The pygmy slow loris Nycticebus pygmaeus is a little-studied primate endemic to Vietnam, Laos, southern China and eastern Cambodia. Our study aimed to gain local knowledge on the distribution and ecology of, and threats to, the species by interviewing hunters, traders and wildlife protection staff, and to verify this information using a spotlighting survey in three major reserves in Mondulkiri Province, Cambodia. Encounter rates of pygmy loris were assessed along 29 transects (129.5 km), yielding observations of 26 individuals. Mean encounter rates were 0.40 km-1 in Seima Protection Forest, 0.10 km-1 in Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary and 0.00 km-1 in Mondulkiri Protected Forest. Informants had knowledge of where populations occurred, their diet, sociality and habitat preferences. Widespread large population declines were reported and informants linked this to high hunting pressure, particularly in 2001 and 2002. In late 2008 and 2009 we resurveyed three transects that had high encounter rates in early 2008 and failed to detect any lorises. Local informants reported high hunting pressure during the previous wet season in two of these sites, and a gold mine development was underway in the third site. Urgent actions are required to address these population declines and to assess the conservation status of pygmy lorises throughout eastern Cambodia.

Turtle trade in the fish markets of Alexandria was reported up to the late 1990s, motivating conservation initiatives and enforcement of legal protection. To assess the current trade and bycatch levels in Alexandria and other ports we carried out an interview survey of 445 people in 2007, mostly fishermen and fishmongers, in 15 coastal cities and fishing ports along the Mediterranean coast of Egypt. The declared catch rates and official fishing fleet statistics suggest that captures of loggerhead Caretta caretta and green turtles Chelonia mydas are in the order of several thousands per year, possibly > 7,000 per year, mainly from trawling, longlining and set nets. Probably several hundred turtles die each year as a consequence of the high mortality rates typical of these fishing gears. In addition, most fishermen from Alexandria and some fishermen from other regions declared that they kill turtles for meat. Regulations and enforcement appear to be ineffective, as turtles are usually killed and consumed on board or only their meat is landed. Some turtles are still traded on the black market in some Alexandria fish markets. The overall mortality probably represents an unsustainable toll on the Mediterranean loggerhead and green turtle populations, and the perception of fishermen is that turtle numbers are declining. Mitigating the identified threats is thus urgent. In particular, intentional killing should be tackled through its cultural drivers, and measures to reduce bycatch mortality need to be tested and implemented.