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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SATURDAY 23rd

MARCH   8:30  PM

EARTH  HOUR  2013

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Don’t miss it! For one hour only – your chance to show your support to protect our amazing planet!

This Saturday 23rd March, 8:30 pm local time marks the beginning of the 8th annual WWF Earth Hour. As we switch off our lights for one hour, we are asked this year to think about our energy usage and the desperate need to move from burning high-carbon fossil fuels to using clean renewable energy. This action is symbolic of the fact that ‘together our individual actions add up to make a difference collectively’.

7,001 towns and cities in 152 countries are taking part, so join us and millions of others on Saturday to show your support for the switch to renewable energy.

This aye-aye will be able to see us all the better in the dark …

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On Saturday 23^rd March hundreds of millions of people across the world will take part in WWF’s Earth Hour by turning off their lights for one hour. WWF’s Earth hour is a unique annual phenomenon that focuses the world’s attention on our amazing planet, and why we need to protect it.

During Earth Hour 2013, people are asked to think about the type of energy we use. How we need to move away from fossil fuels and onto clean renewable energy, which works with nature and not against it.

In 2012, 6,950 towns and cities in 152 countries took part, with over 7.6 million people in the UK joining in alone. Earth Hour 2013 takes place at 8:30 pm local time on Saturday 23^rd March, so get ready to flick those switches and join in the fight for a healthier planet! Here at ARKive, to get ready we have been thinking about species which prefer life in the dark and have put together a list of our top ten nocturnal species.

Aye-aye

Despite originally being classified as a rodent, the unusual looking aye-aye is actually the world’s largest nocturnal primate. The aye-aye’s hand has an extended middle digit which it uses for foraging. This finger has a range of uses, including scooping the pulp out of fruit and tapping on trees to find cavities concealing insects.

An aye-aye using its elongated finger to find insects in wood

Sri Lankan frogmouth

The strange looking Sri Lankan frogmouth certainly looks like it could do with some beauty sleep! This nocturnal bird is very distinctive due to its unusual appearance and its loud laughing song. Found only in India and Sri Lanka, it hunts insects at night and rests during the day.

The Sri Lankan frogmouth gets its name from its large, gaping mouth

Horsfield’s tarsier

Like other tarsier species, the Horsfield’s tarsier has some very strange adaptations. Tarsiers have the biggest eyes of any mammal compared to body weight, and due to the unique shape of their spine they possess the ability to rotate their head almost 360º! Tarsiers are also the only entirely carnivorous primate, feeding on a diet of insects and small vertebrates at night.

Tarsiers have the biggest eyes of any mammal, relative to their body weight

Night-flowering orchid

The night flowering orchid is the only known orchid species which opens its flowers at night. This newly discovered species is only found on the island of New Britain, in Papua New Guinea. In cultivation, this orchid opens its flowers at around 10pm keeping them open for about 12 hours. The flowers of this orchid are short lived, only lasting for one night.

The night-flowering orchid is the only orchid species to open its flowers at night

Philippine flying lemur

The Philippine flying lemur is not actually a true flier or a true lemur, but is actually a rather unique gliding mammal. It possesses a distinctive gliding membrane, or patagium, that when stretched out enables the Philippine flying lemur to glide through the forest for over 100 metres! It is a secretive and nocturnal animal which ventures out at dusk to find food.

The Philippine flying lemur gliding between trees

Lemur leaf frog

The lemur leaf frog is a nocturnal frog species, with the incredible ability to change colour depending on whether it is active or resting. During the day, it has a bright green colouration to provide it with camouflage whilst curled up on leaves. At night, when it becomes active, the lemur leaf frog’s eyes turn grey and the upperparts of its body turns brown. This provides the lemur leaf frog with excellent camouflage during the day and night.

Lemur leaf frogs have the ability to change colour between green and brown

Great spotted kiwi

As the name suggests, the great spotted kiwi is New Zealand’s largest kiwi species. This nocturnal bird finds its prey at night by tapping the ground with its beak and sniffing the earth. For the first six weeks of their life great spotted kiwi chicks may feed during the day, before becoming exclusively nocturnal.

Two great spotted kiwis foraging at night

Pyjama shark

Despite what its name suggests, you will not find the pyjama shark tucked up in bed at night in its pyjamas, as this strange looking shark is actually nocturnal. It is in fact the seven dark longitudinal stripes running the length of its body which gives this shark its name. The nocturnal pyjama shark spends its day concealed in caves or crevices and becomes active at night to hunt fish and molluscs.

The aptly named pyjama shark

Aardvark

The unusual looking aardvark is primarily a nocturnal animal which spends its day in its burrow and ventures out at night to find food. The aardvarks diet is composed of ants and termites which it swallows whole and then grinds them up in a muscular area of its lower stomach. The aardvark not only holds the title for being the first word in dictionary, but its powerful limbs means it can dig a hole quicker than several men with shovels!

