NEWS and VIEWS Gerald Durrell OBE: 1925-1995 Minating in His First Book, the Overloaded Ark, Which Was Published in 1953

SAVANNAH PERSPECTIVE you put the many genies back into their bot- gered species may well be the least of our tles? Will we pursue co-operation rather than worries when eight billion bodies crowd the confrontation and domination? If so, do we planet. Second, our worship of growth even know how? Can we invest in peace, en- economies, continual expansion, materialism, vironment and the long-term future rather and increased living standards will complete than the domination of one another and of the the task if sheer numbers do not. An ethical Earth? Do we have a choice? bankruptcy that favours short-term profit over It is these types of issues that I hope to ad- long-term stability, and amusement parks and dress in the coming months. I wish to pursue mega-malls over a holistic land ethic will con- the philosophical and ethical underpinnings, tinue to make us all poorer of soul, if richer of from a North American perspective, that seem body for a few. These trends and others like necessary to guide humanity through the them will continue to destroy the species and rough waters of change as we fundamentally ecosystems that appear in these pages and in alter the way we must do business with and similar journals. The view from each of our on the Earth. I believe that here in North windows is telling, and continually changes. America great and fundamental changes will Some of the changes are positive, while many be necessary in the relationship between hu- others continue to degrade nature and the mans and the Earth if our collective future is human condition. The view out of my own to hold much promise for things wild and window offers both hope and a challenge - free, and the ecosystems upon which they and hope that humanity and nature can co-exist on we depend. Our apparently suicidal refusal to a larger scale, and a challenge for all of us to acknowledge and then deal with the human determine how that can be done. It will not be population juggernaut is primary on the list. If easy, but it may well be the most important we cannot come to grips with that, I believe thing humanity has ever done. the world will be a much uglier place; endan-

NEWS AND VIEWS Gerald Durrell OBE: 1925-1995 minating in his first book, The Overloaded Ark, which was published in 1953. It was an imme- Gerald Malcolm Durrell was born on 7 diate success and the income from his writing January 1925 in India, but when his father was to finance a series of collecting ex- died in 1928 the family started a peripatetic peditions written up in the books that fol- life that eventually brought them to rest on the lowed. The Bafut Beagles, published in 1954, is Greek island of Corfu, where they stayed until my personal favourite and encapsulates the outbreak of World War II. It was on Corfu Durrell's ability to observe human foibles and that the Greek biologist Theodore Stephanides to anthropomorphize wildlife but never senti- taught the young Gerry and had a profound mentalize it. And, of course, his robust sense influence on his future life. After attempts at of humour is omnipresent. In 1951 he married schooling in wartime England he gained a Jacqueline Rasen and she accompanied him on position as a student keeper at the Zoological many of his collecting, and later filming, expe- Society of London's Whipsnade Zoo Park. A ditions until the marriage was dissolved in legacy of £3000 in 1947 (a significant sum in 1979. His second wife, Lee McGeorge, accom- those days) enabled him to finance the first of panied him on most of his later travels and his many collecting trips. And the rest is also co-authored books with him. history ... at least it is all pretty well docu- In 1959 he founded Jersey Zoological Park, mented in his 37 books. which rapidly became transformed into a con- After his third expedition to Africa, in 1950, servation-based collection under the auspices he commenced writing and broadcasting, cul- of the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.34.90, on 28 Sep 2021 at 05:58:15, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605300020937 NEWS AND VIEWS (JWPT), which he founded in 1964. From the early 1960s, his work centred on ensuring his 'Ark' would survive. A world-wide reader- ship ensured that almost all of his books sold well, although not all managed to retain the originality or spontaneous humour of the best. He was not a 'committee man' but recognized the necessity of committees and I first met him through the then Fauna Preservation Society (FPS) Chairman, Lord Craigton, who was also on the Council of the JWPT. In 1986 Gerald Durrell was elected a Vice-President of the FFPS (and his wife Lee was elected to Council). The JWPT and the FPS had been joint organizers of the First World Conference on Breeding Endangered Species in Captivity, held in Jersey in 1972, and remained closely Gerald Durrell with a Russian desman at the Oka associated with the subsequent conferences. Reserve south-west of Moscow (John Hartley). Aside from the public figure appearing in numerous films and as the author of numerous books, Durrell was a larger-than-life figure in many respects. His enthusiasm was Ninth Meeting of the Conference truly infectious and inspired tremendous loy- of the Parties to CITES alty - several of the staff at the JWPT have been there since its inception. It is a measure Fort Lauderdale, November 1994 of his success that when he disappeared to southern France for a stint of writing he had in A record 96 per cent of Parties (119 nations) at- place an organization that was fully func- tended the ninth meeting of the Conference of tional. He was a true leader, who did not inter- the Parties to the Convention on International fere with the day-to-day minutiae. Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna Durrell's story-telling abilities are legend- and Flora (CITES) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, ary, and he could easily fill an evening with USA, from 7 to 18 November 1994. The 1600 anecdotes - as he did at an FFPS members' people that attended included representatives meeting in Cambridge. And he could be even from 221 non-governmental organizations more hilarious when describing certain mem- (more than at any previous meeting) and sev- bers of the zoological and conservation estab- eral non-party government observers. The lishment. It was humour without malice, but meeting considered 135 proposals concerning he was a doer and had little time for conserva- amending the Appendices to the Convention tionists who spent most of their time going as well as discussing and passing resolutions from conference to conference, from commit- on a number of issues. Table 1 lists the propos- tee to council to working group. als accepted by the meeting. The legacy that Durrell has left is enormous. Among the proposals that were withdrawn His books have entered the school curriculum, during the course of the meeting was one where they will probably inspire a new gener- from South Africa seeking to transfer its ation of naturalists. And the Jersey Wildlife population of African elephant Loxodonta Preservation Trust is not only a model that africana from Appendix I to Appendix II to zoos are measured against, but is also a major allow trade in elephant products 'other than education force, training zoo personnel from ivory'. South Africa was specifically seeking all over the world. approval to sell hides and meat from the hun- John A. Burton dreds of elephants culled annually in Kruger

