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  BBC 16 Jan 07
Protection for 'weirdest' species

Yahoo News 17 Jan 07
British move to protect rare mammals
By Raphael G. Satter, Associated Press Writer

Yahoo News 16 Jan 07
British experts protect animals on EDGE of extinction

PlanetArk 16 Jan 07
Scientists Try to Save World's Rarest Creatures
Story by Jeremy Lovell

LONDON - Scientists launched a bid on Tuesday to save some of the world's rarest and most neglected creatures from extinction.

With an initial list of just 10 -- including a venomous shrew-like creature, an egg-laying mammal and the world's smallest bat -- the programme will give last ditch conservation aid where to date there has been little or none.

"We are focusing on EDGE species -- that means they are Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered," said Zoological Society of London scientist Jonathan Baillie.

"These are one-of-a-kind species. If they are lost there is nothing similar to them left on the planet. It would be a bit like the art world losing the Mona Lisa -- they are simply irreplaceable," he told Reuters.

Not only are the target species unique, the project itself is breaking new ground by using the Internet to highlight threatened creatures and encourage the public to sponsor conservation.

"This is appealing to the general public to take action to reverse the decline of these amazing species," Baillie said.

Global warming and human depredations on habitat are cited as root causes of the problem and Baillie said the top creature on the agenda, the Yangtze River dolphin, may already have disappeared.

Listed on the Web site www.zsl.org/edge as being down to just 13 individuals, scientists visiting the area recently had not seen any.

"This really highlights the importance of acting quickly," Baillie said.

EDGE species include the rather more iconic -- and recognisable -- elephants and pandas -- but the London Zoo project is also aiming far smaller. The list includes the bumblebee bat, the Hispaniolan solenodon and the golden-rumped elephant shrew, but Baillie hopes to save far more.

"Our goal is to ensure that over the next five years there are conservation measures in place for the top 100 species," Baillie said. "We have 10 species we are focusing on this year but that will change over time."

BBC 16 Jan 07
Protection for 'weirdest' species

A conservation programme for some of the world's most bizarre and unusual creatures has been launched by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).

Species like the bumblebee bat and the pygmy hippopotamus will be protected under the Evolutionary Distinct and Globally Endangered (Edge) project. The scheme targets animals with unique evolutionary histories that are facing a real risk of becoming extinction.

The ZSL says many of these species are ignored by existing conservation plans. The Society defines Edge animals as having few close relatives, genetically distinct, and require immediate action to save them from extinction.

'One-of-a-kind'

"People have been talking about one-of-a-kind species being particularly important for conservation for a long time, but it has been very difficult to integrate them into conservation planning," Jonathan Baillie, the programme's lead scientist, told BBC News.

"This is the first global-scale programme where we have been able to do it." The reason why this has been made possible is because of the development of a taxonomic "super tree" that shows the relationship between different species. "So we know which ones are most evolutionary distinct, and then we can combine this with threat status," Dr Baillie added.

Scientists have identified a total of 564 species that fall within the new definition, and the ZSL's programme will focus on the top 100.

For the first year, the ZSL has identified 10 "focal species" that will be the first to benefit from the initiative.

The bumblebee bat (Craseonycterus thonglongyai), believed to be the world's smallest mammal, is one of the beneficiaries. It is understood that it is the sole member of the Craseonycterudae family of bats, and is thought to have last shared a common ancestor with another species about 43 million years ago. Since being first described in 1974, the tiny creature has been disturbed by collectors and tourists wanting to see it. The main threat facing it comes from forest burning near its habitat of limestone caves in western Thailand and south-east Burma.

The slender loris (Loris tardigradus), found in southern Sri Lanka, is another to benefit. The ZSL says the fossil record of the lorids extends back to the Early Miocene (20 million years ago). Populations of this small primate are declining because of deforestation, and conservationists plan to restore its habitat and establish corridors between fragmented areas of forest.

'Mona Lisa' species

Dr Baillie hoped the initiative would help raise awareness of the plight of these little-known animals. "They represent entire lineages. If you were to think about Edge species in terms of the art world, it would be like losing a Mona Lisa - they are totally irreplaceable and unique.

"At the moment, we are focusing on the 10 focal species where we think we can really make a difference, and we are trying to raise funds to implement conservation actions."

For each of the animals, he says the first step will be to send a team of experts to the region to assess the state of the species. Local students will then be recruited to act as "Edge conservation fellows" to carry out ongoing research, which will be used to shape strategies to protect the species.

