry, then polluted them and, for hydroelectric schemes, sometimes blocked them. The final disaster was the Greenland fishery that started in the early 1960s. This has now been controlled, but the Atlantic salmon is unlikely to recover its former numbers. Moreover, some of the unique stocks that each river system originally had have been exterminated and others adulterated, so that the Atlantic salmon's original genetic diversity has been irretrievably destroyed. The author, who works on fishes at the British Museum, Natural History, is Chairman of IUCN's SSC Fish Group.
Elephants and the War in Zimbabwe
Authors: Hallagan John B.
Published: April 2009

After nearly ten years of civil war Zimbabwe now has more elephants than at any time since at least the 1940s: the bush was simply too dangerous for the poachers. Much wildlife management too had to be suspended during the war. Now in the Wankie National Park there is considerable elephant damage as a result of the population pressure, and some culling has been done.
Why We Need to Save the Medicinal Leech
Authors: Sawyer Roy T.
Published: April 2009

Once abundant throughout its range, the medicinal leech became endangered largely because it was so widely used by doctors for blood-letting in the 19th century. France alone imported more than a thousand million over the century. Since then demands for research purposes have greatly increased following the discovery that this leech contains a potentially very valuable anticoagulant of human blood. Protection for the species is urgently needed, says the author. One school class could unknowingly wipe out the whole of a small remnant population.
Project Pudu
Authors: MacNamara Mark
Published: April 2009

The southern pudu Pudu pudu, a small forest deer, now occurs only in the temperate Valdivian rainforests of Chile and Argentina. Ninety per cent of its historic habitat, the lowland forest, has been occupied and cleared by man, bringing the pudu increasingly into contact with both man and his domestic livestock. This, coupled with increased predation, livestock diseases and competition from introduced exotic deer, has made the pudu extremely rare and locally extinct in many areas, especially in Argentina. In the IUCN Red Data Book it is classed as vulnerable.
Logging on Slopes Kills
Authors: Robertson J. M. Yarrow , Soetrisno Bambang Ryadi
Published: April 2009

Ten hectares of forest were cleared for cultivation on a steep slope in the Alas Valley in Sumatra, and as a result 13 people were drowned. The authors describe what happened and show why a flood was almost inevitable.
The Giant Golden Mole
Authors: Poduschka Walter
Published: April 2009

The South African giant golden mole has been seen by few people; scientifically it is almost unknown. After two visits to South Africa to look for it, in 1978 and 1980, the author, who is Chairman of the IUCN/SSC Insectivore Group, fears that it may already be extinct in the Transkei through loss of its forest habitat, and that the same fate is to be feared in the Ciskei.
How Many Elephants are Killed for the Ivory Trade?
Authors: Parker J. S. C. , Martin Esmond Bradley
Published: April 2009

After careful examination of trade and other statistics, notably in Hong Kong and Japan, which are the two major importers of African elephant ivory, the authors calculated average tusk weights and estimated the number of elephants involved in Africa's raw ivory exports. They conclude that previous estimates of the number of African elephants killed have been exaggerated.
Visit to Vietnam
Authors: Constable J.D.
Published: April 2009

During a two-week visit to Vietnam the author was able to take one 200-km journey into the countryside, and to talk with the Foreign Minister as well as several scientists. He found that both people and government were concerned about wildlife and that the government would be receptive to offers of help with field surveys. Fortunately the only national park lies outside the areas affected by the herbicides in the war. Elephants survive on the Laos border, but there is no news of kouprey. Rhinos may not be extinct, and tigers have increased, but several of Vietnam's many species and sub-species of monkeys are endangered.
What Hope for North Atlantic Right Whales?
Authors: Reeves Randall
Published: April 2009

In the early 1800s the once abundant North Atlantic right whale was believed to be extinct. But by mid-century the species had been ‘rediscovered’, and hunting was resumed until 1918, when the whales were again in trouble. In 1935 all right whales became fully protected by an international convention, and in the 1950s the North Atlantic population was once again ‘rediscovered’. Today, after nearly 50 years of protection and slow recovery, the author assesses the present status of the North Atlantic population. Surveys showed disappointing results until in 1980 a survey of the lower Bay of Fundy (prompted by the threat of an oil refinery being built there) revealed surprisingly high numbers. Another survey in 1981, in which the author also took part, has shown the Grand Manan Island region to be a summer and autumn assembly site for at least several dozen of these endangered whales, including a number of cows and calves. This may be a key area for the North Atlantic right whale's survival.
Is Rehabilitating Orang Utans Worth While?
Authors: Aveling Rosalind , Mitchell Arthur
Published: April 2009

