Tag Archives: Asia

REDISCOVERED SPECIES: Camera trap captures image of endangered Persian leopard in Afghanistan

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Image via the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Afghanistan Program

The Persian leopard (Panthera pardus ciscaucasica) was “long thought to have disappeared from” Afghanistan. However, a camera trap captured an image of one cat, which suggests that a breeding population may still occur in parts of the war-torn country. More via National Geographic:

The newly released photographs, taken in the fall, include this September shot of an adult leopard investigating the camera, “appearing to threaten it with canines exposed,” according to the Wildlife Conservation Society, which helped set up the camera traps. The images are “indisputable proof” that the big cat is hanging on in the region, the group said.

Via io9

INVASIVE SPECIES: The USDA is releasing parasitic wasps to fight the emerald ash borer

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Image via Wikipedia

The emerald ash borer was accidentally realsed into the United States from Asia. Since its release, the invasive beetle has been extremely destructive to native ash trees in the United States. Scientists travelled to China to study the emerald ash borer and to try and discover the emerald ash borer’s Achilles heel — or a parasite to be precise — by investigating the beetle’s life stages. They discovered various species of parasitic wasps that attack the emerald ash borer during the various stages of its life or during certains times of the year. As a result, in an attempt to slow down the beetle and to level the playing field, scientists are releasing these parasitic wasps to fight the emerald ash borer in the United States. An environmental assessment was conducted to determine whether the wasps would attack native species, and it was determined that the release of these insects would not significantly impact the natural environments of the United States.

Via e360 digest

REEL BIG FISH: Giant catfish in India turn to preying on humans (updated)

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These images illustrate some of the largest species of freshwater catfish in the world. The first image shows the Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas) of Asia. The second and third images are of the wels catfish (Silurus glanis), which is found in Europe. Both species of catfish grow exceptionally large. The Mekong giant catfish, in the first image, weighed 646 pounds. The first wels catfish tipped the scales at about 187 pounds, and the second giant weighed 226 pounds.

The Mekong giant catfish is critically endangered, but the wels catfish isn’t considered endangered or threatened. The wels catfish has been blamed for attacking animals as large as swans, and there are recorded attacks on humans as well. Furthermore, according to Animal Planet, “these fish have been caught in Russia with human remains in their stomachs, but most experts suspect the victims were already drowned before being swallowed.”

The goonch (Bagarius sp.), which is shown in the fourth image, is another species of large freshwater catfish. It has been blamed for capturing and consuming humans. Jeremy Wade, of “River Monsters,” is pictured with a 161-pound goonch catfish that he caught, and it “measured 5 feet, 7 inches from head to tail with a 41-inch girth and 44-inch ‘wingspan.’” More via Animal Planet:

The goonch catfish, much like its other catfish relatives, can grow to an enormous size and weight. But unlike others, this river monster makes its home in the Great Kali River running between India and Nepal, a stretch of water that is often used to dispose of funeral pyres after Hindu funeral rites. Theory contends that the goonch has long scavenged the half-burned human corpses from these funeral pyres. This diet may have helped the goonch — or at least a few members of the species — grow to unusually huge proportions. It may also have led the goonch to develop a taste for human flesh, which may now be fueling frightening attacks on live humans.

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The goonch stands accused of a number of human attacks, including the death of an 18-year-old Nepali in 2008, who was dragged down into the river by what witnesses described as an “elongated pig.” Two similar attacks were reported in 1988.

ENDANGERED SPECIES: Rare birds also victims of Cyclone Nargis

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IMAGE: Precious cargo: A spoon-billed sandpiper is examined during an Arctic wader expedition. The critically endangered sandpiper winters in Burma.

The Irrawaddy Delta is home to many species of birds, and some of them, such as the spoon-billed sandpiper, are endangered or critically endangered. Freshwater dolphins are also dependent on the Irrawaddy Delta. The Delta is considered a fragile ecosystem, and Cyclone Nargis left further negative impacts on the Delta.

To illustrate the Delta’s importance to endangered species, earlier this year, it was reported that eighty-four critically endangered spoon-billed sandpipers (Eurynorhynchus pygmeus) were discovered utilizing there Delta as a previously unknown wintering ground. More from The Irrawaddy News:

Soe Nyunt, chairman of the Myanmar (Burma) Bird and Nature Society, said the Brahminy duck and Sarus crane were already threatened with extinction in Burma.

Burma has more than 1,000 species of bird, many of which inhabit lowlands such as the Irrawaddy delta and the coast.

Forty three threatened species have been registered with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Five are listed as “Critically Endangered”—the white-shouldered ibis, white-rumped vulture, slender-billed vulture, pink-headed duck and Gurney’s pitta.

The Irrawaddy delta’s mangrove swamps, inundated by the cyclone, provide a natural habitat for birds, as well as for fish, crabs and prawns.

