AWI Quarterly » 2011 Winter

Primate Sanctuary Provides Happy Home for Hard Luck Monkeys

Miss Riley, a large stump-tailed macaque, selects a carrot and hands it to her roommate, Bugs.

2011 Winter

Whether animals have a sense of humor was the focus of a recent Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum (LAREF) discussion.

2011 Winter

Training Primates to Cooperate During Blood Collection

For macaques and other primates in research laboratories, blood draws can be extremely stressful events. The anxiety and fear, however, may result not so much from any "phobia" involving the needle, but from the restraint often employed to enable the technician to perform the procedure.

2011 Winter

Risking Fatal Collisions: Linking Crane Flight Habits to Habitat near Power Lines

People have long admired cranes for their tall and stately posture, their monogamous pair bonds involving ritual courtship dances and territorial unison calls, and their majestic flight. In some cultures, cranes symbolize peace and freedom.

2011 Winter

Palm Oil Cooks Up Extinction for Orangutans

The industrial demand for inexpensive, versatile palm oil has significantly increased within the past five years. The oil - which originates from the fruit of the tropical oil palm tree (Elaeis guineensis) - is used mainly in food items: as a cooking oil or in processed foods such as cookies, crackers, candy, and pet food.

2011 Winter

White-Nose Syndrome Devastates Bat Colonies

Bat conservationists throughout North America are holding their breath this winter, waiting nervously for the grim news of spring: how much farther has white-nose syndrome (WNS) spread and how many more bat hibernation caves will be littered with the bodies of bats killed by this tragic disease?

2011 Winter

D.C. Council Votes for More Humane Treatment of Wildlife

The council of the District of Columbia, on November 9, 2010, unanimously passed the Wildlife Protection Act (B18- 498), which imposes humane treatment standards upon nuisance animal control operators who work to remove wildlife from residential and commercial settings within city limits.

2011 Winter

Longer Sentence for Reptile Smuggler

After being caught attempting to pass a cache of snakes and a turtle through Kuala Lumpur International Airport into Indonesia, notorious wildlife smuggler Anson Wong of Malaysia initially received a lenient six-month jail sentence (as reported in the Fall 2010 AWI Quarterly).

2011 Winter

African Elephants Are Officially Two Species

Though several morphological differences exist between African savannah elephants and forest elephants, it has been a challenge to conclusively determine the genetic relationship between them.

2011 Winter

Tigers Clawing for Survival

Leaders from the 13 tiger range countries convened in St. Petersburg, Russia at the International Tiger Forum in November to discuss strategies to save the world’s remaining tigers.

2011 Winter

Adverse Decision for Wolves Averted in the Senate

As the 111th Congress drew to a close, Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) sought unanimous consent on a bill that would have delisted the gray wolf as a threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

2011 Winter

You Can Make a Difference

The 112th Congress is under way. Stay informed by signing up for AWI eAlerts at www.awionline.org/takeaction, and meet the members with the new Congressional Directory from AWI (available in March - to order, call or visit the AWI website).

2011 Winter

A Call for Grant Proposals: The Christine Stevens Wildlife Awards

March 25, 2011 is the deadline to apply for grants toward the development of innovative strategies for humane, non-lethal wildlife management and non-invasive scientific research.

2011 Winter