Around half of the United Kingdom’s deer population needs to be shot each year to prevent damage to woodlands and other wildlife, according to a group of scientists.

Native roe deer are increasing in the United Kingdom

The scientists carried out a census of roe deer and muntjac deer populations across 234 square kilometres of woodland and heathland in East Anglia in the UK, and the results suggest that current management strategies for deer are failing. Although deer numbers in the area appeared stable, it was only because thousands of individuals were being pushed out into the surrounding countryside.

The study indicated that a cull of 50 to 60% of the deer would be necessary to keep their populations under control – much higher than the 20 to 30% that had previously been recommended.

Deer damage

There are six deer species in the UK, of which four are introduced. The current UK deer population is thought to stand at around 1.5 million, meaning there are more deer in the country now than at any time since the last Ice Age.

In the absence of natural predators, deer populations are continuing to expand and are believed to be damaging woodlands, as well as causing road traffic accidents and damage to crops.

Many deer are killed on the UK’s roads each year

According to Dr Paul Dolman, an ecologist at the University of East Anglia and one of the authors of the study, “We know deer are eating out the… vegetation of important woodlands, including ancient woodlands. Deer are implicated as the major cause of unfavourable conditions in terms of woodland structure and regeneration. There is evidence that deer reduce the number of woodland birds – especially some of our much loved migrant bird species like blackcap and nightingale, and resident species like willow tit. We have a problem.”

Dr Kristin Wäber, another of the study’s authors, said, “Native deer are an important part of our wildlife that add beauty and excitement to the countryside, but left unchecked they threaten our woodland biodiversity…. Current approaches to deer management are failing to contain the problem – often because numbers are being underestimated. Cull targets are often too low.”

The red deer is the largest native land animal in the UK

Venison market

The researchers have suggested creating a market for venison to make a cull more ethically and economically acceptable.

“What we are advocating isn’t removing deer from the countryside – what we are advocating is trying to get on top of the deer population explosion and try to control the problems that are being caused. And in a way, [venison] provides a sustainable food source where you know where it comes from, you know it is ethically sourced, you know it is safe to eat, and that puts food on people’s tables,” said Dr Dolman.

The Chinese water deer is one of four deer species introduced to the UK

However, others are opposed to a cull. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) said that it was “opposed in principle to the killing or taking of all wild animals unless there is strong science to support it, or evidence that alternatives are not appropriate.” It also added that any cull must be carried out in a controlled and humane way.

The study also reopens a debate about whether natural predators such as lynx and wolves should be reintroduced to the UK, but this remains a complex and controversial issue.

Read more on this story at BBC News – Deer: 50% cull ‘necessary to protect countryside’ and UEA Press Release – First in-depth deer census highlights need for increased culls.

View photos and videos of UK deer on ARKive.

Liz Shaw, ARKive Text Author

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As you may be aware, not only is this week the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties of CITES, it is also Climate Week in the UK. The biggest climate change campaign in Britain, Climate Week aims to inspire us to create a more sustainable future through a range of activities.

Throughout the course of the week schools, businesses, charities, councils and many other organisations will run over 3,000 events attended by around half a million people interested in finding out more about the future of climate change and what we can do to safeguard against its impacts.

With such a wide range of events on offer there is bound to be something for everyone so do try to attend if you can. Not only will it be informative, by the sounds of it you will also have a lot of fun. Activities include test driving electric vehicles, growing your own food in community allotments, a green building show with a Climate Week Pledge Wall, swapping clothes, books, toys and DVDs, developing a Community Energy Plan and even an event at Manchester United hosted by none other than England football coach Gary Neville. There are too many to list but more information can be found on the Climate Week website.

Polar bears are dependent on sea ice for its survival, but climate change is causing drastic reductions in the extent of ice cover

If you are unable to attend any events near you (or, alas there are no events in your proximity), we’ll do our best in this blog to give you an overview of climate change and why it is so important for us to safeguard our wildlife and environment against it.

