API Net News 35

Associazione Primatologica Italiana:
Primatological Net News since 1997

APINN N.35 - - Gennaio - Febbraio 2003 -

siamo nel 6' anno... - qui ci sono i 34 NUMERI PRECEDENTI

28-2-03: Ebola hemorrhagic fever in the Republic of the Congo - As of Thu 27 Feb 2003, a total of 5 laboratory-confirmed and 92 probable cases, including 80 deaths, from Ebola haemorrhagic fever, has been reported in the districts of Mbomo and Kelle in Cuvette Ouest Region.

28-2-03: Conservation International, diretta da Russel Mittermaier) ha aperto un nuovo sito web (Investigate Biodiversity). Nel sito molt einformazioni sulla biodiversità, ma ci si focalizza anche su un gruppo animale interessante ... i Primati, per il quale sono organizzate pagine web per illustrarne la tassonomia (c'e' anche un databese delle specie di primati) e le minacce alla sopravivenza. Didatticamente molto interessante. Nel sito di CI si può anche scaricare il 2002 Annual Report (PDF, 2.0 MB).

27-2-03: Conservation International informa che il 20 febbraio è nata una New Alliance to Generate Environmental Awareness Across Priority Hotspots.

A multinational corps of community educators will soon begin reaching out to millions of people around the globe with a single mission: to promote local pride in the environment in some of the planet's most threatened ecosystems. The project, called Building a Global Constituency for Biodiversity Conservation, is based on a methodology that has already been successful in protecting endangered species, and creating new reserves and environmental legislation in more than 30 countries.

The project is the result of an alliance between the RARE Center for Tropical Conservation and Conservation International's International Communications Department. While RARE has successfully used "Pride Campaigns" for nearly two decades, the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) recently committed nearly $2 million to expand the initiative to include 13 sites within priority conservation areas, or "Hotspots," in China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Southern and West Africa and Central and South America.

25-2-03: Republic of the Congo: Ebola Fever Outbreak Death Toll Now 75. The toll from the Ebola outbreak in Congo has risen to 75 deaths among 93 cases, but is believed to be under control, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tue 25 Feb 2003. The outbreak in the Kelle and Mbomo districts near the central African country's border with Gabon is thought by scientists to have been caused by the consumption of infected monkey meat. The WHO last Wednesday put the death toll at 64.

24-2-03: Sono usciti i numeri di febbraio dell'International Journal of Primatology e del Journal of Human Evolution.

23-2-03: Sito web che dall'1/7/02 archivia i links a tutte le informazioni, più o meno serie, che riguardano gli scimpanzè.

22-2-03: Republic of the Congo: Ebola Fever Death Toll Reaches 68. Congolese villagers have stoned and beaten to death 4 teachers accused of casting an evil spell to cause an outbreak of Ebola fever that has killed nearly 70 people, a local official said on Fri 21 Feb 2003. The outbreak of Ebola in the districts of Kelle and Mbomo near the Republic of the Congo's northern border with Gabon. Many locals believe occult forces are at work. "In Kelle, people continue to believe that Ebola fever is a spell that has been cast on them by witches, and 4 teachers accused of being the cause of the disease have been beaten and stoned to death," said

Dieudonne Hossie, a local official. On Wed 19 Feb 2003, the World Health Organisation confirmed the outbreak of haemorrhagic fever was Ebola, and put the death toll at 64. State radio put the death toll at 68 on Fri 21 Feb 2003.

This is the second Ebola fever outbreak in little more than a year in the Republic of Congo's remote northwest. Kelle and Mbomo have been placed in quarantine, schools and churches have been closed, and people are banned from entering or leaving the area. Ebola killed at least 73 people in Congo and Gabon in an outbreak from October 2001 to February 2002.

