Merry Christmas Everyone and Happy New Year

The Peaceable Kingdom and the Leopard of Serenity by Edward Hicks

A very, very Merry Christmas to all my amazing and dear friends, followers, and those who dropped by just to take a look.  May peace and joy fill your hearts this Christmas.

My heartfelt thanks to all of you for making this year such a memorable one for me, and I hope you all have a most wonderful coming New Year filled with all the good things you could wish for  ~  Amelia

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Fast Fact Attack: Endangered Species No. 83 – The Malayan Tiger

Photographer: Greg Hume

“As long as people will shed the blood of innocent creatures there can be no peace, no liberty, no harmony between people. Slaughter and justice cannot dwell together”
Isaac Bashevis Singer

Regrettably, the magnificent tiger has been exploited for body parts and skins for centuries, and the Malayan tiger is no exception. Much is done in many countries to try and save tigers from extinction.  In Thailand, the home of the Malayan tiger, there are 20,000 forest rangers employed to protect all wildlife, but this is becoming an increasingly dangerous occupation.  In September 2013, two rangers were fired upon by five poachers they had tracked to the Umphang Wildlife Sanctuary in northern Thailand.  On their way, the poachers had poisoned various animals, which the rangers suspected had been left behind as tiger bait (although, it is known they were hunting for various species). Four of the rangers were shot  in the incident, and two later died.  To add to the tragedy of the deaths of the rangers, when shots were exchanged, shockingly, the hunters were seen to be armed with AK-47 and carbine automatic rifles.  This does not imply poaching for subsistence food.  Instead, it smites heavily of terrorist activity.

Sadly, these incidents have become commonplace across Asia.  In the past four years, forty-two forest rangers have been killed on duty in Thailand alone.  These poorly paid, hard-working, dedicated rangers could do with a lot more support from the rest of the world as well as their own people.

A large part of the market for body parts and skins is created by the demand of middle class Asian consumers, in particular the fast-growing middle classes of China  (many of whom think elephants shed their tusks naturally), and it is not slowing down.  The demand for young animals as pets and exhibits has also become huge.  But, more often, it is terrorism which benefits most from these killings and live trade.  The trade in illegal wildlife, dead or alive, is now worth an estimated nineteen billion dollars a year.

Under such adverse circumstances, it seems only matter of time before the beautiful Malayan tiger, like so many other species, is lost to this world forever.

Slightly smaller than their Indian counterparts, female Malayan tigers can reach an average of seven feet ten inches in length, and males as much as eight feet six inches. They can stand at anything between two and four feet high at the shoulder and weigh between one hundred and four pounds and two hundred and eighty-four pounds.

The tiger’s orange, black and white striped coat is designed as camouflage in the forest or long grass.  It has huge front paws with five retractable claws on each.  It has incredibly powerful jaws housing large canines with which it is able to grab its prey and suffocate it.  In fact, in favourable circumstances it would have a more than fair chance of defending itself against its human predators.

Not always successful in every attack, one in twenty seems to be the kill rate, tigers can eat up to eighty pounds of meat in one feeding session.  The rest they will cover and come back to later, having already marked their territory with deep claw marks on trees.

There is no specific breeding season for tigers.  It is an all-year-round event which is followed by a gestation period of roughly fourteen weeks.  Females birth in deep grass hollows or caves. Normally, a litter will consist of three cubs weighing about three pounds each.  They will stay with their mother for the first eighteen months to two years of their lives, in which time they will be taught all they need to equip them for a life of independence.

Habitat
Tropical forests, grasslands, and subtropical moist broadleaf forests.
Where
The southern tip of Thailand and the Malaysian Peninsular.
What they eat
Deer, wild boar, sun bears and occasional livestock.
Threats
Habitat destruction due to logging operations and development of roads for the same, and conversion of forests to agriculture or commercial plantations.   Poaching for skins and Traditional Chinese medicine, and human conflict.  An ever-diminishing prey base.
Status: Endangered
The Malayan Tiger  (Panthera tigris ssp. jacksoni)  is listed on the  IUCN Red List of Threatened Species  as Endangered.  It is also listed on  CITES: Appendix I.  Only five hundred or so Malayan tigers are still thought to exist in the wild.  Many are kept in captivity around the world. In the wild, most live outside protected areas.
Various agencies are addressing the issue of the Malayan tiger.  The World Wide Fund for Nature, for example, has initiated programs focusing on raising awareness, education and the reduction of human conflict.

