Darwin's frogs Rhinoderma darwinii and Rhinoderma rufum are the only known species of amphibians in which males brood their offspring in their vocal sacs. We propose these frogs as flagship species for the conservation of the Austral temperate forests of Chile and Argentina. This recommendation forms part of the vision of the Binational Conservation Strategy for Darwin's Frogs, which was launched in 2018. The strategy is a conservation initiative led by the IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group, which in 2017 convened 30 governmental, non-profit and private organizations from Chile, Argentina and elsewhere. Darwin's frogs are iconic examples of the global amphibian conservation crisis: R. rufum is categorized as Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct) on the IUCN Red List, and R. darwinii as Endangered. Here we articulate the conservation planning process that led to the development of the conservation strategy for these species and present its main findings and recommendations. Using an evidence-based approach, the Binational Conservation Strategy for Darwin's Frogs contains a comprehensive status review of Rhinoderma spp., including critical threat analyses, and proposes 39 prioritized conservation actions. Its goal is that by 2028, key information gaps on Rhinoderma spp. will be filled, the main threats to these species will be reduced, and financial, legal and societal support will have been achieved. The strategy is a multi-disciplinary, transnational endeavour aimed at ensuring the long-term viability of these unique frogs and their particular habitat.

The forests of the Cameroon-Nigeria transboundary region have been highlighted as a high conservation priority, yet many of the extant forest remnants remain relatively unknown, particularly with regard to the occurrence of large mammals. Between 2002 and 2004 we surveyed the large mammal fauna of the Mone and Ejagham Forest Reserves and the Upper Banyang, Nkwende Hills and Etinde forests of south-west Cameroon. Our objective was to document the extant large mammal species as an important step in the review of government priorities to identify key sites within the region for conservation and management. We reviewed the available literature on mammal distribution and then surveyed the forests for mammal and human signs. Despite a growing illegal commercial trade in wildlife, particularly for bushmeat, many sites retain populations of one or more threatened and locally rare large mammal species of significant conservation importance. Moreover, the sites collectively complement each other in terms of their representation of the threatened large mammal fauna. An emphasis on the enforcement of wildlife legislation and minimizing logging impact are of primary importance for the conservation of large mammals in these and other forest remnants in south-west Cameroon. In addition, at some sites, there already exists community interest in active wildlife management.

Site occupancy models, accounting for imperfect detection and the influence of anthropogenic and ecological covariates, can indicate the status of species populations. They may thus be useful for exploring the suitability of landscapes such as biological corridors, to ensure population dispersal and connectivity. Using occupancy probability models of its principal prey species, we make inferences on landscape connectivity for the movement of the tiger Panthera tigris between protected areas in Bhutan. We used camera-trap data to assess the probability of site occupancy (Ψ) of the sambar Rusa unicolor, wild boar Sus scrofa and barking deer Muntiacus muntjak in biological corridor no. 8, which connects two national parks in central Bhutan. At least one prey species was recorded at 17 out of 26 trapping locations. The probability of site occupancy was highest for the barking deer (Ψ = 0.52 ± SE 0.09) followed by sambar (Ψ = 0.49 ± SE 0.03) and wild boar (Ψ = 0.45 ± SE 0.07). All three species had higher occupancy probability at lower altitudes. Sambar occupancy was greater farther from settlements and on steeper and/or south-facing slopes. Barking deer also had higher occupancy on south-facing slopes, and wild boar occurred mainly close to rivers. Our findings suggest that this biological corridor could facilitate dispersal of tigers. Protecting prey species, and minimizing anthropogenic disturbance and habitat fragmentation, are vital for tiger dispersal and thus functional connectivity amongst populations in this area.

The bush dog Speothos venaticus, a rarely seen Neotropical canid categorized as Near Threatened globally, is categorized as Vulnerable in Brazil. In the Atlantic Forest occurrence data of this species are extremely rare. Here we document new records of the bush dog in four reserves in a large remnant of continuous coastal Atlantic Forest in Paraná state, southern Brazil. From a total of 4,112 trap days in two camera-trap surveys in 2009 and 2011 we obtained one opportunistic sighting and three independent photographic records of the bush dog. Additionally, park guards reported previous sightings (>4 years earlier) in three of these reserves, including the reserve where we did not record the species. Our results indicate that the remnant coastal Atlantic Forest of Paraná state is an important region for the conservation of the bush dog in southern Brazil. Given the rarity of this species in its natural habitat we suggest that conservation efforts in this region should focus on minimizing the potential threats (prey depletion from poaching and disease transmission from domestic dog) to the species.

