Proboscis monkeys, endemic to the island of Borneo, are declining in Sarawak. Their mangrove and peat swamp forest habitats are being degraded or destroyed and people continue to hunt them despite their protected status. Surveys between 1984 and 1986 established the status of this monkey and its habitats in this Malaysian state. The author who participated in the surveys, receiving some financial support from the Oryx 100% Fund, discusses the results and makes recommendations for future conservation action.

Suriname is a small country, but it still has large tracts of undisturbed forests and rich wildlife. The authors discuss Suriname's plans to extend its already excellent network of protected areas and proposals to amend the hunting regulations. They also consider the country's eight monkey species, whose status can be regarded as indicative of that of the rest of the country's wildlife.

West African manatees are believed to be declining over much of their range, including in Sierra Leone. They are nominally protected there, but they are traditionally caught and eaten because of their delicious meat and also because they are considered as pests by rice growers and fishermen. The authors' surveys in 1986–1987 showed that manatees are still widely distributed in coastal districts of the country, but that they are being regularly caught in some places, at levels that may not be sustainable. Much more needs to be known to guide appropriate action to ensure that the manatee remains a part of Sierra Leone's wildlife. It is encouraging that one of the authors has begun, under the government Fisheries Division, to implement a manatee research programme.

When the Indian Ocean atoll of Aldabra was added to the World Heritage List in 1982 it concluded 20 years of conservation effort to gain international recognition of its scientific importance. Its native wildlife, which is still remarkably intact, is, however, under threat. Only 27 km away, on Assumption Island, introduced bird species have established and are breeding. The author made a survey in October 1986 and among his findings was the particularly alarming discovery of a large population of red-whiskered bulbuls Pycnonotus jocosus, a nest predator of small passerines. Urgent action is required to remove the introduced species from Assumption, not only to protect Aldabra, but also to pave the way for conservation efforts on Assumption itself.

Efforts are under way to re-establish free-living populations of Przewalski's horse Equus przewalskii from zoo-bred individuals. The time is opportune to begin such initiatives as there are more than 660 individuals dispersed in over 70 zoological collections. In addition, the captive population is now increasing rapidly and has the potential to provide reasonable numbers of animals for reintroduction programmes without jeopardizing the maintenance of the population that serves as an ex-situ gene pool nucleus.

The ghor-khar is a rare subspecies of onager, or Asiatic wild ass, and its habits are little known. The only known wild population inhabits the Little Rann of Kutch Desert in Gujarat State in western India and, after its numbers fell dramatically in the 1960s, it was declared a protected species. Conservation measures, including the establishment of a Wild Ass Sanctuary in 1973, have been so successful that the most recent census, in 1983, recorded nearly 2000 individuals, compared with 362 in 1967. The authors made four visits to Gujarat to study wild asses between 1984 and 1986.

Snow leopards live in the mountains of Central Asia, their range stretching from Afghanistan to Lake Baikal and eastern Tibet. They are endangered throughout their range, being hunted as predators of man's livestock and for their skin. Much of the snow leopard's range lies in China, but not enough is known about its status there for effective conservation. As part of a project to assess China's high-altitude wildlife resources the authors conducted a survey in Xinjiang—a vast arid region of deserts and mountains. Although the snow leopard and other wildlife have declined steeply in Xinjiang in recent decades, the cat still persists and one area has the potential to become one of the best refuges for the species in its entire range. Its future in Xinjiang, however, depends on well-protected reserves, enforcement of regulations against killing the animal, and proper management of the prey species.

Malawi has a large number of isolated highland forests on either side of the Rift Valley. While those in the north do not at present suffer from serious degradation, in the south several have been much encroached upon for fuel wood and land for cultivation. As a result localized birds, reptiles, butterflies and plant species are threatened. In a two-year exploration of the evergreen forests of the country conducted for the Forestry Department, the authors surveyed the distribution and status of the flora and fauna, and identified threats to the survival of the rarer taxa.

A major extinction spasm is under way, threatening to eliminate millions of species. Fortunately we still have time—although only just—to slow and stem the tide of extinctions that is washing over earth's biotas. We cannot stop the mass extinction altogether; the processes of broad-scale habitat depletion have generated too much momentum to be halted overnight. But there is still much we can do to contain the scale of extinctions. In short, the prospect of a broad-scope depletion of earth's biodiversity is all too real: a profound problem. All too real also is the scope for an expansive effort to limit the phenomenon, and to save species in their millions: a splendid opportunity.

When managing small populations of endangered species, in the wild and in captivity, the premature death of even one individual may give cause for concern. The authors carried out whole-body radiographs (X-rays) on dead specimens of endangered Mascarene fauna—three species of birds, three species of reptiles and one bat species. They found skeletal problems indicating traumatic injuries and nutritional abnormalities. The authors suggest that the technique has a role to play in the investigation of deaths in populations of endangered species, and may provide information that leads to improved management of the species in question.

Many of India's primates are threatened, especially by forest destruction, and in some areas they are also hunted for food. The 15 species involved are not threatened equally—some are widespread and common, even in the hearts of cities, while others survive only in small populations over a limited area. In order to make best use of the limited resources available for primate conservation it is necessary to identify those species needing urgent attention. The author, who is at present carrying out research on the primates of Assam, has rated the species according to their conservation needs using a method based on one developed for identifying conservation priorities for African primates. He compares his results with those of the Asian Action Plan for Primates and makes recommendations for conservation action in India.

A dam is being built in Valia-Kalda, one of the ten national parks in Greece, despite the fact that this is not permissible under Greek law. Apart from the destruction caused by this activity, the park suffers from illegal hunting and over-grazing by livestock. The author, who was a member of two expeditions to Valia-Kalda in 1985 and 1986, describes the park, highlighting the features of special interest, and urges the Greek Government to safeguard it.

The Tambopata Reserve Zone covers 55 sq km of tropical rain forest bordering the Tambopata River, a tributary of the upper Amazon. Set up by the Peruvian Government in 1977 to conserve an unusually diverse wildlife community, the reserve has already established a variety of world records for species numbers in vertebrate and invertebrate groups. It also protects a number of threatened species. The fact that the reserve exists at all is largely due to the implementation of a policy that has successfully integrated its conservation objectives with its commercial interests and applied science activities. The author, who worked as a naturalist guide and biologist on the reserve in 1984,1985 and 1986, discusses the importance of this enterprise.

Wetland and waterfowl protection has become a major concern of the Indian Government recently. Among the 300 or so wildlife sanctuaries and national parks in India, wetland habitat is under-represented. There are nearly 20 bird sanctuaries, but only two wetlands—Bharatpur and Chilka—are listed under the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention). There is certainly great scope to add more sites to the Ramsar list of wetlands. The author has identified one candidate—Dihaila Jheel in Madhya Pradesh state—and exciting new initiatives are now being taken to protect and manage it with a view to recommending it as a Ramsar site.

Over the centuries the Ankarana Massif has been home to at least 12 lemur species, reflecting the incredible ecological wealth and diversity of this small forest reserve. Yet almost no systematic biological work had been done there, until the Southampton University team (supported by the Oryx 100% Fund) visited Ankarana in 1981. Oryx published a report of this expedition in January 1987. A new team of nine British biologist–cavers, three doctors, two Malagasy palaeontologists, an entomologist and a botanist spent the end of the 1986 dry season (mid–August to mid–October) producing the first catalogue of the fauna and flora. The team rediscovered the rare white-breasted mesite, an endemic bird last seen at Ankarana in 1931 and known from only two other small areas in Madagascar; special efforts were also made to assess the conservation status of lemurs, bats and the Nile crocodiles, which have refuges there.