Animal of the Week August 16, 2013 -- Olinguito

Sorry grouse, but with my history of giving newly described species their dues, you've been bumped. For this week's Animal of the Week is now Bassaricyon neblina (olinguito).

Mark Gurney

While trying to describe the different subspecies of olingos from the collection and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Kristopher Helgen discovered a drawer full of skins that looked substantially different—he described it as a hairs on the back of the neck, spine tingling sort of moment in the news report I saw. Some careful measurements and DNA confirmation later, Helgman realised that the skins and skulls came from a previously unrecognised species.

The four species of olingo and the olinguito are members of the same family of animals as raccoons, kinkajous, and coatis. The olingo is the smallest member of that family, and differs from the olingos by having bushier hair, smaller ears, and living at higher altitudes in the montain rainforests of the Andes. Having found the museum specimens, scientists then went to look for it in the wild, and sure enough, they found one. Based on the specimens collected, the olinguito likely has a range from central Columbia to Ecuador.

Although they belong to the Carnivora group of animals, olingos and olinguitos seem to eat more fruit than anything else, occasionally supplementing their diet with nectar and insects. The label Carnivora links those animals (from seals to weasels, to cats, dogs, and hyenas) all descended from a single ancestor, and doesn't always mean that the animal is a carnivore—just look at that bamboo guzzling idiot the panda.

Several olinguitos have been kept in zoos, so this isn't the case where an expedition has stumbled across an animal new to western science as happened with the kipunji, the world's smallest frog, or this animal of the week from 2005. Rather, it was the recognition that had previously been thought to be one thing, was actually something different, as happened with the Arunachal macaque or the clouded leopard of Borneo...and also with the recognition of orangutans as two species, and African elephants as two species. So while I've personally nothing agains the olinguito, I doubt the story would have attracted so much attention had it happened in any other month than August.

Animal of the August 12, 2013 -- Glorious, for whom?

It may well have escaped your notice that today is August 12, dubbed the Glorious 12th by fans of shooting. Although most shooting seasons will not start until September 1, hundreds if not thousands of this week's animal of the week Lagopus lagopus scotica (red grouse) might have been shot today in the UK.

Red grouse are a sub-species of the willow grouse (or willow ptarmigan), unique to the UK and Ireland—they differ from other subspecies of willow grouse (found elsewhere in the northern hemisphere) in their lack of white markings, their red eye com

bs, and their failure to turn white during winter.

While the hunting of grouse is in some ways pretty good for grouse, as shooting moors are managed to increase their numbers: heather is burned to encourage new shoots that the grouse eat, and medicated grit is left out to treat infection with gut parasites. Moreover, some predators are removed or excluded.

The charismatic birds of prey, hen harriers (named for their supposed predilection for young game birds), should be common across the UK, but their habitat has been fragmented and the most suitable areas for them are managed grouse moors. While it is illegal to kill hen harriers, a protected species in the UK, many suspect that part of the "management" of grouse moors involves killing these birds by shooting, trapping, or poisoning. The numbers of hen harriers in the UK have plummeted in the past century. And this year, of the last few pairs in England, not one bred successfully.

Now, I'm in no way against game shooting and that sort of whatnot. While it's not something I'm necessarily keen to have a go at, I don't mind hunting as long as it's done responsibly and safely, and potentially game animals have had a slightly more enjoyable life than your average broiler. Furthermore, protecting areas for game can be part of conservation—but only when managed responsibly, and when all the inhabitants of the area are allowed space. Perhaps grouse moors should be managed for both the grouse and the hen harrier, so that they would remain even more exciting places to visit all year round, not just in the open season for the shoot?

So, the glorious 12th is probably only really glorious for the estate managers who charge per the bird shot.