WARF Newsletter JUNE-JULY

Gibbon Adoption Programmewill help them to be free and providebasic necessities like food and health care

WildAnimalrescue VOLUME 10 ISSUE 4June and July, 2010

SAVE THE TURTLE5.5Kg

School visitNocturnal Activity @ GRP:

WARF News Issue 3 June-July 2010

T h e W i l d A n i m a l R e s c u e F o u n d a t i o n o f T h a i l a n d

6 5 / 1 3 r d F l o o r , S u k h u m v i t 5 5 , K l o n g t o n , W a t t a n a , B a n g k o k 1 0 1 1 0 T e l . + 6 6 2 7 1 2 9 7 1 5 E m a i l : w a r @ w a r t h a i . o r g

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Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) is a large sea turtle. Their range extends throughout tropical and subtropical seas around the world. They are easily distinguished from other sea turtles because they have a single pair of prefromtal scales (scales in front of its eyes), rather than two pairs as found on other sea turtles. Heas us small but blunt with a serrated jaw.

They are herbivorous (at least in their adult stage) feeding on seagrasses and algae which gives them their greenish coloured fat or Calipee. The carpace is smooth and can be shades of black, grey, green, brown, and yellow. When vied from above they have an oval shape with a relatively small blunt head. Their carpace size is usually around 100cm and they can weigh 150kg. Their scutes on the carpace are arranged in the formation of 4, 5, 4. They forage in open water as infants but forage mainly in coastal waters later on in their life.

Editor’s note:

There has been some exciting rescue news for our WARED project this month. On June 22 we received a call from staff at Mu KoRanong National park saying that they had a Green turtle (Chelonia mydas) in their pos-session. A fisherman had found it floating in the ocean not moving. He then caught it and handed it over to the National park. WARED came to pick up the 5.5Kg turtle, which was weak and not moving. The turtle was put into our rescue pond and the marine veterinarian in Phuket was called for advice on care and treatment. Symptoms point to the possibility that the turtle ingested a foreign object such as a rope or plastic bag which cannot be digested. We have been giving the turtle daily multivitamins and medications, but the turtle is still weak and vomits occassionally after eating. If the turtle has eaten a foreign substance it is possible that it will not survive. We continue to monitor the turtle, and if it does improve we will release it back into the ocean.



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Marine turtles have lived in the sea for over 100 million years. Today 6 of the 7 species of sea turtles are listed as endangered or critically endangered, and the outlook is increasingly grim. Due to different threats caused by human activities sea turtle populations are in steep decline in Thailand and worldwide. Female turtles can lay hundreds of eggs in one nesting season – but even under “natural” conditions relatively few young turtles survive their first year of life. It takes decades for surviving juveniles to reach maturity and to start to breed. Adult turtles must live and reproduce over many years so that the population can survive.

The main threats faced by sea turtles are the following: •Entanglement(mostlyaccidental)anddrowninginlong-linefisheries, gill netting and shrimp trawling nets. Known as by catch this is one of the greatest threats to sea turtle populations. •Huntingandpoaching:eatingtheeggsandmeatoftheturtlesand selling turtle products on the markets.•Usingtheshellforornaments,sunglasses,jewelryetc.,usingthe skin for boots, shoes and handbags or selling stuffed sea turtles as tourist souvenirs.•Habitatdestruction:destructionandmodificationofnestingbeaches by insensitive development of seawalls, industrial and other infrastructure projects, vehicle traffic on beaches.•Feeding ground destruction: coral reefs and seagrass meadows are being destroyed by sedimentationdue to land cleaning, nutrient run off from agriculture, intensive tourist activities and destructive fishing techniques.•Disruptiveactivitiesonornearnestingbeachesduringnesting season, suchashumanactivity, vehicletraffic, noise, lights, etc.•Pollutionoftheoceansandcoastincludingchemicalcontaminationthroughindustrieslikeoilspillscanpoison sea turtles.

