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Zambian Big Cat Hunting Ban Lifted

5/18/2015

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A ban on the hunting of big cats in Zambia, which has been in effect since January 2013, was officially lifted a few days ago.  Hunting of leopards will resume at the end of this year/beginning of next and hunting of lions will return about a year after that.  

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Photo from www.explorationsafrica.com
The ban was initially instated in conjunction with a closure associated with a reallocation of leases for 19 game management areas stopping all hunting in Zambia.  After substantial losses in revenue, the closure was lifted in August of 2014 for all game except big cats and elephants. Although the Zambian Wildlife Authority was already implementing a mandated Conservation Strategy and Action Plan for the African Lion with the sole purpose of ensuring the future for the Zambian lion population through maintenance, restoration and problem animal control, the ban for big cats remained because of "weak regulatory mechanisms" and the government was under the impression that their populations were depleting.

Zambia, however, is one of 5 countries to have lion populations 1000+ individuals strong and, in areas with thriving lion populations, a hunting ban could actually have potentially deleterious effects (and not just on eco-tourism).  Studies have shown that the presence of hunters deters poachers, providing protection for the habitat and other animals.  Revenue brought in by hunters also contributes to anti-poaching efforts as well as community assistance by providing jobs and other resources.  

So, after the realization that a continued full ban in Zambia on hunting for big cats could be damaging for the population (and economy), the government decided to reinstate hunting under the pretense there will be “cautionary quotas.” Tourism and Arts Minister, Jean Kapata, said "safari hunting was profitable and good for off-take of wildlife and could benefit the whole country if well nurtured."  The study I just submitted for publication will (hopefully) be used to help with decisions for setting quotas and implementing management to prevent loss of diversity while big cat hunting is permitted.  

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Throwback Third Thursday - January 2015

1/15/2015

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Just some elephant play time from August 2005... ENJOY!
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Let the Big Guys Do Their Job

5/5/2014

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One of the reasons, which I have mentioned before, a decline in carnivore populations can be detrimental to an ecosystem is the spread of disease. Without the proper balance of large wildlife populations (which includes your large carnivores), smaller, disease carrying species (primarily rodents) can overrun an ecosystem causing an increase in disease for local wildlife and humans alike.  A study published last week looked at this phenomenon in an area in Africa called the KLEE (the Kenya Long-Term Exclosure Experiment; a well-controlled, replicated large herbivore removal experiment based in central Kenya - an area which includes species such as elephant, giraffe, zebra and lion).  Through three years of sampling, this project determined that declines in large wildlife increased the occurrence of landscape-level rodent-borne disease. 

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The concept is pretty simple (although the analysis from the study is fairly complicated); loss of large wildlife causes a loss in the regulation of the rodent population which, in turn, causes an increase in rodents and their parasite carrying friends, the flea, which increases the amount of disease found in humans and other wildlife.  The difficult part is figuring out how to counter this effect (aka prevent disease).  The options – prevent the loss of large wildlife so the rodent population can naturally regulate itself or artificially regulate the rodent population.   Setting out a few rodent traps out in the middle of the African savannah probably won’t do the trick so, I say, let’s try letting the megafauna do its job and keep working on large wildlife conservation to keep those large wildlife numbers where they should be.


  • Hillary S. Young, Rodolfo Dirzo, Kristofer M. Helgen, Douglas J. McCauley, Sarah A. Billeter, Michael Y. Kosoyd, Lynn M. Osikowicz, Daniel J. Salkeld, Truman P. Young, and Katharina Dittmar. (2014). Declines in large wildlife increase landscape-level prevalence of rodent-borne disease in Africa. PNAS; published ahead of print April 28, 2014, doi:10.1073/pnas.1404958111

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They Came from Above

4/10/2013

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ABC News
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savetherhino.org
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orangutan.org
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) aren't just for the military anymore!  UAV drone technology is now making an appearance at National Parks in Southeast Asia to aid in conservation efforts.

