Modern Mahouts Taking Care of Elephants in Myanmar Are Younger and Less Experienced

 

 

 

|| February 25: 2019: University of Turku News || ά. Traditional elephant handling worldwide is rapidly changing. Researchers from the University of Turku in Finland and Myanma Timber Enterprise veterinarians found ‘Mahouts’, professional carers, who look after elephants, engaged in a ‘trade’, such as, carrying timber from the depth of the mountains into a local market, in Myanmar are only 22 years old on average, with an average experience of three years working with elephants and they are changing elephants yearly, which is preventing the development of long-term bonds between elephants and Mahouts.

These shifts contrast the traditional elephant-keeping system of skills being accumulated over a lifetime of working with the same elephant before being taught to the younger generation. Asian elephants are endangered but, remarkably, around one third of the remaining 45,000 Asian elephants in the world, live in semi-captive conditions, cared for by handlers known as Mahouts. Expert knowledge of Mahouts accumulated over many generations is of great importance in handling these giants, essentially, wild animals.

However, this knowledge transfer is now threatened: recent societal changes in countries across Asia have affected the traditional mahout system. Myanmar, with the largest semi-captive elephant population of 5,000, has been thought to be one of the last strong-holds of traditional mahouts and their expert knowledge. Researchers investigated how recent political shifts in Myanmar, coupled with increased urbanisation and improved access to technologies, may have, impacted the traditional mahout profession.

The researchers interviewed experts with long-term careers, working within elephant-keeping in Myanmar, as well as, over 200 current mahouts, employed in the logging industry. The Study discovered profound changes within the mahout system in Myanmar, that, may, affect elephant welfare and warrant further research. Mahouts today are younger, less experienced and spend less time in the job than in the past. The Study, also, found a reduced traditional family connection to the profession.

‘’Although, almost, half of the mahouts we interviewed, had a family member, also, working with elephants, it seems that this link could decline further in the future, with few mahouts wishing their children to follow in their footsteps, especially, the younger generation.’’ says Doctoral Candidate Ms Jennie Crawley, the Lead Author of the Study.

‘’It is really important to conduct further research to understand how these changes, may, impact the welfare of elephants, as frequently changing mahouts with little experience in the profession, may, increase animal stress and risk of injuries. Our findings already allow managers to take steps to ensure there are no negative impacts for the elephants or for the mahouts, working with these huge animals.’’ says Professor Virpi Lummaa, of Ecology, the senior scientist involved in the Study.

Monitoring implications for the mahouts is, particularly, important: less than 20% of current mahouts had spent any time as an apprentice before being paired with an elephant, contrasting past tradition and recommendations of a two-year apprenticeship learning period.

One important finding was that, despite these changes, a significant majority of experts thought that elephant treatment is better now than in the past, often, attributing these improvements to more techniques and training, reflecting well on current elephant care in Myanmar. The research team hopes that future studies can shed light on which parts of the country are affected most and where Mahout training and support is most needed to improve the co-living of both elephants and their dedicated caretakers.

Caption: Asian Elephants in Myanmar: Image: Jennie Crawley.

More Information: Jennie Crawley: email: jahcrawley1 at gmail.com: tele: +447597004018

The Paper: Investigating changes within the handling system of the largest semi-captive population of Asian elephants: Jennie A H Crawley, Mirkka Lahdenperä, Martin W Seltmann, Win Htut, Htoo Htoo Aung, Kyaw Nyein, Virpi Lummaa: Published in PLOS One:::ω.

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Where Have You Been for the Last Thirty Years: I Have Been Surveying the Realms of Lark Ascending and Sibelian Descending: Now That You Are Europe’s Oldest Golden Eagle in the Land of Pohjola What Shall We Call You: Call Me The Empress of the Ring Since I Have Been Carrying This Ring Since the Spring of 1984

 

 

|| February 22: 2019: University of Helsinki News: Juha Honkala Writing || ά. The 34-year-old female Golden Eagle spotted in Finland in late January is likely the oldest of the species in Europe. Annually, approximately 100 young golden eagles are ringed in Finland. In January 2019, Mr Ari Komulainen, a Finnish nature photographer, captured a Golden Eagle Aquila Chrysaetos with his camera in the region of Northern Savo, located in eastern Finland.

