Is he Pemba lying ox
in dange ?
In Ba News 4 (1985), B yan Ca oll
e iewed he s a us o he ui ba s in
he wes e n Indian Ocean. E en hen,
he a ailable in o ma ion sugges ed ha
he Pemba lying ox (P e opus
oel zkowi) was appa en ly abundan in
spi e o some hun ing.
I was, he e o e, wi h conside able
ala m ha Ole Seehausen epo ed on
obse a ions made in la e 1989 sugges
ing ha he species is almos ex inc
(1991, O yx, 25, 110-112).
Pemba (1014 sq km) and Zanziba
(1650 sq km) a e islands lying abou 40
km om he coas o Tanzania, Eas
A ica. Nea by Ma ia Island is e en
close o he coas . Pemba has i s
endemic species and a subspecies o he
Seychelles lying ox occu s on Ma ia
and he Gomo o Islands, P. seychellen
sis como ensis. I emains one o hose
li le mys e ies as o why he lying
oxes, P e opus species, should occu
om a ou in he Paci ic Ocean,
h ough he Paci ic and Indian Ocean
islands and he Indian and Sou h-Eas
Asian mainlands o s op so close o he
A ican mainland. No species is es ab
lished in A ica, al hough he e a e o
epea ed ecen epo s o hem some
imes occu ing on he coas o
Tanzania.
Be ween 1938 and 1945, Pakenham
(1984, p i a e epo ) obse ed hun
d eds o he Pemba lying ox oos ing
on o -sho e islands and c ossing o he
main island in he e ening o eed. La e
Kingdon (1974) epo ed on a main
island oos si e. Ole Seehausen could
ind no e idence o hese colonies, no
o signi ican colonies ha illage s
epo ed had been p esen as li le as 10
Pos e sponso ed by he Phoenix Zoo o highligh he alue o p o ec ing he emnan popula ion o he
Pemba lying ox (P e opus oel zkowi).
4
yea s ago. Only om Ngezi Fo es in
no h-wes Pemba we e he e epo s o
up o 50 ba s s ill being seen occasional�
ly. Seehausen saw only a g oup o h ee
oos ing in a ee nea he coas and a
ew isola ed lying ba s. He was unable
o ollow up on ano he epo o an
ex an colony.
The ba s ha e been hun ed o ood,
bu i is unlikely ha adi ional me h
ods would ha e had any majo impac
on he popula ion. The in oduc ion o
he use o sho -guns, howe e , wi h he
capabili y o b inging down as many as
20 ba s wi h one sho was sugges ed by
he p incipal o a local school o be he
main cause o he loss o some
colonies. Habi a des uc ion is likely o
be ano he majo ac o . The ba s we e
endemic o he we opical o es s o
he wes e n hal o he island and much
o his was clea ed o ag icul u e, pa
icula ly clo e plan a ions, in he eigh-
een h cen u y. The emnan pa ches
we e su icien o main ain ba popula
ions, bu now e en hese a e h ea
ened.
U gen ac ion is equi ed o sa e he
species. Planned ac ion includes a local
educa ion p og amme, highligh ing he
alue o such ba s o pollina ion and
seed dispe sal, a ban on hun ing and he
p o ec ion o he ew emaining pa ches
o ain o es . The accompanying pos e
has been p epa ed o dis ibu ion on he
island and a u he isi is planned o
la e his yea o ge mo e in o ma ion
on he species's s a us. This isi will
also in es iga e he possibili y o aking
some in o cap i i y o enable a ounding
popula ion o be es ablished once he
p oblems o hun ing and de o es a ion
ha e beeh add essed.
Bu , as I w i e, he Fauna and Flo a
P ese a ion Socie y has ecei ed some
good news. Since he publica ion o
Seehausen's a icle in O yx, D H.
Been je o he Royal Bo anic Ga dens,
Kew, epo s ha in Decembe 1989 he
saw a colony o abou 150-200 lying
oxes oos ing in la ge ees in he
Ngezi Fo es while he was doing a o
es in en o y he e.
