Pygmy Hog

Pygmy Hog

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS Head to body Length : 55-71 cm (1.8-2.3 feet ) Tail Length : 2.5 cm ( 1 inch ) Height : 20-30 cm  (8-12 inches ) Weight : 6.6-11.8 kg  (14.6-26.2 lb ) Description :  The hide is a dark brownish black color, and is covered by coarse, dark hair.  Young are born a grayish-pink color, but become brown with the yellow longitudinal stripes seen in many piglets at about 11 days of age.  The streamlined body is round and close to the ground, with short, stubby legs and virtually non-existent tail.  The head is triangular-shaped and sharply tapered, with a slight crest of hair on the forehead and nape of the neck.  In adult males the upper canines poke slightly out the sides of the mouth. Range - The Pygmy Hog is found only in the reserve forest belts of the Manas Wildlife Sanctuary and the Barnadi Wildlife Sanctuary in northwestern Assam, India. However, they were once found in throughout northern India, Bhutan, and Nepal. Habitat -  They live in tropical savannas and grasslands. Diet -    They eat on roots, tubers and other vegetative food as well as insects, eggs, young birds, and reptiles. Status - There are less than 150 hogs remaining in the wild, around the world. Reason for the status - This is because of over hunting by humans for food, and possible selling it.

CURRENT SCENARIO

The pygmy hog, (Porcula salvania), is the world's rarest wild hog and most threatened by extinction. It stands about 25-30 cm from the ground and weighs up to 9 kg. The species was originally found in the narrow belt of alluvial tallgrass habitat that runs across the southern edge of the Himalayas in the Indian subcontinent. Tallgrass habitats, being very rich in nutrients, are highly suitable for cultivation and therefore came under significant pressures from expanding human populations, agriculture and uncontrolled harvesting; all of which caused the hog to die out. The continued practice of indiscriminate dry season burning and livestock grazing still threatens the last population in Manas.

John Fa, Director of Conservation Science for Durrell, says: "The pygmy hog was thought to be extinct in the 1960s as its habitat was disappearing due to human encroachment, livestock grazing and grass burning, but in 1971, the species was rediscovered in Assam. So, together with our partners, Durrell established the Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme in 1995 for recovery of the species.
"The programme aimed to study the causes of decline in the species and establish a sustainable captive population, which could be used to reintroduce animals back to their restored native habitat. The conservation breeding has been extremely successful and we are now ready to release them back in to the wild in May 2008 before the monsoon season begins."
The hogs will be released in the Gelgeli grasslands of Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam. Durrell, a charity that relies on donations to support its conservation programmes, has worked closely with the Sanctuary authorities to improve protection and control dry season burning of grasses. Sanctuary staff have also been trained in wildlife monitoring and habitat management.
A breeding facility was established at Basistha near the Assam capital, Dispur with the aim of raising a captive population ready for release back in to the wild. The programme is currently supported through a grant from the UK government's Darwin Initiative.

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http://www.endangeredandrareanimals.com

Indian vulture

Indian vulture

India's three vulture species have all but disappeared from the country's skies. Over the last 20 years, virtually all of India's vultures have died, the victims of unintentional poisoning. Vultures feed on dead cattle and other livestock that had been treated with an anti-inflammatory drug called diclofenac, which sends vultures into renal failure. Unfortunately, the cause of the vulture declines wasn't discovered until 2004, long after vulture populations had already been devastated.

Now India's attempts to save one of its vulture species, the slender-billed vulture (Gyps tenuirostris), has marked its first success. According to a report from the Press Trust of India (PTI), "A chick born in February last year from one of the six pairs of the rare species hosted in the vulture conservation breeding center at Rajabhatkhawa forest in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district is now healthy."

The program, operated by the Bombay Natural History Society, is currently raising 23 adult and juvenile slender-billed vultures that have been caught and removed from the wild over the last four years. Fewer than 200 mated pairs of the birds are estimated to still exist in the wild. If enough birds can be raised in captivity, they will be released into the wild to augment remaining populations, although that step may still be years away.

