Wild About Yew

Vampire Bats

2006-10-22T16:53:00.000-07:00

Vampire bats are bats that feed on blood (hematophagy). There are only three bat species that feed on blood: The Common Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus), the Hairy-legged Vampire Bat (Diphylla ecaudata), and the White-winged Vampire Bat (Diaemus youngi). All three species are native to the Americas, ranging from Mexico to Brazil, Chile, and Argentina. Contrary to popular belief, these bats rarely bite people because they apparently dislike human blood.

The three species are quite different from each other, and are therefore placed within different genera (no other species are currently classified in any of the three genera concerned). But they are related. In older literature, the three genera are placed within a family, Desmodontidae, but this is now regarded as unhelpful, as it hides the similarities the vampire bats have with other members of the American leaf-nosed bat family, Phyllostomidae. They are therefore now grouped as a subfamily, the Desmodontinae within the Phyllostomidae. The fact that the three known species of vampire bat all seem more similar to one another than any of them is to any other species suggests that sanguivory (feeding on blood) only evolved once, and that all three species share a common ancestor.

Unlike fruit-eating bats, the vampire bats have a short, conical muzzle without a nose leaf. Instead they have naked pads with U-shaped grooves at the tip. The common vampire bat also has specialised infrared sensors on its nose .A nucleus has been found in the brain of vampire bats that has a similar position and has similar histology to the infrared nucleus of infrared sensitive snakes.

They have small ears and a short tail membrane. Their front teeth are specialised for cutting and their back teeth are much smaller than in other bats. Their digestive systems are also specialised for their liquid diet. The saliva of vampire bats contains a substance, draculin, which prevents the victim's blood from clotting. They, therefore, lap blood rather than suck it as most people imagine.

They come out to feed only when it is fully dark. Like fruit-eating bats, and unlike insectivorous and fish-eating bats, they only emit low-energy sound pulses. The Common Vampire Bat feeds mostly on the blood of mammals, whereas the Hairy-legged Vampire Bat, and the White-winged Vampire Bat feed on the blood of birds. Once the common vampire bat locates a host, usually a sleeping mammal, they land and approach it on the ground. A recent study found that common vampire bats can, in addition to walking, run at speeds of up to 1.2 meters per second. They possibly locate a suitable place to bite using their infrared sensors.

The feeding pattern of the vampire bat adds a layer of complexity to its anatomy. Because they often do not find host organisms for many hours and may have to fly a long distance to do so, vampire bats usually feed in enormous quantities. This influx of proteins may make the bat too heavy to fly. Accordingly, the bat's urinary system accommodates this by releasing dilute urine consisting of a lot of water and fewer solutes. However, when the bat is resting, a new problem is faced. The large amounts of protein create excess urea and must be disposed of. The urinary system of the vampire bat then uses various hormones to make concentrated urine -- consisting of more urea and less water.

Vampire bats tend to live in almost completely dark places, such as caves, old wells, hollow trees, and buildings. Colonies can range from a single individual to thousands. They often roost with other species of bat. They will almost always have only one offspring per breeding season. Each colony will typically contain only one reproducing male, with around twenty females and their offspring. They need blood at least once every few days to survive. If they can't get blood, they'll approach another vampire bat whilst roosting, asking for a blood 'transfusion'. The blood is exchanged mouth-to-mouth in a motion that looks very much like kissing. Vampire bats can live up to 9 years in the wild and up to 19 in captivity.

Vampire bats are common carriers of the deadly rabies virus which, aside from its danger to humans, is responsible for the deaths of many thousands of farm animals each year in tropical and sub-tropical America. However they do have some benefits, in a study which appeared in the January 10, 2003 issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, a genetically engineered drug called desmoteplase based on the saliva of Desmodus rotundus was shown to improve stroke patients.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Animal Trivia

2006-08-02T06:16:00.000-07:00

Trivia about Animals
Bear Photo Copyright of owner
(159 facts)

A 1,200-pound horse eats about seven times it's own weight each year.

A bird requires more food in proportion to its size than a baby or a cat.
A capon is a castrated rooster.

A chameleon can move its eyes in two directions at the same time.

A chameleon's tongue is twice the length of its body.

A chimpanzee can learn to recognize itself in a mirror, but monkeys can't.

A Cornish game hen is really a young chicken, usually 5 to 6 weeks of age, that weighs no more than 2 pounds.

A cow gives nearly 200,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime.

A father Emperor penguin withstands the Antarctic cold for 60 days or more to protect his eggs, which he keeps on his feet, covered with a feathered flap. During this entire time he doesn't eat a thing. Most father penguins lose about 25 pounds while they wait for their babies to hatch. Afterward, they feed the chicks a special liquid from their throats. When the mother penguins return to care for the young, the fathers go to sea to eat and rest.

A father sea catfish keeps the eggs of his young in his mouth until they are ready to hatch. He will not eat until his young are born, which may take several weeks.

A female mackerel lays about 500,000 eggs at one time.

A Holstein's spots are like a fingerprint or snowflake. No two cows have exactly the same pattern of spots.

A leech is a worm that feeds on blood. It will pierce its victim's skin, fill itself with three to four times its own body weight in blood, and will not feed again for months. Leeches were once used by doctors to drain "bad blood" from sick patients.

A newborn kangaroo is about 1 inch in length.

A normal cow's stomach has four compartments: the rumen, the recticulum (storage area), the omasum (where water is absorbed), and the abomasum ( the only compartment with digestive juices).

A polecat is not a cat. It is a nocturnal European weasel.

A quarter of the horses in the US died of a vast virus epidemic in 1872.

A rat can last longer without water than a camel can.

A single little brown bat can catch 1,200 mosquitoes-sized insects in just one hour.

A woodpecker can peck twenty times a second.

A zebra is white with black stripes.

After mating, the male Surinam Toad affixes the female's eggs to her back, where her spongy flesh will swell and envelope them. When the froglets hatch, they leave behind holes in their mother's flesh that they will remain sheltered in until large enough to fend for themselves.

All clams start out as males; some decide to become females at some point in their lives.

All pet hamsters are descended from a single female wild golden hamster found with a litter of 12 young in Syria in 1930.

An adult lion's roar can be heard up to five miles away, and warns off intruders or reunites scattered members of the pride.

An albatross can sleep while it flies. It apparently dozes while cruising at 25 mph.

An electric eel can produce a shock of up to 650 volts.

An iguana can stay under water for 28 minutes.

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

Ancient Egyptians believed that "Bast" was the mother of all cats on Earth. They also believed that cats were sacred animals.

Animal gestation periods: the shortest is the American opossum, which bears its young 12 to 13 days after conception; the longest is the Asiatic elephant, taking 608 days, or just over 20 months.

At the end of the Beatles' song "A Day in the Life", an ultrasonic whistle, audible only to dogs, was recorded by Paul McCartney for his Shetland sheepdog.

Beaver teeth are so sharp that Native Americans once used them as knife blades.

Bird eggs come in a wide variety of sizes. The largest egg from a living bird belongs to the ostrich. It is more than 2,000 times larger than the smallest bird egg, which is produced by the hummingbird. Ostrich eggs are about 7.1 inches long, 5.5 inches wide and typically weigh 2.7 pounds. Hummingbird eggs are half an inch long, a third of an inch wide and weigh half a gram, or less than a fifth of an ounce.

Brown eggs come from hens with red feathers and red ear lobes; white eggs come from hens with white feathers and white ear lobes. Shell color is determined by the breed of hen and has no effect on its quality, nutrients or flavor.

By feeding hens certain dyes they can be made to lay eggs with varicolored yolks.

Camel milk does not curdle.

Camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from blowing sand.

Carnivorous animals will not eat another animal that has been hit by a lightning strike.

Cat scratch disease, a benign but sometimes painful disease of short duration, is caused by a bacillus. Despite its name, the disease can be transmitted by many kinds of scratches besides those of cats.

Catfish have 100,000 taste buds.

Catnip can affect lions and tigers as well as house cats. It excites them because it contains a chemical that resembles an excretion of the dominant female's urine.

Certain frogs can be frozen solid then thawed and continue living.

Chameleons can move their eyes in two different directions at the same time.

Chameleons can reel in food from a distance as far away as more than two and a half times their body lengths.

Cheetahs make a chirping sound that is much like a bird's chirp or a dog's yelp. The sound is so an intense, it can be heard a mile away.

Cojo, the 1st gorilla born in captivity, was born at the Columbus Zoo, in Ohio, in 1956 and weighed 3 1/4 pounds.

Despite its reputation for being finicky, the average cat consumes about 127,750 calories a year, nearly 28 times its own weight in food and the same amount again in liquids. In case you were wondering, cats cannot survive on a vegetarian diet.

Developed in Egypt about 5,000 years ago, the greyhound breed was known before the ninth century in England, where it was bred by aristocrats to hunt such small game as hares.

Dolphins sleep at night just below the surface of the water. They frequently rise to the surface for air.

Domesticated turkeys (farm raised) cannot fly. Wild turkeys can fly for short distances at up to 55 miles per hour. Wild turkeys are also fast on the ground, running at speeds of up to 25 miles per hour.

Dragonflies are one of the fastest insects, flying 50 to 60 mph.

During World War II, the very first bomb dropped on Berlin by the Allies killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.

Elephant tusks grow throughout an elephant's life and can weigh more than 200 pounds. Among Asian elephants, only the males have tusks. Both sexes of African elephants have tusks.

Elephants can communicate using sounds that are below the human hearing range: between 14 and 35 hertz.

Every year, $1.5 billion is spent on pet food. This is four times the amount spent on baby food.

Felix the Cat is the first cartoon character to ever have been made into a balloon for a parade.

Female chickens, or hens, need about 24 to 26 hours to produce one egg. Thirty minutes later they start the process all over again. In addition to the half-hour rests, some hens rest every three to five days and others rest every 10 days.

George Washington's favorite horse was named Lexington. Napoleon's favorite was Marengo. U.S. Grant had three favorite horses: Egypt, Cincinnati, and Jeff Davis.

German Shepherds bite humans more than any other breed of dog.

