http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/No-domestication\
-of-pachyderms-for-govt-use-Project-Elephant-/articleshow/5232649.cms
No domestication of pachyderms for govt use: Project Elephant
PTI 15 November 2009, 03:14pm IST

NEW DELHI: The Centre has said no permit has been issued to Assam for
"domestication of wild elephants for government duties", even as the state
has   asked for lifting of the ban on trapping marauding wild tuskers to
contain the man-animal conflict there.

"The Wildlife Act permits only capture of wild elephant in case it threatens
human life. No such permission has been given to Assam in recent times," A N
Prasad, director, Project Elephant (PE), said.

Prasad, who is also the Inspector General of Forests, made the remark when
asked about the recent reported statement of Assam Forest Minister Rockybul
Hussain that the state government needs to "acquire wild elephants and
domesticate them for government duties".

He also dismissed the claim by Hussain that "trapping wild pachyderms will
also help contain the man-elephant conflict".

Assam has been asking the Centre for lifting the ban on using 'kunki'
(domesticated) elephants to trap wild ones which were destroying foodcrops.

"We have placed before the Central government the need to resume 'mela
shikaar' to capture marauding wild elephants that destroy houses and crops,"
Hussain had said during a forest ministers' conclave in New Delhi recently.

'Mela shikaar' is a traditional method of capturing wild tuskers using
domesticated and trained elephants.

*Good news from India...*


*SSB to check smuggling of animals *

Sanjeev Kumar Verma

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/SSB-to-check-smuggling-of-animals-\
/articleshow/5228470.cms



PATNA: There's good news for animal rights activists, finally. For, the
Sashashtra Seema Bal (SSB) has put its border outposts (BOPs) in the
districts of East Champaran, West Champaran and Sitamarhi in Bihar on alert.
Reason: these are the districts from where Indians generally enter Nepal to
attend the quinquennial Gadhimai fair in the Himalayan nation where a large
number of animals and birds are sacrificed. The SSB action comes with the
fair is only a week away.



The three main entry points which is used by Indian visitors to the fair are
Raxaul (East Champaran), Sikta (West Champaran) and Barginia (Sitamarhi
district). SSB has a total of 54 BOPs functional in these three districts.



"This has been done to prevent transportation of animals and birds,
particularly fowls, from India to Nepal during the fair," SSB IG (frontier
headquarters) Shyam Singh told TOI here on Wednesday.



About five lakh animals and fowls would be sacrificed at this year's fair
and approximately two-thirds of the visitors to the fair would be from the
Indian states of Bihar and West Bengal, who generally take animals and fowls
along with them to the fair from India.



Singh said though BOPs keep vigil even on normal days as transportation of
animals and birds was an act of smuggling, yet keeping the Gadhimai fair in
mind, an extra vigil would be maintained.



"Law breakers will be dealt with sternly," the IG said.



Singh, however, made it clear that SSB was not authorized to prevent
movement of people.



The SSB IG's must be music to the ears of animal rights activists, including
Maneka Gandhi, given that their repeated requests to the Nepal government to
ban sacrifice of animals and fowls at Gadhimai fair, have been turned down.



Nepal information and communication minister Shankar Pokhrel, who also is
the spokesperson of the current ruling coalition in the Himalayan nation, is
on record saying that the government could not use force to stop animal
sacrifices at the fair as it had to take into account the psychology and
sentiments of different communities.



Fair organisers, on the other hand, have come out with a timetable which
says, buffaloes and goats would be sacrificed at the altar on November 25
and 26 respectively.



Moreover, there have been reports that the organisers are trying to attract
more people to the fair by holding like circus and theatre shows at the fair
this time.


--
Lucia de Vries
Freelance Journalist
Nepal - Netherlands


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_n12_v147/ai_16795968/ Caste-off
orangs: controversy surrounds implications of a hybrid label - interbreeding
Sumatran and Bornean orangutans - Cover Story Science
News<http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/>,
March 25, 1995 <http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_n12_v147/> by
Janet Raloff <http://findarticles.com/p/search/?qa=Janet+Raloff>

Caste-Off Orangs

Controversy surrounds

implications of a hybrid label

By JANET RALOFF

At the tender age of 9 months, Chantek left his mother in Atlanta to live in
a trailer next to the music building on the University of Tennessee campus
in Chattanooga. There, his surrogate family toilet trained the inquisitive,
red-haired youngster and taught him language, how to clean his
bedroom, andthe deportment necessary to ride in cars, visit parks,
and eat burgers at the local fast- food chain. Eventually, this quiet,
strapping boy even received an allowance -- one he could bank or spend at
his discretion on treats. In many ways, Chantek lived much of his first 9
years like any ordinary child in the United States. But Chantek is an
orangutan, and his every action and reaction has been recorded and studied
as part of an ongoing examination of how these quiet, slow-moving -- some
would say highly intellectual -- apes think and behave. Acculturation to
human society did not prevent Chantek from slipping back into the
traditional world of captive orangutans when he returned home to the Yerkes
Primate Research Center in 1986. Indeed, he fathered a child 3 years later.

But this healthy, 18-year-old representative of an endangered species will
never sire again -- at least if internationally recognized primate
conservation policies prevail.

The reason? Chantek's mother hailed from Borneo, his father from Sumatra.
That makes Chantek a biological hybrid as well as a cultural one. The
American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums (AZA) adopted a
policy 10 years ago to stop interbreeding Sumatran and Bornean orangutans --
and to prevent any of AZA's hybrid offspring (now numbering 51) from
reproducing. The organization's 55 member zoos and primate conservation
centers with orangutans all adopted the policy, though some "accidental"
births did occur through 1991, observes Lori A. Perkins, a conservation
biologist at Zoo Atlanta who coordinates AZA's species survival plan for
orangutans.

Four other international umbrella organizations that oversee endangered
species management also subscribe to this policy, which now affects the
reproduction -- and status -- of 192 hybrid orangutans worldwide. Biologists
avoid crossbreeding captives because zoo animals are intended to represent
their wild brethren. Hybrids "don't have any biological meaning," observes
Zoo Atlanta director Terry Maple, himself an orangutan researcher.
"[They're] a man-made creation."
In fact, he says, "nobody wants them -- isn't that a pretty darn good reason
not to produce any more?"


The survey, completed in 1985, showed that orangutans born in the wild carry
the same inversion on both copies of chromosome 2 - - an SS pair in
Sumatrans, a BB pair in Borneans. Hybrids with wild-born parents carry one
of each, or SB.

While these inversion patterns provided a marker for wild-born orangutans'
island of origin, they couldn't establish how genetically divergent the two
groups are. Are the differences equivalent to races in humans? Do they
signal subspecies as dissimilar -- and therefore as unnatural for mating --
as Sumatran and Siberian tigers? Or do they represent distinct species, such
as the chimpanzee and bonobo (pygmy chimpanzee)?In 1990, researchers at the
National Cancer Institute in Frederick, Md., helped pinpoint the answer,
Perkins says. A study led by Stephen J. O'Brien and Dianne N. Janczewski
compared several hundred proteins -- reflecting several hundred genes --
from Sumatran and Bornean orangutans. It showed that genetic differences
between the two kinds of orangutans were 5 to 10 times greater than the
differences between the tiger subspecies. Ryder followed up on these data 2
years ago with a report on his chromosome 2 typing for 144 captive
orangutans -- including 58 born in the wild. He also analyzed variations in
the mitochondrial DNA of 14 of the orangutans, including six each from
Borneo and Sumatra.

Mitochondrial DNA is located outside a cell's nucleus and is inherited only
from the mother. In addition, it mutates more frequently than nuclear DNA.
For this reason, anthropologists use mutation patterns in mitochondrial DNA
to construct evolutionary trees of relationships within and between species.
Together, the two forms of genetic information established that the
chromosome 2 inversion distinguishes two taxonomically distinct lines, Ryder
says. And the roughly 3 percent variation between Sumatran and Bornean DNA
sequences suggests that gene flow between the two islands ended
approximately 1.5 million years ago, Ryder and Leona G. Chemnick conclude in
the September-October 1993 Journal of Heredity.

Last year, O'Brien and NCI colleague Lu Zhi reported similar findings from
their newest orangutan studies -- also involving mitochondrial DNA. Their
data suggested that "the extent of difference between Bornean and Sumatran
populations was consistent with species-level divergence."

Case closed? Not necessarily, according to data unveiled at the AAAS meeting
by C. Cam Muir of Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Muir finds no compelling difference between the mitochondrial DNA of wild
Bornean and captive Sumatran orangutans.

When he plotted the animals' genetic trees, Muir found that, rather than
occupying different branches, the orangutans shared various limbs, depending
on which sequence of genetic material he analyzed.

In contrast to earlier studies, Muir told Science News, his relies
ondifferences obtained by actually sequencing genes, as opposed to
differences
inferred from variations in the proteins that genes code for and other
indirect data. So presumably, he says, his data may prove a bit better at
distinguishing changes.

Overall, he believes, "use of the term 'hybrid' is improper because these
are not two species."

That interpretation could change, he concedes, once he has expanded his
analysis to include more genes -- including some from the nucleus --
andseveral hundred more wild orangutans.

But even if Sumatran and Bornean orangutans constitute separate species or
subspecies, Muir fears that a ban on crossing them in captivity may
dangerously restrict the gene pool, potentially making the animals less fit
and more prone to extinction.For populations numbering in the thousands, he
says, "there is an advantage to keeping distinct populations separate,
because in mixing them you could lose some critical genetic diversity."
However, "the opposite is true once you get below a threshold number
anddon't have a full representation of genetic types." Muir worries
that
maintaining captive Sumatrans and Borneans separately risks falling below
that threshold.

Anthropologist Colin P. Groves of Australian National University in Canberra
worries about a related problem. In analyzing orangutan skulls, he has found
bigger differences between those from Borneo's three geographically isolated
groups than between any of those populations and the orangutans in Sumatra.

Groves not only agrees that Borneans and Sumatrans are distinct subspecies
and should not be interbred, he also says that "eventually, we'll be
proposing that these [Bornean populations] be formally recognized as
subspecies." The Bornean skull differences he has observed are not visible
in living animals. So unless someone finds a genetic marker, he argues, the
ongoing repatriation to the wild of recently captured orangutans (usually
from the illegal pet trade) should be halted or altered. Otherwise,
well-intentioned game managers may hybridize animals in the wild.

He also argues that zoos and other game managers should attempt to establish
that Borneans paired for mating trace back to the same geographically
distinct parent population.

"I've been hearing that speculation [about Bornean subspecies] for about 5
years," says Perkins, who coordinates orangutan breeding in North America.
But if it turns out to be true, she told Science News, "I don't know what I
would do with the information."

Only 82 Bornean orangutans are managed under the AZA program, Perkins notes.
Even if roughly equal numbers came from each of the three populations, "I
don't know that it would be smart to subspeciate them," she says. The number
in each group might become too small to ensure a healthy degree of genetic
diversity.

Moreover, "I'd have no basis on which to separate them," she points out,
because records of where orangutans were captured are spotty at best. "So
our only options now are to just breed them as Borneans or to not breed any
Borneans -- which would send the [captive] population into a crash from
which it probably would not recover."

But veterinarian William B. Karesh of the Wildlife Conservation Society,
which operates the Bronx Zoo in New York, suspects that Perkins has no
reason to worry. He says unpublished genetic data from a study of 50
wild-born orangutans in Asia on which he and O'Brien's team are
collaborating suggest that Borneo's various populations may have been
geographically isolated for a long time -- at least 250,000 years. And while
they do appear to be dividing into subspecies, Karesh says, "they don't yet
qualify, really, as subspecies." In practical terms, he says, when
reintroducing a Bornean captive to the wild, "if you knew where the animal
came from, it would be nice to return it to that gene pool. But if you
don't, we're not really disturbing nature that much." For zoo animals, which
will never return to the wild, the issue becomes even less important, he
suspects.

Groves disagrees, noting that, at a minimum, the size of orangutans varies
between Borneo's populations -- and "size matters with adult male orangs."
Because big males tend to dominate, smaller ones from Borneo's Malaysian
region may not succeed in attracting mates if introduced into the island's
Indonesian southwest, where they would have to compete against bulkier kin.
And so the debate rages.

What difference does being a crossbreed make? At the AAAS meeting, several
speakers mentioned the fact that some hybrid animals have been sterilized.
There were also passing references to the practice of removing hybrids from
display and banishing them to the less stimulating environs of a zoo holding
cell after the AZA policy went into effect.Such charges spark Perkins' ire.
"We do not stick hybrids in the back of zoos," she maintains. "They stay in
the social groups they've been in and engage in a complete range of
behaviors -- even copulation." You could call every AZA institution in the
orangutan program "and they would tell you they don't keep [hybrids] any
differently." And, she adds emphatically, "as long as I'm the
[speciessurvival plan] coordinator, they will not." Perkins concedes
that some males
have received a vasectomy, which may not prove reversible. But most
institutions now rely on timed- release hormone implants to prevent sexually
active hybrid females from conceiving. Remove that implant, she notes,
"andthe females are fertile again." Even if one subscribes to not
mongrelizing
purebred populations, hybrids needn't remain childless. Groves suggests
sending fertile hybrids to major, responsible zoos that could not otherwise
afford orangutans, such as several in India.

Ethel Tobach of the American Museum of Natural History has another idea.
Many uninhabited Southeast Asian islands are ecologically similar to Borneo
and Sumatra. "It would be great to put hybrids on such an island and study
them there."

Groves agrees that "if you reintroduce them way outside their known modern
range -- such as in the Malay Peninsula -- you can do what you like because
there would be no population to disrupt."

But Maple argues that "the only reason we've been interbreeding [orangutans]
is out of ignorance. If nature isn't making Sumatran- Bornean crosses,"
heargues, "why should we?"
COPYRIGHT 1995 Science Service, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

www.ias.ac.in/currsci/sep252008/720.


*

OPINION
*

CURRENT 720 SCIENCE, VOL. 95, NO. 6, 25 SEPTEMBER 2008
*

Lions in India � A question of survival
*

Nicky K. Xavier

A question uppermost in the mind of a

conservationist who is anxious for the

survival of lions in India should be whether

there is any necessity of keeping Asiatic

lions (Panthera leo persica) and their

Afro-Asian hybrids sequestered in zoos

on the grounds of maintaining purity of

genes. Will a thorough scientific study of

the morphology, morphometry, osteology

and genetic attributes and animal behaviour

necessarily lead to the conclusion

that dissimilarities between the two socalled

sub-species outnumber the similarities

between them? The answer should

be in the negative. It is often pointed out

that the Asiatic lion has a smaller mane

and a tendency to have a ventral skin

fold, is slightly smaller in size and lives in

smaller prides. Some have also gone to

the extent of asserting that when considering

its history and phylogeny, it must be

considered an evolutionary significant

unit, almost certainly on its way to becoming

a distinct species.

It appears, the logic of speciation is

not correct here. A narrow taxonomical

perspective based on minor differences

seems responsible for sequestration of

hybrids. These minor differences and

geographical isolation, on closer study, can

be found to be inadequate to justify such

separation and to wedge apart the lions

into different sub-species. For one thing,

reproductive isolation is conspicuously

absent in the African lions and their Indian

counterparts. Most of their progeny have

proved to be healthy and fertile. For another,

the differences pointed out are minor

phenotypic and behavioural ones, which

however are produced by evolutionary

changes in gene expression. Epigenetic

differences arise even in monozygotic

twins. Thirdly, one should also take note

of the similarity in the karyotypes of the

two populations. Fourthly, merging of

phenotypic traits inherited from the parents

in successive generations F1, F2, F3

and so on of the hybrids makes it difficult

even for experienced zookeepers to

make out the differences by appearance.

This shows that the rate of evolution in

lions is minimal and slower than what is

assumed to be in geographically isolated

populations.

For a conservationist what is important

is to conserve the species as a whole rather

than keeping them reproductively isolated

as sub-species on the basis of marginal

differences. It is not suggested here

that two distant species should be allowed

to cross-breed, resulting in loss of

biodiversity. What is emphasized is the

necessity of re-examining the definition

of sub-species, which forcibly keeps two

populations of the same species reproductively

isolated on the basis of superficial

differences and isolation of the

habitat. There is an increasing tendency

for taxonomists in general to divide a

sibling species into sub-species and not

unite them if required. Take, for example,

the swamp deer in India (Cervus duvaucelli).

At present there are three subspecies

differentiated on the basis of minor

phenotypic and habitat differences. If

these three populations are allowed to

mix, much of the danger surrounding their

survival can be averted. All this redounds

to the conclusion that there has to be a

paradigm shift in speciation and substructuring.

Chances of survival of the species as a

whole and genetic variability within the

population are enhanced by hybridization.

Introgression of genes will accelerate

recombination and the genes will be

differentially regulated according to newly

evolving surroundings. The surplus hybrid

lions in Indian zoos exemplify this. Even

though heterosis is not invariably found

in successive generations of all the animal

groups, most of the hybrid lions are found

to be healthy and well-adapted. This

means, our concern should only be to

maintain an optimum level or a proper

balance between inbreeding and out-breeding

of different populations of lions in

general.

In fact, hybrids began to come into being

in India mainly because African lions

inducted by circuses and leading a pathetic

life in small cages were confiscated

and confined by the Indian authorities in

various zoos, where they inadvertently

hybridized with captive Asiatic lions.

Captive lions with around 600 individuals

outnumber the lions in the wild in Gir

forest in Gujarat totalling 359 in number.

The majority of these captive individuals,

except in Chhatbir zoo, Punjab, where

some individuals have been found to be

ailing from certain neurological problems,

is reported to be hybrids that continue to

breed well and remain well-adapted to

Indian conditions as is evident from the

data now available with the Central Zoo

Authority. Neurological problems need

not necessarily be due to hybridization.

Such problems are observed even among

direct descendants of Asiatic lions from

Gir forest, kept at Sakkarbaugh zoo in

Gujarat as well. On the other hand, the

strenuous efforts to propagate Gir lions

in captivity or in zoos yield not so encouraging

results. Now the question is: will

the growing numbers of the captive lions

become burdensome to the authorities?

Statistics indicates that approximately Rs

60 million is spent annually on the upkeep

of all the lions, which includes hybrids

and pure Indian lions in zoos.

Surplus lions could be introduced into

selected sanctuaries, say at Kuno in

Madhya Pradesh or Chandraprabha in Uttar

Pradesh along with habitat restoration

programmes. It has been pointed out that

there remains a technical snag that a new

introduction of hybrids may not be permissible

under IUCN guidelines, which

were framed for re-introduction programmes.

Moreover, they do not consider the

hybrid lions as endangered or threatened

species. As pointed out above, the authorities

should start treating these animals

as intra-specific hybrids of two distant

populations, which still retain close affinities,

in the larger interest of the efficient

management of the teeming lions.

Apart from this, merging of phenotypic

traits inherited from the parents in successive

generations of hybrids shows that

the rate of evolution is minimal and slower

than what is assumed to be, especially in

these geographically isolated lion populations.

Otherwise, their separation may

not be as old as thought to be in the timescale.

The release of the lions into new

sanctuaries could be in a phased manner,

monitoring the released animals. However,

it must be concluded that once experimentally

released into the wild, the

question whether they will freely intermix

and form mixed prides mingling

with the Asiatic lions is yet to be ascertained

on empirical facts. If they do, one

can categorically conclude that geographical

separation has not led to the

formation of a so-called sub-species. What

OPINION

CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 95, NO. 6, 25 SEPTEMBER 2008 721

is therefore required now is the urgent

introduction of the hybrid population,

which is already having a wider gene

pool than their ancestral groups did, into

a new sanctuary as an experimental group

along with a habitat restoration programme

to be strictly monitored at least

in the initial stages.

One may note that another sanctuary is

proposed with the contingency of excess

numbers in zoos in mind. There is no

scope for fear that their numbers will

overshoot in the wild, because the natural

phenomenon of environmental resistance

will increase alongside population

size, and the latter will drop back as it

nears the carrying capacity. In the zoos,

contraception methods could be utilized

in the eventuality of excess growth of

numbers among the individuals of the

remainder left behind. In the wild, lions

can survive by predation. Yet at present,

their numbers are far less than the optimum

that our forests can sustain. In zoos

maintenance of big carnivores is questioned

sometimes from the point of view

of the ethical dilemma of killing some

animals to feed others. As pointed out

above, lions kill to survive. This natural

right of the carnivores is not lost simply

by reason of their captivity in zoos. Domestic

animals which profusely breed and

multiply in farms and which are common

should be given less importance than the

critically endangered tertiary level of

carnivores, which must be conserved at

any cost.

