The endangered Asiatic Lion population

Breitenmoser, U., Mallon, D.P., Ahmad Khan, J. and Driscoll, C. 2008 Panthera leo ssp. Persica. IUCN List of Threatened Species, Cambridge, U.K. Available from:
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/15952/0

Shankaranarayanan, P., Benerjee, M., Kacker, R.K., and Singh, L. 1997. Genetic Variation in Asiatic lions and Indian tigers. Electrophoresis. 18: 1693–1700.
http://www.freewebs.com/hmgrgcb/publication/Elec%20shankar%20et%20al%201997.pdf

WCT. 2013. Asiatic Lion: history, population, human animal conflict, breeding program. Wildlife Conservation Trust. Available from:
http://www.asiaticlion.org/asiatic-lion-history.htm

WWF. 2007. Critically endangered lion now found only in India. World Wildlife Fund. Available from:
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/teacher_resources/best_place_species/current_top_10/asiatic_lion_.cfm

 

The population of the Asiatic Lions in Sasan Gir, India is listed as endangered by the IUCN (WWF 2007). The Asiatic Lion used to have a range from the Middle East to India, but now it is strictly found in Sasan Gir, India. The population size of Asiatic Lions found in Sasan Gir, India in 2010 consist of approximately 411 lions (WCT 2013).

Due to over-hunting and an extreme famine between 1901 and 1905 the entire Asiatic Lion population in the late 19^th century reached a size of approximately 12 lions (WCT 2013). A breeding center had to be established where these lions were breed in captivity. The biggest issue with the entire Asiatic Lion population reaching 12 lions is inbreeding depression. 

In 1997, Shankaranarayanan et al. conducted a study to examine the population of 38 Asiatic lions in the Gir Forest Sanctuary in India to determine the extent of inbreeding within the population. Previous research done on the Asiatic Lions had showed that they were highly inbred and had very low levels of genetic variation. Blood samples of the 38 Asiatic Lions were taken and they were analysed using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) (RAPD is a type of PCR reactions that amplifies random segments of DNA). Shankaranarayanan et al. found that the population of 38 Asiatic lions had an average heterozygosity of 25.82%.  To try and determine the level of heterozygosity found in the subspecies of Asiatic Lions before they had reached an approximate size of 12, the researchers analysed 50 to 125 year old skin samples found in museums. The results showed that these old skin samples had a heterozygosity of 21.01%, which is close to that of the current population. The researchers concluded that Asiatic Lions have always had a low genetic variability, and that it is probably a characteristic of this subspecies. It is interesting that even though the human population almost drove this subspecies to extinction, they somehow managed to bring it back with the same level of genetic variation.


The most crucial error with Shankaranarayanan et al.’s study is: how are they to be sure the old skin samples found in museums were not from the same pride. It seems highly unlikely that they would be able to determine what population these old skins came from.

Thus, even though humans were the cause of the population reaching 12 lions they have also brought the population back to a stable size. In reality we have made progress in conserving the last Asiatic Lion population. Although, I believe more studies need to be done before we can determine if we have actually created a population of highly inbred Asiatic Lions.

It seems like this “revival story” is continuously discussed in conservation: humans destroy an entire population, but then they revive it. It makes me wonder if we will ever learn to try and conserve the population in the first place rather than destroy it and then spend a large sum of money to fix it.
 
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It is a rite of passage that has been done for hundreds of years

MacKenzie, D. 2008. Faroe islands told to stop eating 'toxic' whales. NewScientist. Available from:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16159-faroe-islanders-told-to-stop-eating-toxic-whales.html
Maris. Save the long-finned pilot whales. change.org. Available from:
http://www.change.org/petitions/save-the-long-finned-pilot-whales
Whaling in the Faroe Islands. Wikipedia. Available from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whaling_in_the_Faroe_Islands

In the first few weeks of our conservation biology class we briefly covered the topic of social justice. An example of social justice is allowing local natives to do whale hunts because they have a right to do so. A year or so ago I stumbled upon an article about pilot whales (falsely known as calderon dolphins) in Denmark. As you read below I am sure you will feel just as disturbed as I felt if not more about this "native hunt".

 

Around 950 pilot whales are forced into the bays of the Faroe Islands (change.org).  The animals are hit several times severing their spine in many places with a  thick rope that has a sharp hook on the end (gaff). Below, in Table 1 are some stats showing the amount of whales that are caught annually, there is no source listed for this other than wikipedia, so it may not be accurate. Although, they are said to be from The Faroe Island Statistical Office.

                              Table 1. The amount drives per year, and the amount of whales killed.

