This study evaluates the impact of two wildfires, in 1994 and 1995, on the large mammal fauna of Emas National Park, central Brazil. The 1994 fire burned 100 per cent of the park's grassland and after the fire, in a c. 2000-ha survey area, the authors found 16 giant anteaters Myrmecophaga tridactyla, two giant armadillos Priodontes maximus and one tapir Tapirus terrestris that had died in the fire. The 1995 fire burned 15 per cent of the park's grassland and no dead animals were found in a 220-ha survey area. The authors discuss the possible long-term ecological consequences of wildfires on the large mammal fauna of Emas, with a special focus on the giant anteater population, which is particularly susceptible to fires. They recommend a fire management programme, which would include controlled burns on a rotational basis in different sections of the park. The programme would also improve the availability of food for herbivores and control the spread of alien grass species.

The conservation status of five elephant corridors in different regions of India is discussed. Elephants have not used the 13-km-wide corridor between Ariankavu and Thenmalai, in the southern portion of the Western Ghats for several decades because a rail track and road, both of which are bordered by human habitations, cross it. The future of the Chilla–Motichur and Rajaji–Corbett corridors, which hold the Rajaji–Corbett elephant population in north-west India as one entity, is bleak. It is still possible for elephants to use the Kallar–Jaccanari corridor linking the 4000-strong elephant population of northern and southern Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in southern India. It may be possible to save the Siju–Rewak corridor, which connects the elephant populations on either side of the River Simsang in north-east India. The authors suggest that other Asian countries that have elephant populations and that are capable of establishing large conservation units, should have master plans that should detail possible developmental activities around existing wildlife habitats. Establishing vast protected areas for large mammals, however, would need political will and regular communication among the nations' development planners, wildlife managers and researchers.

Data are presented on the changes in distribution and abundance of the Mongolian saiga Saiga tatarica mongolica in the last few decades, based on an analysis of the literature and the authors' field observations. The subspecies has suffered a considerable decline in its range because of hunting and competition with domesticated stock. In 1997 a survey was made of almost all the known range, which consists of two disjunct areas and covers a total of 2200 sq km. A total of 609 animals was recorded and analysis of the census results suggests that c. 1300 saiga remain in total. The authors recommend strengthening the nature reserve established in 1993 in the Shargyn Gobi, and creating several sanctuaries outside this area, where Mongolian saiga from the main remaining population could be reintroduced. These measures would enhance prospects for the survival of this endemic subspecies of the semideserts of western Mongolia.

Between April and August 1994, three steps were taken to assess the status of Baird's tapir Tapirus bairdii in north-eastern Honduras: (i) forest cover was mapped to estimate the amount of habitat available; (ii) interviews with local people were conducted to determine where the species occurs; and (iii) searches were made for tapir signs in several mountain ranges to corroborate interview information. Local reports and searches indicated that the species occurred in forests throughout the area. Using density estimates of 0.05–0.24 tapirs per sq km, there may be 520–2760 tapirs in the 10,400–11,500 sq km of contiguous rain forest that remains in north-eastern Honduras—a population large enough to have a good chance of long-term persistence. The main threat to the population is human colonization, which is destroying the forest along the rivers and major streams. This is fragmenting the tapii population into isolated units, which will be increasingly subject to the stochastic events that drive small populations to extinction. Hunting, which along with habitat destruction, is a major contributor to the rapid decline of tapir populations in areas of human colonization, does not appear to pose an immediate threat in the study area. However, population trend data are lacking and the impact of hunting on tapirs remains unassessed.

A survey of the slender loris Loris tardigradus, a Vulnerable primate, was carried out in the Dindigul Forests of Tamil Nadu, India, in 1996 in order to assess prevalence. Lorises were found in high densities in the open Euphorbia scrub forests and in crop lands nearby. Although most often seen in bushes and Acacia trees, the species uses a wide variety of vegetation and substrates. Individuals were found mostly at an altitude of 300–500 m. Body measurements taken on sample animals revealed that the population belongs to the subspecies L. t. lydekkerianus. Conservation measures for the species in this region include additional surveys and evaluation of prospects for establishing a slender loris sanctuary.

Many wildlife rescues have been carried out over the past few decades but most were not documented and were controversial. However, such operations can be useful, providing risks are evaluated and elementary guidelines are followed. In addition to saving lives and being desirable from an ethical point of view, such operations can be very valuable for both biological research and conservation, and are certainly preferable than the alternative: to do nothing. Previous rescues are reviewed and the operation conducted in French Guiana during the filling of the Petit Saut reservoir is described. Objectives, methods, results and financial aspects are discussed. Around 5500 mammals and reptiles were captured, sampled and translocated to a protected area. The successful results of the translocation, the large amount of original data obtained, the interest shown by scientists in our samples and the subsequent new conservation impetus that appeared in the government corroborate our initial conviction that the operation was worthwhile.

In 1996, the first major biological surveys in the Itombwe Massif in over 30 years revealed that significant areas of natural habitat and remnant faunal populations remain, but that these are subject to ongoing degradation and over-exploitation. At least 10 areas of gorilla Gorilla gorilla graueri occurrence, including eight of 17 areas identified during the first survey of the species in the massif in 1959, were found. Seventy-nine gorilla nest sites were recorded and at least 860 gorillas were estimated to occupy the massif. Fifty-six species of mammals were recorded. Itombwe supports the highest representation, of any area, of bird species endemic to the Albertine Rift highlands. Twenty-two of these species were recorded during the surveys, including the Congo bay owl Phodilus prigoginei, which was previously known from a single specimen collected in Itombwe nearly 50 years ago. No part of Itombwe is officially protected and conservation initiatives are needed urgently. Given the remoteness and continuing political instability of the region, conservation initiatives must collaborate with traditional authorities based in the massif, and should focus at the outset on protecting the gorillas and limiting further degradation of key areas.

The current distribution of endemic partulid snails on Tahiti in French Polynesia reflects the danger of ignoring expert advice and introducing an alien species into a fragile island ecosystem. The endemic tree-snail fauna of the island now faces extinction. Although the extinction of the native species of Partula (Partulidae; Polynesian tree snails) on Moorea in French Polynesia is well known in the world of conservation biology, losses on other Pacific islands are less well described. This paper presents an update on the status of partulid snail populations on Tahiti in the light of fieldwork undertaken between 1995 and 1997. Native snails still exist in good numbers in two areas, at opposite ends of the island. In other areas, sightings of single or a few individuals indicate remnant populations now on the edge of extinction. Efforts to protect these populations and others in French Polynesia are being planned in collaboration with local government authorities.