The Great Bamboo Lemur

         Prolemur simusis the largest of the bamboo lemurs. A dense olive-brown coat covers the rounded body, whilst the under parts and tail are grey-brown in colour with a russet tinge. As well as its large size, the greater bamboo lemur can be recognised by the prominent pale grey or white ear tufts. However, a recently discovered population of this species has a strikingly different deep golden-red coat, and no ear tufts. The blunt muzzles of bamboo lemurs give their faces a more rounded appearance than other members of the family. They have relatively long tails and long back legs for leaping vertically amongst the trees of their forest habitat.

Did You Know

            It is not known how the Greater Bamboo Lemur’s metabolism deals with the cyanide found in the bamboo shoots which is their only food, their typical daily dose would be enough to kill humans.

Size relative to a 6-ft human

Scientific Classification

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Mammalia
Order	Primates
Family	Lemuridae
Genus	Prolemur

Other Names

English	Broad-nosed Gentle Lemur, Greater Bamboo Lemur
French	Grand Hapalémur, Hapalémur Simien
Spanish	Lemur Cariancho

Status

          The Greater Bamboo Lemur is classified under Critically Endangered in the IUCN Redlist.

Population

            On current evidence, this species may have the smallest population size of any lemur on the island. Only about 12 groups, totalling less than 100 individuals, have been documented in over 20 years of regional surveys. During 400 days of census work in Ranomafana, only three groups in total have been detected (with a maximum of 20 individuals confirmed).

Habitat

            Greater bamboo lemurs are found in primary and degraded eastern humid forests of Madagascar, and are usually found in areas with large woody bamboo. Occasionally they are found in degraded habitats without bamboo. The range of forests in which they occur ranges from large protected areas down to small forest fragments. The newly discovered population at Torotorofotsy inhabit marshland, a new habitat type for the species. The greater bamboo lemur has been sighted at elevations ranging from 121 m to 1600 m (397.0 to 5249.3 ft).

Range

            Sub fossil remains confirm that this species once had a widespread distribution in Madagascar that covered the northern, north-western, central and eastern portions of Madagascar. Today, the species has a much diminished range in the south-eastern and south-central rainforests of Madagascar and is estimated that P. simus now occupies only about 1-4% of its historical range, reported confirmed sightings of Greater Bamboo Lemurs in only 11 of 70 survey localities.

Biology

          This species is associated with forests abundant in giant bamboo. It subsists predominantly on bamboo, but its diet includes seven plant species representing three different families. In Ranomafana National Park, the bamboo Cathariostachys madagascariensis can account for as much as 95% of the diet, with shoots, young and mature leaves, and pith being consumed. Observations of wild populations and animals in captivity suggest that this species is cathemeral, active both during the day and at night throughout the year. They live in polygamous groups that can occupy home ranges of 40-60 ha or more. Mating begins in May or June, with infants typically born in October and November. Females usually give birth to a single young each year.

Threats

            The rainforests of Madagascar are being widely cleared by slash-and-burn techniques and this habitat destruction is one of the major threats to the survival of the greater bamboo lemur. Bamboo is also being cleared in some areas, and this lemur is targeted by hunters in other regions. The known range of the greater bamboo lemur is highly restricted and this implies further threats to survival.

Conservation Measures

            The greater bamboo lemur is protected within two areas in Madagascar, however, even within Ranomafana National Park the native trees are being exploited and this species is at risk. Further research into these little-known lemurs is urgently needed and more extensive surveys of the area may well reveal further isolated populations in need of protection.

References

http://www.junglewalk.com/popup.asp?type=s&AnimalWebsiteID=2358

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/07/photogalleries/animal-photo/photo3 html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_bamboo_lemur

http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/greater_bamboo_lemur/taxon

http://www.edgeofexistence.org/mammals/species_info.php?id=24

Christmas Frigate Bird

The Christmas frigate bird is a very large, mostly black seabird with a glossy green sheen to feathers of the head and back. Females are larger than males; they have a white breast and belly, a narrow white collar around the lower neck and a whitish bar across the upperwing. Males are dark all over apart from a white patch on the lower abdomen. They have a red gular pouch, which becomes more vibrant in the breeding season and is inflated during mating displays. Juveniles have more mottled feathers on their upper-parts, a pale fawn head, white throat and a russet necklace. They take around four years to gain adult plumage.