21/22-02-03: Friburgo: si sta svolgendo il Workshop: EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY OF LEARNING; Organizzatori: Tadeusz Kawecki (Univ. Fribourg), Frederic Mery (Univ. Fribourg), Victoria Braithwaite (Univ. Edinburgh), Dieter Ebert (Univ. Fribourg): Invited speakers: Paul Cunningham (Queensland University, Brisbane, Australia) , Dario Floreano (EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland), Martin Heisenberg (University of Würzburg, Germany), Sara J. Shettleworth (University of Toronto, Canada): S.Reader ha parlato di Innovation and brain evolution in primates. Materiale (programma, abstract, perfino le immagini di alcuni poster) è disponibile nel sito web.
21-2-03: 2 scimpanzè in quarantena presso il Veterinary Training Institute in Entebbe (Uganda) sono stati uccisi dalle guardie dell'Uganda Wildlife Authority. Gli scimpanzè erano stati importati un anno fa dalla Tanzania ed erano sotto controllo sanitario. Uno dei due era fuggito dal centro dopo aver gravemente ferito uno dei guardiani ed era stato inseguito per alcuni giorni prima di essere abbattuto.

20-2-03: Mass grave of 50 poisoned monkeys found in southern India: Villagers in southern India found the remains of some 50 monkeys poisoned and buried in a coconut grove — but rescued a baby monkey, a news report said Wednesday. The carcasses were found Tuesday in Muttara Village in the southern coastal state of Kerala, village council president C. Raju was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India. Some local farmers apparently mixed poison in food to kill the monkeys after they began swarming local farmlands from nearby forests and destroyed crops, the report said. The monkeys' exodus from the forests, in turn, was caused by industrial activity in the neighboring Maruthimala Forests that has shrunk their habitats, local residents said. Kerala is one of India's most densely forested states, but increasing industrialization and poaching on forest land is pitting farmers against elephants, monkeys and other animals who have invaded villages in search of food.

19-2-03: IUCN Reunión Latinoamericana de Expertos en Modalidades del Mecanismo de Desarrollo Limpio (MDL) para Forestación y Reforestación

19-2-03: E' uscito il fascicolo di Folia Primatologica Vol. 73, No. 6, 2002 contenente gli abstract del congresso API di Roma e dell'ultimo congresso dell'APE.

19-2-03: Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever in The Republic of the Congo - As of Tue 18 Feb 2003, a total of 73 suspected cases and 59 deaths of Ebola hemorrhagic fever has been reported in the districts of Mbomo and Kelle in Cuvette Ouest Region. The Government of the Republic of the Congo has officially declared the epidemic as due to Ebola hemorrhagic fever. Laboratory testing carried out at the Centre International de Recherches Medicales de Franceville (CIRMF), Gabon has confirmed the diagnosis of Ebola virus in clinical samples.

18-2-03: Sconcerta la diffusione scorretta, su praticamente tutti i quotidiani (e non solo quelli italiani) della notizia sulla scoperta di un gene che è presente solo nell'uomo e nelle antropomorfe (PNAS March 4, 2003; vol. 100, no. 5, 2507–2511) e non negli altri primati. Praticamente tutti i quotidiani hanno scritto di un gene che distingue "l'uomo dalle scimmie" (o "dalla scimmia", come qualcuno addirittura ha scritto), pur citando dalla notizia d'agenzia originale l'ipotesi che questo gene si sia originato almeno 21 milioni di anni fa (momento di origine degli Ominoidei, secondo la classificazione di Fleagle del 1999). L'errore minore (anche se nei lettori magari la confusione è aumentata per l'incoerenza interna) l'hanno fatto i giornali che hanno scritto di un gene che distingue 'gli Ominidi dalle scimmie'. Le tassonomie più recenti (basate sul confronto fra le sequenze DNA) inseriscono infatti negli Ominidi non solo i primati bipedi della recente (5-6 mlioni di anni) linea evolutiva umana ma anche le antropomorfe (orango, gorilla e i due scimpanzè). In questo caso, ma non è stato chiarito da nessuno, l'errore scomparirebbe. Comunque in nessun articolo compare il dubbio che anche l'uomo sia ... una scimmia/un primate.... in conclusione, un gene in comune solo con i primati a noi più vicini (leantropomorfe) diventa un gene che ci distingue da tutte le altre specie. Non è lo stesso, anche se almeno non si rifiuta la possibilità che ... qualcos'altro sia comune con gli ALTRI primati ....

FN.

16-2-03: Suspected Ebola Fever Outbreak: Death Toll Reaches 51. BRAZZAVILLE: The government of the Republic of Congo on Thu 13 Feb 2003 quarantined the Cuvette-Ouest Region due to an outbreak of hemorrhagic fever, suspected to be Ebola [fever]. "We are still waiting for lab confirmation, but it looks almost certain that this is an outbreak of Ebola," Iain Simpson, responsible for media relations and communications at the Communicable Diseases Programme of the World Health Organization (WHO), told IRIN from Geneva on Fri 14 Feb 2003. "We are moving forward as though this is confirmed, assembling a team including case management experts and epidemiologists to travel to Congo as soon as practicable."

