The Canadian blood donor form has a new question, “Have you, in your past or present job, taken care of or handled monkeys or their body fluids?” The Canadian Press reports that it’s being used as a precautionary measure to avoid the Simian Foamy Virus (SFV), thought to be contracted through bites and scratches from... Continue Reading →
Examining the genetic variation between humans and chimpanzees may help develop cures for several diseases
In a paper from the November issue of Genome Research, researchers from the Division of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics at the National Health Research Institutes are closely examining the genetic variation between humans and chimpanzees (I don’t have access to it yet – free online access is available to Genome Research articles 6 months after publication,... Continue Reading →
Bristol Zoo gorilla birth made possible by fertility drugs
(Photo courtesy of Bristol Zoo Gardens) With a little help from clomifene (a drug that women have been using to aid in ovulation), Salome, a western lowland gorilla, carried a baby to term and gave birth on December 15th. The 30-year-old gorilla from the Bristol Zoo was mating, just not successfully conceiving. Veterinarians reported that... Continue Reading →
Cercopithecine herpesvirus 1 (B virus) found in six monkeys of the Shirakami Mountains
Six out of 21 monkeys in the Shirakami Mountains tested positive for B virus according to the Daily Yomiuri. In a statement issued by Kazutaka Osawa of Nagasaki University, the infected monkeys (between 3 and 13 years old) were captured near residential areas between July and November. The transfer of the disease to humans usually... Continue Reading →
Primate communication: Gibbon song deters predators
Today’s interesting press release from the University of St Andrews calls attention to a paper on the singing behavior of gibbons as a mechanism to ward off predators in addition to mating practices. Esther Clarke, Klaus Zuberbuhler, both of the University of St Andrews and Ulrich Reichard, of the Max Planck Institute observed the singing... Continue Reading →
Forests disappearing at a rapid pace in the Congo River Basin
Fifty years is all it would take to destroy two-thirds of the forests in the Congo River Basin. Currently, about 3.7 million acres of forest each year is lost to logging, agriculture, and road development (among other things). In a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) report, Laurent Somé, WWF's Central African Regional Office Director, briefly touches... Continue Reading →
Are Rwanda’s Mountain Gorillas safe from Ebola?
About six days ago, I shared with y'all some horrific news that 5,000 or so gorillas have lost their lives to Ebola. For me it has been a hard number to grasp. But, some bittersweet news is coming out of Rwanda about how mountain gorillas are too isolated to contract the disease... for now. The... Continue Reading →
Chimp Haven sued but denies the claims, of course
A commenter by the handle, DAB, made me very aware of Chimp Haven's mismanagement details when I was praising them on their AAALAC accreditation achievement. And it seems like now mismanagement problems DAB eluded to have now become official enough to sue Chimp Haven over. Here are some of the details of the suit being... Continue Reading →
Rehabilitated orangutans to be released into the wild
Soon the Baktikop forest will have few more inhabitants. According to Willie Smith, founder of BOS (Borneo Orangutan Survival) Foundation (as reported in ANTARA News), the Forestry Ministry will allow for about 200 orangutans to be released to the protected Baktikop forest in early 2007. The Nyaru Menteng Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Center in Central Kalimantan... Continue Reading →
