Red Squirrels Fight Virus

Red squirrels are becoming immune to the ‘squirrel pox’ virus that threatens to wipe them out.

Scientists have discovered 8 red squirrels that have contracted the disease and have been able to survive. It is now believed that a vaccine can be produced for the rest of the population of reds.

Grey squirrels are carriers of the virus and although immune themselves, pass it on to reds if they come into contact.

Once contracting the disease, reds die within a matter of weeks.

Tony Sainsbury, from the Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London said, "Squirrel pox is almost always fatal in red squirrels.”
There are just 210,000 red squirrels left in the UK.

Penguins Wing Their Way Home

Hundreds of Penguins have been flown home after washing up on the coast of Brazil.

Over 1000 birds were flown from Brazil by the air force after unusually high numbers washed up in states such as Rio de Janiero.

The penguins travelled more than 1,860 miles from Patagonia in search of food. It is believed that lack of fish to eat has forced them further north then usual. It is not clear whether the lack of fish is due to changes in water temperatures or man-made pollution.

Penguins too exhausted to travel home are being kept in Bahia – known for its sunny weather.

Cash Boost for UK Wildlife

The government conservation agency will give £5.5m to projects that will protect England’s endangered wildlife, it was announced yesterday.

Groups including the RSPB, National Trust and Wildlife Trusts will be given money for the conservation of natterjack toads, fritillary butterflies and sharks.

Wetlands areas around the country and marine species on the Isle of Scilly will also profit from extra funding.

Natural England chairman Sir Martin Doughty said, "We want to improve the fortunes of some of our most precious species and habitats and today's funding will help our conservation partners meet these challenges.

Planet for the Apes?

The plight of orphaned orangutans was highlighted in Borneo for World Habitat Day on Friday.

Destruction of rainforest, the illegal pet trade and poaching have left large numbers of baby orangutan orphans unable to look after themselves.

The Borneo Orangutan Survival International cares for 670 orangutans. They are given regular trips to the forest to learn how to survive in the wild.

Gilly Lloyd, who runs the project, said, “ Most of them are found as orphaned babies and they have to be totally rehabilitated with 24-hour care.”

Extinction Threatens Mammals

Over 25% of the worlds mammal species are at risk of becoming extinct according to a survey.

The annual Red List, produced by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), looks at 5,487 mammals, with 1,141 at risk of extinction.
The main reason for the decline in mammal numbers is due to lack of habitat as a result of deforestation. As well as mammals, 336 amphibians have been added to the endangered list.

Julia Marton-Lefevre, director-general of the IUCN said, “Within our lifetime, hundreds of species could be lost as a result of our own actions.”

However, African elephant’s numbers have increased after strict hunting controls and conservation programmes were put in place.

The Eagles Have Landed

A pair of golden eagles have successfully reared chicks for the first time since being relocated to make way for a wind farm.

The two chicks were only given a 20% chance of surviving but they have defied the odds to take their first flight recently.

Scottish Power built the Beinn and Tuirc wind farm close to their nest site in Argyll. They then spent over £2m creating a new habitat for the eagles to live.

Eagles have struggled in the area due to a lack of prey. The new conservation area, the largest of its kind in the UK, has been stocked with hares, red grouse and rabbits.

David Macarthur, ecologist for ScottishPower Renewables, said, “The news of two healthy chicks, after a few barren years, is fantastic for the golden eagle population.”

Eats, Shoots and Breeds

The first Japanese born panda to breed naturally successfully gave birth to twin cubs last month.

8-year-old Rauhin gave birth to the cubs at Adventure World Zoo in Wakayama.

In August, a giant panda bred through artificial insemination died at 3 days old in a zoo in Kobe.

Adventure World Zoo is being extra cautious over the cubs. The zoo said that it will watch Rauhin’s mental condition and health before introducing the babies to the public.

Rauhin in her enclosure:

Missing Lynx?

A leading conservationist has claimed that red-tape is holding up the reintroduction of the lynx into Scotland.

Roy Dennis, 68, who was behind the reintroduction of sea eagles and the osprey to Scotland, said, “The important thing is that the lynx could be here ecologically, and the only reasons it’s not are political and social.”

Land owners in Scotland believe that lynx will eat ground nesting birds. Research in Europe suggests that lynx actually eat more foxes than birds.

A conference to discuss management of wildlife species in Scotland starts next month.

Wolves Bite Back

The decision to remove grey wolves from the endangered species list was rejected by a US federal judge on Monday.

Grey wolves can no longer be killed in the states of Wisconson, Michigan and Minnesota. So far this year 45 wolves have been killed because they attack pets and livestock.

Environmental groups such as the Humane Society of the United States filed a lawsuit to protect the wolves. There were around 550 wolves in the region last winter.

On March 12, 2007, wolves were taken off the endangered species list to allow numbers to be controlled.

Elephant Beats Heroin Addiction

An elephant has finished a 3 year rehab after developing a heroin addiction.

The bull elephant, called Xiguang, was fed heroin-laced bananas by his captors in South-West China so he could be easily controlled.

Xiguang, which is translated as 'Big Brother', was given a year of methadone injections to help with his rehabilitation. He will now be moved to a wildlife park in the province of Kunming.

Asian elephants are hunted for their ivory. There are less then 30,000 left in the wild.

Licence to Trill

An endangered species of macaw has bred for the first time in Chester Zoo.

The Hyacinth macaws, named James Bond and Miss Moneypenny, gave birth to the unnamed chick in May. After 16 weeks in a nest box, the striking chick has now emerged.

Chester Zoo became the first zoo in the UK to hire an animal nutritionist. Andrew Woolham, Team Leader with Parrots and Penguins, said, “We have been making a
lot of changes to their diet to allow the best chance of natural reproduction.”

Macaws are the largest parrot in the world and are native to South America. They are an endangered species because of loss of habitat and the illegal pet trade.