Bronx Zoo ships 100 rare Kihansi spray toads to Tanzania to help create a new colony

BY Barry Paddock
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Wednesday, August 18th 2010, 4:00 AM

Maher, WCS/AP

The Kihansi spray toad has vanished from it's native habitat in Tanzania.

The cargo wasn't just precious - it was almost extinct.
An official from the Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo flew to Tanzania last week with some seriously exotic carry-on luggage: 100 rare, tiny toads.
The Kihansi spray toad has vanished from its native habitat, and scientists hope to create a new colony by importing some from U.S. zoos.
"It's an amazing feeling," said Jim Breheny, director of the Bronx Zoo.
Last Tuesday, their handler, Alyssa Borek, packed 50 toads from the Bronx Zoo and 50 from the Toledo Zoo into plastic deli containers after swaddling them in paper towels soaked in purified water.
They were loaded into two cardboard boxes that Borek hauled onto a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines jet for the trip from Kennedy Airport to Africa.
She delivered them to a state-of-the-art propagation center. The goal is to eventually move them to the Kihansi Gorge, where the Tanzanian government has installed sprinklers in an attempt to recreate the toads' habitat.
The toads were discovered in 1998, living on less than five acres of a spray zone created by waterfalls in the gorge.
The 2000 opening of a hydroelectric dam, which provides a third of Tanzania's electricity, reduced the flow of the waterfalls, eliminating 90% of the mist.
The toads began to dry out and fall ill. Before they were declared extinct in the wild, scientists collected a colony of them and split them among a handful of zoos.
The Bronx Zoo pumps 1,500 gallons of mist a day to the toads, who are on display in the Reptile House. Food, water and air is carefully purified.
Breheny called it an "incredible commitment" that he and Toledo Zoo officials hope will pay off halfway across the world. "We both have worked very hard for a successful end to the story," he said.

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BIM ends with ‘breakfast with butterflies

MIAO, July 23: The Butterfly India Meet, Namdapha 2010 ended with a Conservation program named, “Breakfast with Butterflies” here at Miao yesterday. The five-day assembly of Natures mates finally comes to an end with around 183 findings of flying beauties and innumerous Moths apart from the sightings of some glittering beetles like Golden Tortoise Beetle.

Twenty numbers of selected school children from five schools around the Miao attended the program --“Breakfast with Butterflies,” a unique program on awareness with the theme ‘Lets Create a Flutter’. Experts took the children to nearby fields as rain God restricted the movement to distant areas, to give them some basic information about the beautiful creatures living around us. Some senior photographers provided opportunity to school children to try their tiny hands on their long zooms and describe the shooting techniques. Children had never imagined believing their luck when they got the chance to actually shooting with cameras which they were only watching in TV Channels. “This was an encouraging indicator for existence of many other species of the butterflies in the core area and beyond that when type of forests and profile of hill changes, if count touches a figure of 183 in the buffer area” explained Dr. Alfred, Former Director, Zoological Survey of India.  J. M. Garg who is an Indian icon in Wikipedia for his submission of more than 8000 pictures of different Nature categories was amazed to see the diversity of Arunachal Pradesh. “For sure I am taking another trip to this wonderland soon where ecology appears still intact while people from other part of the country struggling to breathe in fresh air in polluted environment” he added.  

While speaking on the occasion of ‘Lets Create a Flutter’ Mrs. J. Jugli, Chairperson, Changlang Zila Parishad expressed the need of carrying the conservation awareness to deep inside the villages with help of Anchal members. “More programs like this should be organized in future on regular intervals to educate the ignorant masses” she added. Lauding the spirit of participants and initiations of organizers of the meet, Mrs. Jugli said, ‘We were not aware of our rich biodiversity which have been highlighted’

“The event was held for the thirteenth time at the various locations of India and this is the second time we have got the opportunity to explore Arunachal Pradesh in North East” explained Butterfly India Group Moderator Vijay Barve in his introductory speech. He thanked  Arif Siddiqui, program coordinator whose butterflies’ pictures draw the attention of Nature Enthusiast towards the Arunachal Pradesh worldwide.  “Still people are desperate to come to Arunachal Pradesh for its wonderful wildlife but we could not entertain many due to limitations in accommodation” he added.

