Heroic Humpbacks

Known as the gentle giants of the sea, a recently published study in the Marine Mammal Science journal by Robert Pitman and his colleagues demonstrates evidence that humpback whales may have altruistic tendencies, as there have been a number of incidents that have been recorded at various locations throughout the world where humpback whales have rescued numerous other marine species from orca attacks.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/20/humpback-whales-hawaii_n_4482515.html

A highly notable incident was in May 2012 in Monterey Bay off of the coast of California. Here, whale researcher Alisa Schulman-Janiger noted a pod of orcas attacking a gray whale calf whilst two humpbacks nearby rushed to its aid. Eventually the calf succumbed to the orca attack; but before the orca pod could feed on it, 14 more humpbacks arrived and appeared to be actively preventing the orca from eating the calf. Despite there being a thick krill swarm nearby, the humpbacks continued to engage in tail slashing and loud vocalising behaviours whenever the orca came near for six and a half hours, the longest recorded humpback-orca interaction. It turned out that this was not an isolated incident. In 62 years, 115 interactions have been recorded between humpback whales and orcas.

Selfless or Self-Serving?

So why do humpbacks go to such lengths to interfere in orca attacks? The most accepted explanation is that it is of some benefit to them. Orcas are known to attack young humpbacks, so maybe the adults “rescue” calves to help them get through the early stages of life to a point where they are large enough to survive by themselves. This may be true, but of the instances where humpbacks interfered in orca hunts that were recorded in this study, only 11% involved other humpback whales. The other 89% involved seals, sea lions, porpoises and even ocean sunfish. Pitman (one of the co-authors of the study) first noticed this behaviour in 2009, when he recorded an orca pod cooperating to knock a Weddell seal off an Antarctic ice floe. Before they could finish the attack, a lone humpback lifted the seal onto its belly and kept it out of harm’s way.

http://www.sciencemag.org

It is also possible that they are answering the auditory calls of the orca and do not realise what species is being attacked until it has fully invested its energy in the battle. Therefore they would probably engage in this behaviour as on some occasions it would be justified if the animal needing aid was another humpback. Another line of reasoning suggests that individual humpbacks that interfere in orca hunts may have a personal history with orca. Many of those involved often bear scars from what appears to be previous orca attacks.

Or perhaps, as is suggested by some experts, humpback whales demonstrate altruism. Lori Marino, an expert in cetacean intelligence, suggests that due to their high general intelligence which makes them capable of decision-making, problem-solving and communication; humpbacks could also be capable of displaying empathy. Due to the results of the study showing a high percentage of instances where non-humpback animals have been “rescued”, this explanation cannot be ruled out.

Whether humpbacks are truly selfless remains to be seen, but it is clear that there is plenty still to learn about the ocean’s gentle giants.

New Hope for the World’s Rarest Marine Mammal

The vaquita, the world’s rarest marine mammal, with only an estimated 60 left in the wild, has been given a beacon of hope. The Mexican government has announced that from September, there will be a permanent ban on the use of gill nets in the upper Gulf of California, the only place where vaquita can be found. The vaquita is living on the edge of extinction, less than 60 years after it was first discovered in 1958. In just three years, the vaquita population has plummeted by 50%, with an average of 39 vaquita dying each year. If this death rate continues unabated, the vaquita will be extinct by 2018.

http://www.worldwildlife.org

Vaquita are being killed by fishing nets used for the illegal fishing of the critically endangered totoaba fish. The bladders of these fish are regarded as a delicacy in China and the demand for them has skyrocketed, with bladders selling for around £6,000 per kilogram. For each pound of totoaba caught, fishermen receive the same as they would for half a year’s worth of legal fishing. Vaquita are the unintended victims of this demand, becoming entangled in the fine-meshed nets and ultimately, drowning. It was this same reason that brought vaquita levels crashing down in the 1970s, when totoaba fish were over-fished and declared an endangered species.

As well as a permanent ban on the use of gill nets, Mexico have also made a joint announcement with the USA, stating that both countries will increase their cooperative enforcement efforts to stop the illegal trade in totoaba bladders as well as work with international experts to develop alternative fishing nets that are vaquita-friendly, whilst disposing of all illegal fishing gear from the Gulf of California.

The instatement of a permanent ban alongside a promise of cooperation with the US is indeed encouraging news, as this shows that the Mexican government are committed to bringing the vaquita back from the brink of extinction; but this may not be enough unless Mexico and the US also work with China to curb the demand for totoaba fish. China need to do their bit to acknowledge the demand in totoaba fish and deal with it appropriately. Educating the public will be crucial in addressing this issue. It seemingly made an impact on shark fin soup consumption when celebrity-fronted campaigns made the public aware of the plight of sharks; so there is every reason to believe that a similar campaign could work for the totoaba, and hence for the vaquita as well.

However, if the demand from China continues, totoaba prices will remain high, meaning that fishermen will still find ways to catch totoaba and therefore doom the vaquita to extinction.

The World’s Most Trafficked Mammal

Every year, around 100,000 of these mammals are taken from the wild and sold illegally. That is an alarming rate of roughly 1 every 5 minutes. It’s not a creature that many people are familiar with, in fact many people probably aren’t even aware of its existence. The world’s most trafficked mammal is not a rhino or an elephant, but a small anteater-like creature known as the PANGOLIN.