The Eagle had a ring in the left leg, visible in the photographs down to the serial number. Mr Komulainen reported the ring to the Ringing Centre of Luomus; the Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki and the rest became part of history. It turned out that 34 years, six months and 27 days had passed since this magnificent bird was ringed. This is the third-oldest bird, ever, ringed in Finland. In the longevity list for Finnish birds, this eagle is only preceded by a Common Murre Uria Aalge, aged 34 years and 11 months and a European Herring Gull Larus Argentatus, aged 34 years and seven months.

EURING, the European Union for Bird Ringing, maintains a corresponding Europe-wide list. In the EURING ranking, the Golden Eagle, photographed in Finland, takes first place as the oldest Golden Eagle in Europe. The statistics show that that the most long-lived bird species in Europe are the Manx Shearwater or Puffinus Puffinus, with a record of 50 years and 11 months and the tufted duck or Aythya Fuligula, with a record of 45 years and three months.

The recently spotted female Golden Eagle was born in the spring of 1984 in North Ostrobothnia, central Finland, as the only nestling of her nest. The youngster was ringed by Mr Jouni Ruuskanen, a veteran of ringing Eagles and Peregrine Falcons. After the ringing, the bird was next spotted in 1986 in Laitila, south-east Finland, where it scavenged during winter. Photographs were taken of the bird, from which the code on the ring could reliably be read.

After that, more than three decades passed without a single observation. In the interim period, the female Eagle reached sexual maturity, found a mate and most likely bred many, many times. Between 1913 and 2018, a total of 3,865 Golden Eagles have been ringed in Finland, the majority as nestlings. Depending on breeding success, on average a little over 100 young Golden Eagles are ringed in Finland each year.

Most Finnish Golden Eagles nest in the reindeer management area of northern Finland. Earlier, the Golden Eagle was a target of persecution but, these days, reindeer owners’ associations receive compensation in accordance with the number of Golden Eagle nests in the region.

As a result, persecution has decreased and the eagle population has slowly begun to grow. This is why Golden Eagles are, gradually, settling to nest in areas, that they have long steered clear of. The Golden Eagle remains a very rare breeding bird in the most extensive forest regions of northern Finland, with a breeding population of some 300-400 pairs.

For information, contact: Juha Honkala, Senior Museum Technician, juha.honkala at helsinki.fi

Ari Komulainen: Nature Photographer: ajkomulainen at gmail.comCaption: Ari Komulainen:::ω. 

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Virginia McKenna Award for Compassionate Conservation 2018 Has Been Awarded to the Director of Congolese Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education

 

 

 

 

|| October 29: 2018 || ά. Mr Jackson Mbeke, the Director of Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education:GRACE, of the Democratic Republic of Congo:DRC, has been awarded the sixth Virginia McKenna Award for Compassionate Conservation. The £15,000 award provides support and recognition for outstanding individual conservationists and carers, who place a high priority on animal welfare, while undertaking environmental education around the world, conservation policy or the protection of species under threat.

GRACE is the world’s only sanctuary for critically endangered eastern lowland gorillas, which are considered one of the 25 most endangered primates in the world, with only 3,800 remaining. GRACE cares for 14 orphaned gorillas rescued from poachers and works to rehabilitate them so they can return to the wild. Furthermore, GRACE maintains 39 acres of forest for the gorillas and partners with local communities to run education and conservation initiatives to protect a critical population of wild gorillas living in Tayna Nature Reserve.

As the DRC Director of GRACE, Mr Jackson Kabuyaya Mbeke manages a team of 33 Congolese, who operate the award-winning gorilla sanctuary and conducts GRACE’s education and community conservation initiatives. Mr Mbeke started with GRACE when it was established in 2009 and has advanced with the project, first working as a Logistician, then, as GRACE Centre Manager and now as the first Congolese DRC Director. Next year, through his role at GRACE, he will lead the first census in over a decade to get an accurate estimate of the number of individuals, that remain in one of the last strongholds for this imperilled great ape.

Born Free Foundation Co-Founder and Trustee Ms Virginia McKenna OBE said, "I am delighted that Jackson Mbeke and his life-saving work on behalf of the endangered Grauer's gorilla, has won this award. His unswerving dedication to the conservation of these highly threatened animals, the forests they inhabit and the communities, who share those same forests, should be an inspiration to all. Together with everyone at Born Free, I am determined that by supporting outstanding individuals, such as, Jackson and his team, with both recognition and resources, we can help make the natural world a more compassionate and safer place."