Between April and August 1994, three steps were taken to assess the status of Baird's tapir Tapirus bairdii in north-eastern Honduras: (i) forest cover was mapped to estimate the amount of habitat available; (ii) interviews with local people were conducted to determine where the species occurs; and (iii) searches were made for tapir signs in several mountain ranges to corroborate interview information. Local reports and searches indicated that the species occurred in forests throughout the area. Using density estimates of 0.05–0.24 tapirs per sq km, there may be 520–2760 tapirs in the 10,400–11,500 sq km of contiguous rain forest that remains in north-eastern Honduras—a population large enough to have a good chance of long-term persistence. The main threat to the population is human colonization, which is destroying the forest along the rivers and major streams. This is fragmenting the tapii population into isolated units, which will be increasingly subject to the stochastic events that drive small populations to extinction. Hunting, which along with habitat destruction, is a major contributor to the rapid decline of tapir populations in areas of human colonization, does not appear to pose an immediate threat in the study area. However, population trend data are lacking and the impact of hunting on tapirs remains unassessed.

The term ‘field propagation and release’ refers to the breeding of captive adults in large field enclosures, allowing them to raise their young, and then releasing those young from that location. This technique is currently being implemented in Canada as one of several recovery tools for the endangered eastern loggerhead shrike Lanius ludovicianus migrans. During 2001–2007 a total of 360 shrike fledglings were produced in field propagation enclosures and 301 were released from these enclosures. Annual return rates of birds released since 2004 are 2–6.6%. Seventeen released birds have been re-sighted, including 10 birds that have returned to the breeding grounds the following season to produce young with wild mates. The high annual return rate of release birds and the successful integration of these birds into the wild breeding population represent important milestones for the recovery of this population. The management technique we describe here has the potential to be applicable to other species that require natural habitat for breeding and/or are reliant on a suite of parent-learned behaviours that cannot be accommodated for or adequately replicated within intensive close captive-breeding or hand-rearing conditions.

We quantified habitat associations and evaluated the conservation status of a recently identified, undescribed species of dwarf chameleon, Bradypodion sp. nov. Dhlinza, endemic to scarp forest remnants in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. At the microhabitat scale the Dhlinza dwarf chameleon was found more often in forest gaps and near paths than highly disturbed edges or forest interior. Chameleon presence was not explained by forest physiognomic variables such as vine cover, shrub and tree density, or canopy cover. Presence near gaps may be better explained by the combined effects of the thermal microenvironment and food availability. The species is moderately common where it occurs, with estimated densities of 4.7, 8.7 and 29.7 individuals per ha within forest interior, edges and gaps respectively. At the landscape scale, the chameleon occurs only in three remnant forests: the Dhlinza, Entumeni and Ongoye Forests. The species' extent of occurrence was estimated to be 88 km2 and its area of occupancy 49 km2. Based on the small area of remaining suitable habitat, this species meets the requirements for categorization as Endangered according to IUCN Red List criteria.

The real role of zoos in the conservation of threatened animals is increasingly coming under public scrutiny, and this is perhaps natural in the case of intelligent, charismatic animals such as elephants.

The object of these notes is to give a record of the wild life living in the Lower Juba area of Somalia, and to assist visitors to Jubaland in finding the haunts of the various animals described. The writers do not presume to lay down the methods of identifying these animals because more knowledgeable authors have already done this elsewhere.

The Lower Juba is that area which was the Administrative District of Kismayu under the recent British occupation. It extends from Ghesgud to Dujuma on the left bank of the Juba River, and contains all the land between the right bank of the river and the Kenya border from Ras Ciamboni to Dif, lying south of a line Dif-Dujuma (see map).

Nominally protected areas in Papua are under threat from encroachment, logging and hunting. The northern cassowary Casuarius unappendiculatus is the largest frugivore of the lowland rainforest of New Guinea and is endemic to this region, and therefore it is an important conservation target and a potential flagship species. We investigated effects of habitat degradation on the species by means of distance sampling surveys of 58 line transects across five distinct habitats, from primary forest to forest gardens. Estimated cassowary densities ranged from 14.1 (95% CI 9.2–21.4) birds km−2 in primary forest to 1.4 (95% CI 0.4–5.6) birds km−2 in forest garden. Density estimates were intermediate in unlogged but hunted natural forest and in > 30 year-old secondary forest, and considerably lower in recently logged (< 3 years) forest. Cassowary abundance was positively correlated with canopy cover and with tree height and diameter, and negatively correlated with hunting traps and human trails. In generalized linear models cassowary abundance was best explained by the number of fruiting trees and potential water sources. The results suggest that although the northern cassowary is moderately tolerant of intermediate disturbance it is relatively intolerant of heavy disturbance such as intensive logging. To secure the populations of northern cassowary and of other large animal species in Papua, forest degradation needs to be addressed by enforcing regulations in existing protection forest and/or establishing new protected areas, such as wildlife reserves.

