Further Research on Water Salinity Level is Necessary to Save Gangetic River Dolphin Habitats

Gangetic River dolphin

A five-year study carried out in the Sundarbans has revealed that an increase in water salinity level is threatening the river dolphin habitats. The study was periodically carried out in the lower area of the Hooghly River, which covers a span of 97 kilometers of central, eastern, and western Sundarbans between 2013 and 2016 in different seasons. At the same time, researchers measured the salinity level of water. Based on the interaction with local fishing communities, the study area was differentiated for land-based and boat-based surveys. It was discovered that "no sighting record for Gangetic dolphin in waterways whenever the salinity level crosses 10 ppt." The researchers believe that the increase in salinity in the Sundarbans' eastern and central regions has affected the dolphins' habitat. The heightened salinity level is due to hydrological changes such as decline in freshwater flow, decreased flow from barrages, run-off from neighboring agricultural lands and river water abstraction for irrigation. The rise in salinity level also appears to be favorable for Irrawaddy and Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphins as these cetaceans can flourish in saline waters.

Hooghly River

I find it absolutely necessary that a great deal of research is required to decrease the salinity level of the Hooghly River in order to save the habitats of Gangetic river dolphins. This includes finding and conducting measurements on increasing the flow of freshwater and barrages along the river. In addition, a great deal of measurements to be implemented on how to decrease run-off from adjacent agricultural lands and limit the abstraction of river water for irrigation. I also believe that further research studies regarding Hooghly River's water salinity is essential, in order to determine at what salinity level would all three dolphin species be able to thrive. If increase in water salinity level appears to be favorable to both Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphins and Irrawaddy dolphins, then what will become of the river dolphins? This is why I firmly think it is highly crucial to conduct further studies on water salinity of the Hooghly River, in order to formulate solutions to prevent any further threats to the river dolphin habitats and hopefully come up with a solution as to what salinity level can all three species thrive.

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African Countries Should Work Together and Not Debate with One Another on Safeguarding Elephants

An African bush elephant in Tanzania

The illegal ivory trade has been decimating Africa's elephants for several years. Despite the efforts being implemented to prevent further loss of elephants to the trade, the continent's elephants continue to fall victim to poachers. Now, several African countries containing elephants have divided themselves into two groups regarding elephant conservation: one group consists of countries containing some the world's largest elephant populations that are pushing for lax restrictions on the ivory trade and another group of countries calling for more control is the best way to mitigate the illegal poaching of elephants for their tusks. The countries arguing that commerce will help them pay to safeguard elephants are the ones in southern Africa while those countries who believe that even restricted ivory trade incites demand and encourages illegal killing of elephants include Gabon and Kenya. The conflicting proposals were released by the office of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). They will be discussed during a CITES meeting scheduled to take place in Colombo from May 23 to June 3 this year. The last meeting was held in Johannesburg in 2016, in which CITES refused appeals to loosen an international ban on the ivory trade that has been in place for decades. According to WWF wildlife trade expert Colman O'Criodain, in a telephone interview with the Associated Press, he indicated that the meeting in Colombo should focus on administering anti-trafficking measurements instead of engaging in pointless debates about whether to trade legally.

An African forest elephant in Gabon's Invido National Park

A southern African proposal stated that Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe have roughly 256,000 elephants which is more than half of the total estimate for Africa. It indicated that protecting elephants as human populations escalate and wildlife habitats reduce comes at a big cost and proposed that jointly controlled trade in government-owned ivory stocks will help relieve that stress. The proposal even criticized CITES as being an "inhibitor and not an enabler of progress." A similar proposal was made by Zambia, which stated that elephants are competing with people in rural areas for resources and that local people would be more lenient if they see "economic returns earned from the sustainable use of elephant." The debate even touched on jurisdiction issues. For example, countries like Gabon, whose elephants have been massively poached, and Nigeria, which has a very small number, want elephants in southern Africa to be subject to tighter restrictions. Southern African countries, on the other hand, believe that countries with their own problems, such as weak law enforcement, should not dictate policy on others. A columnist from Zimbabwe named Emmanuel Koro wrote in The Herald that it was time for countries in southern Africa to act in their "national interests" and contemplate declining to agree with CITES-supported bans on the ivory trade as well as rhino horn. He even suggested that Japan's recent decision to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission could serve as a guide.