Mr Jackson Mbeke said, “I am honoured to receive the Virginia McKenna Award and to be recognised for the work GRACE is doing for the gorillas. Life in the DRC can be hard; for many months I could not sleep because I was worrying about the safety of our team and gorillas but I had to take courage because the gorillas depend on us and we refuse to give up on them. This award means so much to me, the team and the local communities we partner. I can not thank Born Free enough. This has boosted our spirits and we will work to multiply our efforts for gorillas.”

Dr Sonya Kahlenberg, GRACE’s Executive Director, said, “Jackson has led the GRACE DRC team through a very difficult period, navigating the major challenges of armed conflict and now Ebola. But he never once considered giving up. Instead, he took things a day at a time and kept everyone focused on the important work of caring for gorillas. Truly nobody loves GRACE more than Jackson does and I am thrilled that his outstanding dedication to gorillas and courage are being recognised by this award.”

Past winners of the Virginia McKenna Award for Compassionate Conservation include: Ms Shivani Bhalla, of the Ewaso Lions Project, for her work on human:lion conflict; Professor Anna Nekaris, of Oxford Brookes University and the Little Fireface Project, for her work on slow loris conservation and welfare; The Mad Dog Initiative, a project, which aims to deliver conservation benefits to endangered species by humanely controlling domestic and feral dogs in and around Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar and Neotropical Primate Conservation in Peru, tackling illegal wildlife trade by partnering with wildlife authorities, police, public prosecutors and grassroots organisations.

A call for the Virginia McKenna Award for Compassionate Conservation 2019 will be announced in the New Year.

About Born Free: Born Free’s mission is to ensure that all wild animals, whether living in captivity or in the wild, are treated with compassion and respect and are able to live their lives according to their needs. Born Free opposes the exploitation of wild animals in captivity and campaigns to keep wildlife in the wild. Born Free promotes Compassionate Conservation to enhance the survival of threatened species in the wild and protect natural habitats while respecting the needs of and safeguarding the welfare of individual animals. Born Free seeks to have a positive impact on animals in the wild and protect their ecosystems in perpetuity, for their own intrinsic value and for the critical roles they play within the natural world.

Caption: Jackson Kabuyaya Mbeke at the Sanctuary he leads: The Director of Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education:GRACE: The Democratic Republic of Congo:DRC: Image: Born Free:::ω.

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Born Free Invites for Public Support as It Launches New Aviation Plans to Reduce Poaching: Support the Dragon Initiative

 

 

|| October 10: 2018 || ά. The illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be worth as much as £15.5 billion a year with organised crime groups seeing wildlife as a low risk, high-value commodity. Now, ahead of the Illegal Wildlife Trade:IWT Conference in October, Born Free is calling on the public to help them provide rangers with the ultimate tool to fight back against wildlife crime, a Dragon! Allowing rangers to patrol vast areas of land in minutes rather than weeks and to scope out seemingly inaccessible land to protect wildlife, a Dragon GBT 1170 is an auto-gyro light-aircraft, which will help Born Free and its partners, have a major impact on poaching.

This will transform the reach and capacity of intelligence, using live-tracking technology, secure data, video and voice communications with rangers and control points on the ground and high-performance, conventional and infra-red optics. Born Free is teaming up with Chimera Aviation to launch these ‘dragons of the sky’ for ranger patrols. The aircraft, first seen being flown by James Bond, since used by special military units, can take off in areas the size of a small garden, are quiet, can fly safely at low speeds and can carry a pilot, a passenger or observer and technical equipment.

Mr Howard Jones, the CEO of Born Free, said, “Sometimes, the campaign against poaching and other illegal activity, has felt like a debilitating, endless battle. Rhinos are systematically targeted by poachers for their horns. Fewer than 29,000 remain and between 2008 and 2017, more than 7,000 were killed by poachers in South Africa alone. And, as our Born Free ‘Elephants in Crisis’ campaign earlier this year highlighted, an average of 55 African elephants are killed by poachers every day for their tusks. That’s about one every 25 minutes.

