Cambodia Rare animal Asia's Kouprey May Not Be New Species

Asia's Kouprey May Not Be New Species
By MICHAEL CASEY
AP Environmental Writer
Associated Press writer Ker Munthit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, contributed to this report.

October 21, 2006

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Among the rarest mammals in Southeast Asia, the kouprey's discovery almost 70 years ago in the jungles of Cambodia stunned the scientific community and led to a decades-long campaign to save it from extinction.

But what if this elusive forest ox wasn't a natural species after all?

That is the controversial premise raised by Northwestern University biologist Gary Galbreath and his colleagues F.H. Weiler and J.C. Mordacq in a paper published in April in the Journal of Zoology.

Galbreath and his team compared the DNA from two kouprey skulls -- something previously impossible because of technological limitations -- with that of the Cambodian banteng and found they were similar.

They concluded that the kouprey, which may well be extinct, most likely originated as a hybrid bred from domestic banteng and zebu cattle in Cambodia a century ago and only later became wild, rather than arising in the wild as a natural species.

"The kouprey has acquired a rather romantic, exotic reputation," said Galbreath, associate director of Northwestern's Program in Biological Sciences in Evanston, Ill. "Some people would understandably be sad to see it dethroned as a species."

The paper stirred up wild cattle specialists who have spent decades trying to save the kouprey. They say the conclusion was hasty and based on insufficient data.

The kouprey, a nomadic ox with dramatic curved horns that resembles a water buffalo, was first identified in 1937 as a new species. It was discovered in the forests of Cambodia, but scientists believe its range at one time stretched into parts of Vietnam, Laos and Thailand.

Conservationists ever since have led a frustrating campaign to save the kouprey.

American zoologist Charles Wharton failed in the 1960s to capture the beasts -- two died and three escaped -- as part of a project to raise them in captivity in Texas. A proposal by three Asian governments in the 1980s to export frozen kouprey embryos to U.S. zoos never advanced because no one could find any of the animals.

The last confirmed sighting by a Western scientist was in the 1960s. Civil wars in Cambodia during the 1970s and 1980s kept conservationists out of the country, and more recent searches failed.

Among the most infamous searches was one in 1993 led by American journalist Nate Thayer, who took an elephant caravan that included former Khmer Rouge guerrillas, an American mercenary and the publisher of Soldier of Fortune magazine.

They spent a fruitless two weeks looking for the ox, which grows to a height of about 6 1/2 feet and weight of 1,300 to 2,000 pounds.

"We never found the kouprey, but did come across Khmer Rouge soldiers who spotted us and fled, presumably to inform their commandeers of a group of white guys heavily armed in the area," Thayer said in an e-mail message.

Weiler, who took part in the DNA study with Galbreath, also led several unsuccessful expeditions in Cambodia from 1997 until last year. He hired elephant and tiger trackers and interviewed nearly 300 people to get leads. Despite vivid stories of the beast in the jungle, he never saw one.

"I came to the conclusion that the kouprey is extinct," Weiler said. "I've closed the book. It's possible three or four will pop up somewhere. But it's highly unlikely."

Not everyone agrees. The World Conservation Union still designates the kouprey as critically endangered and estimates there are less than 200 left in remote parts of Indochina.

"I think it's a little too early to give up hope. It is hard to prove something is extinct," said Simon Hedges, a wild cattle expert. "When you consider that new species are still being discovered in Indochina, I don't think it's entirely unrealistic to believe there might be pockets of species such as the kouprey living in the same area."

More controversial is the suggestion by Galbreath and his team that the kouprey should never have been listed as a species in the first place, theorizing it was likely bred as a domestic hybrid "to produce a strong animal that survives in difficult circumstances."

Calling it the most likely explanation based on the DNA testing, the animal's limited geographic range and its physical similarities to domestic cattle, Galbreath said that "it is surely desirable not to waste time and money trying to locate or conserve a domestic breed gone wild."

"The limited funds available should be used to protect wild species," he said.

But Galbreath has done little to change long-standing opinions among kouprey enthusiasts.

Alexandre Hassanin, a French scientist who along with Anne Ropiquet announced in 2004 that they had sequenced the kouprey DNA to show it was a natural species, said he disagrees with the paper.

