Rabies threatens rare Ethiopian wolf

The rare Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis), also known as the Abyssinian wolf or Simien jackal, inhabits the Bale mountains of southern Ethiopia, about 10,000 feet above sea level. In 1990, a rabies epidemic reduced the largest population of these animals from 440 individuals to only 160 in under two weeks. Shepherds in the region have brought dogs to round up their sheep. During the breeding season, the more feral dogs come into contact with the wolves and the incidences of rabies go up. Scientists working in the region are now vaccinating the wolves as well as the dogs at a frenetic pace. Any further casualties could deal a death blow to the species. BBC has more

Shake it up, brotha, shake it up

As humans, we have bestowed upon ourselves the power to engineer great catastrophe - fire and flood, of course. But would you have thought earthquakes? Yo, man, we have the power to shake it up. Among the top 5 ways to cause a man-made earthquake, as Wired blogged in June, are dams, tall buildings and coal mines. And if that's not news enough and if you will excuse the pun, it seems the continent of Africa is splitting at the seams. Obviously not with laughter (as you would be at a joke like this). In fact, Momma Earth is constructing a new ocean for herself along the East African Rift - all the way from the tip of the Red Sea down to Mozambique. Of course, the fact that it will take ten million years to get the job done makes the whole thing less frightening. What's more worrying is if we will give this planet the next ten years (drat, my home loan tenure runs way beyond that).

Raptor massacre in Malta

Disturbing news from the Guardian website on the killing of raptors in Malta and local hunters' rage towards British conservationists. This is hatred of the Crown gone way too far. The excerpt says it all:

Thirty British volunteers and a delegation of five staff from the RSPB have spent the last two weeks documenting the shooting of birds of prey such as osprey, honey buzzards, and marsh harriers as they fly over over the Mediterranean island on annual migratory routes. The volunteers estimate scores of rare birds protected by EU laws have been killed this year and claim the shootings have reached a new high... Malta and the neighbouring island of Gozo are a key stopover point for hundreds of thousands of migratory birds as they make the journey from Europe to spend winter in Africa.

More here

Wildlife Direct - list of wildlife conservation blogs on Africa

Wildlife Direct links to a large number of excellent wildlife blogs from around Africa. The list also covers a blog about Orangutans in Malaysia, Snub-nosed Monkeys in Vietnam, Amazon Parrots and a blog on the wildlife of the Seychelles. An excellent resource.

More here

Technorati Tags: Wildlife Direct, conservation, blogs

Ok, ok, Okapi

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, stop whatever you are doing and bring your eyes here to ogle at the tallest legs in zebra stockings on the unglamorous ungulate that Cousin Giraffe nicknamed Shorty. Only relatively, of course. Enough bad puns. After long years, a wild Okapi has been recorded thanks to camera traps set by the Zoological Society of London in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The BBC reports...

Diclofenac moves to Africa

Just when you thought the spectre of vulture deaths had taken a breather, here's more shocking news. It's not gone away, just shifted base. A bit of background: Diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used in the veterinary treatment of livestock, has been found to cause gout and renal failure in vultures that ingest it while feeding on the corpses and remains of livestock. In Asia, particularly India, Diclofenac was responsible for decimating vultures of the Gyps genus. Among the affected species include the White-backed, Slender-billed and Griffon vultures. BirdLife reports: "In India, where Diclofenac was in widespread veterinary use, three Gyps species, formerly of Least Concern, have been pushed to Critically Endangered status, losing over 99 percent of their populations in just over a decade." In 2006, governments in India, Nepal and Pakistan banned the manufacture and sale of Diclofenac. However, BirdLife has observed that the veterinary drug is on sale in Africa. This puts other vulture species on the extinction radar: Cape vulture (Gyps coprotheres), Rueppell's Griffon Vulture (Gyps rueppellii), White-backed Vulture (Gyps africanus) and Griffon vulture Gyps fulvus. Further, BirdLife adds that the threat extends to other vulture species and birds of prey, including owls and raptors, as well as cranes and storks. "Gyps vultures are very wide ranging, and exposure to Diclofenac in a single carcass in any one of their range states could prove fatal to whole populations, threatening the more common species as well as the already rare ones," BirdLife said. More