Table 1. Changes to the Appendices as agreed at the Ninth Meeting of the Parties to CITES

Newly listed on Appendix I Transferred from Appendix I to Appendix II Megamuntiacus vuquangensis Giant muntjac Manis temminckii Cape pangolin Pseudoryx nghetinhensis Vu Quang ox Hyaena brunnea Brown hyaena Agelaius flavus Saffron-cowled blackbird Felis bengalensis bengalenis Sphenodon spp. Tuataras (excluding populations of Bufo periglenes Golden toad Bangladesh, India and Thailand) Leopard cat Ceratotherium simum simum (South Transferred from Appendix II to Appendix I African population, live animals and hunting trophies only) White rhinoceros Acerodon jubatus Golden-capped fruit bat Vicugna vicugna (High Andes Acerodon lucifer Panay giant fruit bat populations) Vicuna Ailurus fulgens Red panda Psittacus erithacus princeps African grey parrot Anas aucklandica aucklandica Auckland island teal Melanosuchus niger (Ecuador Black caiman Anas aucklandica chlorotis Brown teal Eos histrio Red-and-blue lory population: zero quota for 2 years) Testudo kleinmanni Egyptian tortoise Pachypodium brevicaule (with 0 quota) Scleropages formosus Pachypodium namaquanum Leuchtenbergia principis Agave cactus (Indonesian population) Asian arowana Mammillaria plumosa Feather cactus Pachypodium ambongense Euphorbia primulifolia Euphorbia cremersii Cattleya skinneri Christmas orchid Aloe albiflora, A. alfredii, A. bakeri Dwarf aloes A. bellatula, A. calcairophila Didiciea cunninghamii A. compressa including var. Lycaste skinneri var. alba White nun orchid rugosquamosa and schistophila, A. delphinensis, A. desconingsii, A.fragilis Deletions from Appendix I A. haworthioides including var. aurantiaca Lissemys punctata punctata Indian flap-shell turtle A. laeta including var. maniensis A. paralklifolia, A. parvula Deletions from Appendix II A. rauhii, A. versicolor Rhynchotus rufescens Red-winged tinamous A. helenae, A. suzannac Tree aloes Alocasia sanderiana Dendrobium cruentum Aloe barbadensis (=A vera) Aloe vera Species newly listed on Appendix II Manis gigantea Giant ground pangolin National Park, but when it emerged that the Manis tetradactyla Long-tailed pangolin proposal was not supported by other elephant Manis tricuspis White-bellied pangolin Hippopotamus amphibius Hippopotamus range states, South Africa withdrew it. Later Saiga tatarica Saiga antelope delegates supported a proposal by Kenya to Tauraco spp. Turacos establish an 'intra-African assembly' to review Terrapene spp. (except T. coahuila, the issue of ivory stockpiles and other relevant already on Appendix I Box turtles issues with the co-operation of the IUCN/SSC Lissemys punctata Indian flap-shell turtle African Elephant Specialist Group. Mantella aurantiaca Malagasy golden frog Brachypclma spp. Tarantulas Pandinus dictator, P. gambiensis, P. imperator Emporer scorpions Changes to the Appendices Pterocarpus santalinus (primary products only) Red sandal wood South Africa's proposal to move its popula- Prunus africana African cherry tion of southern white rhino from Appendix I Taxus wallichiana (excluding to Appendix II was accepted after amendment medicinal products) Himalayan yew to allow the sale of live animals to 'appropri- Aquilaria malaccensis Agar wood, eagle wood ate and acceptable destinations' and the export of hunting trophies. The hippopotamus

