International. New signatories to CITES. The Republic of Moldova, Qatar, Sao Tome and Principe, Lithuania, and Ireland have acceded to CITES, bringing to 157 the number of Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. These accessions entered into force on 27 June, 6 August, 7 November, and 9 March 2001, and 8 April 2002, respectively.

Source: TRAFFIC Bulletin (2001), 19(1), 3 (also at http://www.traffic.org, and http://www.cites.org).

The vicuña Vicugna vicugna is a wild South American camelid. Following over-exploitation, which brought the species to the brink of extinction in Chile in the 1960s, the population was protected. Since 1975 the population has been censused annually, generating one of the most extensive long-term census databases for any South American mammal. In this paper we use these data, and measures of environmental parameters, to describe the population growth trend of the species and to estimate carrying capacity. Our results indicate that the vicuña has been protected successfully in northern Chile. The census data reveal that, following protection, the population displayed logistic growth between 1975 and 1992. Population growth rate declined linearly with population size, which indicates a degree of density dependence. Density independent factors, such as rainfall, may also have been important. The principal density dependent effect observed was that birth rate declined in those family groups with the most breeding females. The carrying capacity of the study area was estimated from the census data and from models based on precipitation and local primary productivity. Using the census data, an estimation of carrying capacity as the asymptote of the fitted logistic curve suggested that the vicuña population should reach approximately 26,000 vicuñas, whereas estimation when the population growth rate was equated to zero gave a carrying capacity of c. 22,000. Coe's method based on local precipitation predicted 31,000 vicuña, whereas Lavenroth's method based on local primary productivity predicted 26,000 vicuña. In reality, the census data showed that the population peaked at 22,463 vicuñas in 1990. The results are discussed in relation to the need for better census techniques and the implications of density dependent effects for the management of the vicuña in Chile.

We studied movements of white-lipped peccaries (Tayassu pecari, Artiodactyla, Tayassuidae) throughout the Osa Peninsula and their use by local people during 1997–2000, using interview techniques. We draw five main conclusions: 1) White-lipped peccaries living on the Osa Peninsula range within Corcovado National Park for most of the year. 2) Peccaries travel beyond the Park boundaries to the north and south-east of the Peninsula at the end of the wet season when a fruit shortage occurs in Corcovado. 3) The local people hunt peccaries as the herds move through the Peninsula. 4) Current small herd sizes observed by locals in the Peninsula and by researchers in the Park may indicate a decline of the peccary population. 5) Peccaries constitute neither an important source of food nor a source of cash income for local people. We suggest that sustainable use of peccaries in this region is neither realistic nor necessary. Instead of trying to legalize and regulate hunting, effective systems to control illegal hunting should be implemented, especially outside the Park boundary from October to January when the animals are on the move.

The masked titi Callicebus personatus melanochir is a threatened primate, endemic to the Atlantic rainforest of eastern Brazil. The Atlantic rainforest has been reduced to only 5% of its former extent, and only 2% consists of undisturbed forest. The survival of the masked titi monkey is therefore dependent on its ability to utilise disturbed forest habitat. A group of four masked titi monkeys was observed for one year in a plot that contained both disturbed and undisturbed forest. The group used a home range of 22 ha, which comprised 58% undisturbed forest, 31% selectively logged forest and 11% forest that was regrowing after a clear-cut. The titi monkeys did not use the different forest types in proportion to the availability of each within their home range: undisturbed forest was used more than expected from its proportional availability, and disturbed forest was used less than expected. Use of forest types appeared to be determined by the availability of food resources. Undisturbed forest had the most food per unit area and regrowing forest had the least. This study shows that masked titi monkeys may be able to survive in disturbed forest habitats if these areas are of high enough quality to contain sufficient food and other resources.

The Uluguru Mountains in eastern Tanzania contain at least 16 endemic vertebrate and 135 endemic plant taxa, with hundreds of more taxa shared only with forests in eastern Tanzania and Kenya. This degree of endemism is exceptional in tropical Africa, and the Uluguru Mountains are one of the 10 most important tropical forest sites for conservation on the continent. Surveys carried out during 1999–2001 updated information on the status of forests and biodiversity across the Uluguru Mountains. Forest area has declined from c. 300 km2 in 1955 to 230 km2 in 2001. Forest loss has been greatest over altitudes of 600–1,600 m, and concentrated in submontane forest. During the recent surveys most of the endemic and near-endemic vertebrate species known from the Uluguru Mountains were re-recorded, but three endemic snake species and two near-endemic bird species were not found. These species were previously known from the elevations where deforestation has been greatest. More than 50 plant species are also known only from the altitude range that has been heavily deforested. The primary cause of forest loss has been clearance for new farmland. The forest that does remain is largely confined to Catchment Forest Reserves managed for water by the Tanzanian Government. Without these reserves the loss of forest, and hence the loss of biodiversity, in the Uluguru Mountains would most likely have been much greater.

