Originally posted by By John Platt for Scientific America, Dec 25, 2009 01:00 PM

http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=man-convicted-for-killing-and-eatin-2009-12-25

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The last Indochinese tiger in China was killed and eaten by a man who has now been sentenced to 12 years in prison for his crime.

The Indochinese tiger (also known as Corbett’s tiger or Panthera tigris corbetti) is an endangered tiger subspecies that used to live in China, but now only exists in Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand and Vietnam, where it remains under heavy threat from poachers.

Kang Wannian, the villager from Mengla, Yunnan Province, claims he killed the tiger last February in self-defense. But that didn’t stop him and four others from butchering and eating the animal. His dining mates were also convicted and will spend three to four years in jail for “covering up and concealing criminal gains,” according to a Tuesday report in the China National News.

Indochinese tigers are…well, were…legally protected in China. The last time the subspecies was officially seen in the country was 2007, and some believed that Kang killed that tiger. He received a ten-year sentence for killing a rare animal, plus another two years for possessing an illegal firearm.

Population counts for Indochinese tigers are hard to come by. A 1998 census estimated between 736 and 1,225 animals, but it has since been reconsidered and the species has been split into two subspecies, the Indochinese tiger and the Malayan Tiger (P.t. jacksoni), which exists only in Malaysia. Current estimates place the species at fewer than 1,000 individuals (the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species estimates just 630), with increasingly scattered populations due to habitat fragmentation and poaching.

Two other tiger subspecies still exist in China: the Siberian or Amur tiger (P.t. altaica), most of which live in Russia, and the critically endangered South China tiger (P.t. amoyensis), one of the world’s most endangered mammals. Fewer than 20 South China tigers are thought to exist in the wild.

The Zoological Society of Manitoba will be changing its rates for membership to the Assiniboine Park Zoo on January 1, 2009.

New member rates, forms and members information can be found here: http://www.zoosociety.com/dept_membership.asp

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The Assiniboine Park Zoo will also be changing its rates for general public visits to the zoo on January 1, 2009.

To find out what it will cost you to visit the zoo, (and believe me, it’s a bargain!), please click here: http://www.zoosociety.com/info_apz_about.asp?L=1

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You can also find the zoo’s 2010 Hours of Operation here: http://www.zoosociety.com/info_apz_about.asp

Remember, the Assiniboine Park Zoo is open every day of the year!

Shark fin soup is killing the oceans…

“When sharks attack humans, it inevitably makes news – it is a sexy story. What is rarely reported is that worldwide, sharks kill an average of 10 people every year. It’s usually when people venture into a shark’s habitat and not the other way around. By contrast, humans kill around 100 million sharks every year – a number that has ballooned in recent years because of the enormous demand for shark fins to make shark fin soup.”

See the full story by Lisa Ling on CNN.com/asia: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/12/10/pip.shark.finning/index.html

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Oysters as building blocks for ocean communities and as pollution filters…

“The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) helps to grow millions of oysters that will eventually make their way to sanctuary reefs and will not be harvested. The oysters will reproduce, and make a home for thousands of sea critters that will eventually become food for larger animals.”

See the full story by Jeremy Moorhead on CNN.com/technology:  http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/04/17/gsif.chesapeake.restoration/index.html

Well it would seem that November and December are a little light on eco-days. I only know of three but if I’ve missed one, please let me know

November 6 – International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War & Armed Conflict (UN)

November 21 – World Fisheries Day

December 21 – Winter Solstice

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Today is the Winter Solstice where the Northern Hemisphere celebrates its short day. Obviously there are still 24 hours in the day but the majority of them are dark. The amount of daylight is at its lowest on December 21. From here on out the amount of daylight we get will slowly increase. That’s the good part – the bad part is that winter solstice also signifies three months of winter and the coldest part of the year.

To warm you up, here’s a primer for January 2010’s Eco-Dates: (If you’re a birder, you’ll love these two)

January 5 is  National Bird Day (in the US)

January 30-31 is Big Garden Bird Watch (in the UK)

As always, you can get a full listing of eco-dates at http://zoosociety.com/education_roots.asp?L=0

Chris Reid and I talked this morning on the Weekend Wakeup Show on CJOB 68 about wolverines. As I mentioned on air, I try to provide some extra information on this blog about our weekly animal so remember to visit the site each week to learn more. On a side note, the Assiniboine Park Zoo’s wolverines are probably loving this mild winter weather. If you haven’t been to the zoo in a while, the Christmas break is a great time to do so.

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Wolverine

We have 2.0 wolverines at the Assiniboine Park Zoo.

• “Huey” was born in the wild Yukon and arrived at APZ in July 2002.
• “Grizz” was born in 1999 at Yukon game farm, where he lived for three years. He spent the next seven at the St. Felicien Zoo, moving to our facility in June 2009.