There has been a suggestion from some

quarters that hybrids should be culled

away. One can never support culling

healthy and genetically appropriate lions.

Culling of healthy animals which have

come into existence because of man�s activism

is not appreciated all over India,

where the lion is an object of worship

and forms part of mythology, folklore

and the state currency. Even if genetically

inappropriate and sterile inter-specific

hybrid animals like ligons or tigons were

to come into being by wrong breeding

practices in zoos, the idea of culling

would still be abhorrent to the Indian

ethos and they would be magnanimously

allowed to complete their lifetimes. Coming

to individuals stricken down with incurable

illness in Indian zoos, euthanasia

is resorted to in order to put an end to the

suffering. A total extermination of the

hybrids, if suggested is a horrible, unscientific

proposition, to say the least.

According to some assumptions, conservation

of biodiversity rules out man�s

intervention, and the purity of African

lions and Asiatic lions should be left untouched.

But there have been several instances

in which man has intervened to

preserve the gene pool. It has been reported

that when natural hybridization

was widespread, the US authorities intervened

in order to save the red wolf, even

as their hybrids were brought under conservation

programme. Also natural calamities

like floods, droughts and wild fires

have prompted man to intervene to protect

endangered animals, as has been the case

in Northeast India, where artificial

mounds are built during monsoons so

that wild animals, including rhinos might

take shelter from the rising waters of the

River Brahmaputra. When fragmentation

of habitats took place, the Government

took the initiative to build forest corridors

linking different segments together, thus

facilitating conspecific hybridization.

Man�s intervention in nature, an inevitable

feature of his struggle for survival, is a

fait accompli and it is futile to shy away

from it at this point of time when conservation

of animal populations is at stake.

Despite the fact that among human

populations there are marked differences

in phenotype, genotype and behavioural

patterns across the continents, they have

not been treated as separate sub-species.

No authority has forced on them the law

for reproductive isolation as a measure to

maintain genetic diversity. Then why,

scientifically speaking, a different standard

for animals when man himself is an

animal?

Nicky K. Xavier lives at Kollannur

House, Patturaikkal, Thrissur 680 022,

India. e-mail: nickyxavier@...
*

*


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Thanks Shubhobroto!
The main Cause may be inbreeding ,without any change .The breeding should be
done under the Guidance of Geneticist/Biologist and stud records need to be
made.
 
But for the purposes of CZA hybrids are not of much use in display areas as they
donot present the true Pictures of a species /subspecies.
I also agree there is some thing better than nothig.The main concern should be
welfare of Animals.
Regards

Dr.Sandeep K.Jain

--- On Fri, 13/11/09, Shubhobroto Ghosh <journalistandanimals@...> wrote:


From: Shubhobroto Ghosh <journalistandanimals@...>
Subject: Re: [aapn] (IN) Elephants to be banned from all zoos and circuses
To: "Dr.Sandeep Kumar Jain" <jeevdaya04@...>
Cc: drkrishna@..., aapn@yahoogroups.com
Date: Friday, 13 November, 2009, 11:01 PM

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/A-Political-Zoo-Story/\
articleshow/5227606.cms

A Political Zoo Story
13 November 2009, 08:43pm IST

Elephants' chained existences in zoos and circuses are to be trunk-cated, thanks
to the authorities' jumbo hearts. Transported to national parks and
sanctuaries, the tuskers will have head-room and leg-room. They'll need their
heads and, certainly, all four legs. To run for their lives once the forest
official-poacher-ivory trader nexus gets wind of this zoo story. It's like the
conservation fairy tale of the Gangetic dolphin becoming our ''national aquatic
animal''. Not only was that to symbolise riverine health, but also to help rare
species fight extinction. Simple solution: a smart cookie like the dolphin,
reminded of the Ganga's state, would itself act. Seek bluer pastures, that is.

Man-animal ties are edgier elsewhere. The porcine kingdom in George Orwell's
book, Animal Farm, had a maxim: ''Four legs good, two legs bad.'' Humans have
retaliated since. They blamed a flu on swine till lab guys traced the bug's
genealogy also to birds and humans. Exposed as birdbrains, humans neutered the
scourge by renaming it H1N1. Just as the animals disarmed, humans struck again.
Municipal authorities have got Section 144 slapped on Gurgaon's resident pigs.
Accused of littering and loitering, the 'offenders' face imminent capture and
relocation. But wait. Since pigs can't fly and relocation's often just a lorry
ride beyond state borders, swine may have pearls cast before them, after all.
They could reform their hygiene in Clean Delhi Green Delhi. And they could learn
civilised maxims like 'Four legs good, two legs better'. Oink, oink.

It's sheer generosity, allowing lesser creatures the same leniency, roving
ambassadorship and survival sport as VVIPs disrupting assemblies, hiding scams
or serving life-terms. Proud parochialists, for instance, subject legislatures
to the law of the jungle. So, their constituencies get unrepresented while they
free-range, going hammer and tongues at all migratory birds. Another
well-connected worthy stalks nightclubs before letting red-faced parole-givers
lead him back to his cage. Antecedents straight out of a medieval bestiary don't
deny politicos belly-room in jumbo ministries. And when money launderers are
netted, they show trapeze artistry, swinging from media circuses into specialty
hospitals, Sanctuary No 1 of political zoo stories. As for tiger reserves, think
luxury hotels where non-docile and non-domicile netas are herded when
governments totter. MPs/MLAs being sitting ducks of number-hunters, there's no
haathi chhaap on victimisation by poaching.

For similar reasons, bovines needn't resist blame for everything from non-use of
zebra crossings to burps causing global warming. Cops are universal fall-guys
too. Some in Victoria, Canada, decry a mural showing four-leggeds in police
hats, wielding batons. Indian cops have equal cause to combust. Try being beasts
of burden on pain of transfer from one wild life to another. As in a certain
elephantine state whose rulers, aspiring to monumental divinity, threaten to go
on a rampage when caricatured. Then again, Stalin wouldn't find Orwell's crack
at authoritarianism funny, either.

--
Thank you for your compassion !
With best regards,
Debasis Chakrabarti
Compassionate Crusaders Trust
http://www.animalcrusaders.org

*FACT & FICTION -** Innocence, sacrifice & brutality*
ARUN GUPTO


'*Man is thus in the crises of existence because man constantly tampers with
the designs of nature. We are suffering mostly because we brutalize the
nature around us. Gadhimai festival is one dark example of our tampering
with her.'*

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=11683



Menaka Gandhi recently wrote about the sacrifice at Gadhimai performance and
gave a lot of valid arguments. She, however, began with a fallacious
proposition that Hinduism has nothing to do with sacrifice. Animal sacrifice
has been one of the essential features of various Hindu rituals. And, yet,
for millions of Hindus, such sacrifice has nothing to do with faith and
worship. Sacrifice was pervasive in almost all the ancient religions of the
world. Killings to gratify deities and to seek blessings are pervasive even
in contemporary rituals.



I may sound a pessimist realist but we all know that sacrifice is not going
to be abandoned by human beings. Killing for survival and for pleasure is
part of our cultural norms. It is an essential grammar of who we are. It
determines what human beings are.



Sacrificial system is solely born out of human interest, desire and purpose.
We justify that the weaker is negotiable on the god�s altar. We are not only
clever but brutally cunning while designing the politics of faith. Such
faiths are human constructs. There are people who opinionate to preserve
traditions. Sacrifice is one of the significant religious traditions at
multiple places in South Asia. My problem is how we preserve traditions when
such killings do not justify us as cultural beings. There are multiple
reasons for this irrationality of killing animals. I will return to the
point of preservation after a while.



Gadhimai performance looks terrifying. It is dark and ugly. It reveals our
barbaric nature of imagining that we kill animals and then the gods are
pleased. It is against animal rights. It brings environmental crises. It
shapes confused identities in children and adult. It looks obnoxious. It
hurts the sentiments of millions of people. It is an irresponsible act.



There are two more conceptual problems with such killings. One is that we
have traveled far and beyond to fool ourselves that the supernatural needs
blood of the animals for pleasure and satisfaction. If they really need, why
do they only need animal flesh and blood, why not human blood? Animal
sacrifice presupposes that humans are dear to them and hence they do not
need our flesh and blood. Hence, such sacrificial system is solely born out
of human interest, desire and purpose. We justify that the weaker is
negotiable on the god�s altar. We are not only clever but brutally cunning
while designing the politics of faith. Such faiths are human constructs.



The other problem is that the innocence of sacrifice has grossly disappeared
in modern man. Human beings in the remote past may have conceived the nature
as powerful determining elements which manifested themselves in forms of
fire, water, deluge, storm, greenery, food and so on. They may have thought
that to please such supernatural elements, the best way is to offer those
things which are dear to them in their daily lives. Sacrifice was a sacred
innocent act then. There was some essence of purity in their surviving
modes. We do not possess such innocence. We mostly are cunning in our faith.



Some years ago during the Dashami festival, religious enthusiasts killed
goats under the nose of national aircraft carrier in Kathmandu. Many of us
wrote against such aestheticide and animal right violation. The third
problem is that if one thinks of practicing such rituals in private, we have
no laws and systems to forbid them. Public performance of hurting other�s
sentiment and killing innocent animals manifest the darker side of culture.



Let me return to the issue of preservation. We are adamant to preserve
traditions. We must preserve them at any cost. But there are sophisticated
modes of preservation. We can preserve them in the domains of art and
literature (we do that), in memory, in history, in museums and in our
powerful narratives. Practicing and preserving those which defy our efforts
to being cultural must be replaced into such locations of preservation.



I should not sound a moralist but I certainly can be harsh on all those
modes of culture which lead us to being bizarre human beings. The best
cultural behavior is to be close to nature. Our cultures are embedded in the
multiple spectacles of nature around us. The animal world is the best nature
has given us. Nature sustains and regulates herself, not the human beings
only. Our anthropomorphic (human centric) arrogance and ignorance falsely
lead us to think that we are the superior ones. While regulating and
sustaining her, if nature intuits that the humans are the greatest enemies
for her preservation, we will be the first to be sacrificed.



*Man is thus in the crises of existence because man constantly tampers with
the designs of nature. We are suffering mostly because we brutalize the
nature around us. Gadhimai festival is one dark example of our tampering
with her.*



I respect Menaka Gandhi�s sentiments. We know how she works for the most
marginalized mute animals and nature around us. The farce is that the
government of Nepal is too occupied with our security and hence they would
never ever think about these weak animals who taste so good with rice and
roti. We still should raise our voice against such inhuman acts. If even one
person waits and thinks before the killing, her ideas have worked.



pallabi@...


--
Lucia de Vries
Freelance Journalist
Nepal - Netherlands


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

*PETA urges Nepal to stop animal sacrifice during festival*



(Source: IANS)

Published: Thu, 12 Nov 2009 at 20:37 IST Click Image to Enlarge



New Delhi: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) on Thursday
appealed to the Nepal government to abolish execution of animals during
Nepal's November festival of Gadimai.



According to PETA, devotees sacrifice thousands of animals, including 6,000
young male buffaloes, after every five years in the month of Kartik
(November) as part of celebration for Gadimai festival.



"The organisers are planning to sacrifice over 500,000 animals this year.
Innocent creatures are killed en masse in an unorganised and unregulated
manner," said Nikunj Sharma, PETA coordinator.



Sharma said no one can adequately explain why these practices are carried
out except to say they are "traditional".


--
Lucia de Vries
Freelance Journalist
Nepal - Netherlands


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Yes! the condition of elephants in circuses and captivity with individuals(used
for Begging or in Marriages/procession ) is very bad. Then comes Zoos.Since the
elephants are very senstive and emotional, will the elephants of Zoo acclimatise
the new environment? Since elephants have also developed bonding with its
mahaouts and keepers in the Zoo, will the elephants which are in  different
Social  group adjust with others?
Chatt Bir Zoo near Chandigarh has six elephants including acalf of about two and
half year.
 
I totally agree  with subhobroto's view point that african elephants should not
be mixed with Asiatic.The Chatt bir Zoo in Punjab has faced the brunt as its
Asiatic Lions came in contact with Africans  and the hybrids have contracted
some disease (may be due to inbreeding)as aresult of that almost all the Lion
family is facing health problems.
It will be wise to keep them in open area in some Zoo.

Dr.Sandeep K.Jain
Member,Punjab State Board for Wildlife

--- On Fri, 13/11/09, drkrishna@... <drkrishna@...> wrote:


From: drkrishna@... <drkrishna@...>
Subject: Re: [aapn] (IN) Elephants to be banned from all zoos and circuses
To: aapn@yahoogroups.com
Date: Friday, 13 November, 2009, 2:16 PM


 



Dear Shubhobroto,

Let us face it - this is not an ideal solution. The principle of not
allowing elephants in zoos and circuses, however, is something we have
fought for. Elephants belong in the jungle - not in temples, zoos or
circuses. When the ban on tigers, leopards, lions, bears and monkeys came
in eight years ago, elephants were left out becauses of the large number
of these magnificent animals chained and kept in temples. With this ban,
one more hurdle to a ban on temple elephant seems achievable in the near
future.

Regards

S. Chinny Krishna

> Dear Dr Krishna,
> Everyone involved in this decision making process
> has to be congratulated on this progressive step. However, this is only
> the
> beginning and we should make sure the tragedy of the elephant transfer
> from
> Bengal to Japan is not repeated. We must also ensure the pachyderms are
> well
> treated in the places they are sent to, there are some issues with Forest
> Department safari elephants I am uncomfortable with.
> I am also not sure Corbett is the right place for Shankar, the Delhi Zoo
> African Elephant. It is my personal opinion that he would be happier in
> Mysore Zoo with conspecifics. I have spent hours watching and filming him
> and I well and truly believe the right place for him is Mysore Zoo rather
> than Corbett. Comments and opinions invited.
> Best wishes,
>
> Shubhobroto
>
>
>
> On Fri, Nov 13, 2009 at 10:56 AM, <drkrishna@aspick. com> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> In a move welcomed by all animal welfare people, the elephant will no
>> longer languish in zoos and be ill-treated and tortured in circuses in
>> India. We must now focus our efforts on getting them out of temples and
>> "religious" (irreligious? ) places. Maybe, the years spent by the
>> undersigned, Mrs. Norma Alvares and a few genuine animal welfare people
>> serving as members of the High Powered Committee on Performing Animals
>> between 2005 and 2008 has not been in vain!
>>
>> S. Chinny Krishna
>>
>>
>> http://timesofindia .indiatimes. com/home/ environment/ flora-fauna/
Elephants- to
>> -be-banished- from-all- zoos/articleshow /5221159. cms
>>
>> NEW DELHI: Delhi Zoo will soon be bidding farewell to its three
>> elephants.
>> In fact, elephants will no longer be seen in any zoo or circus in the
>>
>> country after the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) issued a notice on Monday
>> to
>> the effect that all of these animals in zoos, numbering about 140,
>> should
>> be
>> sent to national parks, sanctuaries and tiger reserves as soon as
>> possible.
>>
>> According to sources, the circular states that a zoo environment is not
>> the
>> best place for the large animals and they should be shifted to national
>> parks with immediate effect. "CZA's order is binding on all zoos.
>> Elephants
>> are large animals and require a large area to move about freely. The
>> environment of a zoo can be very restrictive. The animals have great use
>> for
>> departmental work, eco-tourism, patrolling etc and a decision has been
>> taken
>> to send them to national parks and tiger reserves where they can be
>> under
>> the supervision of mahauts," said A N Prasad, director, Project
>> Elephant.
>>
>> According to Dr B K Gupta, evaluation and monitoring officer of CZA,
>> India
>> had 140 elephants in 26 zoos and 16 circuses as on March 31 2009. "Of
>> these,
>> Mysore and Trivandrum have the largest number at 9 and 8 respectively.
>>
>> Delhi and Mysore are the only two zoos that have African elephants. The
>> decision was taken after evaluating conditions of elephants at various
>> zoos
>> and circuses. We found that circuses specially were not following
>> standards
>> set under the Recognition of Zoo Rules, 1992," he said.
>>
>> Delhi Zoo director D N Singh confirmed that they had received the order
>> though he restrained from elaborating on it. Sources said that Delhi
>> Zoo's
>> resident Asiatic pachyderms, Rajlakshmi and Hira, and its sole African
>> member Shankar would be moved to Jim Corbett National Park sometime
>> soon.
>> Shankar had been gifted to former president Shankar Dayal Sharma by the
>> Zimbabwian government.
>>
>> Sources explained that the various zoos would carry out this order in
>> consultation with the chief wildlife wardens of their specific states
>> and
>> the CZA.
>>
>> Environmentalists saw this as a positive move though some had
>> reservations
>> on the shifting of all elephants as that would be contrary to the
>> principal
>> of ex-situ conservation. "There is merit in this decision. It is best for
>> them to be as close to their natural habitat as possible. Elephants
>> needs a
>> lot of space to exercise and move about in and they are being deprived
>> that
>> space in zoos and circuses," said Samir Sinha, head of traffic, WWF
>> India

One can expect more and more such demos as a prelude to the "festival
season"in Kerala or the persecution season for elephants





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   Device for controlling elephants demoed



   Express News
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First Published : 13 Nov 2009 12:40:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 13 Nov 2009 12:29:16 PM IST

THRISSUR: A new device to control violent elephants was demonstrated at
Thekkinkad Maidan here on Thursday.

The device with remote control named �Violent Elephant Control Gear� was
manufactured by the Mumbai-based Saine Engineering Private Limited, said
managing director Z Mathew. He told reporters that the elephants in musth or
violent condition could be controlled from a distance of 25 metre with the
remote control device made of plastic.

The device weighing only 8kg could be used for the control of tuskers
weighing over 40 kg.

Mathew said that the gear costing about Rs 30, 000 a piece would be attached
with one of the legs of the tusker when it was engaged in a public function.


�When the elephant shows any sign of violence, the remote control held by
the mahout is applied and both the legs of the elephant will tie together so
as to prevent the animal from moving,� he said.

Elephant owners here however were not very enthusiastic about the new
device.

They pointed out that the cost of the device was too high and the device
would necessitate the elephant to carry an additional burden of 8 kg all the
time.

Meanwhile, in a statement, Elephant Lovers� Association secretary V K
Venkatachalam alleged that the device exhibited was against the rules.

He said that the manufacturer had not approved the required certification
for the device from the authorities concerned.

Without such certification, application of the device on elephants was a
violation of the existing rules related to the maintenance of domesticated
elephants.

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    dam, IIT, Roorkee>
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    Kandararu Maheswararu, Sabarimala Lord Ayy>
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    Karunakaran, Neela Gangadharan, MVijayakumar, Ko>
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    N Raji, C A Latha, IMD>
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    Muhamma, Nooranadu, Bharanikavu, P>
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    Kennel Club, All Breeds Championship Dog>

  Daughter-in-law held for man�s murder

ALAPPUZHA: A major breakthrough has been made in the probe into the death of
Bhaskara Karanaver, an American Malayali,..

    - Karunakaran critical
    - Cyclone over Arabian sea spares Kerala coast
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    - Mass drug administration to eliminate filariasis

  Device for controlling elephants demoed

The device with remote control named �Violent Elephant Control Gear�was
demonstrated at Thekkinkad Maidan.