The centres for rehabilitating confiscated orang utans in Borneo and Sumatra have shown that at least some animals can be successfully restored to the wild. But there is still the fear of introducing disease and possibly social stress into wild populations. Two centres, Bohorok and Sepilok, which are largely administered and funded by the Indonesian and Malaysian governments, are extremely popular, have many visitors, and thus have a valuable role in conservation education. The authors, have been working on education programmes at these centres.
The Chinese Salamander
Authors: Zhujian Huang
Published: April 2009

Because the salamander Megalobatrachus davidianus makes sounds like a baby crying, its common name in China is ‘baby fish’. The largest amphibian now in existence, it may grow to 180cm in length and weigh up to several dozen catties (1 catty = ½kg); one specimen caught in Hunan Province weighed 65kg. It is one of three salamander species belonging to the Cryptobranchidae. The other two, Cryptobranchus japonicus in Japan and C. alleganiensis in the eastern United States, are similar to the Chinese species in shape and size, but the American one is much smaller.
What Survives in Bangladesh?
Authors: Gittins S.P. , Akonda A.W.
Published: April 2009

In a five-month survey, sponsored by the ffPS Oryx 100% Fund, of the distribution and numbers of primates in Bangladesh early in 1980, the authors visited most of the surviving natural forest. Their report shows that wildlife reserves are inadequate, both in quantity and quality, but acknowledges the Government's efforts in the face of great difficulties.
Lost British Dragonflies
Authors: Moore Norman
Published: April 2009

The large blue butterfly Maculinea arion is probably extinct in Great Britain. Many other of Britain’s 56 butterfly species have declined since 1945, but no other species has become extinct. By contrast, no fewer than four of Britain’s 41 resident dragonfly species have almost certainly become extinct since that date, What are the causes and what lessons can be learnt from these losses?
Good News About Orang-Utans in Sarawak
Authors: Kavanagh Michael
Published: April 2009

Hopes that a viable population of orang-utans can be conserved in Malaysian Borneo have been given a big boost by the discovery that they are more widespread than had been expected. In August-November last year a research team, consisting of officers from the National Parks and Wildlife Office of the Sarawak Forest Department and five scientists sponsored by WWF Malaysia, surveyed the proposed Lanjak-Entimau Orang-Utan Sanctuary adjacent to the Indonesian frontier. Previous reports had led them to expect to find orangs in the southern part of the proposed sanctuary, where the terrain is mostrugged and there has been least human activity, but the development of anovel survey technique showed that the apes in habit the northern part as well.
How Customs Control the Trade in Wildlife
Authors: Mouat Ted
Published: April 2009

In June last year a Customs officer at London Airport, suspicious of a cargo of 100 live royal pythons arriving from Ghana, checked the export permit with officials in Accra. They confirmed that the animals had been illegally exported from Ghana. The snakes were seized, and a difficult situation — what to do with 100 illegally imported live snakes? — was resolved by ffPS and the RSPCA jointly agreeing to pay the cost of returning the survivors to Ghana, where, under the guidance of ffPS Consultant, Dr Emmanuel Asibey, head of the Game and Wildlife Department, they were released in a national park. This incident highlights the important part the Customs Service plays in enforcing the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, and also some of the problems. Ted Mouat, who is a senior Customs official, describes how they are learning and coping, and how voluntary societies such as ffPS can help.
White Rhino Extinct in Uganda
Authors: Edroma Eric L.
Published: April 2009

The northern race of the square-lipped rhinocerosCeratotherium simumcottoni is disappearing in Africa and is now believed extinct in Uganda. Commonly called the white rhinoceros because of its wide (weit) square mouth, it differs from the black rhino in size, habits and disposition. The white rhino occurred naturally in three countries: the West Nile Province of Uganda, north-east Zaire, and the Bahr el Ghazal and Equatorian provinces of Sudan. The Nile limited its eastern spread, although fossils show that it existed in Tanzania some 400,000 years ago. Its extreme southern limit was the river Ora which enters the Nile opposite Wadelai, from where it extended northwards along the western bank of the Nile through to Shambe, and then north-west through the Bahr el Ghazal drainage to the borders of Chad, where in the 1890s it was abundant. Harper reported the collection of many rhino horns yearly in Abecher. At the beginning of this century Sidney described the species as numerous in the upper waters of the Bahr Azoum and the Bahr Aoule, plentiful in the Birao area, fairly numerous north of the Uele river in what is today in Zaire's Garamba National Park, and abundant in Okolo, Aringa and West Madi in Uganda.18Rhinos were so common in all these areas that in 1919 Theodore Roosevelt's headquarters for the Smithsonian African Expedition collecting rhino products was named Rhino Camp. Here in 1932 Captain Pitman encountered 30–40 groups of at least seven individuals each within a day's walk, and he could approach to within 7–8ft because they were unharried by hunters and poachers.
Elephant Poaching and Vegetation Changes in Uganda
Authors: Hatton John , Hobsley Clare , Smart Nick
Published: April 2009