About climate change

Without wanting to be too accusatory, there is no doubt that climate change is caused by man-made impacts on our planet. You may have heard it referred to as ‘global warming’, due to the steady rise in the Earth’s temperature that is occurring. Both terms are correct, however they actually refer to different phenomena. Climate change refers to the changes in climate which arise as a result of the increasing global temperature. These can include changes in precipitation patterns, increased incidence of drought, heat waves and other extreme weather conditions. In essence, global warming does not mean that we will all have increasingly warmer weather; the planet’s steadily rising temperature will be associated with changes across the world in climate pattern, and more extreme and unpredictable weather. Some places may well become hotter, but some will become colder, and others wetter or drier.

Antarctic krill die due to ocean acidification

These changes in climate may not sound like much, but they are creating huge problems on a global scale for both wildlife and people. The severity of storms and floods are increasing, and ruthless droughts are on the rise. The acidity of our seas is rising, affecting species such as coral and krill and destroying marine food chains that ultimately maintain the balance of life in the oceans. The lack of arctic ice in the summer creates a dire situation for polar bears as well as compounding global warming because the ice would usually serve to deflect sunlight away from the planet. The increased heat absorbed due to the absence of this natural deflection in turn causes permafrost to thaw, releasing trapped methane gas. This gas, along with carbon dioxide released by the process of deforestation and the warming oceans both serve to increase what is known as the greenhouse effect; some gases trap and retain the sun’s heat giving rise to this phenomenon.

Rising sea levels could wash away hawksbill turtle nests and decrease nesting habitat

As we can see, this process is not pretty, and we’ve only scratched at the surface of what is happening in this blog. Mass extinction of wildlife is predicted in the near future, including species such as polar bears and emperor penguins that will lose their habitat to melting ice and rising sea levels. Colourful corals such as the Acanthastrea coral will die as a result of ocean acidification. Also affected are species that live and breed on low-lying remote islands, for example marine turtles like the giant South American, hawksbill and leatherback turtles. There are too many to name here, but you can check out more species that will be affected by climate change on ARKive.

Climate change is already having measurable impacts on coral reefs worldwide

So, even if it’s just spreading the word on climate change, will you do your bit this Climate Week?

Find out more about climate change, the species it affects and what we can do to mitigate the effects on our Climate Change topic page.

Download Climate Week resources from the Climate Week website.

Kaz Armour, ARKive Text Author

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When Carolyn at Arkive invited me to be a guest blogger, I jumped at the opportunity to tell everyone about our exciting new campaign – Saving Big Cats and Wild Dogs.

Instinctively I started by writing down all the shocking statistics, such as: ‘as few as 3,500 snow leopards, 2,500 dholes and around 1,000 Persian leopards are left in the wild’ but then I thought – how depressing! This is the last thing people need to hear, especially as we are all recovering from a cold wet winter and looking forward to the joys of spring. So, instead I’ve decided to skip the miserable bit as much as possible and focus on the positive difference we will make to some of our top predators.

The Persian leopard is one of the eight recognised subspecies of leopard

For the next year or so we will be raising awareness and raising money to save nine species of big cat and wild dog from extinction across the globe. I don’t have the space to tell you everything here so I’ll just focus on a couple of species for now.

Scottish wildcat

Let’s start close to home – the Scottish wildcat. Ok it isn’t officially a ‘big’ cat but it is the only native cat we have and as it is at serious risk of extinction we felt it was essential to include it in the campaign. Now confined to the highlands of Scotland it has been dubbed the Highland tiger but this cat once roamed freely throughout the UK. The biggest threat to the Scottish wildcat is hybridisation from breeding with domestic and feral cats and producing viable hybrid offspring. There is thought to be as few as 35 true wildcats left in Scotland but it is difficult to be sure because apart from being incredibly elusive, it is also very hard to tell a pure wildcat from a feral hybrid by sight alone.  In order to save our only native cat we need to know where the pure populations exist so we can put measures in place to protect them. Therefore, we are funding a project to study DNA samples and isolate the ‘wild gene’ in order to confidently identify once and for all the true wildcat.