                               note: there is usually one main whale hunt

This brutal slaughter goes on annually. It is a male rite of passage into manhood in Faroese society. A male is not considered to have reach manhood until they have taken part in the ritual. The Faroese people also feel it is a part of their culture and history (MacKenzie 2008).

The whale meat may not actually be consumed after this event. In recent years the chief medical officers of the Faroe Islands stated that the meat has high levels of mercury and contains too many other toxins to consume (MacKenzie 2008).

There has been a lot of controversy over this issue and many people have blown this "native whale hunt" slightly out of proportion. Many of the blog sites and internet newspaper sites have said other objects have been used such as harpoons, rocks, and sharp knives to kill the pilot whales. From the few hours I spent researching the web I believe that this is false. There have also been inaccurate stats released describing 2,500-3000 pilot whales being killed during the annual hunt. I believe the stats are closer to the wikepedia version.


This begs the question, should the Faroese people be allowed to do pilot whale hunts?

Word Count: 359

The controversy of poisoning rhino horns

African rhino poaching crisis. WWF Global, Gland, C.H. Available from:
http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/rhinoceros/african_rhinos/poaching_crisis_african_rhinos/
Emslie, R. 2012. Ceratotherium simum. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, Cambridge, U.K. Available from:
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/4185/0
Dean, C. 2010. Poisoning rhino horns. Save the Rhino International, London, U.K. Available from: http://www.savetherhino.org/latest_news/news/326_poisoning_rhino_horns
Platt, J.R. 2012. Spiked. Conservation Magazine, Washington, D.C. Available from:
http://www.conservationmagazine.org/2012/09/spiked/
Rhishja C.L. 2010. Poisoning rhino horn to thwart poaching syndicates in South Africa. Rhino Conservation, Petaluma, C.A. Available from:
http://www.rhinoconservation.org/2010/07/30/poisoning-rhino-horn-to-thwart-poaching-syndicates-in-south-africa/

White rhinos in Southern Africa are listed by the IUCN as near threatened (Emslie 2012). This is due to rhinos being poached for the value of their horn. The value of a rhino's horn is twice that of gold (Platt 2012). This is because rhino horns are used in Asian medicine and are thought to cure fevers, boils, anxiety and have also been thought to cure cancer (Dean 2010). The horn is made out of keratin, the same type of protein found in human nails and hair (Dean 2010). The keratin found in rhino's horns has been tested in several scientific studies and none of them have found it to have any curing effects (Rhishja 2010). The horns are smuggled into Asian markets and sold after the horn has been ground into a fine powder and manufactured into tablets (WWF Global).

Ed Hern is the owner of the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve near Johannesburg, South Africa (Platt 2012). In previous years Ed Hern has taken in orphaned baby rhinos due to their mothers being killed by poachers (Rhishja 2010). Ed Hern has tried almost everything to prevent poaching on his reserve, he even hired armed guards to protect the rhinos (Platt 2012). In 2010 Ed Hern and his staff proposed putting an anti-tick parasiticide in the horns of the rhinos on his reserve; this will not harm the rhinos because there is no blood flow in their horns (Platt 2012). The anti-tick parasiticide is not lethal to humans, but it causes nausea, convulsions and nervous disorders (Platt 2012). He also proposed adding an indelible dye into the horns that is detected with airport scanners, and putting GPS microchips in the horns of the rhinos to track them (Platt 2012).

South Africa contains more than 80% of the rhino population (WWF Global). What is disturbing is that in 2009 a hundred and twenty-two rhinos were poached, in 2010 three-hundred and thirty-three rhinos were poached, and in 2012 the numbers had reached to three-hundred and eighty-eight rhinos thus far (WWF Global).

The large controversy over the poisoning of rhino horns is that the actual poacher is not receiving the poison, it is the customer that purchases the horns or the tablets in the Asian markets. Even if the poacher were to be the one poisoned; would it still make it okay? It is concerning that Ed Hern has guards protecting his reserve and he is still having poachers killing the rhinos he is trying to protect. Do drastic measures need to be taken when protecting the poaching of rhinos?

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Conserving the southwestern Amazon to keep the jaguar population intact

Tobler, M.W., Carrillo-Percastegui S.M., Hartley A.Z., and Powell G.V.N. 2013. High jaguar densities and large population sizes in the core habitat of the southwestern Amazon. Biological Conservation 159: 375-381.