At the Kaziranga National Park in northeast India, UAVs are now spanning the skies in search for illegal wildlife activities.  The Kaziranga National Park is home to the Indian rhino.  And, similarly to their African cousins, this rare one-horned rhino is being poached for its hood ornament (which, by the way, is made of nothing more than glorified fingernail).  Sixteen rhinos have already been killed this year by gangs of poachers carrying AK-47s.  The UAV program, launched on Monday, will be looking for poachers from a max elevation of 200 meters taking still and video photography.  They hope the UAVs will aide the over 300 armed guards with surveillance of the park inevitably reducing poaching not only of the rhino, but elephants and tigers as well.

The use of this technology was originally developed from an innovative idea to monitor orangutan populations in Indonesia.  The prototype design was simply a digital camera attached to an electronic plane.  In just one year this drone technology has grown immensely.  This program shows so much promise for future conservation applications that Google awarded the World Wildlife Fund $5 million to develop even more advanced technology!  Watch the video below to find out more about UAV technology in conservation from Dr. Lian Pin Koh's presentation from the Fuller Symposium last November.

Also, check out their official website: conservationdrones.org
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Pleistocene Park

4/5/2013

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In honor of Jurassic Park opening in 3D today, I thought I would share with everyone the new developments in science which could make this science fiction, science fact.  While it will be a LONG time (if ever) until we will be able to clone a T-rex, it is a very real possibility that we will be able to clone more recently extinct animals to create an “insert time period here” park.

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Natural decay rates make it impossible to retrieve the whole genome of animals that went extinct tens of millions of years ago but animals that have gone extinct within the past 50,000 years or less could contain enough viable DNA to piece together a fully sequenced genome.  The ability to bring back extinct animals is so within reach there was a TEDx conference held in Washington D.C. on March 15th of this year where they discussed the ethics of “De-Extinction.”

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BBC Nature
After the successful, yet very short lived, cloning of an extinct Ibex in 2003, scientists have been improving and perfecting the process.  Now, cloning the megafauna which went extinct during the last ice age is no longer just conjecture.  After finding well-preserved mammoths in the Siberian tundra, scientists at the Sooam Biotech Research Foundation in Seoul teamed up with mammoth experts from a university in Siberia to find mammoth tissue buried in the cliffs of the Permafrost.  From the bone marrow, hair, skin and fat they found, the scientists are looking for a live cell they can reprogram to grow into an embryo cell then clone.  If they can’t find a live, viable cell, their next plan of action is going to be to transfer a mammoth nucleus into an emptied elephant egg cell.  But, even if they found a viable cell today, we are still a number of years away from a mammoth being born.  After implantation into an elephant surrogate, it would still be 2+ years before any offspring would grace us with its presence (elephant gestation is 645 days). 

These remarkable developments in genetic research mean the ridiculous (albeit innovative) proposal of Pleistocene Rewilding could come to fruition in a way they never thought possible when they proposed the idea in 2006.  Pleistocene Rewilding was thought up by a group of conservationists lead by Dr. Josh Donlan, direct of Advanced Conservation Strategies at Cornell.  They suggested that by bringing Pleistocene equivalent species to the historical home ranges of their counterparts we can increase biodiversity, kickstart evolutionary interactions that have gone dormant since the loss of megafauana, and create a multi-continental system for conservation of currently endangered species.  Basically, their idea is to bring Africa & Asia to the Great Plains of the United States to increase ecosystem interactions.  One of the stages of their plan is the creation of a Pleistocene Park.  Their intention was to have proxy species (i.e. Asian Elephants for Woolly Mammoths) act as ecological stand-ins for extinct species but with these new technological advances, why not have a park with the real thing.

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Life finds a way.
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Spanning from 2.5 million - 10,000 years ago, the Pleistocene Epoch was characterized by great biodiversity across the world.

I know what you’re thinking, but, Caitlin, Jurassic Park didn’t turn out so well.  True, but there are some major differences between Pleistocene megafauna and Jurassic dinosaurs.  Yes, we have ZERO knowledge of either of their actual behavior, but, I have a sneaking suspicion Pleistocene megafauna husbandry wouldn't be too much different than that of Holocene megafauna (that’s right now).  There obviously will have to be species specific changes made (which we wouldn't find out about until after they're cloned) but zoos all over the world make alterations to their husbandry protocols and enclosures all the time when they receive a new species or have to make placement changes to their exhibits.  Plus, Michael Crichton (may he rest in peace) has already thought up of all the things that could go wrong:   don’t use frog DNA to fill gaps, make sure you have strong fencing, be prepared for natural disasters you know occur in the area, have thorough background checks of employees and so one and so forth....