One of the key papers at the Technical Meetings that accompanied the IUCN General Assembly in Zaïre was Dr Dasmann's showing how the emphasis in nature conservation has shifted. No longer can the ‘biosphere people’ – the people of the developed nations who draw on the resources of the whole world to maintain their life-style – simply urge developing countries to ‘protect’ wildlife and establish national parks while at the same time pressing them to cut back their population growth. One extra person in the USA will consume more in energy and materials than 20 extra people in Tanzania. What Dr Dasmann calls the ‘ecosystem people’—those who depend for all their resources on supplies within their local ecosystem – lived in balance with nature and, moreover, did not live impoverished lives, Today we can only solve our world problems by getting back to some better balance, ‘the old partnership with nature that existed without people being aware of it’. What we need, he suggests, is ‘conservation as if people mattered’ and ‘development as if nature mattered’. Nature conservation today demands new life-styles.

The elephant Loxodonta africana population of Mozambique has declined rapidly over the last 4 decades. Historical census data are incomplete but suggest that the impact of human activity on the elephant population increased after the onset of the colonial era. Demand for ivory explains the population decline from 1700 to 1940, and the killing of elephants as part of settlement policies and tsetse fly control programmes further reduced the populations between 1940 and 1960. Land transformation from 1900 onwards may also have contributed to the historical decline in elephant numbers. Our assessment suggests that landscape approaches should be explored in seeking to conserve elephants in modern Mozambique.

The shell of the Manus green tree snail Papustyla pulcherrima is renowned for its beauty and is subject to international protection under CITES, having been harvested intensively in the past. To determine its threat status, and whether further conservation action is justified, an inexpensive Wisdom of Crowds approach was used to estimate the change in relative density of the snail between 1998 and 2013. Local men and women were approached around the main market on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, and asked to map the relative abundance of the snail on an ordinal scale, based on their personal observations in 2013 and 1998 (a year of cultural significance). The spatial abundance data from 400 surveys were analysed using an information-theoretic approach. A suite of cumulative link models incorporating geographical factors was used to determine the magnitude of the change and to investigate possible biological influences underpinning the reported pattern. High abundance of the snail was associated with intact forested areas, high elevation and low population density. A slow decline was evident, with the median percentage of map cells where the snail was categorized as plentiful decreasing by c. 20% between the 2 years. On this basis a categorization of Near Threatened was advocated for the species. Although it is arguable that Wisdom of Crowds methods cannot be substituted for in situ quantification, the approach appears to have utility as a preliminary assessment for further conservation expenditure, and as a tool for determining threat status.

As peat-swamp forests in Borneo become progressively more fragmented, the species that inhabit them are increasingly threatened, notably the Endangered Bornean orang-utan Pongo pygmaeus. The area of a failed agricultural project known as the Mega Rice Project in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, is composed of fragments of peat-swamp forest that are reported to contain orang-utans, although no comprehensive survey has previously been conducted. In a portion of this area we identified remaining forest fragments, using satellite imagery, and surveyed line transects for orang-utan sleeping nests to determine the density, abundance and distribution of the species. The total area of peat-swamp forest in the study area is 76,755 ha, 59,948 ha of which comprises patches at least as large as the home range of a female orang-utan (250 ha). We estimate a mean population density of 2.48 ± SE 0.32 individuals km−2 and a population of 1,700 ± SE 220 or 1,507 ± SE 195 individuals, based on a 25 and 250 ha minimum patch size threshold, respectively. This is c. 40–45% of the original population, and the fragmented population is unlikely to be viable in terms of long-term demographic and genetic stability. To ensure persistence of this population of orang-utans, direct conservation action to connect forest fragments and prevent further loss of peat-swamp forest will be required, including re-establishing the hydrological regime, reforesting barren areas and fighting fires.

