Wildlife Conservation Society - Articles - Zimbio

Newly Discovered Monkey Is Threatened With Extinction

Sun, 4 Aug 2008 05:59:56 GMT

posted by Wildlily44

The newly discovered Kipunji has recently been reclassified as a new genus, making this the first new monkey genus discovered in over 83 years. Found only in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania, the Kipunji is extremely rare, with only 500 individuals estimated in the wild. (Credit: Copyright Tim Davenport/WCS

ScienceDaily (Aug. 2, 2008) — Just three years after it was discovered, a new species of monkey is threatened with extinction according to the Wildlife Conservation Society, which recently published the first-ever census of the endangered primate. Known as the "kipunji," the large, forest-dwelling primate hovers at 1,117 individuals, according to a study released in the July issue of the journal Oryx.

The population estimate was the result of more than 2,800 hours of field work by WCS scientists in the Southern Highlands and Udzungwa Mountains in Tanzania where the kipunji was discovered. The team found that the monkey's range is restricted to just 6.82 square miles (17.69 square kilometers) of forest in two isolated regions.

The authors also discovered that much of the monkey's remaining habitat is severely degraded by illegal logging and land conversion. In addition, the monkey itself is the target of poachers. Because of these combined threats, WCS proposes that the kipunji should be classified by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) as "critically endangered" – which means it is threatened with extinction in the wild if immediate conservation action is not taken.

"The kipunji is hanging on by the thinnest of threads," said Dr. Tim Davenport, Tanzania Country Director for the Wildlife Conservation Society. "We must do all we can to safeguard this extremely rare and little understood species while there is still time."

Along with the IUCN designation, WCS is investing in the protection and restoration of the kipunji's remaining habitat and local conservation education of local people to help safeguard remaining populations.

The kipunji first made headlines in 2005 when a team of scientists led by WCS announced its discovery. Then in 2006, the monkey made news again when DNA analysis revealed that the species represented an entire new genus of primate—the first since 1923.

Adapted from materials provided by Wildlife Conservation Society, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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Real life 'Planet of the Apes' discovered

Tue, 6 Aug 2008 09:17:34 GMT

posted by hogstuff
Conservationists have found what they describe as a real-life "Planet of the Apes' in the Republic of Congo.
More than 125,000 western lowland gorillas have been discovered living in a small area of the northern parts of the country ... only 50,000 were previously thought to exist worldwide.
Experts say the area 'Ntokou-Pikounda zone', should now be set up as a protected area.
The critically endangered species occur in seven Central African nations and the Wildlife Conservation Society say this find should act as a rallying cry to protect vulnerable and endangered species.
"We knew from our own observations that there were a lot of gorillas out there, but we had no idea there were so many," said Dr. Emma Stokes who worked on the project. "We hope that the results of this survey will allow us to work with the Congolese government to establish and protect the new Ntokou-Pikounda protected area."
"These figures show that northern Republic of Congo contains the mother lode of gorillas," added Dr. Steven E. Sanderson, President of the WCS.
"It also shows that conservation in the Republic of Congo is working.
"This discovery should be a rallying cry for the world that we can protect other vulnerable and endangered species, whether they be gorillas in Africa, tigers in India, or lemurs in Madagascar."
Picture Credit: Thomas Breuer/Wildlife Conservation Society-Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
LINKSWildlife Conservation Society

Gathering Tree Seeds - Seed Saving Tip

Fri, 23 Dec 2006 01:10:48 GMT

posted by greatgardening

Gathering Tree Seeds

One of my favorite things to do at this time of year is gathering tree seeds. I love to find seeds from native trees that we don't have growing on our property and add them to "our collection". The easiest way to go about gathering tree seeds is to study up on the specific tree you are wanting to collect seeds from. Find out their good and bad points. And most importantly, for the sake of this post, find out when the seeds are mature for harvesting and what the seeds need to get them growing and established. Most tree seeds simply require you to remove the seeds from a pod or shell of some sort. But there are a few tree seeds that will need to go through different treatments so that the seeds will germinate. Be forewarned, saving seeds from some trees can be a little messy, especially if you let the seeds go past the ripe stage. For example, if you want to save seeds from the black walnut tree, just put them out in the driveway and drive over them for a few months. You won't harm the seed inside and it won't be such a messy job as opposed to trying to remove the shell covering by hand. After the shell covering has decomposed, you can plant the black walnut, shell and all, into a pot or directly where you plan to grow the tree. Just remember to mark where you planted the tree seed so you don't forget what you planted and so you won't accidentally run over it. Some tree seeds may not germinate for two years or more, so patience can indeed be a virtue in gathering tree seeds.

gathering tree seeds - saving tree seeds - seed saving tip

Gardening Tips

Svalbard Global Seed Vault

Wed, 28 Dec 2006 16:16:53 GMT

posted by greatgardening

Svalbard Global Seed Vault

Our distant offspring may have to fight polar bears to get to an Arctic seed storage, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, that is being built on the Svalbard Archipelago, 300 miles north of Norway. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is being built to house seeds from around the world in case of global disaster; such as nuclear war, plant epidemics, or even another Ice Age. The Global Crop Diversity Trust is assisting developing countries in the preparation, packaging and transportation of their nation's seeds. The construction of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault is slated to be completed in September 2007. At a cost of $4.8 million for the infrastructure, this is certainly going to be one impressive seed storage container.

Svalbard - storing seeds - saving seeds - seeds

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Gardening Tips

Who ate the last echidna?

Sun, 16 Jul 2007 22:12:00 GMT

posted by timredpath
A wonderfully ironic piece in the paper this morning (I read it in the Ottawa Citizen but it originated in the London Times) says the long-beaked echidna is close to extinction.

It was last seen in 1961 and conservationists who were out searching for it were told by a tribesman that he knew it was still around because he'd just eaten one. "It was delicious" he said. It must have given the researchers a sickly-sweet feeling, not unlike the one the tribesman probably got.
Tim

The photo was taken from wikipedia.feed