The Cambodia government, which in the 1960s designated the kouprey as its national animal, has no plans to change that status.

"In my view, those researchers are not so sure either. If it was a hybrid, when did that happen?" said Yim Voeuntharn, Cambodia's deputy minister of agriculture. "There is no specific evidence."

Hedges, the wild cattle expert, calls Galbreath's findings "premature" and "counterproductive," saying it is wrong to discount the kouprey as a species based on such a small sample of DNA.

"If their analysis shows anything, it is that there are some hybrid banteng with kouprey ancestry," he said. "They don't show anything beyond that. They are arguing on very little information that the kouprey is a feral relic."

Galbreath agrees more DNA testing is needed and plans to take samples from banteng in other parts of Southeast Asia.

"For half a century, biologists have been complacent about this," he said. "Everyone fell in love with the idea that the kouprey was a natural species."[End]

Welcome to Our Swedish Guests!

EcoSea is happy to have added for the short term 4 lovely ladies from Swedens Tourism school Frans Schartau Business Institute.

All ready we are overwhelming them with projects that we will be talking about later.

Lisa Maud Therese & El are all ready enjoying some scuba diving action. We will also be setting up a seperate blog for them in the very near future.

Koh Tachai Plateau Richelieu Rock!

Dear Diving Industry, Phuket, 21. October 2006

On Thursday the 19th of October Santana's liveaboard returned back to Phuket
from her first 4 day/5 night Similan & Richelieu Rock trip after the monsoon
brake with bad news in regards of a huge crowded weir at and Koh Tachai Plateau
plenty of huge fishing nets covering the south/east site of Richelieu Rock!

Sea King who will leave on Saturday the 21st will take care of the weir at Koh
Tachai to free the marine life in captivity as special tools will be
required... As the job we are faceing at Richelieu Rock is much more extensive
and needs a lot "diver men & women power" to carefully peel the nets centimeter
by centimeter off of the reef, coral by coral and shell by shell. Please make
sure that your liveaboard staff and by supporting customers on board will have
gloves and sharp kitchen knifes to fulfill our common goal of keeping
Thailand's fragile coral reefs and marine recourses alive.

Please see the attached pictures to get an idea of which work awaits the diving
industries' liveaboards going to Richelieu during the coming weeks.

We hope that we don't have to bother you again during the upcoming high-season
with "tears-diving" pictures taken at one of the most populated and best dive
sites in Thailand's Andaman Sea.

Thank you all in advance for your attention and your help.
Have a successful start into high-season 2006/07.

Best Regards.

Andrea, Santana Diving



Crowed%20fish%20trap%20Thailand%20Scuba%20Diving.bmp

Scuba diving in the Philippines

Here are some pictures from my dive trip to the Philippines. I dove in Puerto Princesa Bohol Cebu and Puerto Galara Philippines the first picture is Saddleback Butterflys i beleive and the 2nd is a frog fish taken off a wreck in Sabang beach in Puerto galara

USA visas New requirements Online Visas Student Visa and tourist Visa

New Processing Requirement for U.S. Visas


As of November 1st, all applicants worldwide who wish to apply for tourist, student, or other non-immigrant visas (NIV) to the United States must complete the visa application form on the internet using the Electronic Visa Application Form, or EVAF. The EVAF format and questions are identical to the paper version of the NIV application form, but it prints out with a barcode, which consular sections can read in order to enter the applicant's information into the State Department's visa database.

Beginning November 1st, applications submitted with a handwritten or typewriter typed DS-156 visa application form can no longer be accepted. Applicants who submit a handwritten or typewriter typed DS-156 application forms will be asked to complete and print out the new EVAF application form , which is available now online at http://evisaforms.state.gov . Visa application forms printed from the internet and then filled out will not be accepted. The forms must be completed online and then printed.

The EVAF makes the NIV application process more efficient. It saves data entry time in the consular section, and reduces data entry errors.

EVAF has been designed to keep application data safe and secure. Its security and privacy have been proven through millions of applications.

