Amur leopard captured on camera in China

Staff in the Hunchun Amur Tiger National Nature Reserve in Jilin Province, China  have captured pictures of the Amur leopard.  The pictures are said to be the first-known pictures to be taken by camera trap photography, the Wildlife Conservation Society says.


Along with this news it was also said that a recent survey has revealed that an estimated 8-11 Amur leopards have been counted in the northern province which is an encouraging sign the the leopards are returning to China.


Staff from the Hunchun Reserve set up 16 cameras, a dozen of which were donated by the Wildlife Conservation Society, and located them in the same area where a winter survey had recorded sightings of the animals.


The Wildlife Conservation Society has worked for more than ten years in support of the Russian-Chinese transboundary conservation. The Society also says that pictures of Amur tigers were also taken.


Amur leopards mainly live over the border from China in Russia, where 29 leopards were recorded in last winter's survey.  The Amur leopard is one of the most endangered large cat species on the planet with only 30-35 left.


You can find out more about the work of the Wildlife Conservation Society here.

Three new dolphin sanctuaries declared in Bangladesh

The Government of Bangladesh recently declared three new wildlife sanctuaries.  The sanctuaries will protect the Ganges River dolphins and the Irrawaddy dolphins, these are the two only two species of dolphins left in Asia.

The Wildlife Conservation Society worked with the Bangladesh Forest Department to pinpoint where the sanctuaries should be situated.

Dr. Tapan Kumar Dey, Conservator of Forests, Wildlife, Forest Department, Bangladesh, said:

“A critical component will be to engage local human communities. The wildlife sanctuaries will be used as a natural laboratory for developing management practises that balance wildlife conservation with the resource demands of a large and growing human population.”

Although the two species of dolphins have been given better protection, the marine mammals remain at risk and face many threats.  The prey that they rely upon for a food source is being depleted and the dolphins can sometimes caught up in fishing nets.  They also face challenges due to their changing habitats with sea levels rising and fresh water flow changing.

International trade in the Ganges River dolphin is banned and they are listed on the Red List of Threatened Species; the WWF says there are only 1,200 - 1,800 of the species left.  The status of the Irrawaddy dolphin is at vulnerable with 5,000 of the species left, according to the WWF.

WCS complete campaign in China to clear snares

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has recently completed a campaign to clear the Heilongjiang province in China of illegal snares.  The snares are left to catch wild animals such as rabbits and Roe deer but Siberian Tigers have been known to get caught up in them.

The Siberian Tiger is already an endangered species but they do have a small population in China and they also found in Russia.  There are 3,5000 tigers left in the wild and 1,000 of them are breeding females, according to WCS.

The team from WCS worked with  more than volunteers to clear the Heilongjiang province of the snares.  162 traps were removed during the six-day period and the team endured freezing temperatures and thick snow in order to complete the campaign.

Joe Walston, WCS Director of Asia Programs, said:

“It's heartening to see a new generation of environmentally committed young Chinese willing and able to volunteer their time to do something challenging but important for their country's natural heritage."

“Tigers need our help whether it’s from grass roots efforts like these or governments putting more funding toward enforcement.”

The Wildlife Conservation Society has a long history in the conservation of wildlife and 115 years after the organisation first started, their work continues.  To find out more about their work visit: http://www.wcs.org/about-us.aspx