Did You Know

           These rare seabirds are known to forage for food up to hundreds, and sometimes thousands of kilometers away from their colony. One has been documented undertaking a non-stop, 26-hour flight, covering 4000 km flying from Christmas Island via Sumatra and Borneo then back. They are also known for aerial piracy from Sea Bobbies. 

Scientific Classification

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Aves
Order	Pelecaniformes
Family	Fregatidae
Genus	Fregata
Species	Fregata andrewsi

Other Names

English	Andrew's Frigatebird
French	Frégate d'Andrews

Status

The Christmas frigatebird is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List 2007, and listed on Appendix I of CITES.

Population

          The most recent population census indicates a population of 2,400-4,800 mature individuals (2003), roughly equivalent to 3,600-7,200 individuals in total.

Habitat

        Although these birds do not settle on the water, they inhabit the open ocean, returning to land only to roost and breed. Both nesting and roosting occur on a small area of Christmas Island, in tall forest close to the shore. Nesting sites are preferentially in the lee of the prevailing southeast winds

Range

The Christmas frigate bird is found in the northeast Indian Ocean, these birds are only known to breed on Christmas Island. The distribution of birds at sea is not well documented but they may wander widely and are known from the coasts of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and northern Australia.

Biology

Males Christmas frigate birds begin their mating displays in late December, inflating their scarlet throat pouches during courtship. Egg laying occurs between March and May and nests are positioned high in tall forest trees. A single egg is laid and both parents take it in turns during the 50 to 54 day incubation period; fledglings can remain dependent on their parents for six to seven months after their first flight.

The Christmas frigate bird feeds mainly on flying fish and cephalopods (such as squid), which are scooped from the surface of the water. A proportion of its food is obtained by harassing other seabirds such as red-footed boobies, until they are forced to regurgitate their meal.

Threats

          Habitat destruction and human predation have been the major causes of population decline in the past; dust pollution from phosphate mine driers caused one major nesting site to be abandoned. Dust suppression equipment has since been installed and human predation has ceased since this species has been protected. Birds that have been displaced in the past may now be using sub-optimal habitat, which could pose a threat to their survival. The Christmas frigate bird is confined to a few breeding colonies on a single island and this, together with their low reproductive rate, makes the population alarmingly vulnerable to any chance event.

       A possible threat is the introduced yellow crazy ant Anoplolepis gracilipeswhich formed super-colonies during the 1990s and spread rapidly to cover about 25% of the island or about 3,400 ha. Control measures have so far been unable to eradicate this non-native species, but to date frigate birds have not apparently been adversely affected by them. However, ant super-colonies alter island ecology by killing the dominant life-form, the red crab Gecaroidea natalis, and by farming scale insects which damage the trees, which could be a reason for population decline.

Conservation Measures

          CITES Appendix I. Listed as vulnerable under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The Christmas Island National Park was established in 1980, and has since been extended to include two of the three current breeding colonies (90% of the population). A recovery plan has been completed and a study using satellite telemetry to study movements has been underway since 2005. A control programme for A. gracilipes was initiated after 2000, including aerial baiting in 2002, and effectively eliminated the ant from 2,800 ha of forest (95% of its former extent). However, the ant population continued to increase, covering upwards of 500 ha by 2006. Despite continued control efforts, ants remained persistent in 2009, and perpetual baiting may be the only means of controlling them. Efforts are underway to find alternative bait that is not toxic to invertebrates on the island. Plans have been established to control the scale bugs that the ants tend for their sugar secretions in order to reduce this food supply, but there remains no evidence that they are adversely affecting frigate bird colonies.

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Frigatebird

http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3847

http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/society/fight-for-the-christmas-island-frigatebird.htm

http://orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?Bird_ID=1175

http://www.christmas.net.au/parks/birds/birds_of_christmas_island.htm

Black Footed Ferret

Once classified as Extinct in the Wild, the black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) is one of the world's rarest mammals and the only ferret native to North America. This slender animal has a yellowish coloured coat, pale under parts, and a dark tail tip and black feet. The muzzle, throat and forehead are white and there is a black mask around the eyes. As with most members of the genus Mustela, the males are larger and much heavier than female. The legs are short and the large front paws are armed with claws for digging.

Did You Know

            Ferrets are nocturnal, sleeping up to 21 hours per day and hunting prairie dogs primarily during the night.

