Newsletter

October, 2021

Our grants program is on of our most popular and impactful initiatives; to date we have awarded nearly $50,000 to wildlife conservation projects around the world. We pick important projects that are unlikely to be prioritized by other funding institutions, focusing on those that generate natural history information, build partnerships between scientists and artists, or that support efforts to understand and enact measures to reduce human/wildlife conflict.

In this issue’s grant-winner spotlight, we hear from Sebastian Harris, who received funding from us to study the relationships between Pennsylvania ants and the other species that use their mounds.

Why did you become interested in this research topic?

For whatever reason, positive relationships between taxonomically disparate organisms is super interesting to me, more so than other subjects in ecology. At the time I conducted the study, I was studying under Dr. Amy Savage, a Myrmecologist from Rutgers University. In searching for a research subject, I came across some old natural history notes highlighting the use of abandoned ant mounds as refuge for hibernating snakes. Ants are her specialty, snakes are mine, so it was sort of a no brainer!

 

Why did you look to The Alongside Wildlife Foundation to support this project?

Finding funding for natural history research can be difficult, with the influx of so many scientists studying much “bigger” topics. Having seen some of the projects funded before me in the year prior, I felt like my research would fit the foundation’s mission well.

 

You are an artist in addition to a scientist and have supported the foundation in multiple ways (by becoming a recurring donor and by donating a portion of the proceeds from your sales of stickers). Why do you feel it’s important to do so?

I think the destruction and degradation of nature is moving at such a pace that supporting organizations who are attempting to combat it has become increasingly important with each passing day. Ultimately, I believe in the mission and potential of The Alongside Wildlife Foundation. There’s a need to address research questions that are often overlooked, and now that the foundation has begun protecting land, I’m even more excited to support.

 

What are you passionate about now and why? What’s next for you and how can we follow your work?

Finding a way to merge creativity and conservation is what I’m most passionate about. My plan is to build projects that connect people with the conservation of nature, especially those who might not have direct access to it. I will continue to release art campaigns to support various efforts and will be producing more informative content via social media. You can follow me on YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter or check out my personal website.

October, 2021

Days are getting shorter, nights are getting cooler. This year flew; it feels like it was only yesterday that it was March, a beautiful time to step outside; it had been weeks since the trees first started showing off their new lime-green leaves, colorful flowers were bursting through grassy roadsides, reptiles were emerging to take advantage of the reliably warm days and the sounds of migrating birds filled the forests; I felt as though we were all invigorated by the sun on our skin (or feathers) and by breathing the same warm air.

I was surprised to see many Coopers Hawks around the neighborhood this year, sitting on fence posts and scanning the area for prey too distracted to notice a raptor swooping down upon them. Looking around and reflecting on our shared recent history, I am reminded of Pablo Neruda when he said, “You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming.”

Indeed, we have seen many flowers cut. But, here we are. And spring did come again.

This is not a space where I aspire to get political and given the focus of our organization there’s little need for me to do so: vast majorities value wildlife and appreciate wild ecosystems, regardless of political affiliation. But that said, we are not in the business of denying reality: if you place high priority on conservation then it’s been tough lately, especially while coming to terms with a global pandemic. From cutting the size of National Monuments, threatening National Wildlife Refuges with oil drilling, and stripping protections from migratory birds, there are over a hundred environmental rollbacks we can point to from recent years. And, regardless of who is in charge of the United States, the drivers of our extinction crisis continue virtually unabated both here and abroad; habitat loss, disease, and invasive species remain major problems with climate change looming.

But there is reason for optimism. I would not be a conservation biologist if I didn’t have hope. I wouldn’t have started this conservation charity if I felt we couldn’t make a difference together. I’m not just blowing smoke; I can point to specifics. When our current president was merely a candidate he did something that just a few years ago would have seemed radical and preposterous: He made protecting 30% of this country’s land and water a key component of his platform. Biden didn’t come up with the idea, E.O. Wilson has long touted his dream of protecting half of the planet and keeping it for nature. He wasn’t even the first presidential candidate to push for the plan (known as 30×30), rather I believe it was Joaquin Castro who brought the idea into the national conversation. But, Joe Biden is the first president to endorse the idea, and the significance can hardly be overstated. I’m pleased to know that the Alongside Wildlife Foundation can help this vision become a reality, thanks to your generous support we recently created a fund that we expect will be sufficient to purchase land in about five years. We are not The Nature Conservancy, and we never will be, and won’t be forming new national parks either, but what we can do is focus on the places and the species that aren’t getting the attention they need, that are falling through the cracks, and that will guide our decision-making process.