The conservation program also hosts 19 long-billed (Gyps indicus) and 49 white-backed (Gyps africanus) vultures, and aims to create "founder populations" of 25 pairs for each of the three species.

The mass vulture die-offs have had terrible consequences throughout India. With no vultures to eat cattle carcasses (which are just dumped when the cows die), other predators have filled the gap. Populations of feral dogs have exploded in recent years, adding 5.5 million more canines to the streets. A report published last year in the journal Ecological Economics suggests this massive increase in feral dogs has led to tens of millions of attacks on humans and as many as 47,300 human deaths from rabies.

India banned the veterinary form of diclofenac in 2006, but vets and farmers just switched to using the version of the drug intended for humans, and vulture populations continue to decline as much as 40 percent a year, according to PTI. Even the smallest use of diclofenac in India threatens future vultures; according to BirdLife International, computer modeling has shown that vultures will continue to die at current rates if just one in 760 livestock carcasses contains diclofenac residues.

Current Scenario

It is estimated that there are now only about 1,000 slender billed vultures left
Conservationists say they are delighted at the news that one of the world's most endangered birds has twice been successfully bred in India.
Two slender billed vultures, which experts say are rarer and more endangered than the tiger, are being reared in Haryana and West Bengal. Officials say that the chicks were born separately are both in good health. It is believed the vultures' catastrophic decline has been driven by veterinary medicines.
A decade ago, vultures could be counted in their millions in the wild in India. But now experts estimate there are only around a 1,000 slender-billed vultures left, with similar declines in other species. They say it is a a population catastrophe exacerbated by medicine. A veterinary drug called Diclofenac is fatal to the vultures that feed off the livestock carcasses. Although it has been banned since 2006, experts say it is still in use.

The BBC's environment correspondent Sarah Mukherjee says that the dramatic decline of vultures has had several effects including an increase in rabies-carrying feral dogs that feed on the carrion the vultures once ate. The Parsi community in Mumbai (Bombay), who leave their dead to be consumed by vultures, have had to find alternative methods following the dramatic decline of the birds. The Birdlife International campaigning group says that while the captive births are good news, urgent action is still needed to save vultures from extinction in the wild. "With extinction in the wild likely in the next 10 years, we do not have a moment to waste. The more vultures that we can bring into captivity means a better chance of survival for these rapidly-declining species," Birdlife International spokesman Chris Bowden said. "Birds can only be saved from extinction through banning the retail sale of Diclofenac, promotion of the safe alternative, Meloxicam, and the capture of more birds for the breeding programme."

source :  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8187533.stm
                 http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=hope-for-critically-endangered-indi-2009-07-24

Malabar large civet

One of the 250 surviving civets

Although most civets resemble spotted, long-nosed cats, civets of the genus Viverra are the most dog-like in appearance, with long legs and rather canine heads and muzzles. Based on data for the large spotted civet, Viverra megaspila, which is closely related to the Malabar large spotted civet (and considered by some to be conspecific), it probably weighs 8 - 9 kg (18 - 20 lb). Oriental Civet - Viverra tangalunga

The Malabar large spotted civet's original habitat was found in the evergreen rain forest belt in the Western Ghats of southwest India, where it lived in wooded plains and adjoining hill slopes. Most captures of this species in the last 30 years have been in valleys, around riparian areas. This suggests possible dependence on shallow waterways where the civet forages at night. (Ashraf et al. 1993) Thickets in cashew plantations may also provide important cover. The diet of the related large spotted civet, Viverra megaspila, includes small animals, eggs and some vegetable matter. The Malabar large spotted civet has never been observed in trees and possibly forages almost entirely on the ground. Species of the genus Viverra stay in dense cover by day and come out into the open at night. Malabar large spotted civets are aggressive towards members of their own species and have usually been observed alone.

