The Sloth

One of the
main characters
of the book

Dr Jane Goodall began her research in 1960 on the chimpanzees in Gombe, Tanzania and that work continues to this day, being the longest uninterrupted study on one animal in the world. Through her ground-breaking research, man was redefined, as up until then only man could make and use tools. Dr Goodall was the first to see a chimpanzee strip the leaves of a branch and use this primitive tool to ‘fish’ for termites. She was also the first to observe primitive warfare between different groups of chimpanzees fighting over the same land for food. Jane entered the forests of Gombe as a keen observer, became a scientist and then left her forest home to become an advocate for the chimpanzee, as she realised that if she did not raise awareness globally, chimpanzees would certainly become extinct, in her lifetime. She started the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977 primarily to continue her research in Gombe and to conserve the species. In the 80’s she revolutionised conservation by commencing the community-based conservation programs, TACARE which looks at problems and the solutions in a totally holistic way. Primarily looking at the needs of the communities, the people that live close to chimpanzees and working their needs first. These include education, health and family planning, water sanitation, land use planning and forestry. By solving the communities’ needs, they become conservation champions for the chimpanzee and all the wildlife that shares their forest. Giving people, animals, and their forest hope for their continued future. Dr Goodall also launched a youth led environmental program called Roots & Shoots. This program also started in Tanzania, February 1991 and has been active in over 100 countries with youth undertaking projects on Animals, People and the Environment. If you would like to know more about this program have a look at www.rootsandshoots.global Some of the NGO’s working to save chimpanzees The Jane Goodall Institute – found in over 30 countries and working in eight countries in Africa and running two chimpanzee sanctuaries. www.janegoodall.global | WWF | WCS | PASA | Taronga Conservation Society | Lincoln Park Zoo | Lwiro | Greater Mahale Chimpanzee | Liberia Chimpanzee Rescue Project | Ngamba Island chimpanzee sanctuary.

What you can do to help Share this information with family and friends and support, volunteer or donate to organisations helping chimpanzees. Visit chimpanzees in the wild in Africa and share that experience with all your friends. Avoid visiting places that use chimpanzees and any other wildlife for entertainment. Never buy bushmeat and always buy sustainable palm oil.

There are two in situ conservation projects conducted by the Greek meadow Viper Working Group. The group has established good working relationships with the shepherds in Albania and has studied traditional grazing to find a way to reduce overgrazing. The crew is researching the dynamic relationship between people, animals and their habitat from locals, and spreading basic knowledge on sustainable land use methods. Furthermore, a large part of the project is for the distribution of educational posters “Snakes of Albania” in schools to raise biodiversity awareness, create a more snake-friendly environment among locals, and build a reputation of conservation actions. See http://www.speciesconservation.org/case-studies-projects/Greek-meadow-viper/10498.

Another issue is a human-wildlife conflict between shepherds’ livestock and Greek meadow viper populations. The project, supported by The Rufford Foundation, helps shepherds and locals to prevent snakebites by informing them about areas where and when vipers are expected to be active, based on habitat preference and yearly/daily activity, to help them avoid encounters. See http://www.rufford.org/projects/edv%C3%A1rd_mizsei.

Some organisations helping this species IUCN Viper specialist group | Center for snake conservation | Save the Snakes | The Amphibian and Reptile Conservation | The Orianne Society.

What you can do to help

Do not buy any species that is endangered or even common if it is wild caught. Report to the authorities any ‘seller’ you might see either at home or travelling that is selling endangered species. Get involved with a Viper group that helps conserve these animals https://www.facebook.com/vipera.graeca.conservation/

Regional conservation strategies have been developed for the species, and many range states have used these strategies as templates for their own national action plans. They all encourage land use planning to maintain and expand wild dog populations, outreach to improve public perceptions of wild dogs at all levels of society. Established in Australia, the Painted Dog Conservation works specifically with dog populations in Zimbabwe, at Hwange National Park. Their mission is to create an environment where painted dogs can thrive. There are 700 painted dogs in Zimbabwe. They are achieving their goals by designing a conservation model that works in the long term, to make a significant difference in the dog population in Zimbabwe. They employ more than 60 people from the local villages to run their conservation programs and run the education and outreach programs. These programs include their Anti-poaching Unit, which patrols local areas daily to provide protection for the dogs. They also manage a rehabilitation facility where they treat injured and orphaned dogs before releasing them back where they were found.