    - Rank list published
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

---------- Forwarded message ----------

     Dear Center Directors, students and friends,
>
> You might have heard the Nepal news about the 500,000 animals that
> are going to be sacrificed over two days on 24th November (Ghaddimai animal
> sacrifice festival, happens every five years in the terrai).
>
> The Buddha boy wrote to the organizers asking them not to do it but his
> request was rejected. It is a big Hindu festival and now the Buddha boy is
> thinking to go there and try to stop it. I think unless one has special
> powers to show, people will not listen. It is a big religion with not 100 or
> 1000 followers but millions. Now it seems to have become a problem in Nepal
> like the problem with shoes and the Hindus in Pashupati. Now probably no
> matter what the reality is they will think it is the Buddhists who are
> making problems.
>
> My observation shows that the Buddha boy won't be able to stop it. Possibly
> some animal rights organisations might be able to help, but it's not sure.
> If western organisations and people like Nobel Peace (laureates) ask, maybe
> could help, but it would need many.
>
> It came out good to read the Golden Light
Sutra<http://www.fpmt.org/teachers/zopa/advice/goldenlight.asp>100 times so i
have asked Kopan gompa to send some monks to read it at the
> stupa and make strong prayers for the sacrifice not to happen, to dedicate
> like that and of course dedicate for world peace. You can find the Sutra
> in various languages here: http://www.fpmt.org/teachers
>
zopa/advice/goldenlight.asp<http://www.fpmt.org/teachers/zopa/advice/goldenlight\
.asp>
>
> I would like to request the centers and students to read the Golden
> Light Sutra and recite the Padmasambhava prayer for removing
obstacles<http://www.fpmt.org/teachers/zopa/advice/pdf/Padmasambava%20prayer%20t\
o%20clear%20obstacles%20feb05km.pdf>and for quick success, for the sacrifice not
to happen. This needs to be
> done quickly as the sacrifice is happening on 24th November. You can find
> the Padmasambhava prayer here: http://www.fpmt.org/teachers/
> zopa/advice/pdf/Padmasambava%20prayer%20to%20clear%
> 20obstacles%20feb05km.pdf
>
> Please recite any number of the Golden Light Sutra and the Padmasambhava
> prayer for removing obstacles and for quick success.
>
> With much love and prayers,
>
> Lama Zopa
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Nilesh Bhanage
> +91 9920777536
> www.pawsasia.org
> www.freewebs.com/pawsproducts
> www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HigxbMqfh0
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Dear Dr Jain and Dr Krishna,
                                           Thank you for expressing your
views. Please allow me to clarify myself.
First of all, let me state categorically that this is a positive step for
all elephants in captivity in zoos and circuses everywhere, in India and the
rest of the world. As Dr Krishna has rightly pointed out, elephants do not
belong in zoos and circuses, and if they are moved to national parks and
sanctuaries from zoos and circuses they will be closer to their natural
habitat. And I am also in concurrence with Dr Krishna when he says that this
step is going to assist the move to prevent elephants from being kept in
captivity in temples.
  However, please note that in captivity African Elephants and Asiatic
Elephants can and have had mutually beneficial relationships. They have also
bred once and the world's first known hybrid elephant called Motty was born
in Chester Zoo in England. I have the record and also two pictures of Motty
that I am more than happy to share. Now Shankar's case in Delhi. I have
watched him for the past nine years and he is without a shadow of doubt, my
favourite animal in Delhi Zoo.  He was in a large enclosure(now empty) with
his mate who died and he was subsequently moved to the present enclosure
with Asian Elephants. As I said, he should ideally have gone to Mysore Zoo
that has three African elephants and this was recommended in my zoo survey
but as he was a diplomatic gift, Delhi Zoo did not want to part with him. He
was kept chained most of the time and last month a biologist friend of mine
from UK visited the zoo with me and she discussed Shankar's fate with the
zoo director and was exploring other official venues to question his
chaining. But last week I was in Delhi Zoo and I saw Shankar and he was
unchained and in the company of an Asian Elephant. It is quite possible, and
I am quite prepared to believe that he might have bonded with his Asian
cousin, although I am not sure if this has happened and to what extent. But
as I said, African and Asian Elephants can have satisfactory bonds in
captivity and this gives rise to a tricky situation for the individual
animals concerned.
  Lions in Chaatbir Zoo. There is no evidence that hybridisation was the
reason behind those animals getting ill. The lion situation is a bit
different from the elephant situation. I was approached by WSPA to give my
views on those lions and I was not convinced that they had become sick due
to hybridisation because the purity of species and purity of races concept
is quite similar to the Neo Nazi racist propaganda of preservation of purity
of genes. I talked about this with a scientist/geneticist of Wildlife
Institute of India last month after attending their Annual Research Seminar
and he told me that hybridisation of African and Asian lions is an option to
save the lions in Gir since they are genetically crippled although they are
apparently  pure. I will post Nicky Xavier's paper separately for your
perusal. HYBRIDISATION CAN ACTUALLY STRENGTHEN ANIMALS DUE TO HYBRID VIGOUR
AND IS NOT NECESSARILY A BAD THING. And scientific opinion is split on the
preservation of pure genes. Hybridisation also occurs naturally in the wild.
With the possible exception of some isolated tribes in very remote areas,
all human beings are hybrid and and I know of no study that would say that
mixed race people are less healthy than pure races.
  I see the Chandigarh Zoo lion case and the Delhi Zoo relationship of
African and Asian Elephants differently. Since there is an option of giving
Shankar the company of his brethren in Mysore, it is one worth exploring.
But if that is not possible, then I see two options : he stays in Delhi or
goes to Corbett. Leaving him in Delhi is ambiguous ethically. Should he stay
with an Asian companion who would be better off in Corbett? I do not claim
to know the answer but I appreciate Dr Krishna saying that this is not an
ideal situation.
  Overall, this move is a good move from every perspective and I applaud it
as such. Dr Krishna and Norma Alvares have pursued this cause for years and
deserve kudos for this achievement regardless of what may happen to Shankar.
Very sadly, Shankar is likely to suffer as an African Elephant for being a
different species for no fault of his, but we can all pray that his
suffering will be the last of his kind in India and his Asian cousins will
never have to face chaining in zoos, circuses and temples. In fact, I have
been asked to give my opinion on this move by an elephant expert and I am
likely to repeat the statement I am making here.
  If you deem anything else that is important for sharing, please do.
  Best wishes,

                       Shubhobroto
On 11/13/09, Dr.Sandeep Kumar Jain <jeevdaya04@...> wrote:
>
>   Yes! the condition of elephants in circuses and captivity with
> individuals(used for Begging or in Marriages/procession ) is very bad.Then
> comes Zoos.Since the elephants are very senstive and  emotional,will the
> elephants of Zoo acclimatise the new environment ? Since elephants have also
> developed bonding with its mahaouts and keepers in the Zoo,will the
> elephants which are in  different Social  group adjust with others?
> Chatt Bir Zoo near Chandigarh has six elephants including acalf of about
> two and half year.
>
> I totally agree  with subhobroto's view point that african elephants should
> not be mixed with Asiatic.The Chatt bir Zoo in Punjab has faced the brunt as
> its Asiatic Lions came in contact with Africans  and the hybrids have
> contracted some disease (may be due to inbreeding)as aresult of that almost
> all the Lion family is facing health problems.
> It will be wise to keep them in open area in some Zoo.
>
> *Dr.Sandeep K.Jain*
> *Member,Punjab State Board for Wildlife
>
> *--- On *Fri, 13/11/09, drkrishna@... <drkrishna@...>*wrote:
>
>
>
> From: drkrishna@... <drkrishna@...>
> Subject: Re: [aapn] (IN) Elephants to be banned from all zoos and circuses
> To: aapn@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Friday, 13 November, 2009, 2:16 PM
>
>
>  Dear Shubhobroto,
>
> Let us face it - this is not an ideal solution. The principle of not
> allowing elephants in zoos and circuses, however, is something we have
> fought for. Elephants belong in the jungle - not in temples, zoos or
> circuses. When the ban on tigers, leopards, lions, bears and monkeys came
> in eight years ago, elephants were left out becauses of the large number
> of these magnificent animals chained and kept in temples. With this ban,
>
> one more hurdle to a ban on temple elephant seems achievable in the near
> future.
>
> Regards
>
> S. Chinny Krishna
>
> > Dear Dr Krishna,
> > Everyone involved in this decision making process
> > has to be congratulated on this progressive step. However, this is only
> > the
> > beginning and we should make sure the tragedy of the elephant transfer
> > from
> > Bengal to Japan is not repeated. We must also ensure the pachyderms are
> > well
> > treated in the places they are sent to, there are some issues with Forest
> > Department safari elephants I am uncomfortable with.
> > I am also not sure Corbett is the right place for Shankar, the Delhi Zoo
> > African Elephant. It is my personal opinion that he would be happier in
> > Mysore Zoo with conspecifics. I have spent hours watching and filming him
> > and I well and truly believe the right place for him is Mysore Zoo rather
> > than Corbett. Comments and opinions invited.
> > Best wishes,
> >
> > Shubhobroto
> >
> >
> >
> > On Fri, Nov 13, 2009 at 10:56 AM, <drkrishna@aspick.
com<http://in.mc946.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=drkrishna%40aspick.com>>
> wrote:
> >
> >>
> >>
> >> In a move welcomed by all animal welfare people, the elephant will no
> >> longer languish in zoos and be ill-treated and tortured in circuses in
> >> India. We must now focus our efforts on getting them out of temples and
> >> "religious" (irreligious? ) places. Maybe, the years spent by the
> >> undersigned, Mrs. Norma Alvares and a few genuine animal welfare people
> >> serving as members of the High Powered Committee on Performing Animals
> >> between 2005 and 2008 has not been in vain!
> >>
> >> S. Chinny Krishna
> >>
> >>
> >> http://timesofindia .indiatimes. com/home/ environment/ flora-fauna/
> Elephants-
to<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Elephants-to>
> >> -be-banished- from-all- zoos/articleshow /5221159. cms
> >>
> >> NEW DELHI: Delhi Zoo will soon be bidding farewell to its three
> >> elephants.
> >> In fact, elephants will no longer be seen in any zoo or circus in the
> >>
> >> country after the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) issued a notice on Monday
> >> to
> >> the effect that all of these animals in zoos, numbering about 140,
> >> should
> >> be
> >> sent to national parks, sanctuaries and tiger reserves as soon as
> >> possible.
> >>
> >> According to sources, the circular states that a zoo environment is not
> >> the
> >> best place for the large animals and they should be shifted to national
> >> parks with immediate effect. "CZA's order is binding on all zoos.
> >> Elephants
> >> are large animals and require a large area to move about freely. The
> >> environment of a zoo can be very restrictive. The animals have great use
> >> for
> >> departmental work, eco-tourism, patrolling etc and a decision has been
> >> taken
> >> to send them to national parks and tiger reserves where they can be
> >> under
> >> the supervision of mahauts," said A N Prasad, director, Project
> >> Elephant.
> >>
> >> According to Dr B K Gupta, evaluation and monitoring officer of CZA,
> >> India
> >> had 140 elephants in 26 zoos and 16 circuses as on March 31 2009. "Of
> >> these,
> >> Mysore and Trivandrum have the largest number at 9 and 8 respectively.
> >>
> >> Delhi and Mysore are the only two zoos that have African elephants. The
> >> decision was taken after evaluating conditions of elephants at various
> >> zoos
> >> and circuses. We found that circuses specially were not following
> >> standards
> >> set under the Recognition of Zoo Rules, 1992," he said.
> >>
> >> Delhi Zoo director D N Singh confirmed that they had received the order
> >> though he restrained from elaborating on it. Sources said that Delhi
> >> Zoo's
> >> resident Asiatic pachyderms, Rajlakshmi and Hira, and its sole African
> >> member Shankar would be moved to Jim Corbett National Park sometime
> >> soon.
> >> Shankar had been gifted to former president Shankar Dayal Sharma by the
> >> Zimbabwian government.
> >>
> >> Sources explained that the various zoos would carry out this order in
> >> consultation with the chief wildlife wardens of their specific states
> >> and
> >> the CZA.
> >>
> >> Environmentalists saw this as a positive move though some had
> >> reservations
> >> on the shifting of all elephants as that would be contrary to the
> >> principal
> >> of ex-situ conservation. "There is merit in this decision. It is best
> for
> >> them to be as close to their natural habitat as possible. Elephants
> >> needs a
> >> lot of space to exercise and move about in and they are being deprived
> >> that
> >> space in zoos and circuses," said Samir Sinha, head of traffic, WWF
> >> India

-----Original Message-----
From: AntiFurSociety@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, November 13, 2009 4:29 AM
To: AntiFurSociety@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [AntiFurSociety] Shanghai Cats Protection Group--Please read this
information


Hello everyone,
Please read this message from Shanghai.  Next to anti-fur activism, working
to help Chinese animal groups in China is the most important project for me
because the only way to end the immense animal suffering in China is by
having Chinese citizens reject the horrific treatment of animals in their
country.
Thank you.
Rosa

http://www.people4chineseanimals.org/Shanghai_Cats.html

Dear Shubhobroto,

Let us face it - this is not an ideal solution. The principle of not
allowing elephants in zoos and circuses, however, is something we have
fought for. Elephants belong in the jungle - not in temples, zoos or
circuses. When the ban on tigers, leopards, lions, bears and monkeys came
in eight years ago, elephants were left out becauses of the large number
of these magnificent animals chained and kept in temples. With this ban,
one more hurdle to a ban on temple elephant seems achievable in the near
future.

Regards

S. Chinny Krishna


> Dear Dr Krishna,
>                         Everyone involved in this decision making process
> has to be congratulated on this progressive step. However, this is only
> the
> beginning and we should make sure the tragedy of the elephant transfer
> from
> Bengal to Japan is not repeated. We must also ensure the pachyderms are
> well
> treated in the places they are sent to, there are some issues with Forest
> Department safari elephants I am uncomfortable with.
>  I am also not sure Corbett is the right place for Shankar, the Delhi Zoo
> African Elephant. It is my personal opinion that he would be happier in
> Mysore Zoo with conspecifics.  I have spent hours watching and filming him
> and I well and truly believe the right place for him is Mysore Zoo rather
> than Corbett. Comments and opinions invited.
>  Best wishes,
>
>                          Shubhobroto
>
>
>
> On Fri, Nov 13, 2009 at 10:56 AM, <drkrishna@...> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> In a move welcomed by all animal welfare people, the elephant will no
>> longer languish in zoos and be ill-treated and tortured in circuses in
>> India. We must now focus our efforts on getting them out of temples and
>> "religious" (irreligious?) places. Maybe, the years spent by the
>> undersigned, Mrs. Norma Alvares and a few genuine animal welfare people
>> serving as members of the High Powered Committee on Performing Animals
>> between 2005 and 2008 has not been in vain!
>>
>> S. Chinny Krishna
>>
>>
>> http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Elephants-to
>> -be-banished-from-all-zoos/articleshow/5221159.cms
>>
>> NEW DELHI: Delhi Zoo will soon be bidding farewell to its three
>> elephants.
>> In fact, elephants will no longer be seen in any zoo or circus in the
>>
>> country after the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) issued a notice on Monday
>> to
>> the effect that all of these animals in zoos, numbering about 140,
>> should
>> be
>> sent to national parks, sanctuaries and tiger reserves as soon as
>> possible.
>>
>> According to sources, the circular states that a zoo environment is not
>> the
>> best place for the large animals and they should be shifted to national
>> parks with immediate effect. "CZA's order is binding on all zoos.
>> Elephants
>> are large animals and require a large area to move about freely. The
>> environment of a zoo can be very restrictive. The animals have great use
>> for
>> departmental work, eco-tourism, patrolling etc and a decision has been
>> taken
>> to send them to national parks and tiger reserves where they can be
>> under
>> the supervision of mahauts," said A N Prasad, director, Project
>> Elephant.
>>
>> According to Dr B K Gupta, evaluation and monitoring officer of CZA,
>> India
>> had 140 elephants in 26 zoos and 16 circuses as on March 31 2009. "Of
>> these,
>> Mysore and Trivandrum have the largest number at 9 and 8 respectively.
>>
>> Delhi and Mysore are the only two zoos that have African elephants. The
>> decision was taken after evaluating conditions of elephants at various
>> zoos
>> and circuses. We found that circuses specially were not following
>> standards
>> set under the Recognition of Zoo Rules, 1992," he said.
>>
>> Delhi Zoo director D N Singh confirmed that they had received the order
>> though he restrained from elaborating on it. Sources said that Delhi
>> Zoo's
>> resident Asiatic pachyderms, Rajlakshmi and Hira, and its sole African
>> member Shankar would be moved to Jim Corbett National Park sometime
>> soon.
>> Shankar had been gifted to former president Shankar Dayal Sharma by the
>> Zimbabwian government.
>>
>> Sources explained that the various zoos would carry out this order in
>> consultation with the chief wildlife wardens of their specific states
>> and
>> the CZA.
>>
>> Environmentalists saw this as a positive move though some had
>> reservations
>> on the shifting of all elephants as that would be contrary to the
>> principal
>> of ex-situ conservation."There is merit in this decision. It is best for
>> them to be as close to their natural habitat as possible. Elephants
>> needs a
>> lot of space to exercise and move about in and they are being deprived
>> that
>> space in zoos and circuses," said Samir Sinha, head of traffic, WWF
>> India
>>
>> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>>
>>
>>
>

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091111/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_singapore_pandas China's
Hu arrives in Singapore with panda offer
Wed Nov 11, 12:04 pm ET

SINGAPORE (Reuters) � China will give Singapore two giant pandas to mark 20
years of friendly ties between the two countries, Chinese President Hu
Jintao said Wednesday.

Hu arrived in Singapore Wednesday for an annual summit of Asia-Pacific
leaders, after visiting Malaysia where he made the first official visit of a
Chinese leader in 15 years and signed several agreements on trade and
investment.

After reviewing an honour guard upon arrival, Hu met Singapore President
S.R. Nathan and the city-state's founding father, Minister Mentor Lee Kwan
Yew.

Lee recently caused a ruffle among Chinese netizens when he called for the
United States to remain engaged in Asia as a balance to China.

The gift of pandas, a popular attraction at zoos around the world, is often
used by China as a diplomatic tool. China earlier this year gave two pandas
-- Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, whose names said together mean reunification --
to Taiwan, which it regards as a renegade province, as a sign of warming
relations.

The pandas, a male and a female, will arrive in the second half of 2011 and
be housed at Singapore's new River Safari, according to Wildlife Reserves
Singapore, the country's zoo operator.

(Reporting by Kevin Lim; Editing by Bill Tarrant)


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/austriaanimalspandachina Vienna zoo's panda Fu
Long heads for China

    - AFP � Vienna's Schoenbrunn Zoo animal keepers hold a cage with the
    Panda cub named Fu Long (happy dragon). �

  Thu Nov 12, 1:46 pm ET

VIENNA (AFP) � Fu Long the panda, Europe's first to be conceived naturally
while in captivity, is to leave his home town of Vienna for China next week,
the Schoenbrunn Zoo in the Austrian capital said Thursday.

The giant panda, whose name means "Happy Dragon" in Mandarin, is to be
transferred to a conservation and research centre called Bifengxia Base in
the Sichuan province, which is home to 60 other pandas and where it is hoped
he will breed.

Fu Long is now just over two and his birth in August 2007 was a sensation
because he was the first panda in Europe to be conceived naturally in
captivity rather than by artificial insemination.

"We're sad that our little one is leaving us. But we're proud that we're
returning a strong, healthy panda to China," said the zoo's director Dagmar
Schratter.

Chinese ambassador Wu Ken said he hoped the panda's parents, who are still
in Schoenbrunn, "will give the zoo a new baby in the spring."

Fu Long, who now weighs more than 50 kilogrammes compared with around 100
grammes when he was born, has become Schoenbrunn's star attraction, similar
to the polar bear Knut in Berlin.

Coupling of pandas in captivity is extremely difficult, since females are
only fertile three or four days a year. Another panda was born at a Madrid
zoo in 1982 thanks to artificial insemination.

Less than 1,600 giant pandas remain in the wild, according to the Vienna
zoo.

In 1984, China began its long-term panda lending programme to foreign zoos,
which pay up to a million dollars a year to house the creatures.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20091108/sc_livescience/antssavematestrapped\
insand
Ants
Save Mates Trapped in Sand

    -

  Lindsey
Konkel<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/byline/antssa\
vematestrappedinsand/34017961/SIG=117c426eb/*http://www.naturalhistorymagazine.c\
om>
Natural History Magazine
LiveScience.com<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/byli\
ne/antssavematestrappedinsand/34017961/SIG=10sog4vj6/*http://www.livescience.com\
>
lindsey
Konkel<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/byline/antssa\
vematestrappedinsand/34017961/sig=117c426eb/*http://www.naturalhistorymagazine.c\
om>
natural History Magazine
livescience.com<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/byli\
ne/antssavematestrappedinsand/34017961/sig=10sog4vj6/*http://www.livescience.com\
>
�
Sun Nov 8, 6:22 pm ET

Helpful acts, such as grooming or foster parenting, are common throughout
the animal kingdom, but accounts of animals rescuing one another from danger
are exceedingly rare, having been reported in the scientific literature only
for dolphins, capuchin monkeys, and ants. New research
<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/antssavem\
atestrappedinsand/34017961/SIG=12cs388e4/*http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3A\
doi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0006573>shows
that in the ant Cataglyphis cursor, the behavior is surprisingly
sophisticated.