An aardvark showing of its digging skills

Kakapo

The kakapo is a very unusual nocturnal parrot species endemic to New Zealand. This unique species is not only the world’s largest and heaviest parrot but it is also the only flightless parrot in the world. The kakapo was once widespread in New Zealand but now this Critically Edangered species only occurs on Codfish and Chalky Islands.

The kakapo is the largest and heaviest parrot and also seems to be the best at hide and seek!

Don’t forget, Earth Hour is on Saturday  23^rd March at 8:30 pm local time, so join the ARKive team and millions of other people worldwide and switch off those lights!

Find out how to get involved on the WWF’s Earth Hour website

Jemma Pealing, ARKive Media Researcher

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The illegal trade in wildlife is not only driving many endangered species to extinction, but is also posing a threat to national security, according to a new report.

Confiscated African elephant ivory being burned

The report, commissioned by WWF and entitled ‘Fighting Illicit Wildlife Trafficking: A Consultation with Governments’, estimates that illicit trade in wildlife is worth at least US$ 19 billion a year. This makes it the largest illegal global trade after narcotics, counterfeiting and human trafficking.

This trade not only poses a threat to wildlife, but also strengthens criminal networks, undermines national security, and threatens ecosystems and global health by increasing the potential for disease transmission and the spread of invasive species.

Poaching, particularly for the traditional medicine trade, is one of the main threats to the tiger

“Wildlife crime has escalated alarmingly in the past decade,” said Jim Leape, Director General of WWF International. “It is driven by global crime syndicates, and so we need a concentrated global response.”

He added that, “It is communities, often the world’s poorest, that lose the most from this illicit trade, while criminal gangs and corrupt officials profit. Frontline rangers are losing their lives and families that depend on natural resources are losing their livelihoods.”

Criminal networks

According to the report, around 100 million tonnes of fish, 1.5 million live birds and 440,000 tonnes of medicinal plants are traded illegally each year. An estimated 30,000 elephants a year are being slaughtered for their tusks, while the number of rhinos poached in South Africa between 2007 and 2011 rose by 3,000% and the price of rhino horn has risen to a staggering US$ 60,000 per kilogram.

The white rhino, under threat from a soaring demand for its horns

Unfortunately, current efforts to stop this illegal trafficking are woefully inadequate, and much of the trade is being run by powerful and sophisticated criminal networks with a broad international reach. The profits are being used to purchase weapons, fund civil conflicts and finance terrorist-related activities, putting national security and government stability at risk.

An example of this was seen earlier this year, when rebel groups from Chad and Sudan entered northern Cameroon and slaughtered 450 elephants for the purpose of selling their ivory to buy weapons for local conflicts.

High profits, low risk

The report says that criminal groups perceive the illegal trade as being low risk due to the absence of effective law enforcement, prosecution or other penalties. Consumer demand is also rising with the increasing ease of buying illegal wildlife products over the internet, and the potential profits for criminals can be very high.

“The demand for illegal wildlife products has risen in step with economic growth in consumer countries, and with the ‘easy money’ and high profits to be made from trafficking, organized criminals have seized the opportunity to profit,” said Steven Broad, Executive Director of TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network.

Illegally traded green turtles

Although the illegal wildlife trade is often seen by governments as an exclusively environmental problem, conservationists argue that it needs to be treated as a matter of national urgency.

Last month, the U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, upgraded wildlife trafficking from a conservation issue to a national security threat. “It is one thing to be worried about the traditional poachers who come in and kill and take a few animals, a few tusks, a few horns, or other animal parts,” she said. “It’s something else when you’ve got helicopters, night vision goggles, automatic weapons, which pose a threat to human life as well as wildlife.”

Cooperation and accountability

The WWF report says that a systematic approach is needed to fight the illicit trade in wildlife. As well as greater international cooperation, more resources are needed, together with a tougher response from authorities, and the use of modern intelligence and investigative techniques to identify and prosecute the criminals involved. It will also be important to raise greater awareness of the issues among consumers.

Finally, countries need to be held publicly accountable for their response to the illegal trade. A number of reporting initiatives have already been set up to highlight those countries failing in their international commitments, including the WWF Wildlife Crime Scorecard and Elephant Trade Information System.

Read more on this story at WWF and BBC News, and read the WWF report – Fighting Illicit Wildlife Trafficking: A Consultation with Governments.

Find out more about wildlife crime at TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network.

Find out more about endangered species on ARKive.

Liz Shaw, ARKive Text Author

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Population numbers of the tamaraw, the world’s most threatened buffalo species, have reached their highest since annual surveys began in 2001, according to figures from WWF-Philippines.