Some organisations helping this species IUCN Canid Specialist Group | Rangewide Conservation Programme for Cheetah and African wild dog | Botswana Predator Conservation | Zambia Carnivore Project | Serengeti Wild Dog Conservation Fund.

What you can do to help

Learn more about these dogs through the organisations that are saving them, volunteer or donate to their cause.

All 17-19 species of penguins are legally protected from hunting and egg collecting. With a severe lack of data on the species, it is difficult to assess what causes population declines in the species. The absence of introduced terrestrial predators disrupting penguin populations on the mainland points towards sea-based issues, which most likely consist of changes in marine productivity due to ocean warming and, potentially, fisheries interactions. Apart from infrequent, opportunistic monitoring of population size there are currently no conservation actions underway. The International penguin Conservation Working Group (IPCWG) was formed in September 2000, to address mounting threats to penguin populations worldwide. It is made up of biologists, research institutes, zoos and aquaria, and other international organisations working in the field of penguin conservation, research and education, sharing ideas and provide international support for local conservation. The aim of the IPCWG is to promote penguin conservation worldwide, by drawing international attention to the threats facing penguin populations. They hope to discover more about this species and therefore develop a conservation and management plan for the erect-crested penguin. Increased and constant surveying of the islands is required, and conducting detailed studies to determine the penguins’ foraging ranges, commercial fisheries interactions, and oceanographic or climatic changes also need to be investigated.

Some organisations helping this species IUCN Specialist penguin group | The Global penguin Society | International penguin Conservation Working Group | WWF | Penguin Foundation | IFAW.

What you can do to help

Lower your carbon footprint and use of single use plastics. Learn more about penguins and participate in World penguin Day on April 25. Volunteer to help penguins – oneworld365.org

WildAid is a global not for profit organisation leading the fight to end the illegal wildlife trade of many species. They have been working since 2016 to save pangolins by reducing consumption and eliminating demand for their meat and scales in China and Vietnam – the two largest consuming nations. “When the buying stops, the killing can too” This strong statement from WildAid nails the problem. It has been more than two years since the ban on global trade in all pangolin species went into effect. Roughly two million pangolins have since been poached.

Traditional medicine practitioners must find sustainable substitutes that maintain the efficacy of traditional medicines but adapt to the changing environment. We know it can be done. At a recent conference in Hong Kong, TCM experts stated that there are over 100 viable alternatives to the uses of pangolin scales already prescribed in traditional medicines.” (WildAid)

What can you do to combat the illegal wildlife trade and help pangolins

As this is a global crisis, we must strengthen the collaboration and compliance within, and between countries, prosecuting wildlife trafficking as a serious organized crime. “In our communities, we can raise awareness through education, promoting positive actions and livelihoods and address poverty so that people stop buying and supplying endangered wildlife” (WildAid)

You can also get involved with any of the NGO’s combating the illegal wildlife trade listed above, and/or donate or volunteer your time. Do not buy Chinese medicines that have pangolin scales or eat pangolin. Be conscious of what souvenirs you buy when travelling as it could be contraband. Celebrate World Pangolin Day – third Saturday in February.

