Positive Wildlife News 2022

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Tasmanian Land Conservancy Creates New Reserve at Sloping Main

Precious Tasmanian plant communities now protected

Conservation organisation the Tasmanian Land Conservancy (TLC) today announced its newest nature reserve, at Sloping Main.

Overlooking Frederick Henry Bay on the beautiful Tasman Peninsula, Sloping Main Reserve protects an incredible diversity of threatened native vegetation.

‘We couldn’t be happier that we will now be able to protect seven threatened vegetation communities, the most on any TLC reserve, including a significant area of critically endangered black gum forests and woodlands,’ says TLC CEO James Hattam.

‘We know people want to protect threatened animals like swift parrots, forty-spotted pardalotes and Tasmanian devils. But to see this level of enthusiasm for threatened plants has been, for a botanist like me, a real thrill.’

TLC Creates New Reserve at Sloping Main - Tasmanian Times
 
Tamil Nadu Gets Its Seventeenth Wildlife Sanctuary — ‘Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary’

Tamil Nadu’s latest wildlife sanctuary hosts not less than 35 species of mammals and 238 species of birds.

In its latest step for wildlife conservation, the Tamil Nadu government has notified a “Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary.”

The sanctuary space — notified under Section 26A of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 — comprises about 686 square kilometres (sq km) of reserve forest area under Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts.

It was announced in April this year that this sanctuary would be notified, though at that time the area designated was lesser by about 200 sq km.

Tamil Nadu’s seventeenth wildlife sanctuary hosts not less than 35 species of mammals and 238 species of birds.

This includes animals like Leith's softshell turtle, grizzled giant squirrel, smooth-coated otter, four-horned antelope, and the mugger crocodile, all of which depend almost exclusively on river Cauvery and its riverine forest ecosystem and are in need of conservation.

Tamil Nadu Gets Its Seventeenth Wildlife Sanctuary — ‘Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary’
 
Back from the brink: how genome research is helping the recovery of the Chatham Island black robin

The story of Old Blue and Old Yellow, two Chatham Island black robins that went on to save their species, is one of New Zealand’s best known conservation stories.

Once abundant on Rēkohu/Chatham Islands before European arrival, the black robin population crashed when rats invaded the archipelago. In the early 1900s, 35 black robins remained on a small island (Tapuaenuku/Little Mangere), but by 1976, only seven birds had survived.

They were moved to an adjacent, predator-free island (Maung’ Rē/Mangere) and Old Blue and Old Yellow, the only remaining breeding pair, became “Adam and Eve” for the species.

Conservation biologists worried such an extreme genetic bottleneck would lessen the species’ chances of recovery by leading to an accumulation of genetic defects. But our new genome study shows that, contrary to our expectations, harmful genetic mutations have not increased since the severe decline.

Back from the brink: how genome research is helping the recovery of the Chatham Island black robin
 
Israel to expand marine ecosystem conservation

'The ocean seems to be, you know, endless, right? But this is actually not the truth'

Climate change, invasive species, and human activity are considerable threats to the eastern Mediterranean, and Israel is now taking significant steps toward its goals of protecting the sea.

Last year, the Jewish state agreed to the 30 by 30 initiative, promising to conserve 30 percent of its land and waters by 2030.

Israel to expand marine ecosystem conservation - I24NEWS
 
Extinct in the Wild, Fish Return to Habitat in Mexico

Golden skiffia were last spotted in the 1990s.

Golden skiffia are swimming again in Mexico.

About a quarter-century since the small brilliant fish disappeared from its only natural habitat, golden skiffia (Skiffia francesae) were released back into the wild. The timing coincided with traditional Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations.

“The Day of the Dead is a traditional Mexican celebration, when it is believed that people’s deceased ancestors return to the land of the living for one night, to talk and spend time with their families,” said Omar Domínguez-Domínguez, a professor and researcher from the Michoacan University of Mexico, who led the reintroduction.

“Releasing the golden skiffia around this time is a metaphor for how the species has come back from the dead to return to its home, not for one night, but forever.”

Extinct in the Wild, Fish Return to Habitat in Mexico
 
Rare birds returned to Dirk Hartog Island in Western Australia after local extinction

Conservationists have successfully translocated 85 western grasswrens to re-establish the population.

With brownish feathers, distinctive fine white streaks, and a long cocked tail, the western grasswren (Amytornis textilis) is a charming but elusive native Australian songbird.

If you are lucky enough to spot one, you might find it darting between shrubs as it forages along the ground on Dirk Hartog Island in Western Australia – thanks to the first successful grasswren translocation effort last month.

