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Projects help to protect rare gibbon in Vietnam
cao-vit gibbon
Eastern black-crested gibbons are one of the rarest apes in the world.

Efficient stoves and elephant grass help farmers and wildlife
 
Conservationists are providing Vietnamese farmers with efficient stoves and elephant grass in a bid to improve their lives and protect critically endangered gibbons.

The Cao-vit, or eastern black-crested gibbon, is only found in the forests of Trung Khanh, and in China’s nearby Guangxi province. It is the rarest ape in the world, after its closest relative, the Hainan gibbon.

This area of the remote Cao Bang province is one of Vietnam’s poorest regions and the local economy is largely driven by farming crops such as rice and corn.

Trung Khanh’s Cao-vit Management Board works with the conservation charity Fauna and Flora International, to conserve gibbons and other wildlife, as well as helping the local people.

Local people rely on firewood for cooking, often chopping down trees in the nearby forests where the gibbons live. The project aims to reduce reliance on firewood by providing local communities with fuel-efficient stoves at discounted prices.

Residents using the new stoves say they are quicker, easier to use and more effective, meaning bundles of wood last twice as long. The stoves also allow leftover cooking scraps to be used to build fires, and they produce little smoke, which presents a health hazard in poorly ventilated, often windowless homes.

Another FFI initiative teaches farmers to grow elephant grass to be used as livestock feed. The grass is able to withstand the harsh winters in Cao Bang and grows faster than normal grass. Foraging for livestock feed is a threat to the gibbon’s habitat, as well as being time-consuming for farmers.

Thanks to these and other initiatives, local residents now rarely encounter the gibbons as they have less need for resources from the forest.

Image courtesy of FFI
 

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Vets to run marathon for World Animal Protection

News Story 1
 Two recently graduated veterinary surgeons will be running the London Marathon in April to raise money for the charity World Animal Protection.

Alex Bartlett and Maeve O'Neill plan to run the race together if they are given the same start times.

Dr O'Neill said: "You're always limited in what you can do to help animals, so it is nice to raise money for a charity that helps animals around the world."

Dr Bartlett added: "I have never run a marathon before and am excited to run my first one for such a good cause!"

Both Dr Bartlett and Dr O'Neill have fundraising pages online. 

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News Shorts
BSAVA releases new Guide to Procedures

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has published a new edition of its Guide to Procedures for Small Animal Practice.

It has added four new procedures; cystostomy tube placement, endotracheal intubation, point-of-care ultrasound and wet-to-dry dressings.

BSAVA says that it is an essential step-by-step guide to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed in practice. The textbook includes new images and illustrations, as well as high-definition videos for use prior to procedures.

Nick Bexfield and Julia Riggs, editors of the new edition, said: "We have built upon the success of the previous editions by responding to the feedback received from the BSAVA readership, and hope this new guide helps to further increase the confidence and accuracy with which these procedures are performed."

Print copies are available in the BSAVA store, with a digital version in the BSAVA library.