But, even though the ten year old inside of me thinks this is the COOLEST idea ever, however amazing it would be to see a real, live mammoth, saber-toothed cat or Jefferson’s sloth, what’s the real purpose other than pure entertainment value?  There was a reason these species went extinct 10,000 years ago and, while humans may have been a factor and some people may feel “responsible”, we have to remember, it’s been 10,000 years.   The ecosystem has had a chance to adapt, change and evolve.  Adding those megafauna back into the mix could end up causing more problems than solving.  The list of objections and potential conflicts far outweighs the perceived benefits, and this is without adding de-extinction into the equation.  But, just because I don’t think a mammoth should be brought back to life, doesn’t mean this research is for not.  While I believe it is more important for us as intellectual beings to focus our efforts on pre-extinction than de-extinction, I CAN see the benefits of being able to bring back a species which has recently been wiped off the earth because of human thoughtlessness.  Would this research make it possible to see a western black rhino, which was declared extinct only a year and a half ago, on the plains of Africa again? It will be interesting to see where this research takes us in the next decade whether its to a Pleistocene Park or a new population of rhinos in Africa.

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National Geographic

or

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One Green Planet
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Taking a Bite Outta Crime

3/20/2013

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Photo from CITES
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) held their Conference of the Parties for the 16th time at the beginning of this month in Bangkok.  As an international agreement between governments, CITES ensures that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.  So, in simple terms, CITES is where global wildlife decisions are made.  The Conference of Parties only meets every two to three years.  Attended by both representatives from member states and observers this is the organization’s opportunity to discuss current problems and successes.  This year’s meeting, however, was extra special because it was also the first global meeting of wildlife enforcement networks, covering topics of regional enforcement capacity and cooperative response to threats posed by wildlife criminal networks.  Wildlife crime is transnational organized crime (TOC), just like human-trafficking, the drug cartel, or the mafia.  And, fighting this type of crime proves to be quite difficult, as it is with all TOCs, not only because of the level of organization within the network itself, but due to poor country to country enforcement communication and differences in laws and regulations guarding wildlife.  For example, the legal hunting season for wolves in Canada is April –September while, the much shorter hunting season in the United States, may not begin until October.  And, due to close hunting seasons and close proximity, an illegally hunted animal could be transported to another continent “legally” if regulations in one country or the other are not strictly followed.

The purpose of the meeting was to start the process of building more effective and comprehensive national, sub-regional and regional programs to manage wildlife crime by improving global communication and creating a network of wildlife enforcement groups.  This will not only aide in the cooperation of neighboring programs which may need to work together to combat a particular issue but will also allow groups to share successful strategies and practices which they can then apply to their efforts.  By creating a global network they will also be able to improve efforts to tackle the transnational aspects of wildlife crime.

The Secretary-General of the CITES Secretariat, John E. Scanlon, on behalf of the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) that hosted the event, said: “The first global meeting of wildlife enforcement networks is an important step in our collective response to combating serious wildlife and forest crime. Illegal wildlife and forest product trade is escalating, transnational and increasingly well-organized. Coordinated responses that connect and align efforts across borders and organizations provide the best opportunities to combat this serious crime, and protect the species and people at risk because of it.”


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Photo from The Verge
Conservation genetics is making an appearance in the fight against wildlife crime as well.  Using forensic techniques, biological samples can not only identify a species, but also what region it may have come from.  This month, CITES passed a measure which requires all 178 member countries to submit seized ivory for DNA testing.  This is all part of a renewed effort to crack down on the criminal networks behind elephant poaching, which has doubled since 2007 and more than tripled over the past 15 years.  Using specific genetic patterns which correlate to regions where African elephants exist, the technique, developed by Dr. Sam Wasser at UDUB (WOOF!), can pinpoint the seized ivory to within 165 miles of its place of origin, enabling them to locate the source of illicit trade.  Although the technique isn’t perfect, requiring large samples of at least 500 kilograms ivory, all involved are optimistic about these beginning efforts to bring poaching to an end.