Despite the fact that men and women around the world are putting their lives on the line to tackle the dreadful crimes of illegal wildlife trade and poaching, it just isn’t possible to deter and protect, all day, all night and every day.  To cover these vast and challenging areas, to, then, fight through thick vegetation in time to reach poachers or, to prevent their presence in the first place, has seemed, almost, impossible.

Deploying the Dragon will transform our capability and help turn the current balance on its head.  This will allow our rangers to protect extensive areas safely, economically and efficiently, with much-enhanced surveillance capacity and flexibility, when compared to other aircraft.

We are launching the Dragons at Shamwari Private Game Reserve in South Africa, the home of our two big cat sanctuaries and a 250km haven for wild animals, which has some of the most advanced anti-poaching units in South Africa and on the front-line at Garamba in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

We are hoping that, with public backing, we can prove this method of poaching reduction is effective and roll out the Dragon initiative in 10 other key areas of Africa, including, Kenya, Ethiopia and Zambia within the next 12 months and provide training for all local pilots and rangers.”

About Born Free: Born Free’s mission is to ensure that all wild animals, whether living in captivity or in the wild, are treated with compassion and respect and are able to live their lives according to their needs. Born Free opposes the exploitation of wild animals in captivity and campaigns to keep wildlife in the wild.

Born Free promotes Compassionate Conservation to enhance the survival of threatened species in the wild and protect natural habitats while respecting the needs of and safeguarding the welfare of individual animals. Born Free seeks to have a positive impact on animals in the wild and protect their ecosystems in perpetuity, for their own intrinsic value and for the critical roles they play within the natural world. .:::ω.

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Important Victory for the Asian Elephants Paves the Way for Increased Protection: Only If Words Translate Into Actions: That’s Where Elephant Family and Born Free and Other Such Agencies Must Keep On Working Together

 

|| October 03: 2018 || ά. World Governments today expressed overwhelming support to strengthen international laws, that will help protect endangered Asian elephants. The move comes following undercover investigation work carried out by UK charity Elephant Family, that exposed an emerging illegal trade in Asian elephant skin. Alarmed by the discovery of skinned elephant carcasses in Myanmar, Elephant Family found that the skin was being turned into beads for jewellery and powder to treat medical conditions and sold online through Chinese language forums.

The sharing of their findings today helped secure a much needed strengthening of the laws, that protect Asia’s endangered elephants. Working together, Born Free Foundation and Elephant Family informed delegates at a meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species:CITES in Sochi, Russia of the skin trade and pushed for more urgent attention to tackle the trafficking. Representatives of two Asian elephant range states, Sri Lanka and Thailand, expressed concern over the emerging threat.

Speaking for Sri Lanka, which will host the CITES Conference of Parties in 2019, Mr Ranjan Marasinghe, the Head of Enforcement of the Department of Wildlife Conservation, said, “As a range state we are aware of the multiple threats, faced by Asian elephants and are concerned that the skin issue will expand to all range states, if, not stopped.”

The European Union and United States gained approval for amendments to existing text, which included a requirement for investigations into illegal trade and improved reporting on implementation. ‘’This is a big step forwards for Asian elephants, since the discussion at CITES is, often, dominated by African elephant ivory trade.’’said Elephant Family’s Conservation Programme Manager Ms Caitlin Melidonis. “Our investigations helped shape the outcome of this important meeting but there is more to be done. Our job now is to ensure that the decisions outlined on paper translate to protection in the field.”

Speaking on behalf of Born Free Foundation, Mr Gabriel Fava, said, ‘’These important developments must lead to better co-operation and co-ordination across range States and help to identify gaps in capacity. We look forward to supporting countries to address those needs and ensure a sustained enforcement response against illegal trade.”

Mr Justin Gosling, a Law Enforcement Specialist, working with Elephant Family, urged caution over the result, “Trade in Asian elephants has been prohibited under CITES for over 40 years, but poaching and trafficking continues and is expanding. Countries implicated in this trade now need to make concerted efforts to investigate the criminal networks and take action to prevent further poaching and trade.”