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.34.90, on 28 Sep 2021 at 05:58:15, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605300020937 NEWS AND VIEWS was listed in Appendix II because trade in its Appendix II were withdrawn because of teeth has grown in recent years. The Chilean broad concerns of the range states or technical proposal allowing for controlled trade in raw considerations. vicuna wool sheared from Appendix II popu- The Parties directed the Standing lations was approved, as was the proposal to Committee to establish a temporary Working downlist the Appendix I populations in Peru Group, chaired by the Chairman of the Plants to Appendix II. Convincing evidence was pre- Committee, to address the technical and prac- sented that sustainable-use safeguards and ad- tical problems associated with the implemen- equate trade controls were in place in Peru tation of CITES listings of species of trees used and the proposal was accepted with a limit on in the timber trade. The composition and the amount of stockpiled wool that could be terms of reference for this group were to be traded. Mexican and Central American red- decided at a meeting of the Standing kneed tarantulas were included on Appendix Committee in March 1995. The Working II. They have been popular in the pet trade for Group will report back at the tenth meeting. many years, especially in the USA, and there have been recent seizures of smuggled ship- ments totalling hundreds of specimens. Resolutions Switzerland's proposal to downlist the leopard cat from Appendix I to II elicited comment A Resolution was adopted on the international from several range states. Although there ap- trade in sharks, calling for the Animals pears to be no longer a significant commercial Committee to review information concerning market for its fur, several countries expressed the biological status of sharks and the effects concern about heavy trade and there is poor of the international trade on them. Other information on population status. India, Resolutions covered a new tagging system for Bangladesh and Thailand expressed a desire the identification of crocodilian skins in in- that their populations remain on Appendix I. ternational trade and revised guidelines for evaluating marine turtle ranching proposals. The international trade in rhinoceros and Implementation of the Convention for tiger parts continues to pose a huge problem timber species for conservation efforts for these animals. The Parties adopted two separate Resolutions urg- While one African and three Asian tree species, ing all Parties to make strenuous efforts to re- (African cherry, red sandal wood, Himalayan duce the illegal trade in these animals and yew and agar wood), which are used for their parts and derivatives. medicinal or other chemical purposes as well After extensive discussion, the New Criteria as for their wood, were included in Appendix on Amendment of Appendices I and II were II, other proposals to list commercially signifi- adopted. These were prompted by the Parties cant timber species were unsuccessful, even at the eighth meeting in 1992 against a back- though the purpose of the listing is to monitor ground of growing dissatisfaction about the and regulate rather than ban the trade. A pro- inadequacies of the existing criteria and devel- posal to list the Neotropical bigleaf mahogany opments in population biology, wildlife man- Swietenia macrophylla in Appendix II was de- agement and conservation policy. feated by a narrow margin and several Central The tenth meeting of the Parties will be held American countries stated after the vote that in Zimbabwe in the first half of 1997. they would include their populations in Appendix III. Four proposals that sought to Sources: Summary of the Main Results of the include other tropical tree species - African Ninth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to blackwood (Dalbergia melanoxylon), African CITES. TRAFFIC, Cambridge, UK, November mahoganies (Entandrophragma and Khaya spp.) 1994; CITES Update No. 31. US Department of and Vietnam ebony Diospyros mun - in the Interior, December 1994. © 1995 FFPS, Oryx, Vol 29, No 2 73