Rare western grasswrens returned to Dirk Hartog Island in WA
 
In five years, the Rwandan population of grey crowned cranes has doubled - from 487 birds in 2017 to some 1,066 in 2022*. The increase has been attributed to the restoration of different wetlands and crane sanctuaries.

* The populations in some intervening years are as follows: 748 in 2019, 881 in 2020 and 997 in 2021.

More information can be found in the link below:
Rwanda's Grey Crowned Crane population doubles in five years - BirdGuides
 
The Return of the Jaguar

Thanks to Mexican conservation efforts, the jaguar is making a comeback in the Yucatán Peninsula. A traveler ventures into its habitat in the tropical jungles surrounding an ancient Maya city.

From the top of the great pyramid of the ancient Maya city of Calakmul in the southern Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, you can see all the way to Guatemala. The jungle stretches out infinitely in every direction, an ocean of green punctuated only by the stepped pyramid peaks of two other Maya temples.

When I was there in March, there were hardly any other visitors. Calakmul was once one of the largest and most powerful cities of the Maya world, but now it stands in ruins, hours from the nearest urban center and enveloped by the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, one of the biggest swaths of unbroken tropical forest in the Americas.

It was early evening, and the black howler monkeys were waking up. From under the forest canopy came the guttural, trash-compactor roar of the loudest land animal in the world, one of many endangered species that live here, along with pumas, toucans, spider monkeys and coati-mundis. Perhaps most crucially, the jungle of Calakmul is home to the highest concentration of jaguars in Mexico.

https://www-nytimes-com.cdn.ampproj.../11/08/travel/jaguars-mexico-yucatan.amp.html
 
The population of snow leopards has declined by over 20% in the past 25 years in India, but the population has significantly grown in Lahaul-Spiti region of Himachal Pradesh.

Sighting of the snow leopards has increased in the places like:
  • Kibber wildlife sanctuary
  • Pin valley, Spiti (all along the Pin riverbed).
  • Lahaul (Around Udaipur).
  • Ridges around Tabo monastery.
Himachal Pradesh forest department in collaboration with NCF (Nature Conservation Foundation), a wildlife conservation and research organisation based in Mysore, found a reliable population estimate of up to 73 snow leopards in its first scientific survey that mapped the animal using camera traps in high Himalayan mountain ranges.

https://raachotrekkers.com/spiti-snow-leopard-trail-winter-in-kinnaur-spiti/#snow-leopard-sighting-rising-in-spiti-valley
 
Top-flight recovery: the inspiring comeback of the California condor

Nearly extinct in the 1980s, an intensive programme to reverse the bird’s decline has made it a conservation success story.

Despite being the largest flying bird in North America, with a wingspan of up to three metres, you would have been hard pushed to see a California condor in the wild in the 1980s. In a last-ditch effort to save the birds, after decades of persecution and population collapse, the few remaining were captured in 1987 for a multimillion-dollar intensive conservation programme.

Today, there are more than 200 in the wild, and local people are already starting to notice. In May 2021, about 10% of the entire population of the birds in the Golden State decided to roost on a woman’s home in Tehachapi, southern California, damaging her decking with “concrete-like” excrement, an incident that went viral on Twitter when her daughter posted photos.

https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.amp...light-recovery-california-condor-comeback-aoe
 
A Roadmap to Success for the Nova Scotia Working Woodlands Trust

The Nova Scotia Working Woodlands Trust (NSWWT) was established in 2019 to uphold and promote the long-term stewardship of private forested lands in Nova Scotia for the rich diversity of values that they provide. To achieve this mission, the NSWWT is working to conserve, restore, and sustainably manage mature Wapane’kati / Acadian Forest to enhance ecological integrity and biodiversity, while also allowing for management of larger dimension, high-quality, and high-value wood products. By working directly with private woodlot owners, the NSWWT is helping to secure a future for Nova Scotia’s forests and its stewards.

A Roadmap to Success for the Nova Scotia Working Woodlands Trust - Global Conservation Solutions
 
Gecko good news – Treasure island celebrates recovery of precious Caribbean jewel

A tiny, critically endangered Caribbean lizard with jewel-like markings has taken a small but significant step back from the jaws of extinction.

Thanks to the hard work and commitment of the local community, regional government and a coalition of local and international conservation organisations, the dazzling, diminutive Union Island gecko is making a big comeback in the little-known biodiversity hotspot after which it is named, at the southern tip of the St Vincent and the Grenadines island chain.

