Regular readers of our blog will be aware that EDGE has supported Osé Pauléus in Haiti on a project to help conserve the solenodon.
The recent devastation and aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti has weighed heavy on our minds, but thankfully Osé is currently studying in Puerto Rico and was therefore not in the earthquake zone. We spoke to Osé recently to find out his views on this tragedy and what we can do to help:
Osé Pauléus: Haiti, Land of Mountains, has been devastated by a terrible earthquake of magnitude 7.0 on the Richter scale that caused more than 170,000 deaths. This happened at a very crucial moment where the country had not yet recovered of the recent cyclones and Hurricanes that hit the island, including Tropical Storm Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike, all in the summer of 2008 causing about 800 deaths. A generous amount of emotion and emergency response was provided to meet that insuppressible need. What a great act of unity!!
However, what about the caring for long-term needs? Usually 2-3 months after those events, the international community just forgets about Haiti like nothing happened. For those of you who have been involved in helping this country to go forward, Haitians are thankful to you; but want to let you know that the bigger challenge is coming. It is a heavy and multi-layered problem that follows natural disasters; and it requires collaborative efforts of every kind to help surmount the challenge of recovering from such a disaster. Despite all the differences we have in this world, human is human. Thank you to those of you who want to make a difference.
Personally, when I look at that act of unity toward Haiti, I asked myself these questions: what if the world was really united always as one? What if we did not create all those differences in our world? What would happen if we simply used that love for one another that is inside every one of us? It means a lot to me as Haitian and to all Haitians to see all those nations helping us in our most difficult times. The needs are greater now; as the emergency response is to end, we, as nation, will feel comforted to see that you continue to help us in these terrible circumstances. A good deed is never lost because the children of your children will benefit from your blessings. It is more than a blessing to have you helping us to stand in this situation. Know that your donation will have an effect on many families; it will help thousands of people to survive. Blessings to you all! Osé.
There are many charities you can support to help Haiti recover from this terrible earthquake, but one recommendation would be the Disasters Emergency Committee Haiti Earthquake Appeal (http://www.dec.org.uk/) or you could give directly to the British Red Cross Haiti Earthquake Appeal (http://www.redcross.org.uk/donatesection.asp?id=102260).
Thank you very much.
Listed as Critically Endangered, the vaquita porpoise (Phocoena sinus) is the rarest and smallest cetacean species. It has the smallest range of any marine mammal and is on the EDGE conservation priority list (ZSL 2009). One of the only six extant porpoise species (Phocoenidae), the vaquita is entirely restricted to the extreme northern part of the Gulf of California in Mexico. The principal threat to the vaquita’s continued survival has been well documented as by-catch in gillnet fisheries.
Following the extinction (declared in 2007) of the Yangtze River Dolphin or baiji, Lipotes vexillifer, the vaquita is now recognised as the most threatened cetacean, and the most in need of urgent scientific data and conservation.
The vaquita population is now extremely small and is still in swift decline. The current population is estimated to be no higher than 100 individuals.
Building on the success of Tom Jefferson and team on the 2008 expedition, Expedition Vaquita 2010 is setting out to produce a photographic-identification archive of individual vaquitas. Once they can be individually recognised, we can learn a great deal more about the vaquita. This will include how often they produce calves, how often these calves survive, how they use their habitat, how exactly their population is changing, how many are left, how groups associate with each other and the health and nutritional status of the remaining individuals. With this information, we stand a far greater chance of ensuring the vaquita’s long term survival.
Once in Mexico, the team of scientists (from the Instituto Nacional de Ecologia and Cetos Research Foundation) and students (from Edinburgh and Manchester Universities) will set out to photographically catalogue all individual vaquitas they encounter and bring the vaquita’s immediate plight to the attention of the world.
Expedition Vaquita 2010 is in urgent need of funding, and surely it should be supported to give the porpoise in peril a chance.
For further information, email expeditionvaquita@gmail.com
Donations can be made online here
Cheques payable to Expedition Vaquita can be sent to: 7/7 Marchmont St, Edinburgh EH9 1EL, UK
The EDGE team is pleased to welcome its two newest Community members - Sarah Brook and Simon Mahood from WWF Vietnam.
