A nature reserve is being developed at Kuala Selangor on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It is important as the core area of a major belt of mangrove forest and intertidal mudflats, an ecosystem poorly represented in South East Asian reserves. The concept, as well as its management by a non-governmental organization, are unique in the region.

South of 25°N, the rugged, riparian, mixed evergreen forests of eastern Bangladesh mark the western edge of the ranges of the globally Vulnerable Asiatic black bear Ursus thibetanus and sun bear Helarctos malayanus. According to the IUCN Red List, the distribution of bears in Bangladesh is unclear: black bears are described as ‘scattered’ and ‘likely to be very low in number’ and sun bears as ‘vagrants’ entering from the adjoining north-east Indian forests. These statements are not based on any population or habitat assessments, impeding focused research and conservation investment. We compiled recent evidence of bear presence in Bangladesh based on camera trapping, literature reviews and analysis of media reports. From peer-reviewed and grey literature published during 2010–2022 we traced 43 verifiable accounts of black bears in the country. Our camera-trap survey in Rajkandi Reserve Forest produced the first ever evidence of a small population of black bears in north-eastern Bangladesh. Two field studies (in 2016 and 2021) reported camera-trap observations and multiple incidents of poaching of sun bears in Kassalong Reserve Forest and Sangu-Matamuhuri Reserve Forest in south-eastern Bangladesh. Media reports on conflict incidents presented 83 human casualties (80 injured, three dead) and 13 bear casualties (six dead, seven rescued) during 2003–2023. The incidents peaked in the summer (17); 79% were reported during 2018–2023. Cognizant of the fact that the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, our study calls for systematic conservation measures for both of these bear species in unprotected hill forests in eastern Bangladesh.

The unsustainable use of wildlife increases the risk of species extinction. In biodiversity-rich Indonesia, information on the scale of wildlife use is limited and requires further study. To address this, we explored the potential of text messaging (short message service; SMS) surveys to investigate levels and spatial patterns of domestic wildlife use, using songbird keeping and shark consumption as case studies because of their widespread occurrence in all 34 Indonesian provinces. We sent 340,000 messages for each survey during October–November 2018 and incentivized responses with a mobile data package as reward. We obtained survey response rates of 1.4% (songbird ownership) and 1.5% (shark consumption). Our results revealed an estimated 175.7 million songbirds being kept by 35% (80.4–86.6 million) of the Indonesian population and 33.5 million people (14% of the Indonesian population) to have consumed shark products in their lifetime. We identified hotspots of songbird ownership in several provinces in Java, corroborating previous findings, and new ones in the North Sumatra province, for example. The provinces of Maluku, Aceh and East Nusa Tenggara had the highest numbers of reported shark consumers per 1,000 people. Responses indicated a wide variety of shark products being consumed, highlighting the need for in-depth research to understand the explanatory factors behind these practices. These findings demonstrate the potential of SMS surveys to be a cost-effective approach for conducting large-scale studies on wildlife consumption patterns over a short period of time.

This paper presents the results of surveys conducted in 1994 to establish the population size and density, and conservation status of red howler monkeys Alouatta seniculus insulanus and white-fronted capuchin monkeys Cebus albifrons trinitatis in the Trinity Hills, Bush-Bush and Central Range Wildlife Sanctuaries of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies. Populations of the red howler and capuchin monkey have declined by about 25 per cent in Bush-Bush Wildlife Sanctuary over the past 25 years. This decrease was attributed to intensive hunting pressure and habitat destruction. These factors have also caused monkey population declines in the Trinity Hills and Central Range Wildlife Sanctuaries. Recommendations are presented for the local government to enhance the protection of wild monkeys and their habitats in Trinidad.

Across the range of African elephants Loxodonta spp., negative interactions with people are prevalent, and the impact of the resulting economic losses on farmers calls for solutions. The use of beehive fences, a mitigation method with ecological and socio-economic benefits, is gaining momentum in African savannah landscapes. We assessed the diurnal and nocturnal defensive behaviours of African honeybees Apis mellifera adansonii in response to visual and physical disturbances in the Campo–Ma'an conservation area, Cameroon. We examined six bee colonies, assessing their activity level, aggressive behaviour and ability to defend themselves when disturbed at different times of day. We found that activity levels varied between colonies and that colonies were more active during the day and inactive at night. The defensive perimeter around the hives also varied between the colonies and was generally greater during morning and evening periods. Bee colonies did not defend their hives around midday and at night. In response to a threat, bees were more likely to fly out from the hive during daytime than at night, with variation amongst colonies. Overall, as elephant intrusions occur mostly at night, beehive fences alone may not be an adequate mitigation method against crop damage caused by forest elephants Loxodonta cyclotis. We suggest combining beehive fences with other mitigation methods to improve crop protection.

The author spent two months in 1977 studying conservation problems in Maui, in the Hawaiian Islands, especially those of the nene goose project. Captive breeding has been successful in saving this species, and over 400 birds have been released on Maui, but predation and habitat destruction by introduced goats, pigs, rats and mongooses are preventing the geese from building up these wild populations.

There are probably more illegal ivory items for sale in Egypt than anywhere else in Africa. The author visited the main tourist centres of Cairo, Luxor and Aswan in late 1998 and counted over 21,000 ivory items for sale. Most of the ivory has come from elephants hunted illegally in Central and West Africa. Traders still transport the raw tusks, by truck and on camels, through Sudan across the desert into Egypt. Since the 1990 CITES ban on the international commercial ivory trade, Egypt, a member state, has prohibited not only the import and export of ivory but domestic trade as well. Ivory sales continue openly, however, in the markets and hotels, and new ivory items are still being made. The main buyers are from France, Italy, Spain and Latin America. The Egyptian Government must enforce its legislation against this ivory trade to reduce the serious elephant poaching in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan.

In 1961 the Uganda National Parks captured ten white (squarelipped) rhinoceros in West Madi district, west of the Albert Nile, where (hey were being poached out of existence, and transferred them to the Murchison Falls National Park. The operation was financed partly by Anglia Television and described by John Savidge in ORYX, September 1961, vol. VI, 5. Unfortunately the six animals released in the park included only two cows and no mature bull, and the chances of their reproducing were small. So in 1964 a second operation was mounted, financed by the World Wildlife Fund. In this article the author, then Scientific Warden of the Murchison Falls Park, describes this operation which captured and released another five rhino, four of them cows. This greatly improves the chances of breeding, and with freedom from poaching in the park, the rhino now have a reasonable chance of building up the herd.