Elise Nowbahari of the University of Paris North, Karen L. Hollis of Mount
Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and two colleagues mimicked
a natural situation-an ant restrained by collapsing sand and debris.

But hidden beneath the sand was a nylon snare holding the ant firmly in
place. The ant's nestmates consistently responded by digging around the
victim and tugging at its limbs until they found the trap, then biting at
the nylon strand. Potential rescuers did not, however, do the same for
unrelated ants or insects of other species.

The ants' ability to discern and then tackle the unfamiliar nylon snare
demonstrates cognitive and behavioral complexity, unlike such simple actions
as digging or limb pulling, which could arguably be elicited by a chemical
distress signal. Nowbahari and Hollis distinguish rescue behavior from other
cooperative acts in that both participants risk physical harm
(rescuing
ants<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/antss\
avematestrappedinsand/34017961/SIG=120c1bpt8/*http://www.livescience.com/animals\
/090202-nhm-lizard-ants.html>could
themselves be trapped under falling sand), with no possibility of
reward for the rescuer aside from the benefits of kin selection.

The research was detailed in the journal PLoS ONE.

    - Image Gallery: Ants of the
World<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/ants\
savematestrappedinsand/34017961/SIG=12cc4u7pq/*http://www.livescience.com/php/mu\
ltimedia/imagegallery/igviewer.php?gid=47>

  This article was provided to LiveScience by Natural History
Magazine<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/a\
ntssavematestrappedinsand/34017961/SIG=118pcllb1/*http://www.naturalhistorymagaz\
ine.com/>.


    - Original Story: Ants Save Mates Trapped in
Sand<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/livescience/sc_livescience/storytext/antss\
avematestrappedinsand/34017961/SIG=120lnripa/*http://www.livescience.com/animals\
/091108-nhm-ants-rescue.html>

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Dear Dr Krishna,
                         Everyone involved in this decision making process
has to be congratulated on this progressive step. However, this is only the
beginning and we should make sure the tragedy of the elephant transfer from
Bengal to Japan is not repeated. We must also ensure the pachyderms are well
treated in the places they are sent to, there are some issues with Forest
Department safari elephants I am uncomfortable with.
  I am also not sure Corbett is the right place for Shankar, the Delhi Zoo
African Elephant. It is my personal opinion that he would be happier in
Mysore Zoo with conspecifics.  I have spent hours watching and filming him
and I well and truly believe the right place for him is Mysore Zoo rather
than Corbett. Comments and opinions invited.
  Best wishes,

                          Shubhobroto



On Fri, Nov 13, 2009 at 10:56 AM, <drkrishna@...> wrote:

>
>
> In a move welcomed by all animal welfare people, the elephant will no
> longer languish in zoos and be ill-treated and tortured in circuses in
> India. We must now focus our efforts on getting them out of temples and
> "religious" (irreligious?) places. Maybe, the years spent by the
> undersigned, Mrs. Norma Alvares and a few genuine animal welfare people
> serving as members of the High Powered Committee on Performing Animals
> between 2005 and 2008 has not been in vain!
>
> S. Chinny Krishna
>
>
> http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Elephants-to
> -be-banished-from-all-zoos/articleshow/5221159.cms
>
> NEW DELHI: Delhi Zoo will soon be bidding farewell to its three elephants.
> In fact, elephants will no longer be seen in any zoo or circus in the
>
> country after the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) issued a notice on Monday to
> the effect that all of these animals in zoos, numbering about 140, should
> be
> sent to national parks, sanctuaries and tiger reserves as soon as possible.
>
> According to sources, the circular states that a zoo environment is not the
> best place for the large animals and they should be shifted to national
> parks with immediate effect. "CZA's order is binding on all zoos. Elephants
> are large animals and require a large area to move about freely. The
> environment of a zoo can be very restrictive. The animals have great use
> for
> departmental work, eco-tourism, patrolling etc and a decision has been
> taken
> to send them to national parks and tiger reserves where they can be under
> the supervision of mahauts," said A N Prasad, director, Project Elephant.
>
> According to Dr B K Gupta, evaluation and monitoring officer of CZA, India
> had 140 elephants in 26 zoos and 16 circuses as on March 31 2009. "Of
> these,
> Mysore and Trivandrum have the largest number at 9 and 8 respectively.
>
> Delhi and Mysore are the only two zoos that have African elephants. The
> decision was taken after evaluating conditions of elephants at various zoos
> and circuses. We found that circuses specially were not following standards
> set under the Recognition of Zoo Rules, 1992," he said.
>
> Delhi Zoo director D N Singh confirmed that they had received the order
> though he restrained from elaborating on it. Sources said that Delhi Zoo's
> resident Asiatic pachyderms, Rajlakshmi and Hira, and its sole African
> member Shankar would be moved to Jim Corbett National Park sometime soon.
> Shankar had been gifted to former president Shankar Dayal Sharma by the
> Zimbabwian government.
>
> Sources explained that the various zoos would carry out this order in
> consultation with the chief wildlife wardens of their specific states and
> the CZA.
>
> Environmentalists saw this as a positive move though some had reservations
> on the shifting of all elephants as that would be contrary to the principal
> of ex-situ conservation."There is merit in this decision. It is best for
> them to be as close to their natural habitat as possible. Elephants needs a
> lot of space to exercise and move about in and they are being deprived that
> space in zoos and circuses," said Samir Sinha, head of traffic, WWF India
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

In a move welcomed by all animal welfare people, the elephant will no
longer languish in zoos and be ill-treated and tortured in circuses in
India. We must now focus our efforts on getting them out of temples and
"religious"  (irreligious?) places. Maybe, the years spent by the
undersigned, Mrs. Norma Alvares  and a few genuine animal welfare people
serving as members of the High Powered Committee on Performing Animals
between 2005 and 2008 has not been in vain!

S. Chinny Krishna

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Elephants-to
-be-banished-from-all-zoos/articleshow/5221159.cms



NEW DELHI: Delhi Zoo will soon be bidding farewell to its three elephants.
In fact, elephants will no longer be seen in any zoo or circus in the

country after the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) issued a notice on Monday to
the effect that all of these animals in zoos, numbering about 140, should be
sent to national parks, sanctuaries and tiger reserves as soon as possible.

According to sources, the circular states that a zoo environment is not the
best place for the large animals and they should be shifted to national
parks with immediate effect. "CZA's order is binding on all zoos. Elephants
are large animals and require a large area to move about freely. The
environment of a zoo can be very restrictive. The animals have great use for
departmental work, eco-tourism, patrolling etc and a decision has been taken
to send them to national parks and tiger reserves where they can be under
the supervision of mahauts," said A N Prasad, director, Project Elephant.

According to Dr B K Gupta, evaluation and monitoring officer of CZA, India
had 140 elephants in 26 zoos and 16 circuses as on March 31 2009. "Of these,
Mysore and Trivandrum have the largest number at 9 and 8 respectively.

Delhi and Mysore are the only two zoos that have African elephants. The
decision was taken after evaluating conditions of elephants at various zoos
and circuses. We found that circuses specially were not following standards
set under the Recognition of Zoo Rules, 1992," he said.

Delhi Zoo director D N Singh confirmed that they had received the order
though he restrained from elaborating on it. Sources said that Delhi Zoo's
resident Asiatic pachyderms, Rajlakshmi and Hira, and its sole African
member Shankar would be moved to Jim Corbett National Park sometime soon.
Shankar had been gifted to former president Shankar Dayal Sharma by the
Zimbabwian government.

Sources explained that the various zoos would carry out this order in
consultation with the chief wildlife wardens of their specific states and
the CZA.

Environmentalists saw this as a positive move though some had reservations
on the shifting of all elephants as that would be contrary to the principal
of ex-situ conservation."There is merit in this decision. It is best for
them to be as close to their natural habitat as possible. Elephants needs a
lot of space to exercise and move about in and they are being deprived that
space in zoos and circuses," said Samir Sinha, head of traffic, WWF India



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Chinese-supersti\
tion-the-biggest-threat-to-tiger-conservation-/articleshow/5220371.cms

'Chinese superstition the biggest threat to tiger conservation'
ANI 11 November 2009, 08:33pm IST

KOLKATA: With China observing the year of the Tiger in 2010, conservationists
across the globe fear the endangered mammal would be threatened more, as trade
in tiger goods is likely to rise considerably.

Chinese superstition is one of the primary reasons behind poaching of tigers.
There is huge demand for tiger skins, tiger bones, tiger tooth and tiger nails
amongst superstitious Chinese.

In the Year of the Tiger, the demand for tiger products would be obvious for its
auspicious value.

Conservationists want the trade in tiger goods to be stopped completely by the
Chinese government. "Merely making tiger the theme for the year is dangerous.
The government should initiate awareness programmes for the protection and
conservation of tigers. Killing of tigers for tiger products should be stopped
completely. As long as there is poaching, tigers would continue to remain on the
endangered list", claimed Suchanda Kundu, Member, Sanctuary Asia.

"Creating awareness amongst the local population about the need to protect the
tiger and conserve its habitat is also essential", added Atanu Kumar Raha,
Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, West Bengal.

Thank you for your compassion !
With best regards,
Debasis Chakrabarti
Compassionate Crusaders Trust
http://www.animalcrusaders.org

FW: [People4ChineseAnimals] Digest Number 366

ICVS ASIA will be doing a seminar on "Trap-Neuter-Return - Humanely &
Effectively Managing Stray Cats"
Saturday, November 14, 2009

Are you living with an ever-expanding colony of stray cats in your compound?
Come learn about Trap-Neuter-Return the most humane and effective method
available to end the severe feral and
stray cat overpopulation crisis in Beijing.
The International Center for Veterinary Services (ICVS) is promoting
awareness and guiding the development of community-wide TNR programs. Come
learn more about TNR and how you can effectively control the population of
stray and feral cats in your neighborhood!

Meet Charlotte Landwehr <http://www.charlyscats.org/>, a cat care provider
that has successfully managed TNR programs in Beijing since 2004. Charlotte
is the author of "Stray Cats in Beijing" - an introduction to TNR and the
founder of "Charlyscats.org <http://www.charlyscats.org/>," a Beijing-based
TNR initiative.

Click here for more information:
http://www.icvsasia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&i\
d=42&Itemid=49&lang=en
http://www.icvsasia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55%3Aicvs-c\
ommunity-cats-tnr-program&catid=57%3Atnr&Itemid=87&lang=en

*Dear all,*
*               Please find attached an interview of Dr M K Ranjitsinh, one
of South Asia's most prominent wildlife conservationists. This interview was
conducted by me for the Wildlife Trust of India early this year for their
website but since that has not come to fruition I am posting it here with Dr
Ranjitsinh's permission. He is one person I miss the most from WTI and he
sent me a very moving note when I left. We are still in touch and I have the
highest regard for his achievements and the kindness with which he has
always treated me. Please feel free to circulate with proper credits.*
* Warm regards and best wishes,*
**
*                                                         Shubhobroto*
*Profile of Dr M K Ranjitsinh, Chairman of the Wildlife Trust of India

It is perhaps sacrilegious to squeeze all the achievements of the Wildlife
Trust of India Chairman, Dr M K Ranjitsinh in one short profile note. A
scion of the former royal family of Wankaner in Saurashtra, Gujarat, he is
one of the most distinguished and accomplished wildlifers in India and
indeed the world. Named after the famous cricketer, Dr Ranjitsinh has led a
peripatetic and multifarious life that has seen him make full use of his
multi talented personality. As Collector of Dhar and Mandhla districts from
1965 to 1970 he handled one of the severest famines in recent times, with
almost one and a half lakh labourers working on the scarcity works and
foodgrain provision being a major task. He was Deputy Secretary and
Director, Forests and Wildlife, in the Ministry of Agriculture and in this
role took substantive roles in administrative aspects of wildlife
conservation of the forests of Andaman and Nicobars, Arunachal Pradesh and
Goa.  Dr Ranjitsinh has been instrumental in setting up one of the most
remarkable zoological gradens in the country, Van Vihar in Bhopal, perhaps
the only zoo in the world with an open air enclosure for leopards. As
Commissioner of Bhopal from 1983 to 1985 he directed relief operations
during the disastrous gas leak in December 1984.  He has also served as
Director General of the Council for the Advancement of People's Action and
Rural Technology(CAPART) and was involved in sanctioning of projects of
prominent non governmental agencies. Dr Ranjitsinh drafted and piloted the
Wildlife(Preservation) Act of 1972, the first comprehensive wildlife
legislation applicable to the whole country. As the first Director of
Wildlife Preservation of India under this Act from 1973 to 1975, he drafted
the schemes for financial assistance to different Indian states  for
establishing national parks and sanctuaries. He has spearheaded the
protection of the Central Indian race of the Barasingha, the Manipur Brow
antlered Deer and the Nilgiri Tahr, amongst numerous other species. As the
Member Secretary of the Task Force for formulating Project Tiger, he was
instrumental in the identification of the first tiger reserves in India. Dr
Ranjitsinh prefers to see animals in the wild, but he was responsible for
the launching of the successful captive breeding and rehabilitation of three
species of crocodilians in India. From 1975 to 1980, he worked as the
Regional Adviser in Nature Conservation in the Bangkok regional Office of
the United Nations Environmental Programme(UNEP) and rendered technical
advice in nature conservation, ecosystem management, legislation and
international cooperation in this regard to Asian countries. Thailand's
national conservation plan was prepared with his assistance. His exemplary
efforts in nature conservation saw him as the only representative on the
Expert Group that assisted the Government of Germany in preparation of the
International Conservation of Migratory species of Wildlife. Dr Ranjitsinh
played a leading role in the amendment of the Wildlife(Protection) Act of
1972 and banned the trade of endangered species all over the country. He
loves tigers but he loves their elusive mountain dwelling brethren, the Snow
Leopard too and initiated a project for the conservation of this species.
India's premier wildlife research institute, the Wildlife Institute of India
was started with his support and he acted as Chairman of its Research
Advisory Committee. He has been the Chairman of the Standing Committee of
the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species(CITES) and has
led the Indian delegation to the World National Parks Congress in the United
States. Travel is an obsession with Dr Ranjitsinh and he has visited more
than 90 countries till date. He has been a pioneer in establishing a
compensation scheme of cattle killed by tigers and leopards and diverted the
tribals of Orissa from their hunting practices. His academic credentials are
impeccable and he holds a PhD in Wildlife Ecology from Saurashtra
University. He has published more than 50 papers on wildlife and nature
related issues and has written two books on wildlife, including 'Beyond the
Tiger: Portraits of Asian Wildlife'. Dr Ranjitsinh espouses the non lethal
usage of wild animals and thinks that India's unique religious traditions do
not permit the wanton destruction of wildlife. An avid reader and collector
of books, he loves Hindustani Classical music and collects coins, stamps and
art related to wildlife. His stalwart efforts have been recognised by the
award of the Order of the Golden Ark of Netherlands in 1979 and by election
to the Global 500 Roll of Honour of the United Nations Environment
Programme(UNEP)in 1991.*
**
*INTERVIEW WITH DR M K RANJITSINH on 2nd January, 2009*
**
*INTERVIEWER : SHUBHOBROTO GHOSH*
**
*Dr M K Ranjitsinh is an impeccably polite man. Having agreed to give me
time for an interview, he requests me to take a seat whilst he arranges
piles of papers. "Just got to arrange all these," he says and after having
done so, states he is ready to face "your barrage".
  The following conversation took place and the pattern of the
question-answer session has been preserved verbatim :

ME : To begin with, thank you for your time and patience in granting this
interview. To start off with, where are you from?

M K RANJITSINH : I am from Wankaner in Saurashtra in **Gujarat**.**

ME : I understand you belong to a royal family. Are you related to the
cricketer Ranjitsinhji?

M K R : Erstwhile royal family(smiles). I am not related to Ranjitsinhji the
cricketer, but I was named after him. He was known to my family as a friend.

ME : What is your educational qualification?

M K R : I have an MA in History(Honours) from St Stephen's College in **New
Delhi**. And I hold a PhD in Ecology from **Saurashtra** **University** of *
*Rajkot** that was awarded to me in 1983.**

ME : If you do not mind me asking you this, Royal families have
traditionally been accused of exploiting humans and they have also been
accused of exploiting animals. How do you defend your royal connections
especially when you relate it to your work for social causes and
particularly wildlife conservation?

M K R : This is a very interesting question, I must say it is a very
provocative question and sometime ago a journalist asked my father a similar
question. But I am not provoked at all. I'll take your question.
  First,  exploitation of humans. You tell me, if royal families were all
exploitative and abusive, why are members of ex Royal families still getting
elected in **India**? The electorate of **India** does not consist of fools
and certainly the people of **Gujarat** are no fools. See, you have to
understand that there were good rulers and there were bad rulers. If the
will of the people is manifested in elections and people weigh their choices
rationally, isn't there something to be said for ex members of Royal
families still getting elected in a democracy like India today?**
  My father once mentioned, "In a monarchy, one family exploits the people(If
that is how you want to put it.) In a democracy, a thousand families exploit
the people."
   Now to come to your more germane question regarding exploitation of
animals, I have to admit that some princes of royal families were inveterate
hunters and slaughtered animals indiscriminately and such wanton killing was
and remains indefensible. But at the same time there were hunters like
Dharmakumarsinhji who were keen observers of fauna and he was an ardent
ornithologist. I also have to say that there was more wildlife in states of
yore where princes were interested in hunting. When I started as the
Director of Wildlife, about 80% of the then existing wildlife reserves were
former hunting reserves of the British and of the princes.  If one family
hunted many animals, in **Northern Madhya** Pradesh and Chhattisgarh there
were still more tigers in this country then than now after the Project Tiger
initiatives. Hunting was not a free for all during the colonial rule. *

* *

* *

*ME : What about sport hunting? The morality of taking a life for pleasure?*
*

M K R: I would not advocate sport hunting now. It will militate against the
current ethos of animal protection in **India**. But again I emphasise that
50 years ago, there was more wildlife in **India** than now. The Maharaja of
Dholpur in Rajasthan was a former hunter and would call individual Sambar by
name. Regarding the moral issue, there is no more or and no less morality in
taking a life by hunting than eating a chicken. What I do mean to say is
that there is no morality in taking a life per se.  But there are different
kinds of hunting. One is hunting for possession, a selfish affair. And there
is hunting for eating. And many hunters turned into conservationists, for
example, Jim Corbett and Billy Arjan Singh. So you have to take into account
different perspectives on this issue. For example, does it help the cause of
the tiger by saving maneaters? I don't think so. I would rather have a
maneater shot than captured since an animal in captivity is as good as dead
as far as conservation goes. **

ME : What are your views on keeping wild animals in zoos ?

M K R : I am not in favour of keeping animals in captivity per se
but support ex situ conservation as a last resort for saving animals. But
certainly I am opposed to keeping animals in captivity for the enjoyment of
people. I well and truly believe that the best way to appreciate the beauty
of an animal is by viewing it in the wild. In **India**, people ogle at
animals in zoos and National Parks. It is our own fault. The whole
conservation effort is too tiger centric. People do not appreciate other
forms of wildlife. I was in Corbett recently when I spotted a leopard in a
tree. Some tourists were causing a ruckus so I asked them to stop making
noise. "This is just a leopard, not a tiger," I told them sarcastically. And
believe it or not some of them left the spot immediately murmuring, "Only a
leopard, not a tiger, not a tiger." This mindset has to change.**

ME : What are your views on the reintroduction of animals ?

M K R : Reintroduction of animals should be done the right way. It could
bring focus on the area which is very important. Take for example, the
Rhinos of Dudhwa that were brought there in 1979 from **Assam**. They are
still in an enclosure and in my opinion, they should have been released.**

ME : How do you view domestic animal welfare in the light of wild animal
welfare?

M K R : I am not against domestic animal welfare but there is a conflict
between wild animal welfare and domestic animal welfare because they compete
for the same resources in areas of wild habitat.