Since the introduction of the EVAF in September 2003, more and more embassies have been making use of this time-saving tool. In fact, just three years after the EVAF was introduced, over 50 percent of all NIV applicants use the EVAF worldwide. At 44 embassies, over 80 percent of NIV applications are done through EVAF, in places from Tashkent to Hanoi to Beijing, with posts as varied as Bern, Kingston, and Tokyo regularly topping the 90 percent mark.

Applicants are responsible for providing true and correct information on the EVAF. If an applicant gives false information or commits fraud, he or she will be denied a visa, perhaps permanently. Applicants are warned not to use facilitators who charge high fees, make unrealistic promises about their services, or encourage applicants to use fake documents or information in the visa interview. Any applicant who has been a victim of an unscrupulous facilitator should contact the U.S. Embassy.

MEDIA NOTE: Embassy Consular Officials are available on a limited basis for media interviews on this new processing requirement. To inquire about availability, please contact the Embassy's Public Affairs Section at 023-728-258.

Released October 17, 2006.

Philippines scuba Diving Bumpnose butterflys

I allways thought that these were rare fish but now I have seen them scuba diving in australia in Carins and the Coral Sea and now I have seen them in the philippines scuba diving off of Cebu Bohol Philippines at Alona Beach

Thailand visa regulation impacts on border runs

A new visa law for Thailand tourists from 37 countries went into effect on Oct 1st. Border officials are not sure what the new rules will entail.


The speculation of many before Oct 1 was that the Thai Immigration officers would count days, or that you would need to break the trips up, so that your passport showed that you had left the country for a meaningful time. It was felt that the new law was put into effect, to stop foreigners from working illegally in the country, depriving Thai’s of jobs and the taxes that these jobs would generate by these illegal workers.

Many have abused the system for years. Those with out proper visas would do border runs in order to stay in Thailand, some of them for years. Another new, but more sinister reason, was the arrest of John Kerr, the self confessed American murderer of Jon Bennet Ramsey, which ironically turns out later to be a hoax, was the final straw, causing the Thais immigration to lose face, as they failed in protecting the Thai people from foreign pedophiles and murders

The first border official that I talked to at the Thai Cambodia border at Had Lek, informed me that you will get 3 entries, and then you will need to wait to enter the country again until after the 6 months from the first entrance. This would have been a worst case scenario for many that need to transit through, or do lots of short trips into the Kingdom. He did offer that if you could get a visa from a Thai embassy, that you would be able to get in, but you would have to go to an embassy, and wait your turn to see someone that would be able to issue you with a valid visa. Another question to be sure to

At Suvarnabhumi Airport Bangkok’s new airport The consensus of several of the immigration folks is that as long as you don’t go over 90 days in any 6 month period, you can enter as many times as you want. This is good news for the people that have a need to come into the kingdom for short periods, but that don’t stay for long.

Now the question is if you go to a foreign country that has a embassy like Cambodia‘s Phnom Penh, with the new rules, will the embassy be able to issue a visa? Apparently the answer is yes they can! With this real visa in your passport the 90 day clock begins again I asked several immigration officials at Suvarnabhumi, and they all had the same answer, so a real visa issued by an embassy will restart the clock.

The rules for retirement visas and for work visas remain the same the only other news was that they are charging allot more on overstays and will put you in jail if they catch you on a overstay.

With the coup there is no legislative body to change the rules, so the law will be in effect until at least Sept Oct 2007. The soonest that a new government can be formed according to the timetable establish by the coup leaders.

philippines scuba diving pictures

some pictures from scubadiving in the Philippines in puerto galara and Bohol Alona beach area of Cebu Philippines.

TDA Thailand Diving Accociation case accepted by court.

Dear friends of Phuket Diving Industry,

TDAs Lawyer Khun Pongsawan just informed us, that the responsible Court will
accept the case from TDA against the "new diving regulations".
Within the next few days the court will send an official letter to the Lawyer
and to the governors office to inform and postpone the "new regulations" after
the verdict.
If you have detailed questions, please don't hesitate to call TDA Lawyer Khun
Pongsawan +99-89-8742515, or TDA Vice-president Khun Pragon ++66-81-7190822.