Two steps forward, one step back. Sure, it’s a cliché but it’s a cliché that helps me remember not to get complacent or to expect easy conservation victories. So, let us remember and mourn the cut flowers. Some will never bloom again. But spring did show up this year. And, so did you.

October, 2021

Check out these recent papers from some of our grant winners on topics ranging from ants to snow leopards! These projects may be quite different but here’s what they have in common: our grassroots network of donors helped make them happen.

Observations of Snakes Associated With Active Nests of Allegheny Mound Ant (Formica exsectoides) in Northeastern Pennsylvania

Sebastian A. Harris and Amy M. Savage

Harris, S.A. and Savage, A.M., 2020. Observations of Snakes Associated with Active Nests of Allegheny Mound Ant (Formica exsectoides) in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Northeastern Naturalist 27:585-595. https://doi.org/10.1656/045.027.0317

Summary:

Refuge availability is an important component of snake ecology and conservation, yet we have limited understanding of the extent to which snakes use the nests of other animals for refuge. Despite their ubiquity in many forests, the use of ant nests as refuge by snakes has only been reported by a few publications. Between 15 September and 14 October 2019, we set out camera traps to assess whether snakes inhabited active ant mounds and the associated habitats engineered by Allegheny Mound Ant in northeastern Pennsylvania. We recorded a total of 44 snake images captured at 2 ant mounds, representing 24 individual encounters and 3 snake species. Species observed entering and emerging from mounds included Ring-necked Snake and Red-bellied Snake. We observed both Ring-necked Snakes and Red-bellied Snakes briefly entering and exiting nests. The latter was also observed basking outside of a nest, and we observed both species enter a nest without resurfacing. These results suggest that active ant mounds constructed by Allegheny Mound Ants represent an underappreciated resource for these small-bodied snake species.

Leopard (Panthera pardus) density and diet in a forest corridor of Terai: implications for conservation and conflict management

Kandel Sagar Raj, Lamichhane Babu Ram, and Subedi Naresh

Kandel, S.R., Lamichhane, B.R. and Subedi, N., 2020. Leopard (Panthera pardus) density and diet in a forest corridor of Terai: implications for conservation and conflict management. Wildlife Research 47:460-467. https://doi.org/10.1071/WR19126

Summary:

Increasing forest fragmentation and degradation has forced wildlife to live in close proximity to humans, increasing the chances of human-wildlife conflict. Leopard typifies the problem faced by large carnivores. It is a threatened species with a wide distribution, with a large part of their range outside protected areas, leaving them vulnerable to human-leopard conflict. Understanding their status and diet in such non-protected forests is necessary for their long-term conservation. Leopard density was found to be relatively low in the forest corridor compared with protected areas. Nearly one-third of leopard diet from domestic livestock and dogs suggests that human-leopard conflict could be problematic in the survey area. Increasing prey density in the forest corridor and improving livestock husbandry in the periphery will contribute to increase leopard density, reduce the human-leopard conflict and enhance the functionality of the corridor.

In the shadows of snow leopards and the Himalayas: density and habitat selection of blue sheep in Manang, Nepal

Marc Filla, Rinzin Phunjok Lama, Tashi Rapte Ghale, Johannes Signer, Tim Filla, Raja Ram Aryal, Marco Heurich, Matthias Waltert, Niko Balkenhol, and Igor Khorozyan

Filla, M., et al. 2021. In the shadows of snow leopards and the Himalayas: density and habitat selection of blue sheep in Manang, Nepal. Ecology and Evolution 11:108-122. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6959

Summary:

There is a growing agreement that conservation needs to be proactive and pay increased attention to common species and to the threats they face. The blue sheep plays a key ecological role in sensitive high‐altitude ecosystems of Central Asia and is among the main prey species for the globally vulnerable snow leopard. As the blue sheep has been increasingly exposed to human pressures, it is vital to estimate its population dynamics, protect the key populations, identify important habitats, and secure a balance between conservation and local livelihoods. We conducted a study in Manang, Annapurna Conservation Area (Nepal), to survey blue sheep on 60 transects in spring (127.9 km) and 61 transects in autumn (134.7 km) of 2019, estimate their minimum densities from total counts, compare these densities with previous estimates, and assess blue sheep habitat selection by the application of generalized additive models (GAMs). Total counts yielded minimum density estimates of 6.0-7.7 and 6.9-7.8 individuals/km² in spring and autumn, respectively, which are relatively high compared to other areas. Elevation and, to a lesser extent, land cover indicated by the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) strongly affected habitat selection by blue sheep, whereas the effects of anthropogenic variables were insignificant. Animals were found mainly in habitats associated with grasslands and shrublands at elevations between 4,200 and 4,700 m. We show that the blue sheep population size in Manang has been largely maintained over the past three decades, indicating the success of the integrated conservation and development efforts in this area. Considering a strong dependence of snow leopards on blue sheep, these findings give hope for the long‐term conservation of this big cat in Manang. We suggest that long‐term population monitoring and a better understanding of blue sheep-livestock interactions are crucial to maintain healthy populations of blue sheep and, as a consequence, of snow leopards.