It is encouraging to report that, except for some forms of less than specific rank, no animal of East Africa has become extinct and most species are still abundant. There is still time to save the interesting fauna in its natural habitat, provided reserves are chosen wisely.

In 1979 there was only one national park in the forested Amazon region of Brazil. In that year Brazil adopted a conservation plan for the Amazonian region, proposed in 1976 as part of a system of conservation units for the whole country. Since then a further four national parks and a number of biological reserves and ecological stations have been established. The plan, which gives priority to ecosystem protection, takes the geographic diversity of plant species into consideration but not that of the fauna. The authors examine the effectiveness of the plan in protecting the primate families Callitrichidae, Callimiconidae and Cebidae and suggest how it could be adapted by recognising the importance of rivers, which limit the distributions of many primate species and subspecies as well as those of many other mammals, birds and plants.

Habitat fragmentation creates habitat edges, and ecological edge effects can cause major changes in the ecology and distribution of many taxa. However, these ecological changes may in turn influence animal movements and lead to molecular edge effects and edge-related genetic structure, matters that are largely unexplored. This study aims to infer molecular edge effects and to test three possible underlying mechanisms in the Endangered golden-brown mouse lemur Microcebus ravelobensis, a nocturnal species in the dry deciduous forest of the Ankarafantsika National Park in north-western Madagascar. Mouse lemurs were sampled in one edge and two interior habitats in close proximity to each other (500–1,400 m) in a continuous forest. A total of 41 mouse lemur samples were genotyped with seven nuclear microsatellites, and a fragment of the mitochondrial control region was sequenced for all samples. The overall genetic diversity (allelic richness, heterozygosity, haplotype richness, nucleotide diversity) was lower in the edge habitat compared to the two interior sites and all subpopulations showed signals of relatively low genetic exchange and significant genetic differentiation between them despite the short geographical distances, supporting the local preference model. These findings can be interpreted as preliminary signals of a molecular edge effect and suggest the potential for local adaptation. They are highly relevant for the conservation of fragmented populations, because a further subdivision of already small populations may increase their vulnerability to stochastic demographic changes and collapse.

Wild ungulates, and particularly deer, can cause severe damage to commercial plantations, resulting in reduced tolerance of their presence by forestry producers. The marsh deer Blastocerus dichotomus, categorized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, is declining throughout South America. A population of c. 500 individuals survive within a matrix of commercial plantations in the lower delta of the Paraná River, the southernmost stronghold for the species. Local forestry producers usually report that damage to plantations is attributable to marsh deer, thus justifying persecution of the species. Seventy-six forestry producers (representing c. 33% of the total plantation area of the lower delta) were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire to assess perceived levels of tree damage, associated economic losses, and attitudes towards the deer. Simultaneously, plantation stands were surveyed to quantify the actual tree damage caused by this ungulate. Seventy-six percent of producers reported damage to trees by deer (i.e. browsing, fraying caused by antler rubbing) but most of them perceived low levels of damage per property (median < 0.2%), with negligible economic effects. However, 5% of producers (all of them with ≤ 2 km2 in production, usually family enterprises) perceived high levels of damage and economic losses, and supported deer hunting as a management option. Field surveys indicated that damage caused by deer could be more severe than perceived by producers, although spatially confined within the landscape. Monitoring of damage perception by forestry producers, and compensation schemes to assist small producers are necessary for adequate management of this threatened marsh deer population.

The small, isolated populations of the Nicobar megapode Megapodius nicobariensis, currently categorized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, on the Nicobar islands in the Indian Ocean have declined by c. 70% since 1994. The 2004 tsunami is believed to be the major cause of this decline. The populations of megapodes on the islands of Megapode and Trax were wiped out by the tsunami. I estimate from a 2006 survey that 395–790 breeding pairs of the Nicobar megapode now survive on the coasts of the various islands compared to 2,318–4,056 pairs in 1994. The tsunami also adversely influenced nest-site selection and mound-nest ecology: > 50% of mounds were found closer to the shore in 2006 than in 1994, probably because of loss of suitable habitat, and they may become inundated with seawater during high tides. Most of the mound-nests found were constructed after the tsunami and were significantly smaller in volume than those present in 1994. Restoration of suitable habitat is critical for the long-term viability of the Nicobar megapode. However, post-tsunami impacts such as the creation of large-scale plantations in coastal areas, which are encroaching upon megapode habitat, may be severe. Because of the decline in numbers and habitat destruction and hunting the Nicobar megapode probably now qualifies for categorization as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.