ME : How do you justify spending money and resources on animals when there
are people dying out of hunger and starvation and poverty in **India** ?**

M K R : If you are a welfare state, you have to give attention to poverty
alleviation. Is the solution to this the destruction of forests? Saving
animals means saving forests and ecosystems, the natural heritage of the
country.  Land diverted for demographic use cannot be brought back for any
other use. How many people will you help by destroying forests? Saving
habitat of animals is the primary issue here, the animals come second. And
to what extent is the reclaimed land cultivable?  Marginal land should be
forested. In **Western Satpura** in **Southern Aravallis** in Bhil tribal
areas in Madhya Pradesh there is an ecological holocaust. Madhya Pradesh and
Chhattisgarh have lost 32,000 square kilometers of forest areas in the last
sixty years. If everything in a democracy should be put to vote, then why
not put the future of the entire country to vote on every issue including
the fate of our religious shrines? Is that acceptable in a democracy? Is
that how a democracy should function? And does a democracy necessarily mean
a free for all?**

In this country, there is a religious sentiment to save forests and
wildlife. There is also a fear of retribution, a hangover from the colonial
past. In some places, people do not encroach on forests because they fear
dacoits. Wildlife also survives in demilitarized war zones. There is no
single overriding common denominator regarding protection of animals and
wildlife in **India**. Some communities are more conducive to conservation
principles than others. And the survival of forests in **India** is
inextricably linked to the survival of animals. If the tigers are not there
in Sariska, how will the forest survive? You have to have certain choices.
If we are prepared to protect our religious sites considering them to be
sacred, why are we not prepared to save our forests that are also part and
parcel of God's land?**


ME : What is your stance on the burning debate on 'Tigers versus Tribals'?

M K R : As I have mentioned, tigers cannot roam free as man eaters. But
there IS a distinction between tigers as a threat to human life and as a
threat to human property. In a protected park, people should be moved out.
In other areas, tigers would have to coexist with humans and they will not
survive. We have to look into ways to resolve this man animal conflict.  The
aim should be to lessen damage to human property without destroying the
animals.



ME : You have written several books on wildlife. Who are your favourite
authors?

M K R : (Laughs) Too many to mention. Dunbar Brander, George Schaller,
Colonel C H Stockley, Dharmakumarsinhji, Salim Ali, Saroj Raj Chaudhury, Jim
Corbett, F W Champion. I liked Burrard's books on mountain fauna. Also books
written by Stebbing. Most of these people were pioneers in their respective
fields.

ME : Which wildlifers do you most admire?

M K R :  I liked the conservation efforts made by the British and Indian
princes. I appreciate the works of Sanjay Deb Roy, Kailash Sankhala, Billy
Arjan Singh and Saroj Raj Chaudhury. Chaudhury was a remarkable man � he
contributed a lot to forest management in India and was the first director
of the nascent Wildlife Institute of **India**. **

ME : How many countries have you visited ?

M K R : (Laughs)  Close to 90 I think. I love to travel and visit countries
and sometimes it so happens that two countries join to become one and one
country divides into two!

ME : What are your views on feral animals?

M K R : (laughs) What kind of feral animals?

ME : Any kind of feral animals.

M K R : They have to be considered on a case by case basis. In **New Zealand
**, they shot 18,000 Himalayan Tahr in two years, that is probably greater
than the number of Tahr that exist in **India**. There might be a case for
controlling feral Cheetal Deer in the Andamans. I would say that the local
fauna and flora would have to take precedence in conservation and if feral
animals are imposing a threat to them, they should be controlled.**

**The phone rings. Dr Ranjitsinh picks it up. It is his wife asking him to
come home early. "I think I will be late today," he replies. "I have a guy
at the office here named Shubhobroto who is asking me all kinds of awkward
questions." He puts down the phone and says, "Pray continue."**

ME : What are your views on sustainable use of wildlife?

M K R : I don't believe in sustainable use of wildlife and would be
uncomfortable with the concept. Sustainable use is never the ONLY way to
save animals. Killing wild animals would go against the grain of ethics in *
*India**. Ethically, it would be counterproductive. It would imply animals
should have monetary value in order to be preserved. I know some countries
accept sustainable use of animals but **India** is different in that we
believe in sanctity of life. There should be no lethal usage of animals. But
some sustainable use that does not harm the animals like using shed peacock
feathers is OK. We have to be careful though that this allowance is not
misused.**

ME : Are you a vegetarian?

M K R: I am turning into a vegetarian for ethical reasons. I have never been
a great meat eater.

ME : What are your views on euthanasia?

M K R : I would agree to euthanasia if there is no hope of recovery for an
animal.

ME : What are your views on corporates funding wildlife protection causes?

M K R : If there are no unwarranted strings attached, I don't have a problem
with accepting money from them. It is a moral judgment one has to make. As
long as it is not anti conservation, it is OK in my opinion to accept money
from industrial groups.

ME : Do you believe in God?

M K R : Yes, I do believe in God. Nature is God's creation. I have
worshipped in every religious shrine I have come across in my travels.

ME : If Nature is God's creation, who created God?

M K R : I have to be honest and say that I do not know the answer to this
question.

ME : What are your hobbies and your pastimes?

M K R : I love listening to Hindustani Classical Music. Also appreciate
sport, specially cricket and tennis. I collect coins and stamps bearing
animal pictures. Collect art related to wildlife. I love mountain walking
and mountain mammals and am a great admirer of mountain scenery. I am also
fond of books on animals and wildlife.*



*ME : Thank you very much for your time and trouble.*



*M K R : My pleasure.*


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

MAILBOX: Perhilitan (Wildlife) monitors wildlife caretakers - Malay Mail
  Submitted by pekwan on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
   Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 03:11:00


[image: Wildlife] <http://www.mmail.com.my/content/18491-wildlife>
THE Ministry Of Natural Resources and Environment appreciates the concerns
highlighted by S. M. Mohd Idris of Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM), in his
letter �Take care of all zoos in Malaysia� (Malay Mail, Nov 3, 2009).



The ministry is aware of the growing concern among public and SAM on the
well being of wildlife kept at zoos.

The suggestions made by SAM are in parallel with the ministry�s plan in
making sure all zoos are best managed in terms of facilities and well being
of the wildlife.

The new proposed policy will look into ensuring all zoos are regulated and
welfare of wildlife is well taken care of. Under the Protection of Wildlife
Act 1972, the management of a zoo is required to get licence or special
permit issued by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan).

Moreover, Perhilitan is conducting regular visits to the zoos as a part of
the department�s enforcement
measures. Offences committed by any individual, including cruelty  to the
wildlife, will be charged in the court while the ministry is also looking
into revoking licences or special permits for those found guilty of
committing such offences.

The ministry is hoping that with these actions in place, the zoos will be
more concerned in the well being
of the wildlife and not merely looking at making profit. Should any
clarification be needed further on this matter, please do not hesitate to
contact Perhilitan at pakp@....



*Yamuna Perimalu
Corporate Communications Unit
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment*


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

This is William Johnson writing about Pilleri's Gangetic Dolphins in 'The
Rose Tinted Menagerie' in 2007(Link here :
http://www.iridescent-publishing.com/rtm/ch5p7.htm ) :
"But what of Prof. Giorgio Pilleri's allegations against the dolphin
industry? "He is the worst of all!" Gasser exclaimed heatedly. "He had a
tiny pool in the cellar, no filtration, no daylight - the poor animals,
Ganges dolphins - didn't get any light and every month one died. They were
swimming around in their own shit, and he even implanted cables in their
brains. And now he starts to complain about us, but it was him who lost the
dolphins!"
(Chapter : The Global Industry)
  I fear the animals in Japan might have been similarly experimented upon. It
is interesting Gasser says Pilleri had more than one dolphin, an assertion
that goes against what Mr R K Sinha told me. The Science Today article also
mentioned more than one animal. I think these records have been lost or
destroyed, for obvious reasons.

On Tue, Nov 10, 2009 at 7:12 AM, Merritt Clifton <anmlpepl@...>wrote:

>        Today I found a bit more on file pertaining to Maneka Gandhi
> opposing dolphin captivity.
>
>        In 1994 a plan for building a dolphinarium was advanced in
> Motijheel,  Bengal,  reportedly with government support.
>
>        However,  Maneka opposed it.  I don't think there was any other
> organized opposition.  The last I heard of it was a short summary of the
> failed project that was published in The Statesman of March 21,  2002,
>  which did not mention Maneka:
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------
>
>
> Hyacinth chokes 'park' for dolphins
> by Asim Pramanik in Motijheel in Murshidabad
>
> Motijheel gained fame under the Nawabs of Murshidabad who encouraged the
> cultivation of pearls there.  Now,  however,  it is not pearls but a stalled
> dolphin park project that residents are talking about.
>
> In a bid to boost tourism,  the government mooted the idea of the park in
> 1994.  Dolphins were to be brought from other counties and a huge park was
> to be set up along the banks of the lake which would offer boating
> facilities.  But nothing has been done and the number of tourists has
> dwindled steadily.  Only migratory birds frequent the lake throughout the
> year which is choked with hyacinth and weeds.
>
>
> The many rounds of talks between the zilla sabhapati and the Kajarias,  a
> business house,  for investing money in the project has been all but
> forgotten.  Presently about 250 acres of land around the lake have been
> leased out for farming.  The land on which Ghasiti Begum's palace stood is
> being used for tamarind cultivation.
>
> "Lalbag residents have always been vocal about their desire for beautifying
> Motijheel.  The famous Motijheel mosque at the entrance of the lake needs
> repair immediately,"  Mr. AR Khan,  chairman of the urban development
> committee in Lalbag,  said.
>
> Mr. Monoj Panth,  DM,  said:  "The judicial department has consented to the
> beautification project,  which will include a park and cottages for guests.
>  The Murshidabad zilla parishad and the tourism department will be in charge
> of the project."
>
>
> --
> Merritt Clifton
> Editor,  ANIMAL PEOPLE
> P.O. Box 960
> Clinton,  WA  98236
>
> Telephone:  360-579-2505
> Fax:  360-579-2575
> E-mail:  anmlpepl@...
> Web:  www.animalpeoplenews.org
>
> [ANIMAL PEOPLE is the leading independent newspaper providing original
> investigative coverage of animal protection worldwide, founded in 1992.  Our
> readership of 30,000-plus includes the decision-makers at more than 10,000
> animal protection organizations. We have no alignment or affiliation with
> any other entity.  $24/year; for free sample,  send address.]
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

“I could smell it as soon as I entered the apartment building.  As I walked up
to the fourth floor the smell got stronger and stronger.  Knocking on her door,
I knew I was not going to be happy with what I was about to see,” said Maggie
Shaarawi, one of the founders of Animals Lebanon.
“An old woman came to the door but did not want to let me in.  There were no
lights on and the smell was terrible.  I showed her the cat food I brought and
told her how much I love cats.  This was all it took to gain some trust, and she
opened the door for me to come in.”
Recently, Animals Lebanon received a call from the Beirut Municipality
concerning an elderly woman living with a large number of cats. The neighbors in
the building were filing a law suit against this woman as the conditions had
become so bad that they could barely live there anymore. We were suspicious at
first as sometimes people exaggerate greatly just because they don’t like
animals.
The Municipality was under orders to catch the cats and remove them from the
building, but not knowing how to catch them they called Animals Lebanon for
help.  Animals Lebanon pleaded with the Municipality, asking them to hold off on
any action and that we would see what was going on and how we could help.
“The door only opened halfway, but as it did the smell became overwhelming. 
There was no electricity and very little light.  I used my mobile phone as a
flashlight to be able to see a bit, and realized the door did not open because
there was so much trash behind it.  There were things everywhere, old bottles,
mattresses, furniture, newspapers, all piled up in the tiny apartment.  And then
I started to notice the cats – their eyes shining from the light from my
phone, quiet meows seemed to come from everywhere.”

Click here to learn how Animals Lebanon is rescuing these cats and making sure
the woman is cared for, and see what you can do now to help.

________________________________




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

*http://news.mongabay.com/2009/1108-hance_corlett.html*
*Hunting across Southeast Asia weakens forests' survival, An interview with
Richard Corlett
**Jeremy Hance* <http://news.mongabay.com/news-index/jeremy_hance1.html>
*mongabay.com
November 08, 2009


**Seventh in a series of interviews with participants at the 2009
Association of Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) conference.*

    A large flying fox eats a fruit ingesting its seeds. Flying over the
tropical forests it eventually deposits the seeds at the base of another
tree far from the first. One of these seeds takes root, sprouts, and in
thirty years time a new tree waits for another flying fox to spread its seed.

In the Southeast Asian tropics an astounding 80 percent of seeds are spread
not by wind, but by animals: birds, bats, rodents, even elephants. But in a
region where animals of all shapes and sizes are being wiped out by
uncontrolled hunting and poaching�what will the forests of the future look
like? This is the question that has long occupied Dr. Richard Corlett,
professor of biological science at the National University of Singapore.


Corlett, a British native, has lived in Southeast Asia for thirty years
giving him a unique perspective on the changes forests have undergone
recently.

"The destruction and degradation of forest ecosystems in tropical East Asia as a
whole over the last 30 years has been simply appalling. Thirty years
ago there were still large, near-pristine areas with more or less intact
faunas: now almost everywhere is degraded and even the best-looking forest
has lost some or all of its large vertebrates to hunters," Corlett told
Mongabay.com.

Already fragmented and degraded, Southeast Asian tropical forests require
seed dispersing animals more than ever to move seeds from one forest patch
to another. But in the near-future another threat will make seed dispersers
even more important.

"As the climate changes, plant populations must adapt, move or die, and seed
dispersal is the only way to move. Outside the tropics many plant species
have moved towards the poles or to higher altitudes as a result of warming
over recent decades. Changes within the tropics have so far been relatively
small, but the much larger changes predicted for the next 50-100 years will
almost certainly require tropical plant populations to migrate," Corlett
explains.

Two key animals for moving seeds large distances are the flying foxes and
fruit pigeons, however both are targets of hunters. Flying foxes, once
incredibly abundant, are vanishing from Southeast Asian forests due to
unmanaged legal hunting. A recent study predicted that the large flying fox
(the world's largest bat) will face extinction in 6-8 years due to hunting.

"The decline in flying fox populations is one of the most conspicuous
changes in the region in the 30 years I have been here," Corlett says.

Hunting has occurred for thousands of years in Southeast Asia, yet few
species are known to have faced extinction from it. Then in the Twentieth
Century something changed.

"Accessibility of both forests and markets" has transformed hunting from
sustainable killing for food to widespread commercial destruction, according
to Corlett, who adds that "subsistence hunters have no incentive to track
down rare species, but markets compensate for the extra effort by paying
more."

While Corelett describes China's black market for animal products as "huge",
he adds that China "is not the only Asian consumer of wildlife".

To combat the wildlife trade, Corlett says that enforcement of existing laws
is key, as well as new laws to save unprotected species like the large
flying fox.

Corlett has also proposed an innovative idea to tackle hunting in which
local communities would be compensated for protecting biodiversity, and the
ecosystem services that the species provide. He imagines that communities
"would be paid an annual sum tied to the abundance of vulnerable wildife,
such as gibbons or tigers, giving them an incentive to control hunting. But
this will only work if social networks are strong enough to prevent cheating
and if the villagers can keep out outsiders."

In a November 2009 interview Mongabay.com spoke with Richard Corlett about
the importance of seed dispersers, the continuing threat of hunting to
species and forests, and ways to turn back the tide on Southeast Asia's
hunting crisis.

INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD CORLETT

*Mongabay:* *What is your background? *

*Richard Corlett:* I am from London and first became interested in the
tropics while an undergraduate at Cambridge, where a friend and I got
funding to carry out research in Malaysia in the summer holidays. I then did
my PhD at the Australian National University with fieldwork in the highlands
of Papua New Guinea. Since then I have lived in tropical Asia, teaching
first at the University of Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand, then at the
National University of Singapore, then at the University of Hong Kong for 20
years, and now back in Singapore as Professor of Terrestrial Ecology.

*Mongabay:* *Most biologists like to study the most pristine ecosystems
available. What led you to study the ecology of deforested and degraded
tropical landscapes? *


*Richard Corlett:* If you live outside the tropics and do research only
while on expeditions it makes sense to visit the most pristine sites
available. But I have lived in the tropics for 30 years, teaching at
universities in deforested and degraded landscapes, so it has been natural
that I study the areas around me. It is important that we know what survives
and what doesn't, and as these landscapes expand at the expense of pristine
ecosystems it becomes increasingly important that we learn how to modify
them so that they can support more native species. Most research in Europe
takes place in equally deforested and degraded landscapes, but the authors
rarely mention this - and, indeed, may not even be aware of it!

*Mongabay:* *You have lived in Asia for many years, both Singapore and Hong
Kong. How have the tropical ecosystems changed in the time you've been
there? *

*Richard Corlett:* Not so much in Singapore and Hong Kong, which were highly
developed when I first visited them, but the destruction and degradation of
forest ecosystems in tropical East Asia has a whole over the last 30 years
has been simply appalling. Thirty years ago there were still large,
near-pristine areas with more or less intact faunas: now almost everywhere
is degraded and even the best-looking forest has lost some or all of its
large vertebrates to hunters. Developing countries needed to trade some
forest for development, but inefficencies and corruption have made the
process much more destructive than it needed to be. Much of the destruction
has benefited only a few individuals and done nothing to lift the majority
of the population out of poverty.

SEED DISPERSING

*Mongabay:* *What is the role of seed dispersers-birds, bats, rodents, and
some large mammals-in the Asian tropics? *

*Richard Corlett:* All plants need seed dispersal agents but the importance
of animals (rather than wind) increases in the tropics, reaching a maximum
in the tropical rainforest where around 80 percent of trees, shrubs and
climbers are animal dispersed. In the Asian tropics, birds are most
important, followed by primates and fruit bats, civets, and a variety of
terrestrial herbivores, including elephants, rhinoceroses, tapirs, and deer.
Rodents are probably important too, but have been studied very little in
this region.

*Mongabay:* *Why are seed dispersers especially important in the face of
climate change? *

*Richard Corlett:* As the climate changes, plant populations must adapt,
move or die, and seed dispersal is the only way to move. Outside the tropics
many plant species have moved towards the poles or to higher altitudes as a
result of warming over recent decades. Changes within the tropics have so
far been relatively small, but the much larger changes predicted for the
next 50-100 years will almost certainly require tropical plant populations
to migrate.

*Mongabay:* *Which seed dispersers are able to carry plant species far
enough for them to adapt to a warmer world? *

*Richard Corlett:* In very steep topography a species need only move a
kilometer or two to compensate for 2-3 degrees of warming and many animals
can move at least one seeds this far. In the lowland tropics, however,
climate gradients are very shallow and species may have to move 100s of
kilometers to compensate - probably an impossible task without human
intervention.

*Mongabay:* *You point out that two types of Asian seed dispersers are
particularly important: large fruit bats and fruit pigeons. What makes these
species unique? *

*Richard Corlett:* Both regularly move seeds over distances greater than a
kilometer and at least sometimes move them more than 10 km. This sort of
distance can bridge gaps between forest fragments in human-dominated
landscapes, which other potential long-distance dispersers, such as
elephants, will not cross. Fruit bats only do this for tiny seeds, since
they drop larger ones at "feeding roosts" near the fruiting tree, but fruit
pigeons can swallow huge seeds - although we don't know for sure how far
they will fly when weighed down by these. Unfortunately, both are heavily
hunted at present.

HUNTING IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

*Mongabay:* *Hunting has been going on in Southeast Asia for millennia and
there have been few recorded extinctions. What has changed recently? *

   *Richard Corlett:* Accessibility of both forests and markets. Subsistence
hunters have no incentive to track down rare species, but markets compensate
for the extra effort by paying more.

*Mongabay:* *What role does China play in hunting across Southeast Asia? *

*Richard Corlett:* Huge as a market for species that are seen as health
foods - such as pangolins - and/or have specific roles in traditional
medicine. In practice, this includes hundreds of species and their parts.
But China is not the only Asian consumer of wildlife and there have been
some recent efforts at cracking down on the trade.

*Mongabay:* *What is the link between hunting and seed dispersers? *

*Richard Corlett:* The most-hunted species in tropical Asia are almost all
important seed dispersal agents, with pigs and pangolins the major
exceptions. Hunters favor larger species that can move bigger seeds longer
distances. Most surviving forests in the region have now lost most or all of
their largest frugivores (fruit-eaters), or the survivors are too rare to
disperse many seeds.