Related Articles
How to Stop the Illegal Wildlife Trade from Funding Terrorist Groups
Two forest rangers killed in gun battle with tiger hunters 
Scientists: to save the Malayan tiger, save its prey
Thousands come together for the Malayan Tiger!
Little Rock Zoo: 5-year-old tiger gives birth to 4 cubs

Related posts by me
Sumatran Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae)
Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris)
Indochinese Tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti)

Fast Fact Attack: Endangered Species No. 82 – Pennant’s Red Colobus

Image courtesy: The Drill Project

“I cannot see how there can be any real and full recognition of Kinship as long as men continue either to cheat or to eat their fellow beings.”
Henry Salt (1851-1939)

On a small, highly biodiverse island in the Gulf of Guinea, there lives a species of monkey which, surprisingly, is not dying out through loss of habitat.   Incredibly, this unfortunate monkey is instead being eaten into extinction.  And, not as a subsistence food either.  The poor cannot afford to eat monkey-meat on the island of Bioko. This is strictly the privilege of the more well-to-do.  Oil money has taken care of that, and red colobus is now considered a luxury item on the menu.   As more have developed a penchant for the meat, the price has shot up, trade in the island’s market of Malabo is burgeoning, demand is high, and the red colobus are rapidly declining in numbers. The usual arguments about  the indigenous peoples being hungry and depending on a species for food, are meaningless here.   The  local populace are eating this animal because they want to.

Red colobus weigh in at anything up to twenty-two pounds. They can grow to as much as two feet tall with a slightly longer, non-prehensile tail length of two feet four inches. Typical of its species, Pennant’s red colobus has a small head, a long back and the characteristic red colobus round belly.  Its limbs are long and spindly ending in thumbless, elongated, hook-like fingers.  Its coat comes in various shades of brown and red on the back, with a light underside and orange and black down the sides of the limbs. It has a black fur on its head, which is usually parted down the centre.

The mouth contains specialist molars for softening or breaking up leaves and fruit.  It also has a multi-chambered stomach for fermentation of ingested food.

Red colobus are arboreal, slow and noisy.  When not simply leaping across the branches, they move through them by bending the thinner, more flexible ones and using them as catapults.  They live in groups of twelve to eighty comprising of both male and female individuals, with females outnumbering the males twofold. Females tend to remain with the same group throughout their lives, whilst males move between troops.  They communicate between each other and other troops using a series of barks and squawks.

There is little or no information available about the reproductive habits of Pennant’s Red Colobus (Procolobus pennantii),  so I think it may be fair to assume it will be much the same as say, the Zanzibar red colobus (Procolobus kirkii) which is as follows.
There is no specific breeding season and they mate throughout the year, but the inter-birth interval can be up to three years or more.  The gestation period lasts between five and six months, after which only one baby will be born.  The babies are born altricial. (Please remember, this part is only an assumption)

Habitat
Primary and secondary rain forest, and swamp forests
Where
Equatorial Guinea (the island of Bioko).  Two other sub-species exist in the Niger Delta (Procolobus pennantii epieni) and the Republic of the Congo (Procolobus pennantii bouvieri).
What they eat
Fresh leaves, flowers, fruit and seeds.
Threats
The main threat to Pennant’s Red Colobus is commercial hunting for the bushmeat market. Habitat loss has also played a part as has limited range and small numbers.
Status: Endangered
Pennant’s Red Colobus  (Procolobus pennantii ssp. pennantii) is listed on the  IUCN Red List of Threatened Species  as Endangered. It is also listed as one of the  “World’s 25 most endangered primates”.   Almost half the entire red colobus population has been lost to uncontrolled bushmeat hunting over the past two decades.

There are no red colobus monkeys kept in any recognised public zoos or other known approved places operating captive breeding programs.  Though it has been tried, it was found red colobus did not do well in captivity.  

National laws forbid hunting of primates in protected areas, but these laws are not enforced.  

The Bioko Biodiversity Protection Program  had this to say:   “The continuing BBPP presence in the marketplace is also a constant reminder to both buyers and sellers that trafficking in primate carcasses is illegal.”

This may well be a constant reminder, but it doesn’t seem to be much of an ongoing deterrent.  With the price of red colobus meat exceeding all expectations in some quarters, it could be some time before an end is brought to this despicable trade.

Related Articles
Moneys slaughtered for meat market on Bioko
Filming in the Caldera de Luba
Winking out in the Niger Delta

Fast Fact Attack: Endangered Species No. 81 – The Eastern Lowland (Grauer’s) Gorilla

“The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them; that’s the essence of humanity”
George Bernard Shaw

During the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the people were not the only ones to suffer.  Populations of gorillas were depleted dramatically.  This highly biodiverse country is among the poorest in the world and this species was, and still is, greatly exploited as a food source.  Mothers have been slain and babies sold on the black market, and parts of the animals have been traded for medicinal usage.  The species can currently be found in an area where refugees, poachers and militia still abound.

The Eastern lowland gorilla, also known as Grauer’s gorilla, is the largest of all the gorilla species and one of the five great apes; in the company of orangutans, chimpanzees, bonobos and man.  It is one of two sub-species of eastern gorilla found in Africa.  The other is the critically endangered mountain gorilla. The eastern lowland gorilla is far more numerous than the mountain gorilla, but none-the-less, still endangered.