Best regards

Sequoia park finds sister in Cambodia

San Francisco Chronicle
Wednesday, October 4, 2006
Page A - 1

Global family affair: Sequoia park finds sister in Cambodia
- Chuck Squatriglia, Chronicle Staff Writer

Sequoia National Park -- A struggling park halfway across the world has turned to Sequoia National Park for help in preserving a war-torn region that covers thousands of acres of rain forest and is home to some of the last Asian elephants and Asiatic bears on Earth.
Cambodia's Samlaut park was a Khmer Rouge stronghold until 10 years ago, and today its future is threatened by poachers, loggers and public indifference.

On Tuesday, Cambodia's environmental minister, the U.S. ambassador to Cambodia and the superintendent of Sequoia National Park signed a "sister park" accord under which the two parks will exchange expertise on park management, resource protection and wildlife preservation.

Cambodia plans to send a delegation of rangers to Sequoia early next year to learn more about the park's administration, its technology and its volunteer programs. The two parks were paired because both are largely forests and host many endangered species.

The National Park Service has a long history of international collaboration, and at least 32 U.S. parks have "sister park" relationships with 18 nations.

Yosemite National Park signed such an accord with Huangshan National Park in China in May, and Golden Gate National Recreation Area has collaborated with Parks Victoria in Australia for many years.

Park officials said such relationships allow them to share expertise with parks that share similar features, face similar problems and serve similar audiences.

"There's no question there are things we can learn," said Mike Tollefson, superintendent of Yosemite. The park will host a delegation from Huangshan this winter. "There are a lot of opportunities in both directions."

Never before has Cambodia sought such help, and never before has the United States' second-oldest national park mentored another park.

"This provides us with a blueprint for our efforts to protect Samlaut," said Mok Mareth, Cambodian minister of the environment. "We look forward to working with our new partner to make Samlaut a national park."

The National Park Service stressed that the relationship will be mutually beneficial although it clearly favors the country with little experience in environmental preservation and few resources with which to pursue it.

"Samlaut is the little sister, no doubt," said Stephan Bognar, executive director of the Maddox Jolie Pitt Project, the nonprofit organization actress Angelina Jolie founded to preserve Samlaut. "We have so much to learn from Sequoia."

The 148,260-acre park is in Cambodia's Battambang province in the country's northwestern corner. It is hilly, much like Mount Diablo State Park, and coursed by rivers that provide one-third of Cambodia's water. In contrast, Sequoia covers more than 400,000 acres.

Cambodia, which has seven national parks, granted Samlaut some protection in 1993 when it declared the region a "multiple use area," limiting logging and other activities in an area home to elephants, bears, Sumatran tigers and the Javan rhinoceros.

For political reasons, the government has been largely unable to enforce the regulation, and environmentalists said logging, poaching and mining are rampant. The region has already lost 40 percent of its timber, by some estimates, and it is littered with land mines and other ordnance left behind after three decades of civil war.

The Maddox Jolie Pitt Project -- named for Jolie and actor Brad Pitt's adopted Cambodian son -- has hired 30 rangers since 2003, started a survey of the park's wildlife and launched a campaign to educate people about the need to protect the park.

Bognar approached the National Park Service last year to enlist its help.

"We realized that we needed to form an alliance to better secure Samlaut's future," he said. "Sometimes you need to look outside to increase conservation inside."

Sequoia National Park was the obvious partner, park officials said, because the two parks were created to protect valued forests and important watersheds.

Craig Axtell, superintendent of Sequoia National Park, said he is particularly interested in how Samlaut addresses timber poachers, because some of their tactics might be effective in curbing marijuana cultivation within Sequoia.

"We see this as an opportunity to learn from each other," he said, adding that he'd like to send rangers to Cambodia. "We're going to share skills and knowledge."

The two parks also are linked culturally. Some 7,000 Cambodian Americans, many of whom fled Cambodia in the 1970s, live in the communities surrounding Sequoia.

"All of us see this as renewed friendship between our two countries," said Sopheaktra Nou, executive director of the Cambodian Reconciliation Committee, a community nonprofit in Fresno. "This will help our country heal, create a park all the world can see and help us protect and preserve our culture." [End]