Hope for bonobos 21 Nov 2007 The African apes don’t get much good news these days. But the Congo has just announced they are setting up a preserve to protect the bonobo. The size of the Sankuru Nature Reserve is 11,803 square miles (in real money, 30 569.629 square kilometers), which makes it nearly half the size of Tasmania, or bigger than Massachusetts or Hawai’i. This is a cooperative venture between a partnership involving American and Congolese conservation groups and government agencies, and they are addressing the local practices of hunting bonobos as well. All bonobos in the wild live in the Congo. Hat tip John Hawks Ecology and Biodiversity Evolution Politics Species and systematics
Politics A video for Pat Robertson 15 Jan 2010 [dailymotion id=x2v4rb] The Hives – Walk Idiot Walk by The-Hives Read More
Administrative A logical inference, or, on how to submit Carnival of Evolution posts 21 Jan 201221 Jan 2012 I could put this into standard logical form, or even argument map it, but I’m too lazy. However, since I’ll be hosting one of these soon, I should post this the way Bjørn Østman sent it to me: Carnival of Evolution only works if people submit posts. A person can… Read More
Evolution Do low status primates eat badly? 9 Jun 2008 A blog that I have just come across is Deric Bownds’ Mindblog. He covers issues of standard and evolutionary psychology and is well worth reading. One of his posts is this: Social heirarchy, stress, and diet, in which he presents recent evidence that stressed primates (in this case humans) eat… Read More
This report mentions that the reserve is also good news for the okapi, blue monkey, owl-faced monkey and others. “they are addressing the local practices of hunting bonobos as well.” I was a little bit concerned that this was just empty rhetoric but it turns out that lots of work has already been done. From here: Sally Jewell Coxe, president of the Washington-based Bonobo Conservation Initiation, said the group has been working to establish the reserve since 2005, when it started meeting with leaders in villagers that ring the area to persuade them to stop hunting the ape. Though local lore holds that washing a baby with the ashy remains of a bonobo will make the child strong, Coxe said many area villages have committed to ending the practice. “We have agreements with many of the local villages that are on the edges of the park, and they will be the managers and be very involved in it,” she said.
This is great news, the Great Apes have been under threat for years, now they will have to enforce the National Park to deter the bush meat trade. I trust they will be successful.