13-2-03: Suspected acute haemorrhagic fever syndrome in the Republic of the Congo - As of 12 Feb 2003, 61 suspected cases of acute haemorrhagic fever syndrome have been reported in the districts of Mbomo (7 cases, 4 deaths) and Kelle (54 cases, 44 deaths) in Cuvette Ouest Region. A team is in the field and clinical samples have been collected. These will be tested by the Centre International de Recherches Medicales de Franceville (CIRMF), Gabon. The ministry says its emergency teams have now succeeded in convincing inhabitants of the area to stay away from church and not to travel. The teams are also trying to stop people in the region from eating wild game such as gorilla, gazelle, and antelope. These are among the animals that have been dying off in the surrounding forest and have already tested positive for Ebola. The reference to gazelle is probably to te duiker; these are caught and eaten by chimpanzees, but gorillas do not eat meat, so their source of infection must be something else -- termites or insect larvae have been postulated.

12/2/03: 38 people have died in a suspected outbreak of the Ebola virus in the north of Congo-Brazzaville, near the border with Gabon. The Congolese Ministry of Health says the people died in the villages of Kelle and Mbou, about 800 kilometres north of Brazzaville, in the Region known as Cuvette West. The authorities were first alerted to a possible outbreak of Ebola when a clan of gorillas in the region began to die in December [2002]. Tests carried out on the bodies confirmed that the gorillas had died from the Ebola virus, which has now claimed more than 80 percent of that gorilla clan. The Ministry of Health suspects that the current outbreak was caused by villagers eating primates that were already infected with Ebola. But confirmation that the virus is responsible for the recent human deaths has not yet been possible because local inhabitants are refusing to cooperate with teams of Ministry of Health workers and World Health Organisation specialists who have gone to the region to study and contain the outbreak.

12-2-03: CENTRAL AND WESTERN AFRICA POSITION FOR THE VTH IUCN WORLD PARKS CONGRESS. At a recent meeting held in Kribi, Cameroon, participants from the region and international organizations established a common position paper (Kribi declaration) for Central and Western African countries to be presented at the Vth IUCN World Parks Congress, the decade’s largest forum on protected areas. Issues discussed included the need for novel financing and poverty alleviation mechanisms, the development of an effective communications system and the involvement of minority groups and women in decision making. Central and Western Africa is home to some of the richest and most diverse ecosystems on earth, including species like charismatic forest elephants, gorillas and whales. Yet political instability, resource extraction, and poverty, amongst others, have put increasing pressure on these ecosystems. In response, African nations have created over 2 million sq km of protected areas, equivalent to four times the size of Spain.

12-2-03: Kenyan government to crack down on illegal logging. Kenya's new government said on Wednesday it would hunt down anyone who had taken forest land for personal use, in a move to prevent the east African country from running out of water and becoming a desert. "We want Kenyans to wake up to the reality that our country risks becoming a desert unless we do something," Environment Minister Newton Kulundu told Reuters, saying the government was on the verge of declaring its forests a national disaster. Forests have been devastated by widespread, uncontrolled logging to make room for cultivation, or to sell as firewood or charcoal. "We intend to take very stern measures against those that have been involved (in destroying forests)," he said. "We have been horrified by the massive destruction of forests."
11-2-03: A new Climate, forests and people information desk produced jointly by IUCN, the United Nations Environment Programme, and WWF is now accessible on http://iucn.org/themes/carbon/ . The site aims to discuss approaches to environmentally sound and socially equitable afforestation and reforestation activities in developing countries and address subsequent synergies and trade-offs, drawing lessons from past and current land use activities, including carbon sequestration projects and non-carbon forest projects. This online resource gives guidance on designing carbon projects that are financially attractive, as well as environmentally and socially sound.