The pygmy three-toed sloth was only described scientifically in 2001. A team of conservationists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) are surveying them to build the first picture of how these little-known animals are faring. This project aims to improve the understanding of the pygmy sloth population and the threats to the species, and also to ensure their conservation. -They will undertake educational programs and workshops to increase local awareness, enhance support for conservation, establish sustainable resource management, and support local authorities in enforcing legal regulations. Their long-term aim is to develop and implement a management plan that engages everyone involved in the conservation of Escudo and the pygmy sloth. The island is uninhabited; however, the numbers of seasonal residents is growing, increasing the pressure from small scale logging, fishing and littering. There is also a looming threat of large-scale tourism as the number of visiting holiday-seekers is rapidly increasing.The majority of the field team are from the local communities and collaborate with other NGO’s and community organisations. Radio collars have been successfully deployed on 10 individuals, and GPS loggers have been tested successfully helping to find out how large an area each sloth needs and which parts of the island they use in different seasons. In 2016, field team leader, Diorene Smith Cabellos, was awarded the Disney Conservation Hero Award for her impressive dedication and hard work towards the conservation of this species. The longevity of the project has enabled the team to develop and maintain essential positive relationships with the local communities and authorities. Rangers from the environment ministry now also attend all field trips, improving the ability to enforce regulation of tourism and pollution.

Some organisations helping this species IUCN Sloth Specialist Group | Zoological Society of London (ZSL) | Edge of Existence | WWF | Minnesota Zoo.

What you can do to help

Learn more about these animals by contacting the NGO’s that are saving them and share with your friends. Make sure that when travelling you don’t not take a selfie of yourself and any animal especially a sloth, as usually all these animals have been taken from the wild.

Green turtles have been afforded legislative protection under a number of international treaties and laws, and as a result of many global designations and agreements, many of the intentional impacts directed at sea turtles have been lessened: harvest of eggs and adults has been slowed at several nesting areas through nesting beach conservation efforts and an increasing number of community-based initiatives are in place to slow the taking of turtles in foraging areas. However, despite these advances, human impacts continue throughout the world. The lack of effective monitoring in open seas, and near-shore fisheries operations still allows turtle mortality, and the uncontrolled development of coastal and marine habitats threatens to destroy the supporting ecosystems of long-lived green turtles.

Some organizations helping this species IUCN Specialist Sea Turtle group | State of the World’s Sea Turtles (SWOT) Program | NOAA Nat Geo | Green Turtle | Foundation | Sea Turtle | Charity UK | Medasset.

What you can do to help

Visit the bluehabits.org web site for more information

Join the growing community of people who are choosing to reduce or eliminate single-use plastics from their lives, and reducing their carbon footprint. Do not purchase any sea turtle products, such as combs and jewellery made from hawksbill shell which are common in tourist markets in some tropical countries

Oceana is the largest international advocacy organization dedicated solely to ocean conservation. Oceana is rebuilding abundant and biodiverse oceans by winning science-based policies in countries that control one third of the world’s wild fish catch. With more than 200 victories that stop overfishing, habitat destruction, pollution and killing of threatened species like turtles and sharks, Oceana’s campaigns are delivering results. A restored ocean means that one billion people can enjoy a healthy seafood meal, every day, forever. Visit www.oceana.org to learn more. Although many organisations are working to save whales, more needs to be done. Conservation efforts need to start locally in order to save endangered whales from extinction, and then followed by a coordinated global approach which includes governments, regional and local communities to ensure the continued survival of the blue whales.

Some organisations helping this species: IUCN Specialist Whale Group | Sea Shepherd | Greenpeace | WWF | Oceana | Save the Whales

What can you do to help

Disposing of pollutants and hazardous wastes properly. Storm water runoff is one of the leading causes of water pollution. Leaks from vehicles contribute to the problem as oil and antifreeze and other harmful elements wash into small streams and then rivers that eventually end up in the oceans. Oppose all commercial whaling operations. Learn more and join organisations dedicated to protecting whales.