Goldfish lose their color if they are kept in dim light or are placed in a body of running water, such as a stream.

Hippos have killed more than 400 people in Africa - more than any other wild animal.

Howler monkeys are the noisiest land animals. Their calls can be heard over 2 miles away.

Human tapeworms can grow up to 22.9m.

Hummingbirds are the smallest birds - so tiny that one of their enemies is an insect, the praying mantis.

In its entire lifetime, the average worker bee produces 1/12th teaspoon of honey.

Infant beavers are called kittens.

It takes 35 to 65 minks to produce the average mink coat. The numbers for other types of fur coats are: beaver - 15; fox - 15 to 25; ermine - 150; chinchilla - 60 to 100.

It takes a lobster approximately seven years to grow to be one pound.

It takes forty minutes to hard boil an ostrich egg.

Korea's poshintang - dog meat soup - is a popular item on summertime menus, despite outcry from other nations. The soup is believed to cure summer heat ailments, improve male virility, and improve women's complexions.

Large kangaroos cover more than 30 feet with each jump.

Lassie was played by several male dogs, despite the female name, because male collies were thought to look better on camera. The main "actor" was named Pal.

Lassie, the TV collie, first appeared in a 1930s short novel titled Lassie Come-Home written by Eric Mowbray Knight. The dog in the novel was based on Knight's real life collie, Toots.

Lions are the only truly social cat species, and usually every female in a pride, ranging from 5 to 30 individuals, is closely related.

Lovebirds are small parakeets who live in pairs. Male and female lovebirds look alike, but most other male birds have brighter colors than the females.

Macaroni, Gentoo, Chinstrap and Emperor are types of penguins.

Mockingbirds can imitate any sound from a squeaking door to a cat meowing.

Molerats are the only eusocial vertebrates known to man. This means that these mammals live in colonies similar to those of ants and termites, with a single fertile queen giving birth to nonreproductive workers and soldiers. Molerats are also famous for their incredibly powerful jaws, the muscles of which constitute 25% of their body mass. Baby molerats are raised on a diet of their older sibling's fecal pellets, emitting a special cry when hungry to summon a worker.

Moles are able to tunnel through 300 feet of earth in a day.

Of all known forms of animals life ever to inhabit the Earth, only about 10 percent still exist today.

On average, pigs live for about 15 years.

Owls have eyeballs that are tubular in shape, because of this, they cannot move their eyes.

Parrots, most famous of all talking birds, rarely acquire a vocabulary of more than twenty words, however Tymhoney Greys and African Greys have been know to carry vocabularies in excess of 100 words.

Pet parrots can eat virtually any common "people-food" except for chocolate and avocados. Both of these are highly toxic to the parrot and can be fatal.

Pigs, walruses and light-colored horses can be sunburned.

Prairie dogs are not dogs. A prairie dog is a kind of rodent.

Rats are omnivorous, eating nearly any type of food, including dead and dying members of their own species.

Rats can't throw-up.

Sharks apparently are the only animals that never get sick. As far as is known, they are immune to every known disease including cancer.

Snails produce a colorless, sticky discharge that forms a protective carpet under them as they travel along. The discharge is so effective that they can crawl along the edge of a razor without cutting themselves.

Snakes are immune to their own poison.

Some baby giraffes are more than six feet tall at birth.

Swans are the only birds with penises.

Tapeworms range in size from about 0.04 inch to more than 50 feet in length.

The "caduceus" the classical medical symbol of two serpents wrapped around a staff - comes from an ancient Greek legend in which snakes revealed the practice of medicine to human beings.

The 1st buffalo ever born in captivity was born at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo in 1884.

The American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was formed in 1866.

The anaconda, one of the world's largest snakes, gives birth to its young instead of laying eggs.

The average adult male ostrich, the world's largest living bird, weighs up to 345 pounds.

The biggest members of the cat family are Siberian and Bengal tigers, which can reach over 600 pounds.

The blood of mammals is red, the blood of insects is yellow, and the blood of lobsters is blue.

The bloodhound is the only animal whose evidence is admissible in an American court.

The blue whale is the loudest animal on Earth. The call of the blue whale reaches levels up to 188 decibels. This extraordinarily loud whistle can be heard for hundreds of miles underwater. The second-loudest animal on Earth is the Howler Monkey.

The bones of a pigeon weigh less than its feathers.

The calories burned daily by the sled dogs running in Alaska's annual Iditarod race average 10,000. The 1,149-mile race commemorates the 1925 "Race for Life" when 20 volunteer mushers relayed medicine from Anchorage to Nome to battle a children's diphtheria epidemic.

The Canary Islands were not named for a bird called a canary. They were named after a breed of large dogs. The Latin name was Canariae insulae - "Island of Dogs."

The cat lover is an ailurophile, while a cat hater is an ailurophobe.

The catgut formerly used as strings in tennis rackets and musical instruments does not come from cats. Catgut actually comes from sheep, hogs, and horses.

The chameleon has several cell layers beneath its transparent skin. These layers are the source of the chameleon's color change. Some of the layers contain pigments, while others just reflect light to create new colors. Several factors contribute to the color change. A popular misconception is that chameleons change color to match their environment. This isn't true. Light, temperature, and emotional state commonly bring about a chameleon's change in color. The chameleon will most often change between green, brown and gray, which coincidently, often matches the background colors of their habitat.

The cheetah is the only cat in the world that can't retract its claws.

The Chinese, during the reign of Kublai Khan, used lions on hunting expeditions. They trained the big cats to pursue and drag down massive animals - from wild bulls to bears - and to stay with the kill until the hunter arrived.

The elephant, as a symbol of the US Republican Party, was originated by cartoonist Thomas Nast and first presented in 1874.

The English Romantic poet Lord Byron was so devastated upon the death of his beloved Newfoundland, whose name was Boatswain, that he had inscribed upon the dog's gravestone the following: "Beauty without vanity, strength without insolence, courage without ferocity, and all the virtues of man without his vices."

The expression "three dog night" originated with the Eskimos and means a very cold night - so cold that you have to bed down with three dogs to keep warm.

The fastest bird is the Spine-tailed swift, clocked at speeds of up to 220 miles per hour.

The fastest -moving land snail, the common garden snail, has a speed of 0.0313 mph.

The first house rats recorded in America appeared in Boston in 1775.

The giant squid is the largest creature without a backbone. It weighs up to 2.5 tons and grows up to 55 feet long. Each eye is a foot or more in diameter.

The harmless Whale Shark, holds the title of largest fish, with the record being a 59 footer captured in Thailand in 1919.

The hummingbird is the only bird that can hover and fly straight up, down, or backward!

The hummingbird, the loon, the swift, the kingfisher, and the grebe are all birds that cannot walk.

The Kiwi, national bird of New Zealand, can't fly. It lives in a hole in the ground, is almost blind, and lays only one egg each year. Despite this, it has survived for more than 70 million years.

The largest animal ever seen alive was a 113.5 foot, 170-ton female blue whale.

The largest bird egg in the world today is that of the ostrich. Ostrich eggs are from 6 to 8 inches long. Because of their size and the thickness of their shells, they take 40 minutes to hard-boil.

The largest Great White Shark ever caught measured 37 feet and weighed 24,000 pounds. It was found in a herring weir in New Brunswick in 1930.

The largest pig on record was a Poland-China hog named Big Bill, who weighed 2,552 lbs.

The last member of the famous Bonaparte family, Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte, died in 1945, of injuries sustained from tripping over his dog's leash.

The male penguin incubates the single egg laid by his mate. During the two month period he does not eat, and will lose up to 40% of his body weight.

The most frequently seen birds at feeders across North America last winter were the Dark-eyed Junco, House Finch and American goldfinch, along with downy woodpeckers, blue jays, mourning doves, black-capped chickadees, house sparrows, northern cardinals and european starlings.

The mouse is the most common mammal in the US.

The name of the dog from "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" is Max.

The name of the dog on the Cracker Jack box is Bingo.

The only dog to ever appear in a Shakespearean play was Crab in The Two Gentlemen of Verona

The only domestic animal not mentioned in the Bible is the cat.

The Pacific Giant Octopus, the largest octopus in the world, grows from the size of pea to a 150 pound behemoth potentially 30 feet across in only two years, its entire life-span.

The penalty for killing a cat, 4,000 years ago in Egypt, was death.

The phrase "raining cats and dogs" originated in 17th Century England. During heavy downpours of rain, many of these poor animals unfortunately drowned and their bodies would be seen floating in the rain torrents that raced through the streets. The situation gave the appearance that it had literally rained "cats and dogs" and led to the current expression.

The pigmy shrew - a relative of the mole - is the smallest mammal in North America. It weighs 1/14 ounce - less than a dime.

The poison-arrow frog has enough poison to kill about 2,200 people.

The poisonous copperhead snake smells like fresh cut cucumbers.

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History houses the world's largest shell collection, some 15 million specimens. A smaller museum in Sanibel, Florida owns a mere 2 million shells and claims to be the worlds only museum devoted solely to mollusks.

The term "dog days" has nothing to do with dogs. It dates back to Roman times, when it was believed that Sirius, the Dog Star, added its heat to that of the sun from July3 to August 11, creating exceptionally high temperatures. The Romans called the period dies caniculares, or "days of the dog."

The turbot fish lays approximately 14 million eggs during its lifetime.

The turkey was named for what was wrongly thought to be its country of origin.

The underside of a horse's hoof is called a frog. The frog peels off several times a year with new growth.

The viscera of Japanese abalone can harbor a poisonous substance which causes a burning, stinging, prickling and itching over the entire body. It does not manifest itself until exposure to sunlight - if eaten outdoors in sunlight, symptoms occur quickly and suddenly.

The world record frog jump is 33 feet 5.5 inches over the course of 3 consecutive leaps, achieved in May 1977 by a South African sharp-nosed frog called Santjie.

The world's largest mammal, the blue whale, weighs 50 tons at birth. Fully grown, it weighs as much as 150 tons.

The world's largest rodent is the Capybara. An Amazon water hog that looks like a guinea pig, it can weigh more than 100 pounds.