• Ingestionofplasticbags,balloons,plasticbottlesandothergarbage that was littered on the beach or in the ocean. Turtles can mistake floating plastic materials for jellyfish and choke to death when they try to eat it.• Barriers close to thenestingbeaches likefishingnets thatdon’t let the turtles find their way to the nesting beaches.• FibropapillomaTumorstendtospreadinGreenturtlesuntileventually they become dehabilitateing for the turtle. They are also becoming increasingly more common in other species of marine turtle.

http://www.ioseaturtles.org



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Rescue NewsText and Story by Nikki Dokken & Warayut Wichit

Pictures by ToffeeOmyim, May, and Wanvisa Promma

Wehadanunsuccessfulrescueofapig-tailedmacaquewhohadbeenseverelyelectrocuted. It was found surrounded by a group of people, but nobody would claim ownership of it. Since no owner could be found, we got permission from the forestry department to take it to our site for treatment.

Both legs were amputated, but sadly even after surgery the injuries were toosevere to save the macaque.

Editor’s note:

PigtailedMacaquesareappeartobemoredelicatelesshastyandmorepatientthanothermacaqueandforthisreasontheyareoftenseencaptivity or used in animal experimentation and on demand by cosmetic a well as medical laboratories for HIV (AIDS virus). They are trainedforthree-sixmonthsataspecialschoolinThailand,toworkoncoconutplantation.Theownerwilltiealongstringtoamacaquebefore sending macaque up the tree. The owner gives verbal commands or twitches the string, and the macaque then twists the appropriate coconutuntilitfallsdown.Theyretrievecoconutsfromthetreesandarecapableofpicking800-1000coconutsperday.PigTailedmacaquesareolivebrownfurwithwhiteunderparts.Thetopoftheheadisdarkbrown.Theirtailisshort,slenderandthinlyfurred or naked.

PigtailmacaqueshaveawiderangethroughoutSoutheastAsia.SouthernpigtailmacaquesarefoundinnortheasternIndia,southernChina,inIndonesiaonBorneo(Kalimantan)andSumatra,ineasternBangladesh,aswellasinBurma,Thailand,Laos,Cambodia,andVietnam.TheyarealsofoundinMalaysia,bothontheMalayPeninsulaandonBorneo(Feerozetal.1994;Groves2001;Choudhury2003).North-ernpigtailmacaquesarefoundinpeninsularThailand,throughBurmaandIndochinaandintoBangladesh,India,andSouthernChina.



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Rescue NewsText and Story by Nikki Dokken & Warayut Wichit

Pictures by ToffeeOmyim, May, and Wanvisa Promma

Wehadasuccessfulreleaseof3Elongated Tortoises. They were bought at a local market where they were being sold as food. The person who bought them did not want them to be killed, so they purchased them and donated them to us. We held them inourcarefor3daystoensuretheirhealth,andthenreleasedthemintotheforestbehindoursite.

ElongatedTortoise (Indotestudo elongata): also known as Yellow HeadTortoise,YellowTortoise,Red-NosedTortoise.Theelongatedtortoiseisamediumsizedtolargesizetortoise,around30cmlongand3.5kgasanadult.ThespeciesfoundinNepal,Bangladesh,In-dia,Burma,Laos,Thailand,Cambodia,Vietnam,MalaysiaandChina.Theelongated tortoise has bright yellow heads, large amount of black patterning over many of the scutes. Threats:TheElongatedtortoise isEndangeredspeciesand isonCITESAppendix II. They commonly found in Asian food markets as well as in Thailand; still several types of tortoise have been used formedicine andfood.

Editor’s note:

School visit On8thDecember48studentfromPlukPunyaschool,14thDecember35studentfromBritish international school and on 29th December 200 students fromTesban MuangPhuketschoolcametovisittheprojecton10thDecember.Wetoldthemabouttheproj-ect and gave them information on the four species of gibbon found in Thailand. We also talked to them about the need to protect the forest and the wild animals living within it. It is important that we give these talks so that we can try to get through to the younger genera-tion and hopefully they will grow up with a better knowledge of the forest and conservation. We hope their understanding about conservation will help protect the forest and that in the future we will not see so many endangered animals.

Community ServiceOnJune17wehadacatsterilizationandhealthcareeducationdayinthecommunityatWAREDProject.Ourresidentveterinarianwith help from Veterinarian Volunteers performed free spays for all female cats, with the help of a local veterinarian who had previously worked for us. Along with the free spay, residents were given information about health care for their cats and techniques on how to prevent them from going stray.