Having heavy bodies, large hands equipped with opposable thumbs, short muzzles and dark-grey to black coats, this species is well-adapted to jungle life.  The backs of the male gorillas, upon reaching maturity, will change to a silvery-white colour, giving rise to the name ‘silverback’.  Faces are hairless, as are hands, ears and feet.  As the animals reaches maturity, the chest will lose hair, too.

Fully grown male Eastern lowland gorillas can weigh up to four hundred pounds and reach a height of five and a half feet when upright.  There is one documented case of a silverback reaching five feet eleven inches – but this is rare.

Gorillas are diurnal and do most of their foraging early morning and late in the day.  The rest of their time is spent sleeping, playing and socially grooming.  Gorillas build, sleep and birth in nests in the trees.  They live in groups of thirty-five to fifty individuals, with the most dominant silverback at the head of the group.

Gorillas, like other primates, have various means of communicating with each other and intruders.  In the case of unwanted callers, males defend their territory, females and babies with a combination of sheer bulk and flamboyant displays of charging and chest beating.  Barks, hoots, roars and screams complete this intimidating package.  Visual gestures, body language and facial expressions are also forms of communication.

Gorillas are polygynous.  There is no set breeding season and the dominant silverback will father most of the offspring.  After a gestation period of about eight and a half months, one  infant will be born (very occasionally two).  Infants weigh roughly four and a half pounds.  Newborns can crawl after nine weeks and walk at eight to nine months. They will nurse for three years or more, remaining in the mother’s nest.  Full maturity comes at about twelve years of age.  Females give birth only once every three or four years.  Unfortunately, there is a very high infant mortality rate.  This greatly affects the Eastern lowland gorilla’s ability to replenish its numbers.

Habitat
Montane, transitional and lowland tropical forests.
Where
Democratic Republic of the Congo.
What they eat
Plants, leaves, stems and bark, fruits and seeds.  They also occasionally consume ants and termites.
Threats
Loss of habitat due to agricultural expansion, degradation of habitat from illegal logging, illegal mining and road building for the same, and charcoal production.  Poaching for bushmeat and medicine, and the capture and trade of baby gorillas has had a detrimental affect on the population, due to the slow reproductive rates of this already diminishing species.   Disease; epidemics such as ebola and diseases passed on by humans are also a large threat.
Status: Endangered
The Eastern lowland gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri) is listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as Endangered.
The IUCN has come together with various other well-known international organisations to stave off the extinction of this wonderful primate (see related articles below).  Here is what the IUCN have to say:
“Today, the remaining Grauer’s Gorilla populations are small and localised and occur in regions of intense illegal mining activity and insecurity,” said Stuart Nixon of Fauna & Flora International. “Until we can complete the much-needed surveys, our best guess is that between 2,000 and 10,000 gorillas remain in 14 isolated populations. Without a dedicated effort, the next 10 years will be marked by continuing local extinctions of this forgotten gorilla” (see related articles below).
Other organisations, such as WildLife Direct (also see related articles below), have their own worthy conservation programs for the gorillas.

Related Articles
Pride: a secret weapon in protecting primates 
Grauer’s Gorilla caught in the crossfire of conflict (IUCN) 
WildLife Direct-  Keeping our gorillas safe and healthy!
Rarest gorillas lose half their habitat in 20 years
Gorillas in the Mist…
Human virus linked to mountain gorilla deaths

Sir David Attenborough launches crowdfunding campaign to save mountain gorillas

Fast Fact Attack: Endangered Species No. 80 – The Malayan Sun Bear

“It should not be believed that all beings exist for the sake of the existence of man. On the contrary, all the other beings too have been intended for their own sakes and not for the sake of anything else”
Maimonides

What is it about bears!  You would think they would be revered on account of their size alone.  And, in the case of this bear, its name.  After all, Inti or Apu-punchau, the Inca Sun God was worshipped by so many for so long.  But, these bears have not been afforded the same courtesy.  Instead these poor creatures are persecuted beyond belief.  Just like their cousins, the Asiatic black bears, they are trapped and incarcerated for their fur, bile and gall bladders.  Traditional Chinese Medicine is claiming their body parts and the paws of the bear are sold as a delicacy in restaurants.  Their habitat is being destroyed at an alarming rate and, on top of all that, the ill-informed seem to think bear cubs make good pets (after killing the mother, that is).  All-in-all, a sad indictment of man’s behaviour toward animals.

Although considered a large animal, Malayan sun bears are the smallest of all bear species, with, incidentally, the largest canines. Reaching a maximum length (males) of almost four and a half feet, they can weigh up to one hundred and forty-four pounds. Males tend to be a lot larger than females.

Malayan sun bears (or honey bears as they are sometimes known) have short, smooth, water-repellent, dark-brown to black fur, with an orangey/yellow bow-shaped mark on their chests.  The same colour of fur surrounds the muzzle and the eyes.  The skin around the neck is loose, allowing the bear to twist and bite its attacker when necessary. They have strong paws with hairless soles and long curved claws.  Their snouts are flexible and they have extraordinarily long tongues – an adaptation for gathering termites from the nests and mounds.  Sun bears have very poor eyesight, but a keen sense of smell, which helps them to detect food.  They are good climbers and can often be found resting in trees. 