In the 1970s, under Idi Amin's rule, poaching decimated mammal populations in Uganda and, as a result of the drop in browsing and grazing pressure, uniform scrub and woodland are replacing the species-rich grasslands.
Arabian Oryx Returns to the Wild
Authors: Fitter Richard
Published: April 2009

January 31, 1982 was a milestone in the long struggle to save Oryx leucoryx from extinction in the wild. On that day ten Arabian oryx, nine of them born and bred in the United States, were released into the open desert in Oman. The release was a triumph for Operation Oryx, launched almost 20 years earlier, in April 1962, by the Fauna Preservation Society, as it then was; in Oman it was also a day of rejoicing for the Harasis tribe, who will once again guard their white oryx in the Jidda al Harasis, and for Sultan Qaboos bin Said, whose generous support and cooperation made the return possible.
Hope for Liberia
Authors: Verschuren Jacques
Published: April 2009

Until recently Liberia has lagged far behind the rest of Africa in conservation, with no national parks, no hunting regulations, and widespread forest destruction. But the creation in 1976 of a Forest Development Authority with a dynamic staff offers real hope for the future. The author, widely known for his conservation work, especially in Zaire, spent four months on a WWF/IUCN survey in 1978–79; he describes what he found and the proposals he made to the Liberian authorities.
Earlier Sightings of Humpback Whales in Antarctica
Authors: Kinnear Peter
Published: April 2009

Nigel Bonner has documented sightings of humpbacks Megaptera novaeangliae off the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula which seem to indicate some recovery of stocks (Oryx 16, 3: 231–232). It may therefore be worth placing on record the following sightings of this species made from Argentine Islands for 1970/72, when I was stationed at the British Antarctic Survey base.
Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak
Authors: Jermy Clive
Published: April 2009

In 1977£78 the Royal Geographical Society sent one of the largest expeditions it has ever mounted to Sarawak to study and survey the newly gazetted Gunung Mulu National Park. The expedition was carried out with the full cooperation of the Sarawak Government particularly the Forest Department under whose care the National Parks in Sarawak reside. Over a period of 15 months 115 scientists spent 10,000 man-days in this wonderfully rich area: over 2500 plants have been identified, 60 mammals, including the world's smallest, Savi's pygmy shrew, over 260 birds, including all Borneo's eight hornbill species, and 320 fish. Insects may number 12,000 species and fungi over 8000.
A census of the Virunga gorillas
Authors: Aveling Conrad , Harcourt Alexander H.
Published: April 2009

Mountain gorillas exist in the wild today only in the Virunga volcanoes, which span the borders of Zaire, Rwanda and Uganda, and in the Bwindi Forest Reserve of Uganda, and number probably fewer than 400. The authors describe the 1981 survey of the entire Virunga gorilla population, the first to be done since 1973. The results clearly show how the gorillas in the Rwanda. section of the volcanoes have benefited from the protection afforded by the activities of the Karisoke Research Centre and the Mountain Gorilla Project in Rwanda. There is also optimism that the Zaire population, which has retained the potential for increase, could recover if given better protection from poaching and disturbance.
Fortress Falklands—but is its wildlife secure?
Authors: Strange Ian
Published: April 2009

Inevitably, wildlife suffered during the military conflict in the Falkland Islands in 1982. But after the sounds of battle died away and there was time to assess the extent of the damage to wildlife it was recognised that it could have been much worse. Ian Strange, an Islands' resident, who was present throughout the occupation and conflict, here records not only the effects of the war but also of the military presence that has been maintained since it ended. As a naturalist/ conservationist he views with some disquiet the implications of the development aid that is pouring into the Islands and makes a plea that the Falklands be made an international reserve.
The Falkland Islands Foundation
Authors: Lyster Simon
Published: April 2009