So what is a Pangolin you might ask?

Currently, there are eight species of pangolin, four African and four Asian. Of these, the Chinese and Sunda pangolins are critically endangered; the Philippine and Indian species are endangered; and the four African species (Black-bellied, White-bellied, Giant Ground and Tremminck’s Ground) are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

It looks like an anteater, with its long thin snout and extremely long tongue lubricated with sticky saliva to prise ants and termites out of their mounds, but in terms of their classification, they are deemed to be more closely related to the Carnivora order, which includes wolves, bears and big cats.

As a species, they are truly unique in the fact that they are the only known mammal to have a body covered in scales and it is this unique quality which lies at the heart of their current fight for survival.

Why are they in danger?

Southeast Asia, (particularly the Chinese and Vietnamese) believe that pangolin scales (despite being made of keratin, the same substance as our hair and nails) can cure cancer, and a surge in demand over the last decade has seen black market prices skyrocket. It is thought that a kilogram of pangolin scales can fetch as much as $3000. Pangolins provide easy money for poachers as the pangolin’s main defence mechanism is to simply curl into a ball, much like a hedgehog. This makes it incredibly simple for people to just pick them up off the ground.

With it being so easy to obtain pangolins, the illegal trade in them is vast, which has caused the Asian species to suffer. With their numbers now dwindling, it is a huge worry that the demand could outweigh supply, meaning that traders will now look to the African species to meet it. I read recently in the latest Traffic International bulletin that there is already evidence of this happening in Nigeria, with 5185kg of scales being seized over six separate incidents in 2015. If this trend continues unabated, there is a real risk to the survival of all eight species.

How should we protect them?

Upgrade Their CITES Listing

At the moment all species of Pangolin are listed on Appendix II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). This means that trade is regulated, only being allowed if exporting countries have permits. However, there is a zero export quota on the Asian species, which means that all international commercial trade is banned. Personally, considering the current situation of the Asian species and the effect that illegal trade is beginning to have on the population of African species, I feel that they should probably be upgraded to CITES Appedix I, which would ban all international trade in the species.

Captive Breeding?

A lot of species that are suffering badly due to the illegal wildlife trade, such as tigers, rhino and elephants; are kept in zoos and are part of a worldwide breeding program. So why don’t zoos try and establish a pangolin breeding program? The simple answer is that unfortunately they are a species that do not thrive in captivity. In fact, only six zoos in the world keep pangolins. It is unknown exactly why they do no thrive, but many of those that have died in captivity usually died from digestive problems, which suggests that there is a lack of knowledge about these creatures’ eating habits in the wild. With no substantial captive population to breed from, it is even more critical that the wild populations are protected before it is too late to save them.

Deterrence

As is often the case with the illegal wildlife trade, the rewards often outweigh the risks. In order to stop poaching, there needs to be a strong deterrent. In pangolin strongholds, anti-poaching patrols should operate regularly to catch poachers in the act and to deter others from engaging in this illegal activity. Furthermore, sentences need to be harsher in order to ensure that people do not consider poaching to be a worthy activity. Other countries should follow Zimbabwe’s example. Here, ¾ of seizures in 2015 resulted in a 9 year prison sentence for at least one party involved, and this has resulted in a decrease in pangolin poaching here, suggesting that harsher sentences do work as deterrents.

Education

Southeast Asian countries are under the impression that pangolin scales can cure various ailments and consider their meat to be a delicacy. In order to curb the ever-increasing demand, cooperation with the main consumer countries (China and Vietnam) is needed to investigate reasons for demand and develop strategies to diffuse these beliefs. As well as this, the plight of the pangolin needs to be publicised more widely. I’m sure there are numerous people in the world that have never even heard of such a creature. If more people knew of its existence, they may be more inclined to worry about its plight and aid in efforts to save it from extinction.

If things don’t improve soon, there is a real risk that the Asian pangolins will be hunted to extinction and then the African pangolins will bear the full brunt of this relentless trade. It would be such a shame if we were to lose such a unique creature. It really is one of a kind and like no other creature alive today.

 

Hello!

Hi, so here I am writing my first blog. I know I’m a bit late to the party but I want to share my feelings on this important topic, as I feel it is often neglected in everyday news. I have decided to focus on telling you about various wildlife and conservation issues that have caught my attention. There will be the obvious topics covered, but I hope to raise awareness of other lesser-known endangered species that need just as much help as flagship wildlife like the rhino and tiger.

I have always had a love for wildlife. I grew up in a family of animal lovers and there wasn’t a time in my life where we didn’t have a pet, be it a cat; dog; rabbit; or rat; but I remember always being in awe whenever my sisters and I were taken to the zoo. Seeing animals in the flesh that I had only read about in books and seen on TV, was incredible. It was almost as if I couldn’t believe that they were real. I have never really grown out of this awe and I struggle to understand why anyone in the world would not feel the same way. Species that are struggling to survive are in this position due to the actions of man, be it directly or indirectly; so I think it is our responsibility to protect them. I am not a conservationist and I have no direct expertise in the field, I am just a passionate wildlife lover and this is my way of contributing. 

So if you are interested in joining me on spreading the word about issues facing various species, stay tuned for my first post about the most trafficked mammal in the world.