By Emma Muench, 28th June 2022
Our July 2022 issue features a special section on felid conservation, with articles on cheetahs, leopards, lions, jaguars and more! Our accompanying Briefly section also includes recent news on felid conservation. The lead article and cover feature by Walker et al. highlights the importance of pre- and post-release management for optimizing survival of rehabilitated and released wild-born, captive-raised cheetahs. In the Editorial, Long & Rodríguez spotlight species that are lost but not forgotten, calling for a new nomenclature to support the rediscovery and conservation of species that have not been observed for a long time but do not meet the conditions to be classified as Extinct or Extinct in the Wild. The issue also includes a host of Conservation news articles and book reviews!
Find out more about this issue’s content, including our Editor’s picks, below:
Felid conservation
- Recommendations for the rehabilitation and release of wild-born, captive-raised cheetahs: the importance of pre- and post-release management for optimizing survival – Walker et al. (see blog post here)
- Assessing the success of the first cheetah reintroduction in Malawi – Sievert et al. (see blog post here)
- First records of the flat-headed cat Prionailurus planiceps on the Kampar Peninsula, Sumatra, Indonesia – Powell & Iqbal (see blog post here)
- Leopard Panthera pardus density and survival in an ecosystem with depressed abundance of prey and dominant competitors – Vinks et al. (see blog post here)
- Attitudes towards the Sri Lankan leopard Panthera pardus kotiya in two rural communities – Uduman et al.
- Effectiveness of community-based livestock protection strategies: a case study of human–lion conflict mitigation – Sibanda et al.
- Jaguars in the matrix: population, prey abundance and landcover change in a fragmented landscape in western Mexico – Luja et al. (see blog post here)
Behind the cover
The use of orphaned, captive-raised large carnivores for release remains controversial because of the potential influence of captivity and the possible lack of natural behaviours in such individuals. Rehabilitating orphaned individuals for release could, however, help mitigate pressures on wild populations. In a study of the rearing, rehabilitation and release of wild-born cheetahs that were rescued as orphans in Namibia, a framework for release planning and post-release management was developed based on the outcome of release trials. Of 36 released individuals, 75–96% achieved independence post-release. Annual survival estimates for rehabilitated individuals that reached independence were comparable to those of wild counterparts, and some rehabilitated individuals reproduced with wild conspecifics. For further details, see here. (Photograph © T.J. Rich/NaturePL.com)
Editorial
Lost but not forgotten: a new nomenclature to support a call to rediscover and conserve lost species – Long & Rodríguez
‘The search for lost species is a call to everybody, everywhere, not to overlook species from any taxonomic group. We invite the conservation community to focus on lost species, to initiate conservation action for them if rediscovered, and to prevent their extinction. The pathway of loss described here provides a framework for increasing levels of urgency to help us focus on all species in need of conservation.’
Left: A group of five cheetahs being cared for at CCF’s Research and Education Centre in Namibia. Photo: Eli Walker/Cheetah Conservation Fund. Right: Two wild-born offspring of a CCF rehabilitated cheetah released into Erindi Private Game Reserve in 2019. The tracking collars are crucial for monitoring their movement and behaviour. Photo: fnventor/Cheetah Conservation Fund. See Walker’s blog post here.
Editor’s picks
- Using community-based interviews to determine population size, distribution and nest site characteristics of Pallas’s fish eagle in north-east Bangladesh – Chowdhury et al.
- The long-term effect of over-supplementation on recovered populations: why restraint is a virtue – Adamski & Ćmiel
- Detecting wildlife poaching: a rigorous method for comparing patrol strategies using an experimental design – van Doormaal et al.
- Amazon river dolphins Inia geoffrensis are on the path to extinction in the heart of their range – Martin & da Silva
Other content
- Identifying the characteristics of conservation areas that appeal to potential flagship campaign donors – Dobson et al.
- The long-term effect of over-supplementation on recovered populations: why restraint is a virtue – Adamski & Ćmiel
- Detecting wildlife poaching: a rigorous method for comparing patrol strategies using an experimental design – van Doormaal et al. (see blog post here)
- Red List assessment of widespread and long-lived species – Fensham
- Amazon river dolphins Inia geoffrensis are on the path to extinction in the heart of their range – Martin & da Silva
- Global challenges and priorities for interventions addressing illegal harvest, use and trade of marine turtles – Lopes et al. (see blog post here)
- Protection of elephants and sustainable use of ivory in Thailand – Chaitae et al.
- Rural and urban views on elephants, conservation and poaching – Sampson et al. (see blog post here)
- Genetic and viability assessment of a reintroduced Eurasian otter Lutra lutra population on the River Ticino, Italy – Balestrieri et al.
- Using community-based interviews to determine population size, distribution and nest site characteristics of Pallas’s fish eagle in north-east Bangladesh – Chowdhury et al. (see blog post here)
- Using local ecological knowledge to locate the western longbeaked echidna Zaglossus bruijnii on the Vogelkop Peninsula, West Papua, Indonesia – Pattiselanno et al. (see blog post here)
A young male leopard beginning an evening hunt along a remote road in the heart of Kafue National Park. Photo: Milan Vinks. Read Vinks’ blog post here.
Conservation news
- Rediscovery of Brachystelma attenuatum after 188 years – Srivastava & Chauhan
- Conservation of Garcinia gamblei, a rare tree endemic to the Western Ghats, India – Kavungullachalil et al.
- Conservation assessment of Ficus cupulata: a narrow range endemic species of Central India – Srivastava et al.
- Status of the Endangered Canarium kipella and its lack of regeneration in ex situ cultivation – Primananda et al.
- Taruka Hippocamelus antisensis continues to recover near La Paz, Bolivia – Pacheco et al.
- Partnership for conserving the Sub-Himalayan grasslands of India – Das et al.
- Markhor Capra falconeri monitoring in Tajikistan shows population recovery – Akramov et al.
- The Whitley Awards 2022 – Law
Book reviews
- Swamplands: Tundra Beavers, Quaking Bogs, and the Improbable World of Peat
- The Treeline: The Last Forest and the Future of Life on Earth
- Environmental Defenders: Deadly Struggles for Life and Territory