8-2-03: Near Total Ape-Habitat Loss Foreseen By 2030: questo il risultato dell'analisi condotta nell'ambito del progetto GRASP con la metodologia GLOBIO (Mapping Human Impacts On The Biosphere); Results of GLOBIO analyses indicate that more than 70% of the habitat of each of the African great ape species has been negatively affected by infrastructural development. Future scenarios suggest that the annual loss of undisturbed habitat will be greater than 2% per year in the case of the African great apes. By 2030, the scenarios suggest that less than 10% of great ape habitat in Africa will remain free of the impacts of infrastructural development. These figures are supported by estimates of habitat loss and degradation made independently, by great ape field researchers. Notevolmente interessante il materiale riguardante le antromorfe africane e asiatiche: cartografia, poster e perfino animazioni scaricabili liberamente. Il documento più interessante, con dati del 2001, è The Great Apes - the Road Ahead, UNEP report (PDF, 0.5 MB)

7-2-03: Suspected acute hemorrhagic fever syndrome in the Republic of the Congo: After 16 suspicious deaths, medical experts headed to northern Republic of Congo on Thursday to investigate a feared outbreak of Ebola. National health director-general Dr. Damase Bozongo confirmed the deaths--12 at Kelle and four at Mbomo. ``Right now we're not ready to confirm that the deaths are a result of Ebola, but the suspicion is strong,'' Bozongo said.A team from the Congolese Ministry of Health, the Centre International de Recherches Medicales de Franceville (CIRMF), and WHO is travelling to Mbomo district, Cuvette Ouest region, to investigate rumours of suspected cases of acute hemorrhagic fever syndrome. Laboratory samples will be collected and tested by CIRMF in Gabon. In December 2002, mortality was observed in gorillas and chimpanzees in the same area. Tests carried out by CIRMF confirmed an etiology of Ebola. Updated news about Ebola virus

6-2-03: Massive Die-off of Great Apes Reported in Republic of Congo: Scientists working with the ECOFAC programme (a European Community-funded regional forest conservation programme for central Africa) in northern Republic of Congo are witnessing what appears to be a massive die-off of lowland gorillas and chimpanzees in the Lossi Gorilla Sanctuary (250 square kilometers) situated about 15 kilometers to the south west of the famous Odzala National Park (13 600 square kilometers). Spanish primatologists Dr Magdalena Bermejo and Mr Germain Ilera, who have been studying gorillas at Lossi for the past 9 years, report that the 8 families (139 individuals) they have been monitoring since 1994, have disappeared from their study area of 40 square kilometers in the sanctuary.

The first deaths were reported on the 26 Nov 2002, and in mid-December scientists from Gabon's Centre International de Recherches Medicales de Franceville (CIRMF) collected samples from 4 gorilla and 2 chimpanzee carcasses and confirmed the presence of Ebola virus in all 6 cases.

Since then Bermejo and Ilera and their teams of trackers have been combing the area for signs of great apes and have found only one gorilla group of 6 individuals on the eastern edge of their study area. Two of the missing gorilla families were habituated for tourism viewing. They were the first lowland gorillas ever to be habituated in central Africa and generated much-needed revenue for the local villagers. The Lossi Gorilla Sanctuary was created at the request of the villagers when they realised that the long-term benefits from gorilla viewing far outweighed any short term benefits from hunting. The isappearance of these families is an enormous setback for the villages.

Updated news about Ebola virus

National Geographic

5-2-03: Ebola outbreak feared in Congo: In the north of Congo-Brazzaville, 16 people have died in a suspected outbreak of the Ebola virus. The Congolese authorities say they are extremely concerned that the virus might spread. The Congolese Ministry of Health says 16 people are known to have died so far, but communications with the villages of Kele and Mbou, 800 kilometres north of Brazzaville in the Region of Cuvette West, are difficult. Doctor Joseph Mboussa, Director in the Ministry of Health, says a villager has been dying every few days since the outbreak began on 4 January, and already the death toll could be much higher than 16. The authorities were first alerted to a possible outbreak when a clan of gorillas in the Cuvette West Region began to die.

Tests carried out on the bodies confirmed that the gorillas had died from the Ebola virus, and the disease has now claimed more than 80% of the gorilla clan. An emergency team of health ministry workers was scheduled to leave for the region on Wednesday to investigate the outbreak and try to contain it, following delays caused by a shortage of petrol and funds for the trip. Ebola experts working for the World Health Organisation in Libreville and Geneva also expect to leave soon to investigate the outbreak.