While penguin watching one summer's afternoon on New Island in 1979, Sir Peter Scott, Richard and Maisie Fitter, Ian and Maria Strange (owners of half of New Island) and Michael Wright of World Wildlife Fund—US, decided to form a charitable organisation through which efforts to protect the Falklands' unique wildlife and maritime heritage could be channelled. The result of their inspiration was the Falkland Islands Foundation of which Sir Peter became chairman. At the time, of course, nobody had any idea that the Falkland Islands would soon become an international battle ground and that threats to wildlife would take on a new intensity, but in retrospect the establishment of the Foundation could hardly have been more timely. The events of 1982, which rudely transformed the Falklands from a peaceful agricultural backwater into a bustling military stronghold, miraculously caused minimal direct damage to wildlife but greatly increased the need for urgent conservation measures to ensure that the spectacular breeding colonies of penguins and albatrosses, and the rest of the Islands' fauna and flora, still exist for future generations to enjoy.
Round Island in 1982
Authors: Bullock David , North Steven
Published: April 2009

When a scientific expedition visited Round Island in 1975 it found that introduced rabbits and goats had destroyed most of the vegetation, threatening the survival of the reptiles that depended upon it and causing soil erosion. (See Oryx, 14, page 51.) Eradication of the goats and rabbits was recommended. Seven years later the 1982 Round Island Expedition was launched to monitor the reptile, palm and alien mammal populations. ffPS contributed £100 which was raised through a special appeal. The authors, who participated in both surveys, report on the striking changes that have occurred in just seven years and discuss the future prospects for the island's wildlife, especially for the endemic reptiles.
To save the snake: education and conservation at the Madras Snake Park
Authors: Seshadri Diana
Published: April 2009

The major obstacle to snake conservation in India, and probably in other countries too, is human fear. The author visited the Madras Snake Park in 1980 and describes the fear of snake bite that pervades the country and how the Park is seeking to overcome the problem by a programme of public education.
Iguanas of the South Pacific
Authors: Gibbons John
Published: April 2009

Two species of iguana inhabit the islands of the Fiji goup: one, the crested iguana, was discovered as recently as 1979 and the other, the banded iguana, once common enough to be an important source of food for humans, is now listed in the IUCN Red Data Book. The author, in his three-year study, discovered that both species still exist in relatively dense populations on a few, small uninhabited islands, although they have disappeared from those that are developed. He discusses the threats to their survival and the conservation efforts being made.
The Humboldt penguin in Peru
Authors: Hays Coppelia
Published: April 2009

Numbers of Humboldt penguins Spheniscus humboldti, which live on the coast and islands of Chile and Peru, have been declining since the mid-1800s. Extracting guano for fertiliser has damaged their breeding sites; they have been exploited for food and skins and captured for pets or zoos; they are incidentally caught in fishing nets and recent over-fishing may have caused a food shortage. The author surveyed the Humboldt penguins in Peru in 1981 and here discusses the conservation measures that are being taken.
Some more politics of conservation
Authors: Holt Sidney
Published: April 2009

The 1984 International Whaling Commission meeting approaches and, as has often been the case in the past, there may be some surprises in store. Conservationists await with particular concern the stand that the Member nations take as the moratorium on commercial whaling draws nearer. The author has been a consultant on whales and whaling to many international organisations, including the UN Environment Programme, WWF, Greenpeace, IUCN, International Fund for Animal Welfare, as well as to ffPS. He has been since 1979 Scientific Adviser, and since 1983 Alternate Commissioner, to the delegation of the Republic of Seychelles to the IWC. He has followed the proceedings of the IWC since 1958, mainly as Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN. Here he is writing in his personal capacity, and what he has written should not be taken as representing the position of the Seychelles Government or of any organisation with which he has been associated.
Conservation success for two Bermudan bird species
Authors: Lever Christopher
Published: April 2009

The plight of indigenous birds on oceanic archipelagoes often makes depressing reading, as the author points out in his forthcoming book, Naturalized Mammals of the World. Habitat destruction by domestic stock and predation by accidentally introduced rats and mice are the major causes. In Bermuda this discouraging trend has been reversed by the successful rehabilitation of two species within the space of a quarter of a century.
Otters in Morocco
Authors: Macdonald Sheila M. , Mason Christopher F.
Published: April 2009

That otter numbers have declined in northern Europe is well known and the Vincent Wildlife Trust is attempting to discover how far this is also true in the southern part the otter's range. Healthy populations have been found in Portugal, Greece and northern Tunisia but declines have occurred in other Mediterranean countries. Here the authors describe the results of a survey in Morocco.
Wildlife on Réunion
Authors: Moutou François
Published: April 2009

Réunion is probably the least well known of the islands of the Mascarene archipelago. The author, a veterinarian who spent two years working there, gives an account of its now much diminished wildlife and some of the problems facing the species that remain.
The 1982—83 El Niño: some of its consequences for Galápagos wildlife
Authors: Merlen Godfrey
Published: April 2009

