Wildlife watch

[Guest guest]

1. Kiwi glee at hatching hihi

Published World by admin

[ http://www.wildlifewatch.in/news/659 ]

 

The stitchbirds (or hihi) Notiomystis cincta which were returned by New

Zealand to the mainland earlier this year, after an absence of more

than a century, have hatched chicks.

The 59 mostly juvenile hihi were transferred to Cascade Kauri Park,

home of the community restoration project Ark in the Park, a

partnership between between the Waitakere Branch of Forest & Bird and

Auckland Regional Council. The transfer followed an intensive programme

to reduce the threat from introduced pests such as possums, rats and

stoats.

Ark in the Park is supported by the Department of Conservation,

Auckland Zoo Conservation Fund, Waitakere City Council, ASB Community

Trust and Waitakere and Portage Licensing Trusts.

" The fact that the first generation brought to the Waitakere Ranges

is breeding successfully is a good sign that they have adapted well to

their new home and are thriving, " said Ark in the Park project

manager Sandra Jack.

 

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2. Endangered species rulings in US reversed

Published World by admin

[ http://www.wildlifewatch.in/news/660 ]

 

The US Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday reversed seven rulings that

denied endangered species increased protection, after an investigation

found the actions were tainted by political pressure from a former

senior Interior Department official, the Associated Press (AP) has

reported

In a letter to Rep Nick Rahall, the agency acknowledged that the

actions had been " inappropriately influenced " and that " revising the

seven identified decisions is supported by scientific evidence and the

proper legal standards. " The reversal affects the protection for

species including the white-tailed prairie dog, the Preble's meadow

jumping mouse and the Canada lynx.

The rulings came under scrutiny last spring after an Interior

Department inspector-general concluded that agency scientists were

being pressured to alter their findings on endangered species by Julie

MacDonald, then a deputy assistant secretary overseeing the Fish and

Wildlife Service.

 

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3. Cameroon holds Ghanaians for smuggling parrots

Published World by admin

[ http://www.wildlifewatch.in/news/661 ]

 

Authorities in Cameroon have arrested two Ghanaians for trying to

illegally export 500 African grey parrots out of the central African

country to Bahrain, a Reuters report has said.

The parrots, estimated to be worth $400,000 (£194,000) in all, were

thought to have been captured in the rainforest of southeastern

Cameroon and would be released back into the wild, according to Ofir

Drori, director of the Last Great Ape Organisation conservation group

which helped catch the alleged smugglers.

" I'm happy the government of Cameroon is taking the illegal trade in

African grey parrots quite seriously, " Drori said. " The (forestry and

wildlife) minister's decision to release the birds into the wild far

from the hands of the dealers will send a strong message, " he told

Reuters.

 

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4. Baby & #039;s way out

Published Image by admin

[ http://www.wildlifewatch.in/images/662 ]

 

A three-month-old Cai monkey is carried by its mother in their

enclosure

at the Buenos Aires Zoo, November 27, 2007. The Cai is one of the most

common that they inhabit in the northern Argentina and in South

America. Usually they are used also as pet, in spite of rules.

(Reuters/Enrique Marcarian)

 

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5. Let eat be

Published Image by admin

[ http://www.wildlifewatch.in/images/663 ]

 

Emit, a four week old southern three banded armadillo, eats bananna off

the hand of keeper Dawn Strasser at the Cincinnati Zoo, November 22,

2007, in Cincinnati. This is the first time in 11 years this zoo has

successfully bred this rare species of armadillo, which lives in the

open grassy areas, forests and marshes of Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and

Argentina. (AP /Tom Uhlman)

 

 

 

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