         
Sarah and Simon are two months into a six month survey to determine the population status of the Javan rhino in Vietnam. Ranked 11th out of the 4,182 mammals currently assessed by EDGE, this unique and Critically Endangered species is a global priority for conservation attention.
Until recently I was under the illusion that while lesser known EDGE species, such as the Sagalla caecilian and Hispaniolan solenodon remain largely unnoticed by the rest of the world, an animal as large and charismatic as the Javan rhino, would feature prominently in the public consciousness.
A short survey of my non-zoologist friends soon revealed that I was wrong. While the plight of the two African rhinos is relatively well-known, fewer people seem to be aware that there are three distinct
species in Asia, let alone be able to name them! In the unlikely event that you, dear blog reader, are one of these people, then you can learn all about the Javan rhino and its relatives the greater one-horned rhino
and Sumatran rhino by following the links.
The Javan rhino is the rarest of the five living rhinoceros species, four of which occur within the EDGE Top 100 mammal list. It was once common throughout Indochina, but today comprises just two isolated populations: around 50 individuals in Ujung Kulon National Park in Java, Indonesia and an even smaller population - estimated to number between 2 and 10 rhinos - occupying part of Cat Tien National Park in southern Vietnam.
Sarah and Simon aim to comprehensively survey Cat Tien to determine the population status of Javan rhinos within the park. The dedicated duo contend daily with blood-sucking leeches, vicious stands of rattan (a
spiny jungle palm) and two slightly over enthusiastic sniffer dogs (Pepper and Chevy)Â in their ongoing quest to obtain a freezer full of Javan rhino poo. In five month’s time they hope to have gathered fecal samples from every rhino in the park. Subsequent DNA and hormone analysis will hopefully enable them to figure out the exact number of rhinos in the park, along with their sex ratio and reproductive status. This information will help to guide park management so that the rhinos can be monitored and protected effectively into the future.
You can follow Sarah and Simon’s adventures on their blog, “Rhinomania” which is updated regularly with news from the survey.
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It has been over a month since my last update so I thought it was time to bring you up to date with everything that has been happening.
The last few weeks have been very busy and productive ones. The most exciting news I have to share with you is that with the help of our two intrepid research assistants (Nicolas Corona and Dionis “Lleyo” Corona) we have managed to catch both of our species (solenodon and hutia) in the wild. I cannot fully describe the excitement and huge privileged I felt to be able to hold and observe these unique animals. They truly are amazing and, I hesitate to say it, incredibly cute.
Trapping with standard baited cage traps had proved relatively inefficient and ineffective in the past for both species. Our new approach relies on the skills that our research assistant team possess and consists of a two step process. First, we searched areas during the day to look for the signs of both species; these include “nose pokes” for solenodon and signs of feeding for hutia (nibbled leaves and gnawed bark) along with the distinctive dung of both species. Secondly, after nightfall, we returned to the areas with the freshest signs to catch the animals by hand. Watching Nicolas and Lleyo at work I realised that it may take me a while to gain the skills that they have but that learning process has now begun.
Having caught the species we took the opportunity to do some basic recordings of the sounds that they make. The solenodon recordings consists of a series of clicks and high pitched calls that sound a bit like dolphin sounds to my untrained ears. The recordings for both species have raised a lot of interest with scientists who work with acoustics. We used the recordings to begin to trial playback experiments, particularly for the arboreal hutia, to see if they respond to the sounds but this has had limited success so far but we have not given up on this option by any means.
We have also done camera trapping with a great deal of success. We have been placing camera traps at the entrance to burrows of hutia, which are relatively easy to identify, as well as along paths left by both species. Our efforts have given us good results with some great footage of the comings and goings of a hutia family in addition to this we have the first film footage, as far as I know, of a solenodon in the wild.
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Most of the work we have done so far has been done in a small number of forest patches running along steep valleys and gorges set in the middle of agricultural landscapes. First indications suggest that the hutia and solenodon appear to be holding on here but obviously we still need to assess how well they are doing and identify the particular threats they are facing in these areas.