The world's smallest mammal is the bumblebee bat of Thailand, weighing less than a penny.

There are around 2,600 different species of frogs. They live on every continent except Antarctica.

There are more than 100 million dogs and cats in the United States. Americans spend more than 5.4 billion dollars on their pets each year.

There is no single cat called the panther. The name is commonly applied to the leopard, but it is also used to refer to the puma and the jaguar. A black panther is really a black leopard.

Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.

Turkeys originated in North and Central America, and evidence indicates that they have been around for over 10 million years.

Unlike most fish, electric eels cannot get enough oxygen from water. Approximately every five minutes, they must surface to breathe, or they will drown. Unlike most fish, they can swim both backwards and forwards.

When a female horse and male donkey mate, the offspring is called a mule, but when a male horse and female donkey mate, the offspring is called a hinny.

When the Black Death swept across England one theory was that cats caused the plague. Thousands were slaughtered. Ironically, those that kept their cats were less affected, because they kept their houses clear of the real culprits, rats.
More Trivia From corsinet.com

Unknown and Rare!

2006-05-30T14:54:00.000-07:00

Birdlife International
Ivory-billed Woodpecker found in Arkansas~Click for Full Story

Two rare pine species found in northern mountainous province
10:27' 06/10/2005 (GMT+7)
Article Copyright of VietNamNet Bridge

Two rare pine species with scientific names of Tsuga chinensis (Franch.) Pritz. ex Diels and Pseudotsuga sinensis Dode have been found in Thai Phin Tung commune in Dong Van district of northern mountainous Ha Giang province.

These pine species, which have been listed as the most endangered plants in Vietnam and the world’s Red Books, were discovered by Vietnamese and foreign biologists on mountains 1,300-1,700m above sea level.

They said Thai Phin Tung commune is home to eight rare plant species, including seven pine species - equal to 21 percent of the country’s total.

According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), Vietnam is one of the 10 “hottest” places in the world in preserving these pine species.

Rare species found in Himalayan Mountains
by: 2006-04-09 10:15:33
Full Story China Daily
Copyright© China Tibet Information Center

Scientists from Conservation International (CI), a US-based non-governmental conservation organization, and Disney found a vast array of exotic wildlife including plant and animal species previously unknown to science during a two-month expedition to little-known regions in the shadow of Mount Qomolangma.

The discoveries and observations, announced on Friday at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, included: a giant hornet so deadly, the locals call it the "Yak Killer," a beetle that buries birds and small rodents in subterranean crypts to feed its offspring, an endangered jumping mouse, and several new species of amphibians and insects.

The scientific journey into the mountains of Southwest China and Nepal also researched cultural beliefs related to the legend of the Yeti, a creature whose traditional role as "protector of the sacred" has been integral to conservation in the region.

Even though they faced rugged terrain and frigid temperatures not normally associated with new discoveries, the team of international and local scientists documented a significant number of new, rare and endangered species.

"The scientific journey during which we found so many new species in such a harsh environment, as well as documented several rare and endangered species, is good news for the two countries," said Dr Leeanne Alonso, the lead scientist of the expedition and vice-president of CI's Rapid Assessment Programme (RAP). "Local efforts by Tibetan communities through their 'Sacred Lands' are helping prevent these plants and animals from going extinct and demonstrate that cultural values can play an important role in conservation."

Highlights of the new species discovered by the team of biologists, botanists and other technical experts include:

A wingless grasshopper (Kingdonella) that can withstand extremely low temperatures and communicates by "gnashing" its teeth. The male in this group rides on the back of the female for quite a long time, often days, to prevent other males from mating with her.

The confirmation of a new beetle species (Nicrophorus investigator) that specializes in burying small bird and rodent carcasses into a subterranean crypt to feed their offspring.

A new sub-species of a small mammal known as the Qinghai vole (Microtus fuscus), which was also a new record for Sichuan Province.

Up to three new species of frogs, eight new species of insects, and 10 new species of ants.

Several potentially new species of plants.

Among the highlights of the rare and endangered species the team came across were the endangered Sichuan jumping mouse (Eozapus setchuanus); a katydid (Tettigonia chinensis) which has been seen only once since it was described in 1933; and two ancient plant species, including one that is an important source for cancer drugs (Taxus wallichiana). Adding an additional element of danger, the team was also forced to dodge the Giant Asian Hornet (Vespa mandarinia), which local villages have named the 'Yak Killer' for its deadly sting.

A select team from the mission also had the thrill of observing the world's only fully habituated troop of golden monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana), which is the region's largest living primate and China's No 2 flagship species after the giant panda.

The full results from the expedition will be shared with numerous entities, such as the Chinese Government, environmental organizations and scientists to develop conservation strategies to protect the unique species of the region.

During the two-month expedition, the team explored six different sites in the Mountains of Southwest China and Himalaya Biodiversity Hotspots.

The two biodiversity hotspots are among 34 regions worldwide where 75 per cent of the planet's most-threatened mammals, birds, and amphibians survive within habitat covering just 2.3 per cent of the Earth's surface. Fully 50 per cent of the Earth's vascular plants and 42 per cent of terrestrial vertebrates exist only in these 34 hotspots. Hotspots face extreme threats and have already lost at least 70 per cent of their original vegetation.

"Being part of the Mission Himalayas team has given us all a renewed sense of hope for conservation efforts in this region of the world," said expedition scientific team member Dr Anne Savage, senior conservation biologist at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

"Having seen how the 'Sacred Lands' project has integrated cultural needs and conservation priorities, resulting in the discovery of new species, and how golden monkeys which were severely threatened by poaching and habitat destruction are now thriving, it is clear that local communities, conservation organizations, and governmental agencies can work together to effect change and ensure the survival of species and habitat.

"The yeti isn't the only one who can protect the forest we all can!" said Savage.

The mountains of Southwest China and Nepal are facing great challenges from rapid social and economic development. In the former, road construction, which is causing habitat loss, is also bringing more tourists to the area, which in turn has created a market for wildlife products.

Joining CI, Disney, and Discovery were a number of local partners including the Sichuan Academy of Forestry, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Sichuan Provincial Forestry Bureau and The Mountain Institute in Nepal.

The Mission Himalayas expedition builds upon a decade-long relationship between CI and Disney to support biodiversity conservation. During that time, Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund and the Walt Disney Company Foundation have contributed to several CI initiatives including a Global Amphibian Assessment, the protection of Cambodia's Cardamom Mountains and a conservation project in Botswana.

New Fish

2006-05-04T14:33:00.000-07:00

23 October, 2003, 14:01 GMT 15:01 UK
By Julianna Kettlewell
BBC News Online staff

Ocean census discovers new fish

More than 600 new species of fish have been discovered by a major ocean census and thousands more may be lurking undetected.

A new species of scorpionfish was discovered

Some 300 scientists from 53 countries are creating a record of all known marine life, in a project reminiscent of an aquatic Domesday Book.

The 10-year Census of Marine Life project will form an open database of raw material available to everyone.

It will pinpoint endangered animals and suggest how to protect them.

Pole to pole

So far, 15,304 species of fish have been logged. Between 2,000 and 3,000 more are expected to join the list before the census ends in 2010 - and many will be previously unknown species.

We are at the start of a great adventure, like going to the moon.
Jesse Ausubel, census Program Director

Apart from cataloguing species diversity, distribution and abundance, the census will explain how ocean life changes over time and in the face of human activity.

Extending from pole to pole and covering virtually every ocean, the Census of Marine Life (CoML) is easily the most ambitious and costly project of its kind.

Much of the $1bn bill will be footed by the Alfred P Sloan Foundation - a philanthropic non-profit organisation - and individual governments.

The unknown ocean

The census is divided into seven parts. As well as Pacific shorelines and the North Atlantic sea floor, scientists are examining the Gulf of Maine, hydrothermal vents, coastal salmon runs, the world wide habits of large fish and mammals, and animals of the abyss.

The first census report just published outlines how the understanding of these seven topics has advanced since the initiative began three years ago.

One "hot pot" of discovery has been the deep waters off Angola. Researchers exploring the abyssal sediments found an environment with more species per area than any other known aquatic environment on Earth.

New species of grenadiers found in the western Mediterranean

About 500 of the species collected are thought to be new to science. Experts hope that the research will improve understanding of the relationship between deep-sea species diversity and the richness of food in the water column.

The report also highlights the habits of young salmon during the sea dwelling stage of their lives, challenging conventional ideas about their survival.

"Most of the attention on salmon has been in rivers," Mike Vecchione, a scientist at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, told BBC News Online.

"But the census has found that most deaths of young salmon occur in the open ocean. This information may be key to maintaining their populations."

Long journey

This is not the first survey into marine life. Numerous catalogues of aquatic creatures are available to the public, but the Census of Marine Life claims to be a league apart.

"Most other marine surveys concentrate on commercially important species or charismatic animals like sharks or whales, but we are casting our net far wider," said Jesse Ausubel, Program Director of CoML.

Over the next seven years, the census hopes to bring the number of marine species on the database to well over 210,000.

They also plan to establish pharmaceutical uses for some of the new species discovered.

Less than 14 kilometres off the Florida Keys, scientists recently discovered a new species - perhaps even a new genus - of sponge, which has been nicknamed the "Rasta sponge". Chemical compounds found in the sponge may help treat cancerous tumours.

But those involved in the census acknowledge they are still at the beginning of a very long voyage.

"Some 95% of the ocean is still unexplored biologically. We don't know what that figure will be in 2010, but we hope it will be much smaller," Mr Ausubel said.

"We hope we will have visited and sampled all the major domains of the ocean.

"We are at the start of a great adventure, like going to the Moon," he added. "But we know more about the surface of the Moon."

Asian Elephant

2006-04-27T15:26:00.000-07:00

Asian Elephant
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Conservation status: Endangered

The Asian Elephant, sometimes known as the Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus) is one of the two or three living species of elephant, and the only living species of the genus Elephas. It is smaller than its African relatives, and the easiest way to distinguish the two is the smaller ears of the Asian Elephant. Asian elephants tend to grow to around two to four meters (7-12 feet) in height and 3,000-5,000 kilograms (6,500-11,000 pounds) in weight.