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.34.90, on 28 Sep 2021 at 05:58:15, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605300020937 NEWS AND VIEWS Seychelles giant tortoise Aldabran species and it is believed that the in- dividual, and the two surviving animals, rediscovered? could be relicts of the original Seychelles species. The valid name for this species is un- Most of the populations of giant tortoises that certain: the most recently used name is once inhabited the islands of the Indian Ocean Geochelone arnoldi but this requires revali- were believed to be extinct by the mid-1800s. dation. This morphological work is to be fol- The Aldabran population of giant tortoises lowed up by a genetic comparison. Geochelone gigantea alone appeared to have es- The NPTS is now planning a conservation caped this fate: conservation attempts date project for the species. The first step will be to from an appeal by Charles Darwin and other try to locate other survivors - it is hoped that naturalists in 1875. Today some 150,000 indi- some females survive and that the species can viduals of this species remain on Aldabra. be rescued. The taxonomy of the Indian Ocean tortoises has never been satisfactorily resolved but it is Justin Gerlach and K. Laura Canning believed that those of the granitic islands of Nature Protection Trust of Seychelles Seychelles were specifically different from 2A Mill Road, Cambridge CB1 2AD, UK those of Aldabra. In addition to the wild population of G. gigantea in Aldabra, large captive groups of giant tortoises exist in Seychelles and Elephants - four years after the Mauritius. These are descended from tortoises ivory trade ban imported from Aldabra and a smaller number of long-term captives. The origin of the latter animals is unknown and there have been oc- A report* on elephant poaching released in casional suggestions that some were surviving January documents dramatic declines in law Seychelles giant tortoises. However, the speci- enforcement operating budgets for elephant mens concerned have always been found to be protection in Africa since the inception of the very old Aldabran tortoises showing growth ban on international trade in ivory in 1990. abnormalities caused by unnatural diets. Researchers from the IUCN/SSC African In January 1995 the existence of two very Elephant Specialist Group (AESG) and large male tortoises (with a straight carapace TRAFFIC targeted nine countries in particular length of more than 1 m) in a hotel garden in - Cameroon, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Seychelles were brought to the attention of the Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia and Nature Protection Trust of Seychelles (NPTS). Zimbabwe - and also examined the situation When examined, these animals appeared to be in 16 other range states through postal ques- distinct from Aldabran tortoises, showing tionnaires and a working group in May 1994. marked flattening, flaring and scalloping of In seven countries for which data were the shell, particularly over the hind legs. These available, budgets for wildlife protection had features are characteristic of the extinct plummeted: in Tanzania, Zambia and Seychelles tortoise. Zimbabwe by more than 90 per cent; in The hotel owners said that three of these Malawi by 25 per cent; in Francophone Africa, tortoises had been bought in 1994 from 'an old the budget in Cameroon declined by 20 per man in the mountains', in whose family they cent and in Gabon by 33 per cent, figures that had been kept throughout living memory. The have since doubled with the devaluation of third animal, also a male, had died in the CFA Franc. Even Kenya, which received December. It was exhumed and the skeleton is more funds from external donors than any now preserved in the collections of the NPTS. other country surveyed, experienced a 13.5 Comparison of the skull with museum speci- per cent decline for antipoaching efforts in the mens confirmed that it is distinct from the key elephant areas studied. This is thought to

One of the captive tortoises that may prove to be a Seychelles giant tortoise (A. Skerrett).