The biggest threat to Scottish wildcats is hybridisation from breeding with domestic and feral cats

Snow leopard

Further afield, in Mongolia we are concentrating our attention on the endangered snow leopard. Whilst the threat of poaching is often the most quoted reason for the snow leopards decline, it is not that clear cut. In fact one of the biggest threats comes from the conflict with local herdsmen who kill the snow leopard in retaliation to them predating on their livestock. This, in conjunction with the domestic livestock out-competing the snow leopards’ natural prey species (the ibex and argali) for grazing rights, paints a bleak future for this charismatic animal. However, all is not lost and we are funding vital work to reduce the conflict between the local herdsman and the snow leopard and also assessing the availability of natural prey species. The teams in Mongolia are making great progress and you can keep up to date with it all on our website.

Snow leopards are able to jump as far as 15 metres!

We are also supporting work on the dhole, or Asiatic wild dogs, in Cambodia and Nepal, the lion, African leopard and African wild dog in Tanzania, Malawi and Kenya, the cheetah in South Africa, the Ethiopian wolf in Ethiopia and one of the rarest big cats, the Persian leopard in Iran. Here at People’s Trust for Endangered Species we work in partnership with other organisations and believe that conservation should be built on sound scientific evidence. We identify the problem then research possible solutions before investing in practical on-the-ground action.

Each African wild dog has a unique coat pattern

We have put on our thinking caps at PTES and come up with some fun new ideas on how you can get involved in saving our big cats and wild dogs. You can twin your pet with one of its wild cousins or simply befriend a wild animal. If you have some spare time you could hold a claw (nail) painting party or even organise a sponsored dog walk at night – Bark at the Moon.

Kiki the cat has been twinned with a leopard, as shown by her tag.             © Frankie Lees

For more information please visit www.savingcatsanddogs.org.

Thank you.

 Hannah Stockwell, PTES Fundraising Officer

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For the first time, scientists have caught a glimpse of the breeding behaviour of the rare giant armadillo in the wild.

Armadillos are one of the oldest groups of mammals

Burrowing rarity

Found throughout the Amazon rainforest and Brazil’s Pantanal region, the giant armadillo is the largest species of armadillo in the world. Classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species’ nocturnal and burrowing habits make it particularly hard to study and, so far, relatively little is known about its breeding behaviour.

However, a new study, led by scientists in Brazil, has used modern technology to help answer questions regarding the poorly known mating behaviour of the giant armadillo. Camera traps are a particularly effective non-intrusive method of gaining insight into the lives of shy, lesser-known mammal species, and their use in this study has been highly valuable.

Armadillos have a quirky appearance

Baby giant

Scientists from the Pantanal Giant Armadillo Project have monitored a female giant armadillo since November 2011  using the remote camera traps and, in January 2012, the presence of a male giant armadillo around the female’s burrows raised hopes that a romance might blossom. While aware of the possibility of wishful thinking, the scientists were optimistic, particularly when, after six months, the two armadillos shared a burrow for several days, after which the male disappeared.

Five months afterwards, suspicions were raised when the female began to use only one burrow, an unusual behaviour for this species which frequently moves between burrows. Three weeks later, the nose of a newborn giant armadillo was finally caught on camera, confirming what the scientists had hoped to find. Further photographs of the infant were captured as it emerged from the burrow, its age estimated to be around four weeks old.

Arnaud Desbiez, Project Coordinator says, “Documenting the birth of a giant armadillo is an exciting step forward to helping us better understand the biology and reproduction of this cryptic species and ultimately help us conserve it.”

Although there are many questions still to be answered, the scientists have found evidence that suggests giant armadillos only have one offspring at a time.

Camera traps snapped the approximately four week old baby giant armadillo leaving the burrow with its mother

Conserving rare species

This long-term study of a giant armadillo has provided essential information on its behaviour that can be used to help conserve this rare species, which has never bred in captivity. The information will help provide an understanding of the species’ population dynamics, which can be used to influence future conservation plans.