Asian Elephants have other differences from their African relatives, including a more arched back than the African, one semi-prehensile "finger" at the tip of their trunk as opposed to two, 4 nails on each hind foot instead of three, and 19 pairs of ribs instead of 21. Also, unlike female African Elephants, female Asian Elephants lack tusks. The forehead has two hemispherical bulges unlike the flat front of the African. Some males may also lack tusks and they are termed as makhnas. The population in Sri Lanka has a greater number of makhnas.

This animal is widely domesticated, and has been used in forestry in Southeast Asia for centuries and also for use in ceremonial purposes. Historical sources point out they were sometimes used during the harvest season primarily for milling. Wild elephants attract tourist money to the areas where they can most readily be seen, but damage crops and may enter villages to raid gardens.

Behaviour

Elephant herds in the wild follow well defined seasonal migration routes. These are made around the monsoon seasons, often between the wet and dry zones, and it is the task of the eldest to remember and follow the traditional migration routes. When human farms are found in these old routes there is often considerable damage made to crops and it is common for elephants to be killed in the ensuing conflicts.

They live on average for 70-80 years, although they may live to 100 years. They eat 10% of their body weight each day, which is for adults between 170 - 200 kilos of food per day. They need 80 - 200 litres of water a day and use more for bathing. They sometimes scrape soil for minerals.

Female behaviour

Female elephants live in small groups. They have a matriarchal society and the group is led by the oldest female. The herd consists of relatives. An individual reaches sexual maturity at 9-15 years. The gestation period is 18-22 months and they give birth to 1 calf and rarely twins. The calf weighs about 220 lb, (100 kg) and they are suckled for up to 2-3 years. Females stay on with the herd, but males are chased away.

Male behaviour

Bull elephants are usually solitary and they fight over females during the breeding season. Younger bulls may form small groups. Males reach sexual maturity during their 15th year, after which they annualy enter "musth". This is a period where the testosterone level is high (up to 60 times greater) and they become extremely aggressive. Secretions containing pheromones occur during this period, from the temporal glands on the forehead.

Danger of elephants

An animal of this size is potentially dangerous. Care should be taken when walking or driving at night or in the late evening in areas where wild elephants roam. Particularly, potential meetings with unpredictable adult males, or females with nearby young, are best avoided. Among the most dangerous are the rogue elephants which have been separated from the rest of the wild herd and tend to be hyper aggressive. When chased by an elephant it is often best to run zig zag as elephants can reach top speeds of up to 50 km/h in a straight line but find it difficult to make sudden turns.

In History and Religion

The elephant plays an important part in the culture of the subcontinent and beyond featuring prominently in Jataka tales and the Panchatantra. It is also quite venerated and the "blessings" of a temple elephant is sought by Hindus as Lord Ganesha's head is made up of an elephant. It has been used in majestic processions in Kerala where the pachyderms are adorned with festive outfits. They were used by almost all armies in India as war elephants, terrifying opponents unused to the massive beast..

In Western Literature

The Asian elephant figures prominently in The Jungle Book and other writings of Rudyard Kipling, a British writer born in India.

Subspecies

Elephas maximus is the only surviving species in the Elephas genus; Elephas recki, an even larger species, is extinct.

Meerkat

2006-04-24T15:08:00.000-07:00

Meerkat
wikipedia.org
Conservation Status - Lower Risk

The meerkat or suricate, is a small mammal and a member of the mongoose family. It inhabits all parts of the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa. A group of meerkats is called a "mob" or "gang".

Meerkat is an English loan word from the Dutch meaning lake cat. However, the name has been superseded in Dutch by stokstaartje ("little stick-tail"), and the word only kept its original meaning in Afrikaans and English.

The meerkat is a small diurnal herpestid whose weight averages approximately 731 grams for males and 720 grams for females. Its long and slender body and limbs give it a body length of between 25 and 35 cm and an added tail length of 17-25 cm. Its tail, which is not bushy like all other mongoose species, is long and thin and tapering to a pointed tip which is black or reddish coloured. The meerkat will use its tail to balance when standing vertical. Its face also tapers coming to a point at the nose, which is brown. The meerkat's eyes always have black patches surrounding them. The meerkat has small, black, crescent shaped ears that have the ability to close when digging to prevent sand entering.

Meerkats have strong, 2 cm long, curved claws used for digging for prey and altering their underground burrows, they have four toes on each foot and long, slender limbs. The colour of the coat is usually fawn peppered with gray, tan, or brown with a silver tint. They have short, parallel stripes across their backs; these extend from the base of the tail to the shoulders and are unique to each animal. The underside of the meerkat has no markings but instead a patch on their belly which is only sparsely covered in hair and shows the black skin underneath. The meerkat uses this area on its belly to absorb heat when it stands on its rear legs, which is usually done first thing in the morning to warm up after cold desert nights.

The meerkat's diet is mainly insectivorous, but they will also consume lizards, snakes, spiders, plants, eggs and small mammals. Like all mongoose species, the meerkat has developed an immunity to many venoms. This allows them to eat scorpions (including the sting) and some snakes without fear of illness, poison or death. They have no fat stores so if they don't forage for food every day they will die.

Reproduction

Meerkats become sexually mature at about one year of age and have, on average, three young per litter. The wild meerkat will have up to three litters a year. Meerkats are iteroparous and can reproduce any time of the year but most births occur in the warmer seasons. Reports show that there is no precopulatory display; the male will fight with the female until she submits to him and copulation will begin. Gestation lasts approximately eleven weeks and the young are born within the underground burrow and are altricial. The young's ears will open at about 10 days of age, and eyes at 10-14 days, they are weaned between 49 and 63 days. They will not come above ground until at least three weeks of age and will stay with babysitters near the burrow, it will be another week or so until they join the adults on a foraging party. Usually, the alpha pair reserve the right to mate and will normally kill any young not their own to ensure that their offspring has the best chance of survival. They may also exile or kill the mothers of the offending offspring.

Behaviour

Meerkats are burrowing animals, living in large underground networks with multiple entrances which they leave only during the day. They are very social, living in colonies of up to forty. Animals from within the same group will often groom each other to strengthen social bonds. The alpha pair will often scent mark subordinates of the group to express their authority, and such actions are usually followed by the subordinates licking the faces of and grooming the alphas. These actions are also usually practiced when members of the group are reunited after a short period apart. Most meerkats within the same group are all siblings and offspring of the alpha pair.

Meerkats demonstrate altruistic behaviour within their colonies; one or more meerkats will stand sentry (lookout) while other members are foraging or playing in order to warn them of approaching dangers. When a predator is spotted, the meerkat performing as sentry will give a warning bark, and all other members of the gang will run and hide in one of the many bolt holes the meerkats will have spread across their territory. The sentry meerkat will be the first to reappear from the burrow and search for predators, constantly barking to keep the others underground, if there is no threat, the sentry meerkat will stop barking and the others will be safe to emerge. Meerkats will also babysit any young that may be in the group, females that have never produced offspring of their own will often lactate to feed the alpha pairs young while the dominant female is away with the rest of the group. They will also protect the young from any threat, often endangering their own lives to do so. On warning of a danger, the babysitter will either take the young underground to safety and be prepared to defend them if the danger is able to follow, or collect all young together and lie on top of them if retreating underground is not possible.

Meerkats have been known to engage in social activities, including what appear to be wrestling matches and foot races.

Despite their normally-altruistic behaviour, meerkats have contradicted this by killing young members of their societies. Subordinate meerkats have been seen killing the offspring of more senior members in order to advance their own offsprings' positions.

Meerkat calls have recently been noted to carry an element of meaning, with specific calls alerting to the approach of snakes, birds of prey, or other predators. How these calls evolved is not clear. They are a demonstration that meaning is not solely the domain of human language, although the calls of the meerkat do not constitute a form of language.

More than one field researcher has reported witnessing meerkats in some sort of singing ceremony they compared with yodelling.

More Links to Meerkats
All About Meerkats
Meerkat Links

The capybara

2006-04-21T16:56:00.000-07:00

The capybara
Conservation Status - Lower Risk

The capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is a semi-aquatic herbivorous animal, the largest of living rodents. It is endemic to most of the tropical and temperate parts of South America east of the Andes, and has been introduced to north-central Florida and possibly other subtropical regions in the United States. It is the only living member of the family Hydrochoeridae.

The animal is also called capivara in Portuguese, and carpincho or chigüiro in Spanish. The name originally derives from the Guarani word kapiÿva, meaning roughly "master of the grasses".

Description and habits

Full-grown capybaras reach between 105 and 135 cm (40-55 in) in length, and weigh 35 to 65 kg (75-140 lbs) and are similar to giant guinea-pigs in appearance. Capybaras are excellent swimmers, and have partially webbed feet. They mate in the water, use the water to hide from predators, and can stay submerged for several minutes. It is even possible for capybaras to sleep underwater, which they accomplish by leaving their noses exposed to the air.

Capybaras are herd animals. The males of the species have a gland on their noses which exudes a liquid pheromone. In the mating season, they will rub this gland on the surrounding foliage to attract females. They spend most of their time on the banks of rivers, feeding in the mornings and evenings. The diet consists of vegetation such as river plants and bark.

Economic and ecological aspects Hunting

In the regions along the Paraná river in Southern Brazil, Northern Argentina, and Uruguay, capybaras are occasionally hunted for food and for their leather. The flesh is described as tasting like pork and has a similar whitish appearance.

Venezuelan farmers who once considered the animal a pest now make a valuable addition to their incomes by selling capybara meat (approximately 400 metric tons annually). The rodents are rounded up in February so that they can be slaughtered and sold just before the onset of Lent, when the meat is in high demand.