An African bush elephant in Namibia's Etosha National Park

It really disturbs me that African countries are engaged in an absurd debate on how to protect their elephants from the ivory trade. On one hand, southern African countries are demanding for lesser restrictions on the ivory trade and on the other hand, countries in East, Central, and West Africa are calling for more restriction on the ivory trade. How can these countries, whose elephants constitute a significant part of the tourist industry and are part of their natural heritages, become embroiled in such arguments while elephants continue to fall victim to the ivory trade? I highly urge the governments of various African countries to please call off this ridiculous debate regarding Africa's elephant conservation. Instead of debating, they should jointly work together in order to safeguard one another's elephant population and should maintain strong ties with CITES. If Africa remains divided over the issue on the ivory trade, then elephant populations will be sure to dwindle on a large-scale. The bottom line is simple: Elephants must be protected and the ivory trade should NEVER under any circumstances be legalized; it must be ended by any means necessary! Same should apply to the trade in rhino horns. Both of these animals have been suffering and continue to suffer by the ongoing demand of ivory and rhino horns. The time has come to step up efforts in protecting these animals from poaching and the illegal wildlife trade without any form of delay.

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Can Artificial Intelligence Help in Fight Against Illegal Poaching?

TrailGuard AI

Technology company Intel recently announced that its AI software chip Movidius will be fused into new anti-poaching cameras owned by non-profit organization RESOLVE in Africa. The latest improvement is called TrailGuard AI. With the chip, TrailGuard AI will assimilate deep neural network algorithms for object recognition and image processing. In addition, it will also function as a motion sensor thus notifying rangers to near actual-time of poaching threats. According to RESOLVE's director of biodiversity and wildlife Eric Dinerstein, Intel not only provided AI technology to the organization but also collaborated with it to build, test, and enhance this anti-poaching solution. According to Intel, the new AI-powered camera with Movidius intends to give advanced accuracy, longer battery life, and is about the size of a pencil which means it can be easily hidden from both poachers and wild animals. The company further added that this new system will be set up in 100 national parks and game reserves across Africa this year beginning in Serengeti and Garamba National Parks and that there are plans to expand the deployment in South America and Southeast Asia. In order to set up the new system, RESOLVE is collaborating with a number of organizations including the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation and the National Geographic Society.

African elephants

I'm really amazed by the enhancement in technology in combating illegal poaching and it cannot get any better than the announcement of artificial intelligence being integrated into cameras. This breakthrough is really important because regular cameras allowed park rangers to obtain photos that they had to manually review to ascertain if there is a poaching threat or not. But now, with the introduction of TrailGuard AI, authorities will be able to quickly intercept and capture poachers. I'm very hopeful that this enhancement in technology will enable authorities to stay one step ahead of poachers when protecting elephants, rhinos, and other endangered species in Africa and elsewhere. In my opinion, joint collaboration between big technology companies like Intel and various organizations dedicated to the protection and conservation of the world's wildlife is highly essential in combating illegal poaching and wildlife trade.

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Minnesota's Wolves are Opportunistic Feeders

Gray wolf

Wolves are known for their signature method of hunting in packs, which helps them bring down large prey ranging from deer to moose and bison. But a recent research conducted in Minnesota's Voyageurs National Park has found that wolves have developed a taste of fish. This was seen when researchers with the Voyageurs Wolf Project recorded wolves catching freshwater fish as a seasonal source of food. This extraordinary finding is a new addition to the initial studies of Voyageurs' wolves, which have shown that the animals consume beavers and even blueberries to add to their diet. Since 2015, wolves from seven different packs in and around Voyageurs were fitted with GPS collars. Researchers collected location data from the wolves every twenty minutes, which enabled them to surge on the animals' feeding habits at a finer scale. This was how members of one of the wolf packs, known as the Bowman Bay pack, were first suspected by the researchers of eating fish.

Wolf scat containing blueberries

In April 2017, Tom Gable from University of Minnesota strolled to a creek where one of the collared wolves spent a great deal of time. He saw a collared wolf approximately 50 feet away while hiding in the shrubs on the edge of the creek. Dr. Gable watched the wolf wander back and forth around the creek, repeatedly running into the creek and splashing around. Then it stopped, and appeared to be eating something, before returning to the creek. When the wolf left, Dr. Gable emerged from his hiding spot and investigated the area. He knew right away that wolf was catching fish in the creek. Dr. Gable and his colleagues quickly learned that the scene he saw was a seasonal meal. In a month after his trek to the creek, researchers discovered that two collared Bowman Bay pack members spent roughly half their time fishing there. A year later, Dr. Gable and his colleagues spotted the pack visiting the creek again, so they installed camera traps, and captured footage of the wolves catching fish at night. In addition to eating their freshly-caught fish, the wolves were even shown to store their prey on the creek's bank.