*Mongabay:* *A recent study found that the large flying fox (the world's
largest bat) could face extinction in 6-8 years due to LEGAL hunting. Does
this finding surprise you? *

*Richard Corlett:* Not at all, but it is depressing. The decline in flying
fox populations is one of the most conspicuous changes in the region in the
30 years I have been here.

*Mongabay:* *What other ecological roles do hunted species play in the life
of the forest? *

*Richard Corlett:* All the roles played by vertebrates: seed predation,
browsing, pollination, predation, scavenging.

GOING FORWARD

*Mongabay:* *What actions would you recommend to save ecologically important
species from over-hunting? *

*Richard Corlett:* 1. Enforcement of existing laws in protected areas and in
local and regional markets. 2. New legislation protecting key species (e.g.
flying foxes) outside protected areas.

*Mongabay:* *Why do you think many Asian countries have not been able to
provide effective law enforcement regarding hunting and trapping? *

*Richard Corlett:* I don't think it has been seen as big a problem as
deforestation and logging. Plus it is seen as a sensitive livelihood issue,
despite the fact that it makes a very minor contribution to subsistence in
the region.

*Mongabay:* *Do you think education programs or greater awareness of how
hunting impacts the forest could lead to changes in the demand for medicines
and meat from wildlife? *

*Richard Corlett:* Yes, but too slowly, and enforcement is the best
publicity.

*Mongabay:* *You have recommended direct payments to local communities in
relation to their wildlife abundance. Can you explain this concept? What are
the advantages/disadvantages? *

*Richard Corlett:* I have recommended trying this - I am not sure if it
would work. The idea would be that a local community would be paid an annual
sum tied to the abundance of vulnerable wildife, such as gibbons or tigers,
giving them an incentive to control hunting. But this will only work if
social networks are strong enough to prevent cheating and if the villagers
can keep out outsiders.

*Mongabay:* *If hunting is not better managed what will Asia's future
forests look like? *

*Richard Corlett:* Empty, and increasingly dominated by plant species that
are dispersed by wind or the ubiquitous small frugivorous birds and fruit
bats.

*Unmoved by protests, Nepal set to host animal sacrifice fair*

*Utpal Parashar, Hindustan Times*

* *

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Nepal-set-to-host-animal-sacrifice-fair/H1-Article\
1-474675.aspx



India�s animal rights activist and politician Maneka Gandhi�s protest and
Nepal�s �Budhha Boy� Ram Bahadur Bomjan�s appeal won�t be able to prevent
the sacrifice of nearly half-a-million animals at this month�s Gadhimai Mela
in this Himalayan nation.



Billed as the world�s largest animal sacrifice fair, the event � held every
five years at Bariyapur in Bara district of southern Nepal � is expected to
attract about five million Hindus from across the country and neighbouring
India.



But despite protest from several quarters, the Nepal government has refused
to intervene in the religious custom meant to appease Goddess Gadhimai.
Instead, it has decided to provide adequate facilities for the two-day
ritual beginning November 24.



On Sunday, Home Minister Bhim Rawal assured the development committee of
parliament that 1,150 additional security personnel would be deployed in the
mela area for security of the pilgrims.



�Security could be a cause of concern as a large gathering would congregate
at the fair and there is difference of opinion among the local populace as
well on whether the custom should continue,� said chairman of the committee
Jitendra Sonar, who had visited Bariyapur recently.



According to estimates, nearly 500,000 animals, including buffaloes, goats,
ducks, roosters and pigeons, would be sacrificed at the fair to appease the
goddess. Some say the number has increased because of several Indian states
banning animal sacrifice for religious purposes.



�Since many devotees come from India, we have asked the administration in
Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, states that border Nepal, to stop smuggling of
animals and birds for the fair,� said D.B. Bomjan of Tamang Rashtriya Mukti
Morcha, an NGO.



Last month Maneka Gandhi had written to Nepal�s Prime Minister Madhav Kumar
Nepal seeking government intervention to stop the mass sacrifice.




--
Lucia de Vries
Freelance Journalist
Nepal - Netherlands


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jRAwpG1aEuQ_g2GUamHx4Js5niwAD9\
BR8EIO0

China sends panda expert to Taiwan to aid breeding

(AP) � 1 day ago

TAIPEI, Taiwan � Nothing like a little time apart to rekindle the affections
that could lead to a baby panda.

So says a panda expert sent by China to Taiwan to advise on how to encourage
mating by the pair given by Beijing last December to mark the two sides'
growing friendship.

After inspecting the pandas at the Taipei Zoo on Sunday, Chinese panda
expert Zhang Hemin suggested a separation of a month or two might boost the
feeling of attraction needed to reproduce.

"They may have more interest toward each other after a brief separation,"
said Zhang, a researcher at the Wolong Natural Reserve in western Sichuan
province where the pandas are from.

China presented Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, which together mean "reunion," to
Taiwan last December amid warming ties between the mainland and the island,
which split amid civil war in 1949.

They have proved popular and many Taiwanese now wish to see them produce a
baby in their new home.

Zhang said the environment at the Taipei Zoo was natural enough and would
not hamper their breeding, but the animals may have become too used to each
others' presence.

Zhang also suggested that to prepare the male, Tuan Tuan, for the vital
mating act, the zookeepers should set up more wooden racks so he can climb
around and strengthen his hind legs.

If all works, the much anticipated act could come during the pandas' brief
mating season in February, Zhang said.

Pandas are threatened by a low reproduction rate. Females in the wild
normally have a cub once every two to three years, and the fertility of
captive giant pandas is even lower, experts say.

Only about 1,600 pandas live in the wild, mostly in China's Sichuan
province. An additional 120 are in Chinese breeding facilities and zoos, and
about 20 live in zoos outside China.

China initially offered the pandas to Taiwan in 2005, but the then
pro-independence government of Chen Shui-bian rejected the gift as
propaganda to push for unification. After Ma Ying-jeou of the rival
Nationalist Party was inaugurated in May last year, he accepted


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Today I found a bit more on file pertaining to Maneka Gandhi
opposing dolphin captivity.

	 In 1994 a plan for building a dolphinarium was advanced in
Motijheel,  Bengal,  reportedly with government support.

	 However,  Maneka opposed it.  I don't think there was any
other organized opposition.  The last I heard of it was a short
summary of the failed project that was published in The Statesman of
March 21,  2002,  which did not mention Maneka:


---------------------------------------------


Hyacinth chokes 'park' for dolphins
by Asim Pramanik in Motijheel in Murshidabad

Motijheel gained fame under the Nawabs of Murshidabad who encouraged
the cultivation of pearls there.  Now,  however,  it is not pearls
but a stalled dolphin park project that residents are talking about.

In a bid to boost tourism,  the government mooted the idea of the
park in 1994.  Dolphins were to be brought from other counties and a
huge park was to be set up along the banks of the lake which would
offer boating facilities.  But nothing has been done and the number
of tourists has dwindled steadily.  Only migratory birds frequent the
lake throughout the year which is choked with hyacinth and weeds.


The many rounds of talks between the zilla sabhapati and the
Kajarias,  a business house,  for investing money in the project has
been all but forgotten.  Presently about 250 acres of land around the
lake have been leased out for farming.  The land on which Ghasiti
Begum's palace stood is being used for tamarind cultivation.

"Lalbag residents have always been vocal about their desire for
beautifying Motijheel.  The famous Motijheel mosque at the entrance
of the lake needs repair immediately,"  Mr. AR Khan,  chairman of the
urban development committee in Lalbag,  said.

Mr. Monoj Panth,  DM,  said:  "The judicial department has consented
to the beautification project,  which will include a park and
cottages for guests.  The Murshidabad zilla parishad and the tourism
department will be in charge of the project."


--
Merritt Clifton
Editor,  ANIMAL PEOPLE
P.O. Box 960
Clinton,  WA  98236

Telephone:  360-579-2505
Fax:  360-579-2575
E-mail:  anmlpepl@...
Web:  www.animalpeoplenews.org

[ANIMAL PEOPLE is the leading independent newspaper providing
original investigative coverage of animal protection worldwide,
founded in 1992.  Our readership of 30,000-plus includes the
decision-makers at more than 10,000 animal protection organizations.
We have no alignment or affiliation with any other entity.  $24/year;
for free sample,  send address.]

Dear all,
                   Please find attached a transcript of a discussion between
Merritt Clifton and me regarding the dolphin captivity issue in India.
Thanks to Mr Clifton for sharing the information that I deem important for
sharing.
  Some material from my side. As Mr Clifton says, the 1998 dolphin deal first
appeared in the newspapers and I was among the people who alerted Mrs Gandhi
about the development and she expressed her opposition to the idea. However,
the deal went ahead.
  The Chennai facility was surveyed by dolphin expert R S LalMohan who wrote
about it in the Gangetic River Dolphin newsletter, I have it somewhere.  The
dolphins subsequently died and all of them were BottleNose Dolphins. Apart
from Mrs Gandhi, there were several other notable individuals who were
involved in opposing the idea : Mark Berman of Earth Island Institute,
William Rossiter of Cetacean Society International and Vanessa Williams of
Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. I was living in Assam at the time
and mailed all the material to Mrs Gandhi and was informed that she had got
any further importation of dolphins banned.
  As far as Gangetic River Dolphins in captivity are concerned, I know of
only two records that were revealed to me by dolphin expert R K Sinha who I
interviewed for the Telegraph. One animal was taken by a scientist called
Georgio Pilleri at the Brain Anatomy Institute in Berne, Switzerland in the
late seventies. The animal came from either Pakistan or Bangladesh, I cannot
remember now. The second case he told me were of two Gangetic River Dolphins
that were taken by a dolphinarium in Japan from Bangladesh. The animal in
Switzerland could have been an Indus River Dolphin, now categorised as a
different species from the Gangetic River Dolphin. This was reported in an
old issue of a magazine called Science Today. Indus River Dolphins are not
covered under the Wildlife Protection Act of India at the moment although
they sometimes swim inside Indian territory from Pakistan.
  River Dolphins have never done particularly well in captivity anywhere in
the world. The only species that has been held with any degree of success is
the Boutu or Amazon River Dolphin. Their physiology precludes a satisfactory
life in captivity. I hope all these factors are taken into cognizance before
the Delhi Zoo plan goes ahead.
  The very best document on cetacean captivity can be read online here :

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/whales/debate/ethics.html

Many thanks again to Merritt Clifton for enlightening all of us.
Cheers,

                         Shubhobroto



*However, your article says, "People for Animals founder Maneka Gandhi, who
twice held Ramesh's portfolio in the 1980s and 1990s,  has for more than 30
years fought efforts to introduce dolphinariums to India."*

         You can get as technical as you like about the file-shuffling,  but
one way or another Maneka held the cabinet-level authority over zoos &
aquariums twice,  & used it both times to prevent dolphins from being
captured or imported for exhibition.

*The only effort to introduce a dolphinarium in India that I am aware of is
Dolphin City in Chennai that imported Bottlenose Dolphins from Bulgaria in
the late 1990s, 1997/1998 if memory serves me correctly.*

         That was apparently the second time something similar had come up.
As I recall,  the proposal was made in mid-1998.  I was in frequent e-mail
contact with Maneka at that time,  after meeting her in December 1997,  and
also had contacts in Bulgaria at that time who were working on the issue.

         The dolphin proposal surfaced in the papers,  before Maneka was
informed in any other way,  & she just exploded.  Her very first words to me
were that she thought she had stopped the idea for all time during her
previous ministry.  I think I wrote something about the situation for ANIMAL
PEOPLE,  & will see if I can find it.

         I believe she faxed me something she had written against dolphin
captivity very early in her career,  circa 1984,  when she was just
beginning as a newspaper columnist.  Later she wrote more.

         Unfortunately,  a lightning strike in October 1998 destroyed the
computer I was using then,  and my external hard drive,  and severely
damaged my laptop as well.  All but one of the back editions of ANIMAL
PEOPLE survived on other disks and were recovered,  but I don't have
electronic copies of any of my older correspondence with Maneka.  I do have
paper copies,   I think,  but not stored at this office.

**
*Dear Mr Clifton,*
*                         Thank you for posting this important item. You may
find the attached news item of some interest. However, your article says,
"People for Animals founder Maneka Gandhi, who twice held Ramesh's portfolio
in the 1980s and 1990s,
has for more than 30 years fought efforts to introduce dolphinariums to
India."  As far I know, Maneka Gandhi served as Minister of Environment from
1989 to 1991 in the cabinet of V.P. Singh. In 1996 and 1998, she was
reelected to the Lok Sabha as an independent member from Pilibhit in Uttar
Pradesh and served in the BJP led governments as Minister of State for
Social Justice and Empowerment, and Minister for Culture. She created the
Department for Animal Welfare and served as its Minister along with her
other portfolios. Please note that the Ministry of Environment and Forests
is different from the other portfolios Maneka Gandhi has held as minister
although the department of Animal Welfare was shifted from the Ministry of
Environment and Forests to the Social Justice department when she was at the
helm.*
* You also say she has fought efforts to prevent the introduction of
dolphinariums in India for over 30 years.  The only effort to introduce a
dolphinarium in India that I am aware of is Dolphin City in Chennai that
imported Bottlenose Dolphins from Bulgaria in the late 1990s, 1997/1998 if
memory serves me correctly. I was involved in the campaign to shut the
facility down and had corresponded with her and several other groups
regarding this. The dolphins in Chennai died and there have been no further
plans to bring them back. However your item indicates that there might have
been efforts to introduce dolphinariums in India as early as 1979. Can you
substantiate this suggestion? Which organisations, apart from Dolphin City
had planned to start dolphinariums in India and on what dates? What species
of dolphins were involved and from which countries? And what kind of
campaign was involved to stop their entry into India?*
* Thank you.*
* Regards,*
**
*                   Shubhobroto*
*
http://www.dailypioneer.com/207625/Govt-plans-to-keep-Gangetic-dolphins-in-Delhi\
-zoo.html
*
*Govt plans to keep Gangetic dolphins in Delhi zoo*

*M Madhusudan | New Delhi*

The Centre wants to keep the Ganges River Dolphins in the Delhi zoo to
�create awareness among the visitors about the importance of the endangered
species�. But experts on dolphins have outrightly trashed the ambitious plan
terming it as �impossible� and one that will �only further endanger the
endangered species�, declared as the National Aquatic Animal only a couple
of days ago.

Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday announced the Government�s
plans during a function to mark the Wildlife Week celebrations.

�It cannot be possible on many counts. The Ganges River Dolphin is a
freshwater animal. It requires flowing water and is a predator. It doesn�t
eat dead fish. If there are minimal chances of its survival in captivity,
the cost on the project including maintenance and technology is very high.
More importantly, India doesn�t have expert veterinary doctors to attend to
Dolphins. Any such move should only be made after a thorough discussion
involving all pros and cons,� RK Sinha, an internationally acclaimed dolphin
expert, told The Pioneer.

Delhi zoo Director DN Singh said his officials would chalk out an action
plan in this regard. �If the Government succeeded in doing so it will be the
first of its kind project in the country. The species are under the Schedule
I of Wildlife Protection Act hence we cannot bring it from anywhere. We will
look for a rescued one from Bihar where they are found in abundance,� Singh
said.

However, as things stand, a contemplation on keeping the freshwater dolphin
in captivity had been underway some 15 years ago. The Bihar Government had
thought of it in 1994, only to discard it completely on the advise of
international experts.


  On 11/6/09, Merritt Clifton <anmlpepl@...> wrote:
>
>
>
> From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 2009:
>
> Gangetic dolphins in zoo?
>
> NEW DELHI, PATNA--Created to protect the Ganga River and
> tributaries, the Ganga River Basin Authority debuted on October 5,
> 2009 by declaring Gangetic dolphins the Indian national aquatic
> animal, on a motion by Bijar chief minister Nitish Kumar. The
> action gives Gangetic dolphins status equivalent to tigers, the
> national animal, and peacocks, the national bird. As few as 1,500
> Gangetic dolphins remain in the Ganga basin.
> "Gangetic dolphins represent the health of the rivers,
> particularly the Ganga," explained national environment and forest
> minister Jairam Ramesh. Only in office since August 2009,
> Ramesh has rapidly developed an animal-friendly reputation--but he
> stepped into hot water at a Wildlife Week function just a day later
> by pledging to "ensure that the Gangetic dolphin is kept in the Delhi
> Zoo, for creating awareness among visitors about the importance of
> the species."
> The Delhi Zoo has no dolphinarium, Delhi Zoo animal care has
> often been controversial, and People for Animals founder Maneka
> Gandhi, who twice held Ramesh's portfolio in the 1980s and 1990s,
> has for more than 30 years fought efforts to introduce dolphinariums
> to India.
> Citing the Ganga River Basin Authority motion, Nitish Kumar
> on October 8, 2009 ordered the Bijar state police to stop dolphin
> hunting and captures.
>


There is a summary of the Dolphin City case & Maneka's opposition to dolphin
captivity near the end of this.  It appears to be summarizing my earlier
coverage.  She had told me that if anyone could build the equivalent of the
Sea World dolphin facilities in India,  she would approve them -- knowing,
  of course,  that even in the U.S. no one except Sea World has managed to
build anything comparable,  not even Walt Disney Inc. (though Disney has not
even tried to build dolphin facilities since EPCOT Center.)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
--------------

Free Willy! six years later
(From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  June 1999.)

        OSLO,  Norway--Responding on four days' notice to a Japanese plan to
capture four orcas in Norwegian waters,  former "Flipper" trainer Ric
O'Barry recently scored one of the biggest,  quickest victories of his
30-year crusade against marine mammal captivity.
        Yet mass media and even Internet animal rights forums scarcely
noticed.
        O'Barry was used to the silence.  Arrested on Earth Day 1970 for
trying to free two captive dolphins,  he campaigned virtually alone for
almost 20 years.  Then the 1993 hit film Free Willy! and sequels made
opposition to marine mammal captivity briefly the fastest growing and most
lucrative branch of the animal rights movement.
        In those days,  the abrupt cancellation of a proposed orca capture
might have won global note.  But O'Barry was never a favorite of the Free
Willy! crowd,  having pointed out early in the saga that Keiko,  the orca
star of the Free Willy! films,  was actually a poor candidate for successful
release because of his advanced age and many years in captivity.
        Keiko has been out of sight in an Icelandic sea pen since early
September 1998.  He has become a much stronger swimmer and driver,  Kristin
Gazlay reported on May 7 for Associated Press,  and is soon to be given the
run of a much larger holding area.
        "But despite all his months in a natural environment,  Keiko still
has not figured out how to feed himself,"  Gazlay wrote.
        O'Barry learned from the Norwegian Federation for Animal Protection
on March 9 that representatives of the new Nagoya Public Aquarium were due
in Oslo on March 15 to meet with a variety of government officials.  The
Japanese reportedly hoped to hire notorious whaling and sealing fleet owner
Steinar Bastensen to capture orcas,  for display when the aquarium opens in
2001.
        The Norwegian Federation for Animal Protection only learned of the
Japanese plan that morning,  from the Norwegian newspaper Nordlys.  The plan
apparently had strong support from the Norwegian ministry of trade.
        But the ministeries of fisheries,  the environment,  and agriculture
were said to be opposed--not least because the capture effort would attract
activist and media attention,  raising the profile of the revived Norwegian
whaling and sealing industries.
        That gave the O'Barry and NFAP an opening. O'Barry arrived to help on
March 13,  with his bride of a few months,  Danish journalist Helene
Hesselgaar.
        Rallying support via the Internet,  O'Barry,  Hesselgaar, and NFAP
confronted the Japanese delegation two days later as they arrived at the
Norwegian fisheries ministry office in Oslo for their first scheduled
meeting.
        The meeting ended with the plan suspended--though O'Barry warns that
the issue isn't over,  that the Nagoya Public Aquarium may now seek orcas
from Russian or Argentinian waters,  and still has about 18 months to get
them before the aquarium opens.
        Apart from Keiko in his sea pen,  the most evident effect of marine
mammal freedom advocacy in the six years since Free Willy! debuted is that
for about five years it siphoned funding and attention away from other
marine mammal issues--until a TV crew on May 17 shocked the world awake by
videotaping eight Makah men in the act of killing  a young gray whale.  (See
page 1.)
        Overshadowed in the interim were the annual Japanese escalation of
"research" whaling;  the unilateral Norwegian resumption of undisguised
commercial whaling in 1994;  the resumption of the Canadian offshore seal
hunt in 1995;   and the process by which the Makah resumed whaling.
        Japan and Norway are now trying to use the Makah example to
rationalize "cultural" whaling in their own coastal waters--and they don't
want any activists looking in their direction.