5-2-03: Nine jailed in Rwanda for killing rare gorillas, stealing baby gorilla: KIGALI, Rwanda - Nine people, including three park rangers, have been jailed and fined for killing two adult mountain gorillas and stealing a baby gorilla, an official said Wednesday. The three park rangers, who were supposed to protect the endangered gorillas in Volcanoes National Park, were each sentenced to four years in jail and fined $6,000 for the May 2002 attack, said Claude Seruhungu, who manages the rangers at the park. Four other men - all from a town bordering the park in northeastern Rwanda - were each sentenced to two years in jail and fined $3,000 for the killings and theft, Seruhungu said. A woman who was caught trying to sell the baby was sentenced to one year in jail, he said.

4-2-03: Madagascar Banks on Biodiversity to Rebuild Tourism Industry

31-1-03: Novità sul destino dei 4 gorilla del Cameroon (the Taiping four) che, attraverso la Nigeria, sono stati venduti ad uno zoo in Malesia, a Taiping). Incontro fra l'IPPL e un ministro nigeriano.

30-1-03: E' stato pubblicato e adottato dallo Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare (SCAHAW) il report The welfare of non-human primates used in research, substantially based on the work of a working group established by the Committee and chaired by Prof. D.B. Morton. The working group drafted the report, which was then reviewed and revised by the SCAHAW. The members of the working group were Prof. David MORTON, Dr. Bernard THIERRY, Dr. Gemma PERRETTA, Mr. Michael LANKEIT, Dr. Tomas LJUNGBERG, Prof. Dr. Jan A.R.A.M. van Hooff, Prof. Dr. Jan A.R.A.M. van Hooff.

The EU Commission has asked the Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare to prepare a report on the welfare of non-human primates used for experiments. The Scientific Committee, taking into account the most recent scientific information propose how the welfare of these animals can be improved, and identify the most important issues within the EU.

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29-1-03: In maggio (22 - 23, 2003) a Stoccolma si terrà il convegno Primates in Biomedical Research in occasione dell'Inaugurazione of The Astrid Fagraeus Laboratory (Animal Biosafety Level 2&3 Laboratory) at SMI (Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control), Stockholm, Sweden

25-1-03: Republic of the Congo: Ebola Virus again found in Dead Apes: Nuovo allarme per la presenza di Ebola in antropomorfe trovate morte o scomparse: A chimpanzee was found dead in the remote Odzala National Park of the Republic of the Congo last week [Jan 2003]. Apollo, the world's best-known gorilla, is missing, and Ebola virus may be the culprit. The alpha male of a 24-member family hasn't been seen since early December [2002], when 2 members of his family were found dead -- along with 3 other endangered western lowland gorillas and several chimps. Less than a year ago, contact with a dead ape was blamed for an Ebola outbreak in the area that killed at least 53 people. Specialists have again found Ebola virus in the dead apes.

24-1-03: L'IUCN ha pubblicato un paio di atlanti delle foreste tropicali: L’Atlas pour la conservation des forêts tropicales d’Afrique (versione francese di un precedente atlante) e The Conservation Atlas of Tropical Forests: The Americas (Edited by Caroline S. Harcourt and Jeffrey A. Sayer)

23-1-03: Great Ape Sanctuary Destined for Iowa: Architectural designs were released for one of the largest great ape sanctuaries to be constructed in North America. The initial phase of the Iowa Primate Learning Sanctuary (IPLS) will be built in Des Moines by year's end and will incorporate extensive "green design" initiatives for conservation and environmental sustainability. Located approximately five miles southeast of downtown Des Moines, IPLS will be constructed on 137 acres of land once used as a sand and gravel quarry. The property was conveyed to IPLS by the City of Des Moines in 2002. ENS.

21-1-03: Census finds 5 000 chimpanzees in Uganda: Kampala, Uganda - There are nearly 5 000 chimpanzees living in Uganda, according to a recently completed census. Earlier government estimates put the country's total chimpanzee population about four thousand, a marked difference from the 4 950 chimps counted in the census. But continued hunting and human encroachment on their habitat could reduce that number, said scientists on Tuesday.

