Bone-Crushing Wolves Once Roamed Alaska

 

 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

This modern gray wolf can't crush bone the way his ancient relatives could.

Bone-crushing wolves that specialized in hunting giant prey once roamed the icy expanses of Alaska, an international team of researchers has found.

The scientists unexpectedly discovered what apparently was a novel subspecies of gray wolf (Canis lupus) as they analyzed genes from skeletal remains that had sat in museum collections for up to a few decades after excavation from Alaskan permafrost deposits.

The ancient DNA, which dated back 12,500 to 40,000 years, did not match any modern wolves, and closer investigation of the bones uncovered remarkable differences

Source: FOXNews.com - Bone-Crushing Wolves Once Roamed Alaska - Science News | Current Articles

Wild Sheep Descended From Single Pair Show Surprising Genetic Diversity

 

Scientists at Université du Québec à Montréal have Reconstructed the genetic history of a population of mouflons (wild sheep) descended from a single pair, the researchers demonstrated that the animals’ genetic diversity increased over time, contrary to what the usual models predict. These results contradict the belief that a population descended from a small number of individuals will exhibit numerous deficiencies and reduced genetic diversity.

Source: ScienceDaily: Wild Sheep Descended From Single Pair Show Surprising Genetic Diversity

ScienceDaily: Why Female Deer Like A Stag To Be A Big Noise In The Forest

 

According to the findings, ovulating red deer hinds (females) show an active preference for male roars advertising larger males. This study provides the first experimental evidence from non-human mammals that females use an acoustic cue to body size when selecting a mate, and suggests that female mating preferences may have provided an important selection pressure for broadcasting size-related information in red deer and other mammals.

Source: ScienceDaily: Why Female Deer Like A Stag To Be A Big Noise In The Forest

CITES Updates Wildlife Trade Rules

 

A Ministerial debate on Wednesday, 13 June, enabled several dozen Ministers to explore how the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) can best contribute to the broader biodiversity and sustainable development agenda.

It also gave Ministers from the African elephant range states an opportunity to hammer out a ground-breaking compromise agreement on future ivory sales.

New and emerging issues on the conference agenda included the need to protect the livelihoods of poor communities dependent on wildlife trade and the growth in wildlife trade via the Internet. The conference adopted a strategic vision for the years 2008 to 2013 reflecting these and other concerns.

Source: ScienceDaily: CITES Updates Wildlife Trade Rules

Africa's elephants get 9-year ivory export break | Science | Reuters

 

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - A U.N. wildlife conference extended a 1989 ban on African elephant ivory exports on Thursday by nine years, after sales from stocks, in a pact hailed as a step to safeguard the giant mammals.

"This will allow human beings and elephants to co-exist in Africa," Zimbabwe's Environment and Tourism Minister Francis Nhema told Reuters of the deal approved by the 171-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

Source: Africa's elephants get 9-year ivory export break | Science | Reuters

CITES deal wins reprieve for elephants - life - 14 June 2007 - New Scientist Space

 

Southern African countries have been permitted to sell off their stocks of ivory in return for a nine-year moratorium on further sales.

The deal was hailed as a boon for the continent’s beleaguered elephants, despite reports that such legal trade agreements make little difference to elephant survival.

The deal was hammered out by African environment ministers in a late-night bargaining session at a meeting of 169 member countries of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) at The Hague, Netherlands.

Source: CITES deal wins reprieve for elephants - life - 14 June 2007 - New Scientist Space

Encyclopedia of Life

 

Comprehensive, collaborative, ever-growing, and personalized, the Encyclopedia of Life is an ecosystem of websites that makes all key information about life on Earth accessible to anyone, anywhere in the world. Our goal is to create a constantly evolving encyclopedia that lives on the Internet, with contributions from scientists and amateurs alike. To transform the science of biology, and inspire a new generation of scientists, by aggregating all known data about every living species. And ultimately, to increase our collective understanding of life on Earth, and safeguard the richest possible spectrum of biodiversity.

Source: Encyclopedia of Life

Call to tame China's tiger farms

 

The global body regulating wildlife trade has called on China to reduce the scale of its tiger farming industry.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species meeting passed a resolution endorsing captive stocks only where they aid conservation. China has about 5,000 tigers held in captive enclosures - more animals than remain in the wild. Source: BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Call to tame China's tiger farms

Mass wildlife migration in Sudan

Conservationists say they have discovered one of the largest migrations of land mammals on Earth in southern Sudan.

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) said it found 1.3m migratory animals, despite fears of damage to numbers after a civil war in the region.

Link to BBC NEWS | Africa | Mass wildlife migration in Sudan

Kenya, Mali cut ivory trade ban call to 12 years | Science | Reuters

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Kenya and Mali cut demands on Tuesday to expand and tighten a 1989 world ban on the trade in elephant ivory as a compromise to avoid a standoff with other African nations at a U.N. forum. The two countries scaled-back their proposal to a 12-year ban from 20 years and conceded that a one-off sale of ivory approved last week would be acceptable.

Link to Kenya, Mali cut ivory trade ban call to 12 years | Science | Reuters