July, 2022

Greetings all,

Thanks for reading our second newsletter. The year is half over, I hope you have been able to find some moments for peace and rest. On the surface, things have been quiet for us, as usual we have been focused on replenishing our coffers after ending 2021 by funding a number of exciting and impactful conservation projects, from Colombia to Liberia (check out the grants update) late last year.

 

Summer is finally here and we are ready to do it again; indeed, you can now submit your grant proposal through our new and improved online portal. Now, interest in our grants program has skyrocketed, in a manner disproportionate to our ability to review proposals and, of course, fund projects. So, an adjustment was necessary. Similarly, we are a small organization (i.e., without full-time staff) with a relatively small revenue stream, so we are always trying to figure out how to make your money stretch as far as possible while maximizing impact for wildlife, but this has become particularly challenging as we all face record inflation at a pace that far exceeds our growth. So, to reduce the number of proposals we receive while increasing impact, moving forward our seed grant program is going to prioritize international conservation efforts, where a couple thousand dollars can make or break a project.

On the topic of funds, ironically if we had the time and expertise to actively manage our financial accounts then we probably would have lost a lot of our land acquisition fund over the last six months given global market trends, but the good news is that it’s all been sitting safely in a savings account at our bank, and that .002% interest (or whatever) doesn’t seem too bad right now, does it? But, a lot has changed, less than six months ago were starting to identify lots for sale with potential conservation value, but real estate prices quickly reached record heights here and elsewhere, so for now we are shifting back to focus on growing the fund.

Emily Karwacki served as our development specialist for several years before moving on a few months ago, and I want to thank her for jumping on, when the foundation was just starting out, and helping us conform to all relevant best practices as well experience substantial growth. Thank you Emily for your energy and expertise in taking us to the next level.

Enjoy the summer, you will hear from us again this fall after we have evaluated the grant proposals and are ready to announce the winners. As always, this grant opportunity is funded by all of you.

July, 2022

Our seed grant program helps produce scientific publications, like this one.

Blue sheep strongly affect snow leopard relative abundance but not livestock depredation in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal

Marc Filla, Rinzin Phunjok Lama, Tashi Rapte Ghale, Tim Filla, Marco Heurich, Matthias Waltert, and Igor Khorozyan

Filla, M., R. P. Lama, T. R. Ghale, T. Filla, M. Heurich, M. Waltert, I. Khorozyan. 2022. Blue sheep strongly affect snow leopard relative abundance but not livestock depredation in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. Global Ecology and Conservation, 37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02153

Summary:

Large carnivores play key roles in their ecosystems, but their protection is a major challenge in biodiversity conservation due to conflicts with human interests. The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is the top predator of Asian high-altitude landscapes and faces various threats including wild prey depletion and illegal killings as a consequence of livestock depredation. As the interactions between snow leopards, wild prey, and livestock are still insufficiently understood, we studied the effects of 1) wild prey (blue sheep Pseudois nayaur and Himalayan marmots Marmota himalayana) and domestic prey on snow leopard relative abundance, and of 2) these ecological parameters and intervention applications on livestock depredation by snow leopards. In the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal, we monitored wildlife populations and livestock along transects (490.8 km) in 82 grid cells (4 ×4 km) in 2019 and 2021 and conducted questionnaire surveys to determine livestock depredation between 2018 and 2021 (n = 479 households). We applied generalized linear models (GLMs) and sample comparison testing to examine the effects of prey densities and other environmental and anthropogenic predictors on snow leopard relative abundance and livestock depredation. Blue sheep density strongly positively affected snow leopard relative abundance, which also increased with terrain ruggedness and decreased with increasing densities of livestock and the human population. The size of livestock holdings shaped depredation events of large livestock (yak, cattle and horse), whereas depredation events of sheep and goats, which accounted for most (68.6%) depredated animals, decreased with increasing human population density and marmot presence. The strong impact of blue sheep on snow leopard relative abundance supports demands for integrating this ungulate into conservation and management plans, including wild prey recovery and translocation. The rather weak evidence for effects of blue sheep on depredation events suggests that conflicts over livestock depredation by snow leopards would neither be inflicted nor solved by increasing wild prey abundance. This demonstrates the need to improve intervention strategies in the Annapurna region, such as predator-proofing corrals and optimizing daytime herding practices. We suggest further exploring the effects of marmots and other secondary prey on livestock depredation rates, and testing the suitability of additional interventions, e.g., dogs and deterrents, as conflict mitigation tools. Our results will support wildlife managers in setting conservation priorities to promote the long-term co-existence of local people and snow leopards.

