The scientific community now agrees that, more than anything else, it is the killing of African elephants for the ivory trade that has caused the very dramatic declines in elephant populations witnessed over the past decade. Based on samples of ivory trade data, recent population modelling and field data, the authors discuss the implications of the ivory trade for the future survival of viable populations of African elephants.

Clouded leopards were believed to be extinct in Nepal, the last published record being from 1863, but in 1987–1988 four individuals were found in the country. These findings extend the known range of the species westward and suggest that clouded leopards are able to survive and breed in degraded woodlands and scrub previously supporting moist subtropical semi-deciduous forest. One of the clouded leopards was radio-collared, the first free-ranging individual to be so, and tracked for several days after its release in Royal Chitwan National Park. The translocation was unsuccessful—the leopard rapidly travelled towards the site from which it was captured.

Although the nature conservation movement had its beginnings a century ago, there was a lull in activity between the two World Wars. Richard Fitter, former FFPS Honorary Secretary and Chairman and now a Vice-President, became involved in the middle of World War II, just as the movement really got off the ground. His account of wildlife conservation in the last 50 years reveals the tremendous changes that have occurred and gives us glimpses of his own deep commitment and contribution to the movement. This paper was originally delivered at a joint meeting of the British Ecological Society and the Society for the History of Natural History in London on 12 November 1988.

There are five, perhaps only four, monkey species in The Gambia and all are under threat. The main problems are habitat destruction, hunting of crop raiders and illegal capture for medical research. The information presented here was collected during a long-term study from March 1978 to September 1983 on the socio-ecology of the red colobus monkey in the Abuko Nature Reserve. Further information was collected during brief periods between February 1985 and April 1989 on the presence of monkeys in the forest parks. It is not systematic nor extensive, but it indicates clearly that action is needed if monkeys are to remain as part of the country's wildlife. The most pressing need is for survey work to supply the information needed to work out a conservation plan.

North Yemen banned the import of rhinoceros horn in 1982. There is still a demand for the horn to make dagger handles, however, and to meet this some is still smuggled into the country. This illegal trade threatens the world's last populations of rhinoceros and in late 1987 the author went to North Yemen to study the problem and to devlop a conservation strategy.