The entire island of Yadua Taba is a protected national park and recent natural plant regeneration after goat removal in 2004 has greatly increased the number of iguanas on this island. Recovery efforts like this demonstrate the real potential for recovering iguana populations on other islands. For example, Monuriki Island has undergone a complete regeneration thanks to the work of many local and international organisations who began removing free-ranging goats and non-native Pacific rats on this island in 2010. These “alien invaders” were eating the iguana eggs and hatchlings and were destroying the iguana’s natural food source. In conjunction, 10 pairs of adult Fijian crested iguanas were transferred to Kula Eco Park on Viti Levu for captive breeding, with assistance and permission from Monuriki Island’s local landowners and custodians. In May 2015, 32 offspring, bred at Kula Eco Park, ranging in age from one to three years old, were released on Monuriki island. This is the first time that Fijian iguanas, bred in captivity, have been released back to the wild as part of conservation efforts. Recovery of the unique dry forest is seen in the emergence of many young native trees and shrubs which provide essential food and shelter for the iguana and other wildlife. The Fijian crested iguana is protected from international trade; however, illegal smuggling remains a known threat.

Organisations involved in this recovery program are: IUCN SSC Iguana Specialist Group | Taronga Conservation Society | Australia Zoo International Iguana Foundation | San Diego Zoo.

What you can do to help

If you love reptiles and loved this story, learn more about these iguanas through the SSC Iguana specialist group and tell your friends. If you needed to have a reptile as a pet, make sure that it’s a reputable pet shop or aquarium, that you get the proper paper and local authorisation so that you know that any reptile is not illegally traded.

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)

Starting in 1994, FSC is a global not-for-profit organisation that sets the standards for what a responsibly managed forest is, both environmentally and socially. They work to promote environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world’s forests. FSC certified forests have to meet their rigorous standards, which include that the forests are healthy and benefit local communities as well as providing jobs for workers. FSC tracks the wood from the forest to the shelf, so you can be sure that the furniture or the paper you have just bought came from responsible sources. FSC helps take care of forests, the people and wildlife who all call the forest their home. So you can keep your life full of forest products while keeping our forests full of life. Forests are good for us. They provide a great environment for activities like hiking, walking and other outdoor pursuits and are even proven to have therapeutic properties. On a wood or wood-based product, it is your assurance that it is made with, or contains, wood that comes from FSC certified forests or from post-consumer waste. Products with the FSC label are identified as products with their roots from well-managed forests. FSC helps forests remain thriving environments for generations to come, by helping you make ethical and responsible choices at your supermarket, bookstore, furniture retailer and beyond. All this information was provided by FSC website.

Some of the organisations that work to save our forests include: FSC | Rainforest Alliance | WWF | Greenpeace | Rainforest Rescue. You can also get involved with your local community council or regional community and help protect your local forest.

What you can do to help Learn more about forests and help protect them by joining, donating or volunteering with NGO’s that are helping conserve our forests. Join organisations that plant trees in your area.

“A group of numbat lovers has come to the rare marsupial’s rescue in a pocket of south-western, Western Australia. Robert McLean seems an unlikely conservationist. A meat-truck driver by day, he’s a man who loves steak and beer. But most weekends you won’t catch him putting his feet up watching the football. Instead you’ll find him deep in the Dryandra Woodland on the frontline of a battle to save Western Australia’s state animal emblem from extinction. Robert’s passions are photography and numbats, and he has successfully combined the two into a constructive obsession. On weekends he heads inland, driving for several hours from his coastal home to the Dryandra conservation area 170 km south-east of Perth, to find and photograph numbats. His unusual hobby has led him to form a strong bond with three other unlikely conservationists: airline worker Sean Van Alphen; power-company employee Matthew Willett; and John Lawson, caretaker of the Lions Dryandra Woodland Village and former stonemason. The group met on individual searches for the elusive creature after bumping into one another while following the network of old logging tracks that criss-cross Dryandra. The numbat Taskforce was initially formed to lobby the State government for protection for the numbat from feral cat predation. The four friends set up a Facebook page and now post every numbat image they capture on their cameras. Their efforts have managed to overturn a decision by the State’s Environmental Protection Authority not to assess the tip proposal. It was a significant victory for the team.”