Next week, Heads of States from around the world will meet at the Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference in London. Elephant Family will be there to continue to garner further support for Asian elephants.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora:CITES is an international agreement among governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

About Elephant Family: Elephant Family is an international NGO dedicated to protecting the Asian elephant from extinction in the wild. In the last fifty years their population has roughly halved and 90% of their habitat has disappeared. Poaching, a growing skin trade and demand for wild-caught babies for tourism remain a constant threat along with the deadly and escalating conflict between people and elephants for living space and food. Elephant Family funds pioneering projects across Asia to reconnect forest fragments, prevent conflict and fight wildlife crime. Since 2002 Elephant Family has funded over 180 conservation projects and raised over £15m through public art events for this iconic yet endangered animals.

About Born Free: Born Free’s mission is to ensure that all wild animals, whether living in captivity or in the wild, are treated with compassion and respect and are able to live their lives according to their needs. Born Free opposes the exploitation of wild animals in captivity and campaigns to keep wildlife in the wild.

Born Free promotes Compassionate Conservation to enhance the survival of threatened species in the wild and protect natural habitats while respecting the needs of and safeguarding the welfare of individual animals. Born Free seeks to have a positive impact on animals in the wild and protect their ecosystems in perpetuity, for their own intrinsic value and for the critical roles they play within the natural world.

About Asian Elephants: Asian elephants are found across 13 range states and number c. 46,282. The largest population of wild elephants, c27,312, live in fragmented pockets in the south west, north and north east of India, the smallest population of c.118 live in Vietnam.

Pregnant for 22 months, breeding females have one calf every two to four years. As a slow breeding species losing breeding females and calves is a sure-fire route to extinction. Female calves tend to stay with the herd while males disperse at between 09-12 years old. Smaller than their African cousins only adult males carry tusks, few big tuskers remain. :::ω.
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Apparently: Basking in Shark Tale

 

 

|| September 26: 2018 || ά. A team of scientists, including, two from the University of Roehampton, has discovered that basking sharks, hundreds of which live off the shores of Cornwall, Ireland and Scotland, can jump as fast and as high out of the water as their cousin, the famously powerful and predatory great white shark. Basking sharks, the second largest fish in the world reaching lengths up to 10m, 33ft, have previously had a reputation for being slow and languid as they scour the sea for their staple diet of plankton.

The research used video analysis for both species to estimate vertical swimming speeds at the moment of leaving the water. Furthermore, they fitted one large basking shark with a data recording device to measure speed, movement and which, also, stored video. At one point during deployment of the recording device, in just over nine seconds and 10 tail beats, the basking shark accelerated from a depth of 28m to the surface, breaking through the water at nearly 90 degrees.

The shark cleared the water for one second and peaked at a height of 01.2 m above the surface.

To achieve this breach, the basking shark exhibited a six-fold increase in tail beat frequency and attained a top speed of approximately 05.1 m:s. This is more than twice as fast as the average competitor in the Olympic men’s 50m freestyle swim. The videos from boats and the land of both basking sharks and great whites breaching showed similar speeds of breaching in other individuals.

The basking shark videos were recorded in 2015 at Malin Head, Ireland. The white shark videos were recorded in 2009 at two sites in South Africa, during predation attempts on Cape fur seals using seal shaped decoys.

Mr Lewis Halsey, a Reader in the Department of Life Sciences at the University of Roehampton and one of the scientists involved, said, “The results of the research put the basking shark in a new athletic light.

While there are no recorded incidents of them being of danger to swimmers or small boats, unlike the great white shark, we now know, they do have an impressive ability to swim at great speeds and jump clear of the water.”

The research team was comprised with Queen’s University Belfast, University of Roehampton, Trinity College Dublin, University of Cape Town, Irish Basking Shark Study Group and the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity.  

About the University of Roehampton: The University of Roehampton, London, is an established international higher-education institution providing a high-quality learning and research experience with the aim of developing personal growth and driving social change. The University has a proud and distinguished history dating back to the 1840s and it was one of the first institutions in the UK to admit women to its colleges of higher education. This tradition of commitment to equality continues to be part of the ethos of the University, which has one of the most diverse and thriving communities of students in the UK; its 9,000 student body includes international students from over 146 countries. Today the University is renowned for its broad range of expertise across teacher training, business, social sciences, the arts and humanities, as well as human and life sciences, with world leading and internationally recognised research in these fields.

Image: Apparently, this is not a Basking but Angel Shark:::ω. 

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Born Free Cautiously Welcomes the News That Thomas Cook Is to Stop Selling Tickets to Facilities Keeping Orca in Captivity