EDGE OF EXISTENCE CALEB ON THE TRAIL OF THE TOGO SLIPPERY FROG Prioritising the Empowering new 10 weird and wonderful conservation leaders 1 2 From the very beginning, EDGE of Once you have identified the animals most in Existence was a unique idea. It is the need of action, you need to find the right people only conservation programme in the to protect them. Developing conservationists’ world to focus on animals that are both abilities in the countries where EDGE species YEARS Evolutionarily Distinct (ED) and Globally exist is the most effective and sustainable way to Endangered (GE). Highly ED species ensure the long-term survival of these species. have few or no close relatives on the tree From tracking wildlife populations to measuring of life; they represent millions of years the impact of a social media awareness ON THE of unique evolutionary history. Their campaign, the skill set of today’s conservation GE status tells us how threatened they champions is wide-ranging. Every year, around As ZSL’s EDGE of Existence conservation programme reaches are. ZSL conservationists use a scientific 10 early-career conservationists are awarded its first decade of protecting the planet’s most Evolutionarily framework to identify the animals that one of ZSL’s two-year EDGE Fellowships. With Making an impact are both highly distinct and threatened. mentorship from ZSL experts, and a grant to set in the field Distinct and Globally Endangered animals, we celebrate 10 The resulting EDGE species are unique up their own project on an EDGE species, each 3 highlights from its extraordinary work animals on the verge of extinction – the Fellow gains a rigorous scientific grounding Over the past decade, nearly 70 truly weird and wonderful. as well as practical experience. Each intake of impassioned conservationists ‘EDGE species are distinct in how they Fellows begins with a four-week training course from all over the world have look, live and behave, and in their genetic in essential conservation tools, delivered in completed the EDGE Fellowship make-up,’ explains EDGE of Existence priority EDGE regions such as Madagascar, programme and made an impact programme manager Nisha Owen. ‘For Costa Rica, Nepal, Kenya and the Philippines. in the countries where they live. example, the flagship species for EDGE Fellows then head back to work with their A key part of this has been getting are the three long-beaked echidnas. chosen species, keeping in touch with tutors local communities on board with These curious mammals lay eggs like via Skype. Many Fellows are also juggling full- conservation. Take Caleb Ofori- birds; have distinctive snouts and long time work alongside their projects – but then, Boateng in Ghana, who enlisted tongues for poking into the ground to conservationists are a very committed species! the support of local people to find ants; and grow spines for protection. Towards the end of their course, participants help create a protected area for If these extraordinary animals became gather at ZSL London Zoo to hone their the Critically Endangered Togo extinct, a whole chunk of evolutionary leadership skills and find ways to scale up their slippery frog. Caleb used what he history would disappear with them.’ project, such as applying for new funding. calls ‘conservation evangelism’ to Many such animals in need of urgent educate communities about their conservation action have previously EDGE FELLOWS TAKING precious local frog population, been overlooked because they weren’t as PART IN FIELD TRAINING even setting up amphibian clubs IN MADAGASCAR ‘charismatic’ as species such as elephants in local schools. and tigers, or were poorly known. For 10 And in the Bahamas, Nikita years, the EDGE programme has been Shiel-Rolle’s love of the sea and putting these species on the map and fascination with the towering working to guarantee their future. To pillar coral inspired her to set up date, EDGE lists have been created to marine monitoring programmes highlight the most unique and threatened that have in turn enthused teams mammals, amphibians, corals and birds, of young volunteers. with the latest addition, EDGE reptiles, In Croatia, Dušan Jelić has launching this year, and the team has also revealed the secrets of the olm – mapped the world to reveal the regions a sightless, lungless, cave-dwelling with the greatest EDGE biodiversity. salamander that can live without food for 10 years. Dušan helped develop a groundbreaking To discover more about technique to detect the presence EDGE species and our of the olm by checking for its THE LONG-BEAKED ECHIDNA projects and people DNA in water, and successfully IS ONE OF THE WORLD’S all over the world, head secured further funding to MOST UNIQUE ANIMALS DEBORAH WALD WORDS: to edgeofexistence.org continue his project. WILD ABOUT / SUMMER 2017 39 EDGE OF EXISTENCE THE CUBAN GREATER