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TheWARFnowhas3duskylangurs,Trachypithecus obscurus (which are monkeys) in our care,ranginginagefrom3yearsto15yearsold..DuskyLangursareslightlysmallerthangibbonsandliveinlargergroupsofupto20.

Butnotinthewaythatyou’rethinking…

WARFishopingtodoitsfirstevermonkeyrelease,agroupofduskylangurs.DuskyLangursliveinlargegroupsinthewild,andwearehopingtoaddafewmorelangursthatarecurrentlyintheprotectionoftheNataionalParkWildlifeandPlantdepart-ment.LangursusedtolivewildinPhuket,butallwerepoachedtoextinctionontheisland at the same time that the gibbons disappeared. This released group of monkeys willbethefirstlangurstolivewildintheforestsofPhuketinover29years.

Beforetheselangurscanbereleased,wemustensurethattheyallgetalong.Wehavethem housed individually next to each other so that they get used to each other, but thereisnowayforthemtomakecontact.Weneedtobuild2largerenclosuresthatareinterconnectedandthatall3cancomfortablylivein.Itisimportanttointroducethemslowly and make sure that they have enough room, otherwise they will fight and injure each other.

Wehope to raise35,000baht (1,130dollars) tobuild this temporaryhome forthem on their road to release. We will be emailing updates on this groups’ status to all who are interested in donating to their cause.

Balloon:Our3yearoldprincess.Shewasusedtosellballoonsatafair,butwasbought off of the owner and donated to us so that she could live her life with other monkeys. A real lady, she’s very meticulous about grooming herself, and eats very daintily.

Chompoo: A prime example of why monkeys need to be introduced to groups slowly! Her previous owner attempted to release her with a group of wild langurs, but the group beat her so badly that she almost died. She was very weak and banged upwhenshearrivedatGRP,andhadtohavethetipofhertailamputated2times.Despiteallthis,shestillhasalovelypersonality, and is curious about the langurs who live next to her.

Jackie Chan: A real character who lives up to his name. He is the eldest at 15 years, but is still spry as the day he was born. Helovestositwithhisheadupsidedownandbackwards.Balloonwasthefirstlangurhehad ever met, but they hit it off on the first day, and even shared a berry together.

If you would like to contribute any amount, please email us with your name and email address, so that you can be contacted. We will send out pictures and updates on our dusky langurs in their new habitat.

Free the monkeys: Text and Story by Nikki Dokken & May Ampika

Pictures by ToffeeOmyim, May Ampika



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WARF News Issue 3 June -July 2010

Hope for Thailand’s Gibbons: Text and Story by Kylie McLaughlin

Pictures by ToffeeOmyim, May, and Owart Maprang

Imagine you have just arrived in Thailand for the first time. You are excited to leave your hotel room and explore. As you are walking along the street in the evening, discovering new things to see and try, a man comes up to you with a cute baby gibbon - and for a sum of money offers to take your photograph with her. Everything is for sale here, it seems.

Do you stop to question how this animal came to be here?

* Why she has been separated from her mother and instead clings to people, being passed from tourist to tourist? *Why is she on the street at night, being used to make money instead of living in the rainforest where she belongs? *Do you want to know the true cost of this “amusement” or will you just naively accept it as merely another “exotic” feature of the country you are visiting?

For every gibbon you see being sold as a pet or used as a tourist prop, it is estimated that ten have died.

Everybabygibbonyouseewasborninthewildandoncelivedwithherfamily,highintherainforestcanopy.Theonlywayto obtain a baby is to shoot the mother and hope that the baby will survive the fall. Somewhat like humans, gibbons live together in close family groups. The father and older brothers or sisters will usually try to defend the mother and baby from attack – so the whole family could be killed in the process.

If the baby survives the ordeal and separation from its mother then it may be sold as a pet or used to make money off tourists. As well as being deprived of their family these gibbons are often drugged to stay awake at night, suffering by being subjected to various kinds of abuse, fed an unhealthy diet, kept in dirty or cramped conditions, have their teeth filed or removed and exposed to disease through close contact with humans. As they grow older they may become aggressive, unprofitable and no longer wanted. The owners may abandon or kill them, or they may decide to donate the gibbon to a sanctuary.

Found throughout Southeast Asia, all species of gibbons are now endangered. So this trade and exploitation is completely illegal, yet as long as it remains lucrative, it will continue.