Edi o .
Elsewhe e in he wes e n Indian Ocean
he e a e o he e o s being made o
ui ba conse a ion. An expedi ion
om he Uni e si y o Co k hopes o
isi Rod igues o make an assessmen
o he wild popula ion o he Rod igues
lying ox, P. od icensis. An es ima e
o 800-950 was made by Ca l Jones
soon a e ano he cyclone s uck he
island ea lie his yea . These cyclones
educe oos ing oppo uni ies and s ip
he ege a ion o ood supplies; he e
we e al eady clea signs o s ess and
weakening due o pos -cyclone ood
sho ages a he ime o Ca l. Jones's
isi . This species had declined o abou
75jndi iduals in he mid-1970s, due o
p essu es including de o es a ion; hun
ing and cyclones, and some we e aken
in o cap i i y by he Je sey Wildli e
P ese a ion T us . They ·ha e. done so
well in cap i i y ha a leas six' cap i e
colonies ha e been es ablished. in
Eu ope, USA and Mau i ius. The long
e m u u e o he species on i s na i e
island is s ill in conside able doub and
we con inue o in es iga e he possibili
y o es ablishing a wild (' e al') popu
la ion on ano he Indian Ocean island.
The Como o Islands, oo, will be
isi ed his yea . He e, he endemic
black lying ox, P. li ings onii, was
epo ed as endange ed and a Uni e si y
o Eas Anglia (UEA) expedi ion could
ind only abou 40 in 1989. In 1990,
B yan Ca oll isi ed Anjouan wi h Ian
Tho pe o he UEA expedi ion. They
ound a colony o pe haps 60-120, bu
in a si ua ion whe e i was no possible
o ca ch any o s a a cap i e b eeding
colony. This emains he aim o he
Je sey Wildli e P ese a ion T us .
Du ing his yea Ca he ine Hun e o
CARE has ound a ew mo e mixed
wi h a colony o he Seychelles lying
ox, P. s. como ensis, and has been
making use ul obse a ions o hei
eeding habi s and b eeding beha iou .
Two people will make a ecce isi his
yea owa ds a la ge expedi ion nex
yea (mainly om B is ol Uni e si y) o
make u he s udies.
We ha e no ecen news o
Mau i ius o he Seychelles and
assume ha lying oxes a e s ill plen i
ul he e. Aldab a, a small bu e y
special a oll no h-wes o Madagasca ,
has i s own popula ion o lying oxes.
This popula ion has been ega ded as a
subspecies o P. seychellensis ( he
species also ound on he Seychelles,
Como os and Ma ia), bu Be gmans
(1990, Beau o ia, 40, 111-177) has
ecen ly sugges ed ha he subspecies
P. s. aldab ensis should be ega ded as
a ull species. We s ill ha e no accu a e
assessmen o he popula ion he e,
despi e he in ensi e wo k by he ange
o scien is s who ha e isi ed he island,
now a Wo ld He i age si e, since 1967. I
was o una e enough o spend h ee
mon hs he e in 1968. My eeling was
ha he popula ion was small (pe haps
abou 250), bu ha is no he esul o
any sys ema ic su ey. A p esen he e
is no h ea o he island and i is o he
cyclone bel . I is likely ha he popula
ion is mo e o less heal hy and s able,
bu limi ed by he size o he island
(abou 150 sq km o land a ea) and i s
ood esou ces. Tha ood may be limi
ed, a leas seasonally, is suppo ed by
he ecen obse a ions by P. Robe s
and W. A. Seab ook (1989, J. Zoo!.
Lond. 218, 332-334) o he ba s licking
he lea es o ig ees hea ily in es ed
wi h scale insec s (Ice ya seychel
la um). They we e p esumed o be eed
ing on he honeydew, he 'manna', p o
duced by he scale insec s (and p obably
he scale insec s hemsel es). We would
like a good popula ion es ima e and i
would be a lo easie he e han on he
o he {g ani ic) islands discussed abo e.
