Ethiopia does not often receive publicity for its wildlife conservation work, but there have been a commendable number of achievements over the last 15 years or so. For the last two years the author has been carrying out ecological studies to formulate management plans in the Bale Mountains area, which is in the process of being established as a national park. As a result of the developments and protection already afforded, numbers of the endemic mountain nyala have increased considerably.

The breeding population of Audouin's gull, a Red Data Book species, is endemic to the Mediterranean. Its population was estimated at 4000 pairs in 1985, but its restricted distribution and vulnerability to disturbance and competition necessitate active conservation measures. The gull's most important breeding colony is on Rey Island in the Chafarinas group, and in 1983 a three-year study was started to discover the factors limiting the size of the colony and to formulate a management plan.

The decline of the Pyrenean desman reflects the pollution, degradation and fragmentation of its mountain torrent habitat, but there are other threats too. In some areas of Spain that were once densely populated by desmans, escaped mink from fur farms have established and the desmans have disappeared. In October 1984 Walter Poduschka, Chairman of IUCN/SSC's Insectivore Specialist Group, and Bernard Richard, desman specialist, visited the Sierras north-west of Madrid to investigate the plight of the desman there. Their findings made them raise the matter at the SSC meeting in Madrid in 1984, and they urge that Spanish scientists study the animal and its problems before it is too late.

The northern subspecies of white rhino Ceratotherium simum cottoni is very close to extinction. Probably fewer than 50 remain in the wild and only 13 are known in captivity. Garamba National Park in northern Zaire contains the only potentially viable group, of 15–20 individuals, and here there is a possibility of action to save them.

Hattah-Kulkyne National Park in Victoria, Australia, is a large reserve important for its vegetation communities, These were once extensive in the region, but are now reduced to remnants due to clearance for agriculture. The vegetation in the Park has suffered from overgrazing, and the rehabilitation programme includes culling kangaroos. Population management of this kind often generates controversy, and the author, a research botanist, explains why it is necessary in this Park.

The results of a field survey for otters in Israel suggest that the species is close to extinction in the coastal plain, where many rivers are grossly polluted. Signs of the animal were found throughout the Jordan catchment, but, because the total area occupied is very small, even this population seems vulnerable.

Jamaica has 22 native mammal species. One of these is an endangered rodent, the Jamaican hutia Geocapromys browni; the rest are all bats. Fifteen of these bats depend entirely or significantly on caves as roost sites, including two endemic species and seven endemic subspecies. These cave-dwelling bats often form large colonies whose guano deposits are of significant economic value as fertilizer, but which are vulnerable to disturbance and roost destruction. The author, who has visited and worked in many of Jamaica's bat caves over the past eight years, is currently researching the evolution and development of the Antillean bat faunas.

The reserve system in the USSR is complex; more than 11.4 million ha of land are involved in several categories, which afford wildlife different degrees of protection. At least 40 major new reserves are planned for the near future, but Soviet conservationists have to face demands for agricultural land, poaching, increasing pressure from tourism and organizational problems. In 1984 the author visited the USSR to study the scientific uses of the country's reserves. It was Dr Braden's third research trip to the USSR; as Vice-President of the International Snow Leopard Trust she has been involved in discussions there about the captive-breeding and exchange of snow leopards between the USA and the USSR.

Taking animals from the wild to supply the pet trade is often a cause for concern, both on welfare and conservation grounds. The red-eared terrapin Pseudemys scripta elegans is just one subspecies involved, and its survival in certain parts of its range is under threat as a result.

Ungulate populations are at a low ebb in Saudi Arabia. Indiscriminate hunting and habitat degradation are the main factors causing population declines in three of the five endemic species. The author collected information on the status of these animals while working as a wildlife ecologist for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in the northern province of Al-Jouf.

Living in the rain forests of the Philippines is one of the largest and rarest eagles in the world, the Philippine eagle Pithecophaga jefferyi.This magnificent bird is in danger of extinction due to the pressures of land development and human persecution. The author spent three0 years, from 1982 to 1985, helping to study the eagle, both in the wild and captivity, as part of a team dedicated to its conservation. The eagle has become the symbol of the conservation movement in the Philippines, and linked with its survival are a host of endemic species that share the same forest habitat.

MacGillivray's or the Fiji petrel was known only from a single specimen collected in 1855 on Gau Island. In 1984, after months of searching, a single adult flew into Dick Watling's spotlight and collided with his head. It was examined, photographed and released. Nothing more is yet known about its status or its breeding site, although the latter is suspected to be in the cloud forests of highland Gau. In the course of his visits, the author also made other discoveries about the Island's poorly studied fauna.

The Gunung Leuser National Park, established by the Indonesian Government in 1980, covers more than 7900 sq km of forests, ranging from tropical lowland to subalpine. It protects many endangered and threatened species. In October 1984 the author, acting as a biologist and guide on an exploratory rafting expedition, floated along the Alas River, which runs through the Park. He describes his journey and the primates he recorded along the way.

In 1984, when the authors were working in the central part of Egypt's Eastern Desert, they found some large tracks and followed them. From the top of a sand dune, they had a brief but clear view of an adult male Nubian ibex. This unexpected sighting confirms that there is at least one population in this part of the Eastern Desert; the last report of ibex in the area was in 1927.

The Madagascan tortoise Geochelone yniphora, known locally as the ‘angonoka’, is found only near isolated patches of bamboo forest in the vicinity of Baly Bay in north-western Madagascar. As part of an Oxford University Expedition, and with some help from the Oryx 100% Fund, the author, together with Ian Scoones, Mike Guy and Gilbert Rakotoarisoa, has recently carried out a survey of the area. In this article, he discusses the conservation of this highly endangered animal.

Two of the three subspecies of brow-antlered deer are endangered and only the Burmese subspecies is still relatively abundant. Even so, it is a species of major concern in Burma. The authors describe the results of their surveys to determine the deer's status, the main threats to its survival and what needs to be done to conserve it.

In 1985 the University of Kent, with the FFPS, organized a study tour to the Luangwa Valley in Zambia. The author was among the participants and describes his once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The felling of forest adjacent to the well-known Bohorok Orang-utan Rehabilitation Centre in North Sumatra, Indonesia, stimulated a series of local and national government responses, the course of which is instructive for those trying to grapple with conservation problems in Indonesia and elsewhere. The authors followed the story while working as Advisor to the Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies at the University of North Sumatra, Medan, and World Wildlife Fund volunteer at the Bohorok Centre, respectively.

A survey of orangutans in Sabah, Borneo, which was carried out by the author and John Payne, resulted in an encouraging picture. In the primary forest of eastern Sabah alone, there are at least 4000 orangutans, but habitat destruction is fragmenting the population. Hunting is also common, especially in the central and western areas where orangutans are already scarce. Some orangutans are protected in conservation areas, but the future of the species outside these places depends on logging being carried out in a more conservation-oriented way. Among other things, we need to discover the size of primary-forest patches that need to be left in logged forest to support a viable population of orang-utans, which will be able to recolonize the logged forest as it regenerates.

The mule deer endemic to Cedros Island, off Baja California, was believed to be endangered until a survey in 1980 revealed that around 300 still remained. The authors carried out a follow-up survey in 1985 in order to discover whether the status of the deer had changed and to devise a method for the long-term monitoring of its population.