The warm event, El Niño, that struck the eastern equatorial Pacific in 1982–83 was the strongest recorded in the last 100 years. Coastal people suffered floods, crop losses and failure of fish catches as the ocean waters grew warmer and the rainfall increased more than tenfold. Wildlife was affected in many different ways. The author has been working as a Naturalist Guide within the Galápagos National Park for the past three and a half years and he is particularly interested in the interactions of seabirds with their environment.
A trust to fight for desert wildlife in Namibia
Authors: Clements Barry , Loutit Blythe , Owen-Smith Garth , Viljoen P. J.
Published: April 2009

The Namibia Wildlife Trust was set up in 1982, mainly in response to the slaughter by poachers of the elephants and rhinos of the desert in the northern part of the country. The Trust's efforts are meeting with some success but must be sustained if the large mammals of this unique area are to survive.
Lake Mburo—a new national park in Africa
Authors: Kingdon Jonathan
Published: April 2009

The opening of a new national park in Uganda is significant and welcome evidence of the resuscitation of the country's commitment to conservation. The author, an FFPS Council member, who has a long and active association with Uganda, attended the ceremonial opening of Lake Mburo National Park last July. He tells the story behind the achievement and makes a plea for international support to enable Uganda to sustain its efforts to reverse the trend towards environmental degradation.
Religion, royalty and rhino conservation in Nepal
Authors: Martin Esmond Bradley
Published: April 2009

For religious, medicinal and decorative purposes, the Nepalese use more parts of the rhino than any other people in the world, but only a very few rhinos have recently been killed there. Moreover, since 1976 the rhino population has been growing by about eight per cent a year and when the author visited Nepal in 1982 there were approximately 375, which provides an exception to the commonly held belief that government officials in Third World countries are unable to protect rhinos in the wild. The author, who is a geographer, explores the fascinating background to a successful conservation story.
Return to Azraq
Authors: Nelson J.B.
Published: April 2009

The author found many changes when he returned to Azraq after an absence of 14 years. Although the concept of a major Desert National Park had been abandoned, two reserves, embracing semi-desert and wetland, had been created. The Shaumari Reserve is having some success in breeding desert species for re-establishment in the wild, notably the oryx. The Wetland Reserve, however, is in danger; its wildfowl populations appear to be declining and the central marsh may be shrinking. Remedial action is essential if the wetland is to retain its importance, both as a reserve for birds and as a tourist attraction.
The St Vincent parrot, an endangered Caribbean bird
Authors: Lambert Frank
Published: April 2009

The future of the St Vincent parrot is seriously threatened. It is still captured for the pet trade, its forest habitat is being destroyed and the remnant populations are subject to natural catastrophes. In 1979 Mt Soufrière, the island's active volcano, erupted and many parrots died from the effects of toxic gases. In 1980 Hurrican Allen damaged forest in the east of the island. In 1982 the ICBP, concerned about the effect of these incidents on an already precarious parrot population, promoted an expedition from the University of East Anglia to investigate and FFPS was among those that helped finance it.
A port that could threaten marine life in England's Fal Estuary
Authors: Deeble Mark , Stone Victoria
Published: April 2009

The Fal Estuary, with its eelgrass meadows, its reef of red calcareous seaweeds and its mix of southern and northern species of marine life, contains a Voluntary Marine Reserve. As its name implies, such designation does not give it any legal protection. It is listed in The IUCN Invertebrate Red Data Book as a threatened community and is in immediate danger from a proposal to build a container port on the opposite shore.
Conservation priorities in Burma
Authors: Blower John
Published: April 2009

In 1981 the Government of Burma, conscious that it should be doing more to conserve its natural resources, invited the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the Development Programme of the United Nations to assist in a project to identify areas suitable for national parks and reserves. The Minister of Agriculture and Forests has already decided to establish one of the proposed parks, Alaungdaw Kathapa, and it is hoped that the rest will follow. The author was in charge of the project for its three-year duration.
Conservation of plants on Mulanje Mountain Malawi
Authors: Edwards Ian
Published: April 2009

Mulanje massif in Malawi rises steeply from the surrounding plain, a landmark for miles around. An endemic cycad grows on its slopes and the plateau grassland is rich in endemic plants, including everlasting flowers and a heath. The mountain is also the stronghold of the Mulanje cedar, which Malawi has just declared as its national tree. The author, who prepared a report for the Malawi Government on cedar resources on Mulanje, found that the Forestry Department's fire control programme is effective, and that attention now needs to be given to the threat from alien plant invasion.