July, 2022

Our 2021 grant cycle received over 150 applications and we are excited to announce the winners!

We funded:

1. Community efforts for reducing habitat loss of Western Chimpanzees in Liberia

Saving the critically endangered western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) through mitigating human-chimpanzee conflicts in Nimba County, Northern Liberia

George Gbarwea, Centre for Environment, Forest Conservation and Research (CENFOR) 

1. Intervention strategies in Brazil for improving community awareness of detrimental Giant Anteater and domestic dog interactions

Reducing injuries and deaths due to domestic dogs and giant anteater encounters through a community awareness and engagement program

Mariana Catapani, Institute for the Conservation of Wild Animals

1. Research on Black Capuchins to find solutions for the coexistence of primates and timber plantations in Argentina

Conflict mitigation of primates in plantation landscapes: black capuchin monkeys (Sapajus nigritus) as a model

Valentín Zárate & Sara Petracchini, Instituto de Biología Subtropical (IBS), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) – Universidad Nacional de Misiones (UNaM), Misiones, Argentina

1. Management and conservation in Colombia of the Neotropical Otter

Field data for the based-evidence management and conservation of the Neotropical otter in a highly threatened dry forest fragment in the Cauca River in Colombia

Diego Torres, Nativa Ong

1. Livestock exclusion from a nature reserve in Argentina

Reducing the negative impact of domestic livestock on biodiversity by excluding them from the Achala Nature Reserve

Francisco García Erize, Asociación Civil Germinar Zona Norte (Germinar ONG)

1. Spatial ecology and health research on Lowland Tapirs in urban and suburban areas of Brazil

Lowland Tapir Conservation Initiative (LTCI): TAPIRS AND THE CITY

Paolla Nicole Franco, IPÊ – Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (Institute for Ecological Research)

1. Efforts to detect and monitor the Colombian Weasel in Colombia

Searching for the Colombian weasel (Neogale felipei): the rarest and least known carnivore of South America

Juan Camilo Cepeda Duque, Universidad de los Andes

These are important projects that can make a difference for both people and the wildlife around them. Our grants program is supported by our donors; we take your donations and turn them into thousands of dollars for wildlife and land. We couldn’t do it without you!

July, 2022

We helped support this project with funding from our seed grant program.

Lowland Tapir Conservation Initiative (LTCI): Tapirs And The City

Paolla Nicole Franco
INCAB – Iniciativa Nacional para a Conservação da Anta Brasileira

Since 1996, the Lowland Tapir Conservation Initiative (LTCI) team has been fighting to mitigate threats to tapirs on several different fronts including: research, environmental education, outreach, capacity building, and the development and implementation of conservation strategies for tapirs and their habitats in Brazil and elsewhere.

They are bringing you some updates on the progress of their project “Lowland Tapir Conservation Initiative (LTCI): Tapirs And The City,” which they have been running since 2021, in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil.

Last year, LTCI focused on gathering information about tapir sightings in the urban perimeter of the city, to start planning and thinking about the logistics needed to capture and monitor the animals. They compiled all the media articles we could find about tapir sightings in the city and established a social media campaign to publicize the project and request information from the local population. They also created a WhatsApp group with more than 65 participants (still growing) and these people have been sending them reports about tapir sightings in different locations. In addition, they had great exposure in the local media, which was extremely useful for publicizing their activities in the city.

They have already participated in some meetings with different stakeholders to align our objectives and strengthen possible partnerships, including managers and employees of Conservation Units, municipal parks, animal rehabilitation centers, and environmental military police. Now, they are organizing some actions in the city, such as lectures and environmental education activities, focused on different audiences, to disseminate the importance of tapir conservation.

So far, they have recorded more than 200 sightings of tapirs in Campo Grande. Based on this information, they mapped tapir records and selected the main hotspots. Their team also visited these sites to explore the area and they found many tapir’s signs. At the same time, they started monitoring three regions of the city with camera-traps, to carry out an initial assessment of the number of individuals. So far, they have already obtained 70 events of different individuals, including reproductive pairs and females with calves.

Their first capture expedition is scheduled for this month, between the 18th and 25th of July (eight days of fieldwork). They are optimistic and confident.