Colonel Sandeep Chaudhury of 18 Assam Rifles, Jairampur speaking to the gathering urged for controlling hunting of animals and birds in the area. “Poachers should be suing for the killing animals in the similar manner as the murderer are treated in civil societies” he added. S.J. Jongsam Namdapha national park filed director, cherished the efforts of participants and regret for the bad weather since last three month which restricted the movement of visiting experts to the inner areas of Park. He also assured to provide all support and help to any research scholars and teams coming for studies in the park in future also.  

“Despite belonging to a completely different profession, Col Choudhury has shown his appreciation for nature and affection for the people of this area,” said Nimbong Sena. Assam Rifle was one of the main supporters in organizing the Butterfly India Meet. All the participants were extremely happy and expressed their gratitude to the peoples of Arunachal Pradesh for the hospitality they received here. “This will be an inerasable moment of our life and we are much thankful to organizing NGO NSEWC and SEACOW” said Siddarth Edake of Madhya Pradesh.

The event was witnessed by officials of various departments including department of Forest and Environment, GeoEnpro, Assam Rifles,  local administration and local leaders.

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Nature lovers claim Ventnor as 'Butterfly town'

The Glanville Fritillary is one of Britain's rarest butterflies

A wildlife enthusiast wants Ventnor to be recognised as a 'Butterfly Town'.

The campaign is the idea of butterfly enthusiast Rob Wilson who thinks the Isle of Wight town could be the first such place in the country.
The island is one of the few places in the UK that the very rare Glanville Fritillary butterfly can be found.
It is hoped that the Butterfly Town project will raise awareness of the unique fauna of the area.
Butterfly walks
The plan is to create two separate walks, using existing public rights of way, which take in the best butterfly habitats. The routes could total six miles across Ventnor, Bonchurch and St Boniface Down.
Rob Wilson, co-ordinator of the local butterfly conservation group, said: "It may very well be the first time it's ever been tried. Because we have this special micro-climate here in Ventnor we get unusual things turning up."
Mr Wilson put his proposal to the local town council this month.
He said: "It was very well received. I was pleasantly surprised."
In addition to literature and signage to support the walks, he is also thinking about using his musical skills to compose a song to accompany the project.

The heat and sandy soil make the Isle of Wight a butterfly haven

A number of surveys will be completed before the autumn, and then the scope and cost of the project will be calculated. The trail could be launched as early as April 2011.
'Front-line trench'
Matthew Oates is an advisor on nature conservation for the National Trust which manages some of the key areas of butterfly habitat on that part of the Island.
He said: "The National Trust downland above the town is immensely rich and important for butterflies. It's of top national importance."
"Because of its southerly location, Ventnor is a major immigration route for wildlife. It's the front-line trench of where things happen."
Mr Oates added that he supports the proposal. He said: "If we bring these creatures up as things that are valued deeply in our culture, then that sets the pathway for all the action to follow".
He even had his own suggestion for the region.
He explained: "One of the things that Ventnor Town Council could do is plant more butterfly friendly plants."
He believes that flowers rich in nectar would not only support rare butterflies, but other insects in the area.
Glanville Fritillary
Arguably the most famous butterfly to be found near Ventnor is the Glanville Fritillary.

The Glanville Fritillary is attracted by large-leafed ringwort plantain

It is named after Eleanor Glanville, who helped to reveal the science and natural history of Britain's butterflies more than 300 years ago.
It is one of Britain's rarest butterflies. The butterfly, and its caterpillar, love the heat which reflects off the bare, sandy soil of the coast and the large-leafed ringwort plantain.
The species of butterflies known as fritillaries are so-called because of the chequer-board pattern on their wing.
Eleanor Glanville studied butterflies in the 17th Century, when they were thought to symbolise the spirits of the dead.
It was a time when women were not 'allowed' to dabble in science and she was accused of witchcraft. Finally she was declared insane on the grounds that only a lunatic would obsess about butterflies in the way she did.

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Butterflies of Peninsular India
Common Butterflies of India (Nature Guides)