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Action Plan –. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland). Even
so, although the problem of disease transfer may be getting
worse (e.g. Jackson et al., , Emu, , ‒), the
World Parrot Trust recently outlined its ‘release to restore’
plans for several species, sometimes to free confiscated wild-
caught parrots in areas from which the species in question
have disappeared, but sometimes to release birds that are
expected eventually to unite with their wild counterparts.
An example is the proposed release of six Critically
Endangered blue-throated macaws Ara glaucogularis
into the species’ only known area in Beni, Bolivia.
World Parrot Trust’s PsittaScene (May , ‒) argues
that, because so few wild birds remain, the release will
constitute a reintroduction, not a reinforcement (sensu
IUCN/SSC, , Guidelines for Reintroductions and Other
Conservation Translocations, v. .), because ‘contact
with any wild bird is unlikely to occur soon after release’.
But, given that macaws are spiritedly long-distance travel-
lers (e.g. Bonilla-Ruz et al., , Wilson Journal of
Ornithology, , ‒), how small should this unlikeli-
hood be? What constitutes ‘soon’? Confiscated grey parrots
Psittacus erithacus released at Lake Victoria were, within
months, ‘regularly mixing and flying with a small group of
wild birds’ (PsittaScene August , ‒). If () some par-
rot diseases incubate for many months, () some healthy
birds are life-long carriers, and () some cases escape detec-
tion however carefully screened, how confident can we be
that releasing the macaws serves the best interests of the
species?
When confiscated birds are involved the alternatives are
far from pleasant: deployment to zoos for education, life-
long care at a centre, or—most depressingly—euthanasia
(although this is illegal in Indonesia for threatened species).
All the more reason, therefore, that any release programme
must observe the highest levels of scrutiny for pathogens
(Jakob-Hoff et al., , Manual of Procedures for Wildlife
Disease Risk Management. OIE, Paris, France), keeping
birds in secure quarantine for ‒ months and retesting
them at least twice for different diseases according to
circumstance. Without such rigour, can the risk posed by
captive birds to any targeted wild population—especially if
the only population—ever be acceptable?
N
IGEL J. COLLAR BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK
E-mail nigel.collar@birdlife.org
M
ICHAEL LIERZ Clinic for Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians and
Fish, Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, Germany
M
ARK R. STANLEY PRICE WildCRU, University of Oxford,
Oxford, UK
R
OLAND Z. WIRTH ZGAP, Munich, Germany
New evidence of dhole
Cuon alpinus
populations in
north-west China
As a happy consequence of snow leopard surveys being con-
ducted by our teams across China, we are pleased to report
important new evidence of populations of the dhole Cuon
alpinus from two sites in north-west China. The first is
from camera-trapping surveys in the Shulenan Mountain
range in Yanchiwan National Nature Reserve on the north-
ern edge of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau in Gansu Province.
Here, on two occasions, we have recorded a single female
with at least two pups. The first photographs, in May ,
showed a female with two pups , month old. The second
set of photographs, in July , showed a female with two
older pups, perhaps months old. The timing is consistent
with these being the same individuals, as is the distance be-
tween the camera stations of . km. However, as there were
no distinguishing features visible, we were unable to deter-
mine conclusively whether these were the same individuals.
Further photographs taken between January and May
revealed dhole packs of at least five individ uals within
the Reserve. It is not possible to determine how many packs
live in this area. Information about dholes has also been re-
ported by local livestock herders and confirmed by local
staff within the Reserve. These reports suggest two or
more packs of up to individuals live in this area.
Photographs and reported sightings in Yanchiwan occurred
at elevations of c. ,–, m.
It was also recently brought to our attention that during
– livestock herders and local government officials
reported dholes in the vicinity of Taxkorgan Nature
Reserve, in the Karakoram/Pamir Mountain region of
Xinjiang Autonomous Region, on China’s border with
Pakistan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan. The accuracy of
these reports has been confirmed, with herders able to dis-
tinguish between pictures of the dhole (referred to in
Mandarin as chái: 豺) and the wolf (láng: 狼). Packs of –
dholes were sighted on six occasions in areas to the east of
Taxkurgan at c. ,–, m. Nine incidences of livestock
depredation by dholes were reported during this period,
with sheep and yak being the targeted prey. Pack sizes asso-
ciated with depredation events were reported to be between
three and ‘more than ’ individua ls.
With as few as ,
mature individuals remaining in the
wild, mostly in South and South-east Asia, and populations
thought to be in decline, these new records of the dhole
extend the known range for the species significantly.
The existence of the population on the northern edge of
the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau had been suspected, although
unconfirmed, since a reported sighting in . There have
been no recent records of dholes from the Karakorum/
Pamir region and so the new evidence is important. We
are now undertaking more detailed surveys for this species
Conservation news 203
Oryx
, 2015, 49(2), 201–206 © 2015 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605315000046
http://journals.cambridge.org Downloaded: 02 Apr 2015 IP address: 46.227.146.193
in China and neighbouring countries, particularly focused
in the Tien Shan and Pamir Mountain region.
