A Discovery Ninety Years in the Making

Photo: Michael Smith

For almost a century, the Wondiwoi Tree Kangaroo was known from only a single specimen, collected in 1928. Like so many endangered species known only from museum specimens, it was feared to have gone extinct before it had ever been seen alive.

But in 2018, ninety years after the last known individual was found, Michael Smith, a biologist exploring New Guinea, captured one on camera, restoring hope that this species, thought to be lost forever, could still hang on.

Several species of Tree Kangaroos call the mountains of Papua New Guinea home. But the Wondiwoi lives at much higher elevations than other tree kangaroos. Although habitat loss and hunting still threaten them, their high elevation may have helped to protect them from hunting and invasive species for the last century.

The cloud forests of New Guinea are still cradles of unique species and unexplored wilderness. The isolation and slower rate of industrialization have made it a prime habitat for many endemic species to cling to life.

Very little is still known about the Wondiwoi Tree Kangaroo, including it's population. It is believed to be critically endangered, and future expeditions will be critical in order to develop a conservation plan for the species.

---

Photo: Sergey Gabdurakhmanov

The World's Only Freshwater Seal

Hundreds of miles from any salt water, in the world's deepest lake, lives an animal you probably wouldn't expect. A tiny freshwater seal.

The Baikal Seal, which lives exclusively in Russia's Lake Baikal, is the world's only species of freshwater seal. Most seal species are capable of living in fresh water, with a few isolated populations of other species inhabiting freshwater bays and rivers. But only the Baikal Seal lives isolated in a lake. The remoteness of their home in Siberia, as well as the massive size of Lake Baikal, has helped their population to remain stable.

Although it is still somewhat of a mystery how they ended up evolving to live so far from the ocean, it is believed that a population of Ringed Seals may have become isolated eventually becoming a new species adapted for lake life.

Although they are hunted for their furs, the biggest threat to the Baikal Seal is pollution. Pesticides and other pollutants in Lake Baikal have caused diseases amongst the seals, and potential epidemics can be especially dangerous in a closed environment such as a lake. For now though, the Baikal Seal remains safe in isolation.

---

Meet the Heroes Saving Moon Bears from Bile Farms

In Southeast Asia, a cruel practice known as "bile farming" has tortured and imprisoned Moon Bears, confining them to tiny spaces and taking their stomach bile for use in traditional medicine. In most cases, this directly leads to the bears' death, and survivors don't fare much better.

Animals Asia has fought long and hard to end this practice and to rehabilitate rescued bile bears. They have rescued nearly 300 bears from bile farms, and perhaps even more impressively, have been able to collaborate with the Vietnamese government to outlaw bile farms. The practice still continues illegally, so organizations like Animals Asia are critical to protecting Moon Bears, so that they can continue to roam the forests of Asia for generations to come.

Learn more about Animals Asia here.