Despite being the smallest of the species, sun bears can be quite aggressive, and there have been recorded unprovoked attacks.  Sun bears have been observed living together whilst raising cubs, but, usually they are solitary and the mother and cubs are the only ones to stay together. 

Living in a tropical climate, with an all-year-round supply of food, the need to hibernate does not arise.

There is no specific breeding season.  The gestation period following mating is roughly ninety-six days.  One to three tiny, altricial (furless, eyes closed and  dependent upon the parent) cubs will be born.  The cubs will continue to nurse for about eighteen months. Cubs remain with their mothers until  fully grown and are able to fend for themselves.  Female bears use holes inside large, old hollow trees to birth the babies.

Habitat
Tropical evergreen rainforest including swamps and limestone/karst hills, and lower montane forest.
Where
Bangladesh, Brunei, Darussalam, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam.
What they eat
Fruit (especially figs) and berries, insects, small vertebrates, eggs, honey and termites. They use their very long tongues to access the mounds and nests of termites, the hives of bees and tree holes with insects.
Threats
In most countries:  Habitat loss due to plantation development, unsustainable logging practices, illegal logging both within and outside protected areas.  Commercial poaching of bears for the wildlife trade is a huge threat.  Other reasons for killing bears include: Crop damage, capture of cubs for pets (the mother being killed in the process) and commercial hunting.
On the islands of Sumatra and Borneo:  Large-scale conversion of forest to oil palm plantations.
In Myanmar, Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia and Viet Nam:  Sun bears are commonly poached for their gall bladders and paws; the former is used as a Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the latter as an expensive delicacy.
In China and Viet Nam:  Bile is milked from commercially farmed bears;  however, although sun bears can be found on these farms, the majority of bears used in this practise are Asiatic black bears.  Bears are routinely removed from the wild to replenish stock on these small farms.
The Malayan sun bear has few natural predators.
Status: Vulnerable
The Malayan Sun Bear (Helarctos malayanus) is listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as Vulnerable (considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild).  It has been listed on CITES Appendix I since 1979.
Killing bears is illegal in all range countries.  However, little enforcement of these laws occurs.  It has to be said, the areas which need patrolling are vast, making this an overwhelming task for rangers.  But, given exploitation for body parts is expected to continue, these bears will be gone if something effective is not done soon. .
In Thailand alone, it is estimated that commercial poaching of sun bears has reduced their numbers by 50% over the last twenty years.

Related Articles
Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre – Hope at Last For Borneo
Baby bear found strapped to pole in northern Ontario
This article is not about sun bears, it is about a baby bear tormented by children in Canada.  It happened in 2012.  What is noteworthy is the appalling stance the comments took towards the bears, and the unacceptable  ‘kids will be kids’  attitude conveyed by those who clearly thought this behaviour was acceptable.  No wonder so many abuse animals if this is the sort of message children are receiving in a supposedly civilised western country. Though, I very much doubt this article reflects the good Canadian people in general.

Fast Fact Attack: Endangered Species No. 79 – The Ka’apor Capuchin Monkey

“If civilization is to survive, it must live on the interest, not the capital, of nature”
Ronald Wright

Endemic to Brazil, the Ka’apor Capuchin (Cebus kaapori) is a recently discovered member of the Cebidae family of monkeys. Targeted by hunters and having suffered from devastating habitat loss, the species has become one of the most threatened primates in the largest rainforest on Earth; living in a region with the highest level of deforestation and habitat degradation in the entire Brazilian Amazon. There are now very few Ka’apors left in the wild.

Capuchin monkeys are among the most recognisable types of monkey on the planet.  These irrepressible and highly intelligent little primates have been trapped and captured for centuries, and used for man’s entertainment and amusement by organ grinders and exotic pet seekers.  Consequently, there are more Capuchin monkeys in captivity in the world than any other species.  For most, this means a life of isolation, anguish and gloom, and often they do not live long.  But, some are lucky, and happy Capuchins are known to be very talkative, incurably curious, highly intelligent and extremely mischievous.  Ka’apor Capuchins are also hunted mercilessly for bush-meat.

The Ka’apor species lacks the tuft of hair on its head which most others Capuchins have.  They have semi-prehensile tails, short fingers and opposable thumbs.  They also possess perfectly adapted large, square premolars with dense enamel to aid nut-cracking. Brown-tufted Capuchins have been observed using tools for this purpose.  Having developed an anvil system, they were able to crack open hard-shelled nuts using large rocks.  Aside from man and the apes, the Capuchins are the only other primates known to do this.

Adult coats of the Ka’apor are grey to reddish-brown on the back and outer limbs.  Heads and shoulders are creamy-white to silver-grey, with a black triangular cap on the head, and faces are bare and pink in colour, as are the ears.  Hands and feet are blackish.  The species is sexually dimorphic and weighs an average of six and a half pounds. Adult Capuchins stand almost eighteen inches tall and have a tail which is roughly twenty inches long.

