Web link gives hope for threatened mammals

Some of the planet’s rarest and most unusual mammals are the focus of an ambitious conservation project launched last month by British scientists. The plan will be based on animals traditionally overlooked by conservationists and will allow the public to track and donate to individual projects via a new website (www. edgeofexistence.org). Led by scientists at the Zoological Society of London, the ‘Edge’ team have identifi ed 100 species of mammal that have the fewest relatives left alive in the wild, making them the world’s most genetically unique mammals. The 10 most endangered, including the Yangtse river dolphin and bumblebee bat, will be the focus of the fi rst year’s work. Jonathan Baillie of ZSL said the aim was to prevent unique species from sliding unnoticed towards extinction. “This is the fi rst global-scale programme specifi cally developed to focus on these one-of-a-kind and highly threatened animals. We will be working to protect some of the world’s most extraordinary species, including giant venomous shrew-like creatures, matchbox-sized bats and egg-laying mammals, all of which are teetering on the edge of extinction.” The almost blind Yangtse river dolphin is at the top of the list. “It’s extremely threatened, a team was recently out there looking for it and could not fi nd one — they truly are on the verge of extinction,” said Baillie. Others include: the egg-laying long-beaked echidna; the mouselike long-eared jerboa, which has the largest ear to body ratio of any mammal; and the world’s smallest mammal, the bumblebee bat. “If we lose them there’s nothing similar to them left on the planet,” said Baillie. “If you were to think of an Edge species in art terms, it would be like losing the Mona Lisa, something that’s irreplaceable and completely distinct.” In selecting the Edge list, scientists fi rst highlighted those mammals with the fewest close relatives, in order to work out which