The Malabar large spotted civet was once very common in the coastal districts of Malabar and Travancore in southwest India. By the late 1960's it was thought to be nearing extinction. None were seen for a long period of time until 1987, when it was rediscovered about 60 km (37 mi) east of Calicut on the southwest coast of India. A 1990 survey revealed that isolated populations of Malabar large spotted civet still survive in less disturbed areas of South Malabar. (Ashraf et al. 1993)

Extensive deforestation has reduced the forests in the Malabar large spotted civet's original range to a series of isolated patches. Habitat loss continues. Cashew plantations, which probably hold most of the surviving populations of Malabar civet, are now threatened by large-scale clearance for planting rubber. The Malabar large spotted civet also has been persecuted for raiding poultry. It is not selectively hunted but is captured and killed when encountered

Status and Trends

IUCN Status:

• 1960's - 1994: Endangered
• 1996 - 2004: Critically Endangered (Criteria: C2a) (IUCN 2004)

Countries Where the Malabar Large Spotted Civet Is Currently Found:

2004: Occurs in India. (IUCN 2004)

Population Estimates:

[Note: Figures given are for wild populations only.]

• WORLD
  • 1999: Fewer than 250 mature individuals are thought to survive (Nowak 1999)

History of Distribution:

The Malabar large spotted civet was once very common in the coastal districts of Malabar and Travancore in southwest India. By the late 1960's it was thought to be nearing extinction. None were seen for a long period of time until 1987, when it was rediscovered about 60 km (37 mi) east of Calicut on the southwest coast of India. A 1990 survey revealed that isolated populations of Malabar large spotted civet still survive in less disturbed areas of South Malabar. (Ashraf et al. 1993)

Distribution Map (33 Kb JPEG) (Wildl. Inst. India/ENVIS) 

Threats and Reasons for Decline:

Extensive deforestation has reduced the forests in the Malabar large spotted civet's original range to a series of isolated patches. Habitat loss continues. Cashew plantations, which probably hold most of the surviving populations of Malabar civet (see "Habitat" below), are now threatened by large-scale clearance for planting rubber. The Malabar large spotted civet also has been persecuted for raiding poultry. It is not selectively hunted but is captured and killed when encountered.

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Data on Biology and Ecology

Weight:

The weight of the large spotted civet, Viverra megaspila, which is closely related to the Malabar large spotted civet and considered by some to be conspecific, is 8 - 9 kg (18 - 20 lb).

Habitat:

The Malabar large spotted civet's original habitat was found in the evergreen rain forest belt in the Western Ghats of southwest India, where it lived in wooded plains and adjoining hill slopes. Natural forests have almost completely disappeared in the entire stretch of the coastal Western Ghats due to human activities. The present vegetation consists mostly of plantations. The cashew plantations are the least disturbed. They are not weeded and have a dense understory of shrubs and grasses. For a terrestrial species such as the Malabar large spotted civet, these thickets can provide important cover. However, it is likely that the cashew plantations are a ‘refuge' rather than a preferred habitat. Furthermore, most captures of this species in the last 30 years have been in valleys, around riparian areas. This suggests possible dependence on shallow waterways where the civet forages at night. (Ashraf et al. 1993)

The Malabar large spotted civet lives in both the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka Biodiversity Hotspot (Cons. Intl. 2005) and the Western Ghats Moist Forests Global 200 Ecoregion (Olson & Dinerstein 1998, Olson & Dinerstein 1999).

Birth Rate:

Females of the genus Viverra have 1 - 4 young per litter, usually 2 - 3.

Diet:

The diet of the large spotted civet, Viverra megaspila, which is closely related to the Malabar large spotted civet and considered by some to be conspecific, includes small animals, eggs and some vegetable matter.

Behavior:

The Malabar large spotted civet has never been observed in trees and possibly forages almost entirely on the ground. Evidence suggests that the young are raised in secluded thickets. Species of the genus Viverra stay in dense cover by day and come out into the open at night. (Ashraf et al. 1993; Nowak 1999)

Social Organization:

Malabar large spotted civets are aggressive towards members of their own species and have usually been observed alone.

source:animalinfo.org