Conservation status, ex situ priorities and emerging threats to small carnivores

Abstract

Madagascar contains the highest concentration of threatened carnivore species anywhere in the world. The country's deteriorating protected-area network makes it a priority for small carnivore conservation, and several species may need some form of ex situ action. Small carnivores in South East Asia are under significant pressure from hunting to supply the illegal wildlife trade, as well as habitat loss, and the interactions between these two factors. Owston's civet Chrotogale owstoni is the conservation priority from this region. The rapidly declining status of Largespotted civet Viverra megaspila needs careful monitoring, as it may warrant intervention soon. Otters (Lutrinae) in Asia are in decline and there may exist as yet undescribed conservation units that are extremely threatened. Hairy-nosed otter Lutra sumatrana is not yet a priority for ex situ conservation because of low feasibility; efforts should focus on managing the populations of Smooth-coated otter Lutrogale perspicillata and Asian small-clawed otter Aonyx cinereus already in human care. The future of European mink Mustela lutreola and Black-footed ferret Mustela nigripes will depend on ongoing support to conservation-breeding efforts, as well as threat reduction. To a lesser extent, Red panda Ailurus fulgens conservation is also dependent on continued support to its integrated conservation plan. There are no obvious candidate species for ex situ conservation of small carnivores from Africa, though the bushmeat trade, planned large-scale infrastructure projects and a growing transnational wildlife trade link to Asia may change this assessment in the near future. It is unclear what role ex situ conservation would have for Pygmy raccoon Procyon pygmaeus: the main threat to this species is hurricanes. A speculative assessment of emerging threats to small carnivores includes: infrastructural development in the tropics, illegal wildlife trade networks that include Latin American, African and Asian markets, and the growing Vietnamese and Chinese diasporas that operate in other Asian countries, Africa and Latin America, and the interactions between all of these factors.

Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 Related Coronaviruses Circulating in Sunda pangolins (Manis javanica) Confiscated From the Illegal Wildlife Trade in Viet Nam

“…An unknown number of civets in the Southeast Asia region enter the illegal trade when they are harvested from the wild to supply the demand of the illegal wildlife trade. Like other small carnivores hunted from inside and outside protected areas, they are sold on to wild meat restaurants, wildlife traders, or outlets selling traditional medicine or exotic pets ( 41 ). The common palm civet is also just one of 184 species of wildlife raised in captivity in Viet Nam ( 23 ), so although this is one of the largest viral surveillance efforts on wildlife farms in Southeast Asia it is limited in scope and to only one species in a complex supply chain of wildlife for human consumption as food.…”

Rapid decline and fragmentation of the distribution of an enigmatic small carnivore, the Owston’s Civet, in response to future climate change

“…It is important to note that those aforementioned regions have been provisionally identified by our modelling analyses. As a result of the widespread indiscriminate snaring activities, there may be no truly secure population in protected areas within the species range, and a steep decline in the species population has been documented even inside a reasonably protected forest (Willcox 2020. Therefore, a qualitative assessment of all sites, including the local capacities to mitigate or prevent threats to the species, and the resources available to fund in-situ conservation actions are still vitally important to confirm priority sites.…”

Global Challenges of Small Mammalian Carnivores: A Review

“…The highest species affected by this threat was in Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia is identified as a priority region for conservation due to its illegal wildlife trade and killing of many carnivores for the demand of its meat as luxury edible item (Willcox et al, 2014;Gray et al, 2018;Willcox, 2020;Marneweck et al, 2021). Moreover, their body parts are also used as traditional medicine (Sodhi et al, 2004;Nijman, 2010).…”