News Frans Lanting Summer 2012 The War for Ivo r y t 2 or 3 in the morning, distant gunshots split the night over the Samburu plains. That s the way it starts, always secret, usually at night. By sunrise, the staff of Save the Elephants get the call. The team crowds into the trucks and rushes across the bush. What they find is a sad sight. n elephant, four or five hours dead, her tusks cut out. The poachers are long gone, leaving nothing behind but tire tracks in the dust and a descending cloud of vultures. It s a tragedy that has struck Kenya, where Save the Elephants works, too many times, but it s no local problem. frica is in the grip of a poaching crisis. With nearly 500 elephants killed in Cameroon in early 2012, a steady hunt for forest elephants in the Congo, and hundreds of elephants lost in East frica, this new epidemic poses the greatest threat to frican elephants since the ivory ban stopped the first poaching wave in the 1980s. The poaching spike is caused in part by the rising fortunes of the sian middle class. traditional status symbol in sia, the demand for ivory skyrocketed along with incomes starting in 2009, Wildlife the Kenya sely with. lo ls c il s k rk g o w oachin STE staff monitor p Service to ilson Lelu kumani re cords th of a p oa e death ched ele phant. Lucy King STE s W Lisa Hoffner STE (Continued on page 2) 1
STE The War for Ivory (cont.) bout WCN The Wildlife Conservation Network is dedicated to protecting endangered species and preserving their natural habitats. We partner with independent conservationists around the world who live and work with local communities and are exploring new ways to promote peaceful coexistence between people and wildlife. ndean Cat lliance Lilian Villalba Cheetah Conservation Botswana Rebecca Klein Top: Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilton and his staff work to right a collared elephant after she wakes from anesthesia. Radio collars are key to STE s effort to chart the frequency and location of poaching kills. Right: ny tusks left behind by poachers are confiscated by the Kenya Wildlife Service so they cannot be sold. Cheetah Conservation Fund Dr. Laurie Marker Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Program Dr. Claudio Sillero 2 making it profitable for organized crime rings to get involved in the illegal trade. Prices paid to poachers have tripled in the past three years, and tonnage of illegal ivory seized in 2011 was double that of 2010. Fortunately, Save the Elephants decades of work on elephant conservation puts them in the position to fight poaching and be the voice of the frican elephant, both on the ground and internationally. Through the Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) program, STE has been tracking elephant movements and deaths over time. That data may make all the difference for elephants when the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) convenes in 2013. t that meeting, several frican countries will be arguing for CITES to lift the ivory trade ban. STE s data on the alarming poaching trends and declines in elephant populations will be one of the major keys to keeping the trade ban in place. In addition to fighting for international policy to protect elephants, STE is also working to prevent poaching on the ground. David Daballen, STE s Chief Field Officer, is training and outfitting anti-poaching scouts in villages where killings have been especially severe. These scouts are STE s eyes, patrolling for poachers and alerting STE and the Kenya Wildlife Service of any illegal activity. But there s much more to do. STE is working overtime to provide anti-poaching efforts in the region with vehicles, equipment and even a helicopter to better protect elephants. The poaching threat is dire, but STE s decades-long commitment to the protection of elephants is greater. With your help, STE is working to secure a future for the frican elephant. Lucy King Grevy s Zebra Trust Belinda Mackey Niassa Lion Project Dr. Colleen and Keith Begg Okapi Conservation Project John Lukas Painted Dog Conservation Dr. Greg Rasmussen & Peter Blinston Proyecto Tití Rosamira Guillén Saiga Conservation lliance Elena Bykova Save the Elephants Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilton Small Cat Conservation lliance Dr. James Sanderson Snow Leopard Conservancy Dr. Rodney Jackson
Invest In Wildlife Conservation We greatly appreciate your dedication to protecting wildlife. Your kind support is vital to our Partners heroic and enduring work in conservation. Ways to Give Donate by mail, phone, fax or online Become a monthly donor Make a donation as a holiday gift to a friend* Give a tribute gift to express sympathy, celebrate a birthday, wedding, or other special occasion* Include WCN in your estate plans Donate stock or other securities * WCN will send a personalized wildlife note card to the honoree(s) to notify them of your thoughtfulness. The amount of the gift will be kept confidential. 25745 Bassett Lane Los ltos, C 94022 Tel (650) 949-3533 Fax (650) 949-3733 info@wildnet.org www.wildnet.org EIN # 30-0108469 CFC # 63038 Network at Work Teaching in frica s Wilderness h ouston Zoo s Wildlife Conservation Program has always been a great asset for conservation and a close ally of WCN and our Partners. But last month, Houston Zoo truly confirmed the relationship between the zoo and field conservationists with an amazing $50,000 gift to bring education to the people of the Niassa National Reserve. S. McConnell Colleen Begg Left: Students in the Niassa Lion Project s current education program learn how to live safely with lions. Right: NLP s staff teaches local children to understand and appreciate the reserve s precious wildife. The Niassa Reserve is often called frica s last great wilderness, for good reason: the vast park has little development and no tourism. Its 35,000 residents live subsistence lifestyles with little access to schooling and almost no opportunities for employment. Many local people turn to poaching or hunting bushmeat for food and income, killing Niassa s lions, elephants and other wildlife in the process. Keith and Colleen Begg of the Niassa Lion Project (NLP) quickly realized one of the best ways to protect Niassa is to provide the local people with what they need most: education. This year, NLP is starting construction of an Education and Skills Training Center. By giving environmental education to children, NLP will strengthen appreciation of Niassa s rich wildlife. nd by providing adults with much-needed skills training, such as carpentry or improved farming techniques, NLP will offer alternatives to the bushmeat hunt while improving livelihoods. It s an ambitious goal, with a hefty price tag $100,000 just to begin building, and $350,000 over the next three years. Fortunately, the Houston Zoo stepped up with an incredible challenge grant of $50,000, which was matched by a generous WCN donor for a total of $100,000. Now NLP can launch construction this summer, and start providing skills training this June. The partnership between the Houston Zoo and NLP is just one more example of the power of a conservation network and how, together, we can build a bright future for wild places and the people who depend on them. 3
Meet WCN s Guest Speakers for the 2012 Expo Shivani Bhalla Ewaso Lions Shivani Bhalla truly exemplifies the conservation entrepreneur WCN works to support. Starting out as the education officer with Save the Elephants, she moved on to a Ph.D. on lion conservation from the University of Oxford, funded in part by a WCN scholarship. Even before completing her Ph.D., Shivani founded her own conservation project, Ewaso Lions, dedicated to protecting lions in and around Samburu Reserve. Through work with the communities and rigorous science, Shivani and Ewaso Lions are forging a path to protect lions in Samburu and across Kenya. Pablo Borboroglu Global Penguin Society For 23 years, Dr. Pablo Borboroglu has been dedicated to protecting and understanding seabirds. He has a particular passion for penguins, however, which led him to found the Global Penguin Society (GPS). GPS is dedicated to researching and conserving the world s penguin species. In the course of his work, Pablo has run emergency stations to save penguins from oil spills and created a 90,000 hectare reserve for the world s largest Megellanic Penguin colony. In 2010, Pablo received the Whitley ward from the Whitley Fund for Nature for his work. Lynn Clayton Yayasan dudu-nantu Internasional For over 25 years, Dr. Lynn Clayton has worked to protect the bizarre babirusa in the rainforests of Indonesia. She was one of the first people to ever study these four-tusked pigs, and she became so fascinated with them she has devoted her career to their conservation. Through Yayasan dudu-nantu Internasional, Lynn and her partners in Indonesia work with local communities and governments to reduce poaching and protect the amazing rainforest habitat that is the last stronghold of the babirusa and dozens more tropical species. William Robichaud Saola Working Group 4 It s no easy task protecting the saola, a forest antelope so elusive no scientist has ever seen one in the wild. But with only 250 left in the dense jungles of Laos, Dr. Bill Robichaud is committed to finding solutions to save the sian Unicorn. Bill heads the Saola Working Group, which studies the mysterious animal through camera trapping and surveys. Through work with local communities, Bill and the Working Group create solutions to reduce bushmeat hunting and protect the saola s richly diverse forest habitat.
Fireside Chat What made you decide to work for conservation? It started in the early 80 s during my training in agriculture, where I learned the importance of conserving seeds for better crop yields. Since then, I never looked back. I joined Veld Products Research and Development to research the conservation of indigenous fruit trees of Botswana, then the Okavango Research Centre at the University of Botswana, where I worked on biodiversity in the Okavango Delta. Working for conservation fulfills my vision of being a better custodian of nature and all the resources around me. What is a typical day in the field like for you? s Program Manager, I play the role of a catalyst I make sure my colleagues are undertaking activities in line with the mission of CCB. fter communicating with them to ascertain the technical or administrative needs of each department, I make sure they get the assistance they need. I participate in various outreach activities, including attending training sessions with farmers, researchers and other stakeholders with vested interest in CCB s work. Why is protecting the cheetah important? s a flagship species, protection of the cheetah means protection for the entire ecosystem. Cheetahs, like many other animals, also play an important role in the tourism industry of Botswana. CNDID INTERvIEW WITH a locl conservtionist IN THE field Douglas MPho Thamage Cheetah ConservaTIon Botswana ( CCB) rural communities. Botswana still has a healthy, free roaming cheetah population in some areas, but the current level of conflict will only continue if it is not addressed. There is a great need for communities to be made aware of their wildlife resource and the simple techniques that allow coexistence. s a former agricultural researcher, how do you balance the needs of farmers and herders with the needs of wildlife? There has to be an understanding that farmers and wildlife live in the same environment, where co-existence is crucial for the survival of the plants, animals and human beings. Unfortunately, human beings tend to take control of everything hence the need for