Editor ‘s Note How you can help: * Pleasedonothaveyourphotographtakenwithanywildanimal,andurgeyour travelling companions to refrain also. If tourists stop paying for the photographs, the business will no longer be profitable and the demand for baby gibbons will stop.

Species: White-handed Gibbon: Hylobates lar

Lumduan(female)andThongkum(male),bothapproximately3yearsoldwherebroughttoGRPonthe7thofMay2010.TheywerekeptaspetsandtoattracttouristsatarestaurantonTritrungbeachnearPatong.ThongkumandLumduanwerebothbornwildin2007,fromdifferentfamilies,butbothwithasimilarstory.ThongkumandLumduanwerethensoldintothetourismtrade, where they were kept chained to a tree to attract tourists into a restaurant. After numerouscomplaintstotheNationalParkWildlifeandPlantDepartmentbytouristsand locals, they were confiscated by the authorities. Their owners were going to try to fight in court to get them back, but once they realized that owning them was illegal and thattheydidnothavetheproperpermits,theydroppedthecase.Nowtheycurrentlysharing a cage at our quarantine site.



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New Members: Text and Story by May Ampika and Nikki Dokken

Pictures by ToffeeOmyim, May, and Owart Maprang

Species: White-handed Gibbon: Hylobates lar

Onthe13thofMayayoungmalegibbonapproximately6monthsold,namedTundawasbroughttoourGibbonReha-bilitationProjectinPhuket.Tundawassoldintothepettradewherehewasboughtatonly2monthsold,whichisfartooyoung to be separated from his mother. After having him for only 4 months, his owners decided that they did not want him anymore. They showed up at our education center unannounced and left him with a volunteer who was working there. A staff member was called who came down to fill out the necessary paperwork with the owners. He will be placed with other gibbons of a similar age to learn proper gibbon behavior and decrease his dependence on humans. He is now currently housed on his own at our quarantine site.

Thongkum Lumduan

An important aspect of the rehabilitation and release process is our night survey. These are done once a month and involve asmallgroup(approximately3-5)ofstaffandvolunteersgoingintotheforestfrom7pmto7amtoobservedifferentspe-cies and animals that are active at night. We take photos of numerous animals, rodents, insects, turtles, etc., and document what species are sharing the forest with our gibbons. This may seem an abstract step in releasing gibbons, but is a vital one. A night survey allows us to see how the forest works, and how healthy it is. These nocturnal animals are a huge part of the ecosystem that our released gibbons play a part in. The forest must be healthy for all animals to thrive, and by observing the nocturnal activities it adds a valuable piece to the puzzle of how well our released gibbons will do in the forest.



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Nocturnal Activity @ GRP: Text and Story by May Ampika and Nikki Dokken

Pictures by ToffeeOmyim

If you would like to experience more, you could become a volunteer. Volunteers are always needed to help with all aspects of the project’s work including: caring for the gibbons, speaking to tourists, observing the released gibbons intheforestandfundraising.Aminimumof3weekscommitmentisrequiredandmoredetailedinformationcanbe seen on the projects website (www.warthai.org). If you’re interested in participating please contact:

WARFVolunteercoordinatorat:[email protected]

WARF News Issue 2 April - May 2010

EditorMayAmpika

Contributing Writers NikkiDokken,KylieMclaughlin,JammareeKaewrat,WanvisaPromma,WarayutWichit,OwartMaprang,ToffeeOmyim

PhotographersMayAmpika,OwartMaprang,ToffeeOmyim,WanvisaPromma

IIustratorMayAmpika

DistributorTheWildAnimalRescueFoundationofThailand(WARF)

65/13rdFloor,Sukhumvit55,Klongton,Wattana,Bangkok10110Thailand Tel.(66)27129715,(66)27129515Fax.(66)27129778 Email:[email protected] Website: www.warthai.org

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@ 2009-2010 Wild Animal Rescue Foundation of Thailand. All rights reserved.

Photographs courtesy of WARF Staff and Volunteers Niether graphics nor text maybe produced wihtout WARF’s express written consent

WARF IS A FULLY LICENSED CHARITY UNDER THAI LAW - LICENSE NO. GT 20

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WARF Newsletter JUNE-JULY