Masked men have raided a storeroom in the National Museum of Ireland and stolen four rhino heads believed to be worth a total of £430,000 on the black market.

The black rhino is classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List

Night-time raid

Police have revealed that the lone security guard on duty Wednesday night at the museum’s storeroom in Swords, north of Dublin, was tied up by three masked men who broke into the building. The security guard later managed to free himself and raise the alarm.

During the raid, the thieves managed to escape with the heads of three black rhinos from Kenya, as well as one from a northern white rhino, a subspecies on the very brink of extinction. The horned mammals had all been killed more than a century ago and, until recently, had been on public display at the museum itself. The rhino heads, each of which sports two valuable horns, had been removed from the exhibit last year and placed in storage, in order to protect them from being targeted by thieves.

In 2006, as few as four northern white rhinos were thought to exist in the wild

Powdered horn

Nigel Monaghan, keeper at the museum’s Natural History section, has said that, based on their weight, the eight horns could be worth up to £430,000 on the black market. Despite being made of keratin, the same fibrous protein that makes up our own hair and nails, and having no documented medicinal value, rhino horn is highly prized in traditional Asian medicine.

In countries such as China and Viet Nam, powdered rhino horn is marketed as being an aphrodisiac and a cure for serious diseases, including cancer. As a result, rhino horn is considered to be extremely valuable, and its illegal trade has led to three of the five rhino species in Africa and South Asia being classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Read more on this story at The Guardian – Rhino heads seized in gang raid on Ireland’s national museum.

View photos and videos of rhino species on ARKive.

Kathryn Pintus, ARKive Text Author

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A Chinese vessel which crashed into a coral reef in the protected Tubbataha marine park in the Philippines has been found to contain 400 boxes of frozen pangolin meat. 

The illegal trade in pangolins is driven largely by demand for their meat and scales in China

On the 8th April, a Chinese ‘fishing vessel’ illegally entered Filipino seas and crashed straight into a protected coral reef. Upon re-inspection of the boat, the coastguard discovered its sickening cargo: 400 boxes containing over 10 tonnes of pangolin meat. The scales and meat of this insect-eating mammal are in high demand in China; its meat is regarded a delicacy and its scales are believed to have properties that are beneficial to breast-feeding mothers.

Pangolin demand

Illegal trade in pangolins has all but wiped out populations across China, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, and hunters are now infesting its very last remaining habitats in Java, Sumatra and the Malaysian peninsula. As pangolin species become rarer, the demand for their meat and scales increases, as does their price, despite the fact that there is absolutely no evidence for the touted medicinal properties of their scales.

“It is bad enough that the Chinese have illegally entered our seas, navigated without boat papers and crashed recklessly into a national marine park and World Heritage Site,” said head of WWF-Philippines, Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan. “It is simply deplorable that they appear to be posing as fishermen to trade in illegal wildlife.”

The Endangered Sunda pangolin is heavily hunted within its range

The crew of the boat have been arrested for poaching and attempted bribery, potentially facing 12 years in prison and $300,000 (£196,000) in fines. Posing as fishermen, the men claimed to have accidentally sailed into Philippine waters on their way from Malaysia. It is possible that they will face further charges for possession of pangolin meat, for which they can be fined and imprisoned for up to six years, and for damaging a coral reef.

The species of pangolin contained within the shipment are not yet known, but of the species listed on the IUCN Red List of threatened species, the majority are classified as Near Threatened or Endangered.

Chris Shepherd of the wildlife trade group TRAFFIC said, “There is no way a slow-breeding species like the pangolin can withstand this huge pressure for long.”

Hunting is the main threat to the Chinese pangolin, which is now extremely rare in many countries within its range

Crackdown not enough

Law enforcement has so far been unable to significantly reduce the trade in pangolin meat and scales, which is forcefully driven by the extremely high prices they fetch in China, with hunters being paid hundreds of dollars per kilogram.

“We have seen a really obscene amount of seizures but very few people are arrested and even fewer convicted”, Shepherd continued. “There is not enough investigation into who is behind the networks.”

Investigation is needed into who is behind the trade networks

The seizure is among the biggest on record, with other large finds including the 23 tonnes of frozen pangolins confiscated within a week in Vietnam in 2008, and the 7.8 tonnes of meat and 1.8 tonnes of scales impounded in China in 2010. In 2007, an abandoned ship was discovered off the coast of China containing 5,000 rare animals. The illegal trade in wildlife from Southeast Asia is leaving in its wake what the IUCN has described as “ghost forests”.

It appears that more investigation is needed into who is behind the trade networks in order to really crack down on the illegal trade in wildlife, particularly in Asia.