Size relative to a 6-ft human

Scientific Classification

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Mammalia
Order	Carnivora
Family	Mustelidae
Genus	Mustela
Species	Mustela nigripes

Other Names

English	Black-footed Ferret
French	Putois À Pieds Noirs
Spanish	Turón Patinegro Americano

Status

          The black-footed ferret is classified as Endangered (EN) by the IUCN Red List (1), and listed on Appendix I of CITES.

Population

           At present there are no known non-introduced wild populations, and only three of the populations contain mature individuals which were born in the wild. This species nearly went extinct in the late 1980s and existing populations are the success of massive efforts to reintroduce the species back to its native habitat.

            Since 1987, over 6,000 ferret kits have been produced through captive breeding and since 1991, over 2,000 ferrets have been released at 18 sites. All populations are sampled and counted two times a year as part of a management and recovery protocol.

Habitat

         Black-footed ferrets are limited to open habitat, the same habitat used by prairie dogs: grasslands, steppe, and shrub steppe. It depends largely on prairie dogs: ferrets prey on prairie dogs and utilize their burrows for shelter and denning. It has been estimated that about 40-60 hectares of prairie dog colony are needed to support one ferret.

Range

            Historically, black-footed ferrets were found throughout the Great Plains, mountain basins, and semiarid grasslands of west central North America - from southern Canada to northern Mexico wherever its prey, prairie dogs, were located. The species was extirpated from most of its former range mainly as a result of prairie dog control programs and sylvatic plague, an exotic disease which was introduced to wild population. Today, they are known from 18 reintroduction efforts, only 3 of which are self-sustaining. The three self-sustaining populations are in South Dakota and Wyoming.           

Biology

           The black-footed ferret is an alert, agile, nocturnal animal, which spends the day in prairie dog burrows. More than 90 percent of the diet consists of prairie dogs, which are attacked whilst they sleep in their burrows, although mice, ground squirrels, voles and other small mammals are also taken.

This species is solitary, except during the breeding season, which runs from March to April. Females give birth to litters of between three to six young (known as kits), and rear their offspring without help from the male. The young, which are born blind and helpless and covered with thin white hair, stay in the burrow for about 42 days before venturing above ground, and remain with their mother until the autumn, after which time they disperse. These ferrets have excellent senses of hearing, sight and smell, and olfactory communication is very important in the maintenance of dominance hierarchies and following trails at night. Vocalizations include chattering and hissing.

Threats

           The number of black-footed ferrets plummeted in the first half of the 20th century, primarily as a result of habitat loss. Prairies have been modified for intensive agriculture and there is now less than two percent of the original ferret habitat left. The ferret's main prey, prairie dogs, was systematically poisoned in vast tracts of their habitat by a government eradication programme in the mid-1900s. Prairie dog burrows were thought to damage cropland and ferret numbers fell in direct proportion with the dramatic decline of their prey. The final threat to black-footed ferret numbers, and perhaps the most pertinent today, is disease, particularly canine distemper and plague. Plague, introduced to North America, causes even greater devastation in populations of prairie dogs and ferrets than it caused in human populations of Europe and Asia.

            Another major threat is loss of habitat for conversion of grasslands to agricultural uses; the remaining habitat is now fragmented by great expanses of cropland and human development. In addition, the genetic diversity of the present introduced population is less than 90% of that present in the species prior to their decline in the wild. This decrease in genetic diversity has led to increased inbreeding and may lead to decreased fitness due to inbreeding depression, including immune system dysfunction and reduced reproductive success.

Conservation Measures

           The black-footed ferret captive breeding program was initiated in October 1985 by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department in cooperation with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Eighteen black-footed ferrets were captured between 1985 and 1987 from the last-known population in Wyoming to start a captive breeding population, with the ultimate goal of reintroduction. Seven of those 18 individuals contributed unique genetic material for captive breeding and are considered founders.

           There are currently six institutions (one federal facility and five zoos) participating in the propagation program under the supervision of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Beginning in 1985, more than 6,000 black-footed ferrets have been born in captivity. Beginning in 1991, ferrets have been reintroduced at sites in eight Western U.S. states (Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Kansas, and New Mexico) and one site in Mexico. The species is listed on CITES Appendix I and in listed in the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

References

http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/14020/0

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-footed_ferret

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/black-footed-ferret/

http://www.defenders.org/black-footed-ferret/basic-facts

http://bagheera.com/inthewild/van_anim_ferret.htm