Tattoo of the Day

 

Tattoo by Don (owner) at Art in Motion.

 

Golden snub-nosed monkeys are Old World primates that inhabit temperate mountain forests in parts of Asia.  Primarily an arboreal (tree-dwelling) species, snub-nosed monkeys live in groups of over 600 members.  They defend their territory with shouts and have a large vocal repertoire and have been seen calling alone and in groups in a choir-like fashion.  During the winter when food is scarce they break off into smaller groups.  Their diet consists of tree needles, bamboo buds, fruits and leaves. They have a multi-chambered stomach that helps them digest the roughage.

Little is known about these monkeys, which are considered ‘endangered‘ by the IUCN.  It is estimated that there are between 8,000-20,000 left, but populations are declining at such a rapid rate that it has been difficult to obtain accurate numbers.  They can be found in a number of protected areas including the Baihe, Foping, Shennongjia, and Wangland Nature Reserves.

The snub-nosed monkey is protected from trade by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).  Unfortunately, poaching continues to occur as body parts, thought to prevent rheumatism, continue to be used in traditional Chinese medicines.  This, in combination with ongoing habitat loss and use of the animal as bushmeat, has placed these primates in a dire situation.  A new species of snub-nosed monkey, which is so snub-nosed that even rainfall sends it into a sneezing frenzy, was recently discovered in Myanmar.  Scientists were alerted to the monkey by hunters, and the first and only observed individual of this new species was killed by local hunters and eaten shortly after researchers examined it.

 

Remember: Tattoos are forever… and so is extinction.  To see all of the FANTASTIC art featured on Bush Warriors Tattoo of the Day, and to learn more about this initiative, please click here.  You can also share photos of your own wildlife tattoos and enjoy others’ at our Facebook group, Bush Warriors Inked Nation for Conservation.

One of World’s Last Javan Rhinos Murdered by Poachers in Vietnam

A Javan rhino, one of the world’s rarest large mammals, has been found shot dead with its horn chopped off in a national park in southern Vietnam, a suspected victim of poachers.

A team of rangers found the rhino’s carcass April 29 inside Cat Tien National Park in Dong Nai province, said park official Bach Thanh Hai. It had already fully decayed, and authorities believe it could have died more than three months ago, he said.

Hai said the animal had been shot one time through the front leg and its horn — considered a valuable ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine — had been removed.

Authorities suspect that there are only three to five Javan rhinos left in Vietnam!

To read the full article, click here

Pangolins….The Other Bushmeat

Throughout much of Southeast Asia and countries like Vietnam there is still a thriving market for bushmeat and animal parts. The fact of the matter is that it’s still culturally acceptable in some of these countries to eat these animals and use their parts for medicinal purposes. Saturday, security staff at southern Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat airport on Saturday confiscated 33 live Pangolins, Tuoi Tre newspaper reported. The pangolins, also known as scaly anteaters, had been sold to customers in the country’s north at a price of one million dong (53 dollars) per kilogram, Tuoi Tre reported.

Demand for pangolin meat, with its supposedly medicinal and aphrodisiac qualities, is widespread in China and Vietnam. There is a high demand for pangolin scales for traditional medicines in many parts of the world. Meat is eaten by indigenous peoples and hides are also used to make shoes. One of the main importers of pangolin skins from 1980-1985 was the United States of America. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) list pangolins as endangered.

Separately, Vietnamese police have seized about 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of ivory near the border with China, a newspaper reported on Sunday. Traffic police made the discovery after stopping a car early Friday morning, said Tuoi Tre, which did not say if any arrests were made.

To Read The Full Article…Click Here

INTERPOL Operation TRAM: 18 countries, Seizure valued at $15M, Arrests worldwide

An INTERPOL operation targeting the illegal trade in traditional medicines containing protected wildlife products has resulted in a series of arrests worldwide and the seizure of thousands of illegal medicines worth more than $15 million.

Officers from the Corpo Forestalle dello Stato check for illegal wildlife medical products. More than 30,000 seizures  were made in Italy alone.

Indian officials inspect traditional medicines for wildlife airport at Kolkata airport.

Pre processed rhino horn

Click Here to read more about Operation Tram in the Interpol website …….

Bones of Content

This is a great article from our friends at Plan Your Safari’s regarding worrying trends in the illegal animal parts trade.  It focuses on the shady business of substituting Lion bones instead of Tiger bones to make traditional medicines. Here is an exerpt from that article.

‘We are beginning to see some worrying trends in the illegal trade of animal parts – and this time it is not just about rhino horns, elephant tusks, bear gall bladders, and shark’s fins – it is about lion bones. Yes, you read that right, lion bones. Ian Michler, writing for Africa Geographic Magazine in February 2009 as reported by Big Cat Rescue, exposed a growing trend in this shady business, and I suspect we have only just exposed the tip of this rotten iceberg.

But back to lion bones. Big Cat Rescue reports the use of “tiger wine” (rice wine carefully aged with added tiger bones or even whole carcasses) to make a person less fatigued and take care of arthritis and rheumatism. Since the tiger harvest is falling off a bit, the manufacturers of tiger wine are now looking for an alternative to make their vintages – lions. Consequently, and probably not only because of the wine market, the price of lion bones is increasing by leaps and bounds. If you happened to have some lion bones lying around the house two years ago, you could have sold a kilo for about $10. If you sell them now, you get $300. Big Cat Rescue estimates that the bony bits of a whole lion can now be sold for $4,000.’

To read the full article and learn more about this terrible issue….Click Here