Information from the Press release is quoted above. Australian Conservation Heroes:https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/society/awards/2018/10/numbat-task-force-conservationist-of-the-year.

Some organisations involved in this program are: Project numbat | Nature Conservancy | Australian Wildlife Conservancy | WWF | FAME | The numbat breeding program at Perth Zoo.

What you can do to help

Contact Project numbat or other organisations to see if you can learn more about the numbat and share with friends. You could adopt a numbat and support in their conservation. If you live in Australia where cats have no natural predators, do not let your cat out at night or release them as they will prey on native animals.

The Rhino Foundation Indonesia (YABI) has also built a 5,000-hectare Javan Rhino Study and Conservation area in Gunung Honje along the eastern boundary of UKNP. The work includes habitat management, with the removal of more than 100 hectares of Arenga palm which inhibits the growth of rhino food plants. More than 150 local people have been hired to work on the project over the past few years, including constructing an 8 km perimeter fence and building three guard posts and a base camp.

Some organisations helping this species The International Rhino Foundation | WWF | And many zoo’s globally.

What you can do to help

Learn more about rhinos and share the news with your family and friends Never buy any rhino horn and avoid medicines that include rhino horn.

One major success story comes from the “Polar bear Capital of the World” in Churchill, Canada. It’s home to less than 1000 people, and nearby a similar number of polar bears spend the ice-free summer on land. Mostly, the bears are spread far and wide waiting for autumn and the ice to reform to resume hunting seals. The challenge for the human-bear relationship is the town sits directly on the north migration path of bears where the ice forms earlier. Decades ago, the bears regularly got into trouble in town and commonly the outcome was a dead bear. The situation was unsustainable for both bears and the people that were increasingly reliant on tourists to view the bears. The solution was simple: reduce things that attract the bears, deter bears away from town, and for the real trouble makers, put them in jail. The Polar bear Alert Program has become the model for human-polar bear co-existence. A polar bear jail made from repurposed military building housed the bears, called the Polar bear Holding Facility, which serves as a temporary home for bears until they can either be moved further north by helicopter if the jail gets too full or released onto the ice. The bears are not fed, reducing their desire to return and matches their fasting on land in the wild. They are provided fresh snow or water to drink. The program has saved hundreds of bears over the years. It is harder to know how many humans it has protected and the community of Churchill are aware that they live in bear country and know that help is only a phone call away. Written by Andrew Derocher

Some organisations helping this species IUCN Polar bear Specialist Group | Polar bears International | WWF.

What you can do to help Reduce your, and your families, carbon footprint by choosing CO2-friendly transport. Buy energy saving appliances and support research and development of green technology and investments. Buy locally produced products and recycle.

Realising the species’ rarity, a captive breeding programme was commenced in 1984, by the Recovery Plan group, and more than 300 individuals are now held in seven different breeding centres in Australia and Tasmania. Captive birds are instrumental in the conservation effort. For example, as the population is severely male biased (six males per one female), females are released in spring at the breeding site to correct the sex ratio imbalance. Captive-bred birds that have been released have also migrated successfully between their breeding and wintering grounds and back again. Birds released on the wintering grounds have also migrated south to breed. However, survival is poor and many released birds are caught again before migration. Some are also released at wintering sites where they have been joined by birds that have flown there. The extraordinary effort being made to conserve the orange bellied parrots has undoubtedly prevented its extinction, despite enormous challenges presented by the remoteness of its breeding site and the perils inherent in its migratory behaviour. Some organisations helping this species The Australian, Tasmanian, Victorian and South Australian governments and their relevant National Parks | BirdLife Australia | Australian National University | Charles Sturt University | Zoo’s and Aquarium Association.

What you can do to help Contact BirdLife Australia and International, to learn more about the world’s birds. Contact the Tasmanian, Victorian and South Australian governments, national parks and regional and local councils, who are also involved.