The popularity of capybara meat in Venezuela is attributed to a 16th century theological decision by the Roman Catholic Church. Responding to queries by Venezuelan Catholics, the Church declared the capybara meat to be equivalent to fish meat, and thus allowed its consumption during Lent [1]. The decision may have been taken on the basis of incomplete or inaccurate descriptions of the capybara available to the Church authorities in Rome; but it was never reversed, and to this day the capybara is the only warm-blooded animal with that status. (This story should be treated with caution, however, since similar claims have been circulated concerning other semi-aquatic mammals, such as beavers and muskrats[2].)
Capybara, the largest living rodent, in an English zoo

Capybaras as farm animals

Recently some farmers have started breeding capybaras for their meat. Capybara farms are more common in Venezuela, where capybara meat is a popular dish; but some are found in other countries, usually catering to specialty restaurants (such as the churrascarias in Brazil). The animals are prolific and relatively easy to raise.

Capybaras as pets

Capybaras are often kept for "decorative" purposes in public parks, farms, and tourist resorts which have access to suitable water bodies. The animals are usually allowed to roam freely; they adapt easily to human presence, and allow themselves to be petted and hand-fed.

However, in Southeast Brazil (states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Minas Gerais) this custom has run into trouble recently, after capybaras were found to be a reservoir for Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The disease can be transmitted to humans by the star tick (Amblyomma cajennense), a common parasite of many animals — including capybaras and humans. Responding to pressure from health authorities and public opinion, many public places in those states have eliminated the capybaras they once kept.
source:wikipedia.org

Endangered Species

2006-04-10T16:07:00.000-07:00

Endangered species
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The endangered Sea Otter

An endangered species is a population of organisms (frequently but not always a taxonomic species) which is either (a) so few in number or (b) threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters that it is at risk of becoming extinct. Many countries have laws offering special protection to these species or their habitats: for example, forbidding hunting, restricting land development or creating preserves. Only a few of the many endangered species actually make it to the lists and obtain legal protection. Many more species become extinct, or potentially will become extinct, without gaining public notice.

The greatest factor of concern is the rate at which species are becoming extinct within the last 150 years. While species have evolved and become extinct on a regular basis for the last several hundred million years, the number of species becoming extinct since the Industrial Revolution has no precedent in biological history. If this rate of extinction continues, or accelerates as now seems to be the case, the number of species becoming extinct in the next century could number in the tens of thousands. While most people readily relate to endangerment of large mammals or birdlife, some of the greatest ecological issues are the threats to stability of whole ecosystems if key species vanish at any level of the food chain.

Issues of extinction

Species extinction is the obvious ultimate concern, but there are four different reasons to have for concern with this outcome: (a) Loss of a species as a biological entity, (b) Destabilization of an ecosystem, (c) Endangerment of other species and (d) Loss of irreplaceable genetic material and associated biochemicals. The loss of a species in and of itself is an important factor, both as diminution of the enjoyment of nature and as a moral issue for those who believe humans are stewards of the natural environment. Destabilization is a well understood outcome, when an element of food or predation is removed from an ecosystem. Examples abound that other species are in turn affected, such that population increases or declines are forthcoming in these secondary species. Drastic change or an unstable spiral can ensue, until other species are lost and the ecosystem structure is changed markedly and irreversibly.

The fourth outcome is more subtle, but perhaps the most important point for mankind to grasp. Each species carries unique genetic material in its DNA and in its chemical factory responding to these genetic instructions. For example, in the valleys of central China, a fernlike weed called sweet wormwood grows, that is the only source of artemisinin, a drug that is nearly 100 percent effective against malaria (Jonietz, 2006). If this plant were lost to extinction, then the ability to control malaria, even today a potent killer, would diminish. There are countless other examples of chemicals unique to a certain species, whose only source is the species, whose genetic factory makes that given substance. How many further chemicals have not yet been discovered and could vanish from the planet when further species become extinct?

Conservation status

The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that endangered species continuing to survive. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation status of a species; not simply the number remaining, but the overall increase or decrease in the population over time, breeding success rates, known threats, and so on.

The best-known worldwide conservation status listing is the IUCN Red List, but many more specialized lists exist.

The following conservation status categories are used in articles in this encyclopedia. They are loosely based on the IUCN categories.

* Extinct: the last remaining member of the species had died, or is presumed to have died beyond reasonable doubt. Examples: Thylacine, Dodo.
* Extinct in the wild: captive individuals survive, but there is no free-living, natural population. Examples: Dromedary, Przewalski's Horse.
* Critical or critically endangered: faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the immediate future. Examples: Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Arakan Forest Turtle
* Endangered: faces a very high risk of extinction in the near future. Examples: Blue whale, Kings holly, Pink fairy armadillo
* Vulnerable: faces a high risk of extinction in the medium-term. Examples: Cheetah, Bactrian Camel
* Secure or lower risk: no immediate threat to the survival of the species. Examples: Nootka Cypress, Llama

The following lists are examples of endangered species. Note that because of varying standards for regarding a species as endangered, and the very large number of endangered species, these lists should not be regarded as comprehensive.

Endangered mammals
The endangered Island Fox

* Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus)
* Aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis)
* Banteng (Bos javanicus)
* Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis)
* Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis)
* Black-footed Ferret (Mustela nigripes)
* Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus)
* Bonobo (Pan paniscus)
* Burrowing Bettong (Bettongia lesueur nova)
* Common Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)
* Chinese River Dolphin (Lipotes vexillifer) and other river dolphins
* Eastern Gorilla (Gorilla beringei)
* Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus)
* Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis)
* Gelada (Theropithecus gelada)
* Giant golden-crowned flying fox (Acerodon jubatus)
* Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
* Giant Pangolin (Manis gigantea)
* Golden Lion Tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia)
* Humpback Whale
* Gray bat (Myotis grisescens)
* Hawaiian Monk Seal (Monachus schauinslandi)
* Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)
* Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata)
* Indri (Indri indri)
* Island Fox (Urocyon littoralis)
* Javan Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus)
* Key Deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium)
* Kouprey (Bos sauveli)
* Leopard (Panthera pardus)
* Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat (Lasiorhinus krefftii)
* Numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus)
* Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus and Pongo abelii)

There were as few as 750 bison in 1890 from overhunting.

* Père David's Deer (Elaphurus davidianus)
* Proboscis Monkey (Nasalis larvatus)
* Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens)
* Red Wolf (Canis rufus)
* Savannah Elephant (Loxodonta africana)
* Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris)
* Sei Whale (Balaenoptera borealis)
* Snow Leopard (Uncia uncia)
* Steller's Sea Lion (Eumetopias jubatus)
* Sumatran Rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis)
* Temminck's Pangolin (Manis temminckii)
* Tibetan Antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii)
* Tiger (Panthera tigris)
* Vaquita (Phocoena sinus)
* Western Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla)
* West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus)

Endangered birds

* Alaotra Grebe (Tachybaptus rufolavatus)
* Amami Thrush (Zoothera major)
* Amsterdam Albatross (Diomedea amsterdamensis)
* Attwater's prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri)
* Bali Starling (Leucospar rothschildi)
* Brazilian Merganser (Mergus octosetaceus)
* California Clapper Rail (Rallus longirostris obsoletus)
* California least tern (Sterna antillarum browni)
* California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus)
* Chatham Albatross (Thalassarche eremita)
* Chinese Crested Tern (Sterna bernsteinii)
* Christmas Island Frigatebird (Fregata andrewsi)
* Cozumel Thrasher (Toxostoma guttatum)
* Eskimo Curlew (Numenius borealis)
* Giant Ibis (Thaumatibis gigantea)
* Glaucous Macaw (Anodorhynchus glaucus)
* Guam Rail (Gallirallus owstoni)
* Gurney's Pitta (Pitta gurneyi)
* Hawaiian Crow (Corvus hawaiiensis)
* Hawaiian Goose or Néné (Branta sandvicensis)
* Imperial Woodpecker (Campephilus imperialis)
* Indian White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis)
* Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis)
* Jerdon's Courser (Rhinoptilus bitorquatus)
* Junin Flightless Grebe (Podiceps taczanowskii)
* Kakapo (Strigops habroptilus)
* Kittlitz's Murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris)
* Kiwi (Apteryx australis, A. hastii, A. owenii)
* Laysan Duck (Anas laysanensis)
* Lear's Macaw (Anodorhynchus leari)
* Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea)
* Long-billed Vulture, (Gyps indicus)
* Magdalena Tinamou (Crypturellus saltuarius)
* Magenta Petrel (Pterodroma magentae)
* Mauritius Fody (Foudia rubra)
* Mauritius Parakeet (Psittacula eques)
* Mindoro Bleeding-heart (Gallicolumba platenae)
* New Zealand Storm-petrel (Oceanites maorianus)
* Night Parrot (Geopsittacus occidentalis)
* Northern Bald Ibis (Geronticus eremita)
* Okinawa Woodpecker (Sapheopipo noguchii)
* Orange-bellied Parrot (Neophema chrysogaster)
* Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi)
* Po'ouli (Melamprosops phaeosoma)
* Puerto Rican Parrot (Amazona vittata)
* Raso Skylark (Alauda razae)
* Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis)
* Red-vented Cockatoo (Cacatua haematuropygia)
* Ridgway's Hawk (Buteo ridgwayi)
* São Tomé Grosbeak (Neospiza concolor)
* Siberian Crane (Grus leucogeranus)
* Slender-billed Curlew (Numenius tenuirostris)
* Socorro Mockingbird, (Mimodes graysoni)
* Sociable Lapwing (Vanellus gregarius)
* Spix's Macaw (Cyanopsitta spixii)
* Takahe (Porphyrio hochstetteri)
* White-headed Duck (Oxyura leucocephala)
* White-shouldered Ibis (Pseudibis davisoni)
* Whooping Crane (Grus americana)
* Writhed-billed Hornbill (Aceros waldeni)
* Zino's Petrel (Pterodroma madeira)

Endangered reptiles

* St. Croix ground lizard (Ameiva polops)
* Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta)
* Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas)
* Cuban Crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer)
* Mona Ground Iguana (Cyclura stejnegeri)
* Mesoamerican River Turtle (Dermatemys mawii)
* Leatherback Sea Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)
* Hawksbill Sea Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)
* Blunt-nosed Leopard Lizard (Gambelia silus)
* Burmese Star Tortoise (Geochelone platynota)
* Kemp's Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys kempii)
* Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea)
* Flat Back Turtle (Natator depressa)
* Grand Skink (Oligosoma grande)
* Otago Skink (Oligosoma otagense)
* Monito Gecko (Sphaerodactylus micropithecus)
* Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard (Uma inornata)
* Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis)
* Island Night Lizard (Xantusia riversiana)
* Horned Lizard