Other project news includes the fact that the project now has its own truck to get us into all our sites including some of the most challenging ones. We have also entered the final phase of selecting a local counterpart project manager and will be conducting interviews over the next couple of weeks in order to select the best candidate. I look forward to introducing you to the successful candidate by the time the next update comes round.
In terms of raising awareness of the two species, we have been making progress at both the national and international level. We had a journalist from Der Spiegel (a very popular German news magazine) join us for a few days to report on the start of the project – you can see a video linked to the article at the Der Spiegel website. We have also launched two facebook groups called “The last survivors - Hispaniolan Land Mammal Project” and its Spanish language equivalent “Los últimos sobrevivientes – Salvando el solenodonte y la hutia”. If you join either of these groups you can look at a range of photos, listen to the sounds that both species make and see videos as well as getting more regular updates as to what is going on.
This month will see the launch of a competition in the Dominican Republic to design the logo that will be used to identify the project - we are hoping that as many people as possible from different age groups and backgrounds will participate and in doing so raise the profile of the project at the national scale.
The initial planning and preparatory phase of the project is gradually coming to an end, it has definitely been an eventful time so far but the next phase promises to be even more exciting. The amount of field work carried out will be increased in terms of both the amount of time spent in the forest and the extent of the work as we explore across a much wider area including three national parks and beyond. Something for all of us to look forward to in the new year.
If you would like to support the conservation of the Hispaniolan solenodon and hutia and the conservation of other unique species on the verge of extinction, please become an EDGE Champion, or donate here.
I, James Mwang’ombe, am Dorine’s local supervisor and the Head of the Taita Taveta Wildlife Forum.
The Sagalla Caecilian conservation project is one of the very important projects to TTWF as it targets to conserve a critically endangered organism while at the same time enhancing livelihood generation and survival for the local community through integrated resource management. Towards this end, several approaches are being employed through the application of various legal instruments that the Kenya Government has put in place.
Chief among these is the Forest Act 2005 that provides for community participation in forest management through a Community Forest Association (CFA) and a Participatory Forest Management Plan (PFMP). The formation of the CFA is well underway with a preparatory meeting having been held with village representative. This will be followed by a capacity building workshop where the elected representatives will elect interim officials and the preparation of Articles of Association will be undertaken. This will be followed by an application for registration at the Attorney General Chambers or Registrar of societies.
Following closely are the steps for PFMP preparation where data collection is on-going. This week, Dorine assisted by other staff of TTWF will be carrying GPS mapping of the forest boundary which will then be followed by a plant inventory which among other things will provide a checklist of the species list and forest data/measurements.
The other legal instrument we are applying is the Water Act 2002 that also provides for the participation of the local community in water resource management. We have initiated or supported the formation of Lower Voi river/Sagalla Water Resource Users Association (WRUA) that has applied for registration at the Registrar of Societies and also a Sub-Catchment Management Plan is in place. TTWF is in the process of assisting the newly formed WRUA to prepare a proposal soliciting for funds to build its capacity from the Water Services Trust fund.
On alternative livelihood generation, TTWF has introduced fishfarming as a way of sustainable utilization of the wet areas. By constructing fishponds, the farmers are able to generate livelihood without having to drain the water thus contributing towards creating a niche for the caecilian.
This is supported by directing rehabilitating the habitat through re-planting of indigenous trees. Currently, TTWF is promoting planting of two indigenous tree species (one being endemic) re-introducing them to the area, among others. These are Milletia oblata (endemic to Taita) and Prunus africana (a tree with a huge commercial potential through sale of its bark used for manufacture of prostate-cancer management drugs).
We believe this multi-pronged approach targeting various facets of conservation is the best way to achieve the overall conservation of the critically endangered Sagalla Caecilian i.e. policy and legislation to institute proper environmental management, reducing pressure on the natural resource by introducing alternative livelihood options and by involving the local people to manage their own resources.
There is a lot of work to be done and we are ambitious, however, we have challenges. These include inadequate finances and lack of equipment especially motorvehicle among others. We are extremely grateful to the Zoological Society of London for coming to our aid, and we appeal for others to also do so.