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Photo source for attribution. The author or licensor of this image does not endorse my work or me and their image is protected under an attribution license.

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED SPECIES: Asia’s giant softshell turtles are some of the world’s rarest animals; Madagascar’s tortoises are threatened with extinction (updated)

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IMAGE: Du Bin for The New York Times

Turtles and tortoises are swimming and crawling towards extinction. Habitat degradation, loss, and fragmentation, due to population growth and expansion, have had negative impacts on wildlife. Furthermore, since rarer species and higher demand can result in higher prices for certain species, the bushmeat and pet trades have adversely affected turtle and tortoise populations worldwide. 

Asia has a number of remarkable giant softshell turtles, which are poorly known and are very rare. For example, the Yangtze giant softshell turtle is represented in captivity by just one male and a single female. Additionally, a single specimen of giant soft shell turtle from Hoan Kiem Lake, which is located in the heart of the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, may be the last of its kind.

Furthermore, conservation efforts can turn political. The New York Times has information on how zoo politics may doom the Yangtze giant soft-shell turtle :

Extinction remains a far more immediate possibility for the Yangtze giant soft-shell. Next year, scientists will make a search in southwestern China in hopes of finding another Yangtze giant soft-shell in the wild.

In September, the Changsha and Suzhou zoos finally reached a deal. Neither wanted to move its turtle. But each agreed that scientists could attempt artificial insemination next spring. Each also signed a contract entitling a certain number of offspring for each zoo — potential stud turtles for future captive breeding programs.

Gerald Kuchling, a herpetologist overseeing the procedure, said success was far from guaranteed. Several years ago, a tortoise in Hawaii died after a similar procedure. In May, Dr. Kuchling conducted an ultrasound examination of the ovaries of the female turtle in Changsha. For years, she has laid unfertilized eggs in springtime, though zookeepers say the number has steadily diminished, to about 20.

Image via the AFP

UPDATE 1 (4 April 11): The critically endangered Hoan Kiem turtle was recently captured, and it was examined after witnesses reported seeing lesions on the giant turtle. According to Wikipedia, “there are only four known to survive in Vietnam and China: one each at Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi and Dong Anh, Hanoi, Vietnam, an 80-year-old female in Changsha Zoo and a 100-year-old male in Suzhou Zoo.” More via the The Denver Post:

Veterinarians examined a rare giant turtle considered sacred by many Vietnamese at a makeshift hospital in Hanoi on Monday to check mysterious lesions afflicting one of the last four known members of its species.

The giant soft-shell turtle, which has a shell the size of a desk and is estimated to weigh about 440 pounds (200 kilograms), was pulled from a lake in the heart of the capital on Sunday.

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It is the first time anyone has captured the creature, which escaped through two nets during a similar rescue attempt last month.

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Concerns had mounted after the turtle was recently spotted with lesions on its head and shell, prompting the government to form committees and employ hundreds of workers to frantically clean debris and pollution from the lake.

The species, Rafetus swinhoei, is one of the world’s most endangered freshwater turtles. There is one other male turtle of the same species in another lake in Vietnam and a male and female at a zoo in China, where a breeding program has so far proved unsuccessful. The gender of the Hoan Kiem turtle remains a mystery, since it would require turning the animal upside down to be able to fully examine the tail, McCormack said.

While the Hoan Kiem turtle will likely be off limits to any kind of breeding program because of its cultural status, he said he’s hopeful an exchange can be set up between China and Vietnam to include the other male turtle.
But its value to the nation has more to do with the centuries-old myth than with its rarity.

Continue reading about the capture of the Hoan Kiem turtle at The Denver Post.

IMAGES of Pyxis arachnoides by Buck Denton. © all rights reserved

Madagascar’s tortoises face extinction from the illegal pet trade. In addition, they are consumed as bushmeat. Both activities place pressure on populations that are already stressed by habitat loss. More via ScienceDaily:

Madagascar’s turtles and tortoises, which rank among the most endangered reptiles on earth, will continue to crawl steadily toward extinction unless major conservation measure are enacted, according to a recent assessment by the Wildlife Conservation Society and other groups.

The groups, which met for four days in Madagascar’s capital city Antananarivo, said there is still hope to save these ancient animals, but time is running out as their habitat continues to shrink and illegal hunting worsens. Five of the nine assessed species have been downgraded to critically endangered, with one variety — the ploughshare tortoise — now numbering only a few hundred individuals. The other critically endangered species include the radiated tortoise, flat-tailed tortoise, spider tortoise and Madagascar big-headed turtle, all of which are found nowhere else on earth.

The New York Times image was found here, and the Hoan Kiem Turtle image was found here.

References:

  1. Lone Vietnamese Turtle May Be Last Of Its Kind
  2. Rare Soft-Shell Turtle, Nesting Ground Found In Cambodia
  3. Asian Turtle Conservation Network – ATCN Homepage
  4. Asian Turtle Conservation Program