Read more on this story at The Guardian – Chinese vessel on Philippine coral reef caught with illegal pangolin meat and Mongabay – Double bad: Chinese vessel that collided with protected coral reef holding 22,000 pounds of pangolin meat.

View photos and videos of pangolins on ARKive.

Kaz Armour, ARKive Text Author

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The lemur leaf frog, listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN

Amphibians are a group of cold-blooded vertebrates which includes the frogs, toads, newts, salamanders and the lesser-known, worm-like caecilians. Most amphibians spend part of their life in water as aquatic larvae and part on land as terrestrial adults, but some species live permanently in water or permanently on land.

In all, there are over 6,000 amphibian species, and amphibians inhabit all continents except Antarctica, living in habitats ranging from rainforests to deserts. However, amphibians have undergone dramatic declines across the world and are currently facing an extinction crisis. Urgent conservation action is now needed to prevent many species from becoming extinct.

Amphibian crisis

Almost half of all amphibian species are thought to be declining, and a third are at risk of extinction, making this the most threatened group of animals on the planet. Around 165 species are thought to have gone extinct in recent times, and many more are likely to be lost in our lifetime.

The golden toad has not been seen since 1989, and is believed to be extinct

A staggering 500 species are facing threats that cannot be dealt with quickly enough to prevent their extinction, so are in desperate need of ex-situ conservation measures such as captive breeding.

Threats to amphibians

Amphibians face a variety of threats, including habitat loss, climate change, invasive species, and collection for food and the pet trade. With their thin, permeable skins, amphibians are also particularly sensitive to pollution.

However, one of the greatest threats to amphibians is the lethal fungal disease chytridiomycosis, which has contributed to the rapid disappearance of many amphibian species across the world. The spread of this deadly disease may be exacerbated by climate change.

Spiny green frog being tested for chytridiomycosis

Why conserve amphibians?

Amphibians play a key role in the food chain, both as predators and as prey for many other animals. They also help to control pests, benefitting human agriculture and reducing the spread of insect-borne diseases. As they are particularly sensitive to environmental changes, amphibians are also important indicators of the overall health of the environment.

In many cultures, amphibians are cherished as signs of life and good luck, and some amphibians are eaten as food. In addition, many amphibian species have substances in their skin that can have important medical uses.

The emperor newt is threatened by collection for the pet trade due to its attractive colouration

As well as benefitting humans and ecosystems, amphibians are a fascinating group of animals in their own right, with many intriguing physical and behavioural adaptations.

Amphibian conservation

A range of conservation measures are underway to try and combat the crisis facing amphibians. These include habitat protection, education and awareness campaigns, and captive breeding of threatened species. An action plan is also in place to coordinate global conservation efforts for amphibian species.

In 2010, the IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG) and Conservation International (CI) launched a global search for amphibian species which have been ‘lost’ to science. Named the ‘Search for Lost Frogs’, this has resulted in numerous expeditions and the rediscovery of some species previously feared extinct, including the Hula painted frog and the Rio Pescado stubfoot toad. However, many more species remain missing, underlining the desperate situation that many amphibians are facing.

The Hula painted frog was believed to be extinct, but was rediscovered by scientists in 2011

Efforts are underway to breed some amphibians in captivity until they can safely be released back into the wild. Unfortunately, the global zoo community is only able to manage around ten percent of threatened amphibian species at best, and more work still needs to be done to safeguard these vitally important but highly threatened species.

How you can help

You can find out more about amphibian conservation and how you can help at the following websites:

• Amphibian Ark
• IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG)
• EDGE of Existence: Amphibians
• Amphibian Survival Alliance
• Conservation International – The Search for Lost Frogs

Think you’ve got what it takes to help save amphibians? Become a conservation professional and help save the Critically Endangered mountain chicken with Team WILD!

One of the world’s largest frogs, the mountain chicken is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN

You can also find out more about amphibian conservation on ARKive’s amphibian conservation page.

View more photos and videos of amphibians on ARKive.

Liz Shaw, ARKive Text Author

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Angel shark (Squatina squatina)

Species: Angel shark (Squatina squatina)

Status: Critically Endangered (CR)

Interesting Fact: With its flat body and large pectoral fins, the angel shark more closely resembles a large ray than a shark.

The angel shark is a large, stocky fish with strong jaws and sharp, needle-like teeth. An ambush predator, it spends the day lying buried in mud or sand with just its eyes protruding, and bursts out with impressive speed to catch fish, crustaceans and molluscs. Female angel sharks give birth to up to 25 pups after a gestation period of 8 to 10 months. The angel shark historically occurred from Norway to North Africa, the Canary Islands and the Mediterranean and Black Seas, but it has now vanished from many parts of its former range.

