16 Feb 2007 - Two members of WWF’s Nilgiris-Eastern Ghats AREAS team in southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu were slightly injured by a leopard they were rescuing from an illegal snare in a tea estate near Ooty in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The leopard had been ensnared in a wire noose for hours before being rescued and released into a protected area.

“The leopard was a young female that was probably stalking prey in the tea estate when she stepped into the snare,” said Nilgiris landscape coordinator N Mohanraj, who was bitten and scratched by the wild cat during the rescue effort.

WWF field staffer N. Krishnakumar was also slightly injured when trying to net the leopard.

“Fortunately, the estate staff called us rather than killing the leopard, allowing the forest department and local veterinarians to save the cat,” Mohanraj added.

The WWF team had rushed to the tea estate after workers found the leopard caught with a wire cable wrapped around her hips. The leopard may have been there for as long as 24 hours. The wire cable was secured to a large root and laid across a path, left illegally by workers to capture wild boar for bushmeat.

WWF staff helped local forest officers keep crowds away from the leopard and removed the snare after the cat was sedated. The leopard surprisingly suffered almost no injuries from the snare. It was then transported to a protected area some distance away.

END NOTES:

• The Nilgiris-Eastern Ghats Landscape, covering an area of 12,000km2, is a priority area for WWF’s Asian Rhino and Elephant Action Strategy work. Bounded by the Nilgiris Mountains and the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats ranges, the landscape contains some of the most species-rich forests in the world, home to the largest elephant population in Asia (about 9,000) as well as tigers and leopards.

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Marine turtle nestings on the rise in South Africa

19 Feb 2007 - KwaZulu Natal, South Africa – Loggerhead nestings have reached record levels in South Africa, a positive sign for the endangered marine turtle.

According to monitoring conducted by WWF-South Africa over the 2005–06 season, there were over 2,000 loggerhead nestings found along a 56km stretch of the northern KwaZulu Natal coastline.

“This is the highest number recorded in 43 years,” said Richard Penn Sawers, head of the WWF/Green Trust Turtle Monitoring and Community Development Project.

Populations of the more critically endangered leatherback turtle are also thriving here, with an average of 70–80 nestings per season.

One of the main contributing factors to the stability of South Africa’s marine turtle populations is that they breed almost entirely within the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, which is a designated marine protected area and World Heritage site.

Elsewhere, populations are in decline due to the consumption of turtle meat and eggs in poverty-stricken coastal areas, and as a result of fisheries bycatch and abandoned drift nets, which continue to drown turtle species in unknown numbers.

“The overall aim of this project is to conserve and manage the populations through community involvement in turtle monitoring, conservation, tourism and education,” Sawers added.

This includes the introduction of an eco-education programme at several schools in the project area.

“The next challenge for the project is to extend marine turtle conservation up the Mozambique coastline,” said Simanga Mageba, who is coordinating the project’s 16 monitoring sites in KwaZulu Natal.

“These amazing animals are so important to the future of all people living here. Let’s hope in another 43 years time we can look back to this time as a giant stride for marine conservation.”
Marli Wessels, WWF-South Africa