African Elephants Really Two Wildly Different Species?

The African elephant is actually two different species, according to a new DNA study that may settle a long-simmering debate.


"The big surprise of this paper," though, is just how genetically different the African savanna elephant and the African forest elephant are, co-author David Reich said.


(See African forest elephant pictures from National Geographic magazine.)

According to the new research, the two major types of African elephants are about as genetically distinct from each other as the Asian elephant is from the extinct woolly mammoth.

And that difference has deep roots in the elephant family tree, the DNA evidence suggests.

The two apparent African elephant species appear to have evolved from a common ancestor between two and a half million and five million years ago—nearly as long ago as the human and chimpanzee lineages diverged, according to some genetic studies.

For Species Designation, Size Doesn't Matter

Traditionally, the forest and savanna elephants have been classified as subspecies of the same species. But numerous distinctions have been noted. For example, forest elephants live in family groups of just a few animals, whereas savanna elephant family groups number about ten and often congregate in groups of 70 or so.

And—perhaps unsurprisingly, given its wide-open habitat—the African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) has evolved to be about twice as big as the forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis).

The savanna elephant tips the scales at up to seven tons and stands a full meter (3.3 feet) taller at the shoulder than the African forest elephant, which lives in equatorial forests of central and western Africa.

But even plainly visible morphological, or physical, differences don't necessarily indicate that animals are of separate species.

"Animals have an amazing capacity to change in morphology over short periods of time," said Reich, a population geneticist at Harvard Medical School.

Without pressures from predators and competitors, for example, species isolated on islands can shrink in just tens of thousands of years—a blink of the eye in evolutionary time.

Elephants have experienced such transitions before, producing animals like the "pygmy" Asian elephant of Borneo, which isn't considered a separate species, despite its relatively short, round shape.

(See pictures of Borneo pygmy elephants at risk due to deforestation.)

Interspecies Elephant Sex?

Debate over the species status of African elephants has been simmering for at least a decade.

A 2001 study in the journal Science included the first DNA evidence that the savanna and forest elephants are separate species.

But then other studies showed that at least a small number of savanna elephants shared mitochondrial DNA—genetic information passed down from only mothers—with forest elephants.

This "proved there was some interbreeding within at least the past 500,000 years," Reich explained.

But that limited interbreeding isn't evidence that the two elephant types are from the same species, he said. It's just an example of interspecies hybridization, relatively common in the animal world, ha added.

(See "Interspecies Sex: Evolution's Hidden Secret?")


Mammoth DNA Called Into Play

The key to the new discovery was some "cold case" genetics work on ancient, extinct elephant relatives: the woolly mammoth and the mastodon. The mastodon's nuclear genome, in particular, was sequenced for the first time for the study.

(Related: "Mammoths to Return? DNA Advances Spur Resurrection Debate.")

The genomes of five distinct animals—the Asian elephant, African savanna elephant, African forest elephant, woolly mammoth, and American mastodon—were then compared and contrasted.

The results showed that "in fact these [African elephant] populations diverged long ago and are at least as different as Asian elephants and mammoths—and those two are not only different species but entirely different genera," Reich said.

The apparent new species discovery is more than just cocktail party fodder for geneticists—it may have important conservation and management implications.

If Africa's elephants are from two distinct species, then each has a smaller population than previously believed. In this case, forest elephants may be of particular concern, because far less is known about their population status. Their numbers may prove small enough to garner additional protections.

New elephant-species study published in the journal PLoS Biology.

news.nationalgeographic.com

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Tragic week in Virunga National Park

31 January 2011

Two major attacks on Virunga National Park staff in under a week have left four park rangers and five members of the Congolese National Army dead. These are the worst attacks on rangers in the national park in over a year and park staff fear that there has been a massive influx of rebel soldiers to the area.