Although the angel shark is not a major target of fisheries, its habit of lying on the ocean bottom makes it vulnerable to becoming bycatch in trawl fisheries. As a result, its populations have undergone a dramatic decline. Like other Squatina species, the angel shark is protected within three Balearic Islands marine reserves, where fishing for these sharks is banned. However, more research is needed to better understand the status of the angel shark across its range, so that appropriate conservation measures can be put in place to protect it.

Find out more about the conservation of sharks and rays at Save Our Seas Foundation, Project Aware and The Shark Trust.

See images and videos of the angel shark on ARKive.

Liz Shaw, ARKive Text Author

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New Zealand’s Department of Conservation is facing criticism over its plans to use a controversial poison in the habitat of two unique and endangered frog species.

Archey’s frog, an unusual and unique New Zealand frog

The poison, known as 1080, is used in New Zealand to eradicate invasive mammals such as possums, rats and stoats, which threaten the country’s native wildlife. Initially developed as an insecticide, 1080 naturally biodegrades in the environment over time and eventually becomes harmless. However, it is highly toxic and has no antidote, and many countries have banned its use.

New Zealand uses 80 to 90% of the world’s 1080, aerially dropping bait laced with the poison. Its use is highly controversial, with critics claiming that it can also kill native species such as birds and frogs.

Unique frogs

The Department of Conservation (DOC) plans to use 1080 on Moehau Mountain, on New Zealand’s North Island. However, one of the main concerns about the planned drop is the potential effects it could have on two unique and endangered frog species, Archey’s frog and Hochstetter’s frog.

Hochstetter’s frog is another primitive and unique frog found only in New Zealand

One of only a few surviving species from an ancient frog family, Archey’s frog is considered a ‘living fossil’, with primitive features such as a lack of eardrums or vocal sacs, and muscles to move a tail despite the frog having no tail to move. Unfortunately, this unusual frog is under threat from predation by non-native mammals and by the deadly amphibian disease chytridiomycosis, and is now considered to be Critically Endangered.

Hochstetter’s frog is also a primitive and unique species, and is found in just ten fragmented and isolated populations. Listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN, it is under threat from chytridiomycosis as well as the destruction of its habitat.

Unclear impacts

It is not known for certain whether 1080 has any impact on frogs. The DOC says that the poison has been used previously in areas of frog habitat and that rather than harming the frogs, it has benefitted them by removing predatory mammals.

“Last year DOC started a controlled experiment in the Whareorino forest and dropped 1080 in an area where the frogs (Archey’s and Hochstetter’s) had been well monitored and excluded it from another well-monitored area,” said Phil Bishop, a scientist at the University of Otago. “The data has yet to be fully analysed as its still early days and still being collected, but the results are looking good and the frogs seem to be doing as well if not better in the area that received the 1080 drop.”

The common brushtail possum has been introduced to New Zealand, where it is threatening native wildlife

However, others believe that insects may feed on the poisoned bait, and the frogs may therefore ingest the poison when they eat the insects. There are also fears that 1080 could have less direct impacts, with chronic exposure to the poison potentially making the amphibians more vulnerable to disease or affecting their circulatory or nervous systems. This adds to a growing body of research worldwide showing that the non-lethal effects of pesticides can cause considerable harm to wildlife and humans.

Further fears

There is also concern that native birds could be affected by 1080, although others point out that this threat is outweighed by the benefits to the birds of removing non-native predators. Local people are also concerned for the safety of livestock and pets, with dogs being particularly vulnerable to the lethal effects of the chemical.

Some opponents argue that safer, less controversial pest control measures could be used, and accuse the government of self-interest as they own the factory which produces the 1080 pellets.

Archey’s frog is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List

“Invasive pest mammals comprise an obvious threat to New Zealand biodiversity. But to dismiss out of hand suggestions that 1080 might harm native species through sublethal physiological effects and thereby contribute to long-term population declines is just foolish,” said Bruce Waldman, an expert on New Zealand’s frogs. “Until we know why Archey’s frogs are dying… we cannot just proceed on the assumption that dangers that they incur by exposure to 1080 drops have been sufficiently mitigated. To do proper studies on 1080′s effects on frogs would not be difficult, so why have they not been done?”

Despite the controversy, the DOC has stated that the poison bait drop is still to go ahead, with the aim of saving native frogs and birds from invasive predators.

Read more on this story at Mongabay – Saviors or villains: controversy erupts as New Zealand plans to drop poison over Critically Endangered frog habitat.

View photos and videos of amphibian species on ARKive and find out more about endangered amphibians at EDGE of Existence – Amphibians.

Find out more about amphibian conservation on ARKive.

Liz Shaw, ARKive Text Author

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