• The Assiniboine Park Zoo’s first wolverine was name Vishinski and he arrived at the zoo in 1952. The zoo has continuously had wolverines since 1978.
• Six offspring have been sent to zoos throughout North America over the years including Minnesota, Grand Rapids, Pennsylvania and St Felicien.

• The Assiniboine Park Zoo’s wolverines are not part of a Species Survival Program at the moment. The IUCN currently lists them as a species of Least Concern in most of the areas that they are found.

General Information:

• Wolverines do not hibernate but they do den.
• The wolverine is the largest member of the weasel family.
• The wolverine is known as Canada’s “Hyena” because of its powerful jaws and large teeth are able to demolish frozen carrion and bone.
• It has poor eyesight but an excellent sense of smell.

• Wolverines have thick, dark, oily fur that is highly hydrophobic (“water repellent”), making it resistant to frost. This unfortunately makes them popular for hunting and trapping.

• Wolverines have anal scent glands for marking territory and sexual signalling. From this potent smell they’ve been given the nickname “skunk bear“.
• Wolverines communicate through vocalizations and scent marking.
• Average lifespan of wolverines in the wild is 7 to 12 years.

Distribution and Habitat:

• Wolverines are circumpolar.
• Wolverines are sparsely distributed in Canada’s northern boreal forests, but are more plentiful on the tundra and at higher elevations in the Rockies.
• They are native to the western United States (including Alaska), Canada, Russia, Finland, Estonia, Mongolia, China, Norway, and Sweden.

Natural Diet:

• They are opportunistic scavengers feeding on carrion (various deer species, seal) whenever possible.
• They will also hunt smaller prey (rodents, rabbits, ptarmigan)

Zoo Diet:

• Raw meat, chickens, rabbit and rodents

Size:

• Wolverines are stocky and muscular, with short legs, a broad rounded head, small eyes and short rounded ears.
• It has broad five-toed paws and a plantigrade posture that help through deep snow. It resembles a small bear mixed with a ferret.

Body length: 65 – 87 cm (25 – 34 inches)

Tail length: ~25 cm (~10 inches)

Weight: 10–25 kg (22 – 55 lb).

• Large males can weigh over 31 kg (70 lb)
• Males are around 30 percent larger than the females. It is the largest of terrestrial mustelids.

References:

Arkive, The Wolverine Foundation, IUCN, National Geographic and others

Compiled by Scott Gray, Jenna Harrison and Jesse Kindzierski; December 19, 2009

Capybara enjoy a traditional Japanese hot bath:

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/34380383#34380383

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Extinctions on the rise in the Galapagos: fishing and global warming devastating islands’ species

“If marine species are going extinct in one of the most famous, and most cherished World Heritage Sites, what is happening in the rest of the world that has been so little studied?” asks report coauthor Scott Henderson, Conservation International’s Regional Marine Conservation Director in the Eastern Tropical Pacific.

http://news.mongabay.com/2009/1203-hance_galapagos.html

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Rhino Poaching Surges in Asia, Africa

ScienceDaily (Dec. 2, 2009) — Rhino poaching worldwide is on the rise, according to a new report by TRAFFIC and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091201182626.htm

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When baboon troops go to war: (video contain disturbing images for some people)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8400000/8400019.stm

Staff at the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg are wishing Rooby the red kangaroo a happy 1st birthday this week. The young female marsupial was found back in April 2009 after she had been unexpectedly expelled from her mother’s pouch. Joeys would not survive on their own at such a young age but zoo keepers were quick to take over the care of the 1 1/4 pound youngster.

Rooby became a surprise media star at the Assiniboine Park Zoo, originally described as looking quite “alien”. We thought it was appropriate to let you know that she is doing well and has grown considerably since spending her early days sleeping in a soft towel in a cloth bag to mimic her mother’s pouch. Rooby has matured over the past eight months and vet staff still plan on introducing her to the rest of the troop sometime in the new year.

Congratulations to Rooby on her first year and congratulations the Assiniboine Park Zoo’s keeping and vet staff for the countless hours looking after her.

Australian scientists have discovered an octopus in Indonesia that collects coconut shells for shelter — unusually sophisticated behaviour that the researchers believe is the first evidence of tool use in an invertebrate animal.

For more information on this story, please click here: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/12/15/octopus-coconut-house.html

Two scientists at the Melbourne Museum have recorded the first case of tool use in an invertebrate animal but you almost have to see it to believe it.

If you would like to view footage of the octopus using tools, please click here: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2009/12/15/bennett.aus.octopus.tools.abc

Coconut-Carrying Octopus: Tool Use in an Invertebrate, ScienceDaily (Dec. 15, 2009)

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091214121953.htm

Slender-tailed Meerkats

The Kinsmen Discovery Centre at the Assiniboine Park Zoo has recently been filled with the tiny calls of its first meerkat baby in 20 years!