On Monday 24 January, three park rangers and five members of the Congolese National Army were killed during an attack on a patrol vehicle. The car was travelling along the road between Mabenga and Rwindi through the middle of the Virunga National Park. It was deploying the men on board to help keep the road safe for local people after reports that rebel soldiers had been seen in the area. The attackers fled the scene immediately on foot.

Less than a week later on Sunday 30 January, a second deadly attack on a Virunga National Park vehicle took place. A further ranger was killed and the driver of the car remains critically ill in hospital following the shooting. The vehicle was again on patrol to protect the local population from militia when the attack took place in Kabasha, to the west of the park. 

The Congolese wildlife authority (ICCN) is currently holding crisis meetings with the National Army and the United Nations to discuss the worsening insecurities in the region.

Since 1996 over 140 rangers have been killed in the line of duty in the Virunga National Park. This shocking figure means that the Virunga National Park has suffered more ranger deaths than any other protected area on earth.

Despite the threats, rangers continue to work hard to protect the national park and its inhabitants, including some of the worlds last remaining mountain gorillas.

38% of Uganda’s forests could be lost by 2021

38% of Uganda’s forests could be lost by 2021

UWEC needs help to feed rescued parrots



Some of the impounded parrots being treated at UWEC

Some of the impounded parrots being treated at UWEC



By Gerald Tenywa

WHILE conservationists are excited over the recovery of 142 parrots from suspected traffickers, officials at the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (UWEC) have started feeling the burden of feeding them.

The endangered African grey parrots, which are the most traded birds globally, were intercepted at the Uganda-Congo border yesterday and have been relocated to the former Entebbe Zoo, now UWEC.

According to Noel Arinteireho, a veterinarian at the centre, six of the parrots were found dead, while 10 were injured. The remaining 126 are out of danger.

The sick parrots have been isolated from the healthy ones and are now being closely monitored.

“It is exciting to recover such clever birds from traffickers,” Arinteireho told New Vision at the centre. “But it is also demanding to rehabilitate them before releasing them back to the wilderness.”

Arinteireho added: “The parrots need food worth sh300,000 daily and the treatment is expected to cost sh2m every month. They will be quarantined for about a month as we test them for various diseases.”

Currently, the talkative parrots, which imitate human words, are being fed on sugarcane, mangoes, pineapples, boiled eggs, maize, sorghum and rice.

Julius Kyaligonza, an animal and horticulture manager, said this was the largest consignment of impounded parrots recorded at the centre.

“It has a lot to do with the insecurity and poor governance in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Traffickers easily penetrate into the country and trap the parrots,” Kasigwa said.

“This has probably gone on for a long time, but with security on high alert at the borders, it was possible to impound the consignment,” he added.

Last year, nine parrots were recovered in November from an Egyptian diplomat and another five in October from a VIP.

Both incidents took place at Entebbe International Airport. The birds were taken to the wildlife centre.

“We need support from well-wishers to feed and treat these parrots,” said Kasigwa, adding that: “The parrots are very active and we feel overwhelmed to handle such numbers.”

Uganda: Bird Africans Dread Most

AT the sound "whooo whooo!" many people tremble. That distinctive low pitch hoot belongs to an owl. With its round head, large eyes and short hooked bill, it looks studious and even mysterious.

It does not help matters that it is a nocturnal bird, which stalks its prey in the dead of the night.

Talk about owls and the echo of superstitions reverberate from all parts of the country.

"It is a rare and evil bird. It only flies at night. Whenever it hoots near a home, somebody in that family dies mysteriously," says Joel Okello in Gulu.

Whether you call that a coincidence or believe otherwise, that feathered nocturnal is both loathed and feared. Across many cultures that ominous hoot portends evil.

Consequently, owls have since been baptized names that rhyme with its cry. Among the Baganda it is called kiwugulu, the Banyoro call it kihuguru while to the Iteso it is etukuri.

People are so afraid of owls that some pluck pages from the Bible or Koran, fold them into a small irizi (pillow) and wear it with a string around the waist or neck, supposedly to wad off such evil. Others sacrifice chicken, ducks and other livestock to appease the gods disturbed by an owl's hoot.