Endangered amphibians
* Arroyo Southwestern toad (Bufo californicus (=microscaphus))
* Barton Springs salamander (Eurycea sosorum)
* California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense)
* Desert slender salamander (Batrachoseps aridus)
* Fleishman's Glass Frog
* Houston toad (Bufo houstonensis)´
* Italian spade-footed toad (Pelobates fuscus insubricus)
* Mississippi gopher frog ( Rana capito sevosa)
* Mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa)
* Palmate newt (Triturus helvetica)
* Santa Cruz Long-toed Salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum croceum)
* Shenandoah salamander (Plethodon shenandoah)
* Sonoran tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum stebbinsi)
* Texas blind salamander (Eurycea rathbuni)
* Wyoming toad ( Bufo baxteri (=hemiophrys))
* Telmatobius (Telmatobius Wiegmann)

Endangered fish

* Gambusia eurystoma, native to Mexico, due to very limited habitat
* Asian Arowana (Scleropages formosus)
* Chinese paddlefish (Psephurus gladius)
* Dwarf Pygmy Goby (Pandaka pygmae)
* Moapa dace
* Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus)

Endangered crustaceans

* Kentucky cave shrimp (Palaemonias ganteri)
* Alabama cave shrimp (Palaemonias alabamae)

Endangered arthropods

* San Bruno elfin butterfly (Incisalia mossii bayensis), due to limited range of habitat and development encroachment
* Spruce-fir moss spider (Microhexura montivaga)
* Tooth cave spider (Neoleptoneta myopica)

Endangered mollusks

* Iowa Pleistocene Snail (Discus macclintocki)

Endangered plants

About 6% of the 300,000 identified species are endangered due to overcollection or destruction of habitat, among other causes. Pollinator decline is also a factor for some species.

* African violet (Saintpaulia ionantha), due to forest clearance
* Baishanzu fir (Abies beshanzuensis) of southeast China, three trees known on an isolated mountain summit
* Baker's larkspur (Delphinium bakeri) of California, due to very limited habitat
* Chilean wine palm (Jubaea chilensis), due to land clearance
* Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides), thought to be extinct until 1941, when a small stand was discovered in China
* Kaka Beak (Clianthus puniceus) of New Zealand, due to introduced grazers and competing plants
* King of the Paphs Orchid (Paphiopedilum rothschildianum) of Asia, due to overcollection
* Louisiana Quillwort, (Isoetes louisianensis) of Louisiana, due to very limited habitat
* Madonna lily (Lilium candidum) of Europe, due to overcollection
* Pinus squamata of southwest China, about 20 trees known
* Saguaro cactus (Carnegia gigantea) of North America, due to overcollection, slow maturing, and slow breeding
* Saharan Cypress (Cupressus dupreziana) of North Africa, due to small population and desertification
* Santa Cruz Tarweed (Holocarpa macradenia), of California, due to limited range of habitat and encroachment by man
* Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) of North America, due to land clearance and overcollection.
* Wollemi Pine (Wollemia nobilis) of Australia, also known as the 'Dinosaur Tree' or 'Living Fossil'. Wollemia fossils have been found in Australia, Antarctica and New Zealand. The plant was thought to be extinct until two trees were discovered in 1994. Research into the horticultural development of the Wollemi pine is being conducted at Mount Annan Botanic Garden and, with commercial propagation well under way, plants should be available in 2005.

Controversy

Some endangered species laws are controversial. Typical areas of controversy include: criteria for placing a species on the endangered species list, and criteria for removing a species from the list once its population has recovered; whether restrictions on land development constitute a "taking" of land by the government; the related question of whether private landowners should be compensated for the loss of use of their land; and obtaining reasonable exceptions to protection laws.

Being listed as an endangered species can backfire, since it could make a species more desirable for collectors and poachers. However, this is usually a spurious argument by those favoring loose protection laws.

The New Monkey and Dr. Rob Wallace

2006-03-30T13:49:00.000-08:00

Dr. Robert Wallace first discovered an unidentified titi monkey during wildlife surveys at a location on the edge on the Madidi protected area. Following further observations at additional sites, Wallace was convinced that the Madidi titi monkeys deserved more research attention.

After filming, photographing and thoroughly describing the titi monkeys, he and his colleagues Humberto Gomez, Adam Felton and Annika Felton, submitted a manuscript proposing these titi monkeys as a new species to science. This manuscript has been accepted by taxonomic experts and is awaiting publication. As the discoverer of the new species, Dr. Wallace has the right to name it. However, together with his colleagues, he has decided to hold an auction to sell the rights to name the species. All proceeds from the monkey-naming auction will go to the non-profit foundation FUNDESNAP, which will use the funding to protect the monkeys’ habitat in Madidi.

What is a Titi Monkey?
The name titi monkey describes 30 distinct species, all of which are found in the Amazonian and Atlantic forests of South America. These primates weigh about 1 kg and live in small social groups, usually between two and six animals. Most medium-sized neotropical primates have a ‘safety in numbers’ policy to defend themselves against potential predators such as birds of prey, snakes and arboreal cats. However, titi monkeys prefer to adopt a more secretive lifestyle, typically inhabiting dense vegetation in the mid-level canopy of tropical forests, particularly liana and vine tangles. Although these primates are difficult to observe, they are often heard early in the morning calling their distinctive territorial songs.

The new species of titi monkey has a beautiful and distinctive golden crown and striking orange coloration in its throat and cheeks. It also has a white tip to the tail and its hands and feet are a rich burgundy. As with all other titi monkeys, this species is monogamous, with pairs apparently together for life. The constant stress of territorial battles against neighboring pairs of titi monkeys, as well as the need to remain vigilant to the many predators in the tropical forest, means that these primates spend a lot of time bonding and are extremely tactile partners. Male titi monkeys participate when it comes to parenthood, carrying infants almost the entire time until they become independent.

Who is Dr. Robert Wallace?
Together, Rob Wallace and his wife, Lilian Painter, coordinate WCS’s highly successful conservation program in northwest Bolivia, one of the most biodiverse regions of the planet. Since 1999, they have led an integrated conservation program across a complex of three protected areas (Madidi, Pilón Lajas and Apolobamba) and an indigenous territory that together span almost 50,000 km². Rob has trained Bolivian professionals who are now assuming important responsibilities in the national conservation community, and has advanced the state of knowledge about key wildlife species, including the identification of the new monkey species.
Lilian has led policy and outreach efforts that have resulted in the titling of the 3,255 km² Tacana indigenous territory and a participatory plan for the management of the Madidi protected area.

Copyright 1998 - 2003; 2006 Wildlife Conservation Society.

Seven new species found in Bolivia

2006-03-30T13:36:00.000-08:00

Source: Copyright 2003, BBC
Date: June 24, 2003
Byline: Alex Kirby, BBC News Online environment correspondent

At least seven species new to science have been found in the mountains of Bolivia by a university expedition.

It's almost as though a different species had evolved in each valley
Ross MacLeod, project leader

The students found two frog species, two snakes, two toads and a lizard.

In a largely unexplored valley, they also found an owl not recorded before in Bolivia.

Experts say their discoveries suggest the country's overall variety of species may be greater than previously thought.

The finds were made in 2001 by students from the universities of Oxford and Glasgow, UK, and the University Major San Simon, Bolivia. Their expedition, Yungas 2001, was named after the rainforest of the eastern slopes of the Andes.

The forest where the new species were found has been designated a protected area by the Bolivian authorities. It is under threat from logging, burning and clearing for agriculture.

Frogs' key role

The team will publish detailed reports on what it found in several scientific journals.

New to Bolivia: Cloud forest screech owl

Dr Michael Harvey is a tropical biologist at Florida International University, and an authority on Bolivian amphibians and reptiles.

He confirmed that the team had made genuinely new discoveries, and said several of the other species appeared to be range extensions or new additions to Bolivia's fauna.

The project leader, Ross MacLeod, said: "Fifteen per cent of the frog species in this forest are found nowhere else in the world, so these two new frogs are a particularly significant find.

"Throughout the world frogs in particular are known to be good indicators for habitat quality and environmental change.

Nomad from the north

"Many other species are still undescribed in the High Andes, and given the current pace of habitat degradation they may soon become extinct.

The forest is a protected area

"We hope Bolivian conservation agencies can use these data to develop the first conservation management plan for this unique system and its key species."

The bird that excited the expedition is the cloud forest screech owl, known till now only in Peru. Aidan MacCormick, who worked on the bird surveys, said: "We were very lucky to discover a new population of the owl more than 1,000 miles south of where it was thought to live.

"Extending the known distributions of 70 bird species along with discovering new frogs, reptiles and insects is remarkable.

Insect treasure trove

"It just shows there are still hidden places on this planet that remain scientifically unexplored: a group of enthusiastic student biologists can make huge discoveries and take an important step towards protecting the world's biodiversity."

One of the more striking Andean speciesThe team found many insects not recorded before. Darren Mann of Oxford University said: "The material includes numerous examples of insects not represented in British collections, and a large number of fly and beetle species new to science."

Ross MacLeod told BBC News Online: "There's a very high rate there of endemism, species that don't exist anywhere else. It's almost as though a different species had evolved in each valley.

"We think there'll prove to be more than seven new species when the analysis is complete."
Spreading wings

The expedition was supported by the BP Conservation Programme, a partnership between BirdLife International and Fauna & Flora International which has been backed for the last 13 years by the energy giant BP.

The programme is now forming a partnership with two US groups, Conservation International and the Wildlife Conservation Society.

This year it is giving awards to 32 conservation projects in 21 countries, worth $565,000 (£340,000) altogether.

Species to benefit include turtles in Kenya and Indonesia, elephants in west Africa, bats in Slovakia and the Nicobar Islands, and dugongs in Vietnam.

Images courtesy of Yungas 2001.