reflect the situation in most African countries, ban, 10 per year in the 2 years afterwards and where budgets have continually failed to keep 35 in both 1992 and 1993. First-hand reports pace with inflation and are routinely cut from members of the AESG indicate similar under economic reforms. Today, law enforce- trends in other countries, especially those af- ment budgets in the majority of Africa's pro- fected by war - Angola, Mozambique, Chad, tected areas are less than 5 per cent of the Sudan and Nigeria. The study also confirmed minimum $US200 per sq km that are needed a link between rhino and elephant poaching: to maintain the integrity of the areas and pro- where large-scale removal of rhinos has taken tect their wildlife. Many wildlife management place, elephants have become the poachers authorities are in crisis and weaknesses in next-preferred target. This relationship gives national legislation and the judiciary in some cause for concern in countries with significant countries further complicate the situation. rhino and elephant populations. The report says that elephant conservation is costly and, while foreign donors have paid lip service to the need for saving Africa's ele- Ivory trade continues with new players phants, they have not fully appreciated the and possibly new markets cost of policing it: the existence of the ivory ban alone is not enough to halt poaching. A general decline in Africa's ivory curio markets and a relatively stable amount of ivory seized in recent years indicates that there is Elephant poaching continues certainly less ivory in trade since the ban. Among the countries surveyed, only Zambia Overall, the study found that poaching re- showed a marked increase in seizures, which mained below pre-ban levels but had in- is probably related to the war in neighbouring creased in most areas during the past 2 years. Angola. However, the illicit ivory trade still In Kenya poaching declined before the ban exists. At least 16 tonnes of ivory have been but afterwards started to climb again: 111 el- seized within the nine target countries since ephants were killed illegally in 1990-91 and the ban came into effect. Outside Africa, more 208 in 1992-93. Garamba National Park in than 8700 ivory items originating in these Zaire lost approximately 17 elephants to countries have been confiscated during the poachers in each of the 2 years preceding the same period.

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.34.90, on 28 Sep 2021 at 05:58:15, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605300020937 NEWS AND VIEWS The markets for this illicit ivory appear to ance of ivory stocks has been documented in have changed. The major pre-ban markets in Cameroon, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Europe and the USA have disappeared. Japan, Tanzania. Even where stockpiles are secure, which historically used a significant portion of the future of these economic assets remains all raw ivory, today relies on its own pre-ban uncertain. None of the target countries has stocks. Confiscations of ivory in transit coun- stated an intention to destroy their stocks, tries and intelligence information in countries even though Kenya and Zambia have done of origin suggest that China, Singapore, South this in the past. The pressure to find an equi- Korea and Taiwan have been among the final table solution under CITES is bound to in- destinations for illegal ivory in recent years. crease. South Koreans and Taiwanese are appearing as the new middlemen in Africa's illicit ivory trade, a post-ban development of concern. Human-elephant conflict intensifies Another new development is the setting up of ivory-processing operations in Africa for The majority of elephant range states have re- direct export to traditional or new markets ported increases in human-elephant conflict. in Asia. The manufacture of ivory objects, The situation has become particularly acute in notably semi-worked ivory blocks for making parts of Kenya and northern Cameroon. As a name seals, has been documented in result, an increasing number of elephants are Cameroon, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Kenya, being killed by government authorities or Malawi and Tanzania. There is a growing risk local communities taking the law into their that an Asia-run, Africa-based ivory process- own hands. The report points out that increasing industry could develop into a high-vol- ing human-elephant conflicts raise the ume enterprise fuelled by the decline in ivory prospect of commercial ivory poachers work- prices in Africa at a time when per capita ex- ing in concert with disenchanted local com- pendable incomes in some Asian countries are munities, which could have serious rising. ramifications for the elephant populations conserved. With human populations increasing and elephant range shrinking across Ivory stockpiles Africa, creative solutions are required to this problem. The nine countries surveyed in depth collec- The ban on international trade in ivory ap- tively hold nearly 100 tonnes of ivory, with pears to have worked to a certain extent in Tanzania and Zimbabwe holding the largest containing the mass slaughter of elephants. amounts. Where stockpiles are well-managed, However, it has caused new problems and as they generally are in eastern and southern new areas of concern. It is hoped that African Africa, they are increasing at a rate of 1-6 nations, the international conservation com- tonnes each year from seizures, management munity and CITES will be able to work to- programmes and natural deaths. In other gether to devise effective long-term solutions. parts of Africa, however, ivory stockpiles are negligible: some governments dispose of ivory *Dublin, H.T., Milliken, T. and Barnes, R.F.W. on local markets, officially or otherwise, rather 1995. Four Years after the CITES Ban: Illegal than store it. The security of some stockpiles is Killing of Elephants, Ivory Trade and Stockpiles. in question and the unexplained disappear- TRAFFIC International, Cambridge, UK.