According to a recent survey, the gecko’s population has grown from 10,000 in 2018 to around 18,000 today, a heart-warming 80% increase and the kind of conservation success that Fauna & Flora International (FFI), Re:wild and local partners aim to accomplish together across the Caribbean.

“As a Unionite and a community leader, I am extremely proud to be a part of this success story,” said Roseman Adams, co-founder of the local Union Island Environmental Alliance (UIEA). “Without a doubt, our shared, unwavering dedication and sacrifice has brought us this far. We now have to be entirely consistent with further improvements in our management and protection of the gecko’s habitat for this success to be maintained.”

https://www.fauna-flora.org/news/ge...=organic|tw|UnionIslandGecko&utm_content=link
 
Wild Blue-Throated Macaws Slowly Returning From The Brink Of Extinction

I’ve recently shared several stories about Critically Endangered macaw species and the intensive conservation efforts underway to restore their populations in the wild (for example, here, here and here). But there is yet another macaw species that is so rare that it was thought to be Extinct-In-The-Wild until a population of 50 individuals was discovered in Bolivia in 1992. This vanishingly rare parrot is the blue-throated macaw, Ara glaucogularis. Also known as the Caninde macaw, Wagler’s macaw — or locally as barba azul, or ‘blue beard’ in Spanish — this parrot appears to be slowly making a comeback from the brink of extinction, according to a recent report by Asociación Armonía, which is The Rainforest Trust’s partner in Bolivia (ref).

https://www-forbes-com.cdn.ampproje...y-returning-from-the-brink-of-extinction/amp/
 
Egypt to Extend Red Sea Reef Protection

The Egyptian government is reported to have committed to extending official protection to the entire Red Sea Great Fringing Reef. The announcement was made on 16 November – Biodiversity Day – during the 2022 UN CoP27 climate talks the country is hosting in Sharm el Sheikh.

Egypt to extend Red Sea reef protection - Divernet
 
Europe’s Surprising Record of Dam Removals

A growing movement across the continent is working to remove thousands of barriers and restore some of the world’s most fragmented rivers.

The 1999 demolition of the Edwards Dam on Maine’s Kennebec River set off a wave of dam removals across the United States. Since then some 1,200 dams have come down to help restore rivers and aquatic animals, improve water quality, and boost public safety — among other benefits.

Across the Atlantic, European nations have been busy removing thousands of river barriers, too. But until recently the efforts have gone largely unnoticed, even among experts.

Europe’s Surprising Record of Dam Removals • The Revelator
 
In a win for conservation, Indonesian manta rays thrive despite global threats

Targeted for their gill plates and trapped accidentally in fishing nets, reef manta rays are in trouble. Their populations around the world are plummeting, but in one protected area off the coast of Indonesia, a new study shows the rays are not only bucking worldwide trends – they’re thriving.

In a win for conservation, Indonesian manta rays thrive despite global threats
 
Pine martens return to the south of England

Conservationists have confirmed that pine martens, a species previously only thought to have survived largely in the North of England, have established a population in the New Forest in southern England. A team from Forestry England, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, and Wild New Forest will be studying them over the next year to find out more about how these rare creatures are living in the Forest.

Pine martens return to the south of England
 
Lake District wildlife haven becomes 'super national nature reserve'

Some 3,000 ha of forests, mountains and water in the Lake District has been designated as a Super National Nature Reserve (NNR).

Ennerdale has become the biggest nature reserve in Cumbria and the ninth largest in England. Natural England said the status gave the area protection from development.

Ennerdale is home to rare wildlife including Red Squirrel, Freshwater Pearl Mussel and Arctic Charr, as well as juniper and rare plant species. The area is managed by the Wild Ennerdale partnership, including Forestry England, the National Trust, United Utilities and Natural England.

Lake District wildlife haven becomes 'super national nature reserve' - BirdGuides
 
Spoonbills rebound as UK farmers bolster tree cover and wetlands

Once common in England and Wales, the species was hunted to local extinction about 300 years ago.

With their striking long beaks and elegant white plumage, the spoonbill looks like it belongs somewhere far more exotic than the windswept saltmarshes of the UK.

But the large wading bird is enjoying a boom in numbers as landowners across the country improve wetland habitats and tree cover.

Once common across England and Wales, the spoonbill was hunted to local extinction about 300 years ago. They were killed for their beautiful feathers and their meat was a delicacy enjoyed at medieval banquets.

But in 2010, a colony was discovered on the saltmarshes in north Norfolk, thought to have made the journey over from the Netherlands and France.

https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.amp...c/03/spoonbills-uk-farmers-wetland-tree-cover
 
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