On January 17, 2018, Smithsonian researchers released approximately 500 frogs at Cobre Panama concession site in Panama’s Colon province as a first step toward a potential full-scale reintroduction of this species. This reintroduction is included in Cobre Panama’s biodiversity conservation plan as an important part of their environmental commitment. In order to monitor the released frogs over time, 30 frogs wore miniature radio transmitters. The scientific team also gave each frog an elastomer toe marking that glows under UV light to identify each individual as part of a population monitoring study. “Before we reintroduce frogs into remote areas, we need to learn how they fare in the wild and what we need to do to increase their chances of survival in places where we can monitor them closely” said Brian Gratwicke, International coordinator of the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project (PARC) at the Smithsonian Biology Institute. Reintroductions may or may not succeed but the lessons learnt will help to understand the challenges faced by a frog as it transitions from captivity into the wild. PARC brought a number of individuals into the breeding centre between 2013 and 2016 as the fungus continued to impact wild populations. PARC hopes to secure the future of this frog by reintroducing animals bred in captivity according to an action plan developed with Panama’s Ministry of the Environment and the IUCN and other stakeholders. Some organisations helping this species IUCN Specialist Frog group | Cheyenne Zoo | Houston Zoo | ZOO New England The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institution | The Tiger Wood Fund The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute | National Geographic Society The Tiger Wood Fund | Mohammed bin Zayed Species Conservation fund.

What you can do to help

If this story really interested you, find out more from any of the organisations that are helping this frog and get involved. Make contact with the Amphibian Survival Alliance www.amphibians.org and Amphibian Ark www.amphibianark.org

In US waters, it is illegal to harvest corals for commercial purposes. Localized efforts to propagate and reintroduce the species have occurred in Florida, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Honduras. In response to ship grounding and hurricanes, there have been efforts in some areas to salvage damaged corals and reattach them in their habitats. As an early warning system, coral reefs have been sounding the alarm for years. Bleached white by marine heatwaves, and massive die-offs by the effects of climate change, so a few projects are being trialed to restore the staghorn coral populations. In the Florida Keys, underwater nurseries offer hope for endangered ecosystems, encouraging growth of coral fragments on fibreglass structures anchored to the sea-bed. In Australia, Taronga Conservation Society is the lead organisation in applying cryopreservation technologies to reef management, restoration and research for the Great Barrier Reef. Working with the Smithsonian Institute, the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, they have been cryobanking keystone coral reef species at annual spawning seasons since 2011.

Some organisations helping the species: IUCN Coral Specialist group | NOAA | Oceana | Queensland University Taronga Conservation Society | Smithsonian Institute | AIMS | Great Barrier Reef Foundation 4Ocean | Coral Reef Alliance International Coral Reef Initiative | WWF Wildlife Conservation Society.

What you can do to help Don’t buy any coral especially when travelling, as it increases the demand for the illegal capture and selling of corals. Be aware when snorkelling, diving or boating and reduce your carbon footprint. Support eco-tourism organisations that support coral reef conservation. Learn more about corals at the World Reef Map and get involved.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) was set up by the 51 fishing nations in 1966 to manage fishing of tuna in the entire Atlantic Ocean and also to address the by-catch from tuna fishing like that of sharks, especially through the use of drift nets. Drift nets are lengthy, free floating 8-15 metres deep nets each as long as 90 kilometres and ensnare fish by their gills in open waters. These nets are non-selective so their kill (by-catch) includes many other animals like turtles, sharks, seabirds and other marine mammals. These nets are extremely destructive and are used by the world’s fisheries. For the European Union member states, driftnet fishing for tuna has been banned since 1 January 2002; while the ban entered into force in 2004 is still officially permitted in Morocco. Clearly, an overall reduction in fishing efforts is needed to reverse current trends. We need to protect, monitor and legislate the elimination of illegal fishing and countries need to achieve consensus on bluefin tuna management measures.

Organisations helping this species: Oceana | ICCAT | Sailors for the Sea | WWF | Marine Conservation | Pew Charitable Trust

What you can do to help

Do not buy or consume Atlantic bluefin tuna.