Closures

        Cumulative attendance at captive marine mammal displays has only
risen.  If the anti-captivity movement had any effect at all on marine
mammal exhibition,  it was probably just to help accelerate a trend already
long underway toward rerouting audience share from smaller and older
facilities to those which can claim to be state-of-the-art.
        Keiko's departure to Iceland last September upstaged the permanent
closure one day later of the Depoe Bay Aquarium in Depoe Bay,  Oregon.
  Owners John and Talley Woodmark said they couldn't afford the estimated
$200,000 cost of renovating the 72-year-old aquarium to meet current legal
requirements and public expectations.
        The Woodmarks bought the aquarium in 1978,  but gradually lost most
of their audience to the Oregon Coast Aquarium,  20 miles south,  opened in
1984.  The Woodmarks began planning to leave the business in 1995,  after
the Oregon Coast Aquarium was selected as Keiko's temporary home between his
removal from the substandard El Reino Aventura aquarium in Mexico City,
  where the first Free Willy! film was partly made,  and his exodus to
Iceland.  Their harbor seal went to Sea World at Aurora,  Ohio;  their two
sea lions went to the Indiana Children's Zoo in Fort Wayne;  and the
building itself is being turned into an art gallery.
        Ironically,  the seal and sea lions were temporarily kept at the
Oregon Coast Aquarium,  whose staff face lean times themselves after losing
their star attration.
        Keiko's former tank is now being renovated into a $4.8 million,
  three-tank series of recreations of reef,  ocean bottom, and open sea
habitats.  It is doubtful that they will draw even half the crowd that Keiko
did.
        Depoe Bay was only one of at least three U.S. marine mammal
exhibition venues that closed forever within the past 18 months:
        *  The 14-year-old Maine Aquarium in Saco,  out of business since
mid-1997,  was finally dismantled in January 1998,  after relocating two
harbor seals,  four penguins,  and a sea turtle, along with fish and
invertebrates.
        *  Cedar Point,  in Sandusky,  Ohio,  in March 1998 closed its
18-year-old Oceana Marine Life Stadium,  after three dolphins died there in
barely two years,  and sent the last surviving dolphin to the Dolphin
Research Center swim-with facility in Florida.
        *  Knott's Berry Farm in May 1998 announced that it would discontinue
dolphin and sea lion exhibits after  the 1998 tourist season.
Revamps
        Marineland of Florida declared bankruptcy in April 1998 with debts of
$9.7 million,  and almost went under after closing to visitors in November
1998.  It reopened on March 27,  1999,  however, after reaching agreement
with the USDA on a schedule for making improvements.
        Built in 1937 as an underwater film studio,  and opened to the public
in 1940,  Marineland is generally considered the first modern oceanarium.
  Older facilities,  such as the former Depoe Bay Aquarium,  built in 1926,
  exhibited animals in tanks,  but lacked the performance venues
characterizing Marineland and successors.
        The Pittsburgh Zoo closed its sometimes controversial Aqua Zoo in
September 1998,  but is building a $12.5 million replacement, scheduled to
open in April 2000.

New and improved

        Offsetting the closures,  all of small and old facilities, are a host
of improvements and expansions at big and new facilities:
        *  Marine World Africa USA,  in Vallejo,  California, enjoyed a 65%
rise in attendance in 1998,  after losing money for five years in a row and
changing ownership. The new owners, Premier Parks Inc., operators of the Six
Flags amusement park chain,  retitled the facility Six Flags Marine World
and put $40 million into new rides and site improvements.  A 10-story roller
coaster debuted in March 1999.  The spending didn't particularly benefit the
resident orcas, dolphins,  walruses,  and sea lions,  but Premier Parks has
denied that the addition of more non-animal attractions herald a shift away
from animal-based entertainment.
        *  The John Shedd Aquarium in Chicago on May 15 opened Caribbean
Reef,  a new exhibit that replaces a 27-year-old artificial reef.  A $16.5
million Amazon exhibit and a $37.2 million Philippine coral reef exhibit are
to open in 2000 and 2002,  respectively. Built in 1930 and repeatedly
expanded,  Shedd was target of intensive protest,  1991-1994,  after
capturing beluga whales and Pacific whitesided dolphins from the wild to
stock the marine mammal pavillion that was opened in 1992,  but has not been
targeted in recent years.  The Shedd was the only U.S. institution to
capture cetaceans other than stranding cases from the wild during the 1990s.
        *  The Monterey Bay Aquarium opened a unique $5 million deep-sea
exhibit in November 1998.  The Monterey Bay Aquarium has never exhibited
cetaceans,  but California sea otters rescued from various distress
situations remain the most popular animals in residence.
        *  The 10-year-old Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi is
undergoing an $11.5 million expansion to add a dolphin exhibit. Local
dolphin tour boat operator Erv Strong has tried to build protest against the
expansion,  without notable success.
        *  Colorado's Ocean Journey,  costing $93 million to build, is to
open to the public on June 21.  Among the menagerie will be two California
sea otters,  three river otters,  and two swimming Indonesian tigers,  but
no dolphins,  in keeping with a 1993 promise to Robin Duxbury of Animal
Rights Mobilization,  whose "No dolphins in Denver" campaign was one of the
few clear victories of the marine mammal freedom movement.
        *  The Indianapolis Zoo in March 1999 announced a proposed $20
million expansion of its present Dolphin Pavillion and World of Waters into
a new facility,  to be called the Indiana State Aquarium. The old facilities
were subject of numerous complaints and several public protests by the
Animal and Environmental Defense Association between 1989 and 1994,
  especially following the 1992 death of a pseudorca named Tsuki,  about a
year after her import from Japan. Tsuki was reportedly captured during a
"drive fishery,"  in which most of her family were killed.  The
confrontations ceased in 1994, after AEDA blocked an attempt by the zoo to
import four more pseudorcas from Japan.
        *  The Vancouver Aquarium in October 1998 announced a $10 million
expansion of facilities for fish and educational activity, but has not been
able to overcome opposition orchestrated by the Coalition for No Whales in
Captivity,  Period and Lifeforce to expanding tanks occupied by beluga
whales and an orca,  who shares her space with a Pacific whitesided dolphin.
  The anti-captivity organizations argue that if the aquarium is allowed to
give the whales more space,  it may also acquire more whales.   The
aquarium--the first ever to exhibit an orca--had two orcas until last year,
  when the male died.  The white-sided dolphin,  their longtime companion,
  came to Vancouver with a reputation for pugnaciousness after clashing
violently with dolphins at other facilities.
        *  The often embattled 43-year-old Miami Seaquarium, actually located
at Key Biscayne,  was at last report still seeking ways and means of
undertaking a $70 million expansion despite community opposition and
courtroom defeats of attempts to overturn decisions of the Key Biscayne
village council.  The fight has gone on for nine years.  Local activists
remain hopeful that the Seaquarium will eventually be forced to close,  and
that the aging resident orca,  Lolita,  will be returned to her home waters
in Puget Sound, where she was captured in 1973.
        Meanwhile,  on April 28,  1999,  the Seaquarium began fundraising to
build a new manatee hospital and rehabilitation facility--not sounding much
like an institution that anticipates folding soon.

Dolphins or manatees

        Just being new is no guarantee of success.  Opened in 1996,
Underwater World at the Mall of America in Minneapolis flopped so severely
that it spent most of 1998 enduring bankruptcy.  The Camden Aquarium,  in
New Jersey,  has struggled since opening in 1992,  and the Florida State
Aquarium in Tampa has lost money since opening in 1995.
        Industry observers ascribe all three failures,  in part,  to the
absence of charismatic marine mammals.  Camden attendence has picked up in
recent years,  however,  after the addition of penguins and exotic fish to
the original focus on species native to New Jersey.
        Adding marine mammals would be a bigger draw,  but acquiring them is
increasingly expensive.  Bottlenose dolphins are plentifully available from
captive sources, but  building facilities that the public will accept as
adequate tends to take more land, incur more debt,  and create more public
relations liabilities than many aquarium directors care to risk.  Yet
matters pertaining to parking and noise,  as at Key Biscayne,  seem to raise
more enduring opposition than marine mammal captivity.
        In addition,  opposition to captivity is easily avoided if the
animals acquired are manatees.  Like bottlenose dolphins, captive manatees
are readily available.  Unlike dolphins,  manatees don't perform,  or even
interact much with viewers.  But they don't seem to mind intensive close-up
viewing,  they don't need as much space as dolphins,  and most of those in
captivity have scars from power boat propellers that clearly show why they
cannot be released--whereas even a captive-bred dolphin who has never known
the open seas tends to evoke concerns about captivity with displays of speed
and leaping ability.
        A year-old manatee exhibit is among the more popular attractions at
Sea World San Diego;  the Cincinnati Zoo opened a manatee exhibit on May 22,
  and the Columbus Zoo plans to open a manatee exhibit on June 21.
        As Lolita is among the longest surviving of all captive orcas,  and
may not be replaced,  the increasing emphasis on manatees at the Miami
Seaquarium,  which has long had some,  may reflect a growing feeling even
among the executives of facilities traditionally focusing on cetaceans that
manatees are the captive marine mammal of the future.
        The most recently announced new facility which is to keep cetaceans
is a proposed $5 million marine mammal hospital and rehabilitation unit,  to
be added to the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution in Fort Pierce,
  Florida.  Harbor Branch began fundraising for the project in April 1999,
  after housing recovering stranding victims for about a year in a temporary
holding pool.
        Harbor Branch got into keeping marine mammals on behalf of the Marine
Mammal Stranding Network in 1998,  after Sea World at Orlando withdrew from
a similar housing arrangement to protect its own animals from marine
morbilivirus,  a deadly disease related to German measles and canine
distemper.  Morbilivirus had been discovered in some wild dolphins off the
Florida coast.
        Neither the existing Harbor Branch facility nor the proposed hospital
and rehabilitation unit are intended to become exhibition venues,  but
inevitably wildlife rehabilitation centers acquire some animals who cannot
be returned to the wild.  Usually these animals are eventually exhibited to
help raise funds in support of the treatment programs.

Abroad

        Among the remaining older captive marine mammal facilities in North
America,  Marineland of Niagara Falls,  Ontario,  may have drawn more
protest than any other in recent years.  Not associated with Marineland of
Florida,  Marineland of Niagara Falls is a longtime reputed conduit for
marine mammals coming to U.S. institutions from abroad.  It also breeds
marine mammals for sale to other aquariums.  Owner John Holer has mostly
successfully resisted activist pressure,  but lost a round in August 1998
when the threat of a lawsuit from the Animal Alliance of Canada,  the Bear
Alliance, and Zoocheck Canada forced Marineland of Niagara Falls to
relinquish two orphaned bear cubs,  who were to be returned to the wild
after rehabilitation by the Ontario Natural Resources Ministry.
        The marine mammal freedom movement may be strongest in Europe,
  though the appeal of marine mammals seems undiminshed:  a three-week-old
sea otter named Rosa was easily the top draw when the $70 million Oceanario
de Lisboa aquarium opened in May 1998.  The last British cetacean exhibition
venues closed some years ago. Relatively few marine mammal exhibition sites
persist on the European continent,  and many of those with dolphins are
among the older, smaller variety that are easily targeted for protest.
        In Africa,  Asia and Latin America,  by contrast,  marine mammals
often appear in traveling circuses.  O'Barry has recently joined protests
against such  shows in Argentina,  Brazil,  Columbia, Peru,  and Venezuela,
  as well as in Turkey.  The traveling shows often originate from Russia or
former Iron Curtain nations, typically featuring animals originally trained
for use by the Soviet military.
        Opposition to marine mammal exhibition led by Maneka Gandhi, now
Indian minister of state for social welfare and empowerment,  has kept
dolphin shows out of India.  But her opposition rose independently from the
Free Willy! hoopla.  Maneka has often stated that she favors zoos and
aquariums if they do not take animals from the wild and can at least match
the animal care standards and educational quality of the best zoos and
aquariums she has visited in the U.S.--and she has made plain that no
facility now existing in India in her view even comes close.
        One new Indian location,  Dolphin City in Chennai,  did import and
exhibit three dolphins from Bulgaria during September and October 1998.
  They all died within less than a month,  possibly due to transport shock.
        The Asian economic crisis of the past two years has slowed the
development of dolphinariums in several nations,  but China, Taiwan,  Japan,
  Thailand,  Indonesia,  Malay-sia,  and Vietnam all reportedly still have
one or more major marine mammal exhibition sites either under construction
or in planning.
        "Asian development spells bad news for wildlife,"  Earth Island
Institute marine mammal program associate Mark Berman declared in the Spring
1999 edition of the American SPCA magazine Animal Watch.
        Yet before Americans and Canadi-ans met Flipper and other live marine
mammals at captive sites in North America, only a few dissident marine
scientists opposed whaling and sealing;  there was no public opposition to
netting tuna "on dolphin";  and there was very little opposition of any sort
to bombing and strafing orcas and belugas--a common U.S. and Canadian
military practice until the 1970s,  as the whales were generally believed to
be competing with humans to catch fish.
        Wild marine mammals,  from clawed otters to great whales, are in
desperate trouble,  especially in southeast Asian waters. It may be that
worse news than captivity for their species would be that charismatic
representatives are never introduced to the public.
        Quality exhibition venues,  where the animals are well looked after,
  would be far preferable to sites like the one in Qingdao, China,  where
fireworks set off to mark the Chinese New Year on March 28 reportedly made
nervous wrecks of four sea lions.
        Yet it is noteworthy that the government-run Xinhua news service
cited the trauma to the sea lions first in warning citizens that "Several
major Chinese cities have banned firecrackers,  which have caused numerous
deaths,  injuries,  and fires."
        The sea lions also rated four paragraphs more prominence than the
single-sentence mention that "Beijing authorities have continued to ban
firecrackers from the capital."
        What that means,  in official Chinese media parlance,  is that
authorities trying to curb a public hazard think citizens will respond more
positively on behalf of four formerly unfamiliar but now popular exotic
animals,  than just to a government order--which is, nonetheless,  held in
reserve.
        Not long ago,  government orders came first.  Animals didn't rate
attention at all.
--M.C.

  *
http://www.dailypioneer.com/207625/Govt-plans-to-keep-Gangetic-dolphins-in-Delhi\
-zoo.html
*
*Govt plans to keep Gangetic dolphins in Delhi zoo*

*M Madhusudan | New Delhi*

The Centre wants to keep the Ganges River Dolphins in the Delhi zoo to
�create awareness among the visitors about the importance of the endangered
species�. But experts on dolphins have outrightly trashed the ambitious plan
terming it as �impossible� and one that will �only further endanger the
endangered species�, declared as the National Aquatic Animal only a couple
of days ago.

Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday announced the Government�s
plans during a function to mark the Wildlife Week celebrations.

�It cannot be possible on many counts. The Ganges River Dolphin is a
freshwater animal. It requires flowing water and is a predator. It doesn�t
eat dead fish. If there are minimal chances of its survival in captivity,
the cost on the project including maintenance and technology is very high.
More importantly, India doesn�t have expert veterinary doctors to attend to
Dolphins. Any such move should only be made after a thorough discussion
involving all pros and cons,� RK Sinha, an internationally acclaimed dolphin
expert, told The Pioneer.

Delhi zoo Director DN Singh said his officials would chalk out an action
plan in this regard. �If the Government succeeded in doing so it will be the
first of its kind project in the country. The species are under the Schedule
I of Wildlife Protection Act hence we cannot bring it from anywhere. We will
look for a rescued one from Bihar where they are found in abundance,� Singh
said.

However, as things stand, a contemplation on keeping the freshwater dolphin
in captivity had been underway some 15 years ago. The Bihar Government had
thought of it in 1994, only to discard it completely on the advise of
international experts.

  *
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_gange\
tica.html
* *Platanista gangetica*
Ganges river dolphin
(Also: susu)

   -

  11/01 11:08:38.484 US/Eastern

*By Jonathan Swinton and Whitney Gomez*
  Kingdom:
Animalia<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Animali\
a.html>
Phylum:
Chordata<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Chordat\
a.html>
Subphylum:
Vertebrata<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Verte\
brata.html>
Class:
Mammalia<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Mammali\
a.html>
Order:
Cetacea<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Cetacea.\
html>
Suborder:
Odontoceti<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Odont\
oceti.html>
Family:
Platanistidae<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Pl\
atanistidae.html>
Genus:
Platanista<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Plata\
nista.html>
Species: *Platanista gangetica*
  Geographic Range

Limited to southern Asia, Platanista gangetica inhabits the Ganges and Indus
rivers and the many associated tributaries and connected lakes. This species
is restricted to freshwater. There are two subspecies: Platanista gangetica
gangetica, found in Eastern India, Nepal and Bangladesh in the Ganges,
Meghna, Karnaphuli, Bramaputra, and Hooghly river systems, and Platanista
gangetica minor, found in Pakistan in the Indus River system. (Moreno,
2003<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#b8472e57e0ce6288f353e4c3b11b5e8c>;
Nowak,
1999<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#c39ac483cc50303ed64e7d42bb841fa0>;
Nowak,
2003<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#48e2a4ebb39f4ae5c4f405d145b89aca>
)

*Biogeographic Regions: *
oriental<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/2002091500134\
8.html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020915001348.html>(
native<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145365.\
html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145365.html>
).
  Habitat
*Elevation*
250 m (high)
(820 ft)


*Depth*
9 m (high); avg. 3 m
(29.52 ft; avg. 9.84 ft)


Ganges River dolphins occupy freshwater river systems in southern Asia. They
inhabit the Ganges and Indus River systems and their many tributaries,
streams, and connecting lakes. They are found in tributaries that run
through the hills and lowlands in Nepal (roughly 250 meters above sea level)
and sometimes in flood plains and areas of rivers with heavy currents. These
river dolphins prefer areas that create eddy countercurrents, such as small
islands, river bends, and convergent tributaries. Since these animals occupy
a vast area of river systems, they can tolerate a wide variance of
temperatures; some as cold 8 degrees Celsius to warm waters above 33 degrees
Celsius (46.4F to 91.4F). They inhabit depths from 3 to 9 meters and must
surface every few minutes for air. In the monsoon season, Ganges River
dolphins locally migrate to tributaries and then back to larger river
channels in the dry, winter season. They also move along the coast of the
Bay of Bengal when monsoons flush freshwater out along the southeastern
coast of India. (Moreno,
2003<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#b8472e57e0ce6288f353e4c3b11b5e8c>
)

*These animals are found in the following types of habitat: *
tropical<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/2002090414559\
8.html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145598.html>;
freshwater<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145\
747.html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145747.html>
.