Wild About Trees

2006-03-25T06:16:00.000-08:00

Tallest trees
source: Wikipedia
Photo courtesy etravelphotos.com
The heights of the tallest trees in the world have been the subject of considerable dispute and much (often wild) exaggeration. Modern verified measurement with laser rangefinders combined with tape drop measurements made by tree climbers, carried out by the U.S. Eastern Native Tree Society has shown that most older measuring methods and measurements are unreliable, often producing exaggerations of 5% to 15% above the real height. Historical claims of trees of 114 m, 117 m, 130 m, and even 150 m, are now largely disregarded as unreliable, fantasy or outright fraud. The following are now accepted as the top five tallest reliably measured species:

1. Coast Redwood Sequoia sempervirens: 112.83 m, Humboldt Redwoods State Park, California (Gymnosperm Database)
2. Coast Douglas-fir Pseudotsuga menziesii: 100.3 m, Brummit Creek, Coos County, Oregon (Gymnosperm Database)
3. Sitka Spruce Picea sitchensis: 96.7 m, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California (Gymnosperm Database)
4. Giant Sequoia Sequoiadendron giganteum: 93.6 m, Redwood Mountain Grove, California (Gymnosperm Database)
5. Australian Mountain-ash Eucalyptus regnans: 92.0 m, Styx Valley, Tasmania (Forestry Tasmania)

Stoutest trees

The girth (circumference) of a tree is – or at least should be – much easier to measure than the height, as it is a simple matter of stretching a tape round the trunk, and pulling it taut to find the circumference. Despite this, U.K. tree author Alan Mitchell made the following comment about measurements of yew trees in the British Isles:

"The aberrations of past measurements of yews are beyond belief. For example, the tree at Tisbury has a well-defined, clean, if irregular bole at least 1.5 m long. It has been found to have a girth which has dilated and shrunk in the following way: 11.28 m (1834 Loudon), 9.3 m (1892 Lowe), 10.67 m (1903 Elwes and Henry), 9.0 m (1924 E. Swanton), 9.45 m (1959 Mitchell) .... Earlier measurements have therefore been omitted".

As a general standard, tree girth is taken at 'breast height'; this is defined differently in different situations, with most foresters measuring girth at 1.3 m above ground, while ornamental tree measurers usually measure at 1.5 m above ground; in most cases this makes little difference to the measured girth. On sloping ground, the "above ground" reference point is usually taken as the highest point on the ground touching the trunk, but some use the average between the highest and lowest points of ground. Some of the inflated old measurements may have been taken at ground level. Some past exaggerated measurements also result from measuring the complete next-to-bark measurement, pushing the tape in and out over every crevice and buttress.

Modern trends are to cite the tree's diameter rather than the circumference; this is obtained by dividing the measured circumference by π; it assumes the trunk is circular in cross-section (an oval or irregular cross-section would result in a mean diameter slightly greater than the assumed circle). This is cited as dbh (diameter at breast height) in tree literature.

A further problem with measuring baobabs Adansonia is that these trees store large amounts of water in the very soft wood in their trunks. This leads to marked variation in their girth over the year, swelling to a maximum at the end of the rainy season, minimum at the end of the dry season. Although baobabs have some of the highest girth measurements of any trees, no accurate measurements are currently available, but probably do not exceed 10-11 m diameter.

The stoutest species in diameter, excluding baobabs, are:

1. Montezuma Cypress Taxodium mucronatum: 11.42 m, Árbol del Tule, Santa Maria del Tule, Oaxaca, Mexico (A. F. Mitchell, International Dendrology Society Year Book 1983: 93, 1984).
2. Giant Sequoia Sequoiadendron giganteum: 8.85 m, General Grant tree, Grant Grove, California (Gymnosperm Database)
3. Coast Redwood Sequoia sempervirens: 7.44 m, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California (Gymnosperm Database)

Largest trees

The largest trees in total volume are those which are both tall and of large diameter, and in particular, which hold a large diameter high up the trunk. Measurement is very complex, particularly if branch volume is to be included as well as the trunk volume, so measurements have only been made for a small number of trees, and generally only for the trunk. No attempt has ever been made to include root volume.

The top four species measured so far are (Gymnosperm Database):

1. Giant Sequoia Sequoiadendron giganteum: 1489 m³, General Sherman tree
2. Coast Redwood Sequoia sempervirens: 1045 m³, Del Norte Titan tree
3. Western Redcedar Thuja plicata: 500 m³, Quinault Lake Redcedar
4. Kauri Agathis australis: 400 m³, Tane Mahuta tree (total volume, including branches, 516.7 m³)

However, the Alerce Fitzroya cupressoides, as yet un-measured, may well slot in at third or fourth place, and Montezuma Cypress Taxodium mucronatum is also likely to be high in the list. The largest angiosperm tree is an Australian Mountain-ash, the 'El Grande' tree of about 380 m³ in Tasmania.

Oldest trees

The oldest trees are determined by growth rings, which can be seen if the tree is cut down or in cores taken from the edge to the centre of the tree. Accurate determination is only possible for trees which produce growth rings, generally those which occur in seasonal climates; trees in uniform non-seasonal tropical climates grow continuously and do not have distinct growth rings. It is also only possible for trees which are solid to the centre of the tree; many very old trees become hollow as the dead heartwood decays away. For some of these species, age estimates have been made on the basis of extrapolating current growth rates, but the results are usually little better than guesswork or wild speculation.

The verified oldest measured ages are (Gymnosperm Database):

1. Great Basin Bristlecone Pine Pinus longaeva: 4844 years
2. Alerce Fitzroya cupressoides: 3622 years
3. Giant Sequoia Sequoia sempervirens: 3266 years
4. Huon-pine Lagarostrobos franklinii: 2500 years
5. Rocky Mountains Bristlecone Pine Pinus aristata: 2435 years

Other species suspected of reaching exceptional age include European Yew Taxus baccata (probably over 3000 years) and Western Redcedar Thuja plicata.

The oldest verified age for an angiosperm tree is 2293 years for the Sri Maha Bodhi Sacred Fig (Ficus religiosa) planted in 288 BC at Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka; this is also the oldest human-planted tree with a known planting date.

Forestation

2006-03-22T02:19:00.000-08:00

The pilot project ''1 Million Trees for our 1 World'' is the prelude to a whole series of projects.

We have the Opportunity to give something back to the environment.
Join Us Forestation

The earth needs trees, needs the air, which we breathe.
Wood is the most important natural resource for humans,
after water and oxygen.
My idea and my aspiration are quite simple:
achieve something meaningful for the world before it is too late!
Georgy Meyer..Forestation

In this project we only have winners :

The earth
The climate
Our children and grandchildren
The multitude of new jobs in the forest industry

The investors, who are at the same time business partners within the network project, with double safety/security and double income

Forestation Begins in Bolivia

History of Bolivia

2006-03-22T02:12:00.000-08:00

History of Bolivia
source: Wikipedia
The Bolivian highlands, permanently settled for at least 21,000 years, were part of the culture of Andean South America before the arrival of the Spaniards. The records are fragmentary but suggest that agriculture started about 3000 B.C. and that the production of metal, especially copper, began 1,500 years later.

The Andean region probably has been inhabited for some 20,000 years. Beginning about the second century BC, the Tiwanakan culture developed at the southern end of Lake Titicaca. This culture, centered around and named for the great city of Tiwanaku, developed advanced architectural and agricultural techniques before it disappeared around 1200 AD, probably because of extended drought. Roughly contemporaneous with the Tiwanakan culture, the Moxos in the eastern lowlands and the Mollos north of present-day La Paz, Bolivia also developed advanced agricultural societies that had dissipated by the 13th century.

The collapse of Tiwanakan influence resulted in the rise of seven regional kingdoms of the Aymara, the most powerful states located in the densely populated area around Lake Titicaca. The Aymara, a belligerent people who lived in fortified hilltop towns, had an extraordinary ability to adapt to the unique climatic conditions of the region and increased their food supply through irrigation and the process of freezing and drying crops. By maintaining colonists in the semitropical valleys on the eastern slopes of the Andes and on the Pacific Coast, they were able to produce both tropical and highland crops. Their basic social unit was the ayllu, a kinship group or clan that organized work and distributed land among its members.

The Aymara completely dominated the Uru, another major ethnic group in the pre-Columbian southern Andes. Although the Uru might have preceded the Aymara in the region, by the twelfth century they were poor fishermen and landless workers.

The Aymara, however, were not able to contain the expansion of the Quechua, the third major ethnic group. After the collapse of the Tiahuanacan Empire, a Quechua-speaking state emerged in the area around Cuzco (in present-day Peru). In the early fifteenth century, the Quechua, who became known as the Incas when they adopted the name of their rulers, were the most powerful group in the northern highlands. As the Aymara kingdoms in the south became weaker in the second half of the fifteenth century, the Incas began to conquer them.

The Bolivian highlands became known as the Kollasuyo, a densely populated area with great economic and mineral wealth that constituted one of the four administrative units of the Inca Empire. The highest official of the Kollasuyo was responsible only to the Inca (the emperor) and supervised a group of provincial governors, who in turn controlled members of the Aymara nobility. Under a draft system called the mita, the Incas forced local Indians in the Kollasuyo to work in the mines or on construction projects or to serve in the armies, compensating them fully for their labor. Despite their goal of extreme centralization, the Incas did not fundamentally change the organization of the Aymara kingdoms, which remained relatively autonomous. Many local chiefs kept many of their former powers and were, in general, reinforced by Inca authority. They were also able to retain their culture, their local religion, and their language. The regional nobility, although forced to send their children to Cuzco for education, continued to hold private property. Moreover, the system of sending colonists to the eastern valleys and the coast was tolerated under Inca rule.

In 1470, however, several Aymara kingdoms rebelled against Inca rule. The Incas completely defeated two states and pacified the region by sending mitimas, Quechua-speaking colonists, to Aymara territory, especially to the southern valleys and to the more central valley regions where Cochabamba and Sucre were later founded. By the beginning of the sixteenth century, the Incas had fully established their rule over the Kollasuyo. In the 1980s, the legacy of this resettlement policy could be seen in the predominance of Quechua speakers in many areas of Bolivia.