Available from:
http://ac.els-cdn.com/S0006320712005101/1-s2.0-S0006320712005101-main.pdf?_tid=0d26d438-6bd9-11e2-a75c-00000aacb35e&acdnat=1359659254_80ad092820212837736a10b1f3396592


As we have just learnt in class tropical rainforest's, such as the Amazon, have a high amount of biodiversity. This is why it is mind-boggling that gold mining, hunting and logging is going on in the Amazon even though so many different species live in the geographical range. In the last century Jaguars have lost 40% of their range because of habitat loss (Tobler et al. 2013). The Amazon is thought to be the largest habitat left for jaguars, and it is also thought to be key to their survival (Tobler et al. 2013). Recently jaguars were re-classified on the Peruvian red list as a near threatened species (Tobler et al. 2013).

Tobler et al. decided to research whether or not mining and logging is effecting the Jaguars that live in the Amazon (2013). They did this by performing the largest study of Jaguars in the Amazon to date. Tobler et al. observed the density of jaguars in different areas of the amazon by using six camera trap surveys. They also looked at whether or not a logged area would alter the amount of jaguars in that location. Below is a figure showing where the six camera trap surveys were set up and the shaded areas are where the jaguars are protected.

 

The results of Tobler et al.'s study showed that the average density of jaguars is 4.4 ± 0.7 jaguar 100 km². This supports the hypothesis that the Amazon is an extremely important habitat for the Jaguar species. They also found that jaguar densities did not decrease around logged areas.

Tobler et al. did however bring up the issue that the prohibition of hunting jaguars and selling their teeth, claws, skin parts and full skins in markets should be better enforced. It seems when entering the marketplaces in local areas different parts of the jaguars were being sold.

It is disturbing that an animal such as the jaguar has become a threatened species over the last few years because of the expansion of agriculture. Human population is definitely the biggest issue for conservation biologists today.

Interesting Facts:

• A jaguar's teeth can puncture the skull of large prey piercing the brain
• Every jaguar has a unique pattern of spots
• They will not hunt alone until they are six months old, and for the next two years of their life they stay with their  mother
• They roar
• Each day they eat approximately 75 lbs of food
• They eat the lungs and the heart of their prey first

Word Count: 414





A decreasing population of Woodland Caribou in British Columbia and Alberta

2012. Species at Risk: Woodland Caribou - Southern mountain populations. Parks Canada. Gatineau, Q.C. Available from: http://www.pc.gc.ca/nature/eep-sar/itm3/eep-sar3caribou.aspx (accessed January 2013)

 

 

When I was searching the web to find a species at risk that spiked my interest I stumbled upon the Woodland Caribou. I was drawn to this subspecies right away because of its intriguing story and overall beauty.  

 

 

                                          © Paul Sutherland

 

The Southern Mountain population of Woodland Caribou is listed under Canada's Species at Risk Act (SARA) (Parks Canada 2012). The population in Banff does not exist anymore due to an avalanche, and the populations in Jasper, Glacier and Mount Revelstoke National Parks are steadily decreasing in size. The population in the Glacier and Mount Revelstoke National Parks consists of seven Woodland Caribou, in 1997 this population was around 100 (Parks Canada 2012).

 

The Woodland Caribou in the Southern Mountain regions do not have a migratory route like other Caribou. In Mount Revelstoke and Glacier National Parks the Woodland Caribou during the winter move up the mountain and stand on packed snow to reach lichens high up in trees, where as in Jasper and Banff National Parks they move down the mountain and search for lichens underneath the snow (Parks Canada 2012).

                                          © M. Bradley

There are many reasons as to why these Woodland Caribou are decreasing in size. Firstly, an increase in deer and elk populations causes an increase in predator populations such as wolves. These wolves then compete for food, and if they cannot find food they move elsewhere and can end up in areas that caribou inhabit. Secondly, humans effect Woodland Caribou populations by hitting them with their vehicles and by creating unnatural paths within parks. Thirdly, if a large portion of habitat containing older trees were to be destroyed it would be hard for the population to find food because lichens only grow on older trees. Lastly, once a population is small it is more susceptible to decline or to be destroyed. The Banff population was already destroyed by an avalanche in 2009, and in Jasper there are two populations that consist of less than fifteen Caribou. (Parks Canada 2012)

 

 Volunteering for the Caribou Biologists in Jasper could be a potential conservation project. I believe our conservation biology class could participate in the recovery of Woodland Caribou populations.

 

If you aren't too busy take a look at this video below, I found it to be quite interesting.

 



 

Lastly, here are some interesting facts I found about Woodland Caribou that made me like them even more.

• When Woodland Caribou walk you can hear a clicking noise because their tendons slide over their bones in their feet 
•  Woodland Caribou are the only mammal that can live entirely off of lichens
•  Both males and females grow antlers
•  They can swim
  
  
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