18-1-03: E' disponibile gratuitamente il volume con gli atti di un convegno organizzato nell'ambito dei workshops dell'Human Science Frontier Program su Vision and Movement Mechanisms in the Cerebral Cortex (Eds: R. Caminiti, K.-P. Hoffmann, F. Lacquaniti and J.S. Altman). Molte di queste ricerche sono state realizzate usando i primati come modello. Interessante anche il volume del convegno Brain and mind: evolutionary perspectives (Eds: Michael S. Gazzaniga and Jennifer S. Altman) con un contributo di Rizzolatti)

17-1-03: Congo Basin Forest Partnership Hold Initial Meeting: The first international meeting of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership, an economic development and conservation program for six Central African countries, is set to open in Paris on Tuesday. Under pressure from population growth, poverty, unsustainable resource use, and political instability, the Congo Basin forests are the focus of a new initative by a partnership of 29 governments, international organizations, environmental and business interests - the Congo Basin Forest Partnership.

16-1-03: Un'interessante pagina web gestita dal Relais d'Information sur les Sciences de la Cognition (Campus Jussieu= Paris 6 e Paris 7) informa sui Colloques en sciences cognitives che si svolgeranno nel mondo prossimamente. Il prossimo, a Grenoble, les 30 et 31 janvier 2003 si intitola: "VOCALISE TO LOCALISE: A MISSING PIECE IN THE PUZZLING ROUTE TOWARDS LANGUAGE": Dans le cadre du projet COG-Speech OMLL (Origin of Man, Language and Languages) "Du Contrôle Orofacial des Gestes dans la communication chez les primates jusqu'à la Parole humaine", ce colloque aura pour thème la nécessité de prendre en compte la fonction de la parole dans l'étude de son développement, et d'inclure le système oeil-main de localisation comme une pièce fondamentale dans les travaux sur l'origine du langage.

14-1-03: INDONESIA: Deforestation in the country worsens according to FWI (Forest Watch Indonesia): Deforestation in the country has worsened in recent years with some 2.4 million hectares of forest vanishing in 2002 from two million in previous years, a conservation group warnedon Monday. E. G. Togu Manurung of Forest Watch Indonesia (FWI) even claimed that deforestation levels in the country were the worst in the world. "Deforestation is the fruit of a corrupt political and economic system that considers natural resources, particularly forests, as a money-making machine that can be exploited for the sake of political or private interests," he said in Lampung.

FWI recorded that Indonesia had only 98 million hectares of remaining forest last year while it had 162 million hectares in 1950. FWI predicts that forests in Sulawesi islands will disappear this year [!!!], Sumatra will lose its forests in 2004 [!!] and Kalimantan in 2010 [!].

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13-1-03: Fyssen Foundation 2003 International Prize

The Fyssen Foundation's aim is "to encourage all forms of scientific inquiry into cognitive mechanisms, including thought and reasoning, underlying animal and human behavior, their biological and cultural bases, and phylogenetic and ontogenetic development." The Foundation wishes to support, particularly, research in such fields as Ethology and Psychology, Neurobiology, Anthropology-Ethnology, and Human Paleontology.

An International Prize of 45,735 Euros is awarded annually to a scientist who has conducted distinguished research in the areas supported by the Foundation. It has been awarded to Professors P. S. Goldman-Rakic and P. Rakic, among others. The topic considered for the 2003 prize is "Function and Nature of Consciousness". Nominations should be sent to the Secretariat of the Foundation, 194, rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris, France before October 30, 2003.

12-1-03: FONDATION FYSSEN: BOURSES D’ETUDES POST-DOCTORALES

éthologie, la paléontologie, l’archéologie, l’anthropologie, la psychologie, l’épistémologie, la logique et les sciences du système nerveux.

chercheurs étrangers venant travailler dans des laboratoires français.

Date limite impérative de réception des dossiers à la Fondation : le 31 mars 2003

11-1-03: Nelle News dell'IPPL ci sono resoconti su alcuni santuari da loro gestiti: Limbe Wildlife Center, Cameroon - Drill Ranch Chimpanzee Unit, Nigeria - Tacugama, Sierra Leone - Kalawiet Gibbon Sanctuary, Indonesia - Lola ya Bonobo Sanctuary of Congo, The Democratic Republic of Congo - HELP Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Republic of Congo. C'è anche A Tour of IPPL Headquarters