Dr. Tom Gable with a lower mandible of a beaver killed by a wolf

I find it very fascinating what the researchers have uncovered about wolves in Voyageurs National Park. I have heard of studies done in coastal habitats of Alaska and British Columbia which have shown wolves habitually catching and eating salmon during the spawning season, but this is the first time they have been observed eating freshwater fish. The research studies on feeding behavior of wolves in Voyageurs, Alaska, and British Columbia have shown that the animals are highly opportunistic and can readily adapt to new sources of food. In addition to meat matter, Voyageurs' wolves have been observed to feed on blueberries. These findings, in my opinion, are clear proof of how bears and dogs are related to one another. I also think that this omnivorous diet is an indicator of how wolves are directly related to domestic dogs. The reason is because some kinds of dog food contain a combination of both meat and vegetarian substances. It goes to show that both wolves and domestic dogs, despite their carnivorous design, have managed to adapt for thousands of years in a variety of ways, including changing their feeding behavior.

Wolves lounging on a frozen lake in Voyageurs National Park

I believe that research on the feeding behavior of wolves in Voyageurs should be seen as a tool, in order to educate the public that wolves are not the stuff of nightmares and fairy tales that people tend to think of. I have always understood that when a carnivorous animal becomes a man-eater, it is due to human activities such as moving into the animal's habitat, killing off its natural prey, and converting that habitat into a human habitat. In other words, human beings have been inadvertently responsible for turning such animals, including wolves, into man-eaters. I firmly believe that the research work done on wolves should be seriously taken into consideration, in order to educate the global public and hopefully change their attitudes towards them. We should not forget that wolves are ancestral relatives of domestic dogs and studying them closely can reveal more secrets that no one has ever heard of before.

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Wolves Should Be Welcomed in Germany

A captive wolf in Hexentanzplatz in northern Germany.

In Europe, the wolf was and still is persecuted by rural populations. Since the Middle Ages, it has been viewed as the personification of evil and a threat to the farmers' livelihood which drove people to ruthlessly slaughter countless numbers across its home range. However, with the establishment of various national parks and other protected areas, the wolf was saved and its populations began to rebound. As wolf numbers grew, the animals began to move into parts of Europe where they had once disappeared. One of those places is Germany, where wolves had disappeared 150 years ago but have been making a comeback thanks to the country's reunification after 1990 which enhanced Europe's endangered species protections to the eastern part of Germany. The comeback of wolves into Germany has been seen since 2000 with packs crossing the border from Poland. According to the Brandenburg environmental office, wolf packs have increased from zero in 2007 to 26 this year.

Hans-Holger Liste, a soil ecologist, is one of several people in favor of wolves' return to Germany. 

The wolves' return to Germany may be great news for conservationists and to the country's urban population, but to the farmers it is a disaster. This was seen in April when more than forty sheep were killed in a single attack. One of the concerned farmers is Marco Hintze, who demanded that farmers should be given the right to shoot the wolves at an anti-wolf rally in the city of Potsdam last month. He further added that government officials are unresponsive to the concerns of people living in the rural areas. Another man who is against the wolves is Dirk Wellershoff of the Brandenburg Hunting Society, who argued that the animals' return is a manifestation of a larger political problem. That is, Germany's politics is distancing from the people and their concerns and that the wolves are indicators of how the people's problems are not being seen and no solutions are being found. Despite the criticism from farmers, there are also people who are in favor of wolves returning to Germany. One of them is soil ecologist Hans-Holger Liste, who is also a volunteer with a pro-wolf organization called Wolfsschutz Deutschland. He indicated that wolves need to be protected, so that they can benefit Germany's natural environment by controlling the country's excessive deer population. He is also aware of the intense hostility towards wolves in the German countryside. This was seen when authorities found remnants of a female wolf that had been illegally shot and then sunk into a lake with a concrete weight in the state of Saxony over the summer. In addition, there was even a report about a 55-year-old man who was attacked in northern Germany last month. It is unclear whether the attacker was a wolf as wolf attacks on humans are very bizarre, and a following DNA test of the man's bite wound was vague. However, the report threatened to arouse fears for the children's safety in the countryside.