The Incas failed, however, to conquer the nomadic tribes in the eastern Bolivian lowlands. The remains of Incan fortresses there are evidence of this failure and suggest that the Incas could subdue only those cultures that were primarily based on agriculture. Thus, the Indian groups of the eastern two-thirds of Bolivia preserved their ways of life to a great extent, even after the Spanish conquest.

Amboro National Park, Bolivia

2006-03-22T02:01:00.000-08:00

Amboro National Park, Bolivia
An ecological masterpiece with over 700 birds, jungle cats and the rare spectacled bear
By Jonathan Derksen

Dawn's arrival over this untainted wilderness is accompanied by sounds of the awakening jungle. High overhead in the tops pairs of toucans greet the morning with shrill whistles. In the dense canopy of mara trees, howlers groan loudly at the birdish babble upstairs while hundreds of feet below on the forest floor can be heard the gentle rustlings of peccaries and horned curassows in search of breakfast.

This is Amboro. For many the idea of exploring an untouched junglescape is but a distant dream: however, a three hour drive west from Santa Cruz will take the adventurous tourist into one of the most pristine and, as of yet, unspoiled tropical habitats in the world.

Amboro National Park, covering and area of over 630,000 hectares, lies within three distinct ecosystems: the foothills of the Andes, the northern Chaco and the Amazon Basin. The park was originally established as the Reserva de Vida Silvestre German Busch in 1984 but, with the help of native biologist Noel Kempff, British zoologist Robin Clark and others, the park was expanded to its present size.

The park hosts an incredible variety of flora and fauna. Because of its unique geographical locations, both highland and lowland species are frequent visitors. One can find many trees valued for their fine wood such as the Mara (Swielenia), palms like the Chonta (Astrocaryum) a huge variety of bromeliads and orchids, and limited forests of giant fern and bamboo. Recent studies place the number of plant species at 638, though many species have, as of yet, not been clearly identified.

Because the park straddles different ecosystems, the animal population is also extremely diverse. Perhaps most impressive is the huge number of birds that inhabit the area including such rarities as horned curassows, quetzals, cock-of-the-rocks (found almost exclusively in Bolivia), and the more frequent chestnut-fronted macaws and cuvier toucans. According to park zoologist Robin Clark, the bird species count has already passed the 700 mark.
712 species of birds have been discovered already and only 50 per cent of the park has been thoroughly explored

Most mammals native to Amazonia are also represented. They include capybaras, peccaries, tapirs, several species of monkey such as howlers and capuchins, jungle cats like the jaguar, ocelot and margay, and the increasingly rare, spectacled bear, the only species of bear found in South America.

"Amboro is an ecological masterpiece" says Clark. "712 species of birds have been discovered already and only 50 per cent of the park has been thoroughly explored." He also pointed out that while people eulogize a place like Costa Rica which contains a total of nine life zones. Bolivia has a total of 13.

"I've dedicated so much time to this place because I believe this is one of the richest places on earth", he stated matter-of-factly. "And I think there's still hope. The fact that horned curassows still exist in relatively large numbers is reason enough to keep the park".

Although Amboro National Park remains off the beaten track for tourists, Clark hopes to increase awareness of the importance of its beauty. He has recently set up the quaint and very comfortable Hotel Amboro to accommodate people wishing to experience the park first-hand.

Amboro National Park will appeal mostly to those hardy souls who don't mind making the outdoors their home. There are numerous tributaries of the Yapacani and Surutu rivers (which form the northern border of the park) to explore, the most notable being the Isama, Macunucu, and Colorado. There are endless waterfalls and cool, green swimming pools, moss ridden caves and, of course, the fragile yet awe-inspiring presence of the virgin rain forest.

Amboro is a place of special beauty. One visit is enough to convince even the most cynical that it is truly one of the last untouched wildernesses on earth.

Useful Information

Amboro National Park lies three hours northwest of Santa Cruz just off the main highway to Cochahamba.

Buses, taxis and four-wheel drives can easily be hired at fairly reasonable rates in Santa Cruz.

The best time of year to travel to the park is during the May to October dry season. Access often requires fording of rivers and a horseback ride or hike into one of the main camps which include toilet, cooking, and basic sleeping facilities.

Special thanks to the Bolivian Times, Pasaje jauregui 2248 (Sopocahi), Cassila No. 1696, La Paz, Bolivia, for providing this material.

Worldwide Trekking

2006-03-22T01:49:00.000-08:00

Special Interest Vacations Around the World - Order FREE Brochure!

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Worldwide Trekking Packing List source: travellerspoint
Essentials	Finances
* Address list and list of important contacts or numbers	* ATM card (Maestro or Cirrus logos on the back are most widely accepted)
* Backpack, suitcase, sports bag (something to pack everything in)	* Calculator or currency converter
* Paper or Notebook	* Cash in the local currency of your arrival destination
* Passport (check validity!)	* Credit card (Visa or Mastercard are most widely accepted)
* Pencils, Pens	* Money belt (You can't be too safe in some places)
* Tickets and itinerary (airline, train, bus etc.)	* Sufficient Travellers' cheques (and receipts for travellers' cheques)
*Visa
Clothes	Clothes Accessories
* Boots	* A good hat
* Bra (sports and regular)	* Bandana
* Dress shirts	* Cotton handkerchief or tissues
* Dresses	* Eye-mask
* Jacket	* Gloves or mittens
* Jeans	* Jewelry
* Jumper, Sweater or Fleece	* Knitted (woollen) hat
* Light jacket	* Raincoat or poncho
* Long or thermal underwear	* Safety Pins
* Long sleeve shirts	* Scarf
* Pants or trousers	* Sewing kit
* Sandals, shower shoes, thongs or jandals	* Ski glasses
* Sarong or Lava lava	* Suit bag
* Shoes	* Sunglasses
* Shorts	*Ties
* Ski clothes	Toiletries
* Skirts	* Anti-bacterial cream
* Sneakers	* Comb or Brush
* Socks	* Contact lens equipment or Glasses
* Suits	* Cotton buds
* Swimming gear	* Dental floss (also great for fixing things!)
* T-shirts, singlets	* Deodorant
* Underwear	* Earplugs
First Aid Kit	* Fingernail clippers
* Band aids	* Hair products (gel, spray etc.)
* Compression bandages	* Lip balm
* Diarrhoea tablets	* Make-up
* Gazes	* Mirror
* Insect and/or mosquito repellent	* Moisturiser (face and body)
* Iodine	* Nail file
* Motion Sickness Tablets	* Razors
* Paracetemol, Tylenol etc.	* Shampoo and Conditioner
* Replacement salts sachets	* Shaving Cream
* Small scissors	* Sleeping pills
* Tweezers	* Soap
* Vitamin pills	* Sunscreen and After sun cream
*Water purifying tablets	* Toothbrush, Toothpaste
Other Items	Other Items
* Backpack rain cover	* Batteries
* Books	* Bottled water
* Camera, film and batteries (Spare flash cards or memory for digital)	* Carbohydrate snacks
* Chewing gum or mints (Especially if you are flying chewing something will help your ears)	* Combo or key locks
* Compass	* Cup
* Diary or Organiser	* Duct Tape (Fixes everything!) (Tip from a member)
* Eating utensils	* Electrical adapter and plug converter
* Fishing Line (Strongest string in the world!) (Tip from a member)	* Flashlight or torch (Don't forget the batteries)
* Forum suggestions!	* Frisbee, hackey sack, ball, pack of cards or other recreational items
* Gifts are always appreciated while travelling (Tip from a member)	* Guidebooks
* Inflatable travel pillow	* International driving license (If driving overseas, have your driving license translated)
* International Student Identification Card (For discounts worldwide)	* Laptop (Especially for the business travellers)
* Laundry detergent	* Maps (incl. small map of the world to show where you are from) (Tip from a member)
* Mini camera tripod (Big is better if you have the space!)	* Mobile phone or SIM card
* Mosquito net	* Passport Photos
* Phone card (Both for local and international calls)	* Photocopies of important documents in case they are stolen (Tip from a member)
* Phrase books or Dictionaries	* Pillow or Pillowcase to stuff with clothes
* Plastic bags	* Recharger for electrical items (Save some money on batteries)
* Resume and Work references (Don't forget these if you are planning to work while travelling)	* Skis, ski shoes, ski poles or a snowboard (If you are planning a winter holiday, you want to remember these!)
* Sleep sheet	* Sleeping bag
* Sleeping mat	* Swiss Army knife or Leatherman tool (Don't keep in your carry on as it will be removed)
* Towels (Beach and otherwise - the quick drying versions are very handy!)	* Travel alarm clock
* Universal Sink Plug (Squash ball can double as one) (Tip from a member)	* Walkman speakers
* Walkman, Discman, Minidisc or MP3 player (Including music and batteries)	* Watch
* Ziplock bags (The freezer ones are usually the best)

Climbing in Bolivia

2006-03-22T01:32:00.000-08:00

Nevado Sajama is located in the Parque Nacional Sajama, established in 1945. This remote park on Bolivia's south-western border with Chile occupies an area of about 80,000 hectares and includes within its boundaries Bolivia's highest mountain Nevado Sajama (6542 m), an extinct volcano with a large ice cap covering the higher elevations of the mountain. Despite the aridity of the area, the attractions of the park include the world's highest forest, vicunas, rheas, armadillos, flamingoes and Andean condors.

There is no particular season for climbing Sajama, though snowfall can be expected from October - April. Technically, the climb is relatively easy, but the glaciers covering the upper slopes of the volcano are severely crevassed and fairly steep. The usual routes stay on ridges which eventually lead to the icy summit, where there is no trace of any crater. Severe local storms, high winds and the altitude are the main obstacles to any ascent. The mountain was first attempted in 1927 when Joseph Prem soloed the north-west ridge to a height of 6200 m. Several attempts failed due to weather conditions until Prem and his partner Wilfrid Kuehm finally reached the summit of Sajama in August 1939 via the the much more difficult south-east ridge.

source: geo.umass.edu