Ka’apor Capuchin monkeys are both arboreal and quadrupedal.  They can be found in the lower mid-canopy and the understorey, which they move through in on all fours using their semi-prehensile tails whilst feeding.

Communication within the species is wide and varied.  Capuchins use a whole range of vocal, olfactory and visual communications within their troops.  Social grooming is used as a form of bonding.

Ka’apors are polygamous and occur in groups of up to fifteen individuals.  The breeding season ranges from October to February, followed by an average gestation period of one hundred and sixty days.  Females usually give birth to one baby, rarely twins, and will only birth every two to four seasons.  Infants cling to the mother’s back for the first three months.  By six months, they are becoming more independent and taking solids, and will soon be fully weaned.

The Ka’apor Capuchin was only recently elevated to species status.  It had been formerly classified as a sub-species of the wedge-capped Capuchin.

The Ka’apor Capuchin monkey is named after the Urubu-Ka’apor Indians, who live in the region where the monkey was first discovered.

The Ka’apor Capuchin, as with other species of Capuchin, is widely used in laboratory research.

Habitat
Lowland Amazonian high forest
Where
The Brazilian states of Pará and Maranhão.
What they eat
Fruits, seeds and arthropods, frogs, nestlings and even small mammals;  supplemented by stems, flowers and leaves.
Threats
Habitat loss due to logging, forest clearance for cattle ranching, and industrial agriculture, and extensive hunting for food.  The Guajá, or Awá, Indians in Maranhão, who hunt all primate species within their reserve (and, whose land and lives have also been destroyed by illegal logging) are known to keep orphaned Capuchin and other primates as pets.  These small monkeys are also collected for the international illegal pet trade.
Status: Endangered
The Ka’apor capuchin (Cebus kaapori) is listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as Endangered.  It is also protected under Cites Appendix 1 and listed on The World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates 2012-2014.  Ka’apors are located in the protected area of the Gurupi Biological Reserve in the State of Maranhão , which was created in 1988.  More than half of the reserve’s forest has since been lost due to selective logging. This was particularly prejudicial to the species as trees which provided the fruit Ka’apors favoured, and which made up most of their diet, were lost.   The IUCN has documented  a drastic decline in numbers of at least 80% over the past three generations. 

Related Articles
Scientists identify the world’s most irreplaceable protected areas
The Amazon: The World’s Largest Rainforest
Going to Pot
Researchers unravel ways Capuchin monkeys select effective tools
UGA Research Monkeys Will Be Retired
Monkeys returned to owner after attack

Fast Fact Attack: Endangered Species No. 78 – The Togian Islands Babirusa

“The soul is the same in all living creatures, although the body of each is different”
Hippocrates

With those outlandish tusks, these wonderful creatures were always destined to be the inspiration for all sorts of fabulous legends. There is no other mammal known to man who sports this headgear.  Left alone with few natural predators, elusive and shy, the islanders have been in awe of the babirusa for centuries.  In native legend, they are said to use their tusks to hang upside down from trees in the night and sleep.  Some say they hook their tusks over low branches to support their heads whilst they sleep, while others say the males hang in the trees to spy on the females!

Indonesian people make demonic masks based on the bizarre appearance of this unique curly tusked pig.  The Balinese Hindu-era Court of Justice pavilion and the “floating pavilion” of Klungkung palace ruins are famous for the painted babirusa raksasa  (grotesques) on the ceilings – the paintings depicting scenes of the horrors awaiting the profoundly immoral and wicked after death.

They are only hunted locally for meat by non-Muslim communities.  Muslim villagers do not hunt them because of their distant pig connection.  “Pigs are haram – considered unclean, forbidden to eat or touch, and best avoided entirely”.   Actually, the hippopotamus connection is much stronger, but, nevertheless, the babirusa is still a pig.

Bearing all this in mind, and the fact that they have such a lush forest home to forage in, albeit fast disappearing, you would think these shy and retiring creatures would have quite a decent chance of flourishing.  But, no!  They are very much under threat. Extensive illegal logging is destroying these ancient animals and their ancient forest home.  Hunting is rife and they are in demand as zoo exhibits.

Togian babirusas are much larger than their cousins, the better-known north Sulawesi babirusa.  They have a well-developed tail-tuft, and the upper canines of the male are relatively “short, slender, rotated forwards, and always converge”.   Babirusas can reach up to over three and a half feet in length and can weigh up to two hundred and twenty pounds.  Males tend to be larger than females. They have grey to brown skin, sparsely covered with briskly hair, and long, thin legs.  Their snouts are also thin and they have small ears. Tusks come in fours.