10-1-03: The Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute (Central Washington University campus, in Ellensburg, Washington) is currently taking applications for its 10-week Summer Apprenticeship Program. The dates of the program are June 15, 2003 to August 22, 2003. Students from various academic backgrounds (e.g. anthropology, biology, psychology, linguistics, philosophy, etc.) are encouraged to apply. Applicants must be at least 18 years old and must have completed at least one year of university level education prior to the start of the program. There is a $25.00 nonrefundable application processing fee and a $1800.00 program fee which does not include housing, food, transportation, or personal expenses. The application deadline for the Apprenticeship Program is March 24, 2003

4-1-03: Orangutans Show Signs of Culture, Orangutan Cultures and the Evolution of Material Culture by Carel P. van Schaik, Marc Ancrenaz, Gwendolyn Borgen, Birute Galdikas, Cheryl D. Knott, Ian Singleton, Akira Suzuki, Sri Suci Utami, and Michelle Merrill (Science Jan 3 2003): 102-105. An international group of scientists pooling more than 30 years of data has concluded that behavioral patterns among different orangutan populations show evidence of culture. Studying six populations of orangutans in Borneo and Sumatra, Indonesia, researchers identified 24 behaviors that show evidence of being culturally transmitted. Many of the behaviors involve tool use—using sticks to dig seeds out of fruit, to poke into tree holes to obtain insects, or to scratch—or using leaves as napkins or as gloves to protect against spiny fruit. The authors, writing in the January 3 issue of the journal Science, suggest that variations on these behaviors found among the different populations are cultural. For instance, some populations made sounds such as "raspberries" or "kiss-squeaks" using leaves to amplify the sound, others used flat hands, others balled their hands into trumpet-like fists. Among some populations the behavior was rare or absent.

3-1-03: Lab chimp speaks his own language (New Scientist): A bonobo has surprised his trainers by appearing to make up his own "words". It is the first report of an ape making sounds that seem to hold their meaning across different situations, and the latest challenge to the orthodox view that animals do not have language. Kanzi is an adult bonobo kept at Georgia State University in Atlanta. He has grown up in captivity among humans, and is adept at communicating with symbols. He also understands some spoken English, and can respond to phrases such as "go out of the cage" and "do you want a banana?". Jared Taglialatela, Sue Savage-Rumbaugh and Lauren Baker, who work with Kanzi, noticed that he was making gentle noises during his interactions with them. "We wanted to know if there was any rhyme or reason to when they were produced," says Taglialatela. Vedi anche articolo della BBC.

2-1-03: Global warming: Fingerprint of climate change. Hundreds of plant and animal species around the world are feeling the impacts of global warming, although the most dramatic effects may not be felt for decades, according to new research from a Stanford University team. They predict that a rapid temperature rise, together with other environmental pressures, "could easily disrupt the connectedness among species" and lead to numerous extinctions.

"Birds are laying eggs earlier than usual, plants are flowering earlier and mammals are breaking hibernation sooner," said Terry Root, a senior fellow with Stanford University's Institute for International Studies (IIS) and lead author of the article Fingerprints of global warming on wild animals and plants published in today's issue (2 January 2003) of the journal Nature (article and coments are free!): Root and her colleagues analyzed 143 scientific studies involving a total of 1,473 species of animals and plants for the article, "Fingerprints of global warming on wild animals and plants."

Co-authors of the study are Jeff Price of the American Bird Conservancy in Colorado, Kimberly Hall of Michigan State University, Stanford biology professor Stephen Schneider, Cynthia Rosenzweig of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and Alan Pounds of the Golden Toad Laboratory for Conservation in Coast Rica.

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WWF

These studies are also consistent with two reports already released by WWF — Global Warming and Terrestrial Biodiversity Decline and Habitats at Risk — that show the effect of global warming on species migration and ecoregions

SMH

Scientific American

BBC

1-1-03: Il 30/12 il presidente dell'IPS (JARAM van Hoof) ha scritto alla presidentessa dell'Indonesia una lettera sollecitandola riguardo al problema della strada che minaccia l'ecosistema di Gunung Leuser, una delle poche aree in cui sopravvivono i pochi oranghi di Sumatra (vedere la notizia e i links alla data del 12/12/02). Altre notizie e info sui responsabili a cui inviare lettere di protesta. e sul sito che raccoglie le adesioni alla protesta da inviare alla World Bank

Last revised: 14 Mar 2003