Green Options

Nine monkeys escaped from an Oregon Health & Science University animal testing lab after a cage was left unlocked. Four were shortly re-captured and four others have been spotted on campus — but one has entirely eluded authorities.

“One of our cage cleaners accidentally left a lock off a cage,” said Jim Newman, a university spokesman. “The cage was closed; however, the animals were able to slide the door open and get out.”

An undercover investigation by Endangered Species International has disclosed the horrific scale of the endangered species market in the Republic of Congo.

The nonprofit found that hunters source 95% of bushmeat around the Kouilou region, one of the most biodiverse areas in the country. In additon to gorilla meat, the investigation discovered the sale of other at-risk species like the forest hinged tortoise, draft crocodiles, blue duikers, and white-bellied pangolins.

In the ongoing worldwide revolt of non-human captive primates, a circus monkey in central Florida made an escape into the woods after his captor forgot to attach a leash.

Today, workers at the Liebling Family Circus are attempting to lure Reggie the spider monkey out of the forest by waiting at the edge of the forest with his 20-year mate, Priscilla. But PETA, who had a representative at the circus when the monkey escaped, says the circus mistreats its animals and perhaps he’d be better off trying to survive in the wild.

Following the news of a 31-year-old chimp who evidently likes to plot out attacks on his Swedish zoo visitors, a monkey in Thailand became tired of his owner beating him and forcing him up trees to collect coconuts — so he threw one straight at the owner’s head.

A chimpanzee at Sweden’s Furuvik Zoo has been observed chipping at concrete to create discs to throw at visitors. He even made weapons at night to throw at visitors when the zoo opens in the morning.

While Santino the chimp’s retaliatory ways are amusing, they’ve also impressed scientists who believe this is the first evidence of a non-human animal being capable of making plans for the future.

The cheeky kea, a type of parrot native to New Zealand, is under “severe stress,” according to conservationists.

The bird was determined to be the smartest in the world by the Institute of Cognitive Biology in Vienna, even concluding that its intelligence rivals some primates. In the 1990’s, 15,000 of the birds soared above New Zealand’s South Island, but today only an estimated 1,000 remain.

A comprehensive, international survey released today, showed that half of all 5,487 mammal populations are declining.

Just today, data from a global survey was revealed at a meeting of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Barcelona, Spain.  1,700 researchers took part in the survey and named habitat loss and hunting as the major causes of the current, mass extinction.

Jan Schipper, who led the team, said: “Mammals are declining faster than we thought — one in four species is threatened with extinction worldwide.”

He said that land animals in Asia have been the hardest hit, where almost 80% of the primates are at risk.  Other mammals at risk across the globe include the blue whale, the bumblebee bat, the Caspian seal and the Tasmanian Devil.

Scientists currently have data for 4,651 species of mammals.  According to this study, 1,139 of these species face the threat of extinction.

Conservationists were thrilled last month that thousands of African Western Lowland gorillas - 125,000 by head count estimates - may have found a safe haven in a mud swamp and probably escaped predators.

This could have doubled the number of the endangered primates thought to survive worldwide.

But it never dimmed the fact that the great apes are still heading toward extinction if the activities of mad rebel groups operating with abandon in the forests and mountainous regions of Africa continue unchecked.

Mountain gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei) are the worst hit among the three subspecies according to their habitant in different parts of Africa. Others are the Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and the Eastern Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla grauere).

The big environmental news coming out of Peru this past week was that a huge waterfall previously unknown to the greater world was “discovered” in the country’s Amazon Rainforest region. The word “discovered” is in quotes because a community that lives near to the waterfall had known about its existence according to Andina News, but had chosen to keep their knowledge a secret to help protect the area from damage. Obed Cabanillas Silva, the explorer who “found” it, thinks that it might be taller than Peru’s Gocta waterfall (pictured to the left).

The Gocta Fall is third tallest waterfall in the world, although its status is disputed. It is 771 meters high (~ 2529 feet). If its measurements are accurate, only Venezuela’s Angel Falls and South Africa’s Tugela Falls are taller. It was also “discovered” in 2005, although local communities knew about its existence as well. According to Peru’s El Commercio newspaper (via Wikipedia), “local people feared the curse of a beautiful blond mermaid who lived in its waters if they revealed its whereabouts.”

Only several days after the news of the this new waterfall’s discovery was announced, an expedition has departed to see and document the waterfall. The group includes a topographer, photographer, and representatives from local communities. While this expedition’s hasty departure is not surprising, the “discovery” of the spectacular waterfall leaves me with two conflicting feelings.

Long-tailed macaques eat mostly fruit — but when resources are scarce, they’ve been known to get creative with their cuisine. When living near humans, they raid gardens and learn to beg for food. Sometimes they even steal food from inside houses.

Now, for the first time, scientists have observed long-tailed macaques fishing with their bare hands.