The tusks can grow up to one foot in length, with the upper canines growing through the upper lip and arching towards the eyes.  These tusks grow continuously throughout the animal’s lifetime.  If they are not worn down or snapped off they can pierce the skull.  The upper tusks of females are of normal size, but, they can be absent altogether.  Male babirusa sharpen their lower tusks on trees, but not so the upper curved ones.  This may be one of the reasons these become so long and curly; they are simply left to grow.  With the tusks sited as they are, barbirusa are unable to root under the dirt for food.  Instead they use their hooves to dig for insects and their larva.

Babirusas have a superb senses of smell and hearing, both of which are gainfully employed to find food and avoid predators. They are also excellent swimmers and very fleet of foot.  They can run as fast as the deer.

And, they absolutely love wallowing in the mud.  Not only does this cool them off, and its fun, but it rids the babirusas of the parasites and insects which live on their skin.

The breeding season ranges from January to August, after which there is a gestation period of one hundred and fifty-eight days. Normally, two piglets will be birthed.  The little ones will not be weaned until they are six or eight months old, but their diet will have been enriched with solids, starting ten days after birth.

Once thought to be a sub-species of the Babirusa (Babirusa), the Togian Islands Babirusa (Babyrousa togeanensis) is now recognised as a separate species.  Of all four species of Babyrousa, Babyrousa togeanensis is the only one listed as endangered.  The other three species are all considered vulnerable  –  at the moment!

The name “babirusa” means “pig deer”, referring to the resemblance between the tusks and the antlers of the deer.

The average lifespan of babirusas can be as little as ten years in the wild and as much as twenty-four years in captivity.

Although they physically resemble pigs, fossil records show them to be in the hippopotamus family.  However, as only one fossil has ever been found, there is still some debate about this.

Habitat
Tropical rainforest on riverbanks and ponds, where there is a plentiful supply of aquatic plants.  They can also be found in secondary forest, freshwater swamps and beaches.
Where
Indonesia:  The Togian Archipelago, between the northern and eastern Sulawesi peninsulas.
What they eat
Leaves, roots, fruit, invertebrates and small vertebrates.
Threats
Habitat loss through forest clearance and forest fires.  Human disruption and hunting by local villagers.  Hunting for food only occurs in non-Muslim communities.
In 1998 almost 70% of the forest was damaged by fire on Malenge Island.  No barbirusa carcasses were found and the species have been seen returning to these areas since, but the fire affected their food supply.
Status: Endangered
The Togian Islands Babirusa (Babyrousa togeanensis), is listed on the  IUCN Red List of Threatened Species  as Endangered.  It has also been included on Cites Appendix 1 since 1982.  Under Indonesian law, all species of babirusa have been fully protected since 1931. However, hunting remains a significant threat.  The Tongian Islands were designated a Marine National Park in 2004.

Related Articles
The many babirusa species
Conservation – Reclaiming Our Identity

Fast Fact Attack: Endangered Species No. 77 – The Northern Brown Howler

Photographer – Peter Schoen

“We are living on the planet as if we have another one to go to”
Terry Swearingen

If you have ever been lucky enough to have heard a howler monkey calling in the wild, you will know how it got its name.  Arguably one of the loudest animals on the planet, they can be heard up to three miles away through the dense jungle.  Alexander von Humboldt said about howler monkeys, “their eyes, voice, and gait are indicative of melancholy”.  The howlers in this clip may not be of the sub-species guariba guariba, but the sound is typical of the species in general.  And, believe me, this is not something you need to take you by surprise in the dark.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists most of these sedentary, arboreal howler monkeys (fifteen species) as threatened, due to human activities such as ceaseless hunting for bush meat, and habitat loss and degradation.  But, for the most part, the howlers are still fairly plentiful, with the exception of the Mexican howler (Alouatta palliata mexicana – a sub-species of the mantled howler) and today’s highlighted species, the northern brown howler (Alouatta guariba guariba).  They have both suffered to the point of being driven to near extinction.

Howler monkeys are a large and inexpensive source of protein.  One monkey could easily feed a family of four.  And, they are slow and docile, which makes them easy prey.  Then, there are the usual illegal logging activities and other forms of human encroachment that we see everywhere across the globe.  The locations change, but the threats remain the same.

Howlers are not only large themselves, but they are also among the largest of the New World monkeys.  They range in bodily height from two to three feet.  Added to that, they have extremely long, prehensile tails which can measure anything from three feet to an astounding three times the size of the monkey itself.  This tail is invaluable to the New World monkeys.  They use it to travel through the branches and can wrap it round and swing freely to pluck leaves and fruit with their hands.

Another helpful augmentation of the howlers is their incredibly keen sense of smell. They have short stumpy, round noses which can sniff out nourishment (the nostrils have sensory hairs inside) at over two to three miles.  Possibly no coincidence that they can be heard that far away as well.

A further adaptation is the molars, specially designed to shear through tougher leaves.

But, it doesn’t end there.  These marvellous monkeys are also blessed with trichromatic colour vision, which is thought to have developed in the species to allow selection of the very best leaves available.