The zoo’s newest addition was born November 3, 2009 and is the first since 1989. The pup, now six weeks old, is eating some solids but staying close to its mom. The other females in the group are also busy, acting as babysitters just as they would in the wild.

The new pup is full of energy and getting out of the burrows to explore the enclosure. Zookeepers have noticed that this pup is a brave one, even trying to push the adult males off of their food so the pup can eat first.

Don’t wait to visit; meerkats are considered pups only for the first 10 months.

Meerkats at the Assiniboine Park Zoo

• Our group, as of December 2009, consists of 2.3.1 meerkats.

• Our two males are from Riverview Park Zoo and the Peterborough Zoo. They arrived at here in November of 2003.
• Our three females came from the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa in October of 2008. They are born in late 2005/early 2006.

• Our meerkat colony is not part of a Species Survival Program since the species is listed by the IUCN as a “Species of Least Concern”.

A Bit of Biology/Ecology:

Fun Facts:

• Meerkats are immune to small amounts of scorpion venom and they often prey on them. Meerkats remove the scorpion’s stinger and brush off the body in the sand to remove any residual traces of venom just to be safe.
• Meerkats can close their ears – to prevent sand entering them.
• Meerkats have a nictitating membrane, or clear third eyelid, to keep sand out of their eyes.

• The meerkat (Suricata suricata) is a member of the mongoose family.

Range:

• Dry grassland, often on hard or stony ground, in southern Africa

• The meerkat is most closely associated with the dry open country of the Kalahari Desert, with its short grass and sparse woody scrub.

Wild Diet:

• Meerkats could be classified as insectivores as more than 80% of their diet includes insects as well as other invertebrates like scorpions.
• Meerkats are generally classed as omnivores because they also include bird eggs, plant roots/fruits, lizards and snakes in their diet.

On Guard:

• Meerkats are active during the day (diurnal) so members of a group take turns watching for predators. There is always at least one of sentinel (standing upright on high ground or termite nest) on active “guard duty” at all times.
• The meerkats’ main predators are birds of prey.

Burrows:

• Meerkats share their burrow with African ground squirrels.
• They also share their burrow with several types of beetles including dung beetles.
• Meerkats live in multi-tunnel burrows with an average of 15 entrances. There are many rooms in a burrow, many at 1.5 to 2 metres below the ground.

Size:

• A body length of 10 – 12 inches
• A tail length of 8 – 10 inches
• Weigh less than 2.2 lbs (<1kg)

Meerkat Groups:

• A colony or mob averages 15 individuals in the wild. It can range from a single pair to as many as 50 members and contain several related families.
• The dominant female is the only one to breed when food is scarce. She will allow related females to breed if there is enough food to sustain the extra babies.
• At all times, non-breeding females will help baby-sit the offspring.

Lifespan:

• As long as 12 to 15 years in captivity
• Up to 10 years in the wild but the average is only 3 years.

Compiled by Scott Gray, Education Director, Zoological Society of Manitoba

References: Arkive, National Geographic, Kalahari Meerkat Group, Assiniboine Park Zoo

Woman arrested for keeping zoo in condo

Christina Tan – Tue, Dec 08, 2009, The Star/Asia News Network

Bears and leopard cats can be found in the wild or in zoos, but what about in a condominum in the city?

That is what enforcement officers from the Selangor Wildlife Department discovered when they raided a unit in Desa Pandan, Kuala Lumpur last Friday. They arrested a 25-year-old woman who had been keeping a baby honey bear, a leopard cat and a slow loris in individual cages.

And this discovery is just the tip of the iceberg, according to department deputy director Mohammad Khairi Ahmad.

“We believe many out there are keeping wild animals as pets in their homes. It is not the way to love wildlife, as they belong in the wild,” he said.

Khairi said his officers raided the condominium following a tip-off from the public. Initial investigations showed that the animals could have been brought from orang asli in Negri Sembilan and kept as pets in the condominium for the past three months, he told a press conference in Shah Alam yesterday.

Khairi said the baby bear could be sold for about RM5,000 (S$2,049), while the cat and the slow loris were worth about RM500 each (S$204).

The woman, a hotel worker, has been released on bail till Dec 29 after giving her statement. She lives in the condominium with a male relative in his 30s. The authorities are looking for him to help in investigations.

Khairi warned the public not to keep or buy wildlife as it was against the law. He also said that usually, to get a baby bear, a hunter had to kill its mother first, which was a cruel act on an animal that was still feeding on mother’s milk. He added that the department would get a court order to send the seized animals to the Malacca Zoo or release them back into the wild.