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

Posted on December 7, 2011

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

NEW SPECIES: A giant elephant shrew photographed by a camera trap may be a new species

Posted on September 23, 2010

Image via Livescience.com

A camera trap seems to have captured a new species of elephant shrew.

Elephant shrews aren’t related to true shrews of the family Soricidae, so to avoid confusion, they’re often referred to as sengis. More via LiveScience:

If it is a new species, that would make 18 species of sengi in the family Macroscelididae (13 species of soft-furred sengi and five species of the giant sengi). All are native to Africa. The animals are more closely related toelephants than shrews, despite being relatively small creatures – ranging from 4 to 12 inches (10 to 30 centimeters) in length and weighing from less than a tenth of a pound to 1.5 pounds (30 to 700 grams).

The peculiar name is a reflection of their long, flexible, trunk-like noses, which they use to search for insect meals. The newly captured animal is a type of giant sengi, which have patterned coats and other distinct features from the smaller sengis.

“With their ancient and often misunderstood ancestry, their monogamous mating strategies, and their charismatic flexible snouts, they are captivating animals,” study researcher Galen Rathbun from the California Academy of Sciences said in a statement.

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED Saharan cheetahs caught on camera trap

Posted on February 24, 2009

The northwest African cheetah, which is also known as the Saharan cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus hecki) is a critically endangered subspecies of cheetah. According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, “In northwest Africa, cheetahs are known with certainty to persist only in four countries: Algeria, Niger, Benin and Burkina Faso; [and] the total population is suspected to be fewer than 250 mature individuals, with a continuing decline, and no subpopulation larger than 50 mature individuals.”

Recently, scientists from the the Zoological Society of London have caught this very rare animal on camera in the Algerian Sahara by using camera traps—a non-invasive method for gathering data on animal populations.

Another critically endangered subspecies of cheetah is the Asiatic cheetah or Iranian cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus). From the Telegraph.co.uk:

There are thought to be less than 250 adult Northwest African or Saharan cheetahs, making the subspecies critically endangered, but very little is known about the cat.

The first camera-trap photographs of the cheetah, taken as part of a systematic survey of 1,750 square miles of the central Sahara, are providing scientists with information on population numbers, movement and how it interacts with its environment.

The cheetah is found across the Sahara desert and savannah of north and west Africa in small, fragmented populations, the biggest of which is thought to be in Algeria.

The survey identified four different Saharan cheetahs by examining the pattern of their spots, which are unique to each individual animal.

The research also provided photographic confirmation of the presence of sand cats in the region and, through the collection of a horn, confirmation that the scimitar-horned oryx – now extinct in the wild – had once lived in the area.

On the Net: Iran and West unite to save Asiatic cheetah

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CAMERA TRAPS capture images of the elusive okapi

Posted on September 13, 2008

The okapi (Okapia johnstoni), a rarely glimpsed relative of the giraffe was recently caught on camera trap in Virunga National Park of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The okapi, although a next of kin of the giraffe, prefers dense rainforest, and it has a more vulnerable range than the giraffe. Deforestation, poaching for bushmeat, and war threaten the okapi’s habitat.

Historically, the okapi has been somewhat of a mythical animal, and it was often referred to as the African unicorn. Today, little is known of the okapi due to its secretive behavior, and the lush habitat it prefers makes observation difficult. For conservation reasons, it is important to know as much as possible about an animal such as the okapi, because it may well be a critically endangered species. Images © ZSL. From the Zoological Society of London:

Thierry Lusenge, a key member of ZSL’s DRC survey team, added: ‘The photographs clearly show the stripes on their rear, which act like unique fingerprints. We have already identified three individuals, and further survey work will enable us to estimate population numbers and distribution in and around the Park, which is a critical first step in targeting conservation efforts.’

The exact status of this secretive species is unknown as access to the forests of DRC is limited by civil conflict and poor infrastructure, making survey work difficult. Okapi are only known to inhabit three protected areas, of which Virunga National Park is one.

However even Virunga’s newly-discovered and still largely unknown population is under threat from poaching. Okapi meat, reportedly from the Park, is now regularly on sale in the nearby town of Beni. The ZSL survey team has warned that if hunting continues at this rate, okapi could become extinct in the Park within a few years.

More camera trap images of the okapi can be found here. Donate to the okapi project here.

On the Net: WWF – Camera Traps