Goi11g u he eas , . he e a e dis u b
ing epo s o m; jo e o s o con ol
lying oxes in he Maldi e Islands
because o he. damage. ha hey a e
belie ed o do o a de eloping ui
g owing .indus y, .. •Rec9mmenda ions
ha e been.macie (Qolbee ,.Fielde .&
Rasheed, • • 1988, ; P oc:eedings ,o ·.• he
13 h Ve eb a e Pes (Jon e ence) o
limi popula ions .o • he,endemic. P. ·
gigan eus a iel and A hypqmelan11s
ma is o numbe s ha we canno con,:
side as iable popula ions. . The
Maldi es a e now well es ablished as a
ou is eso and we would· welcome
con ac wi h anybody going ou he e
and willing o in es iga e he cu en
si ua ion.
Edi o .
Eu opean Co-o dina ing
Panel o Ba
Conse a ion
The Eu opean Co-o dina ing Panel o
Ba Conse a ion is a ecen ly o med ad
hoc g oup o scien is s wo king unde he
auspices o he IUCN's Species Su i al
Commission's Chi op e a Specialis
G oup. I held i s inaugu al mee ing a
Jedo nice, Czechoslo akia, 8-11
Feb ua y 1991, and ep esen a i es o
eigh Eu opean coun ies we e p esen .
The aim o his mee ing was o dis
cuss me hods o moni o ing ba s in
hibemacula, in summe .. oos s and in
o aging a eas. The main objec i e o
such moni o ing is o de ec popula ion
changes in indi idual species so ha
conse a ion s a egies can be planned
and implemen ed i necessa y. Fo his
objec i e o be ealised, accu a e species
iden i ica ion is necessa y.
Di ec isual coun s o ha sample o
he ba popula ion ha hangs ee as
indi iduals o in clus e s is a widely
applied me hod o coun ing ba s in
hibemacula, and can allow iden i ica
ion o species. The numbe o ba s
o ming e y la ge clus e s c.an be es i
ma ed by gauging he a ea occupied by
ba s and using s e eo-pai ed pho
og aphs o assess he densi y o he ba s
wi h e e ence o p e ious calib a ions.
I is mo e di icul o coun ba s oos ing
in c e ices in hibemacula and impossi
ble o coun hose ha ha e en e ed he
ubble, on he. loo o ca es, al hough
he p opo ion o he popula ion oos
ing in such inaccessible si es has been
es ima ed by apping a ca e en ances
du ing au umn a i al and sp ing eme
gences.
Du ing summe ba s can be iden i ied
in o aging a eas ei he by mis -ne ing
o by ba de ec o s. Mis -ne ing is
labou in ensi e, equi es special skills
and is po en ially dis u bing o ba s, bu
enables accu a e species iden i ica ion.
Ba de ec o s can be used on ansec s o
in a eas o high species di e si y.
Accu a e iden i ica ion o ba s in he
ield using such de ec o s equi es con
side able expe ience and aining and
he co-o dina ing panel welcomed
ecen aining ini ia i es. Coun ing ba s
An in eg al pa o he inaugu al mee ing o he Eu opean Co-o dina ing Panel o Ba Conse a ion was
o isi se e al ca e sys ems o he Mo a ian Ka s o make isual coun s o hibe na ing ba s. He e dele
ga es ga he ou side one ca e whe e a coun o 195 ba s o six species was made. Addi ionally, in he op
igh o he pic u e is a e ical c e ice known o be used by noc ule ba s (Nyc alus noc ula) o hibe na
ion, bu he numbe s he e a e qui e unknown, O he ac i i ies o he mee ing included a isi o wo local
museums and slide, ilm and pos e p esen a ions o he Mo a ian Ka s and i s ba s, o he pa s o
Eu ope and e en a look a ba s in Russia (Pho o: J. Ce eny).
5
