Until two decades ago, the only reference to the white uacari of the upper Amazon, known locally as the ‘English monkey’, had been provided by the British naturalist Henry Walter Bates, who saw captured animals during his sojourn in Amazonia in the 1850s. A major Brazilian initiative led us to the first intensive field study of the species, which was carried out in 1983 and 1984 by one of the authors, J. M. Ayres, with the participation of a large number of Brazilian scientists and a few from overseas. The study illustrated the uniqueness of the várzea habitat in which the animals live and the threats it currently faces. It also captured the attention of both the Brazilian scientific community and the public. Possibilities for the creation of a reserve area within the várzea are now being implemented.

The range of the endangered greater Indian rhinoceros is now restricted to a few isolated pockets. One of the conservation measures recommended for the species is the establishment of additional viable populations in suitable areas. The authors describe an attempt to do this in Dudhwa National Park in Uttar Pradesh, India.

The first systematic search for the volcano rabbit, a Mexican endemic, found no evidence of the species outside the central region of the transverse neovolcanic axis around Mexico City, and reveals that the rabbit has now disappeared from areas of this central zone where it has been reported in the recent past. It depends for its survival on the pine forest—bunch grass ecosystem, and this is being destroyed by conversion to agriculture, over-grazing, fire-burns, poor forestry management and encroaching property developments. The authors make recommendations for the immediate protection of the remaining areas of core habitat and for further research.

Just before Christmas 1985 wolf researchers in Sweden made a particularly ugly discovery: the ritually mutilated corpse of an 18-month-old pup. It had been shot and scalped, its ears removed and a hind leg cut off. Then, in February 1986, another young wolf was chased along a forest track by a car, which smashed its back legs and killed it. These are merely the latest incidents in an irrational anti-wolf campaign, which is threatening the species's tentative come-back in Scandinavia. The author, who has worked extensively with Scandinavian conservationists since 1971, describes the plight of Sweden's wolves and explains why it is important to protect them.

It has been argued that the initial rarity of an animal species may be a good indicator of subsequent vulnerability. The usefulness of this argument in the conservation of endangered species has been investigated by the authors, who have compared the apparent vulnerability of certain rare animals with their actual status. The two approaches agreed substantially, but some striking differences occurred. Some rare species seem more prone to extinction than is officially recognized, and their status should be reviewed. Other species are not particularly rare, but are threatened for other biological and economic reasons. Knowledge of rarity is a good starting point, but this sould be followed by a detailed examination of other relevant factors to discern genuine risk.

From the authors' review of the mammals of Ethiopia, undertaken during the last 14 years, it is clear that Ethiopia's elephants and rhinoceroses have suffered massive declines since the beginning of the century. There are perhaps 9000 elephants left, but poaching for ivory and agricultural encroachment continue to threaten them, and only a few rhinoceroses still survive. Ethiopia has limited resources to protect these remaining animals, and needs help and encouragement from outside its boundaries.

The clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa has already disappeared from part of its range in southern Asia; it is classified as vulnerable by IUCN and is on Appendix I of CITES. Little is known about this secretive forest-dweller anywhere in its range, and the sparse information needs to be augmented so that effective conservation measures may be taken if necessary. In early 1986 the senior author travelled through the interior of Malaysian Borneo, staying at villages and timber camps, to assess the status of the species in the region and to find out more about its behaviour.