Archive for December 2007
Sue Savage-Rumbaugh’s TED Talk on Bonobos
The following video is a bit dated, it’s from 2004… but still I’m sharing it with you because it is very informative and rare. The video is of Susan Savage-Rumbaugh’s TED talk, in which she presents human traits and behaviors in bonobos, specifically the bonobo that made her famous, Kanzi.
Gorilla Genetic Diversification due to Ice Age and Climate Change
PNAS will soon publish a paper from Mike Bruford and colleagues who isolated DNA from gorilla hair and feces and ultimately came up with a conclusion that the modern genetic composition of gorilla populations varies across different parts of their current geographic range and that this variation may be tied to Ice Age climate change and river barriers.
If that doesn’t make much sense, let me explain how such a situation would create genetic differences. During climate change between ice ages, populations that were in higher latitudes, found themselves separated physically because ice barriers formed and then collapsed, ultimately this segregated populations from one another another. Likewise, in drier climates, the tropics expanded and contracted to create isolated pockets much like what is created ice barriers. Ultimately these physical entities separated populations from one another. Also the genetic differences between gorilla populations is explained, in part, by the distance gorillas need to travel around river barriers, since in common with other large primates, they cannot cross large rivers.
Bruford comments on how this current study of gorilla population genetics is a crucial consideration,
“given the current catastrophic decline of great apes throughout Central Africa, current climate change patterns and the need to develop strategies to protect remaining populations from extinction.”
Anderson Cooper on the Mountain Gorilla situation
One of our readers, Patty, sent me an email telling me of a 60 Minutes Broadcast with Anderson Cooper reporting on the plight of the Mountain Gorilla. The special is broadcasting on Sunday night, December 9th, 2007 on CBS. 
I’ve been keeping track of this situation by reading the Gorilla Protection blog, run by ICCN Rangers at Virunga National Park who write about their daily fight to protect these Mountain Gorillas. It seems like Samatha, one of the bloggers at Gorilla Protection, wrote about Anderson’s visit back in late October. Check it out. It is nice to see the mainstream media is covering this news.
If you want to see a short little teaser of the 60 min clip on Mountain Gorillas with Anderson Cooper, click here.