One last staggering attribute is, of course, that voice.  A combination of large throat with specialised vocal chords and larynx produces a whole range of growls, barks, howls and roars.  This ability is unique to the howler species.

Howler monkeys are slow-moving folivores.  They spend most of the daylight hours relaxing in the trees.  The rest of their time is shared between eating, travelling and grooming. They move quadrupedally along the tops of branches, using their hands and their long, strong tails.  They live in groups of four or five.  Occasionally there are more. One dominant male usually rules the troop.

Howler monkeys do not have a specific breeding season, but females are only able to produce offspring every twenty-two months.  One infant will be born as a result of the liaison, after a gestation period of six months.  Most infants are weaned at one year, and reach maturity at five years (male) and approximately three and a half years (female).

The species, brown howler monkey (Alouatta guariba), lives in forests in south-eastern Brazil and far north-eastern Argentina.  There are two sub-species; today’s featured northern brown howler (Alouatta guariba guariba), listed as ‘critically endangered’, and the southern brown howler (Alouatta guariba clamitans) listed as ‘of least concern’.

Habitat
Sub-montane, montane and lowland forests.
Where
Brazil:  The Northern brown howler is confined to a small area north of the  Rio Jequitinhonha.  The Jequitinhonha flows through the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais.
What they eat
Mature leaves, though younger leaves are preferred.  Mature fruit is also an important part of the diet.  And, they will also eat, buds, flowers, and nuts.
Threats
Hunting and  deforestation, hunting being the larger threat as they are ale to  survive in small fragments of forest if they are left alone by hunters.  They are both susceptible to, and carriers of, disease.
Status: Critically Endangered
The Northern brown howler (Alouatta guariba guariba), is listed on the  IUCN Red List of Threatened Species  as Critically Endangered.  It has been on the critical list since 1996.  It is also protected by  Cites Appendix 11.  Little over two hundred of the species still survive in the wild.  I have been unable to find any record of Northern howler monkeys being kept in zoos, either in captive breeding programs or as an attraction.

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Fast Fact Attack: Endangered Species No. 76 – The Black-headed Spider Monkey

Photographer: Peter Cook

“In the end, we conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught”
Baba Dioum

These elegant primates live almost exclusively in the upper-canopy and emergent trees, rarely coming down to the ground.  And, like most endangered species, they are fast losing their homes to deforestation and their lives to hunting.

They live in protected parks, but the pressure on the park rangers has become so great, due to the increase in human population and activity, they are no longer equipped to deal with any conflict which arises.

The black-headed spider monkey is suffering as a result.

The species Ateles fusciceps is the largest of all New World monkeys.  The body is black or brown, with a brown head and pale rings around the forward facing eyes. The tail is prehensile and acts as a fifth limb with which to hang on to the branches and allow hands free feeding.  As with all spider monkeys, the black-headed spider monkey has disproportionately long, spindly limbs, hands like hooks and no thumbs.

The head and body length can be as much as twenty-two inches with a much longer, extremely strong, tail of thirty-four inches.  The average weight for males is almost twenty pounds and females nineteen pounds.

The black-headed spider monkey is arboreal and diurnal.  Graceful movement is by climbing and brachiation, and speeds of up to thirty-four miles per hour can be reached.

Spider monkeys live in groups of up to 20-30 individuals.  However, they prefer travelling in smaller groups, so the whole troop is rarely seen together.  Leadership falls to the females when hunting for food.  They are highly intelligent primates and the various routes will be planned by the females in advance.

Spider monkeys have a lovely habit of greeting each other with a hug.  When the whole troop gets back together, they sometimes affectionately entwine tails, too.

There is no particular breeding season for spider monkeys.  The gestation period is usually up to two hundred and thirty-two days. Normally only one infant will be born with a pink face and pink ears.  It will ride on its mother’s back for the next sixteen weeks.  Sweetly, the baby will wrap its tail around its mother’s for security.  At twenty-two months the infant will be fully weaned.  By then, the infant will have developed its adult coat.  Females only give birth once every three years. 

The black-headed spider monkey, Ateles fusciceps fusciceps, is a sub-species of Geoffroy’s spider monkey.  The other sub-species is Ateles fusciceps rufiventris, which ranges from south-west Colombia to eastern Panama.

Habitat
Tropical and sub-tropical forests up to seventeen hundred meters above sea level.  The species favours the emergents and the upper canopy.
Where
The black-headed spider monkey  (a.f.f.)  occurs only in north-western Ecuador.  There have been reports of sightings in Colombia, but no evidence has ever been submitted.
What they eat
Fruit makes up the most part of the daily intake, with leaves, seeds and insects being eaten during the dry season when fruit is not so plentiful.
Threats
Severe habitat loss due to deforestation.  Excessive and illegal hunting has also caused huge losses to the population.  There has been an estimated population decline of more than 80% of the population of all black and brown-headed spider monkeys in less than fifty years.
Status: Endangered
The black-headed spider monkey (Ateles fusciceps fusciceps),  is listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as Critically Endangered.  It is also protected under Cites Appendix 11.  There are an estimated two hundred to two hundred and fifty  Ateles fusciceps left in the wild in Ecuador.  Both sub-species live within the protected areas of Cotacachi-Cayapas Ecological Reserve, Los Cedros Protected Forest and Awá Ethnological Reserve.  Despite the supposed safety of these national parks, illegal hunting still continues.