*Aquatic Biomes: *
lakes and ponds; rivers and streams;
coastal<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145825\
.html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145825.html>;
brackish
water<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145435.h\
tml>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145435.html>
.
  Physical Description
*Mass*
51 to 89 kg
(112.2 to 195.8 lbs)

*Length*
200 to 400 cm; avg. 300 cm
(78.74 to 157.48 in; avg. 118.11 in)

The two subspecies of Ganges River dolphins are virtually identical in
physical appearance. They are readily identified by their elongated snout,
which can reach lengths of 20% of total body length. Upon sexual maturity,
females develop slightly longer snouts than males. This characteristic is
useful in identifying sexually mature individuals. The beak is relatively
flat and becomes widest at the tip. They bend slightly upward and can reach
a length of 21 cm. On both the top and lower parts of the jaw they have
long, sharp teeth, which are visible even when the mouth is closed. On the
upper jaw, there are between 26 and 39 teeth on each side and on the lower
jaw 26 to 35 teeth on each side. The lower teeth are typically longer than
the teeth on the upper jaw. With age, the teeth eventually are worn down and
become flat. Unlike other dolphins, Platanista gangetica lack snout
hairs. (Moreno,
2003<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#b8472e57e0ce6288f353e4c3b11b5e8c>;
Nowak,
2003<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#48e2a4ebb39f4ae5c4f405d145b89aca>;
Reeves and Brownell Jr.,
1989<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#c6baad39f0511f4a0375c2b5ead76871>;
Wilson and Reeder,
2005<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#3a1101ab098a1b7cb1db453bdba1f8cb>
)

Well designed for aquatic life, Ganges River dolphins have long flippers
that can be up to 18% of total body length. The tail fluke is quite large as
well, reaching 46 cm or roughly a quarter of total body length. The dorsal
fin resembles a fleshy hump on its back and is usually just a few
centimeters in height. They are usually a grey to brown color, but may also
have pink bellies and dark grey backs. Dorsal color is generally darker than
ventral color. (Moreno,
2003<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#b8472e57e0ce6288f353e4c3b11b5e8c>;
Nowak,
2003<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#48e2a4ebb39f4ae5c4f405d145b89aca>;
Reeves and Brownell Jr.,
1989<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#c6baad39f0511f4a0375c2b5ead76871>;
Wilson and Reeder,
2005<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#3a1101ab098a1b7cb1db453bdba1f8cb>
)

The skull is highly asymmetrical and has a distinctly steep forehead and a
longitudinal ridge. These river dolphins are unique in having long necks
with unfused vertebrae. This makes them able to turn their heads from side
to side with great flexibility. Ganges River dolphins are sometimes referred
to as "blind river dolphins" since their eyes are extremely tiny and lack a
lens. These animals are not reliant on vision as a primary sensory system,
but the eye is thought to function as a light detector. Slightly larger than
the eye and positioned just below it are the external ears. The blowhole is
longitudinally positioned, which is unique in comparison to the horizontally
positioned blowholes in most other toothed
whales<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Odontocet\
i.html>.
Ganges River dolphins characteristically have several folds of skin that
form a wattle. The exact function or purpose of this ornamentation is
unknown. (Moreno,
2003<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#b8472e57e0ce6288f353e4c3b11b5e8c>;
Nowak,
2003<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#48e2a4ebb39f4ae5c4f405d145b89aca>;
Reeves and Brownell Jr.,
1989<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#c6baad39f0511f4a0375c2b5ead76871>;
Wilson and Reeder,
2005<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#3a1101ab098a1b7cb1db453bdba1f8cb>
)

Upon sexual maturity, females tend to be larger than males in overall body
size and snout length. Unofficial records have adult females measuring 400
cm, but the average adult rarely exceeds 300 cm in length. At birth, young
average 70 cm in length. Typical adult weights are between 51 and 89
kg. (Moreno,
2003<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#b8472e57e0ce6288f353e4c3b11b5e8c>;
Nowak,
2003<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#48e2a4ebb39f4ae5c4f405d145b89aca>;
Reeves and Brownell Jr.,
1989<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#c6baad39f0511f4a0375c2b5ead76871>;
Wilson and Reeder,
2005<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#3a1101ab098a1b7cb1db453bdba1f8cb>
)

*Some key physical features: *
endothermic<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/2002091613\
0951.html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020916130951.html>;
homoiothermic; bilateral
symmetry<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/2002090414564\
2.html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145642.html>
.

*Sexual dimorphism:
*<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020914200808.html>\
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020914200808.html>f\
emale
larger,
ornamentation<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020914\
195519.html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020914195519.html>
.
Reproduction
*Breeding interval*
Breeding interval in Ganges River dolphins are not known.


*Breeding season*
Breeding occurs at all times of the year, although most breeding occurs from
October to March.


*Number of offspring*
1 to 1; avg. 1


*Gestation period*
8 to 12 months; avg. 10 months


*Time to weaning*
2 to 12 months; avg. 8 months


*Time to independence*
12 months (average)


*Age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)*
10 years (average)


*Age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)*
10 years (average)



Not much is known about mating systems in Ganges River dolphins. Further
studies must be done to provide information regarding their mating behavior.
They breed year round. Difficulty studying these species can in part be
attributed to environmental conditions in their habitat due to the monsoon
season. In addition the political and socioeconomic state of the area where
these dolphins are found is not conducive to research. (Moreno,
2003<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#b8472e57e0ce6288f353e4c3b11b5e8c>;
Reeves et al.,
2002<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#74b65ad91e647ce743f7a053434ff00e>
)

Breeding in Platanista gangetica occurs year round, as does birthing. Most
births are from October to March, with a peak in December and January,
preceding the beginning of the dry season. Gestation is typically about 10
months but can be from 8 to 12 months. Ganges river dolphins bear a single
offspring from 70 to 90 cm long. Weaning can begin as early as 2 months or
as late as 12 months, typical time to weaning is at 9 months old. Once
offspring have been weaned, they disperse and become independent. Males and
females typically reach sexual maturity at 10 years of age, although growth
continues into their 20's. (Jefferson, Webber, and Pitman,
2008<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#9fe5d0974b6f413076ab34fec1f479df>;
Moreno,
2003<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#b8472e57e0ce6288f353e4c3b11b5e8c>;
Nowak,
2003<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#48e2a4ebb39f4ae5c4f405d145b89aca>;
Reeves et al.,
2002<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#74b65ad91e647ce743f7a053434ff00e>
)

*Key reproductive features: *
iteroparous<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/2002090414\
5554.html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145554.html>;
year-round
breeding<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/2002090414569\
8.html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145698.html>;
gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate);
sexual<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145786.\
html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145786.html>;
viviparous<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145\
695.html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145695.html>
.

The main form of parental care in Platanista gangetica, besides gestation,
is provisioning in the form of lactation until weaning. Offspring are weaned
no later than 1 year old. Once weaning occurs both male and female offspring
disperse. Platanista gangetica are solitary animals so, upon leaving, the
offspring is entirely on its own. (MacDonald and Norris,
2001<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#994be4994c4f0fc28284584ad4893e04>
)

*Parental investment: *
pre-fertilization (provisioning, protecting: female); pre-hatching/birth
(provisioning: female, protecting: female); pre-weaning/fledging
(provisioning: female, protecting: female).
  Lifespan/Longevity
*Extreme lifespan (wild)*
28 years (high)


*Average lifespan (wild)*
20 years



Very little is known about the lifespan and longevity of Ganges River
dolphins. Few specimens have been observed for the entirety of their lives,
but a handful of estimates exist. The oldest male on record lived to be 28
years of age, while the oldest female reached 17.5 years of age. Based on
crude estimates, dolphins reaching 18 to 22 years of age may not be
uncommon. Few successful efforts have brought Platanista
gangeticaindividuals into captivity for study.(Reeves
and Brownell Jr.,
1989<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#c6baad39f0511f4a0375c2b5ead76871>
)
  Behavior
*Territory Size*
Unknown km^2 (average)



Ganges River dolphins are solitary animals but they occasionally congregate
in groups of 3 to 10 individuals. Groups of up to 30 animals have been
reported. Mothers and calves stay together until the infants are weaned.
Despite their mostly solitary nature, these river dolphins are found in
loose aggregations, especially at tributary junctions where prey congregate.
Some consider Ganges River dolphins semi-gregarious. There are some
indications of territoriality, as chasing behaviors in males have been
observed. Generally, these animals are shy towards humans, even in
captivity. Their elusive nature has made them difficult subjects to
study. (Moreno,
2003<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#b8472e57e0ce6288f353e4c3b11b5e8c>;
Nowak,
2003<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#48e2a4ebb39f4ae5c4f405d145b89aca>;
Perrin, Wursig, and Thewissen,
2002<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#7fe27f38f295ea6851e52a093ae3f106>;
Reeves and Brownell Jr.,
1989<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#c6baad39f0511f4a0375c2b5ead76871>
)

Ganges River dolphins have a peculiar method of swimming, in that they swim
on their sides when submerged. At roughly a 10 degree angle, they swim a few
centimeters from the bottom, constantly nodding the head, allowing it to
sweep the bottom in search of food. For unknown reasons, most individuals
swim on their right sides. Side swimming also positions their eye at an
angle appropriate to sensing light, perhaps providing orientation for the
animal while diving. Their tails are always positioned higher than the head
in side swimming, allowing them to swim in water as shallow as 30 cm. When
they surface for air, they level out and swim laterally. In captivity,
measured swimming speed reached 5.4 km/hr, but this may not be
representative of possible speeds in the wild, where habitats are more open.
They have been recorded swimming upwards of 27 km/hr in the wild. Captive
animals swim and vocalize continuously over a 24 hour period, with only
brief interruptions lasting a few seconds. When swimming intensity relaxed,
for example in drifting locomotion, the intensity of vocalizations emitted
also relaxed. Dives are typically short, the longest wild dive was 3
minutes. Average dive times in the wild are between 1 minute 10 seconds and
1 minute 40 seconds. Dives in captivity are shorter than wild dive times,
with the longest being 1 minute and 35 seconds. In many
cetaceans<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Cetace\
a.html>,
myoglobin concentrations are generally high to cope with the stress of
diving, but due to their relatively shallow river habitats and short dive
periods, myoglobin concentrations in heart and muscle tissues are
considerably lower.
  Home Range

Little is known about home range sizes in Platanista gangetica. Aerial and
shoreline observations have proven inadequate at determining the given range
of an individual. These animals travel extensively throughout river
ecosystems, moving from mainland channels to coastlines and tributaries as
the seasons change. (Moreno,
2003<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#b8472e57e0ce6288f353e4c3b11b5e8c>;
Perrin, Wursig, and Thewissen,
2002<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#7fe27f38f295ea6851e52a093ae3f106>;
Reeves and Brownell Jr.,
1989<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#c6baad39f0511f4a0375c2b5ead76871>
)

*Key behaviors: *
natatorial<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020914213\
156.html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020914213156.html>;
diurnal<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145414\
.html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145414.html>;
nocturnal<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/200209041455\
03.html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145503.html>;
motile<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145472.\
html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145472.html>;
nomadic<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145569\
.html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145569.html>;
migratory<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/200209041453\
13.html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145313.html>;
solitary<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/2002090414538\
1.html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145381.html>;
territorial<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/2002090414\
5597.html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145597.html>
.
  Communication and Perception

Ganges River dolphins have poor vision. They lack lenses in their eyes,
making it impossible for them to resolve images, they are likely to only be
able to detect the presence or absence of light. Ganges River dolphins have
highly developed sonar systems. They use pulse sounds not whistles to
navigate. This allows them to perceive objects, specifically prey, in murky
water. Over a 24-hour period there is almost always a constant emission of
sound, 87% of these sounds are clicks for echolocation, the remaining sounds
are sounds used in communication. There have not been enough studies to
determine what the significance is of these communicative sounds. (MacDonald
and Norris,
2001<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#994be4994c4f0fc28284584ad4893e04>;
Moreno,
2003<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#b8472e57e0ce6288f353e4c3b11b5e8c>;
Nowak,
2003<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#48e2a4ebb39f4ae5c4f405d145b89aca>;
Reeves and Brownell Jr.,
1989<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#c6baad39f0511f4a0375c2b5ead76871>
)

*Communicates with: *
tactile<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145500\
.html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145500.html>;
acoustic<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/2002090414582\
2.html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145822.html>
.

*Perception channels: *
visual<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145694.\
html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145694.html>;
tactile<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145500\
.html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145500.html>;
acoustic<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/2002090414582\
2.html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145822.html>;
ultrasound<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145\
686.html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145686.html>;
echolocation<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/200209041\
45531.html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145531.html>;
chemical<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/2002090414560\
6.html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145606.html>
.
  Food Habits

Ganges River dolphins are top predators in their river ecosystems. Side
swimming and a flexible neck allow them to search river bottoms to stir up
hiding prey. Their formidable speed and ability to swim in shallow water
allows them to chase and herd schools of fish. They feed on a variety of
aquatic animals. Their physical appearance demonstrates how well equipped
they are to catch fish and crustaceans. They are strictly carnivorous,
although some vegetation has been found in their stomachs, most likely as a
result of messy foraging in the river bed or left over plant remains inside
the fish the dolphins have consumed. Their teeth and long snouts are
designed to catch and hold fish. They have been observed shaking prey in
their jaws and manipulating it to be swallowed head first so that the scales
on the fish do not move against the animals throat. As these dolphins do not
use vision as a sensory system to catch prey, they rely on echolocation to
find food hidden in the mud and river bottom. Once prey are located, they
grab it with their long snouts. (Reeves and Brownell Jr.,
1989<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#c6baad39f0511f4a0375c2b5ead76871>
)

In the Indus river, catfish (Wallago attu, Macrones aor) and carp (Catla
buchanani) make up a majority of the Ganges River dolphin's diet. Other
fish, such as a gobies (Glossogobius giuris), herring (Clupea telara), and
freshwater sharks (Saccobranchus fossilis) are frequently taken. In addition
to freshwater fish, crustaceans such as prawn (Palaemon and
Penaeus<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Penaeus.\
html>)
and mollusks, such as Indonia coerulea, are eaten. (Reeves and Brownell Jr.,
1989<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#c6baad39f0511f4a0375c2b5ead76871>
)

*Primary Diet: *
carnivore<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/200209041454\
19.html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145419.html>(
piscivore<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/200209041458\
38.html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145838.html>
).

*Animal Foods: *
fish; mollusks; aquatic crustaceans.
  Predation
*Known predators*

    - humans (Homo
sapiens<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Homo_sap\
iens.html>
    )

  Other than humans, there are no known natural predators of Ganges River
dolphins. Humans have exploited these animals for oil, meat, and as bait for
catching catfish. Otherwise, they are typically considered the top predator
in their river ecosystems. (Perrin, Wursig, and Thewissen,
2002<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#7fe27f38f295ea6851e52a093ae3f106>
)

*Anti-predator adaptations:: *
cryptic<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020913232730\
.html>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020913232730.html>
.
  Ecosystem Roles

Ganges River dolphins are top predators in their river ecosystems. They are
important in controlling and maintaining healthy fish and crustacean
populations, their primary sources of food. Unfortunately, these river
dolphins are experiencing the adverse effects of human environmental impacts
and are highly endangered.

While little is known about parasites that use Platanista gangetica as a
host, there are reports of Cyclorchis campula, Echinochasumus
andersoni, Anisakis
simplex<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Anisakis\
_simplex.html>,
and Contracaecum lobulatum parasitizing these dolphins. (Moreno,
2003<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#b8472e57e0ce6288f353e4c3b11b5e8c>;
Reeves and Brownell Jr.,
1989<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#c6baad39f0511f4a0375c2b5ead76871>
)
*Commensal or parasitic species (or larger taxonomic groups) that use this
species as a host*

    - Cyclorchis campula
    - Echinochasumus andersoni
    - Anisakis
simplex<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Anisakis\
_simplex.html>
    - Contracaecum lobulatum

  Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

There are no known adverse effects of Platanista gangetica on humans.
  Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Ganges River dolphins have historically been important as a source of oil
and meat. The oil is used or as an ingredient in traditional medicines. The
oil can be used to lure a specific species of catfish. The meat is used as
bait to attract fish. However, dolphin meat does not attract fish any more
than other fish scraps, so local fishermen must be educated to use other
fish scraps due to the endangered status of Ganges River dolphins. Many top
predators, including Platanista gangetica, serve as key indicators of water
and environmental quality. In recent decades, due to heightened awareness of
human impact on these freshwater ecosystems, many researchers are beginning
to understand how extreme the pollution and toxin build up in these river
systems has become. (MacDonald and Norris,
2001<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#994be4994c4f0fc28284584ad4893e04>;
Moreno,
2003<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#b8472e57e0ce6288f353e4c3b11b5e8c>
)

*Ways that people benefit from these animals: *
food<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145418.ht\
ml>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145418.html>;
body parts are source of valuable material; source of medicine or
drug<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145447.ht\
ml>
<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/glossary/popup/20020904145447.html>
.
  Conservation Status

*IUCN Red List: [link] <http://redlist.org/static/categories_criteria_3_1>:
*
Endangered.

*US Federal List: [link] <http://www.fws.gov/endangered/>: *
Endangered.

*CITES: [link] <http://www.cites.org/eng/app/appendices.shtml>: *
Appendix I.

Ganges River dolphins are among the most endangered of all
cetaceans<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Cetace\
a.html>.
With rising human populations in Southern Asia, the natural habitat of
Ganges River dolphins has been extensively modified and degraded.
Agricultural and industrial discharges are polluting the river systems in
which these dolphins live and feed. In certain populations, the accumulation
of heavy metals and organochlorides is posing serious health risks to the
animals. In addition, dangerously high levels of arsenic in the water is a
serious health threat to every animal using the water system, including
Ganges River dolphins. Human modifications to river systems are also
impacting the habitat of the dolphins. Over fifty dams affect populations of
Ganges River dolphins, cutting populations off from one another. Dams have
caused the gene pools of Ganges River dolphins to shrink, which could pose
detrimental effects in future generations. Some engineering efforts are
underway to construct channels around dams for aquatic wildlife, including
dolphins. Ganges River dolphins are becoming more and more restricted to a
smaller range. In Pakistan, a few hundred river dolphins are restricted to
roughly 1200 square kilometers of water. Many local peoples regard these
dolphins as a source of meat, oil and bait. Hunting has certainly impacted
the numbers of dolphins in the Ganges and Indus river systems. Also, Ganges
River dolphins are caught and drowned in fishing lines and nets, causing
considerable fatalities. Bull
sharks<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Carcharhi\
nus_leucas.html>that
make their way into South Asian river systems are known to attack
waders and fishermen and are highly aggressive. Many of these attacks on
local peoples are wrongly blamed on Ganges River dolphins. While it is
highly unlikely these dolphins would ever attack a human, their similar size
and color to bull
sharks<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Carcharhi\
nus_leucas.html>results
in their persecution by local peoples.(Kannan
et al.,
1993<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#2497bbfb1b67ad2fe37eac8c2c8a7366>;
Perrin, Wursig, and Thewissen,
2002<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#7fe27f38f295ea6851e52a093ae3f106>;
Reeves and Leatherwood,
1994<http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_\
gangetica.html#3a7791845ef611008146b10fe9ac05ea>
)
For More Information

Find Platanista gangetica information at

    - Encyclopedia of Life <http://www.eol.org/pages/328477>

Contributors

Jonathan Swinton (author), University of Michigan. Whitney Gomez (author),
University of Michigan. Phil Myers (editor, instructor), Museum of Zoology,
University of Michigan.
Tanya Dewey (editor), Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of
Zoology.
References

Jefferson, T., M. Webber, R. Pitman. 2008. Marine Mammals of the World: A
Comprehensive Guide to their Identification. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

  Kannan, K., R. Sinha, S. Tanabe, H. Ichihashi, R. Tatsukawa. 1993. Heavy
Metals and Organochloride Residues in Ganges River Dolphins from India. Marine
Pollution Bulletin MPNBA, 26: 159-162.

  MacDonald, D., S. Norris. 2001. The New Encyclopedia of Mammals, Vol. 1,
1st Edition. New York: Oxford University Press.

  Moreno, P. 2003. Ganges and Indus Dolphins. Pp. 13-17 in M. Hutchins, D.
Kleiman, V. Geist, J.B. Murphy, D.A. Thoney, eds. Grzimek's Animal Life
Encyclopedia, Vol. 15, 2 Edition. Farmington Hills: Gale Group.

  Nowak, R. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World, Vol. 2, 6 Edition.
Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.

  Nowak, R. 2003. Ganges and Indus Dolphins, or Susus. Pp. 128-130 in Walker's
Marine Mammals of the World, Vol. 2, 1st Edition. Baltimore, MD: The Johns
Hopkins Univesity Press.

  Perrin, W., B. Wursig, J. Thewissen. 2002. Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals,
Vol. 1, 1 Edition. New York: Academic Press.

  Reeves, R., R. Brownell Jr.. 1989. Susu. Pp. 69-99 in S. Ridgway, S.
Harrison, eds. Handbook of Marine Mammals, Vol. 4, 1 Edition. London:
Academic Press.

  Reeves, R., S. Leatherwood. 1994. Dams and River Dolphins: Can They
Coexist?. Ambio, 23: 172-175.

  Reeves, R., B. Stewart, P. Clapham, J. Powell. 2002. Sea Mammals of the
World. New York: Chanticleer Press, Inc..

  Wilson, D., D. Reeder. 2005. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and
Geographic Reference, Vol. 1, 1 Edition. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins
University Press.

2009/11/01 11:08:40.703 US/Eastern

To cite this page: Swinton, J., W. Gomez and P. Myers. 2009. "Platanista
gangetica" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed November 08, 2009 at
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Platanista_gange\
tica.html.


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