Search Results (7)

The elongated tortoise (Indotestudo elongata), a Critically Endangered (CR) species, faces numerous threats across its range. Yet, the ecological and anthropogenic factors affecting its conservation in fragmented habitats remain poorly understood. This study integrated field surveys and community questionnaires to assess the distribution drivers and local perceptions, such as attitudes, knowledge, conservation practices, and perceived threats, in the Jalthal Forest, one of the last remnants of suitable habitat for the elongated tortoise in eastern Nepal. Using ArcMap, we established 138 randomly selected grids (500 m × 500 m) to evaluate the environmental covariates of tortoise occurrence and anthropogenic pressures. Generalized linear models revealed that tortoise occurrence was negatively associated with dense ground cover (β = −3.50, p = 0.017) and human disturbance (β = −8.11, p = 0.019). Surveys of local residents from community forest user groups (n = 236 respondents) indicated strong local support for tortoise conservation (69% willing to protect the species). Despite this, the respondents identified persistent threats, including hunting for bushmeat and traditional medicine (74%), habitat degradation (65%), and forest fires. While 60% of the respondents recognized the threatened species status, significant knowledge gaps regarding that status and ongoing illegal exploitation persisted. These findings underscore the need for targeted habitat management, reduced anthropogenic pressures, and community-led initiatives to align local attitudes with conservation actions. This study provides critical baseline data for conserving the elongated tortoise in human-modified landscapes and emphasizes the necessity of integrated ecological and socio-cultural strategies for its long-term survival. Full article

Decades of illegal hunting (poaching) have adversely affected wildlife populations and thereby limited sustainable wildlife conservation in the Luangwa Valley, Zambia. Despite intervention efforts to address the problem, the illegal hunting of wildlife has persisted. Therefore, this study was conducted to understand the persistence of illegal hunting by investigating the drivers of poaching and intervention measures using a mixed methods approach. Stratified random sampling was used to collect data from 346 respondents through structured questionnaires. Purposive sampling was used to collect data through nine focus group discussions and three in-depth interviews with experts. The study revealed that persistent illegal hunting was mainly driven by people’s critical need for survival and sustaining their livelihoods and not by inadequate law enforcement as presumed by resource managers. Although law enforcement was the most prevalent intervention measure, it did not deter local illegal hunters because their main motivations for poaching were not effectively addressed. The key implication of these findings is that where the illegal harvesting of natural resources in protected areas by local resource users is driven by people’s critical need for survival and a livelihood, which is ineffectively addressed, illegal harvesting may persist even with increased law enforcement. This study provides empirical evidence, novel conceptual knowledge and an understanding of how prevalent drivers of poaching and other factors may have influenced persistent illegal hunting in the Luangwa Valley. Full article

François’ langur is an Endangered colobine inhabiting limestone habitats in southern China and northern Vietnam. Its global population has been estimated to be just more than 2000 mature individuals. Populations in Vietnam are highly fragmented with reportedly fewer than 200 adults in total and 50 in a single location. Although the François’ langur in Vietnam is highly imperiled as remnant populations persist in only three to four sites, little research has been carried out to provide a reliable estimate of its remaining population. In this study, we conducted field surveys in Lam Binh District, Tuyen Quang Province, northeastern Vietnam. In total, we recorded at least 16 groups of François’ langurs, with 156 individuals, raising the total number of individuals by approximately 10% compared to a previous study. The group structure, group size, activity budget, and density of the Lam Binh population resemble those reported in François’ langurs in China and other limestone langur species. The results show that the behavior ecology of limestone langurs significantly differs from that of forest langurs probably because they occupy separate habitats with distinctly different environmental variables. During our surveys, we detected a number of direct threats to this population, namely illegal logging, hunting, firewood collecting, hydropower development, grazing, and mining. It is recommended that the protection forest be elevated to the nature reserve status to better protect the most important population of the François’ langur in Vietnam. Full article

The Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) is a myrmecophagous, nocturnal mammal species that occurs in forests, agricultural lands, and grasslands. It is critically endangered due to illegal hunting and habitat loss. Characterizing the Chinese pangolin’s habitat and diet could improve our knowledge of the conditions necessary for species persistence; however, limited information is available. We investigated the habitat and diet of Chinese pangolins in the Chandragiri Municipality, Kathmandu, Nepal from November 2021–March 2022. We identified foraging burrows within plots established along 20 transects, collected scats opportunistically at these burrows, and used a generalized linear model to assess the site-level habitat characteristics related to burrow occurrence. We recorded 88 foraging burrows which occurred in forests with 50–75% canopy closure at 1500–1700 m elevation with 20–40° slopes. The probability of detecting a Chinese pangolin foraging burrow was greater with the increasing slope gradient and decreased with increasing distance to agricultural lands and ant nests or termite mounds. The analysis of 10 scats revealed that Aphaenogastersymthiesii, Camponotus sp., Monomorium sp., and Pheidole sp. were the dominant ant prey species; no termites were detected. Baseline data from this study could be used for ex-situ conservation and the captive breeding of Chinese pangolins as well as aiding site-specific management plans in Nepal. Full article