P
HILIP RIORDAN*† Department of Zoology, University of
Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, UK
E-mail philip.riordan@zoo.ox.ac.uk
J
UN WANG‡ and KUN SHI*† The Wildlife Institute, Beijing
Forestry University, Beijing, China
H
ONGYAN FU and ZHU DABUXILIKE Yanchiwan National
Nature Reserve, Subei County, Gansu Forestry
Administration, China
K
EBIAO ZHU and XIAOHU WANG Kashi Wildlife Conservation
and Management Division, Xinjiang Forestry
Administration, China
*Also at: Wildlife Without Borders UK, Oxford, UK
†Also at: The Wildlife Institute, Beijing Forestry University,
Tsinghua-East, China
‡Also at: Department of Biological Sciences, Manchester
Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK
Increasing concern over trade in bat souvenirs from
South-east Asia
Wildlife species are harvested and traded in many forms,
including as souvenirs such as claws, ivory jewellery, marine
shells and preserved specimens of insects and other small an-
imals. During a visit to Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City with
South-east Asian bat researchers in December we en-
countered mounted specimens of bats alongside specimens
of insects and other invertebrates for sale in souvenir shops.
Although such trade is known in South-east Asia, one par-
ticular species, the woolly painted bat Kerivoula picta, stood
out. K. picta is a distinctive orange-coloured bat with patches
of black on the wing membrane. It occurs from South Asia,
southern China and mainland South-east Asia to Sumatra,
Java and the Moluccas, although there are few recent records
for its eastern range. The asking price for a mounted speci-
men was c. USD , and one mounted with a tube-nosed
bat (Murina sp.) was c. USD (USD after discussion)
in another shop. Other mounted bat species for sale included
pipistrelles (labelled ‘Pipistrel’) for c. USD each, and fruit
bats (Macroglossus sp.), labelled ‘dog bats’. SJR has also
observed many mounted bats, typically Tylonycteris sp., for
sale in tourist markets in China.
The trade in bat specimens goes beyond tourist shops; a
search on e-commerce site eBay , on December ,using
the term ‘bat taxidermy’ rev eal ed mounted and osteologica l
specimens of several South-east Asian bat species. These
included frugiv orou s species labelled as Cynopterus sp.,
Macroglos sus minimus and Rousettus leschenaultii, and the
insectivorous species Hipposideros bico lor, Hipposi der os
larvatus, K. picta, Miniopterusmedius,Otomopsformosus,
Pipistrellus javanicus, Rhinolophus lepidus, Scotophilus kuhlii
and Tylonycteris robus tula (although the identification of
some specimens may be incorrect). Most sellers were based
in the USA, and the others in Indonesia, Thailand and
Vietnam. Apart fr om O. formosus, categorized as Data
Deficient on the IUCN Red List, the other species are categor-
ized as Least Concern. Although these sales do not involv e
threatened species, the legality of the procurement and sale of
bat specimens is questionable. In Vietnam, for example, the
LawonForestProtectionandDevelopment() affords pro-
tection to all wildlife species. It is illegal to hunt, transport, keep,
advertize, sell or consume wildlife without a permit; we do not
know if the souvenir suppliers and sellers have the necessary
permits. One eBay seller based in Vietnam had sold framed
K. picta at the time of our search and still had available stock.
The prices of K. picta specimens on eBay were USD .–
., typically more expensive than those we observed in
Vietnam. Other websites that retail mounted bats include
Amazon, Etsy, Oddities Store and the Evolution Store.
The potential unsustainability of harvesting bats for the
souvenir trade is of concern given that we know little of
wild bat populations and offtakes. Bats are long-lived and
slowly reproducing, with many species already declining
and facing future threats as a result of habitat loss. For exam-
ple, the range-restricted Kitti’s hog-nosed bat Craseonycteris
thonglongyai—the world’s smallest mammal—was threa-
tened by collection for the souvenir trade shortly after its de-
scription in (Hutson et al., , Microchiropteran
Bats: Global Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan,
IUCN). Although the harvest of bats for bushmeat has been
reviewed at a global scale (Mickleburgh et al., , Oryx, ,
–), almost nothing is known of the potential impacts of
the souvenir trade on bats. We call for socio-ecological studies
on this trade, especially in range countries, to understand the
extent of exploitation and the commodity chain. This infor-
mation is urgently needed to determine whether the trade is
sustainable and whether interventions are necessary to curb
the trade of such wildlife souvenirs.
We thank the Southeast Asian Bat Conservation Research
Unit supported by the National Science Foundation under
Grant No. .
B
ENJAMIN P.Y.-H. LEE and MATTHEW J. STRUEBIG Durrell
Institute of Conservation and Ecology, School of
Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent,
Canterbury, UK. E-mail benjamin.lee@alumni.nus.edu.sg
S
TEPHEN J. ROSSITER School of Biological & Chemical Sciences,
Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
T
IGGA KINGSTON Department of Biological Sciences, Texas
Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, USA
204 Conservation news
Oryx
, 2015, 49(2), 201–206 © 2015 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605315000058