Where did I get all this information?  Check it out:
  • CITES.org
  • The Verge
  • Global Post

And on a side not, if Hilary were to try running for President again, this would be a good reason to support her:
"Secretary Clinton’s ‘Call for Action’ on illegal wildlife trade"
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It's not "world famous" for nothing!

7/29/2012

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Friday, after 5 years of volunteering at the San Diego Zoo’s Panda Research Station, I handed in my keys for the last time.  Since 2007, between the Zoo, Park and Institute, I have given approximately 1350 hours of my time.  As a research, interpretive and information volunteer I have had a hand in programs that are making a difference in the world of conservation.  Whether I was entertaining visitors while teaching them about the Pleistocene epoch, getting to the zoo hours before any visitor to watch the pandas, trying to keep warm at 4am waiting for an elephant to give birth or walking baby flamingos for exercise, I have enjoyed every minute!   Being a volunteer has been such a rewarding experience, not only for those memorable moments, but because of the friendships I have gained with people I don’t just admire, but idolize.


The San Diego Zoological Society isn’t going to get rid of me that easy though.  Once I am settled in in Texas I will be signing in a few times a month to man the various animal cams available for your internet viewing pleasure.  (SDZ Videos) Hundreds of miles won’t keep me from this brilliant organization!

Huge News!

While I was saying my goodbyes on Friday, Megan, a conservation program specialist in the Applied Animal Ecology division, gave me the best news -- Bai Yun was officially pregnant!  I say “was” because at 2:10pm today Bai Yun gave birth to her 6th cub.  She was only 1 day away from being the oldest panda on record to ever give birth!  During my time working at pandas I was around for the birth of two cubs, Zhen Zhen and Yun Zi, and had the pleasure of witnessing the most successful panda mother in the Northern Hemisphere do what she does best.  We are so proud of our Bai and I am going to miss her so much.  She is such a wonderful mother and such a character.  I will definitely be coming back to get a peek at the newest bundle of joy when I am back in San Diego for Christmas.
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Absence of Elephants and Rhinoceroses Reduces Biodiversity in Tropical Forests

5/17/2012

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ScienceDaily
A recent study published in the 'Biotropica' journal has revealed that megaherbivores, such as elephants and rhinoceroses, are essential in maintaining the biodiversity of the tropical rainforests of South-East Asia, suggesting they be protected and even reintroduced into areas where have disappeared due to illegal human activity.  The megaherbivores’ ability to disperse seeds from the flora they consume far exceeds the abilities of smaller seed-dispersing herbivores, making them an important factor contributing to the structural integrity of the rainforest and the variety found within that type of environment.   The tight quarters due to the density of plant species within the rainforest make it difficult for the plants to disperse their seeds themselves so they rely on animals to aide in their dispersal.  But plants, such as the mango tree, whose seeds are very large cannot rely on smaller animals to distribute their seeds.  Elephants and rhinos are special in that they ingest the whole fruit, seeds and all, and digest them slowly and inefficiently.  So, when they poop (it always comes back to poop!), most of the seeds come out and they come out virtually unharmed.  This allows them to disperse the seeds across the forests, helping to solve the forest’s own density issue.  

The underlying message of the study is to stop illegal hunting.  The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says that the elephants of South-East Asia are in “danger of extinction” and the two rhinoceros species are “critically endangered”.  Elephant and rhino populations world-wide, not just in Asia, are drastically decreasing.  The Western Black Rhino of Africa was officially declared extinct on November 10, 2011 with the Northern White Rhino of central Africa “possibly extinct” in the wild and the Javan Rhino in Vietnam “probably extinct” (MSNBC).  It is heart wrenching that within the last year we have seen three species of Megafauna go extinct.  Every animal has a profound effect on the environment in which they live; otherwise, they wouldn’t have adapted to be there.  It’s a shame we have to “discover” why they are important to find it necessary to preserve them.
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    Caitlin Curry

    I am a biologist and my life is crap!

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