Fast Fact Attack: Endangered Species No. 75 – The Malayan Tapir

“The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe, the less taste we shall have for destruction”
Rachel Carson

Looking remarkably like a cross between a rhinoceros (to which it is related) and a huge prize boar wearing a saddle blanket, the Malayan tapir is yet another species suffering from habitat devastation. Once again, we bear witness to the terrible destruction caused by palm oil plantations.

These solitary, timid creatures are one of four species of tapir.  The others can be found Central and South America. The Malayan tapir, as the name would suggest, is native to Asia.

Malayan tapirs are surprisingly large, weighing up to seven hundred pounds; roughly as much as a Shetland pony.  But, far from being pony-like in its length, it can grow to as much as eight feet from head to tail.  Of all the tapirs, the Malayan tapir is the largest by far. Oddly, females are usually larger than males.

Tapirs are close relatives of (surprisingly) horses and (not so surprisingly) rhinos.  And, something you may not know, a group of tapirs is called a “candle”.

Malayan tapirs have long, flexible, prehensile trunks used extensively for grabbing leaves and plucking tasty fruit.  But, this proboscis also has another important role; that of a snorkel, used when the tapir goes swimming and diving for food and cover.

Its sparse coat is a deep-dark-grey to black with a white ‘saddle’ running from the centre of its back to its tail, and white ears trims.  The coat is made up of very coarse hair which covers extremely tough skin. The tough skin comes in handy for protection against the claws and jaws of predators, and for withstanding the rigours of crashing through thick understorey vegetation when on the run.  It also has a very short stubby tail, small piggy-eyes and large ears. There are four toes on each fore foot and three toes on the hind ones.

It is said the disrupted colouration of the coat acts as camouflage, and predators most likely will mistake it for a large boulder when the animal is prone. This sounds a bit optimistic to me, but… let’s hope so!

Because tapirs are nocturnal and crepuscular (most active at dawn and dusk), the short-sightedness of the species is a bit of a drawback, especially when searching for food or avoiding predators. However, this is well-compensated for by the acute sense of smell they possess and the excellent hearing they enjoy.

Malayan tapirs are superb swimmers too, and will, by preference,  live near water, where they will spend the majority of their time. They feed from the bottom of the rivers on aquatic plants, and are able to submerge themselves for several minutes before using their ‘snorkels’.  Water also helps to cool them down and remove parasites, and allows refuge from predators.

But, don’t be fooled into thinking these gentle-looking creatures cannot and will not attack if necessary.  When threatened, they will charge using their very dangerous teeth to defend themselves.  Deaths of humans have been recorded in both the wild and in captivity.  Well… I suppose at least one species is getting its own back!

The breeding season for tapirs typically occurs between April and June.  A gestation period of up to three hundred and ninety-five days follows. After which, one single calf will be born weighing about fifteen pounds.  Looking nothing like the mother in colour, the baby will have brown hair, white spots and white stripes.  This colouring allows it to blend in with the variegated forest vegetation.  Between the ages of four and seven months, the, now juvenile’s, coat will turn to the colours of an adult tapir.  The young one will be weaned at six to eight months.  By this time it will be almost fully grown.  The mother will only produce a calf once every two years.

***
Habitat
Primary and secondary tropical moist forests and lower montane forests.
Where
Sumatra, Myanmar and Thailand.
What they eat
Young leaves, growing twigs and aquatic plants. And, seasonal fruits. They enjoy palm tree fruits as well as mango and fig. They also put a great deal of effort into finding salt licks.
Threats
Human activity: habitat conversion to palm oil plantations. illegal logging, deforestation for agricultural and flooding caused by dammed rivers for hydroelectric projects. Hunters seek out Malayan tapirs for food and sport.  Young tapirs are also trafficked.  Baby and adolescent tapirs can be worth as much as six thousand dollars on the black market. Some are known to have been traded through Indonesian zoos and some have gone to private collectors.  Natural predators are the leopard and the tiger.
Status: Endangered
The Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus) is listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as Endangered.  It is also protected under Cites Appendix 1.  Remaining numbers are thought to be as few as fifteen hundred to two thousand and decreasing.
The species is protected against hunting in all locations, and, because of their pig-like appearance, tapir meat is taboo in Sumatra anyway, where most of the population is Muslim.  Sadly, nothing is being done to protect its habitat.  The Malayan tapir is, regrettably in the same position as all other tapirs – in danger of extinction.  But, there is an upside;  there are a number of tapirs in zoos around the world and captive breeding seems to be working.

Other names: Asian tapir, badak (Malaysia and Indonesia), som-set (Thailand).

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