FUNNEL- EARED BAT WAS THE FOCUS OF A SEYCHELLES EDGE Investing in RECENT EDGE EXPEDITION Looking for the world’s FELLOW DIANA RENAUD 4 the future 5 most elusive animals (RIGHT) IN THE FIELD As well as focusing on essential Exploring unknown territory, speaking with work to protect wildife in the local communities, testing state-of-the-art field, raising wider awareness of technology in the field… It’s all in a day’s work conservation has always been a for conservationists trying to confirm the key EDGE goal. Since 2014, ZSL’s existence (or extinction) of an EDGE species. EDGE team have been producing Until 2007, one of the three top EDGE free courses on conservation for mammals, Attenborough’s long-beaked the United for Wildlife online echidna (named after the famous broadcaster), learning platform. These courses was thought to be extinct. Then, 46 years since are accessible to anyone around its last recorded sighting, an EDGE expedition the world, at any age, and require discovered telltale ‘nose pokes’ – holes made no prior conservation knowledge. by its beak while digging for worms – in Papua Learners can choose from a range New Guinea. In Cuba, two more recently of introductory topics, covering key rediscovered mammals, the Cuban solenodon conservation concepts, people’s and greater funnel-eared bat, were focuses of roles in conservation, and the use a recent EDGE trip (see below). of technology; or explore specific Sometimes the search for one species has areas, such as how we prioritise surprising results. In 2010, EDGE Fellow Grace Supporting new species and areas for conservation, Wambui was on the trail of the golden-rumped protection for wildlife or the illegal wildlife trade. sengi in north-east Kenya. This small mammal 6 Participants can take these can be recognised by the patch of gold fur on EDGE research is not only yielding new data about the world’s rarest animals – it is also video-based courses at their own its rear – but this patch wasn’t visible in an providing vital evidence in the fight to defend them. In the Seychelles, the Critically pace, with quizzes to test their image of a sengi caught on camera by the team. Endangered sheath-tailed bat is now protected in law, an incredible achievement on the knowledge and opportunities to ZSL scientists are finding out more about this part of EDGE Fellow Diana Renaud, a conservation officer at the Seychellois Ministry of earn badges for their hard work. sengi’s distribution and ecology, to determine Environment and Energy. Her hard work was instrumental in securing the legislation, There is also an online community and classify this potentially new species. which makes it illegal to kill or disturb the species. The DNA of the sheath-tailed bats she forum to connect with fellow studies can be traced back 38 million years, but there are thought to be fewer than 100 left learners from around the world ZSL OLIVER R WEARN, in the wild. Encouragingly, Diana’s research in the field shows that recent drastic declines and discuss topical issues or share in population are reversing, and juvenile bats have also been spotted. inspiring conservation stories. Field notes from… So far, courses have been made available in English, Spanish, The EDGE team recently led the first ZSL expedition Mandarin, Vietnamese and Hindi, to Cuba to investigate its unique wildlife and forge Now The Seychelles sheath-tailed bat gets its name from a and more than 10,000 people in 196 new partnerships, as Carolina Soto Navarro explains you membrane between its hind legs that extends over its tail, countries have signed up to learn CUBA know and can be used to fine-tune its steering during flight. more about conservation. ‘Cuba is home to some unique ‘At the Cueva La Barca we surveying for signs such as burrows species, including the Cuban mapped the foraging distribution and droppings, and setting motion- solenodon, a shrew-like mammal of the greater funnel-eared bat triggered cameras, but we have yet Why not sign up for one with a toxic bite, and the Cuban through sound-recording devices, to find this rare creature. of the inspirational, and greater funnel-eared bat, a species as well as using photogrammetry ‘On an expedition, you need a completely free, online known only from fossils until a (photo mapping) to build up a 3D plan B if things don’t quite go to conservation courses EDGE IN NUMBERS... living colony was found in a remote model of the cave. It’s a crucial plan. For example, we needed developed by the EDGE team? Head cave, Cueva La Barca, in 1992. Very habitat for this species, providing a 4x4 for our trip into Pico Cristal to learn.unitedforwildlife.org EDGE Fellows have been supported and little information exists on either, the humid conditions it seems to National Park, but renting an off- trained by ZSL over the past decade so we were keen to learn more.