He adds that they are aiming to have action plans in place for the top 100 Edge creatures within the next five years. The programme will be funded by grants, and from donations made by the public visiting a website updated with the latest field research and blogs from conservationists working on the projects.

The ZSL is currently working on a similar scheme for amphibians, which it hopes to launch in the near future.

EDGE 'FOCAL SPECIES' FOR 2007
Pygmy hippopotamus
Attenborough's long-beaked echidna
Hispaniolan solebodon
Bactrian camel
Yangtze River dolphin
Slender loris
Hirola antelope
Golden-rumped elephant shrew
Bumblebee bat Long-eared jerboa

Yahoo News 17 Jan 07
British move to protect rare mammals
By Raphael G. Satter, Associated Press Writer

LONDON - It isn't often that the northern hairy-nosed wombat, the finger-sized slender loris, and the mountain pygmy possum share the spotlight. But these odd creatures are the focus of a conservation program launched Tuesday to safeguard some of the world's rarest mammals.

The Zoological Society of London's program highlights 100 species selected because of the peculiarity of their genetic backgrounds and the degree of danger they face.

The species' lack of close relatives make their preservation particularly urgent, society scientist Jonathan Baillie said. He described them as natural masterpieces. "Would we just sit there and watch the Mona Lisa disappear?" he said. "These are things that are just irreplaceable."

Many of the species are the only representative of groups that have otherwise died out. West Africa's pygmy hippopotamus, known for its thick, oily "blood-sweat," is the only member of its genus. Others, like the Yangtze River dolphin, are thought to represent an entire genetic family. The dolphin, may already be gone, like some others on the list.

Those that remain act as living fossils, offering glimpses into how the animal world looked millions of years ago. That's the case of the Andean mountain monkey, the only marsupial in an otherwise extinct lineage which dates back more than 40 million years. New Guinea's long-beaked echidnas, anteater-like creatures that lay eggs like reptiles, are even older, remaining unchanged since the time of the dinosaurs.

Donors are invited to sponsor a species, and track its conservation progress through blogs and discussion groups on the Web site, http://www.edgeofexistence.org.

Half a million pounds (about US$1 million, euro750,000) is needed to fund the conservation projects, Baillie said. Researchers hope the catalog of bizarre creatures might attract younger donors unimpressed by more charismatic seals or pandas.

"The younger generation is more interested in the weird and wonderful," he said. There's no lack of either.

Many are freakishly large, or small, or just long-lived. The hairy-nosed wombat can grow bigger than a dog, while the slender loris's 12 cm (4.7 inch) frame is dominated by a pair of huge night vision eyes. Mountain pigmy possums can live 12 years, a remarkable age for a 30 gram (one ounce) creature.

Others, like Madagascar's aye-aye, are just weird. The oddly-shaped primate sports an unsettlingly long, skeletal middle finger it uses to scrape insect larvae from holes in trees.

Still, some have undeniable charm, like the 2 gram (0.07 ounce) bumblebee bat or hairy-eared dwarf lemur, the world's smallest primate. "There's nothing like them when they go," Baillie said.

Yahoo News 16 Jan 07
British experts protect animals on EDGE of extinction

LONDON (AFP) - British zoological authorities launched a conservation programme aimed at protecting some of the world's most endangered and extraordinary creatures.

The Zoological Society of London has compiled a list of 100 what it calls Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) species, ranked by how near they are to extinction and how much evolutionary history they represent.

"If we lose them, there's nothing similar to them left on the planet," Jonathan Baillie, member of the EDGE team told Britain's The Guardian newspaper. "It would be like losing the Mona Lisa, something that's irreplaceable and completely distinct."

Some of the animals on the list will be well-known, such as the Giant Panda and the Asian Elephant.

Many, however, have been so far overlooked, either as they're in poorly-explored regions or because they belong to species groups where scientists have to date had little interest. Among these are the Pygmy Hippopotamus and the Bumblebee Bat - the smallest mammal in the world, weighing in at less than 2 grams. Scientists were unable to find any surviving Yangtze Dolphins during a recent survey. The baiji, as the dolphins are also known, are the unfortunate leaders in the EDGE of Extinction list.

The Zoological Society plans to work closely with local scientists in countries where EDGE species occur to identify the main threats facing them in their habitats and to then implement conservation programmes.

Their goal is to have conservation strategies in place for all 100 species within the next five years. By raising public awareness of the species, the EDGE team hope to encourage people to help fund the project.

"We want to provide solutions and allow people to get involved in the solutions," Baillie explained. The EDGE website will allow people to donate to the programme and track the progress of individual projects.
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