For one week an owl perched on a tree in Jowelia Nagudi's backyard at Bugolobi, a suburb in Kampala.

"It used to perch there and hoot. It would arrive at dusk and I am not sure when it would leave. At first I wanted to get rid of it, but I soon realised that we have a lot of rats in the neighbourhood, which it was probably hunting for food," she says.

Dr. Robert Kityo, a lecturer in the Department of Zoology at Makerere University concurs with Nagudi.

"Being hunters they do not move in groups. They feed on a variety of prey. It depends on where they are located - it may be mice in garbage skips, hares, thorny hedge hogs or lizards," he says.

"When an owl hoots at night, it is either announcing that it is in control of a given territory or it is courting," says Dr. Kityo. "While dogs urinate in an area to mark territory, owls audibly announce their presence."

Armed with a pair of binoculars I stalked owls for three months to try and understand their lifestyle. Some owls look as if they are gold-plated. To the human eye its natural features are both impressive and shocking. The big eyes give one the impression that the bird is permanently surprised.

These eyes are designed to peer through darkness. Each eye scans the same scene or target from a different angle. What's more, the undisputed champion of the night always appears patient, majestic and composed. Often the species in Uganda wear either a brown or gray feathered suit.

Like hawks, some owls can see well enough in sunlight to hunt by day as well as by night. However, the majority of owl species hunt at night. Most night-hunting owls have keen vision in the dark. Some have such sensitive hearing that they rely very little on vision.

Owls are very romantic. I caught them through the lens of my binoculars courting. It is amazing how romance softens a predator. On hearing a distinctive hoot from a partner the male bows. This goes on repeatedly until the tail is raised high up from behind as the beak pokes anything in its way.

This is how the suitor proposes. In response, the female cranes her neck in all directions. She then spreads the wing feathers to display a perfect figure.



Once dating begins, owls like many birds, remain monogamous for the rest of their lives which is anything up to 30 years. They are known to separate nests during cold season and reunite during warmer times. Their strict family planning limits them to hatching two off springs in a life time.

"In Uganda we have about 10 different species of owls," Kityo says. "Be it the African grass owlet, Scopes owl or the White Faced Owl locally they are all called Kiwugulu."

As a survival instinct, like a soldier in combat, in order to remain invisible, an owl narrows its colourful eyes down to slits. This is compounded by compressing the body to be twice smaller than the normal size.

This makes any owl indistinguishable from a tree stump. For emphasis on invisibility, like that childhood fantasy, owls shut their colourful eyes, to be invisible.

Besides that trick, their plumage blends well with a chosen surrounding. It is not very different from tree bark. Other than that, owls boast a pair of decorous wings stretching as wide as 60 centimeters.

The first baby owl to hatch is always three times fatter than its followers.

Cases of cannibalism have been reported among owls. The little ones are known to have voracious appetites. This sends the mother owl away from the nest, presumably because of consistent irritation by the little ones. The male owl follows shortly after. They return strictly to deliver food. The aggressive young ones attack any intruders when they are not squeaking for food.

According to The National Geographic, there are 130 species of owls in the world. They vary in size from large to small ones.

They never build nests but instead occupy the ones abandoned by crows or hawks.

The next time you hear an owl hoot, don't take cover, it is probably the life of a rat that is in danger.

www.newvision.co.ug

HOW TO TELL IF A TOUR COMPANY IS SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE

 

The following questions, which a responsible tour operator should be willing to answer,

can assist in choosing a tour operator and/or destination.

• What pre-departure educational materials or forums are provided to participants?

• Is the group size small enough to allow nonintrusive interaction with host peoples and environments?

• What are the qualifications and role of guides in preparing visitors for and interpreting cultures and ecosystems visited?

• Are local people and cultures portrayed realistically or are they merely being marketed?

What seems to be the company’s attitude toward the culture?