public education on the importance of sustainable management of our resources to reduce conflict. Through the Livestock Guarding Dogs (LSGD) program and other community outreach activities, CCB is trying to bridge this gap. How will CCB grow in the next 5 to 10 years? In the next 5-10 years, CCB will expand to the other areas of Botswana where there is a serious demand for human wildlife conflict mitigation measures. We will have 3 outreach offices and a pool of researchers, educators, community outreach officers throughout the country. CCB aims to play a significant role in conservation policy formulation and development and will become one of the centers of excellence in predator conservation in Botswana. CCB Cheetahs are endangered, with around 10,000 left today. They are not safe within protected areas as they are outcompeted by stronger predators. Instead, cheetahs must move out onto marginal land where they come into conflict with Douglas Thamage, CCB s Program Manager, with a rehabilitated cheetah. 5
Notes from the Field New Packs on the Prowl in Ethiopia ood news has come to the Bale Mountains of Ethiopia. The staff of the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Program (EWCP) have identified two healthy new packs of Ethiopian wolves. One new pack, let alone two, is an incredibly rare and exciting occurrence for the endangered wolves. Ethiopian wolves are desperately vulnerable to outbreaks of rabies transmitted by domestic dogs. When it strikes, the disease decimates the population and weakens or destroys intact packs. But this Two new packs of Ethiopian wolves have appeared in the Bale time, thanks to EWCP s effective Mountains, a bright sign for this vulnerable population. vaccination efforts, many wolves survived the last outbreak. Survivors from collapsed packs and floaters with no pack of their own have come together to form the two new groups. These healthy packs represent the continuing hope for the Ethiopian wolf and a wonderful reward for everyone at EWCP who works tirelessly to protect them. G Will Burrard-Lucas Securing a Home for Cotton-tops royecto Tití has achieved another exciting victory for the cotton-top tamarin! Following their success stopping construction of an airport near cotton-top forest in 2011, PT has helped secure designation of a new protected area for the La Gloria forest in tlántico. For several years, PT has been part of a persistent campaign to convince the government to protect this important piece of cotton-top habitat. The critically endangered cotton-top tamarin lives only in the tropical dry forests of Colombia, 99% of which have already been lost to development and deforestation. The forests of La Gloria and El Ceibal, where PT works, are some of the last strongholds for the species. With the tlántico forest successfully protected, government protection of PT s homebase in El Ceibal is likely not far behind. With luck and PT s continuing work, this vital home for the cottontops will soon have permanent protection. P Lisa Hoffner 6 With only 1% of their original habitat left, it s critically important to protect the last remaining forests where cotton-tops live.
ScholarshipWinners We believe local experts are a key part of successful conservation. The WCN Scholarship Program funds the graduate education of outstanding students who are committed to conservation careers in their home countries. Nadezhda Sulikhan Thendi Tagwa Country: Russia Species of focus: Siberian Country: Botswana Species of focus: Cheetah Study: M.Phil. in Natural tiger and amur leopard Study: Ph.D. in pplied Ecology at the Institute of Biology and Soils, Far Eastern Division, Russian cademy of Sciences Resource Management at Okavango Research Institute Sidney Byers Scholarship Norvig Scholarship Gaspard bitsi Country: Gabon Species of focus: Forest elephant Study: M.Sc. in pplied Ecology & Conservation at University of East nglia Sidney Byers Scholarship Donny Sumartono Country: Indonesia Species of focus: Sumatran elephant Study: M.Sc. in Conservation Biology at University of Kent Sidney Byers Scholarship Dedi Candra Country: Indonesia Species of focus: Sumatran and Javan rhinos Study: M.Sc. in Management of Natural Resources & Environment at University of Lampung Norvig Scholarship Jassiel M soka Country: Zambia Species of focus: Cheetah and frican wild dog study: M.Sc. in Fish & Wildlife Management at Montana State University Lee Schink Memorial Scholarship Daniel Letoiye Country: Kenya Species of focus: Grevy s zebra Study: M.Sc. in Conservation & Rural Development at University of Kent Handsel Scholarship Chanthasone Phommachanh Country: Laos Species of focus: Saola Study: M.Sc. in Natural Resources Management at King Mongkut s University of Technology Sidney Byers Scholarship Tobias Ochieng Mbumba Marufo Country: Kenya Species of focus: frican Country: Mozambique Species of focus: frican Study: Ph.D. in Geography Study: M.Sc. in Biological & elephant at University of Cambridge Lee Schink Memorial Scholarship elephant Conservation Sciences at University of Kwazulu Natal Pat J. Miller Scholarship 7
NONPROFIT ORG. US POSTGE PID OKLND, C PERMIT NO. 259 25745 Bassett Lane Los ltos, C 94022 US 650.949.3533 www.wildnet.org Too much mail? If you prefer to receive the WCN newsletter in electronic form (rather than on recycled paper), please let us know by phone (650) 949-3533 or email: info@wildnet.org Printed on 100% recycled, 60% post-consumer paper, processed chlorine-free. Luc y King Visit www.wildnet.org for more details ugust 25 Reception for Small Cat Conservation lliance October 13 Wildlife Conservation Expo Dates to note in 2012 fighting back by creating patrols on the ground and political change around the globe. Ivory poaching returns to threaten frica s elephants. But Save the Elephants is In this issue Frans Lanting Summer 2012 News