3 chimpanzees kidnapped, killed if no ransom is paid｜Nature Trumpet

Welcome to the 18th issue of the Nature Trumpet column. In the past half month, we have collected the following natural news and research worth noting:

1) Salmon are getting thinner, and killer whales are hungry

2) Three chimpanzees kidnapped and held for ransom

3) New AI to detect smuggled animals in boxes

4) The male mates with someone else, and the female fruit fly steals his love

5) Raccoons that wreak havoc in cities may be timid and docile

6) 230 pilot whales stranded, only 35 survived

Killer whale hungry

It turns out that the southern population of killer whales living on the west coast of North America has been facing the crisis of not having enough food from time to time.

Hungry, looking for food | Robert Pittman / Wikimedia Commons

Scientists found that in the past 40 years, these killer whales have not eaten enough for 6 years, and an average of 17% of their daily energy needs cannot be met, which is equivalent to an adult missing his daily breakfast . The killer whales who missed a "breakfast" have been in a worsening physical condition.

The main diet of southern resident killer whales is king salmon. In the summer, king salmon even make up 90% of their total diet. Killer whales can catch about 12 fish a day, but the energy they get from eating fish depends not only on the number of salmon, but also on the size and fatness of the fish. Recent studies have shown that in the past few decades, the size of king salmon living in the northeastern Pacific has been getting smaller year by year, and there are fewer and fewer old and fat fish.

The Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), which killer whales love to eat, is the largest salmon and is therefore also known as the king salmon. | Zureks / Wikimedia Commons

Strangely, the diets of the northern and southern populations of killer whales are similar, but in the past 40 years, the northern population of killer whales has grown year by year. Why similar prey has led the two populations to go in completely different directions is the next topic for scientists to study.

Chimpanzees kidnapped

Recently, a heinous incident happened in Congo - 3 little chimpanzees were kidnapped !

The kidnappers broke into the animal sanctuary in the early morning and took away three underage chimpanzees, 2-year-old Cesar, Hussein and 5-year-old Monga. One hour after the chimpanzees were kidnapped, the founder of the sanctuary, Franck Chantereau, received three messages and a video from the kidnappers - if he did not hand over a six-figure ransom, the chimpanzees would be killed.

Cesar, a kidnapped chimpanzee | Courtesy Jeunes Animaux Confisqués au Katanga

In the video, Monsa's hands were tied and he was screaming in fear, while Cesar and Hussein were running around the room. They were all orphans rescued from illegal wildlife trade . Poor Cesar was rescued just a few weeks ago and now he has fallen into the clutches of the kidnappers again.

However, no matter how anxious they are, the reserve has decided to stick to the bottom line and never compromise with the kidnappers without paying the ransom. This is the world's first kidnapping and extortion case involving apes. Once the kidnappers' appetite is satisfied, it will set a precedent and be imitated by more criminals. In this way, all apes will face greater danger. Moreover, even if the ransom is really paid, no one knows whether the kidnappers will continue to ask for a high price or hurt the chimpanzees without scruples. At present, the government is still investigating and tracking the kidnappers, hoping to solve the case as soon as possible and find the kidnapped chimpanzee.

Hussein sent by the kidnappers | Courtesy Jeunes Animaux Confisqués at Katanga

About 3,000 great apes, including orangutans, gorillas and chimpanzees, are illegally traded every year. Chimpanzee family members will unite to protect their children, so every time poachers capture a baby chimpanzee in the wild, they often brutally kill the entire family . Protecting chimpanzees has now become a war.

AI detects smuggling

Fortunately, it wasn’t all bad news this week regarding illegal wildlife trade. Now here’s some good news: Scientists have developed an AI that can automatically detect smuggled animals!

Sulphur-crested cockatoos (Cacatua galerita), a species commonly smuggled in Australia | John Turnbull / Wikimedia Commons

When criminals sell wild animals, they often transport them in small, sealed environments . This is cruel and will not only cause animals to become stressed or even die of dehydration, but will also increase poaching - in order to get more live animals, criminals may poach and smuggle more animals in the hope that one or two can survive.

At present, the monitoring of smuggled animals mainly relies on manual network investigations and manual baggage searches by security personnel, and sometimes detection dogs patrolling airports can also come in handy. However, these methods are prone to slipping through the net-until recently, Australian scientists developed AI that can automatically detect smuggled animals.

Using real-time tomography technology, scientists conducted 294 scans of 13 species of lizards, birds and fish known to have been smuggled in Australia, creating a 3D image reference library; they used this image reference library to develop an algorithm that can detect wild animals in suitcases - when scanning luggage and express deliveries, if wild animals are locked inside, AI can keenly detect them and alert staff.