All six great apes, gorillas Gorilla gorilla and G. beringei, chimpanzees Pan troglodytes and P. paniscus, and orang-utans Pongo pygmaeus and P. abelii, are categorized as Endangered on the 2000 IUCN Red List and face many threats to their continued existence in the wild. These threats include loss of habitat to settlement, logging and agriculture, illegal hunting for bushmeat and traditional medicine, the live ape trade, civil unrest and infectious diseases. The great apes are highly susceptible to many human diseases, some of which can be fatal while others can cause marked morbidity. There is increasing evidence that diseases can be transmitted from humans to free-living habituated apes, sometimes with serious consequences. If protective measures are not improved, ape populations that are frequently in close contact with people will eventually be affected by the inadvertent transmission of human diseases. This paper describes the risks, sources and circumstances of infectious disease transmission from humans to great apes during and consequent upon habituation for tourism and research. A major problem is that the regulations that protect habituated apes from the transmission of disease from people are often poorly enforced. Suggestions are made for improving the enforcement of existing regulations governing ape-based tourism, and for minimizing the risk of disease transmission between humans, both local people and international visitors, and the great apes.

High cattle densities, expanding human settlements and the conversion of miombo woodland into farms and teak plantations are threatening wildlife populations in the Kilombero Valley, Tanzania, and conservation research on this internationally important wetland is required as part of an integrated approach to its future management. The effect of land-use change on antelopes (family Bovidae) was investigated by surveying tracks and dung during three seasons over 1999–2000 in an area of mixed land-use. Use of miombo woodland, grassland and farmland habitats by antelopes was highest during the wet season (April–May), probably representing the movements of animals away from the floodplain. Duiker, puku Kobus vardoni and reedbuck Redunca spp. predominantly used the farmland during the wet season, at which time buffalo Syncerus caffer were more common in the miombo woodland. The findings of this study have three main implications for the conservation of the valley. Firstly, the inadvertent provision of suitable wet season habitats for puku and other small-medium antelopes by rice farmers could lead to higher levels of illegal hunting, and may increase the potential for conflict between agriculture and wildlife. Secondly, the loss of miombo vegetation will most strongly affect the larger species of antelope (sable Hippotragus niger and waterbuck Kobus ellipsiprymnus), which favour open-woodland habitats; future work should therefore determine levels of habitat use by antelopes in and around maturing teak plantations. Thirdly, any management prescriptions to conserve the Kilombero Valley should include the land on the edge of the floodplain.

Jerdon's courser Rhinoptilus bitorquatus is a nocturnal cursorial bird that is now only known from a small area of scrub jungle in Andhra Pradesh, India. Its population size, distribution and habitat requirements are poorly known because of its elusive habits. We conducted a trial of a survey method that involved deploying an array of 5 m long tracking strips consisting of smoothed fine soil, and checking them for footprints at regular intervals. We developed diagnostic methods for distinguishing the footprints of Jerdon's courser from those of other species. Tracks of Jerdon's courser were obtained on about one strip-night in 30 from areas where the species was known to be present. We suggest a procedure for using tracking strips to survey areas where Jerdon's courser has not yet been detected. The use of tracking strips carries a small risk of misidentification of footprints of other species, especially yellow-wattled lapwing Vanellus malarbaricus, as those of Jerdon's courser, but has the advantage that large areas can be surveyed without the use of expensive equipment or night-time fieldwork. We recommend the use of automatic camera traps to obtain confirmation of records of probable Jerdon's courser footprints.

Over the last 50 years there has been increasing use of charismatic large mammals and birds as ‘flagship species’ to raise funds and promote the ethos of conservation. However, species chosen to appeal to donor and membership groups may not necessarily be considered popular among local communities. A growing recognition of the need to engage local communities in conservation makes them an increasingly important audience for information about conservation. In such situations an awareness of the local perception and value of different species is central to choosing effective flagships. Emphasising this, we propose 10 criteria for the selection of flagship species. We then describe three examples of local flagship species and assess their use against these criteria: the Asian elephant Elephas maximus for the conservation of landscapes in Aceh, Indonesia, the flying fox Pteropus voeltzkowi for forest protection on Pemba Island, Tanzania, and the ceiba or kapok tree Ceiba pentandra for the conservation of forests in Belize.

The Critically Endangered Père David's deer Elaphurus davidianu became extinct in the wild in China in about 1900, and the only surviving animals were held in captivity at Woburn Abbey in the UK. During 1985–1987, individuals were returned to China, and subsequent growth of the captive population in enclosures at Dafeng Reserve necessitated a trial release of a small group of deer as a prelude to further releases. Seven individuals were released into the unfenced coastal region of the Dafeng Reserve in 1998. Behaviour, daily activity rhythm, habitat selection, activity range and body condition were recorded for six months after release. The deer exhibited initial changes in behaviour, but returned to their pre-release patterns about four weeks after release, and by six weeks after release their body condition had improved compared to their previous condition in captivity. They left the Reserve and began to forage on farmland, causing conflict with local people. Further releases should be into areas with either a natural or artificial boundary in order to avoid unmanageable levels of conflict between the needs of the deer and those of farmers.

The information presented in the Appendix to Simon P. Mickleburgh, Anthony M. Hutson and Paul A. Racey, 2002, A review of the global conservation status of bats, Oryx, 36(1), 18-34 was incomplete, particularly in relation to the numbers of IUCN Red List species and endemic species per country. A full corrected version of this Appendix is printed below. The information presented in Table 4 was also incomplete and a revised version is included here.