Illegal hunting of wildlife by community members abutting African protected areas contributes to unsustainable use of wildlife, resulting in significant declines in wildlife populations. Contemporary intervention measures have largely been ineffective, leading to pervasive and persistent illegal hunting. Such illegal hunting of wildlife is partly exacerbated by poor understanding of what motivates people to hunt illegally. Applying a scoping review approach, this study aims at developing concepts for drivers of illegal hunting and how they influence illegal hunting behaviour by local hunters living in or adjacent to African protected areas. A total of 30 publications were included for review analysis from 1014 publications retrieved using data base searches on Google Scholar and ScienceDirect. The study identified 12 proximate and five underlying drivers, which were categorised into 10 thematic drivers of illegal hunting by local hunters. The need for survival and sustaining livelihoods was conceptualised as the key thematic driver of illegal hunting by local hunters. The study represents a novel work of conceptualising drivers of illegal hunting by local hunters with implications on the persistence of illegal hunting in Africa. Full article

Rapid deforestation and unprecedented wildlife trafficking are important factors triggering the rate of zoonotic spillover from animals to humans. Consequently, this leads to the emergence and re-emergence of zoonotic infectious diseases among the human population. Deforestation is an important ecological disruption that leads to the loss of biodiversity. The loss of biodiversity results in the persistence of highest-quality hosts of zoonotic pathogens dominating the low-diversity communities, a process termed the dilution effect. Activities like intensive farming and logging that resulted in deforestation bring vulnerable people in close contact with these highest-quality reservoir hosts (wildlife). As a result of this vulnerability, there is an increased risk of spillover, leading to zoonotic infection in humans and eventually disease outbreaks during human–human transmission. One prominent example of a disease of wildlife origin is the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus 2), even though the original source has not been found. Another important factor facilitating the risk of spillover and emergence of zoonotic infectious diseases is wildlife trafficking. This involves illegal hunting and trading of wildlife and their products, which increases the risk of spillover as a result of exchange of bodily fluids and bloodmeals between humans and wildlife during the hunting and butchering of animals’ carcasses. Consequently, little or no hygiene protocol and poor handling practices during the wildlife-trade chain expose poachers, consumers, and local market sellers to the risk of zoonotic diseases. Despite the interventions on deforestation-induced spillover and wildlife trafficking-associated spillover, there are still knowledge and research gaps that need to be addressed towards preventing the outbreaks of future zoonotic infectious diseases. In response to this, there is a need for interdisciplinary and intersectoral collaborations among researchers from various fields as well as sectors in minimizing the risk of zoonotic spillover driven by deforestation and wildlife trafficking at the human–animal–environmental nexus. In addition, there is a need for integrated and unified evidence-based policy formulation that puts an end to deforestation and wildlife trafficking, especially in tropical areas such as Africa and Asia. Full article

Three of the four species of giraffe are threatened, particularly the northern giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis), which collectively have the smallest known wild population estimates. Among the three subspecies of the northern giraffe, the West African giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis peralta) had declined to 49 individuals by 1996 and only recovered due to conservation efforts undertaken in the past 25 years, while the Kordofan giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis antiquorum) remains at <2300 individuals distributed in small, isolated populations over a large geographical range in Central Africa. These combined factors could lead to genetically depauperated populations. We analyzed 119 mitochondrial sequences and 26 whole genomes of northern giraffe individuals to investigate their population structure and assess the recent demographic history and current genomic diversity of West African and Kordofan giraffe. Phylogenetic and population structure analyses separate the three subspecies of northern giraffe and suggest genetic differentiation between populations from eastern and western areas of the Kordofan giraffe’s range. Both West African and Kordofan giraffe show a gradual decline in effective population size over the last 10 ka and have moderate genome-wide heterozygosity compared to other giraffe species. Recent inbreeding levels are higher in the West African giraffe and in Kordofan giraffe from Garamba National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo. Although numbers for both West African and some populations of Kordofan giraffe have increased in recent years, the threat of habitat loss, climate change impacts, and illegal hunting persists. Thus, future conservation actions should consider close genetic monitoring of populations to detect and, where practical, counteract negative trends that might develop. Full article