Tree monitor lizard (Varanus varius) found in a suitcase by AI | Rapiscan Systems

Wildlife trafficking is not only related to illegal animal trade, but also poses huge biosafety risks : alien species can destroy the local natural ecosystem, affect the survival of native species, and even cause the extinction of native species; they may also bring new diseases and parasites, damage agriculture and animal husbandry, and even cause people to suffer from zoonotic diseases. Reliable AI detection can not only protect wildlife, but also protect us humans.

Fruit fly love

In the animal world, it is very common for males to fight for females, but what is unexpected is that female fruit flies will also steal your love !

The researchers put two virgin flies and a male fruit fly together. At first, the male took turns to court the two ideal objects, and the scene was calm; however, when the male successfully started to mate with one of the females, in some cases, things became strange - the other female would "get angry" and hit the mating female's buttocks with her head , trying to disrupt their good times.

Fruit fly | S. Rae / Wikimedia Commons

The researchers began to wonder what made some females suddenly steal their love. They found that the female fruit fly would only attack if the male first courted the female and eventually abandoned her . If the male had never courted her and mated with another female directly, she would not be "jealous" and would not try to separate them.

The researchers also found that the female's mating status is also an important factor. If a female has just mated, even if a male comes to court her but ends up finding another mate, the female will not attack the pair and may even act indifferent.

The real murderer is very low-key

In the raccoon world, the real "murderers" often seem low-key and shy.

Raccoons have become long-term residents of many cities , and have done all sorts of evil things for food, such as turning trash cans upside down and taking out all the food inside.

What's wrong with us raccoons (Procyon lotor)? We just want to eat! | Cephas / Wikimedia Commons

How did raccoons figure out how to survive in human cities? Scientists caught raccoons in cities with traps filled with cat food and sent them to a carefully designed small room. There were two buttons in the room. One button would make dog food appear, and the other would have nothing. When the raccoons learned how to press the button to eat the dog food, the bad scientists would switch the buttons, and the raccoons would have to press the other button to get the dog food.

After two years of patient waiting, 27 raccoons mastered the secrets of the small room, 19 of which knew how to press the button to get the reward, and 17 realized that if someone came to switch, they had to press another button. Scientists also studied the personalities of these raccoons and found that the most timid and docile raccoons had stronger learning abilities . It is likely that such raccoons secretly caused more damage in the city.

A raccoon at the door of a small room (left) and a raccoon pressing a button to wait for dog food (right) | Lauren Stanton

Scientists sincerely suggest that when urban wildlife managers are hunting down suspected "bears", they should pay attention to those raccoons that look honest and docile, as they may be the real planners of the "trash can attack"; and those arrogant and bold raccoons may just be the "fools" who are unfortunate enough to take the blame.

Pilot whale stranding

Recently, 230 pilot whales stranded in Australia , and only 35 survived.

The coast is covered with stranded pilot whales | Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania

Rescuers covered the surviving pilot whales with fabric and poured water over them to keep them alive and try to help them return to the sea.

Two years ago, a large-scale stranding of pilot whales also occurred at the same location. At that time, about 470 pilot whales were stranded on the coast. After a week of efforts by rescuers, 111 whales were finally rescued, and more than 350 others were unfortunately buried on the beach.

Rescue in progress | Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Marine mammal experts believe that we cannot yet explain why such a large-scale stranding occurred; however, similar species have been stranded again in the same location, indicating that there may be some environmental factors that have affected them.

To prevent people from gathering on the beach and causing trouble for rescuers and stranded whales, the environmental protection department issued a warning to people: whales are protected animals, and even if they are dead, it is illegal to disturb their carcasses.

References

[1] https://theconversation.com/as-chinook-salmon-get-thinner-and-fewer-southern-resident-killer-whales-struggle-to-find-enough-food-186866

[2] https://edition.cnn.com/2022/09/23/africa/chimp-kidnap-dr-congo-intl-scli/index.html

[3] Vanessa Pirotta et al, Detecting illegal wildlife trafficking via real time tomography 3D X-ray imaging and automated algorithms, Frontiers in Conservation Science (2022). DOI: 10.3389/fcosc.2022.757950

[4] Miguel Gaspar et al, Mating pair drives aggressive behavior in female Drosophila, Current Biology (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.09.009

[5] Stanton, LA, Bridge, ES, Huizinga, J. and Benson-Amram, S. (2022). Environmental, individual and social traits of free-ranging raccoons influence performance in cognitive testing. J. Exp. Biol. 225, jeb243726. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.243726

[6] https://phys.org/news/2022-09-stranded-whales-die-pounding-surf.html

Author: Cat Tun

Editor: Mai Mai

This article comes from the Species Calendar, welcome to forward

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