The secretive nature and rarity of the giant armadillo means that its local extinction can easily go unnoticed, and to lose such a species before we know anything about its ecology and behaviour would be devastating. Long-term studies such as this one are fundamental to understanding the ecological role played by rare and endangered species.

Hunter with dead giant armadillo

The giant armadillo is particularly vulnerable to habitat loss and hunting, due to the large amount of meat its body supplies, and estimates suggest its population may have declined by at least 30 percent over the last 25 years. Without intervention, coupled with knowledge of the species’ behaviour and ecology, this trend is likely to continue. The giant armadillo is sadly the least studied species of the Dasypodidae family, a problem that the Pantanal Giant Armadillo Project is working hard to solve.

Read more on this story at Mongabay – Scientists document baby giant armadillo for first time (photos)

View photos and videos of the giant armadillo on ARKive.

Kaz Armour, ARKive Text Author

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The North Atlantic right whale, along with many other whale species, is set to benefit from work by scientists to reduce the noise levels caused along shipping routes.

The North Atlantic right whale is one of the rarest large whales in the world

Reducing the din

One of the rarest of the large whales, the North Atlantic right whale is thought to have a population of just 500 individuals, and it is believed that excessive noise along shipping routes is likely to negatively affect this threatened species. The din from commercial ships makes it extremely difficult for the marine mammals to communicate with one another, which in turn means that their ability to locate food and mates, and therefore their ability to sustain a viable population, is greatly diminished.

Research indicates that noise levels in the New England region of North America have doubled each decade over the past 30 years. To counteract this problem, scientists have persuaded shipping companies to alter their routes in and around the Boston area, which plays host to several species of whale, many of which are suffering as a result of increased noise levels.

An iPad application has been developed which enables sea captains to visualise the locations of whales across the USA’s entire East Coast, and to know when to slow their ships down. Results indicate that this change in operations has already helped to significantly lower the amount of noise pollution in the area.

The North Atlantic right whale is classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List

A thunderous drone

To a whale, it is thought that the sound of a passing container ship could be like a ‘thunderous, unchanging drone’.

“It’s as if you are talking at a cocktail party and all of a sudden it is hard to hear because there is all this background noise,” said Dr Mark Baumgartner of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. “A couple of words get dropped, you don’t get the meaning of everything that is said to you. That is what it is like for a lot of whales in the ocean right now.”

Ship strikes

In addition to the problems caused by the disruption in whale communication, ships are also known to physically collide with whales on occasion. While such incidents are limited to just one or two a year, this presents a serious problem for a species of which only 500 or so individuals remain. Worryingly, research also indicates that mothers with calves get hit more frequently.

“Our scientists found shattered bone and large hematomas which are indicative of a ship strike,” said Dr Dave Wiley of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

It is hoped that the new iPad app will go some way to limiting the frequency of such accidents.

North Atlantic right whale breaching

Cooperation for conservation

Using data on whale locations and the details of commercial shipping lanes, Dr Wiley and his team, along with the Boston port authorities, worked to calculate a new route which would reduce the co-occurrence of whales and ships by an impressive 81%. In addition, this new route has increased the transit time of ships by up to 22 minutes.

Since the new route was accepted by the International Maritime Organization, it has been used voluntarily by many ships, 1,500 of which pass through Boston’s port each month. It is encouraging that, despite thousands of jobs depending on commerce in Boston, many companies are instructing their captains to use the new whale app and the new suggested shipping route.

“There was a little bit of resistance at first when they talked about speed reductions,” said Andy Hammond, chief executive director of the Boston Harbor Pilot Association. “Oddly enough, we found since they’ve implemented this, ships have slowed down an awful lot anyway. Initially, I think there was pushback but once they realised that it didn’t affect this port that much, they’ve accepted it.”

Read more on this story at BBC News – Whales benefit from action on ocean noise.

View photos and videos of North Atlantic right whales on ARKive.

Find out more fascinating information on the North Atlantic right whale in our Endangered Species of the Week blog.

Kathryn Pintus, ARKive Text Author

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