The tamaraw is the largest mammal native to the Philippines

Small but mighty

The tamaraw, also known as the Mindoro pygmy buffalo, is a national icon in the Philippines, where depictions of this small, robust species feature heavily on everything from coins to cars, and provincial statues to university sports teams. Sadly, this wary and famously fierce bovid also has the unfortunate distinction of being one of the rarest mammals in existence, but according to recent population surveys, conservation efforts are proving to be successful in increasing tamaraw numbers.

Historical threats

Some 12,000 years ago, tamaraw herds ranged across much of mainland Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines, yet by the early 1900s, migrants had killed off many populations of this stocky buffalo species, leaving just 10,000 individuals on the island of Mindoro. Since then, several other factors have contributed to the continued decline of the tamaraw, including a crippling outbreak of the cattle-killing Rinderpest virus in the 1930s. Poaching and habitat destruction have also proven to be major threats to this species, leaving just a few hundred individuals surviving on the grassy slopes and forest patches of Mindoro, and have contributed to the tamaraw’s listing as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

Gregg Yan from WWF-Philippines took this wonderful shot

Continued crisis

Despite being legally protected from poaching by four national laws, including the Wildlife Act which can lead to imprisonment and substantial fines for violators, illegal hunting, mainly for trophies, continues to be a problem on Mindoro.

Even the island’s wildlife reserves are not spared by poachers, as Edgardo Flores, a ranger with the Tamaraw Conservation Program (TCP) who leads patrols in core zones within Mounts Iglit-Baco National Park, explains, “Still some poachers come here to hunt them, mainly for sport. Just this April we chanced upon a poaching laager. Our rangers recovered a tamaraw hide and assorted parts. Six hunters with tracker dogs snuck into the park at night, armed with M2 carbines, .22 hunting rifles and some homemade 12-gauge shotguns. Examples will be made – we’re now filing for their arrest.”

The tamaraw has stout, powerful horns, measuring up to 51 centimetres

Teaming up for the tamaraw

WWF-Philippines has teamed up with the Far Eastern University (FEU) to further support TCP initiatives, and together they have formed Tamaraw Times Two by 2020, dubbed ‘Tams 2’. This project has set conservationists an ambitious goal: to double wild tamaraw numbers from 300 to 600 by 2020. To monitor success, annual population counts are conducted each April, with promising results so far.

“Yes, I believe we can double the number of wild tamaraw before 2020,” affirms Rodel Boyles, TCP head and Mounts Iglit-Baco National Park Superintendent. “This April we counted 327 heads – the highest ever posted since we began our annual surveys in 2001. There were many calves and yearlings, a sure sign that the population is breeding. Finally, the count is conducted in a 16,000 hectare portion of a 75,000 hectare park. If we can find 327 heads in this small area, then there should be many more.”

Photographic mission

Armed with nothing but cameras, and shooting only pictures, a group from TCP and WWF-Philippines recently set out on the grassy slopes of the Iglit-Baco mountain range with one goal in mind: to photograph the world’s rarest buffalo species. The expedition was a success, despite several close encounters with the confrontational tamaraw.

Mounts Iglit-Baco National Park is home to several other threatened species, including the Vulnerable Philippine brown deer (Rusa marianna)

Home to many – tamaraw to tribesfolk

As well as the tamaraw, several other threatened species call Iglit-Baco National Park home, including the Mindoro warty pig (Sus oliveri), the large Mindoro forest mouse (Apomys gracilirostris), and the Philippine brown deer (Rusa marianna). These animals share the park with the reclusive, forest-dwelling Tawbuid or Batangan tribe, part of eight indigenous groups known as ‘Mangyan’.

Human activities, such as slash-and-burn farming, are a major concern in the area, with many groups, including the Tawbuid, cutting down essential forest groves. To mitigate these threats, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has been working tirelessly through the TCP to ensure that tamaraw core habitats are managed and protected, whilst engaging local communities in conservation efforts and simultaneously improving their lives.

“We make it a point to hire Tawbuid tribesfolk, not just as trackers or porters, but as actual staff. Their bushcraft and knowledge of terrain make them particularly effective rangers,” says Mr Boyles. “Community-based education is our drive. Some groups cannot read nor write, so it is our duty to let them know that certain animals are protected by law. Our dream is to turn the park into the Mounts Iglit-Baco Biotic Area – a zone where the influence of modern society cannot replace the traditional practices of indigenous groups. We work not just to conserve the tamaraw – but the Tawbuid’s way of life.”

Read more on this story at WWF-Philippines – Return of the Tamaraw.

Learn more about the tamaraw on ARKive.

Kathryn Pintus, ARKive Text Author

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