Veterinary support for conservation worldwide
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A photo of a short-tailed Amur leopard cub taken in the Russian wilderness by a team including a WVI vet could illustrate a worrying first to be seen in the wild.
The research mission including Dr John Lewis has just returned from two months with the Amur Leopard Project in the Russian Far East. The leopards, known for their long bushy tails, remained elusive and none were caught, but a camera trap photo has shown up a phenomenon not seen before.
It is possible that the cub’s short tail is due to injury, but it is also possible that inbreeding may be to blame. If so, it could mean that all 30 left in the wild are reasonably closely related, and/or that offspring are not migrating far enough to stop inbreeding.
WVI founder and director Dr Lewis said: “With a population size of 30 to 35 individuals there is little doubt that the Amur leopards are inbred to a degree. The question is whether this degree of inbreeding has thrown up any significant health problems.”
As genetically small populations are particularly susceptible to new types of diseases, it underlines the importance of the disease surveying that WVI is carrying out both in the Russian Far East and in captivity.
Should a second population be introduced, it is absolutely essential that they do not bring new diseases to the area and threaten remaining wild leopards.
To date, WVI does not have sufficient funding to test the genetic data gathered from the few wild leopards that have been sampled. With funding, we would have some idea about how related these leopards are to each other.
The team of scientists from WVI, WCS Russia and ZSL did manage to catch two Amur tigers Panthera tigris altaica and two Asiatic black bears Ursus thibetanus. Data on what diseases these two species have been exposed to will be useful to build the picture of the diseases the Amur leopards will face as any release area will be shared with both species.
In addition to camping out in subzero temperatures and searching for signs of Amur leopard, John was able to talk to other research and wildlife veterinary teams, forming links and gathering information.
To donate to this project, please click here. For more information, please contact us.
Over the weekend, WVI vet Dr John Lewis and the multi-organisation team, managed to catch another large male Amur tiger and another black bear. There are lots of Amur leopard signs, the main target of the research, but they are proving elusive.
Due to the extremely cold conditions (the zip of the tent is frozen in the mornings) it is very difficult to get mobile/internet reception. Therefore there are no more pictures until someone brings them out of the field. Dr Lewis returns to the UK in mid November, and once he has managed to unpack, we shall publish all the pictures we have.
Rare tiger capture provides invaluable data for research team
Click here for pictures.
An extremely rare Amur tiger has been captured in a remote area of Russia by an international research team searching for the even rarer Amur leopard - boosting the chances of saving both species from extinction.
Capture and examination of the huge male tiger is a major success. Data will provide invaluable information to protect the existing wild leopard population and contribute to a ground-breaking long term project - an Amur leopard reintroduction scheme.
Big cat specialist vet Dr John Lewis, co-founder and director of charity Wildlife Vets International, is with the team in far eastern Russia. He explained: ‘We need to catch, assess and radio collar tigers as well as leopards if we are to discover how they co-exist’.
‘Tigers are present in the proposed leopard reintroduction area and we must know the risks for any leopards released there. Infectious diseases affecting tigers can equally affect leopards so health screening has major conservation relevance for both animals.’
His work on the Amur leopard – the world’s most endangered big cat with as few as 25 left in the wild - positions WVI as the key veterinary support in the programme to save it from extinction in the wild.
Text messages, from an area notorious for poor communications, illustrate the tiger capture build-up: “Fresh tiger prints 1km from camp this morning! Think we are getting closer”, followed by a triumphant; ‘Caught large male tiger! ‘
The tiger, one of just 450 remaining, was anesthetised for examination and released with a GPS tracking collar. It is the only traceable individual in the area, he believes, after signals from previously collared tigers have been lost.
A leopard has been heard close to camp and traces found on aptly-named Leopard Ridge. A large black Asiatic bear has also been captured and data logged.
The team, which includes young Russian field vet Dr. Mr Mikhail Gonchuruk, is half way through a two month programme tracking the elusive, solitary and nocturnal Amur leopard before temperatures plummet below -20 degrees centigrade, inhibiting their sensitive immobilising leg snares.
The project is part of a wider long-term effort to assess the health of wild and captive leopards and their prey base in the wild. The ultimate aim is to provide comprehensive disease screening of both wild and captive Amur leopards so a second population can be safely released into the wild.
WVI needs to raise £25K a year to continue its Amur leopard project support - likely to increase as the breeding and release phases get closer. Data from wild and captive leopards is held in WVI’s Amur leopard Veterinary Database.
WVI vet, Dr John Lewis, arrived in the depths of Amur leopard country in the Russian Far East on Monday 26th September. He joins a team of scientists humanely trapping highly endangered Amur leopard to learn more about how the Amur leopard lives in order to ensure the survival of this beautiful cat.
Less than a week after his arrival, the team have managed to trap a large Asiatic black bear Ursus thibetanus. More likely to try and free himself than a leopard, and with a thicker coat, John will have his work cut out to immobilise him quickly. Once the bear is immobilised the team will take biomedical measurements, hair and blood samples for analysis in a laboratory. The team are highly trained so it is only a few minutes before the procedure is finished, they retreat, Dr Lewis brings the bear round and the bear resumes his activities in the forest.
Over the next six weeks, the team will hopefully gather much more valuable data from the Amur leopard and its compatriots to add to data collected in previous years. A detailed picture of the genetic and physiological health of this small population, and that of their environment, is being slowly built up. If a second population is to be introduced, this information is vital to ensure they do not introduce new diseases to the area, which may decimate the original population.
For more information about the project and reports from Dr Lewis's previous visits, please click here.
For more pictures from when the team previously caught an Asiatic black bear, please see our Facebook page.
To donate to ensure the continuing support WVI gives to the survival of the Amur leopard, please click here.
WVI wishes you the best of luck and hope you don't hurt too much after.
Thursday 2nd December. 7 - 9.30pm.
Fortnum & Mason, 181 Piccadilly, W1A 1ER
At the party you can enjoy:
Tickets: £50. At the event you will receive a Big Give voucher for £50 to donate to Wildlife Vets International.
Tickets will go on sale at midday on Monday September 19th and will sell out very fast. You can set up a reminder and purchase tickets online at www.fortnums-christmas.
News of his death also adds a tragic postscript to a story just written by Painted Dog Conservation of the intricate pack world overseen by alpha male Bulls Eye and his mate Ester.
Last year, Brigadier Tom Ogilvie Graham anaesthetised Bulls Eye and successfully treated a serious and life-threatening maggot-ridden elbow infection whilst on a ground breaking mission to work with conservation staff at PDC’s new centre in the Hwange national park.
Tom is due to head another mission to Zimbabwe next spring, when a series of community clinics will include a strong message to local people on how deadly snares are for an animal they should be cherishing, not hastening towards extinction.
Clearance of snares is a regular challenge for PDC staff, and the organisation markets a range of artifacts wrought from the wire that claims so many lives. The joint WVI / PDC project will cost £12,000. Can you donate, in Bulls Eye’s memory?
A fund-raising campaign, launched yesterday beside Yorkshire Wildlife Park’s painted dog enclosure, will enable vets to visit Zimbabwe next year to man community clinics for domestic dogs around Hwange national park, vaccinating them against rabies and distemper to stop disease transmission into the painted dog (wild dog) population already decimated by human persecution.
Mentioned is the conservation programme "in which tigers found in villages are sedated and released back into the wild", for which WVI provides the capture, immobilisation and release training.
To help prevent these horrific encounters, please donate now.
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