• Who will benefit from the cost of your trip?

• What opportunities are provided to interact with local people and organizations?

• Are any post-trip mechanisms in place or advice given on how to maintain your involvement with the country by sharing knowledge with others, lobbying governments and NGOs, staying in touch with local

organizations, and keeping informed on current issues?

Mountain Gorilla Population on the increase

A census of the world’s largest mountain gorilla population has counted 480 animals, an increase of 100 - more than a quarter - since the last count in 2003. 
The gorillas surveyed live in Central Africa’s Virunga Massif region, a volcanic mountain ecosystem consisting of three adjacent national parks spanning parts of Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda and Rwanda.

A fourth park, southwestern Uganda’s Bwindi, is home to an additional 302 mountain gorillas, the only other remaining wild population, which together with four orphaned mountain gorillas in a sanctuary in the DRC brings the wild population to 786.

The Virunga census was conducted in March and April 2010 by local authorities with the support of the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP), a coalition of several conservation organizations, including WWF.

‘’This is vivid testimony to the commitment of the Rwanda, Uganda and DRC governments, in addition to their supporting partners including IGCP, to ensuring the sustained protection of this charismatic species,” said David Greer, African Great Ape Coordinator at WWF.  “The survey results provide us with an excellent demonstration of how strong law enforcement efforts put in place to safeguard flagship species can advance species conservation, benefit local communities, and provide important revenue to governments.” 

The current figure represents an annual growth rate of 3.7% in Virunga despite the illegal killing of no less than nine mountain gorillas in the area over the past seven years, according to IGCP.  Of the gorillas surveyed, 352 have been habituated to human presence, 349 living in groups and three solitary silverback males.  Habituated mountain gorillas have been the basis of a sustainable eco-tourism programme since the late 1970s.

“Unfortunately, as we continue efforts to replicate the successful mountain gorilla eco-tourism model elsewhere in Central Africa, weak government support for wildlife protection, rampant corruption and an uninviting tourism culture make for a much more challenging environment,” said Greer.  “To date, no gorilla tourism programmes west of the Virungas have achieved fiscal success.”

“The mountain gorilla is the only one of the nine subspecies of African great apes experiencing a population increase.  While we celebrate this collective achievement, we must also increase efforts to safeguard the remaining eight subspecies of great apes,” said Greer.  “Elsewhere in African great ape range states, government support of wildlife law enforcement efforts is shockingly weak and great apes continue to be poached in an environment of pervasive, legal impunity.”

To conduct the Virunga census, over 1,000 kilometres were systematically walked by six mixed teams of seventy-two people from DRC, Rwanda, and Uganda. Teams covered the entire range and meticulously documented fresh signs of gorilla groups.  Mountain gorillas make a new nest each night.  Genetic analysis of fecal samples were collected and analyzed to identify and correct for any double-counting of individuals or groups, ensuring the most accurate estimate for the population.

 
''While the results of the survey are encouraging, many imminent threats continue to loom over great ape populations throughout Central Africa including commercial poaching to supply bushmeat to wealthy urbanites, habitat destruction through illegal logging and land conversion, and the spread of highly infectious diseases such as Ebola hemorrhagic fever," said Greer.  "Moreover, the recent decision by the DRC government to open the Virunga National Park, Africa’s first National Park, a UN World Heritage Site, and DRC’s only home to the mountain gorilla, to oil exploration, is extremely disappointing and reveals that there is much progress to be made in balancing the need to maintain critical biodiversity regions in the face of competing government interests.''


The Virunga Massif mountain gorilla census was conducted by the protected area authorities in three countries: L’Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature, the Rwanda Development Board and the Uganda Wildlife Authority. The census was supported by the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (a coalition of WWF, the African Wildlife Foundation, and Fauna & Flora International), the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund – International and the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project. The census was funded by WWF, Fair Play Foundation, and the Netherlands Directorate General for International Cooperation (DGIS) through the Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration.