Part 11 (1/2)

These raucous birds are hard not to notice. Macaws are the largest and among the loudest of parrot species-and the blue-and-gold macaws are particularly striking with their vibrant royal blue wings and tail, which frame their nearly electric golden-yellow b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Unfortunately, the bird is particularly popular as a pet, and by the early 1960s it was extirpated from the island.

Their disappearance from Trinidad was actually the result of a number of factors. Illegal rice farming in the Nariva Swamp area of East Trinidad altered the bird's habitat. Blue-and-gold macaws rely on the palm trees on the edges of the swamp to build their cavity nests, and as the trees fell, so did the numbers of birds. Poachers cut down the hollow palms to raid the nests of young chicks and export them for the pet trade. Although illegal, and often controlled by the same people who traffic in illegal drugs, the s.h.i.+pping of parrots from throughout much of the tropics continues today.

Bernadette now lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is a research scientist at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden's Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife. During her twenty years at CREW, she has worked with many endangered species, from collecting data on the growth rate of the first captive-born Sumatran rhinoceros calf in 112 years to cloning endangered tropical plant species. All the while, she would visit her native home once each year to be with family, often noticing that most of the same problems for the island's wildlife still existed.

Poaching remained abundant, there was a lack of game wardens, and habitat loss due to illegal farming and development was growing. ”These problems appeared to be getting worse each time I would go home,” she said, ”and it was a great concern because I could tell, objectively, what was being lost.”

Rather than wait for others to do something, Bernadette decided to found CRESTT, the Centre for the Rescue of Endangered Species of Trinidad and Tobago. Initially, her idea was to start with what seemed a relatively simple project-bringing the blue-and-gold macaw back to Trinidad. After all, their historic range of Nariva Swamp was designated a protected 15,440-acre wetland in 1993. Bernadette's hope was that with this new protected status, putting birds back in the area would be a relatively quick and easy accomplishment. ”Our hopes were indeed high in those early days,” she said to me.

However, initial attempts to launch the program with confiscated birds met with no success. These adult birds, rescued from the pet trade, were not willing to breed in captivity on the island. They also suffered from the typical handicaps of captive animals reintroduced into the wild. The rescued macaws were naive to predators and vulnerable to new diseases, and had difficulty thriving. Still, Bernadette didn't lose hope. In fact, CRESTT continued to gain momentum. Bernadette garnered greater support from Trinidad's Wildlife Section and Forestry Division, as well as from international NGOs, including the Endangered Parrot Trust, Florida Avian Advisors, and the a.s.sociation of Zoos and Aquariums.

And by 1999, an effective pilot project was under way: Eighteen young parrots were collected in Guyana by a licensed trader, in the hope that they would eventually form nine breeding pairs. The birds were transported from the forests of Guyana into special pre-release cages in Nariva, where they could become acclimatized to the surrounding trees and swamp.

This new system of translocating birds worked better than using captive-bred macaws. The Guyanan macaws brought with them their natural experience and savvy for survival in the wild. They quickly filled the niche vacated forty years ago in the Nariva Swamp and soon took hold.

With these releases came success at last, but also more work for Bernadette and her CRESTT team. As everywhere, it takes a multip.r.o.nged approach for conservation to work in Trinidad. As Bernadette knows, ”Conservation is never completely done. The work goes onward and onward.” Government officials had to stay informed and involved in order to keep game wardens in the protected Bush Wildlife Sanctuary region of the swamp. Teams of volunteers had to be rallied to feed and water the birds while they were in big pre-release cages in the swamp. And small groups needed to camp at night near the birds to ensure their safety from wild or potentially even human predators-a very buggy but rewarding experience.

Public education was essential to long-term success, so as to eliminate interest in again taking the macaws out of nature. Everything from newspaper coverage to television stories and a billboard campaign declaring WELCOME HOME! to the beautiful parrots made sure not a single ”Trini,” or native to the island, could fail to know of the return of this once vanished creature. The result is that the blue-and-gold macaw is the the flags.h.i.+p species of conservation in Trinidad. It is a source of pride symbolizing both the beauty of the island and the islanders' tenacity in bringing the birds back from the brink of extinction. flags.h.i.+p species of conservation in Trinidad. It is a source of pride symbolizing both the beauty of the island and the islanders' tenacity in bringing the birds back from the brink of extinction.

Perhaps the most joyful part of the ongoing efforts is how the Nariva Swamp and the macaws in particular have been embraced by many schools in Trinidad. Colorful festivals, parades, and musicals are all regularly performed by schoolchildren celebrating the natural heritage of Trinidad and how, with care, there is room for nature and people.

Today, a decade and a half after Bernadette's initial setbacks, the birds are solving their own problems. Nine of the initial parrots survived, several living in breeding pairs. In 2003, another seventeen wild birds from Guyana were released to provide new genetic stock. To date, twenty-six of the thirty-one released birds have survived, and thirty-three chicks have been produced since the first releases in 1999. And any birders worth their salt will see macaws flying over the Nariva Swamp if they spend even a day in the area. But as much as the beautiful macaws, the children are what gives Bernadette hope. ”I truly love seeing these young Trinis,” she told me, smiling, ”who-just like I did fifty years ago-stop on their way home to point and marvel at such a beautiful sight as a flock of macaws.”

PART 5

The Thrill of Discovery

Introduction.

As a child, I longed to be an intrepid naturalist, setting off into the unknown to discover new lands, and especially new kinds of animals. I think all children are born with a desire to discover things for themselves. They are curious, they want to investigate and learn about their exciting new (to them) world. And in the course of this, they make wondrous personal discoveries.

I was as exhilarated as any explorer in olden days when my friend and I crept out at midnight on a forbidden trip to a small, wild, undeveloped plot and discovered, in the moonlight, that a pair of barn owls had their nest there. It was a real adventure, for they swooped down and threatened us fiercely when we got too close-something I think back on when I read about all those who risk the wrath of the adults when they clamber up dangerous cliffs to inspect the eyries of birds of prey. That plot is built over now, the barn owls long gone, driven out by relentless development of the wild places.

I have been fortunate in my life-born in time to see some of those wild places before they were spoiled. And I treasure the memories of how things were. But there is still much to discover. Just yesterday (August 2008) came the report from Central Africa of lowland gorillas found in large numbers-doubling the estimated number of this endangered species. When I heard about those gorillas, it took me back to the few days in 2002 that I spent with Mike Fay and Michael ”Nick” Nichols in the ancient, never-logged forest of the Goualougo Triangle in the heart of Congo-Brazzaville. When they first went there, they found animals that had never learned to fear humans-for even the pygmy hunters had not crossed the great swamps that protected the area for so long. Indeed, those swamps would have deterred anyone except Mike-but he found a secret way through and invited me for a visit. The journey started in a truck along a disused logging trail. Then came an enchanted time of silently moving along a gentle river, poled in our piraques by pygmy guides. And then a very, very long walk.

When at last we reached the camp in the forest it was after 10 PM, and I was too tired to appreciate anything-except the campfire and a deliciously simple meal cooked by the pygmies. But the next day, as I walked under the tall and ancient trees, I thrilled to the magic of a place that had not been explored by humans-at least not for hundreds of years. I put my hand on the trunk of one of those forest giants, sensed the rising sap, and knew great joy because, thanks to Mike, that whole forest is now a protected area. Safe-for the gorillas and chimpanzees and elephants. And for the trees. Because of Mike and others who care, many forests in Gabon have also been listed as protected.

In 2006, there was an expedition to the wild ”Heart of Burma” where many new or thought-to-be-extinct species were found. Even more recently, an expedition to the remote Yariguies Mountains of Colombia discovered a fascinating array of species new to science. As did another to the wild, remote wilderness of the Foja Mountains of Papua. One benefit from these expeditions is that by discovering and writing about the last of nature's undiscovered wilderness areas, it is usually possible to get local and international support and pressure to protect them for future generations.

In the three chapters of this section, we share stories of discovery. Some of the discoveries are exotic-a new kind of monkey, a cave system sealed off from the outside world for at least five million years, a fish known only from fossils unearthed from the Devonian period-sixty million years ago! These are the stories that capture the imagination of the general public, creating headlines in international newspapers. Other discoveries seem less exciting, and are heralded simply by short notes in the local press or some specialist journal. Yet they are often thrilling to the biologists who find them-I have spoken to several, and their enthusiasm is contagious, s.h.i.+ning from their eyes or sounding in their voice as we talk over the phone.

It is not just the joy of discovery-it is knowing that the life-form is important in the scheme of things. It all depends on your perspective. After all, it will make little difference to an elephant if a small plant vanishes; it will make all the difference between survival and extinction to a b.u.t.terfly whose larvae feed exclusively on the leaves of that plant. And the biologist knows that all living things are interconnected in the web of life; that losing even the smallest strand can have unforeseen consequences.

It is true that we are experiencing the ”sixth great extinction on earth,” with thousands of species (mostly small, endemic invertebrates and plants) disappearing, forever, every year. And while we sink into despair or anger as we see how our own prolific and self-centered species continues to destroy, there is yet this feeling of hope. There are surely plants and animals living in the remote places, beyond our current knowledge. There are discoveries yet to be made. And the stories we share here, reports of fascinating new species discovered or rediscovered, give me new strength to face and fight the challenges that threaten our still-mysterious, still-magical planet.

This cavern and lake existed unknown and unseen by humans for about five million years. Israel Naaman was one of the first people to enter this cave and discover its secret. He took this photo of his friend Eitan Orel, who helped him map the cave. (Israel Naaman) (Israel Naaman)

New Discoveries: Species Still Being Discovered

So many of the books I read as a child were about intrepid explorers setting off into the unknown. They faced danger and tough conditions-and they came back with tales of strange and often fearsome creatures, then quite unknown to the Western world. It was hard to separate truth from fiction. There were descriptions of terrifying tribes fiercely attacking white strangers with spears; of cannibals with pointed teeth; of strange hairy creatures, half human and half animal, living deep in the forest. There were terrifying sea monsters that could sink a s.h.i.+p and mermaids luring sailors to a watery death. Gradually myth gave way to fact. The hairy men revealed themselves as great apes, the sea monsters were probably giant squid, and the mermaids were probably sea cows-dugongs or manatees. Linnaeus worked on his cla.s.sification of the families, genera, species, and subspecies, arranging the animal and plant kingdoms into neat order. Charles Darwin sorted out how they got to be the way they were.

Gradually, during the past fifty years or so, discoveries of new species among the larger mammals and birds have become less and less frequent. But they have not stopped. And for those scientists studying the invertebrate hordes, finding a new species is, for the most part, no big deal-although, as we shall see, there are some pretty exciting finds in this area also. New fish and amphibian species are discovered quite frequently and, as we shall see in this chapter, there are occasional thrilling descriptions of larger creatures found.

I find it incredibly inspirational that even now, near the end of the first decade of a new century, with our planet groaning under the explosion of human populations, with the natural world retreating every day before the onslaught of development, there are still places where countless small creatures are living unseen by prying scientific eyes. This is so even in the developed world, but they are mostly found in remote, hard-to-reach rivers and lakes, mountainous forests, hidden caves, and canyons deep in the ocean. And then, during some expedition, they are spotted, their secret lives revealed. Sometimes the area is so remote, so undisturbed, that even larger birds and mammals can be found as well.

How thrilling to discover something that has never been described-probably the dream of every biologist who ventures into new terrain. When I arrived in Gombe in 1960, it was a very remote place. Apart from a couple of game wardens, few white people had ever been there. And many a time, as I gazed at some brilliant beetle or fly, or found a tiny fish high up near the waterfalls of the small swift streams, I wondered whether, perhaps, I was looking at a species unknown to science. Almost certainly, sometimes I was. For scientists working with plants, invertebrates, and fish are constantly identifying new species, especially now that DNA research enables us to make more rigorous distinctions between similar organisms.

In this chapter, I have selected a few of the discoveries made since the turn of the millennium, including previously undescribed birds and monkeys. They are not, for the most part, new to the people living there, who usually have names for them. But they are new to science, and for those who make such finds this is exciting, as each one adds to our knowledge of life on earth. There is just one problem: When a new species or subspecies is discovered, it has long been held that it can only be described, as for plant species, from so-called type specimens. Which means killing a few of the new creatures and putting their skins or whole bodies in preservative.

In the days when I worked for Louis Leakey at the National Museum (then the Coryndon Museum) in Nairobi, it sickened me to see drawer upon drawer of dead animals-the type specimens of not only invertebrates but also fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and small and medium-size mammals-and often there would be many of each. In addition, there were all those that had been skinned, stuffed, and put on display-and these of course included lions, chimpanzees, and so on. Such collections in museums around the world represent killings on a ma.s.sive scale. Indeed, Dr. Thomas Donegan maintains that the killing of individuals for type specimens and for museum displays may have actually contributed to bird extinctions. In 1900, for instance, Beck collected nine of the only eleven individuals he had observed of a large and very rare bird, Polyborus lutosus, Polyborus lutosus, endemic to a small island off the coast of Mexico. Since then, this bird has never again been seen in the wild. endemic to a small island off the coast of Mexico. Since then, this bird has never again been seen in the wild.

To Kill or Not to Kill ...

Today, as we face ma.s.s extinctions on our planet, more and more scientists believe that it is ethically wrong to kill newly discovered creatures that are rare and most likely endangered, and that new technologies mean that it is not necessary necessary to obtain dead specimens. This has led to a heated and sometimes acrimonious ongoing debate. For example, Alain Dubois and Andre Nemesio describe those who are against killing for science as an ”ethically correct tyranny” who peddle ”a hypocrisy and a lie” and choose ”ignorance in the name of conservation.” Donegan counters that the International Code for Zoological Nomenclature defines the term to obtain dead specimens. This has led to a heated and sometimes acrimonious ongoing debate. For example, Alain Dubois and Andre Nemesio describe those who are against killing for science as an ”ethically correct tyranny” who peddle ”a hypocrisy and a lie” and choose ”ignorance in the name of conservation.” Donegan counters that the International Code for Zoological Nomenclature defines the term specimen specimen as: ”An example of an animal, or a fossil or work of an animal, as: ”An example of an animal, or a fossil or work of an animal, or of a part of these or of a part of these” (my italics). Thus, argues Donegan, it is possible to achieve one's objective using nonlethal methods, describing a new species through meticulous descriptions and photographs, along with hair or feather samples and blood for DNA a.n.a.lysis.

Drs. Dubois and Nemesio also believe that if a newly discovered species is known from just one individual, it is probably as good as extinct anyway, so it may be better to kill it for a type specimen rather than risk that it disappear unrecorded by science. But suppose, says Donegan, another individual is subsequently found? In part 4, we describe how the black robin population bounced back from a low of just one remaining female and four males.

While the scientific debate continues, it is comforting to know that a growing number of previously undescribed species have been doc.u.mented without using dead specimens-and that the descriptions have been generally accepted, and published in peer review scientific journals.

Donegan makes another important point: Researchers who seek to convince poor rural communities that scientific collecting is justified, while hunting or animal trade should be controlled or prohibited, are likely to be regarded as inconsistent and are setting a terrible example. Those who describe species without killing them have the moral authority to encourage conservation initiatives among the local people-in whose hands the future lies. When JGI was working in Burundi, I decided to end a collaborative arrangement with another organization when I found it was planning a large-scale collection of birds and small mammals for scientific research in our study area. I pointed out that we had spent a great deal of time convincing the local population that wildlife should be respected and protected and that if they were now offered money to go trap and kill them, all our headway would be lost.

New Primates-Our Closest Relatives Two new species of Old World monkeys-in the Himalayas and in Tanzania-and one New World monkey in Brazil, have been found since the start of the new millennium. In 2003, the Nature Conservation Foundation organized an expedition to the mountainous Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, bordering Tibet and Myanmar. They found a monkey unknown to science-the first macaque species to be discovered since 1908. Of course the local people knew the animals well and called them mun zala mun zala-the ”deep forest monkey”-which led to its scientific name of Macaca munzala, Macaca munzala, commonly known as the Arunachal macaque or stocky monkey. Fourteen troupes of about ten monkeys each were located in areas of undisturbed forest-the monkeys were shy and very wary of people. They are, as one of their names suggests, stocky in shape, with brown fur that is darker on their heads, and short tails. commonly known as the Arunachal macaque or stocky monkey. Fourteen troupes of about ten monkeys each were located in areas of undisturbed forest-the monkeys were shy and very wary of people. They are, as one of their names suggests, stocky in shape, with brown fur that is darker on their heads, and short tails.

Our second monkey, Rungwecebus kipunji Rungwecebus kipunji or the kipunji, was found in 2003 in the southern highlands of Tanzania. By an almost unbelievable coincidence, it was discovered in two different locations some 250 miles apart, at almost the same time, by two completely separate expeditions! Dr. Tim Davenport of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and his team first found the kipunji in the Rungwe-Livingstone Forest in December 2003. or the kipunji, was found in 2003 in the southern highlands of Tanzania. By an almost unbelievable coincidence, it was discovered in two different locations some 250 miles apart, at almost the same time, by two completely separate expeditions! Dr. Tim Davenport of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and his team first found the kipunji in the Rungwe-Livingstone Forest in December 2003.

Less than a year later, in July 2004, Dr. Trevor Jones led an expedition sponsored by the University of Georgia into the Ndunduhi Forest Reserve of the Udzungwa Mountains and discovered four groups (each group has about thirty to thirty-six individuals) of kipunji living there as well. Sadly, I was told by Tim Davenport that this kipunji population is no longer considered viable, despite the fact that the reserve has been highly protected.

Meanwhile, the Mount RungweLivingstone Forest has been heavily logged and there have been many poachers. Even so, Tim Davenport's team has since discovered as many as thirty-four groups of kipunji living there-bringing the total number of individuals up to 1,117 as of March 2009. Fortunately, the Mount RungweLivingstone Forest is about to become a nature reserve (something Tim and his team have fought hard for), which should help keep the kipunji more secure.

The really exciting thing about this discovery is that the monkey is not merely a new species, but a completely new genus, having biological characteristics that differentiate it from both mangabey and baboons. (For those who don't remember their school biology lessons, genus is an even broader cla.s.sification than species.) At first it was thought to be a kind of mangabey and named the highland mangabey, but then a dead one was found, trapped by a local farmer, and DNA a.n.a.lysis showed that it was more like a baboon. It is about three feet in length, with long brownish fur, a crest of hair on its head, and p.r.o.nounced whiskers on its cheeks. Instead of communicating with a mangabey-type whoop gobble, whoop gobble, the kipunji has a the kipunji has a honk bark. honk bark. Just reading about these sounds makes me really want to hear them for myself. It certainly stimulates the auditory imagination-a Just reading about these sounds makes me really want to hear them for myself. It certainly stimulates the auditory imagination-a whoop gobble whoop gobble and a and a honk bark. honk bark.

In an interview, Dr. Jones said, ”I'll never forget the day we were surveying biodiversity in the forest, and one of our team suddenly grabbed me and pointed to a monkey in a tree a hundred meters away. I grabbed my binoculars and nearly fell over. It was a very surreal moment, and I simply stood there in disbelief.” Soon after this fantastic experience-surely every biologist's dream-he learned about the new monkey that Davenport and his team had just found. When they subsequently realized that the two new monkeys were the same species, they decided to publish their findings jointly. It has long been known that the mountains of southern Tanzania have provided a refuge for a variety of species long extinct elsewhere-what else, I wonder, is waiting to be found?

The New World monkey, the blond capuchin (Cebus queirozi), was discovered near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2006 by Antonio Rossano Mendes Pontes. It has golden hair with a white ”tiara” on its head. Thirty-two individuals were seen in a forest and swampland fragment of only about five hundred acres. One individual was caught, examined, photographed, and returned to the forest. Some suspect that rather than a new species, the blond capuchin may be a rediscovery of a monkey named Simia flavia, Simia flavia, known only from a drawing by German taxonomist Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in the 1770s. known only from a drawing by German taxonomist Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in the 1770s.

Primates from Brazil and Madagascar In the vast forests of the Amazon Basin, many secrets of nature still lurk. My longtime friend Dr. Russ Mittemeier, who now holds the prestigious position of scientific director of Conservation International, has spent many years exploring the Brazilian Amazon forests. Between 1992 and 2008, he and his team discovered, described, and named a total of six new marmoset species and two species of t.i.ti monkeys. One of them, for me, was very special because on a brief visit with Russ I was able to meet the little creature. Russ had only recently rescued her from a remote village. Diminutive and absolutely enchanting, this sc.r.a.p of a primate sat on Russ's shoulders as he told me stories of his travels.

Presently she moved onto my shoulder, and I had an unreal feeling-I was in contact with a tiny being that only a handful of Westerners had yet seen. How many of her kind, I wondered, were out there, living their unknown lives? It was subsequently determined that she represented a completely new genus. Now known as Callithrix humilis, Callithrix humilis, the black-crowned dwarf marmoset, she has a name longer than she is! In fact, during the first eight years of the new millennium, a total of eight new species of prosimians (all primates other than monkeys and apes) have been described in Brazil: three marmosets, three t.i.ti, and two uakari. the black-crowned dwarf marmoset, she has a name longer than she is! In fact, during the first eight years of the new millennium, a total of eight new species of prosimians (all primates other than monkeys and apes) have been described in Brazil: three marmosets, three t.i.ti, and two uakari.