A pair of Eurasian wolves

I honestly believe that wolves deserve to be welcomed back to their former haunts of Germany, where they had disappeared 150 years ago. However, I also firmly believe that emphasis should be placed on the well-being of farmers in order to eliminate the hostility they have been carrying towards wolves. This is the kind of hostility that was prevalent in Europe centuries ago when the vast majority of people were fearful of wolves and demonstrated that attitude through widespread killing, which resulted in regional extinctions across the animals' home range. The countries that have lost wolves over the centuries are Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, United Kingdom, and Ireland. Nowadays, it is mostly the rural populations that are hostile towards wolves. I strongly believe that the governments of Germany and other European wolf countries should join forces with conservation groups to implement necessary steps that ensures the well-being of both wolves and farmers. This includes employing livestock guardian dogs to protect their animals without resorting to retaliatory killing. In addition, the farmers' properties should be surrounded by some kind of protective barricade to prevent wolves from venturing in. Furthermore, it is essential to conduct educational outreach programs and workshops to farmers and the general public about the importance of wolves and how to prevent possible attacks on people from them. Wolves are crucial for the survival and well-being of Germany's ecosystems, especially when there is an overabundance of deer, wild boar, and other herbivores. Without wolves, herbivore populations would continue to escalate and as a result increase in the damage on newly-planted trees. This is why wolves should be welcomed in Germany and other European countries where they had once disappeared.

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Should the Great Indian Bustard Vanish into History?

The drastic drop in great Indian bustard population over the past decades.

The great Indian bustard is without question on the brink of extinction. With as few as 150 birds remaining in India as of 2018, it is a matter of time before it is completely wiped out from the face of the Earth. Such is the situation with this magnificent bird, that three wildlife organizations have joined forces to launch an emergency campaign to save the bustard from further disappearing into history. The three organizations that have initiated the campaign are the Corbett Foundation, Conservation India, and Sanctuary Nature Foundation. The goal of this campaign is to underline the overhead power transmission lines in bustard habitat, which are the main threat to these low-flying birds along with illegal hunting and habitat loss. The campaign implored the Ministries of Power and of New and Renewable Energy to take action by placing these power lines underground; a solution suggested by the Wildlife Institute of India's Endangered Species Recovery Program. The campaign also highlighted the ecological significance of the bustards' grassland habitats which have been reduced to wastelands. Since the campaign's launch, more than 6,500 people have signed the online petition addressed to Power Minister R.K Singh with whom the organizers have requested a meeting to show their case and receive a guarantee to action from him. The campaign has even received support from celebrities like actress Dia Mirza and former cricketer Anil Kumble.

Map showing great Indian bustard habitats and locations, and power lines

I strongly urge the general public of India and the global Indian community to provide a great deal of support for the conservation of the great Indian bustard. This magnificent bird is on the brink of extinction because it did not receive early support from not just the general public, but also politicians, policy makers, and the corporate sector. This delay cannot go on and should never go on! I strongly urge India's politicians, policy makers, and the corporate sector to please take action to help save the bustard. I can promise you that when the great Indian bustard goes extinct, it will be a major shame and disappointment for India on a global scale despite all the scientific expertise and financial resources available to save this bird. This is the last chance for everybody in India and abroad to save the great Indian bustard from extinction. Here are the following steps that need to be implemented to save the great Indian bustard without any exception whatsoever:

1. All state governments of India need to safeguard and fully protect "lekking" sites, so that male bustards can attract the females for breeding. Any disturbance or annihilation of these sites can spell disaster for the birds. This step requires political will and cooperation from various government departments and local communities.

2. All state governments should establish a great Indian bustard task force in every state where the birds live. These task forces should include effective and dedicated government officials from various departments, biologists, conservationists, and local community leaders.

3. The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) should initiate an all-out "Project Bustard" based on an accurate scientific plan, and established in consultation with national and international experts, as well as leading people from each great Indian bustard state.

4. Analyze the practicability of captive breeding by establishing a core group comprised of international experts with experience in breeding bustards or comparable endangered birds in captivity, such as the California condor.

5. Announce annual advisories from the MoEF to Chief Wildlife Wardens of states containing bustards to outlaw entry and photography of the birds all the known habitats during the breeding season from April 1 to October 31. However, such disturbance outside the breeding season can have serious ramifications for the bustards. Therefore, wildlife photographers should willingly refrain from photographing the great Indian bustard.

The great Indian bustard is part of India's heritage, along with the tiger, lion, and the elephant. However, it has never been given much attention like the latter and this is why its numbers have been drastically reduced by anthropogenic factors. I say this again to the global Indian community that your support is vital for the conservation of the great Indian bustard. Your voice is crucial to urge our country's politicians, policy makers, and the corporate sector to take action with the wildlife experts, biologists, conservationists, and others involved in this large scale. This can be done by signing the online petition above specifically addressed to Minister R.K Singh. In addition, I highly recommend the people of India, including the politicians and policy makers, to strongly adhere to the five steps above in order to save great Indian bustards. It is time everybody took action regarding this ongoing conservation issue. The great Indian bustard needs our help; do not and I repeat DO NOT let this magnificent bird vanish into history!

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Somaliland's Fight Against the Illegal Smuggling of Cheetahs

Northeast African cheetah

When most people think of Somalia, what comes to their mind is a country torn apart by decades of civil warfare dating back to the late 1980s and early 1990s. Even today, Somalia continues to be a haven of violence and bloodshed due to the strong presence of warlords and militias operating in the country and pirates off the coast. However, there is one part of the country that is a stark contrast to the bombings, shootings, and other acts of violence: Somaliland. Situated in the northwestern part of the country, Somaliland was devastated by the civil war and in turn separated from the rest of Somalia to rebuild itself. As a result, Somaliland became a self-proclaimed state with its own government and capital that is relatively peaceful than the rest of the country. Although it is poor, Somaliland has recently come to the spotlight for its remarkable stand against another issue unique to Africa: the illegal smuggling of wild cheetahs.

Shukri Haji Ismail, Minister of Environment and Rural Development, is leading the fight against trafficking of cheetahs in Somaliland. 

Cheetahs are known to be illegally smuggled as cubs from Africa to meet the consumer demands in the Middle East. From Somaliland, the cubs are transported by boat across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen. From Yemen, they are exported either to Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates. According to Patricia Tricorache of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, two-thirds of the cubs perish during this arduous journey and those that survive are sold through the internet as pets to the wealthy citizens of the Persian Gulf countries. She further added that a minimum of 330 cheetahs move through Somaliland, but the number may be as high as 500. Between February 2012 and July 2018, 1,367 cheetahs were offered for sale via Instagram. Leading the fight against cheetah trafficking is Somaliland's Minister of Environment and Rural Development Shukri Haji Ismail. For her, battling the smuggling of cheetahs is a moral mission. However, she is well-aware that Somaliland lacks the funding provided by international organizations like the World Bank because it is not recognized by the United Nations. As a result, all the costs of caring for the cheetah cubs and other confiscated wild animals are handled by the Cheetah Conservation Fund.

Somaliland landscape

I find it very remarkable that Somaliland is taking a tough stand against the illegal smuggling of cheetahs. It is amazing to see how a self-proclaimed state which was once devastated by the Somali civil war and having rebuilt itself has joined the global fight against the illegal wildlife trade. I also find it intriguing that even though Somaliland is poor with the fourth lowest GDP in the world, its people's mindset is extraordinary when it comes to wildlife conservation. For example, an aid worker named Guenther Wirth, who has lived in Somaliland since 2001 and is involved in efforts to close up the illegal wildlife trade, pointed out how a coast guard turned down an offer of $2,000 provided by the smugglers from whom he confiscated cheetah cubs. This goes to show that Somaliland's people are genuinely concerned about the plight of Africa's cheetahs and other wild animals being illegally smuggled through their homeland to meet consumer demands. I believe that other developing countries where the illegal wildlife trade is rampant should have the benefit of learning from Somaliland. This would help them change their attitudes towards this ongoing threat and act upon it. I very much admire that Minister Ismail is leading the battle against the trafficking of cheetahs and other wildlife. However, I strongly believe that Somaliland is in a great need of help with regard to funding in its battle against the illegal smuggling of cheetahs. It is highly crucial that the United Nations recognize Somaliland the same way it does with other countries, so that the nation is provided with ample financial support to further its efforts in suppressing the illegal wildlife trade. In addition, it is vitally important that other African countries, including those that make up the Horn of Africa, join forces with Somaliland in the battle against wildlife smuggling.

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